Feb 28, 2012

Next Step

Sorry about the lack of replies or whatever. It's harder to keep up when your laptop isn't constantly running... ah, like it used to... I backtrack through the comments when I can, but I've been a bit busy patching myself up and trying to find a good place to set up for a few of my experimental musings...

Anyways... I went into a Walmart today...
Which is funny actually, because I don't think I've been in one for like two years. Used to boycott the place basically. Even when I WORKED THERE... -.-; which is probably the Other Reason I stopped going to them. But anyways, experience has taught me that Walmart is one of those few stores where you can walk around in damn near anything you want and nobody seems to notice or give a shit, so that seemed like the perfect place for a beat up looking guy in dirty clothes to blend in unnoticed and unquestioned.

Anyways... I picked up some new clothes and some new "toys."
Expect word of "crazy shit" going down soon...




...or Messenger posting about my death. Whichever. <.<;
Either's fine really, though I think I'd prefer that first one.

Feb 24, 2012

Well, that went pretty well

I guess now that it’s been a couple days and I’ve cut a trail to a new destination, I can finally relate this story to you all. As I sort of mentioned earlier in the week, I headed off to meet up with a fellow runner. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’ll assume you’re all familiar with Shaun? I managed to get in contact with him sometime last week to set up the meeting… still kind of surprised he agreed to meet with me, but it was a welcomed surprise for a change, so I’m not complaining.

Now, my memory is kind of shit and I don’t have a tape recorder to carry around like some of you guys seem to do, so I’m gonna detail this as best I can recall, but it’s not something I could call 100% accurate. Especially since I’m missing a few pieces of it, but we’ll get to that…


I had Shaun select the meeting spot since he knew the area better, figured he’d know a nice place where we could get together without having to worry about Slender-shenanigans or causing much of a public scene. But that meant I had to find the place… and google maps decided to remind me that its directions are a load of shit, so I can’t say I made it approximately on time. And I probably looked like an idiot wandering around the block as many times as I did with a sheet crumpled paper and a lost puppy dog look on my face. If I hadn’t known who to look for (thank you Shaun for making video logs) then I’d have probably still been wandering around.

So, I’ll just pick up with the first thing I remember after greetings were exchanged…

Shaun – “I can’t believe you really came all the way out here just to pick a fight with me.”

Gargoyle – “Well, not so much ‘pick a fight,’ more of a… settling a grudge type thing. I’d like to wipe the slate clean and start over, honestly… but first I’ve got to hold up my end of the deal. I said if I ever got out of that hole I’d let you take a swing at me. I keep my promises.”

S – “So do I.”

G – (sounded like he didn’t need any extra provocation, so I just rolled along with it) “Just try not to break my nose, okay? That’s all I ask. Anything else is fair game.”

S – “Alright, well, then turn that cheek of yours to the left a little bit. (I turned my head a bit like he suggested) There you go buddy, right there...”

Now, I’ll admit, I’m a skinny ass punk and I’m not in the best of shape, but I like to think I can still hold my own. I’ve been in scuffles before and sure I come out with a good couple of scrapes and bruises, but I’d at least end those fights in a draw. I just want to make sure you’ve got that perspective in mind before I get to the part where I explain how he knocked me the fuck out. Let me pretend I’m not quite that much of a push-over here, okay?

Cause I remember the first swing he took at me vividly. Like it was in slow fucking motion and I was taking in every last detail, from the angle of his fist to the look on his face to the wrinkles in his clothes as he turned his body to follow along with the blow. And then he hit me… and I have a really hard time remembering things after that. I mean, I remember the impact and stumbling back from it, the sudden burst of pain in the upper left side of my face. But then my vision got kind of blurry and things started rushing together as he came in for another blow. And then I basically blacked out.

