Falling

Chapter One

The wind blew through the trees and tickled the hairs on the back of Jack Harper's neck as he walked towards work.  He took in the quiet environment around him as he slowly meandered up the street.  He passed a playground, covered in ivy and weeds that had grown over the still and abandoned swings and jungle gym.  There was a beehive beneath the slide, buzzing with activity.  The bees had plenty of work to do as well.  The grass had grown from what was once a nicely groomed lawn to a jungle of wild flowers and dandelions. The merry-go-round had long since stopped turning with the wind and the seesaw had disintegrated to a pile of useless plastic.  The only sounds were the wind and the bees, but if one listened carefully enough, its was still possible to hear ghostly traces of children's laughter, as clearly as it was heard twenty years ago.

Jack Harper kept walking past the playground, past the old abandoned record shop where he bought his first Metallica album, past the old fruit stand his father took him to when he was young and craved sweets, past the empty streets with hard, faded, cracked pavement and old decaying cars waiting patiently for a driver who would never return.  There were no more drivers, and the cars should get used to the idea that they were doomed to wait in stillness forever.

When he finally reached his destination, Jack pulled out the thin plastic I.D. card he kept tucked away in his front coat pocket, and allowed himself inside, briefly nodding a "Hello" to the overweight security guard on duty.  As he made his way to his desk, he passed various coworkers, all of whom he greeted with a similar nod, and the occasional hand shake.  Finally, he was able to sit down in his chair, put his feet up on the worn mahogany desk, and ready himself for the mountain of paperwork he had to complete by the day's end.  

"Morning Jack."  A man similar in age to Jack himself sat on the edge of the desk with two cups of coffee.  Jack smiled; this man was his best friend and field partner, Britt O'Brien.  Britt put the second cup of coffee in Jack's hands and stood. "You better drink up. The boss wants to see us."

Jack groaned. "Why, do we have a case?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask.  Wasn't in a good mood. But if you ask me, it has to do with that rumor that's been flying around."

"What, that there's a new cult going around getting the jump on the creepies and the crawlies? If there is, I'm not stopping them. They just make my job easier."

Britt chuckled. "Yeah but they might pose a threat to the remainder of mankind and what not. It wouldn't hurt to check 'em out."

Feeling resigned, Jack stood to follow his companion to the office with the glass windows in the back of the room.  He sighed as he knocked on the door, and sighed again when a gruff voice hollered "Come in!" Displeased with the situation, Jack made his way over to one of the leather chairs stationed in front of the desk, sat down and sipped his coffee.  It was cold.