Author's note: I consider this a continuation of Lens of Truth, but also as a separate entity. The Lens of Truth was an experiment in experience writing and Stream-of-consciousness. This is a continuation of the same ideas, but with a shift in focus. I will be using what I learned from Lens of Truth and the constructive criticism from you guys (here's hoping I have some reviews by the time I post this). Enjoy- Halberd.

April 25th, 9:00 am.

{Click}

Victim was found this morning… shit… Victim was found on April 25th at 6:15 a.m. in the Westford Pond out behind the Westford Bait and Tackle Shop by two men who were fishing at the time. Cause of death appears to be asphyxiation, as no wounds were found during the autopsy. Worth noting, a nine millimeter pistol was found near the body. One bullet was fired, and ballistics found a matching bullet embedded in the wall of the tackle shop. Whether or not the boy fired the bullet remains to be seen. Articles of clothing… oh, boy. Victim was found wearing a brown hoodie, jeans, a T-shirt with a photo of the moon and a US Army gasmask. Yeah. One lens was shattered and painted around it was some kind of white, spiky magnifying glass… thing. The body has not been ID'd yet, we have had a few possible sightings, but nothing useful. Investigation will… Can you turn that damn music-

{Click}

Dawn of the Second Day day

Time Remaining: Too long.

My life began the way it ended. I felt water, and I felt hatred. But I no longer had a direction. Hate pervaded my mind, aimed at nothing- no...aimed at everything- for the first few seconds, and then the memories returned. His smile. Her passive, constant gaze. The defiance and naivety of the Children, like little lambs, wandering aimlessly toward the inevitable… slaughter. The word and its implications dawned on me for the first time. Mindless suicide yearning for the illusion of freedom. Where would that leave them? Where would they end up now, I asked myself. Where am I now?... Oh, God where am I now?

Then came realization. Then came insanity.

Dawn of the

Time Remaining: Do you hear something?

Someone's here. I hear my name from the surface periodically, but it is intermixed with something else, someone else's name. Link.

No...

He has no right. He is bound by the rules of the game. He wants another day, another chance. Another lamb. A pathetic naive creature, eyes full of wonder, mind full of hope. Really, I shouldn't be so angry. But I saw something else. I saw that he can lead me out of here. And like a little lamb, he doesn't even know what awaits him. I took it upon myself to enlighten him. I will enjoy this. After IIIIII years, I will be free… damn. I'm beginning to sound like them.

The memory resurfaced again, right on time. I'm honestly surprised that he had this little effect on the cycle. I've made the decision to wait until he finds me.

Dawn of the First Day:

72 Hours Remain

The cicadas were chirping indifferently, their noise drowning out any thought in his head. He watched in silent, inarticulate horror as the body of his closest friend, his blood brother, slowly disappeared into the murky depths of the lake. Matt had just killed a human being. He was shivering uncontrollably. He remembered his only thought before tackling Ben into the lake: save the Father. How could he kill Ben with such disregard, without any thought to his own safety, or the memories he shared with Ben? He looked slowly over his shoulder at Mr D. A new thought occurred to him. How far down the rabbit hole had he gone? Then his world erupted into a torrent of guilt and despair, and he shut down completely.

Spencer was in charge of dropping Matt off at his house. He carried him to the doorstep, where Rosa was waiting. Matt had regained consciousness halfway through the ride home. They were silent. Spencer explained everything to Rosa. Her only reply was, "I'll take care of it".

70 hours remain.

"Who can I trust?" "You can trust me. You can trust all of us." "What do you see for Ben?" "He's not through. Not by a long shot." "Anything we can do to stop him?" "...It's out of our hands. We'll need to reach out, there's more to it than us. It goes beyond the order." "Who else is involved?" "...You don't want to know." "Rosa-" "Him. The first one who died for the order." "Is his prophecy involved?" "I can't tell." "...I understand. Keep this to yourself." "Of course, Father."

The Father, Mr. D, left without a word. Luna whispered to all of them that night. They all agreed that the message was incomplete.

Do not look into the eye of the storm.

Do not face the

Dawn of a New Day

IIIIIIIII

I spoke to him. He doesn't know it's me yet. He will. He must meet me of his own IIII will.

Then he will know fear.