WARNING!
ONGOING REVISIONS ARE IN PROGRESS BEYOND THIS POINT!
THEREFORE, CONTENT AHEAD MAY NOT LINE UP WITH PREVIOUS CHAPTERS/STORIES!
The only source of light in the dark room came from a small television. The VCR it was hooked up to refused to eject the tape, and now displayed only white static. Lauren sat in front of it, staring into the blank screen, contemplating what she'd witnessed. Her best friend, her sister… was dead. No doubt about it. Even if she had managed to survive that fall, Der Großmann would have finished the job. The distraught woman clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh, all while she tried to hold back tears. When she'd seen what had happened to Kate, it felt as if a part of Lauren died with her.
Lauren and Kate may not have been related by blood, but they might as well have been. They'd been best friends as long as either one could remember, and now… Lauren's sorrow quickly turned to rage as she pictured the ones responsible. Der Großmann... The Observer… The Collective… they were all going to pay. She didn't know how, and she didn't know when, but one way or another they were going to pay for what their actions. In the midst of her blind rage, Lauren came to a realization. Carl was still out there somewhere. Maybe he'd actually managed to make it to the radio tower.
She was close now. The radio tower was just within reach, and if she could get there, maybe she'd still be able to save a life. Lauren was getting to that radio tower one way or another, even if it killed her. But there was one question that still stood. How was she going to get out of this place? The exit was still locked. As if on cue, she heard a soft click come from the door in question as it swung open, letting the evening sunlight flow in. Without hesitation, Lauren walked towards the exit, not bothering to take the tapes and folder with her. Whoever had put those there for her to see could come and get them if they wanted them back bad enough. "This is for you, Kate", Lauren said as she stepped through the door.
A cool breeze hit her as soon as she'd stepped out of the building. Looking around, Lauren quickly discovered that she'd stepped onto the continuation of the trail from before. To her right, the rocky terrain formed a natural wall against the building she'd previously been in, and to her left was a scenic view similar to the one from earlier. The only way for her to go was a grassy path winding its way up the tree dotted mountain. She hiked up the path in silence, taking in the many sights. Dim beams of sunlight shone through the trees, casting ominous shadows against the earth, and the distant mountains shone golden red in the setting sun. It was just as beautiful as before, but Lauren could find no pleasure in it now.
At last, she reached the trail's end at the mountaintop. It was grassy and had a few trees scattered about, but it appeared to be a dead end. Just as Lauren was about to get angry for wasting her time, she noticed an opening in the rocky wall of the mountain. Upon closer inspection of the cave, she saw that there were wooden support beams within holding up the ceiling. That's when she noticed the eroded, black plaque cemented to the stones outside of the cave. It read; "Historic Kullman Mines. Established: 1895. Closed: 1928".
"This must be the original Kullman Mine…", Lauren thought. It was pitch black inside the cave, and she felt a bit nervous about what might lie within. But then she caught sight of the radio tower over the top of the mountain range and remembered why she'd come all this way. Pushing her fear to the back of her mind, Lauren flicked on her flashlight and entered the cave, completely unaware of the thick black smoke rising around the tower.
The cave was dark, quiet, and eerie. The main path had abruptly ended at a rock ledge that was far too steep to climb back up. Lauren swallowed her fear and jumped down, landing unharmed in the cold dirt below. She waved her flashlight around to look for any potential threats… but the cave was empty. Although she wasn't about to let her guard down, she decided it was safe enough to take a look around. Surprisingly enough, little patches of grass managed to grow in the light devoided place. Less surprising was the moss and mushroom growth. Lauren shone her flashlight around the cave until the beam of light landed on something odd. A sealed cardboard box with an envelope placed on top of it.
Meet me by the street in an hour. I left a list of things to bring with you. Leave everything else behind. I'll explain everything as soon as I see you. I know how to fix all of this.
Don't tell Lauren about me
~CR
The woman in question let the letter drop to the cave floor in disbelief. What exactly had she just read? What did Carl mean by; "Don't tell Lauren about me"? He knew damn well that she'd been coming to Oakside. Hell, he'd called her and warned her against coming. Had Carl lost his mind? Lauren would find out soon enough, and continued her trek through the cave, quickly reaching a downward slope. Just as she was about to continue down the path, her foot hit something metal and sent it rolling down the slope with a loud clang. Lauren barely managed to catch the rolling object in her flashlight's beam before it disappeared from sight. It was an empty can of white paint. A gut wrenching sensation hit Lauren as she shone her flashlight onto the cave walls ahead of her, revealing the crazed writing painted on them.
