Hide And Seek

Guardian, get the fuck out of my state. I'm staying in Minnesota and I want you out.

I've finally made a home away from all of your madness, away from my past. It took me a month to find this place and you won't ruin it.

Sorry I haven't posted much guys, I've been busy with this. I'll talk more later.

Alive

Don't worry about her, Lexi's fine. She did however finally leave Minneapolis. About time too, I can't protect her there forever. I'm just glad she found another third story appartment. Yes, I'm well aware I sound like a stalker, and yes, I know right where she is. No, I will not intentionally hurt her. I would, however, appreciate it if she would stop avoiding the internet and me. Oh well, that's life.

Answers

Lexi, I've finally got a bit of time to explain things to you.

For those of you reading this, Lexi has been badgering me with countless questions as of late. You've seen them, here on the blog. But also she's been texting me. Mostly they're about the key and my motives.

I'll start with the latter, it's simpler to explain. I'm here to help Lexi. Yes, I'm here for others too, but mainly her. Think what you want of me, I'm going to do what I can.

Now, the key. I, shall we say, acquired it from a proxy who met an untimely end. Then again, he was a proxy, big whoop. This was after I spent quite a significant portion of my time tracking it down and identifying exactly what it does. Essentially it rips open the fabric of space and time and creates a tunnel between two points. Now an inexperienced user like myself or Lexi tends to hop around a bit in time when they use it, but in theory it should be capable of instantaneous transportation.

Unfortunately, the tunnels it opens aren't always safe. You need a clear mind when using it, something very few of us runners have anymore. If you're distracted or scared, these pathways will amplify that terror. So no, Slenderman wasn't there, just his image in your mind. Which, consequently, is close enough to the real thing from what I can tell. If he appears when you next use the key, make sure not to let him out of the door. The consequences would be disastrous.

Next order of business, Elaine. Woman, you're freefalling towards your early demise from what I can see. While I thank you for sheltering Lexi for a short time, you may do more harm than good unless you get your head on straight.

I would have more to say on this subject, but fortunately, Lexi keeps to herself.  Now I have work to do, goodbye.

Resolution

First off, let me tell you all I'm a little drunk. I'm going to have one bitching hangover, and I honestly don't care because right now this wine is so good. Don't worry, I'll proofread this once the hangover's gone, make it my usual grammatically correct style. Future me, this is a promise I'm making myself, don't break it. Edit for spelling and grammar, not content.

Now then, onto the good stuff. I'm drinking more than I have in a long time for one very important reason: I miss MrStumblr. A lot. And Guardian makes me miss him more. The two are very much alike. They harbor a lot of anger, but they're nice guys. Of course, once I started drinking, I got sad I was getting so drunk that I started drinking more. (Editor's note: Yeah, I get stupid when I'm drunk. And chatty. I hate Drunk!Me)

Now, Guardian's been silent for quite a while. I haven't heard from him since I left Hope, which scares me. And what scares me more is the fact that I'm scared I haven't heard from him! He's done nothing at all to earn my trust or loyalty, but for some reason, he has both. I don't know why, but whenever I hear from him, it's like, everything else melts away and all I have is honesty and blind faith. It'll probably get me killed one day, but for now I'm safe.

Next, the key. I still don't know how it works, but I tried it again. I don't have to go through the door, I can close it and remove the key and the door is normal again. Which is good because this time I heard screaming. It sounded like children. Not young kids, but not old either. Or maybe of every age, I don't know anymore. But it terrifies me, I can't get it out of my head and there was nothing I could do to help. I think there's something in that world, so I really don't want to go back.

Well crap, the wine's gone. Moving onto the brandy. Yeah, this is much better.

I think I'm going mad. But can an insane person know they're insane? If someone thinks they're insane, does that make them sane? My thoughts bounce around so much these days. I don't know what to do, but I need to do something. So I'm going to start reading everything. I want to start with the modern stuff. People are blogging and recording him even now. They've done so much digging already, I want to compile their theories and find one that works.

