Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Visitor

Middle of the night, I wake up to hear something moving around in my living room. The fact that they were able to wake up such a heavy sleeper meant that they wanted me to find them, but what happened afterwards...well, let me just start from the beginning.

I took my medicine and went to bed, the hopelessness of this situation putting me to sleep. About forty minutes later I found myself waking up to a loud tapping outside my door, in my kitchen. At first I thought I was just imagining it, but then it kept tapping and I heard a chair creak backwards and that was all it took to convince me.

Heart pounding in my chest, I carefully snuck out of bed and reached for my gun. Making sure it was loaded, I crept towards the door, weapon trained. One hand steadied it towards the door while the other hand reached for the door and pulled it slowly open.

I usually keep one light on in the kitchen, just to ward off anybody that might want to look in, but tonight the house was pitch black saved for a lit candle on my table. When I came in, there was someone sitting at the table, his identity hidden underneath a dark cloak. The tapping was his boot beating against the wooden floor in a fast rhythm. He was rocking back and forth, the chair creaking whenever he leaned back.

I cocked the gun and he stopped moving. He raised a hand- one with bandages covering the fingers- in indication that he was not here to fight. I didn't lower.

“Turn around nice and slow,” I whispered, my throat already starting to burn.

“No need for violence, Mr. Strahm,”the voice replied.

“Turn around now,” I raised my voice a little higher, trying not to strain myself

He finally did, and even though I could barely see his face under the hood he wore, I suddenly had an idea of who he was.

“Oh...it's you, is it?” I hardly lowered my gun. “What do you want?”

He didn't answer. Instead, he lowered his hand and used it to push a bundle to the side so that I could see it. I inched closer, not taking my gun off him, to see what it was.

It looked like a file.

“What's this?”

“One of two roads I offer for you,” he said, standing up and walking around to the other side of the table. “This road leads to answers. The answers you seek. By opening this folder's contents, you go down this road, and once you go down it, you can't so easily turn back.”

“Sounds familiar,” I said, having heard this plenty of times. Not all of them from the movies. “So what's the other one?”

“The other path is to walk away. Forget this girl. Forget him. Forget all of this and leave it. Try to live out the rest of your life never having to worry about any of this mess ever again.”

I managed a rough laugh which turned into a cough, which turned into me spitting out phlegm that was stuck in my throat into the sink.

“Live out my life without this...” I shook my head. “Last I checked I was wanted for murder. They're not just going to turn a blind eye to that. How do you suggest I do that?”

He shrugged. “My offer still stands.”

“Ah, yeah,” I glared right at him. “Because that worked real well for Nessa, right?”

He didn't have an answer for that, which I took to be all the answer I needed. I sat back down and placed my hand on the file. Whatever was in it, there was a lot of it. I had my reading time cut out for me.

“Take my offer, Mr. Strahm.” He wasn't done. “Take it into consideration, at least.”

“Fuck off.”

He shook his head. “Why must you be so persistent? What do you get from this? What is your goal in trying to find the answers.”

I just smirked at him.

“If you're not out that door and far away from me in under a minute, you're never going to find out.”

He just looked at me, but I didn't even bother looking back at him. Finally, I heard the shuffling of the feet towards the door, and I reached for the file to open it when I heard his voice again.

“Option will stay open-”

“Thirty seconds.”

Five seconds after that, the door opened, the footsteps went out, and the door closed again, leaving me to my lonesome once again.

I'm going through the file now, and while I don't have anything definite for you...I think this is exactly what I needed to find.

Robert, glad to see you're back.

Celeste, be safe.

I'll update again when I've processed everything.

45 comments:

  1. Well it's good that you've got a lead, but I'm more then a little disturbed that he found you. Stay safe.

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  2. Mr. Strahm, goodness and dumb luck seems to be lookin' out for you. Keep your word as bond, stay strong, and continue on searchin' for the knowledge you need.

    I would offer my assistance but you're a capable motherfucker when working independent so it's probably not needed.

    Best of wishes,
    Snore-de-Bliss

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  3. I would have shot the bastard first. You'd have still got the information you needed, and we'd have one less Slendy thug to worry about. I hate Redlight with a passion though so I'm biased.

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  4. I remember the description from Zero's blog. He makes me shudder...

    But at least you have a lead.

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  5. @Will, you must remember this: if Slenderman and his Agents were really after Zeke, he would've been attacked immediately, not offered a choice. There may be more to this mysterious figure than we know.

