Tuesday, July 22nd 2008:
After waking up in that farm-house I mentioned, I tried to find my way to the nearest town I could find, or better yet, to find another ride that would take me as far from Basin City as possible. Luckily, I found the latter. It's not easy to write all this while being on the back of a pick-up truck, but on an even road, and since the driver was careful, it's quite easy, or at least easier than it would otherwise be. I must say that these people on this truck have a somewhat weird air about them. From the looks of them, I'm sure they're a family, a man with his wife and their daughter, of which only the latter seemed to have anything to say, albeit that she usually says one to four words at the time. I suppose if somebody hasn't got much to say, I shouldn't expect her to say much more, right? But that wasn't what made the air about them so weird. I can't describe it, but there was something about the way the looked, or moved their heads, or the way their eyes were set, as they didn't appear angry, happy, or to have any emotion at all. Other than that, I saw two masks on their dashboard, one of an old woman and the other of a baby, and right next to it lay a sack, with pieces cut out as though it was to be worn as a mask too. I don't know who or what these people are, but much like with Rusty Nail, if I don't ask them anything, I'll be safe. I hope.
It took a while, or at least it fell that way, before we arrived in the nearest town, a place called Arcadia, but I didn't mind. The girl I spoke of did ask me what I was writing, but I don't think that what I answered got her to think of me as a threat to them. If it did, they wouldn't have dropped me off and drive away, would they? Immediately after arriving there, I looked for the nearest bus-station, so I could go away. It didn't go that way, though. Instead, I met with this girl, who called herself Joan, who even wanted to be the first one to welcome me to Arcadia.
A thought that just crossed my mind: so I meet a girl named Joan, who lives here in Arcadia, so it's safe to call her Joan of Arcadia. A funny coincidence, knowing the old French legend of Joan of Arc, or Jeanne d'Arc as she's called locally. Now I hope that, unlike Jeanne, this one doesn't think she talks to God. But then, she for some reason thought of having me stay in her house. That's enough proof that she doesn't do that.
I don't know why she asked. She said she noticed that I'm a tourist, who's travelled far, without much needed rest and nourishment, so she thought she could help me with that. Her family wasn't too keen about that, especially not the father, who was a cop. I suppose I should respect him just for protecting his family. But when I listened to their many whispers, it looked as though their daughter has many of these... urges, to do thing uncharacteristically of hers. Among those things, they mentioned building a boat, destroying a work of art, getting a job, joining the school's chess-club,... Well, according to some documentary I saw, Jeanne d'Arc did have a brain-tumor, so let's hope that that's not the case with Joan, just for this family's sake. By the looks of it, they've got enough trouble having an eldest son in a wheelchair.
Okay, what I'm about to tell you now... I don't know what it will sound like, but with all the crazy stuff that's happened to me so far, I suppose this one can't be that hard to believe.
I overheard that father talking over the phone, where he gave my name and asked them to do a background-check on me. Knowing in how much trouble I've already ended up with the American authorities, I don't think it's advisable for me to stay, so I left as fast and quietly as I could.
Once I left the house, I boarded a small truck. Not one of those so-called 18-wheelers, like the ones that Burton and Rusty Nail rode, but those that run on four wheels. Or maybe six wheels, if for of them are put on the same axis, I don't know, but that's not important. What is important has to do with the driver. He spoke to me, quoting things I wrote in my journal, like "to hell with God", "God is anything but benevolent" and "defy his authority". Upon asking how he could know any of that, told me that's because he's all-seeing, all-knowing and almighty. He even said that he told Joan to take me into their house, along with all those other things that her parents mentioned. Judging from his description, this guy is either an avatar of God himself, or just some nut who thinks he's God, just because he can somehow know things other people don't. In either case, this guy was dangerous, but I thought of playing along, just to see how far he'd go before he breaks down.
He told me that I need to understand that he can't have people talk about him as I do. I told him that if he's as forgiving as he's believed to be, he should just let me do what I must. If he did that, what kind of god would that make him? I answered: a good one. He didn't shake when I said that, but I could tell that I'm somehow ringing through to him.
