9:34 AM

Dreamed of distant rain forming a torrential river nearby. The Camper marched out, and the river turned to blood just as I woke up.

9:40 AM

Donnie’s looking a little weary today. I hope she’s alright. ..I hope we didn’t keep her up.

Danny wants to look for some breakfast. I’m in.

9:43 AM

Someone else is in the hotel.

They’re heading towards the kitchen. Just like us.

9:45 AM

…holy sh

SHOTGUN

MOTHERFUCKER

THERE’S THREE OF ‘EM

DANNY GO LEFT

NO, YOUR LEFT

FLANK ‘EM

shit

DONNIE, BEHIND YOU

9:46 AM

Oh hello, person. You want to face me? Well. Be prepared to face the wrath of

oh god my foot

Bringing a gun to a guitar controller fight, what a dick.

9:47 AM

HEEYA

TAESRERJSA

9:50 AM

MOTHEf9ck why would you bring a taser to a guitar controller fight when you’ve already brought a fucking shotgun

who got him

Fentzy. o.o; Fentzy got him.

Well. ..thank you! .w.;

9:51 AM

So.. so what just happened. Right.

It was three people. Regular people. With shotguns.

They looked at us and said “The Harlot’s got backup.”

Then they started shooting us.

Danny got one, Donnie got one, then the last guy fucking tased me. o_e Fentzy finished him off.

9:54 AM

Neither of us knows who those people were, nor who “The Harlot” is supposed to be. We’ve got their corpses, though.

..Fentzy teabagged the one she killed. @w@

10:22 AM

The lead guy’s got a badge on him. “R.A.F.”

Is the Royal Air Force here? o_o Shit, air power would have helped a lot in crossing the Atlantic. >_>

10:25 AM

Alright, we’ve all eaten. We’re going to look around N

…..someone else is here.

10:27 AM

They went out the front door.

We’re gonna look around New York City now. Starting with looking for that person.

10:85 AM

Not a soul in sight.

This forest is growing faster than I can tell.

8:58 AM

Buildings scale left

right now down the hatch and here it comes

7:93 AM

it’s a inat lace can’t you see.

Toy soldiers off to war.

It’s her.

She is here.

He’s a Fear.

Perhaps our language leads you.

11:00 AM

close one eye

The RAF’s main headquarters!

That man was right.

Kay, gang. Let’s go find out what the fuck was up with those assholes who attacked us.

11:01 AM

Oh. It’s not the Royal Air Force.

They’re called “Rise Against Fear.”

11:04 AM

We demanded to speak with their manager. We got him.

He’s a big man. Name’s Field Marshal Roosevelt. Says he’s related to Teddy. Military man. Not the cool kind, either; he’s the kind who’s really a big asshat about it.

11:05 AM

He’s been staring at us for a while now from behind his dark and smoke-covered desk. Another person’s standing behind him.

..now Roosevelt’s looking at me. o_o

“I know you. You’re the White Jester.” …o___o

I told him he must be mistaken.

“You were a terrorist, son. Nothing like us real men. You know what we’d do if that fucking plastic cunt came at one of us? We would have fought back, or died tryin’!”

>_<

..Donnie said something.

Roosevelt asked her to say it again.

“I said you wouldn’t have a choice if you’d actually be face to face with The Harlequin.”

Roosevelt laughed. “Yeah, well, maybe for you pussies and European types. But us, us men, we’re strong. We’d just laugh in that bitch’s face.”

..I really don’t like this guy.

Donnie said “Jordan’s willfully stronger than any of you.” …fuck, this can’t end well.

Roosevelt looks amused. “Okay, now you’re starting to get annoying, girl. How about you hurry up and tell me what you kids want?”

I looked at the others.
“Well. Three guys, RAF guys, picked a fight with us. And we just wanted to know if you happen to know why.”

“Of course I know why! They saw your ugly mug and didn’t happen to be as patient as I am!” More laughter.

..”His mug’s miles prettier than yours, jackass. At least I’d do him.” Fentzy, shit. o_o;

I said we really need to get going. Roosevelt looks pretty pissed.

11:09 AM

On the way out, I’m sure I heard Roosevelt say “Shoot the bastards next time you see ‘em.”

Duly noted.

step to the side

11:11 AM

I wish that we can find somewhere to go that’s not this place. New York’s not my style.

11:13 AM

I asked Fentzy why she had to piss Roosevelt off like that.

She said she didn’t say two words to the guy; I’m the one who did all the speaking.

…nobody’s objecting? o_o

11:18 AM

The others seem to know where they’re going, yet this is to the north.

I asked why we’re going up here. They said Roosevelt gave us directions to a special RAF warehouse.

..what the hell, stop stop stop.

11:30 AM

I showed the others my journal. I showed them my transcription of the talk with Roosevelt.

The others all claimed the talk happened almost completely differently. They said Roosevelt was a kind and respectful man who said he’d look into our problems, that he told us that the people in this warehouse up north can help us.

And they said I did all the talking.