I asked him about it later and he told me we actually went at it a bit longer than I thought… but I don’t even remember throwing a punch, let alone landing one… so that’s a set of details he’d have to fill in if he feels like it. All I can remember with any sort of certainty was waking up laying with my back up against a wall in a place I don’t remember us being in earlier and my Everything hurting. Well, okay, really it was more just my face and upper body, but I thought it was everything at the time. How do I explain this… ahh, have you ever been hit by a truck? No? Okay, well neither have I… but I’m pretty sure if you went out into traffic right now and got hit by a truck then the feeling you would have right then would be thereabouts equivalent to how I felt at that moment.

So as I’m coming to and rubbing my left hand across my face while making a series of noises which some would call “explicatives,” I notice that Shaun is sitting down across from me, propped back similarly against a wall. He seemed to be intentionally avoiding my gaze at that moment, but he was still there. Which surprised me somehow… I guess I thought he’d have just left me there. But he didn’t… so I think I managed a smile somehow and managed to cough out a “Feeling better now?”

Shaun – (finally looking back at me then) “Maybe.”

I chuckled for a bit. But then I realized it hurt to laugh. So I stopped doing that. Took a moment to get my bearings straight again before I said anything else. Wanted to make sure I was conscious enough to remember the conversation I was about to start.

Gargoyle – (still rubbing at the side of my head) “Mmph… Wanted to ask… what was it that made you stop?”

S – (he gave me an odd look at that) “Stop what?”

G – “Experimenting… You were all into that at one point. Best I could tell from reading, looked like you were pretty good at it too. S’what got you slapped with that old Sage title even… but then you just kind of stopped.”

S – (there was a slight pause here, he had to think about it I guess) "I dunno, bro... it just got too messy. The logistics didn't add up. I never got anything concrete. It's not like I was doin' anyone any good, right?"

I shifted a bit uncomfortably at that. His voice sounded so hollow when he said it, leaving me with this feeling he was trying to convince himself of it more than he was trying to convince me.

G – “You really believe that?”

S - "Well...not like I'm doin' too much good now, either, am I?"

I kind of tilted my head back against the wall to look at the sky for a moment, let my hands fall to my sides as I tried to figure out how to respond.

G – (sighing) “Hell man, I dunno... I wasn’t there. All my information is second hand. But if you’re asking my opinion, I think maybe you just lost your way. Nothing to be ashamed of... shit kind of hit the fan and everything went sideways for a while there. People got scattered, lost hope... Some of em recovered, some... (I kind of trailed off there and dropped that train of thought, no need to ramble off into even more depressing territory)

"Mmph… the bottom line, I think, is maybe you’ve just forgotten. You’ve had a lot on your plate for a while, just trying to deal with your own problems and everything else… shit gets kind of distracting. But make no mistake, you were one of the good ones. Maybe one of the best. While one guy was off spouting philosophy and mysticism, you were carrying out experiments grounded in reality. All he ever gave us was speculation. You gave us results. You were like, some kind of badass sciency version of M, running around and having a field day with it. Some of the most practical advice I carry around came from your blog.

“And fuck, I’m an idiot. (I think I threw my hands up at that point, dramatic effect) So if I was gleaming wisdom from you, then I’m damn near certain all the brighter kids were too. You’ve helped out more than you realized. Hell, just being alive today is proof enough you know what you’re doing. That’s inspiration right there. You’re a survivor… and people in shit like this look up to guys like you. If all of that’s not doing people good, then I dunno what is.”

I’m not the best speech maker… especially fresh out of a near comatose state, but I think I might have got through with that a little at least, since he kind of nodded along at the end. I could tell from the look on his face he was giving it serious thought anyways, even though the “Yeah...maybe...” he eventually gave me in response wasn’t a whole lot to judge by. Didn’t really press the subject any further from there.

