A Hint of Normality

We've got Carlos back, and in more or less working condition. He's pretty sure that the Timberwolves were drugging him in there, to keep him unconscious for most of the time. Why? We don't really know. He says he doesn't remember much beyond them taking some blood samples from him. Think he's gonna go visit an actual fucking doctor tomorrow, just to make sure nothing is terribly wrong.

But it's always something isn't it?

Still... I think was a very good day. It's been... God, it feels like ages, since we've had a day of relative normalness. We, well Carlos, got asked today if we were ever going to start up another little magic show for the local kids. We hadn't really thought about doing something like that since this all started. So we discussed it, and immediately set up an impromptu show. Nothing terribly fancy by Carlos standards, given both of our conditions, but it was a show. The usual group of kids and students dropped by to watch. It was... Nice. It was fun for a change. I still don't know the names of anyone in the regular audience, but I know their faces and usual clothes. I doubt they know my name either, I'm just the assistant after all. I hold stuff, carry stuff, and occasionally "teleport" through the College's hidden trapdoors on the stage.

Corvin may be a creepy, weird, asshole, but he clearly isn't stingy when it comes to throwing his money at the College. We do seriously have a stage fit for a Magician. There is an entire basement level down there, that was almost unused.

Of course... We did have one new audience member. Fancier dressed than most, older too I think. Not the ideal audience member either. Never claps, or cheers, or laughs or gives any sort of reaction whatsoever beyond staring blankly at us. I'm just glad he didn't ruin things for us. God help us, we needed something good like that to happen. It's a reminder that not everything is fucking awful, that there is some normalness out there. It is what we aspire to go back to, and what why we will get through this.

I was... A bit worried though. For a minute there, I almost thought those kids could see him, but I think they were just following our gaze and reactions when we noticed him standing in the back. Nothing to worry about.

I... Hope.  

Only We Remain

Bear with me here guys... I don't feel good writing this. I don't... Think I've recovered from that shit a few days ago.

Agent Elliot dropped by again, with bad news. Looks like he was paying attention when I mentioned MarbleHornets to him, but he focused on the wrong bit. He said he tried tracking down everyone else who was watching the videos with us, and that Kruger helped fill in the blanks on his list. It turns out, that everyone on the list has been reported missing, mostly during Christmas break, but the latest one was just last week. Anyone around them told Elliot that they were acting bizarre before they disappeared. They were paranoid, convinced someone was watching them, and... Of course the drawings. Just like Me. Elliot asked again if I had any information to share but... What could I say? An internet monster got them? He didn't even believe me when I told him a Man-Spider was stalking me. No way he would believe me about Slender Man.

Elliot then told me that we, Carlos, Kruger and myself, were the only ones accounted for now. I'm not surprised. This is exactly what that fucker said would happen. So I guess now we have to figure out the plan on our own. First Spinner... Yeah... If we can kill Spinner, Kruger will be in the clear. Then I can handle Slender Man... Somehow. I don't exactly have access to a gun here...

Wait. Maybe I do... Shit, but that will need a plan and a half itself to work... One thing at a time. We can do this. We can. I can. Do bullets even work on something like that, though? Maybe you guys know more.

Did get some news about Carlos. He is set to be released in a couple of days. Kruger is worried that they, Corvin and those Timberwolves, might have been doing something to him in there. Considering they tried to keep an FBI Agent out, I am inclined to agree. But neither he, nor I, have been able to find out what. I haven't been in the best shape after that Faceless Fucker get ahold of me. Kruger meanwhile has effectively been kicked out of the Timberwolves.

It must be bad. They have always been party animals for as long as I've been here, but according to Kruger, they have gotten much worse since before Christmas break. Some kind of new drug is being passed around. Not the usuals, but something different. He doesn't what it is but... A lot of the Wolves, especially the older ones, have been acting... Bizarre. The cult crap that was always semi-present in the Wolves has been ramped up. Some of them are walking around in friggen Robes! We know Thomas Corvin has something to do with it, because he has been visiting the Timberwolf house more frequently. The older Wolves have taken to calling him "Prophet" even in public, which wasn't allowed before. Naturally the Non-Timberwolf students are starting to get really freaked out, especially given the murders and disappearances. I don't care how rich Corvin is, he can't cover this much crap up. I just wonder why nobody is doing anything about it. The FBI knows, obviously, and Elliot clearly isn't on board with what Corvin is doing... But for some reason isn't arresting him, or can't.

We really don't need this kind of shit right now. We already have Slender Man and Spinner. We don't need a bunch of drugged up idiots causing problems too. And you know they fucking will. They worship "The Spinner" after all, and that is who we're dealing with here... I think. Kruger seems to think so, and he was a Timberwolf, albeit one in it for the parties and not the religion. Fuck, I don't even really care if they worship the bastard, just so long as they leave us alone. But I suppose we'll know more about what we're dealing with when Carlos is finally let out.  