NEED TO END THIS
I'M SO SORRY
HE WANTS THEM TO WARN YOU
I'M SORRY
IT'S SO SIMPLE
WE ARE ALL CAUGHT IN HIS WEB
HIS ARRIVAL IS COMING
SORRY
END IT HERE
YOU KNOW ABOUT HIM, HE KNOWS ABOUT YOU
STOP IT
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
YOU'RE HELPING HIS ARRIVAL
END THIS
YOU WARN THEM AND DOOM THEM
READ THIS AND DIE
I CAN'T STOP
IT CAN END
THERE WILL BE NO ARRIVAL
I'M SO SORRY FOR EVERYTHING
END IT ALL WITH FIRE
HE WILL BE GONE FOREVER
The disturbed writing on the cave walls proved just how far gone Carl really was. Some of the phrases were repeated a countless amount of times, and some were written only once. A picture of the radio tower and a pine tree was painted on the wall to the right as well. "Dammit… god dammit…", Lauren whimpered, blinking back tears. Now she'd lost two friends. One to a great fall, and one to madness. Just as she was about to give in to despair, Lauren realized something. Unlike Kate, there was still a chance to find and help Carl. Lauren regained her composure and looked around a bit more, immediately discovering something she'd overlooked… A slightly burned piece of parchment nailed to one of the three wooden posts sticking out of the ground.
I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for
everything. This isn't your fault.
I did this. By the time you read this
it's already too late for you.
Don't let him into any more lives.
This was all my fault.
This can end with you. I let him in...
Why did I ever let him in…
I'm sorry for placing this burden on you. I
wish it was all on me. This can't
spread any further. Please, it all has
to end with you. I wish there was
some other way. It has to end.
God forgive me…
Lauren finished reading the note Carl had left, filled with curiosity. He must have known she'd come the same way he had. What was Carl planning, and why was he asking her to help "end it"? Lauren's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat with the sudden realization. Carl was going to kill himself. Without stopping to think, Lauren took off running through the cave, barely even being able to see where she was going due to the dimming beam of her flashlight. She had to get to Carl immediately. Lauren felt a sudden, intense blast of heat as she reached the cave's exit. She stood there with her mouth agape, looking on in horror at the raging forest fire.
It was burning hot and everything was enveloped in a smoky red haze. The sky was dark with smoke and the burning heat threatened to roast Lauren alive. She looked around frantically, hardly even able to comprehend the situation. Then, the whispers started. They were like the ones from before, when she'd touched that teddy bear, except now they seemed agitated and harsh. Lauren found herself coughing and gasping for air as smoke rose all around her, not knowing what to do. Then, she saw the glowing red light atop the radio tower, glowing bright high above the trees.
It was so close… She wasn't about to die now. Lauren took off through the inferno, sprinting along the dirt path and dodging falling trees and branches, heading towards her only sanctuary. Little did she know that it wouldn't be so easy. With a thunderous boom, Der Großmann appeared right in front of her, sending the panicked woman skidding to a halt. The enraged demon loomed over her, hundreds of its tentacles stretching to unimaginable proportions. They shot up in the sky, snaked across the ground, and most importantly, writhed towards Lauren.
Immediately she began running in the opposite direction, still heading towards the radio tower. Although Der Großmann still terrified her beyond comprehension, Lauren knew she had to push that fear aside if she wanted to survive this. She pretended she couldn't hear the snakelike tendrils writhing towards her. She pretended the pounding migraine wasn't there. She pretended that her nose wasn't gushing blood like a faucet. She pretended that her very bones didn't ache from smoke inhalation and the endless running. These things might have seemed foolish, but they kept her alive. She dared not look behind her in fear that the migraine might overtake her if she did. Lauren ran, and ran, and ran, always keeping her eyes on the objective, until at long last she had made it. The radio tower was within reach.