We went and got a bite to eat together after that, sat around and talked about “normal things” for a while. He gave me some running tips, might have been a few other things too, but that part all runs together. Nothing really important for you to know I guess, just two guys in a crappy situation trying to make the most of it. Was nice…

We parted ways not too long after that. I’ll admit, I’d have probably liked to travel with him… I get that vibe that he could really use a second pair of eyes watching his back… but I guess that’s true for all of us. We figured it was best to keep going our own ways though. He’s got his own mess to sort out and I’ve got mine. Besides, the way I act, I figure it’s only a matter of time before I gave him another reason to punch me and I’m not sure I can handle another one of those. Soooo the more distance between us the better. But I’m glad we got the chance to meet and that we parted on good terms.

Hopefully I can mend a few more bridges while I’m out here… though hopefully they can be mended in a less painful fashion. Hm… speaking of… Elaine, those “doctors who won’t ask questions” you mentioned knowing? Eh heh… ^.^;;

Feb 21, 2012

New Rules

Just as a forward, this isn't me trying to be egotistical enough to one-up "The Rules" as previously described by M of The Tutorial ages ago. Nor is it meant to really be amendments to said set of rules or any other set of rules laid down by anyone else to come before or after me. Rather, this is a set of clearly obvious bullshit which I am repeating for the sake of prosperity because people are stupid sometimes, myself included. So basically, just some things to maybe keep in mind. Okay? We good now? Lets continue then...


Rule #1 - EVERYONE LIES
Without exception. Runner, Proxy, doesn't matter. Everyone is looking out for their own ass and they will say whatever it takes to cover it. This is not to say "Don't Trust Anyone" but rather to take everything with a grain of salt. Use your own best judgement and decide for yourself what the truth is. Take nothing at face value.

Rule #2 - Don't Fall in Love
In my blog reading, vlog watching experience there is no quicker killer than a romantic relationship. Hell, we're practically caught up in a horror story, do I even need to tell you what happens to the happy couple that dives into bed in the middle of the slasher flick? But noooo... this is the real life, so everyone is all "I can protect them!" and "Our love will see us through!" and guess what? It won't. In fact, it will Fucking Destroy You. Why? Because you just made your partner a target and your biggest emotional weakspot. This will be Exploited. Now what happens when your partner is threatened? You go off and do something stupid. What happens when you do stupid things in this business? Oh right, you DIE.

Just try and think about it, okay? What are you going to do when your significant other disappears or gets killed (quite possibly right in front of your eyes)? You're either going to have a complete breakdown, leaving yourself vulnerable to whatever the Construct has planned for you, or you're going to fly off the handle and do something incredibly stupid, which will get either yourself or more people around you killed. And that sucks. And I know that. And I'm sorry. But you're going to have to deal with it. The best thing you can do for your partner, especially if they aren't involved yet, is to let them go and put as much distance between the two of you as possible. If you're both already in the thick of it, then they're already fucked... so I guess you can just keep thinking that "Love will set you free!" but... it won't. So just enjoy the time you have together for as long as you can, because it's not going to last.

Rule #3 - Don't Delude Yourself
Do you know how many people have walked into this ordeal and uttered the words "I'm going to KILL the Slender Man"? Quite a few. Do you know where those people are now? They're dead. And oh look, the Construct isn't. Go figure. This is thereabouts the equivalent of shouting "I am Invincible!" in an anime. We all know what's coming next and the only person who doesn't seem to see it is you.

Now, I'm not saying to not even bother fighting it, to just give up because the Construct can't be beaten. Rather, I'm pointing out that you're not going to accomplish this on your own. I don't care how elaborate your master plan is, it's not going to work. It never works. This is not a problem that one man (or woman) can solve on their own. It will ultimately require a group effort. And by that I do not mean you and your two best friends, you will be slaughtered, Stop It. So you're better off just focusing on survival (and perhaps further research, since that's always beneficial) and just trying to wait things out. Eventually we'll learn enough and band close enough together to take this thing down for real, but until then don't go throwing your life away needlessly. We NEED all of the strong fighters we can get.