After that, he didn't say anything anymore. Instead, he dropped me off at some school, in some town, when night has already fallen, so I only had the light of the moon and the streetlights to see anything. I can only assume that this town was called Sunnydale, as that school was called "Sunnydale High". Here he dropped me off, and told me to go into room number 207. When asked why I should do that, all he said was that I'll find my path there. That's when he drove off.
That's called cheating. If he is who he said he is, he'd know that I'd rather not be a slave, and not to do what I'm told, but now he made me curious enough to do it anyway. I'll tell you one thing, whatever I'd find there, it won't change how I feel about that... I can't say man, but you know who I mean.
Judging from the looks of the school, it appeared more new than the surrounding houses. It was like either this school was newly introduced to this town, or that something happened to the old school so they had to build a new one. You'd also think that newer buildings would have all the modern technologies for security, but the door wasn't locked at all. I suppose that if I'm caught, they can only charge me with entering, not breaking.
Room 207 is one where they teach Religious Education. If he wanted me to convert, he could've sent me to a church, but instead he sent me here. Why? I don't know, but before I could think of anything, a small guys entered the room. Or rather bashed into the room, as they didn't bother to open a door or a window to enter. These guys, the best way to describe them was as people with heavily deformed faces, and very sharp teeth, growling like rapid dogs. That last one wasn't the best way to describe them, as I have seen people who look like dogs before, and these didn't look anything like them. They didn't have hair all over, nor did they have sharper ears. It wasn't until I used a crucifix to defend myself, like you would with a baseball-bat, that I realized what they were. When hit with the crosses, they screamed out loud, but not because their agony came from the blow, but because the very touch of the cross made them burn. At that point my best defense was not only to use the cross, as that one would break down every second, but to try and throw all the chairs at them. They were, however strong enough to fend those chairs off, even breaking them with just one bare hand. At a point, the cross broke, but it made a very sharp point, with which I tried to fend them off. In doing so, one of them got stabbed in... what I can only think of as the heart, after which he turned into dust.
All their physical strength, and yet they're somehow not strong enough to stop the sharp point from penetrating their bodies? That Dutch surgeon that allegedly killed Count Dracula, back in the late 19th century (if we are to believe his report), he needed at least a hammer to shove the wooden stake through the count's heart. And here it went that easy? Whoever designed these vampires, he obviously didn't make them to last.
Anyway, for some reason, the cross became dust along with that vampire, so I needed to use something else in my defense. I picked up a heavy book, which I used to beat him down, until he fell onto a wooden piece of one of the chairs, killing him.
Once the fight was over, I looked upon the room and realized they won't be teaching these kids anything religious in this room for a while. Shortly after that thought crossed my mind, I saw that the book I held was entitled "Holy Bible". Is this why that guy-who-thinks-he's-god sent me here? So I'd find this book? Or because he thought these vampires would kill me? Either way, I was raised as a Christian, but being that didn't necessarily mean that I had to read this "Bible" of theirs. I suppose, once I finish reading "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Houses", I guess I now have another book to read.
Even stranger is when a bus stopped right next to me, of which somebody aboard asked for my name, after which she let me get on. That somebody was talking to someone over the phone, after which the phone was passed on to me. I don't know who I spoke to, all I know is that it was a woman, who identified herself simply as Hana. She told me she's seen something that may get me into trouble. That is, much deeper trouble than I'm already in with the authorities. So she convinced the people on this bus to take me with them, to a place called Neptune. Once there, I'm to look for someone named Mars. I don't know who this Mars person is, but if he's able to help me in any possible way, I suppose I should take my chances.
Note: to those of you who recognized the reference to "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer". Joss Whedon (the creator of the franchise) originally wrote the screenplay for the movie, and since the movie didn't look in any way that he had imagined, he got angry and made the TV-show. Given all that, I decided to stay true to the movie, with certain elements from the TV-show. In other words, I stayed true to what I think Whedon originally had in mind.