Seize(8)

I sigh. As much as I wish to indulge myself in all this world has to offer, being handed it on a platter is simply not enough for me. “My answer is still no.”

Arthur muffles a laugh. “You seem to be under the impression that declining is an option.”

I gaze over my shoulder. The foulness in his eyes is hard to ignore. Goosebumps scatter across my skin.

“Get out,” I say.

“Agree to curate for us, Sebastian Brand. We do not take anything less.”

“Did you not hear me? Get out!” I say, turning to him again.

A belittling smile is on his face. Then he takes a step forward. “Do not think this will help you. There is no choice. We will take everything from you; burn down all that you’ve worked for with one snap of a finger.”

He snaps his finger right there. I try not to notice, but the sound went through marrow and bone.

“You will work for us, whether you’re willing or not. It’s just a matter of how much persuasion you will need. Do you love this library, Sebastian? How would you feel if we let someone else be in charge?”

“What? You can’t do that!” I yell.

“We can do anything we want,” he muses. “You seem to think you have power now that you own this place, but my boy … don’t you realize … you have no power. You have no clue what it means to have true power … until you join us.”

He shrugs as I stare at him in disbelief. Then he fishes something from his pocket and holds it out for me to accept. “Call me. The more time it takes you to do so, the more we will take from you. How much are you willing to sacrifice?”





Accompanying Song: “Yogensha” by Yasuharu Takanashi





Seven days. That’s all it takes for me to say yes.

They threatened to destroy everything. My entire life in shambles. All that I have built for myself would be in ruins, and they would make my life a living hell.

At first, I don’t believe them. I go to the police and explain what happened. Instead of taking notes and filing a report, they show me the door. I go to a different police station, but it doesn’t work either. I go to a law firm, where they tell me that they can’t do anything for me. Higher ups in court ignore my pleas. Nobody listens. Not even a private detective whom I hire for a big wad of cash will put his hands on this case.

I’m dying to get to the bottom of this. I need to know why they are so adamant about having me curate their business. What it is that requires me specifically? It doesn’t sit right with me. So I go to the authorities, try every route that I can take.

None if it works.

They decline me, wherever I go, and it is always at the moment that I mention any of their names.

Their names … just their names alone hold such great power that no one dares to touch them.

Whoever they are, they have influence on every figure of authority that I could possibly imagine. Their reach is far and wide, unimaginably powerful. There is only one thing that could cause this: money. The power to change the world.

These men … they don’t follow rules … they create them.

Danger doesn’t even begin to describe what has come for me.

It is then that I realize I have no other choice. If I say yes, they would leave my library alone. They would not have me arrested for false accusations. They would not take from me my degrees, my wealth … my life.

I can keep my life.

It is the only choice.

And so, I say yes.

I realize it the moment that I speak the word that I have undeniably not only shaped my own fate, but that of a million others as well. I will now work for the men who own the world.

Infinite riches. Unending power. A bottomless pit of wicked cravings.

I will soon come to learn how steep the staircase to hell is.





Accompanying Song: “Yogensha” by Yasuharu Takanashi





4 years ago





Their collection is vast and contains most of the world’s biggest and priceless art. Even when it is in a museum, they still own and generate income from it. Anything and everything that they desire is theirs. The Louvre. British Museum. National Gallery. The Smithsonian. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Not just museums, but companies, too. Disney. The Comcast Corporation. Volkswagen. BP. ExxonMobil. Samsung Electronics. Shell. Each of them owns a different branch, but together they have claimed the world.

This knowledge is exchanged solely between the five of us. Nobody knows.

Over this past year, details of their lives have slipped from their mouths and into my mind, where I keep them locked away until needed to break them. If that’s even possible.

Genesis is what they call themselves, and only a few know they actually exist as an entity. Arthur came up with the name because he believed that they had the power to create and destroy whatever they saw fit. Standing next to God. Ridiculous. As if they’d ever be worthy of standing next to Him. Their arrogance is abominable and so are their ideas.