Rule #4 - Proxies Don't Know Shit
Apologies for this one up front guys, cause I know some of you reading ARE proxies. But here's the deal... You're a new runner. Or maybe not, but whatever, follow along. You don't know what the fuck is going on. Suddenly there's this other guy or girl showing up who's also involved in what you're going through and they're leaving you hints and clues and puzzles and all this other cryptic bullshit, so now you think they know what's going on and if you can just figure out their puzzles or get a chance to really talk and get some answers out of them then you'll find the solution to all of your problems. Well, guess what? Not happening. Sadly, that Proxy you're dealing with is just as clueless and in the dark as you are, nine times out of ten. (And the other 1 time they are fucking with you On Purpose, so you're still not getting what you want.) They're just fucking crazy right now and you'll end up just like them if you keep going down this road and playing along with their stupid games. You're better off dealing with the Proxies that just try to stab you.

Rule #5 - Know Your Enemy
They say the more you know about the Construct the more of a target you make yourself. So don't seek knowledge related to it... Well that's Bullshit. If this thing has interfered with your life, if you've seen it more than once In Person, then you are already FUCKED. That being the case, it's better to know everything you can about what you're up against up front before you get sucker punched by an unknown. Research constantly. Learn everything you can as fast as you can and then Keep Fucking Learning. Be weary of information overload, as it will occur, and remember that not everything you read is going to make sense, but you can sort all of that out later when you're better informed.

Rule #6 - Risk Death
Guess what? Hate to break this to you. But you're gonna die. We all are. By the time you're reading this, I may already BE dead. That being the case, there isn't a lot of merit in spending all of your time trying to "Stay Safe." Because you're not safe. You're never going to BE Safe again. Being extremely generous, you've got about a 2% chance of me being wrong about that and you eventually escaping from the Construct for reals and for trulys.

So fuck it. Take risks. Experiment. HELP PEOPLE. Do anything you can. Do EVERYTHING you can. Keep your body breathing, sure. Don't be stupid if you can avoid it. And certainly don't be outright suicidal. But you're going to die anyways, so there's no reason not to take chances. Make your death count for something. Do not go quietly into that good night. Rage. Rage against the dying of the light.


That'll have to be all for now... my bus is here. Going to meet up with someone. No details yet. I'll see you when I see you...

Feb 14, 2012

Where we go from here...

You know, maybe my memory is fucked, but I don't remember M ever really saying what to do with that whole sleeping outside on fucking rooftops dealie when it's fucking Raaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiinnnnnnnning....

I mean... that's kind of a problem you'd think would come up, yeah? Not that I'm entirely complaining... not at the moment anyways. I've been camped out on top of a parking garage for most of the day, so when it started the downpour I just had to go down one floor and "ta-da" problem solved. I just figure big parking garage's are not always going to be an option, so I'm kinda wondering what the cheat code for this one is... especially if it starts effing snowing or dropping hail or anything like that, I mean, it IS the season... XP

So long as we don't have any Mary Shelley moments I think we'll be fine though...

Anyways, guess I'm plotting out my game plan from here. I've got a few backups I had been working on out in the Bunker, but that stuff isn't quite going to be ready to utilize for a good while yet... so I've got some time to waste learning this whole "running" procedure. Which, I guess is actually going well enough so far... once I actually got out here in the thick of it, it almost came natural. And I even feel better in general because I'm not having to worry about it anymore. Course, I suppose I also feel a LOT better just being the fuck outside. You... you really have no idea... just how good it feels to be out of that hole in the ground and around actual physical people again. The stuff you take for granted....

Ahh... but before I get off on some sappy spill about how the world is beautiful or some such, let me just cut back to the chase and then quit wasting your time.

I figure I've got some time and nothing to lose... because fuck it, dying out here is so much infinitely better than dying in that hole that I do not even begin to care... so I'm gonna try out a couple of experiments I've been pondering. No details yet, don't want to spoil things. But lets just say one of them is already in action and experiment two is coming soon.

Also, I'm pondering over whether or not I want to try meeting anyone while I'm out here... or if that's too dangerous. I'm tempted though... More than a couple of you I'd probably like to share a drink or two with, but... I dunno. Guess we'll see.