Botched Suicide

Had a session with Dr. Despinos again today. In regards to a... Failed suicide attempt. I had to get my stomach pumped due to downing a bottle of sleeping pills. We discussed what happened in that... Place. I called it a nightmare, obviously. But I gotta confess, I left something out in the last post. A big part. For me, maybe the most important part of all, for my entire life.

How does He know these things? This isn't... It wasn't something I talk about. I thought I had already said enough, but the truth is... Until the day I die, nothing I say or do will ever make it go away, or change what was done. What I did. Seeing that blood slowly flowing down the creek... Seeing my old car again, wrapped around that tree. Seeing that... Mutilated husk, sitting in that seat, shredded by glass, metal and bark. It was the same as it was in my nightmares, exactly how I remember him from that night... And then there was that tree. That creek carried his blood deep into its maw, feeding an atrocity. A godless creation that sprouted from the deepest depths of the furthest reaches of madness and evil themselves, with its weeping face oozing the blood of its rotting "fruits" dangling lifelessly from its leafless limbs.

One day, I know, I will join them there.

But it won't be now. I will not die now, I will not die alone, and I will be the last of us to die young, if it comes to that. I swear it on Alec's grave.  

In that Place again

He isn't... Playing red-light, green-light anymore guys.

God... Where do I fucking start. I... Don't really... One minute I was walking out of my room, and the next I was... It was like I was in a forest. Or a forest from an old photograph. It was daytime before, there was sunlight... But then everything looked dark and washed out. Those trees weren't like any kind of plant I have ever seen. Have you ever seen a tree with pitch black leaves? Their branches and trunks were twisted into shapes I can't... Describe. I had no idea what the fuck was going on, but I knew it had to be Him again.

So I did what my mind was begging me to do, and ran. I didn't pick a direction, I just ran as fast as I could without risking balance through that hell-forest. He was after me, I didn't even need to look back to know that he was there. Maybe I should have, because it might have made me run even faster if I had seen what he showed later...

Eventually I ran onto what I thought was a clearing, but was instead a long unlit street. The streetlights were dead, or burned out. There were several small, colorless houses lined up on the sides. They had no doors, or windows that I could see. All over the street I saw discarded objects. Dolls, basketballs, rusted tricycles, and other childish mementos. There was even a playground visible, slides, see-saws and jungle gyms, all rotting and rusted, sprinkled with dark stains and puddles of inky black. Everything was... Silent. The only living things in sight were those abominations of trees, twisting out of the ground and blotting out the entire sky, save for a patch of open, starless, darkness high above. Surely this was what hell looked like.

Then I saw Him as he came towards me without pause. I grabbed a nearby broken tree branch for protection, but it didn't matter. I was paralyzed with fear, I think. I saw these four, long, black fleshy tendrils come out of his back and writhe towards me. I think... I think it broke my fight or flight instinct, as I could do neither. Just watching Him come forward to... kill me... I couldn't even scream.

But you know what?

He was fucking with me. He was fucking with me again. I would be the last? Isn't that what you said you piece of shit? So why the fuck is he even bothering with this? What the fuck does he gain from that?

I regained my senses on the side of the creek, near the woods around the college. My heart was pounding, I was crying. My legs ached from the running, so I knew it was real. It was... Like that place, all over again. But this time was so much worse. I don't... Know if I can take this. This can't happen again. I can't take it.

More Questions

Luck hasn't been on our side so far. Carlos is still in the infirmary, Timberwolves are still stationed outside it, and the only one I have seen go in or out, is that weird fuck Corvin. I would say I am starting to think he is up to something, but a guy like that is always up to something, and it is never good.

But the bigger problem is that, even with Kruger's help, we haven't found anyone yet. Turns out most of the people who watched MarbleHornets with us haven't shown up at school yet. Slenderfuck was clearly very busy over Christmas break.... Fuck. You know, the worst part is, some of them are probably still alive, like we are. They probably bunkered down in their homes, or tried to get help from family. What kind of idiot would leave the safety of their own home, to go live in shitty dorms, especially when being stalked by that nightmare in a suit? Goddammit all. Looks like it is just going to be the three of us after all... Or... Shit, maybe Two, if they don't let Carlos out of there soon. Fuck it, I am making that a priority tomorrow. We need to find out what the hell Corvin is doing with Carlos in there.

