It Was 2020
Hide And Seek

Kay went home. She went to work. She did her grocery shopping. She really tried to live her life as normally as possible. She tried to replace the leader, but had so far been unsuccessful. She really had no idea how to replace someone that did not want to be found.

As the months passed, and the world was put on an indefinite lockdown due to Covid-19, Kay started to question her sanity. She wasn’t seeing the poisonous leaves anymore, but people were still getting gravely ill and dying. The only suits she saw seemed normal looking enough, but what did she really know about them after all? Had she really seen and experienced everything she remembered or had she experienced a psychological break with reality in response to the pandemic? Nearly one-third of the population of the United States had reported some level of depression or anxiety from Covid-19. Could she have experienced her own mental breakdown and was simply working her way through it since she was a mental healthcare professional? Kay highly doubted this theory, but she couldn’t shake the thought that it just might be her new reality.

By November of 2020 there had been approximately 240,000 deaths attributed to Covid-19. The deaths in the United States eclipsed other countries by a fair margin. In Kay’s neck of the woods, there were over 160,000 cases of Covid reported, but luckily less than 600 deaths. Wisconsin as a whole, had close to 10,000 deaths from Covid alone. Apparently the culling was in full swing and showed no sign of stopping.

Kay is beginning to think that the leader, and all of his followers, are playing a cruel game of hide and seek with her. She has done everything she could think of to replace the leader, but he still remains as elusive as the Duck-billed Platypus.

January of 2021 arrives and it is setting out to be the worst month yet for Covid deaths. Kay replaces herself sleeping less and crying more. Her anxiety levels are through the roof. She is young and she has been diligent in following CDC protocol, but everyone seems to be getting it now. No longer is it centered on the elderly and immunocompromised. Infants, kids, and healthy young adults are also at risk.

One day in mid January, Kay is walking to work. This isn’t a new development in itself. The brisk air revives her after the ever increasing crying jags she experiences and it allows her to compose herself before her clients show up. What is new, and what she does not immediately notice, is the main in the suit on the corner. He watches her leave her home, walk down the sidewalk, cross the street, and walk to her office building. She has her earpods in and is listening to the podcast Straight Up Enigmas. The show discusses the unexplained, paranormal, and supernatural events. Kay listens in the hope that they will mention the suits, or glowing leaves, one day.

As she approaches the front door to her building, a hand rests itself on her shoulder. Kay jumps, turns around, and prepares to claw the perpetrators eyes out if need be.

As she jumps and turns, the leader stays put. He removed his hand as soon as Kay felt it, but he still stands in the same spot, indifferent to her response.

“My, my. Someone is certainly jumpy today.” His face remains dead-pan but his eyes sparkle with hidden glee and her unease.

Kay stares in disbelief. She had been looking for the leader for well over six months and now he’s followed her to work and had the audacity to scare her in the process. “What the hell man!” Kay exclaims. “You should have said something. Unless, of course, your intent was to stalk me and scare me to death.”

“Ah, sweet child. If I had wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.”

Kay was taken aback. She had never considered this before. If he was sent by some higher power, and he was the leader (at least around here), then he most certainly could have made sure she was killed any time since they had last met.

“Yeah. Uh. Thanks for not killing me, I guess. I’ve been trying to track you down for months, yet here you are.” Kay really hopes he didn’t show up after all this time to kill her himself.

He looks at her with a lack of emotion that Kay has never seen on the face of any human being. “Let me assuage your fears. No, I am not here to kill you. If the superior potestas wanted you culled there would be nothing you could do about it and I would not be the one to cause your death. Yes, I know you have been looking for me but I have been busy. It is not my duty to kowtow to a human. However, the primary function of the culling has been successful. We will be moving on to stage two and I did wish to speak with you about certain matters.” He speaks as though he expects her to understand what he means.

Kay is still very much in the dark, but at least the leader is here now. Perhaps she can figure some things out before her first patient shows up at 9:30am.

“Certain matters. Of course. Would you like to come into my office? My first appointment isn’t until 9:30 and I’m sure we can figure things out before then.”

“The cold bothers you, yes? We shall adjourn to your inner dwelling if it makes you more comfortable.” The leader looks amused, yet still very serious, so Kay decides to hold back her snide remarks. She wants to stay alive after all.

Kay unlocks the building and holds the door open for the leader. She follows him inside, takes as wide a berth around him as the waiting area allows, and leads them down the hall to her main office.

This office is not where she has her appointments. Those are smaller rooms on each side of the hall that cater to her current patients individual needs. This is her office. Her sanctum sanctorum. Noone else has set foot in this space until today. This is where she goes to meditate between sessions, do yoga, and update her patients files. She has a mini fridge with her favorite drinks, Pepsi and Mountain Dew, as well as some snacks to hold her over in case she can’t take a proper lunch break. Her desk is of antique mahogany and has a few framed photos of her family and friends on it. Inside the locked drawers of this beautiful desk is where she keeps her patients' files. The receptionist keeps basic information up front; names, phone numbers, addresses, and insurance information; but the in-depth, doctor-patient information is only kept in Kay's office. She believes in complete and total privacy and, unless she is ever subpoenaed to appear in court for a murder, she will show them to no one. There are also no windows in this room, and for that Kay is grateful. At least the leader will not be seen with her, or in her office. Kay has a feeling that the way things are going, that would definitely be a bad thing. A large, black leather office chair sits behind Kay's desk and the only other seat is a dark maroon chaise lounge along the far wall.

Kay sits in her office chair and motions for the leader to sit on the chaise. She notices he is tall, gangly, and relatively thin. His suit doesn’t hang off of him but she can tell it seems a little big. She notices the dark black orbs that are his eyes and his blue-black slicked back hair. He sees her staring and asks,

“Why do you look at me that way? Do I not look like the type of people you see on a daily basis? I was informed this would be considered blending in.”

She laughs out loud before she abruptly stops herself. The leader is clearly unamused.

“I apologize for my unintended rudeness. To answer your questions. I look at you because you are…”

Here she pauses, for she does not wish to offend him.

“...interesting looking compared to the average male. I suppose you look like us, but you don’t have the look of a businessman nor a layperson. You look like you are playing a game of follow the leader and you picked a look that you thought a leader would have.”

He looks at her with what can only be described as confusion and says, “But I am a leader and I do have followers. Do you think what we are doing is a game?”

“Obviously whatever you are doing is not a game. Games don’t end with millions of people dead. Games are supposed to be fun. Whatever you are doing is definitely not categorized as fun.” Kay had forgotten to ask, “What is your name anyways? What should I call you?”

He looks at her and says, “My followers call me Lord Sovran, but you may call me Overlord.”

Filled with incredulity, yet also cautiously optimistic that he’s actually telling the truth, Kay says, “Ok, Overlord. What is phase two?”