But maybe that's a bad idea. The more you know about him, the more he stalks you, isn't that right? But I'm on the third floor, I should be safe, right? I think I should stop forcing all of my problems on you and just get to work. I don't feel right asking you all to confirm my every step, I'm a grown woman, I should be able to do things for myself.

---

Argh, that was about twelve hours ago. My hangover isn't gone, but it's better. Asprin and lots of water are helping. I think that's what I was intending to say. I kept my promise to myself, nothing was cut from that post, but I almost feel like I'm too emotional to post it all. I don't know, maybe I'll feel better with some feedback.

Update

Just checking in with everyone here. I don't really know what's been going on, my sense of time is all kinds of screwed up right now. Apparently I missed a day or two, and it just doesn't feel right.

I still haven't heard from Guardian, which irritates me more than it should. I don't have very much faith in him right now though. Of course, I shouldn't have much faith in him to begin with, but that's something else entirely.

Somehow, everything of mine is here. My car, my clothes, the cat. I don't know if he had something to do with this or if that's how the key works.

My head hurts, and I finally ate the last of my soup for lunch. I think I'm going out for a bit. I really need to find some sort of ward, I'm paranoid something's going to happen if I'm not careful.

Filler For Lost Time

Guardian, what the hell did you do this time? Yes you got me out of hope unscathed, but at what cost? How did you fuck with time like that? I need answers and you won't charm your way out of this one.

You need to explain things from now on, I will not be blindly trusting you as I have. First, the key. What does it do? Did I actually see Him on that path? What else is there? How did my things get home from Hope?

You know what? I have other points to make, but I want to know the full story first.

Now if you don't mind, I'm going to make some hot chocolate and not sleep. I can't get things out of my head and it's starting to hurt.

More Messages

Solid biological waste has impacted the rotational air circulation device. Elaine apparently has some deal to keep the Slenderman off of Hope's doorstep. I don't really know what it is, but it scares me. And I still don't know what to think of my conversation with Guardian. To elaborate on that a bit more, once I got over the fact he wasn't going to change what I wanted him to (which basically boiled down to "stop being so freaking cryptic!") he asked me how I was and if I was enjoying my stay at hope.

He was nice, he just wanted to be sure I was happy and healthy. I'm not used to that anymore, so I'll have to admit I was flattered. But that's the past, this is the present. I don't really know what's going on, but this time it sounded urgent.

I got a text from Guardian. "Use the key before it's too late." He hasn't steered me wrong thus far (save for the calling widget, which has apparently been helpful to a few people), so I'm going to go with my gut and follow his directions. A second text came in right after the first "Use it on the outside of your bedroom door. Now."

Now I know why he said that, but first I need to tell you exactly what happened. My day had been boring. I made breakfast, checked the usual social networks (with location services disabled, of course). Lunch went by, and supper, with nothing spectacular. I took a shower and started getting ready for bed, that's when the first text came in. I got dressed and started packing when the second one came. So I dropped the shirts I was folding, and ran out of the door, closed it, and used the key.

The door pulled itself open, but my room wasn't behind it. Third message: "Run." So I bolted, the door slamming shut behind me. It was a forrest path, but something was wrong. There was no sun, but there was light, there were no leaves on the trees, no breeze, but they swayed. I heard noises, terrifying sounds that I can't get out of my head. I looked back only once, it was the Slender Man behind me. I don't know if it was really him or just a Fig Newton in my imagination (my dad always used to say that to me) caused by the strange world. I'm betting on Fig Newton.

But after what seemed like forever, I was at the opposite side of the path. There was another door, crimson. I swear it was painted in blood, so I didn't stop to see what was around to drain that much from a person. I went through, and it was my room, back in Minneapolis. My belongings and the cat were all in their places at home. Squinkey didn't seem to notice anything wrong and when I opened the door, it was my hallway, not the path that stared back at me.

I don't know what's going on here, but I'm scared. More scared than I have been so far on this whole journey. For all I know, I could have died on that path, but I didn't.

Elaine, and everyone else back at Hope, the Guardian has never sent me down the wrong path before, but I hope he was misinformed for your sake. Stay safe, guys.