In the meantime, I seem to be making it alright on my own. Following The Rules, for the most part anyways... and just keeping moving. I've seen it since the day at the Bunker, but I was traveling in the crowds then, so it didn't make any funny moves for me. No close encounters basically... but it's out there and clearly still after me, so... great.

Think that's about all of it. Will catch up later. Stay Safe.
~Mouselight //Master of His Domain//
}:3c

Feb 10, 2012

Choking Thoughts

I hadn't planned on posting anything for a bit longer, but... I've got all this time to think while I'm walking around and not using my laptop to keep as much battery life available as possible... So my mind just kind of causally leaps from topic to topic I guess as I stroll through the crowds or pace circles on a rooftop. And since I just got caught up on my blog reading stuff the other day, I've had an awful lot of terrible new shit to think about.

In particular, I've been concerned with this post by the Bakers crew. Long and short of it? The Knight's Squad got wasted in their own base by some kind of heavy duty military-like forces. Only confirmed death was MK-II, but still... it's unsettling. I've never heard of Proxies getting taken out like that. Maybe by a group like the PTC, but... those guys are long gone. What the hell happened? The only real clue is that the guy who's been yanking "Joseph"s chain around is behind it. And I realize that the Knights were kind of bastards but... they didn't deserve that... and I hope the instigator of the massacre gets what he deserves in return for it.

At first I was just worried about the rest of them. I mean... maybe they got out. Four fifths of them appeared pretty competent, so maybe Morgan's last stand bought them time to evacuate. I hope so... I mean, again, murdering bastards but... they're still people damnit. And somewhere over the course of all this, it hit me...

That thing we all forgot because we were caught up in the emotional storm of the event...


...where are the last three vials now?

If Knight Squad didn't survive, then that means... that could mean things I don't want to think about. That none of us want to think about. Where the FUCK is Nicky Sage when you need him?? Is... am I overreacting here or no? I feel like someone needs to call super truce and put out an all points bulletin to confirm the status of Knight Squad. They're the only ones who will know what happened to those things... them and possibly... uuuurgh, Fuck. "Joseph" I hope to god you've got a handle on this Goldstien guy, else we are ALL in trouble.

Feb 8, 2012

What Happened at the Bunker (part 2)

Well, I guess I don't mind telling you now that I was chilling on the rooftop of a big hotel, cause they kind of came and kicked me off of it. Apparently they had a camera or two up there and I didn't notice em. Go figure. Least they didn't call the cops...

Soooo fuck it, I headed downtown and now I'm chilling in a Starbucks with the rest of the poser crowd and using the opportunity to get my laptop recharged. Pretty big crowd around this area. I should be fine. Ground floor is fine so long as you're blending in with the crowd. Should keep the tall man at bay and I seriously doubt any (smart) Proxy is going to cause any big public spectacles.

Anyways, interruptions taken care of, where the fuck was I? Ahh... right... That. Do I really have to- ugh... fine, here goes...


So, this masked Proxy chick gets dropped in my lap and the next thing I know shit has hit the proverbial fan. One. Two. Three. I barely registered the gun until it was in my face. I did a freaking barrel roll into the floor. The first shot went wide and ricocheted off the wall. Don't know where it went after that. The second went straight through my laptop screen... hence me not being able to see what I was doing well when I posted earlier... probably a miracle it still displayed anything at all... The third... That one met her between the eyes... because that one was mine. A lucky shot... I can't aim for shit... but at that range... In any case, she fell to the floor... and she... she didn't move anymore after that.

So... lets call this "things I've failed to mention" number one... I have a gun. It's nothing special... simple clip fed repeater. I got it from my dad a long ass time ago. Normally wouldn't have been carrying it around, but if you recall I was afraid my friend was in with the mob or something when I went out there to hide in the bunker, so it seemed reasonable to carry it along on my trek to go read the cryptic email attachments. Whatever the case, felt it better none of my potential pursuers knew I was armed. That's out of the bag now, I guess, but I'd have a hard time lying about it at this point, so whatever... I don't care.

