It had been two weeks since the events of Entry 72 had transpired. Two weeks of nonstop driving and tense silences between Jay and Tim. Neither were sure of what to do now, now that everything had gone to hell. Both considered checking into hotels a behavior too risky to attempt, and instead slept in the car, switching each evening between who slept in the front and back seat. They didn't really sleep, of course. Just laid in silence, staring at the roof of the car and waiting for the sun to rise. Few words were exchanged, directions or suggestions about where to park the car for the night. They were miles away from Alex's old house now. Days away. Neither one of them felt safe, but they refused to admit that fact to one another. Tim was driving now, and Jay hardly noticed that he had pulled off the road and was now parked in a small campsite, void of any actual campers. "Is here alright?" Tim asked, his voice rusty from lack of use. Jay nodded tightly, looking back out the window.
Tim got out of the car, and Jay watched him as he paced around the small clearing, pausing to light a cigarette and then resuming his pacing. Jay opened his door, but did not get out. Instead he retrieved his laptop from the back seat and sat it on the dash. The wifi out here was spotty, but Jay was amazed that he could even get any from the campsite. Pulling up Youtube, Jay went automatically to his own channel. His mouse hovered over his most recent upload, Entry 72. He had only watched it once, the day after it had happened, in order to edit the footage and upload it. But he had been so out of it and delirious that he wasn't sure if his memory of the videos events was entirely made up or not. Digging headphones of the glove compartment, Jay plugged them into his laptops jack and put them in. Then he hit play.
All of the beginning of the video was familiar, arriving at the house, searching the kitchen and bedrooms. Finding the drawings in Alex's closet, the ones with everyone's names on them. Seeing the Operator. Jay remembered that, even if his camera didn't pick it up. That definitely happened. And then there was Tim, suggesting he seek medical help. Jay frowned at that, listening to the conversation now. On one hand, Tim was suggesting that Jay was hallucinating the Operator (oh, Jay owed Tim a big I-told-you-so on that one..) but on the other, Tim was also suggesting he get help from his own personal experience. He was trying to help... Jay turned his attention back to the video, watching himself put Alex's drawings in the top pocket of Tim's bag and making a mental note to investigate what Tim had in his side pocket that he didn't want him to see. Jay watched himself set the camera down on the window sill to help Tim with the jammed door, feeling a thrill of fear at the image the camera picked up in the grass. Jay felt himself mentally telling the Tim and Jay in the video to not go in the basement. It was silly of course, he knew that they had. But he still wished he could change that. "Jay...what time is it?" came Tim's voice from off camera. Watching the video now, Jay was shaking. He felt physically ill.
He couldn't bring himself to turn the volume down on his laptop, and his earbuds strained under the intensity of the static on the video. He watched himself hand Tim the camera, unable to remember what had happened to himself after that action. Tim had only run a little ways before his thoughts turned to Jay. Jay did not recall watching this part of the video before, and found himself waiting with baited breath to see what Tim would do. "Jay! JAY!?" and oh god, his voice sounded ragged. Scared. Jay winced at the off-camera coughing and hacking. He winced at the pills Tim took too. "JAY!" and then Tim was running again, running towards Jay now that he had his bearings. "Jay!" he repeated, and Jay saw his own unconscious form in the grainy corner of the screen. "No, no, no, no, no!" Tim repeated, hopping the barbed wire fence and running towards Jay. "No! No, Jay! Stay with me! Stay with me! Come on! Hold on...hold on..." Then the static returned and he was back. The Operator. Jay paused the video, staring blankly at its imposing form. His own writhing body in the corner of the screen. Jay watched Tim, who was now on a second cigarette and still pacing. He had come back for him. When anyone, any sane person, would have kept running and never looked back, Tim had come back for him. Jay resumed the video. Watched Tim stand up to the Operator. Watched him crumple to the ground. He barely paid attention to himself, continuing to roll in the grass in some sort of seizure.
And then the video was clear again, focusing back in. There was Tim, helping Jay up. "We gotta get to the car. Come on, lets get to the car. And then we can get out of here" "Where are we going?" "We're going to the car." "Did you get your flashlight?" "Yeah, yeah." Jay almost laughed at that. At a time like that, that was his first concern, if Tim had remembered his flashlight or not. Then they were both crawling into the car, the dome light providing enough illumination for Jay to see that he was in crap shape. It was difficult to tell who was coughing, if it mattered. Both of them were anyway. Still were. The video ended, and Jay shutdown the laptop, setting it back in the back seat. Taking a deep breath, Jay got out of the car and approached Tim. He stood a comfortable distance from him, hands in his pockets and rocking on the balls of his feet, trying to find the right words to say. "I rewatched the video." he blurted. Tim looked up, taking a drag off of his cigarette. "Oh?" he said. "Entry 72." Jay clarified, looking down at his feet. Tim did not respond, but Jay could feel his eyes on the top of his head. "I, er...I just wanted to thank you..." Jay started awkwardly, looking anywhere but at Tim. "Thank me for what?" asked Tim, and dammit if his smoking wasn't giving him such a frustratingly nonchalant aura. "You came back." said Jay, his voice cracked and confused. "What do you...well of course I did. I wasn't just going to leave you.." said Tim, his tone confused now as well. "It's just...thanks. It was really selfless of you." said Jay, finally meeting Tim's eye.
After a few moments, Tim walked over to lean gently on the car, and Jay followed him. "I had a sister.." Tim said, "Well, I have a sister. As far as I know anyway. I haven't talked to her in over a year. Not since all of...this...started happening. She's a few years younger than me...always getting into trouble, you know? Like any little sister." Jay nodded even though he had nothing to compare what Tim was saying to. He had an older brother, but they never really got along anyway. "Anyway, I would always have to get her out of trouble, right? One time she picked a fight with this other girl when she was in 6th grade and I was in 8th. That girl was almost as big as me... I had to help bail her out." Tim said, a ghost of a smile on his face. "My point is...I'm used to helping people out. You sort of remind me of her...Stubborn. Never listens to sensible advice. Doesn't know when to give up..." said Tim, a smile growing on his face. "I remind you of your sister?" Jay asked, smiling now too. "Well, I would say you're more of a brother to me...But if you want to go with sister, I'm not going to judge-" "I'll stick with brother." said Jay, smiling now. More than he had in months. After a poor meal of what the last gas station had to offer, Tim and Jay settled back into the car. It was Tim's turn to take the front, with Jay in the back. As the last traces of sunlight flitted through the trees and into the car, Jay stared at the dark mass of hair that was the back of Tim's head. "Thank you...for everything..." he said, seriousness creeping into his tone. Tim turned his head slightly, smiling a little, "Anytime, bro."