    -Lucien

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  6. He tortured Robert, sent slender thugs after me, and does not live up to his end of the bargain, not to mention the fact that he works for slender man. Reddlight is a trap and he needs to be dealt with as such before he targets someone foolish enough to believe his promises.

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  7. Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions, Will. Redlight may have his uses yet.

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  8. I'm with Kay here in the creeped-out corner, Zeke. The fact that the Twiggy One's associates are finding you at all is a bad sign. Maybe it's time to skip town or something. Regardless, at least you've got a lead. Maybe it's not the right lead, maybe it's not quite the lead you were looking for, but it's a lead, and I know you'll use it for all it's worth. Keep at it, Mr. Strahm. Good luck to you!
    ~The Quick

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  9. Way to hold your own, Zeke. We're behind you all the way!

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  10. Can't wait to hear what's in that file.

    Stay safe, Zeke.

    -Kaiju

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  11. Did you ever think about getting that camcorder, Zeke?
    ~
    JZ

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  12. Does redlight do this often? Go to people and be generally creepy, I mean?

    I hope you're taking care of yourself, Mr. Strahm. Be careful and make sure you keep that information close. And, well, have a nice day, I suppose.

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  13. From what people are saying this guy seems like he's a regular jerk. Telling people to forget about the people they love, torture, not keeping his end of the deal...I can't believe anyone could be so heartless

    And who's this "Nessa"? Did he do something bad to her?

    Well, in any case, good luck with this guy. And please stay safe. You seem like you are a real inspiration to people.

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  14. Sounds like a shit ton of fun is waiting for you. Be careful and all that junk.

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  15. So, I don't really have anything original to say. Just stay safe and keep us posted.

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  16. I think you, for whatever reason, maybe more useful to Slender Man alive than dead. Do you think so, Zeke?

    ~Selina

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  17. I think there's a reason I'm not dead yet. Fuck if I can tell you what it is, though.

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  18. @ Rebecca: From what I gathered on Zero's blog, Nessa was another runner. She got captured and was presumably killed. And/or turned into a proxy. That's the confusing part. Apparently she showed up at Zero's residence and he knocked her out and handed her over to Redlight who then "cured" her. Except...I could swear I've seen recent posts from her. I'm...new to the scene. So I'm probably missing some important bits here.

    @ Zeke: Whatever his intentions, we're all glad you're still alive.

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  19. That's some of it, Branwen. After Nessa went Hallowed, Fizzbomb was trying to help her, Nessa pulled a gun on her and Fizz was forced to shoot and kill her. A couple weeks later, she somehow showed up at Zero's residence and...yeah, you got the rest.

    And she did get a couple posts out saying she was remembering, but then I think ol' Red got her again, because I haven't heard from her since. This was around Christmas time.

    And you and me both, mate.

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  20. Hey, Zeke.

    Nice to meet you. I'm Liam. I've been hunted by this thing. He killed my friend Johnny as of late.

    Got any tips on how to attack It?

    Regards, Liam.

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  21. I just caught up on White Elephants.

    Bandages over his fingers...

    Sounds like he's still hurt from his scuffle with Robert. Heheh.

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  22. (sorry double post)
    Yeah, I haven't seen her since those last few posts either...
    I didn't even know her and I'm kind of scared for her. I hope she's alright.

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  23. @Branwen and Zeke: Hallowed? Proxy? These are his servants correct? So they turned her into a mind slave? ...And she died....and came back?

    There's a cure?

    Sorry, this is so much to take in. But it's all very interesting. I am sorry that all of this had to happen, but I suppose I wouldn't be able to do anything to help anyways.

    Thanks for the information, in any case.

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  24. @ Rebecca: In a sense yes. They're people who lost their whole sense of being and their minds. And then got taken over by him. There are also those that follow willingly.
    And Redlight was a blogger named Jay over at Anomalous Data. He purposely infected people and did experiments in finding a cure, which is apparently some kind of acid. I'd rather call it a "cure" though. I don't think it really "fixes" this problem. But he turned bad (or worse, rather) somewhere. And is now Redlight? That's where I get confused again. I still have reading to do, specifically his blog. I'm just putting this together from things I've seen in comments.

    And don't feel bad. I'm new to this too. I'm just putting together what I've read from others.

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  25. ...wait, WHAT?

    That's JAY?

    I thought he was dead...

    Son of a bitch.

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  26. I've heard he was Jay. I'm taking my stance on the issue that he is.

    I've also heard he was Robert. And we know that's not true.

    So I could very well be wrong.
    But...

    Jay: Finding ways to "cure" people. Crosses the line in doing so by purposely infecting others. In my opinion, shady.