I'd have been more upset over what I'd just done at the time if I hadn't had more important things to worry about. My mind was working faster than my body could keep up. I'd always kind of hoped that the Construct would try teleporting into the room and getting stuck in the ceiling... telefragged... like I mentioned before, cause wouldn't that be some ironic Lols? But I guess everyone was right about him being smarter than I've been giving him credit for... He used his puppets to find the right path and now that he had found the way inside... seen the layout from within through his minion's eyes... I figured I only had a couple of seconds to act before he was on top of me. I slammed my broken laptop shut and crammed it into my bag and bee-lined for the freaking door. Turned the crank, heard the locking mechanisms release, and shoved as hard as I could against the door...

I only looked back for a second... as the door was flying open... and there it freaking was... hunched over, but standing right in the middle of the room. It wasn't really moving though... and for once I think I knew why. "Things I've failed to mention" number two... since day one, the walls have been covered in Operator Symbols. With Eyes. I painted them all over the place... They were supposed to serve as a trap for the Construct. M said they'd hold him the same way looking at him does... but as we all know, it only works for so long. A temporary solution. But the theory was that I'd only need a couple of minutes... or seconds... I'd just need him locked in place long enough for me to get around him and to the door...

The door...

I think this is basically that moment... the moment where you first see him up close and in person... that you're supposed to just lock up and not be able to move... because your brain is too busy trying to comprehend the horrors in front of it to tell your body what to do. But I guess I didn't have time for that... because once again my brain already had something much more important to worry about.

"Things I've failed to mention" number three... there's a reason I refused to leave the bunker beyond the simple nature of a safehouse or of fearing what would be waiting for me on the outside. Onewinged's notes on bunker defenses were very specific... I'd been hauling in the materials for months without even realizing what the miscellaneous chemicals he'd snuck into every other order were for. And I'll be honest, it was the one part of the instructions I was quite rather willing to ignore... but I guess I did it anyways...

I made a bomb...

...quite a few of them actually...

The whole bunker was rigged to blow the moment that door swung open. I had about fifteen seconds worth of signal delay to run as far as I could... I remember frantically trying to count it out... I remember getting up to three... then the world shook. I remember hearing the sound of the explosions. I remember feeling the heat and the wind hit my back. And then I remember not being on the ground anymore and flailing my legs in the air as I screamed.

I woke up on the ground several yards from where the door- ahh... Should Have Been... It appeared to have flown off its hinges and landed several feet further from where I'd wound up. Smoke was billowing up from the entrance in a thick cloud and burning debris was raining down from the sky. It looked like the entire top of the hill had collapsed inward. My body was aching as I pulled myself from the ground... I was dirty and bleeding from... I don't even know where. I just knew I wasn't sticking around to see if that thing survived. I'm not even taking my chances with that. So I forced my legs to function and ran as fast as I could towards civilization and out of those blasted woods.

You pretty much know the story from there if you think about it... I found a high place to rest, made my post, tried to clean up... stop the bleeding, then I moved on. That's pretty much the whole story... so I guess that's where we are now...

So to recap for the lazy bastards... The bunker is lost. I'm more or less responsible for the deaths of four people. I'm out in the open... and it's probably looking for me.

Awesome.


Now... I think somebody owes me a fucking beer.

What Happened at the Bunker

Huuuh, where do I even start?

Lets start with the present, that's simple enough...
So firstly, I'm alive. Huzzah! You may all depart from the edge of your seats and either relax or start swearing, depending upon who you are. Sorry for not updating you sooner, but I've kind of had a bunch of shit to take care of. Presently, I'm sitting around on the rooftop of a high building again. That's about as specific as I care to be on the subject. For now. Might clue a few of you in later, but for now, preferring my space. Besides, realized I'm reeeeeeeeeally not used to social contact when I got out and started running around. Have had a few awkward conversations that I'd rather not repeat with anyone I know.

