Inside 863

Chapter 8 | 1/4/2021

Matthias gazed at the pictures of my apartment, shaking his head disbelievingly.

"So, do you think they know about the video?" I asked him uncertainly.

"I don't know, dude. I don't know," he replied. "This is really getting out of hand."

"Yeah, why do you have to be so curious?" I joked. He laughed. I knew Matthias well enough by now to know that he likes to laugh when nervous or under pressure.

"And you said you think you have a lead?" he asked. I took a deep breath, then started my explanation. "I think Syphus' helper is Dakota." I stared at my shoes and continued before Matt could say anything. "I had a dream about . . . that night, and when I woke up, I realized that the voice in the dream was the same as Dakota's. I know it sounds really bad when I say it, but I'm one hundred percent positive it was the same. I really like Dakota, like, I think he's a really great guy, but I feel like this had to be addressed and I didn't know who else to go to." I said it all at sonic speed. Matthias looked grim. He paced the room for a minute, still not saying anything. Finally, he said, "I gotta talk to him," then walked out of the room. Briskly, he walked out of Blue Base and towards Red Base. I trailed behind uncertainly. I supposed I should just go back to work and let Matt take care of it.

We walked into my shared office in upstairs Red Base. Carey and Dakota both looked up from their monitors as Matthias walked in.

"Out," he said, gazing intently at Carey. Dakota started to stand, but Matthias turned to him sharply and said, "You. Stay." He pointed at Dakota, then pointed down to give Dakota a very clear signal to stay put. Dakota seemed confused and a little alarmed, but plopped back down into his chair. Carey pushed past me; purposely shoving me a little. Is she seriously still mad about the Payt Tate thing? I thought incredulously. Matthias turned to me and said in an undertone, "Get a chair and sit right outside this room. You never know what might happen." I nodded nervously. I couldn't imagine Dakota doing anything, but then again, he was discussing with his dad if they wanted to kill me or not and that seemed out of the ordinary for him.

"Do you want me to grab you a nerf gun or something?" I asked. It sounded kind of stupid, but I didn't really know what else Matt could use to defend himself if worst came to worst.

"Overkill doesn't need a nerf gun to be intimidating," Matt said in his deep Overkill voice. He somehow knew how to crack a joke in a not so funny situation. I forced a smile as he turned and closed the door behind him. I quickly ran downstairs and grabbed a chair from the break room to sit on while I guarded the entrance. I sat down, leaned against the back of my chair, clasped my hands together, and put my hands on my lap. All there was to do was wait.

Five hours later, I was bored out of my mind as the door opened suddenly. I hadn't been able to hear them at all and eventually I had pulled out my phone and wasted time looking at social media.

I looked to Matthias for answers, but his face was expressionless. Then, I looked to Dakota who gave me a look I couldn't explain. I noticed his eyes were the slightest bit red and puffy, but otherwise he just looked beat.

I caught Matt as he was leaving at the end of the day.

"How'd it go?" I asked nonchalantly. He gazed at me sternly and said, "What happened in the room stays in the room. What happened in the room is between me, Dakota, and God." And without another word, he left.