    Redlight: Shady figure. Claims to be able to "cure" people.

    My previous comment kind of jumps to conclusions, so apologies for that.

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  27. Whoever Redlight is, this cure seems like one huge con to me. And there's no other cure?

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  28. @Rebecca, go to the blog Let Us Keep Living. Jeff was once one of them but was cured, as was Cheska. There is a cure for the proxies. I'm not sure exactly what it entails, all I've been able to gather is that it somehow involves a proxie's blood. And Redlight's "cure" is simple a memory eraser. It might be a way to make it easier for Slenderman to take his victime, but don't quote me on that.

    -Lucien

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  29. Wait...Jeff was successfully cured?
    That's another blog for the list...

    Which tells me I need to do much more reading into proxies and who Redlight really is.

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  30. Well, I can't say for sure that it was completely successful. He is pretty much like Reach now.

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  31. The Black Bishop paid you a visit, did he?

    As for his MO, it seems his "offer" is pure bullshit, if you'll excuse the vulgarity. As we've seen with the Damsel wearing a Herald's colors, and the White Bishop, it does not remove the Black King from your perception. I would liken it to the option one gets at the end of Persona 3: fight, knowing the fight will be long, grueling, and likely hopeless, or live in ignorance until the creature arrives and kills everyone.

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  32. Hello, Mr. Stram, first time commenter, but I've been following your bloggings for a while, one Seeking Truth, and I'm glad to see you've survived and are still an active and fighting force against Slendershit. Hopefully, you will continue to be such for a long time to come.

    Best Wishes
    -Summer

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  33. Good to hear you're still active, Mr. Strahm.

    Any extended silence on all lines of communication can be disconcerting. Your old blog, Seeking Truth, has become standard reading for everyone assigned to the P.T.C.'s Slender Man Division. And, even with as much distrust as there is between all the Runners/Irregulars and the P.T.C., you're a bit of an idol to some of the men we send out into the field.

    Try not to keep quiet too long. It lowers morale around here.

    -Specter

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  34. Hello, Mr. Strahm,

    I've been reading about you for a few months now and I gotta say, you've got some guts. In fact, you really did inspire me to take action. Not just you, but yeah... I'm not good with sappy stuff. My friend... Mikey... loved you. You gave him hope.

    I'm trying to do what I can, but it's difficult. M and the P.T.C have more figured out than me at this point. Still... I'm trying to figure this fucking monster out. If I find anything, you'll be one of the first to know.

    I'm currently following a lead right now... But it looks like it's going to be a dead end again.

    Keep your head up,

    Anna

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  36. No! Never mind! I found it. The thing that gave me the theory. It's comment from Remnant on Robert's blog.

    "Redlight is Jay, who was one of the Sage guys

    Redlight, who is Jay, had a blog called "Anomalous Data"

    anomalousdata.blogspot.com if I spelled it properly

    Jay (from Anomalous Data), not to be confused with J, erased proxies minds of all hallowing by injecting kanic acid into their hypothalamus.

    He was attacked at the end. I believe Slender Man realized he could be of some use. thus Redlight."

    That's what gave me the idea. Make of it what you will, Mr. Strahm.

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  37. @Branwen, I think that's a good Theory, but Jay used to inject acid into his subject's brains. Robert got his memory back. I don't really think you'd be able to regain major motor functions, let alone your memory if you're missing part of your brain due to acid.

    Hmmm. I wish we had a physical description of Jay. Then we'd know for sure.

    Well. He's missing some toes now at least.

    @Zeke.

    Well fuck.

    But I hope you got what you needed.

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  38. True, true. Wonder makes Remnant so sure of that idea though...

    Hee~
    Maybe if we keep taking shots at him we'll be able to hack him down to nothing? Won't matter who he is then.

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  40. Zeke, it looks like M has vanished. Have you had any contact with him as of late? I'm getting kind of worried.

    ~
    JZ

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  41. I sent him an e-mail about a week ago. He never responded. I'm not gonna assume the worst just yet, this isn't the first time he's been gone for weeks on end.

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  42. Zeke, there're some people who need some help. I dunno what to do, but if you have any suggestions here, They need help. Now.
    http://exilisveritas.blogspot.com/

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  43. I'm surprised you suffered a servant of the thin white douche to live. You may regret before the end that you did not blow this "Redlight" away when you had the chance. He would go nicely under the sod next to the last man who came after you...

    That is, if he was there at all. Your increasing mention of a mysterious medication makes me very worried about what is real & what is not. Mental manipulation is a hallmark in these cases.

    Take care Zeke. You are still our best hope.

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