As an aside, Elliot caught up to Kruger today. Kruger tells me Elliot gave him more or less the same treatment he gave me, questions, coffee and all. But something useful did come out of this, I think. Kruger asked Elliot about Kase's body, and Elliot mentioned that he already knew about the disappearance. Not only that, though... The Ambulance that was carrying Kase's body, and the body of that security officer, didn't make it back. It was found crashed on the side of the road, with the drivers and Kase's body missing. The security officer's body was left behind though, and was recovered. The last bit of information Elliot gave up, was that no one actually seems to know who was actually driving and riding in the EMS at the time. So something fucking weird is going on there too, and if it is related to Spinner or Slender Man, it might be useful to know.

Advice, anyone? Theories? Anything would be appreciated at this point.  

Kruger's Alive

And surprisingly, he has a good explanation for where the fuck he's been the past two months. Fucking finally something is going our way, but sadly, Carlos hasn't been able to see it... One thing at a time. Lot of stuff happened... Uh... Bad News first I guess.

While I was recovering in our room, someone heard someone scratching at a door to one of the basement areas, and found Carlos bleeding from a head wound, shortly before passing out. I hear he's woken up by now, but the college isn't letting anyone him for some reason. Weirdly, some of those Timberwolf fratboys have been hanging out around the infirmary room they are keeping Carlos in, guarding the place or something. They wouldn't even let Kruger through, and he is part of the same damn fraternity. But it isn't just us being kept out. While we were scoping out the situation, we saw that Agent Elliot walk in, and come storming back out a couple minutes later. We couldn't hear what the "guards" told Elliot, but, seeing how Elliot never made it in to the room, it looks like they aren't even letting an FBI Agent through. I am pretty damn sure that is illegal, and bound to get someone in trouble, so we'll try and keep an ear open for what happens.

Now for the good/weird news. Kruger hasn't been killed by the Slender Man. In fact, he seemed pretty damn confused when I asked him if he has seen the Slender Man. He claims he hasn't seen the Slender Man, but he believes that Carlos and I have probably seen him. Why? Because that fucking Spider thing, The Spinner I guess, has been harassing him for the past three months, and given the shit he says he has seen, he is willing to believe about anything at this point.

All through Christmas break, he says, he has been seeing this big, black, spider/man thing with deep, dark eyes, watching him. He would wake up, and the damn thing would be on his wall, he would leave the house, and see it lurking in the trees. He also mentioned hearing a lot of shit at night, like someone moving around in his room a lot. There was even one instance where he woke up staring into what we presume to be Spinner's eyes, before Spinner shoved one of its hands down his throat, probably to keep him from screaming or something. Police couldn't find any trace of forced entry, or any sign of a giant bug man, but they did apparently try to arrest him for being on drugs.

I feel strangely validated in my decision to keep quiet about this mess...

Post-Christmas break, though... Apparently Spinner started to get increasingly hostile. He has the scars to prove it now. Parts of him look like someone has gone after him with a fucking machete. Apparently his house also caught fire in the middle of the night, and he only barely escaped through a window. It isn't hard to see why he wouldn't want to come directly back to College, with that shit going on. Though he did seem to figure that Kase's death had something to do with Spinner, hence why he is here now. He told me he wants to avenge Kase, and I agree. But we still don't know what actually killed him.

It's kind of weird, all things considered. We haven't found many, if any, of the missing students that Slender Man took. Maybe Spinner doesn't actually have anything to do with Slender Man? Kase's death is too different from all the ones that are mostly likely caused by Slendershit. But that isn't the only weird thing with Kase right now. The reason it took Kruger so long getting back here, is that he went to go find Kase's hometown, to pay his respects at Kase's grave. But it isn't there. Kruger asked around, and none of the locals had ever even heard of the guy. He tracked down where Kase said his house was, and it was up for sale. The neighbors said the family who lived there just... Up and moved out a few months ago. The cherry on the top is what Kruger found out when he made it back to town, here. He briefly dated this girl who was training to be a mortician, or something. The local Police unofficially employed her to be their morgue person, probably because she works for almost nothing, meaning she sees most of the dead bodies around here. According to her, Kase's body never made it to the morgue. She assumed it got shipped back to his hometown for some reason, but this was months ago. They would have buried him by now. So where is the grave?

So is this important? I have no fucking idea. But it is weird. And it definitely kept Kruger from getting here quickly. But better late than never, I guess. We can focus on the plan now. Kruger knew most of the people that were watching MarbleHornets with us, so he can find them easier than Carlos or I. So that is what this week is looking like. We find anyone else still alive, we band together, and we come up with a battle plan to kill the tall bastard, and that spider freak. This might be it... We might actually have a chance here.

