"Where have you been, son!?" Howard Jones' eyes lifted up with joy as he embraced Harker. "I have contacted every single hospital in New York and even went to them to find you."
Harker scratched his head. "Well… it was a very private hospital and there was an NDA to not give details because of my infectious disease. But I'm here now, right?"
His dad nodded. "Yes…. You're here and you're safe. That's all that matters."
There was a bit of an awkward silence before Harker pointed out the elephant in the room.
"So your legs…."
Howard blinked and raised one of his legs. "Oh yes. Metal and silicone, but it looks very much like the real thing, just a bit smoother and shinier. Courtesy of the Faust family and their foundation."
"You finally took them up on their offer?" Harker asked, very surprised.
"Yeah." Howard pulled up his pants to show Harker, twisting the prosthetic leg from side to side. "It's amazing, isn't it? Took me a while to get used to. But it functions just like the real thing, I can even tap my feet and dance with it if I practice more."
"It is…. But why, though?" Harker asked. "You said you're scared that you won't be able to pay the expenses and that it would feel 'abnormal' to walk with not human legs."
"Well, uh…." His father looked from side to side, as if checking if someone was watching. "How about we get inside first? I want to know all about what happened to you. You don't know how distressed I was searching for you."
Harker could notice that though his father was less shiftier and anxious than he was before, he still remained guarded and skeptical.
It's just that it was in a more vigilant and determined way rather than fearful.
Something very big must have caused him to change, and as he locked the door, this suspicion was confirmed.
"Harker…. I know that you would have liked to get your PhD as soon as possible and work to earn money. And I support you no matter what, but…. Don't you think you should maybe take a break after what happened?"
Harker frowned. "What do you mean, Dad?"
"Oh, just…. You know. Your old man hadn't seen you in such a long time, and I don't like this infectious disease you talked about. What if it spikes again? I don't like you to get hurt. Plus I've been traveling a lot lately ever since I got my legs. I could really use your help watching over the kids while I'm away."
"Traveling to where?"
"I'm uh…. I'm commissioning wood sculptures and artworks now. I get requests and projects that might require me to travel away for a few days sometimes."
This doesn't make any sense, and Howard Jones was a really bad liar. Harker knew something else was going on.
He could easily prod his father's memories by getting a black worm inside his ear, but….
He remembered how Roland looked at him in fear, and didn't want to see that look on his father's face too. Howard might never forgive him once he learned he did something like that.
He decided he would just stalk his father instead in these 'travels' just to know what's keep in check.
"I see…. I could watch over the kids in the weekends. I mean, I'm used to doing that anyway, takingg them to school and picking them up after."
Howard sighed in relief. "Thank you, Harker. They're currently staying with the Tariqs next door. I just arrived earlier after meeting one of my clients. To be honest, I was a little hesitant since I wasn't that close to them. But they're very nice people and it's convenient that they don't need to go to church on Sunday like our other neighbors and only have to go to the mosque every Friday."
Harker frowned. "What about the Garcias? They're not free today?"
Hos father's face suddenly became crestfallen. "You didn't hear about the news, didn't you? Harker, Felix Garcia had been accused of murder."
"Murder!?" Harker exclaimed. "And it's Felix!? There's no way!"
He knew Felix Garcia ever since he and his family moved when he was 10, and Harker was 15. That boy was a good kid, often bullied for being chubby and was more likely to be harmed than to harm anyone. Harker thought that if he knew anyone that fit the description of 'couldn't even hurt a fly', it could only be Felix.
"Yeah… I couldn't believe it either. But then again, people change."
His father's eyes fell to the ground. "Sometimes to the point where you couldn't recognize them anymore from the person you once knew, to the point of no return."
Howard Jones shook his head. "Anyway, I would have to go again tonight. You should pick up your siblings at the Tariqs and eat dinner without me later. I'll be up late."
"Where are you going, Dad? Where does your client live?"
But Howard didn't answer, and just left with a wave and a smile. "See you soon."
He went to walk out of the cul-de-sac, and soon hailed a cab passing by.
Harker couldn't help but smile bitterly. "You're right, Dad. People do change so much…. I just didn't expect that you'd be one of them."
Harker had taken care of the kids that Sunday evening, and their father was gone until the next morning. His brothers wept with joy to see him again, and Chloe seemed happy as well, but more than that, she seemed….
Eager.
She had been waiting for Harker for such a long time. As Harker prepared dinner, Chloe approached him.
"I think you should tell Dad about the thing now." Chloe said.
Harker stopped stirring at this. He turned to her. "Why?"
Chloe went by his side, taking the ladle and scooping the soup. "We actually got home earlier than we're supposed to. About two weeks early. Dad had this….. this nightmare. He was screaming, and then he told us to pack our things and go back to New York. But instead of going back home, we headed for the cemetery. He had already prepared a shovel for all of us."
"The cemetery?" Harker's heart dropped at this. "Did he go to Mom's grave or—"
"Yes. But that's not the only grave he went to." Chloe narrowed her eyes. "There was a garden of red roses in the cemetery, probably just for decorative purposes. But Dad went on to dig there, and…."
"He looked so scared when he dug out nothing. I knew from his eyes that something was supposed to be there, but it wasn't. And that's when he decided to take the prosthetic legs and go on his adventures to who knows where. I hear him talking to different people on the telephone every night."
Chloe tugged on his sleeves. "I'm scared, Harker. I'm scared of what's happening to our family. Dad knows there's nothing in Mom's grave, and yet what bothered him the most was what was supposed to be beneath the garden of roses. I need to know what that is, and I need you to get Dad back."
She pleaded. "Please help me, Harker."
Harker felt a pang of guilt in his chest for letting his sister feel like she was alone in this mess, being the only one who knows Harker's secret and could notice the changes to their father. She wasn't supposed to be dragged into all this. She's just a kid after all.
"Alright. I'll do that. Do you remember any of the people Dad had been contacting? Or any clues at all?"
Chloe nodded. "One of the first places he went to….. was the Institute. The BITMAC Institute."
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