Suddenly, a cold, black tendril wrapped around Lauren's ankle and jerked her off her feet, causing her to drop her camera and flashlight. Fear like she had never felt before overtook Lauren as it began dragging her back down that final hill. Der Großmann stood at the bottom, awaiting his hard earned prey. Lauren kicked and screamed until her throat was hoarse. Desperate tears uncontrollably streamed down her face and the taste of blood never left her mouth. "I'm sorry Kate, I'm sorry Carl", she thought to herself, "I failed".
As Lauren was nearing the end of the line, an idea popped into her head. The demon had taken great care to avoid touching any of the flames engulfing the area, so that must mean… Not bothering to finish her thought, Lauren reached out and grabbed a flaming log lying on the ground. She screamed as it burned her hands, but fought through the pain and managed to flip herself over so that she was facing Der Großmann. The monstrosity bent over to grab ahold of her, and that's when Lauren made one last desperate move.
Using all of her remaining strength, Lauren cracked the demon across the "face" with the burning log. It split on impact, but the effect was instantaneous. Immediately, Der Großmann reeled back, letting out a pained screech and releasing Lauren from its grasp. "Take that you son of a bitch!", Lauren shouted as she watched its flesh bubble and burn. Unfortunately, the wounded flesh quickly began to heal over, making Lauren lose the ear-to-ear grin she'd had at the sight. She sprinted back up the hill, recovered her equipment, and ran faster than she'd ever run before.
The tower stood tall right next to a brick radio station, the piercing red glow at its top a beacon of hope. A satanic roar echoed from behind Lauren as she neared the station, headed towards the open door. "Oh fuck", she said, looking behind her. Der Großmann was done playing games. The demon was seemingly gliding along the ground towards her without a care in the world for the flames licking at it. It's tentacles furiously swarmed towards her with the intent to kill. Lauren sprinted even faster towards the station. Closer, closer, closer… Finally, Lauren ran through the open door, slammed it shut, and locked it, hoping Kate and Carl had been right about the place being a safe haven.
A series of loud bangs and screeches from outside assaulted Lauren's ears for a few minutes before finally dying down into silence. She had won. Lauren laid down on the cool, concrete floor, gasping for air and letting her aching muscles relax. Her migraine had stopped immediately after entering the radio station, and her nose had ceased gushing blood. The disembodied whispers had faded into silence as well. For whatever reason, this place was safe. A thought crossed Lauren's mind. Perhaps the radio tower's signal disrupted Der Großmann's telepathic influence. That would explain why the demon wasn't able to get inside, and why all of her ailments had mysteriously ceased. Yes, that had to be it. It couldn't be anything else. Lauren felt a smile creep across her face as she thought about it. "Good thinking guys," she laughed.
After a good long while of rest, Lauren pulled herself up off the ground and tried to get her bearings. The room she was in was a small one… It was more of a hallway with a wide entrance really. There were crates, boxes, and metal barrels stored to the left and an Emergency Public Warning System flyer was tacked onto the wall above them. The flyer was a mystery of its own, since it was Alberta, Canada, that had used that system, not anywhere in the United States. Why was it there? Her thoughts returned to more pressing matters as Lauren surveyed the rest of the room. There were two metal doors on the right side of the hall, and one at the end. The first half of the right wall stopped abruptly before reaching the ceiling, and a chain link fence was placed between the two.
"Of course it's locked", Lauren grumbled, after trying to open the door at the end of the hall. "There must be a key in here somewhere". She decided to start back at square one and search the barrels and crates. Nothing. The first room to the right held four large wooden crates, but no key. Lauren crossed her fingers before entering the last room, and was delighted with what she found. Around six or seven more barrels were clustered in a corner and a large storage rack with some boards placed on it and picnic tables leaned up against it took up the rest of the room. Atop one of the barrels sat a rusted key.
Lauren unlocked the door and cast the key aside, stepping into the darkness on the other side. A long, winding hall was ahead of her, with metal barrels, wooden crates, and storage racks placed haphazardly throughout it. As she began walking,, Lauren suddenly heard a sharp creak echo throughout the hall… coming from behind her. Slow, menacing footsteps followed, accompanied by low growls and other eerie noises. Lauren's eyes widened as she realized what that meant. "Oh god… no… please… anything but that," she whispered. Without hesitation, she ran down the hall and away from the corpse-like monster pursuing her. Unfortunately, just as she rounded the first corner her flashlight flickered and died, leaving Lauren in total darkness.