But while I'm rambling... Why hasn't Kruger seen Slender Man? Hell, why can't he see Slender Man? I pointed him out in the distance today, and Kruger didn't seem to see him... I really don't get it. Kruger watched MarbleHornets at the same time as Carlos, Kase, Me and the others. So why isn't he being hunted? Not that I'm... Complaining or anything, you know. One less thing for him to worry about. If we can kill Spinner, he will be in the clear. Right? At least someone will survive, even if we... No. No, we will survive. Anything that lives can die, and human beings are the best killers there are.

And we'll prove it, even if it kills me.  

Raiding my Fridge?

Carlos has been out trying to find any information we can on the others, again. I got to remain here to recover. I suppose the bad news is, that it wasn't very lonely. I had visitors today, beyond tall, dark and faceless. First it was that Thomas Corvin guy, again. He didn't even bother knocking, he just walked in like he owned the place... Which, I guess, he kind of does.

"Good Morning Jeremy, how are you feeling today?" He said with a smile. He should be able to tell damn well how I feel, so I really don't appreciate the smile, which I made known to him.

"I woke up hanging from a tree. How the hell do you think I feel?"

I think he pretended not to notice my anger. "Well, it could have been worse. Do you happen to know how it happened?" He started pacing around the room, looking at stuff. I think that qualifies as an invasion of privacy or something.

"There was a knock on my door in the middle of the night, I got up, opened it and someone... Dressed in black slammed my head into the door frame. Then I woke up in a tree. I told security this already." I hate having to repeat myself. Especially when it's a lie.

He opened our fucking fridge at this point and began poking around inside. "Yes, yes Campus security mentioned your story. I just wanted to hear it in your own words. Are you sure..." He looked at me with his smug little smile. "... That's all there is to it? If there is something you aren't telling me, it could very well endanger the lives of..." He giggled. "... Other students. I cannot allow that, you know? So please, try hard to remember, is there anything else you can tell me about..."

At this point, my second visitor came in the open door. That FBI Agent from before, Elliot, came in. I saw Corvin sniff something in the fridge, before getting up and smiling at Elliot. For his part, Elliot just looked at him funny.

"Ah, Special Agent, glad to see you here. I was just leaving, I'm sure you have a lot to talk about with poor Jeremy, but don't take too long." Corvin grinned at me. I really, really, don't like the way he smiles. Something is fucking wrong with this guy. "Poor Jeremy needs his rest, after that ordeal."

Elliot kept quiet for a bit, glancing at me, before saying "Riiiight... No need to worry. We won't be long, I promise."

Corvin left after that, thank God. Elliot kept staring at him the entire way out with a look that seemed like a mixture of disgust, irritation and concern. He even followed Corvin out the door and watched him leave the building, before coming back to me with his questions. Unsurprisingly, his first question was "What in the world was he doing here? What did he ask you?"

So I told him what Corvin asked. He responded by holding the bridge of his nose and sighing, before giving me a very obvious warning. "Between you and me, kid? That guy is up to no good, and I have a suspicion that you and your friend might be involved. Be very careful what you say to him, or around him."

Then he went to check the fridge, I guess to see why Corvin was poking around. He sniffed something in the fridge too, so I asked him the obvious. "What the hell are you doing in there?"

He paused and looked at me, giving a small smile. "You clean your fridge out often? It reeks in here... I suggest eating out more often, or in the cafeteria."

"... Sure. So, I guess you came here to ask why I was strung up in the woods?" I said.

He nodded. "Anything you can tell me would be appreciated, especially if it was out of the ordinary. Maybe something you think you saw. Anything at all."

Since he said that... I decided to bite the bullet and risk sounding crazy. "When I opened the door... I... Thought I saw a something standing there. It looked like a... big black Spider, human thing... With big empty eyes, before it grabbed me and slammed me into the doorframe." I decided not to mention Slender Man.

Elliot looked at me as if deep in thought. "That sounds pretty crazy, kid. Not been doing drugs in here have you? Especially nothing psychedelic or hallucinogenic? Don't worry, I won't tell. I am homicide, not narcotics."

Of course. Probably shouldn't have gone straight to the "giant bug man" thing up front like that. "No. I've been clean for over a year now. No drugs or alcohol..." No fucking alcohol.

He smiled in response. "Yeah, smart kid. Me? The only drug I have is Coffee. Mmmm... Matter of fact, I'm gonna go get my fix of it right now. You take care of yourself now, kid. If anything else happens, you come find me, you hear? I'll be around for a while yet, and I get the feeling this isn't over. Good Luck."

And he left. I was more or less by myself, barring a tall twisted silhouette in the distance, outside the window. I did decide to check the damn fridge and see why the hell everyone wanted to sniff it. The only thing I noticed is that it smelled very sweet in there, for some reason. I think I've smelled it before somewhere, but I can't place it. Whatever.

So that was my day. How is everyone else doing out there in this alleged community?