Anyways, safe enough I guess... miles away from where I was. Threw on a hoodie I had packed to cover up the blood that was all over me at the time and hopped an overnight bus to anywhere with tall buildings. Don't care if M is right or not, I feel safer up here, so this is where I'm staying for as long as I can manage it. Plus, it's actually really easy to get wifi signals up here... wasn't expecting that. They're all kind of shit though... that part I was expecting, but hey, work with what you've got.

Blood... right. Not bleeding anymore. That's a relief. So no worries there I guess. Nothing to worry about I don't think, just kind of banged myself up.... ahh... yeah... understatement of the year, but I'll get to the details later. Maybe. But ahh... yeah, I'm fine. Sore and sorta patched up, but fine. Nothing serious.... I think. Not a doctor.

Anyways... working on a new laptop too. The other one got kind of busted up. Another understatement. I was halfway through that last post before I realized the "h" wasn't working. I think the "j" and the "n" stopped working after a while too, but I was done posting by then. Not sure if they just broke or if blood was jamming the keys or something. I don't know. Whatever. New laptop. Problem solved. Wasn't purposely speaking gibberish. Moving on...

Ah, new supplies... how did I gets them? Hmm... well, contrary to what you'd probably imagine, given my history, I didn't steal them. Not necessarily anyways... hmm... but I was still using the paypal linked to the fake... fuck. Okay "Maybe" I stole them. Under technicality. Will get that sorted out later. Promise and all that. Anyways, as part of my preparations for an escape plan in the event the bunker was compromised, I did some digging around till I found this really nice forum for Free Runners. Like, those people who do parkour and shit... nothing Construct related. Basically took a page from Mirror's Edge where runner's would leave bags stashed around in hidden locations along their running paths. Found a local-ish couple who agreed to gather the materials I asked for and hide them in the city nearby. All I had to do was wire them money for the items and a bit extra for the job. A few weeks later I had a set of GPS coordinates I could track the packages down to. Pretty handy, they turned up right where they said they'd be too. Well, I had to search pretty damned hard for the first two, but still... they were there. I got what I needed right away and nobody new had to get involved in my mess. Would have probably still done well to go to an actual hospital rather than trying to do an amateur patch job with a medkit, but... yeah, too many questions I didn't have answers to.



And you probably wish I would quit stalling and get on with it already...Siiigh... right... okay then.

The noise.

I recognized it. Well, not exactly. But something similar. Jarred my brain to thinking. I dunno how many of you are Stargate SG-1 fans... but they had this gateway, portal thingie, right? Just walk through and it shoots you through a wormhole to another place somewhere in the universe. (Kinda like, I dunno, a much cooler version of The Path.) But it works both ways, right? And they'd gotten bitten once already with shit coming through that wasn't friendly. So they built this thing called an "Iris." Basically like a blast door that they could just close. So if they didn't want something coming through, they just close the Iris, and BAM! Whatever was coming through shoots out the other end of the wormhole and hits a wall. Makes a really loud "THUNG" sound on impact. And then that's just it. An object that's been reduced pretty much to particles and traveling faster than the speed of light just collided with a solid object before it could reform. I suppose a good gamer's term would be "Telefragged."

That is basically what the sound was that I thought I heard that day. I confirmed the theory by the fact that the Proxies outside were disappearing one after the other. I'd hear the noise and one would be gone. It... it was flinging them along The Path, trying to find the way inside. They were coming out and rematerializing in the middle of solid earth and rock... Not... Not a fun way to die.

Number four got lucky... she dropped right into the room. I had just finished posting and was trying to shut everything down and move when she dropped into the room. There wasn't a lot of time to react to it. I could tell she was in a daze when she pulled herself off the floor and started looking around the room. We exchanged glances but for a moment before the shots rang out. I- fuck

Hold On... fucking hell.