Author's Note: This one just came to me on Sunday. I have the podcast, Trash Taste, and their episode about conspiracy theories to thank for this match. I just had to write about going down the rabbit hole. From there, the match developed on its own. I finally made some more connections to the Dark Circus outside of Europe. Austria and Hungary's plot line has taken another turn. I can't wait to see where it goes. Next week, we check in with Japan. I don't know what I am doing before Christmas. Maybe go back to England? For now, enjoy this week's match.
Match Twenty-Five: Coast Redwood:
Rabbit holes. We all fall down them from time to time. We all encounter a conspiracy theory or two as well. Alfred had heard them all. Some of them he actually believed. (Tony was a permanent resident in Area 51.) Alfred thought he heard everything under the sun.
That was until he came across the artwork of Oze Juzo.
Oh boy.
This is how Alfred found himself Googling that artist again. He didn't know why. His fingers moved by themselves. The American man didn't even realize what he was doing until the results came up on the screen.
"Oh no…" the American man said. What was he going to do now? He should close out and go to bed, right? That seemed like the smart thing to do.
He clicked on the first link he saw. The screen turned black for one second. But then a background of dark flames popped up. America didn't know what he was looking at. Why was his computer loading so slowly? Alfred turned and looked behind him. His office door was closed. Lydia and the baby were still asleep. He breathed out in release. Good, they were sound asleep. Alfred turned back to the computer.
What was he doing?
He was about to close out when there was a small window that popped out in the lower right-hand corner.
"Hm? What is this?" Alfred asked. The American man opened the message. He didn't know who it was from and there wasn't much in the message. There was only one link. Now, a sane and normal person would have closed out the box and moved on.
It only took one click.
The American man didn't realize what he had done until it was too late. Alfred sat at his desk, blinking
"What just happened?" he asked. He snapped out of it when he heard carnival music coming through his speakers. Alfred looked confused as a 3-D clown spun around on a giant ball on the screen. Something about that clown looked so… wrong. The American man thought about closing the tab. His cursor moved to the ball. Alfred tried to draw back. Something inside of him screamed "No!" But his hand and computer had a mind of its own.
Click.
The clown and ball disappeared. The screen went black again. This time, he was looking at a tent. The black and red flaps were closed. The American man stared at the screen and frowned. This was just tempting fate now. Why didn't he just close the tab and go to bed? Why couldn't he stop?
Something inside of him made him keep going.
The tent drew open its flaps. The screen zoomed into the empty darkness. A wall of thumbnails appeared on the screen. Alfred took a closer look. These all looked like missing posters in different languages. The wall seemed to go on and on. Alfred had heard the stories of what was going on in Europe. Many people have been disappearing without a trace. They were all going missing by the thousands. Alfred shivered at the screen. Still, he couldn't stop scrolling. More and more images flashed by.
Suddenly, one of them caught his eye.
"Huh? What the hell?" he asked. He clicked on the thumbnail with the familiar face. The picture blew up on the screen. His jaw dropped.
"Hungary?" America asked. He blinked many times. It looked just like the Hungarian woman on the screen staring back at him. What was Elizabeta doing on a site like this? She went missing around early December. Why hadn't Roderich said anything?
Alfred reached for his phone. He hoped that he wouldn't be calling too early or late. He was never really good with time zones.
"Hello?" the Austrian man asked.
"What happened to Elizabeta?" the American man asked. There was a pause on the other line.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Alfred asked. "Roderich? Roderich?"
"She's gone."
"Huh?"
Roderich's tone sounded so dead. The American man shivered. Did he even dial the right number? Of course, he did.
"What happened to her? Why is she gone?" Alfred asked. There was another pause.
"Is she dead?" he asked.
"No," the Austrian man said. Alfred breathed out.
"So….what happened to her?" he asked. "Why is she missing?"
"Roderich, who is that?" a woman's voice asked.
"Who is that?" the American man asked.
"I have to go," Roderich said. He hung up before Alfred could get a word in. The American man looked at his phone. What the hell happened? Who was that woman in the background? If he didn't know any better, Alfred would've said it was Elizabeta. But that couldn't be, could it? He looked at his computer screen again. Her missing poster stared back at him. Suddenly, the picture started to pixelate.
"Huh? What the hell?" Alfred asked. He grabbed his mouse and tried to click around. But nothing happened. Loud siren noise blared from the speakers. The American man jumped backward. The pixels started moving faster. Alfred mashed many keys. Enter, delete, escape, and ctrl, alt, delete didn't work. The siren sounds grew louder. The American man didn't know what to do.
Suddenly the screen went black.
Alfred sat up, blinking. That's it? Was it over?
Suddenly, the screen turned back on. Alfred didn't dare to move. The image on the screen appeared. The American man covered his mouth as he saw himself looking back at him. What the hell was going on? He lifted his hand to wave.
"How is it even doing that?" he asked. Suddenly, that siren sound ripped through the silence. The American man jumped back. A message flashed across the screen for one second. However, it lasted long enough for Alfred to see.
"We are watching you."
Alfred tried to turn off his computer but it was no use. He held down the button until his fingers hurt. It wouldn't turn off. After a few tries, Alfred reached behind his computer and unplugged the machine. The American man sat back, panting. What the hell was all of that? He didn't know. He didn't want to know. Alfred turned and ran out of the room.
That computer remained unplugged for the rest of the day.