"Dammit!" she shouted, casting it aside. As if that wasn't bad enough, she noticed that her camera's battery was nearly dead too. The only light Lauren had to guide her was the mysterious flames burning various wooden objects at every corner. At last, an open door came into sight as she finally reached the end of the hall. The smell of burned meat hit her as she neared the door, causing her to gag and cover her nose and mouth. Lauren finally managed to get through the door and slammed it shut behind her, locking it. The room she'd entered was another hallway, but it was a dead end. The remains of boards and a box burned in the corner of the room nearest to the door, and another fire burned at the opposite end. However, the fire was the least disturbing thing in that room.
Everywhere I turn it is there. Every time.
I open my eyes, I see a dark shadow.
In my home. In my dreams. EVERYWHERE.
IT EATS AT ME
Rips and tears and slashes my insides, my brain.
It devours my EVERYTHING
I must burn. I MUST BURN IT DOWN.
Found me in the woods…
Found me in the dark… WHAT ELSE DO I DO?
YOU CAN NOT HIDE
He will find you
He always FINDS YOU and NEVER stops. STOP
I am sorry for everything.
Why did you come here?
Run Run Run Run Run Run Run Run
I can't see
I'm sorry
RUN
It was following me and it will not stop.
Everything burns and melts and withers and falls apart.
You are my only choice.
YOU have to be here so I can go.
You will burn with everything else.
You are my only choice.
It will tear your brain apart and you will watch.
It turns my head inside out and I CANNOT CONTINUE LIVING THIS WAY
This is something I have to do.
Something I was told to do.
Whispers from my only friend who is gone now.
Everything must be burnt to the ground FOR ME TO BE FREE
The writing on the walls had been done in white paint, just like the writing in the cave. Lauren's body wracked with sobs as she stared at the ghastly sight at the hall's end, just inches from her. I FAILED YOU was written largely on the wall in that same white paint, along with I'M SORRY, I FAILED YOU ALL, and I'M SO SORRY FOR EVERYTHING. But by far the worst part was the charred corpse of Carl Ross slouched against the wall, burned to a crisp. Empty cans of kerosene were still scattered about and the remains of a fire smoldered next to him.
Lauren forced herself to tear her eyes away from the dreadful sight. Carl had actually done it. He'd burned himself to a crisp to avoid the same fate as Charlie. Lauren had nothing left. Her two best friends were dead, and she'd considered both of them to be family. She would've broken down right then and there if it hadn't been for the footsteps pacing outside the door and occasional snarls. There was nothing for her to do now except wait for the inevitable end. Lauren was so lost in her grief that she almost failed to notice a partially melted camera beside Carl's body. Wiping away her tears, Lauren took the camera in her shaky hands and attempted to turn it on. The screen was burned so badly it was incapable of turning on, but an audio clip played. It appeared to be a conversation that took place in Carl's final moments.
"Let go!"
"Kate… please…"
"I…"
"There's no other way"
"I can't!"
(Kate starts crying)
I can't…
"Kate…!"
(Kate runs away)
(Carl says something indistinguishable)
"Oh god… No…"
"I'm so sorry…"
"Forgive me…"
"I'm so sorry!"
(At this point a high pitched noise begins to play as Carl sets himself on fire)
(The rest of the recording consists of Carl screaming as he burns to death)
Lauren had no words… no emotions. The combination of grief and horror had caused her to simply freeze up. Those awful screams still rang in her head. Suddenly, a loud crash echoed throughout the hall as the locked door slammed open. The fire next to it went out, shrouding that end of the hallway in darkness. Then, the feral roars of something long dead rang out as the decaying figure of Charlie Matheson Jr. charged towards Lauren. She had no time to react, as the monster was upon her in seconds. Lauren barely even had time to let out a scream. A fierce migraine pounded through her head as incoherent shapes and figures tinted with a sickening shade of blue splashed across her vision and camera feed, accompanied by loud, terrible noises. Then, there was nothing… Only darkness.