I don’t remember that at all. o_e

11:32 AM

We’re gonna keep going north. We’re nearly there anyway. We’ll figure out what’s going on later.

11:40 AM

OH GOD LAMPPOST

OH GOD

OH GOD

LAMPPOST

IT’S AN ORIGINAL LAMP-POSTER

THAT’S A STUPID NAME I CAN NORMALLY COME UP WITH BETTER

OH WELL

IT’S A LAMPPOST WITH SPIKY ARMS

11:41 AM

close one eye

oh god the Gold Beetles are everywhere

and look at the Revolution Deathkittensquad

saaaave me

heaaal me

I can’t break out of this prison all alone.

11:49t9ggf0v {MA

OUTSIDE THE CAGE I SEE MY BROTHER BONES.

HE TURNS HIS HEAD SO SLOWLY ROUND.

I CRY OUT HALP BEFORE I AM ALONE.

AND HE LOOKS AT ME WITHOUT A SOUND.

AND I SHOUT OUT “BONES, PLEASE HELP ME”

BUT HE DOES NOT EVEN WANT TO TRY TO SPEAK.

I’Mhelplessin my violent rage

A silent tear of blood dribbles down his cheek,

and I watch him turn again and leave New York City.

12:34 PM

step to the side

A doctor sitting next to me,

He asks me how I feel.

Not sure I understand his questioning.

…OH GOD IT’S ACE MAN

THE BEACON THING

And he’s talking to me. I don’t know if Ace Man talks.

..oh. He says he’s just a follower of The Beacon.

12:40 PM

..I’m not even sure what’s going on anymore.

I feel like I’ve been having unleaded Mind Screw fuel being pumped into my veins for the past two days.

12:42 PM

The Follower dude tells me my friends are discussing things with the officials in the warehouse next door. They said I started going crazy before just passing out.

12:45 PM

He said he knows exactly what happened to me. He said I ran into The Musicians. Says they’re another Fear. He doesn’t know what the hell they are or even do, really; he doesn’t think anyone does. But he knows that the people who run into them have hallucinations.

Another Fear. Open the floodgates; the hunters are after the deer. The X factors, if you will.

12:49 PM

I think I can get up now.

I’m gonna go see the others.

12:55 PM

I went down a long staircase. Either the Follower’s room was high up, or this warehouse is far down. Either way, it’s ominous as hell.

12:58 PM

..I turned around.

Yeah, top of the staircase is right there.

Motherfucking rabbit hole.

1:01 PM

Brick wall left and right.

Brick wall in front and back.

I’m closed in.

1:02 PM

..now there’s suddenly a pathway right there.

Wow, it’s dark in here. I don’t know if I even have a flashlight left anymore.

1:03 PM

HOO, steam, I can feel that. Getting hot.

1:05 PM

It’s getting cooler, less humid. And brighter!

..there are pipes around me. This is some kind of corridor.

1:06 PM

Found a ladder. Light’s shining from a hole it’s entering.

1:07 PM

What is this

White

Metal walls

Metal floor

Metal ceiling

But white

Creepy place.

Room over there, going.

1:08 PM

..oh hey! I’m in a warehouse.

Oh hey! Donnie, Fentzy, and Danny! And a bunch of guys in military outfits!

Transcribing stuff.

1:09 PM

The others greeted me.

Military man shook my hand, introduced self as Thomas Ginger. Which is strange, as he doesn’t look like a ginger.

“I’ve been speaking with your colleagues, Mister Dooling. I understand that three of our men attacked you folks unprovoked— rest assured we’re doing all we can to find out what’s going on here.”

I thanked him.

Fentzy said he was just telling us about the “Novelpol.”

“Ah, yes! The Novelpol. Mister Dooling, ‘Novelpol’ stands for ‘Novel politics,’ ‘novel’ of course meaning ‘new.’ The world’s been in shambles for approximately a month and a half, and of course the overall shift of power has transferred from us humans to the Fear beings. But oddly enough, they’re not trying to take over anything.

“What I mean is, in a normal massacre like this.. well. Let’s say China was invading America and killing everyone much like how the Fears are. They wouldn’t just kill everyone, would they? They’d start to establish colonies or take over our government, run the country or whatever they get their hands on.

“But the Fears, they’re just killing people. They’re clearly sentient; I mean, one look at the bastards will tell you they have some plans for humanity or something!

”..but I digress. Over the past month and a half, the world became an almost-entirely different planet. We no longer have the same ecosystem, and the same can be said about our political geography.”

..he’s showing us a big map of the world. Looks normal.

“Bare with me for a moment; this map’s circa 2009.”

He’s pointing at USA.

“North America’s pretty damn different, for starters. The most dramatic turn of events is that, the United States of America? Well, they aren’t so united anymore.”

..and now there’s suddenly a new map. It looks mostly the same, but there’s new labels and new boundaries everywhere.

“Over this recent time, the united states have all seceded. They figured it was every man for himself, they jumped ship and are trying to adapt to stuff by themselves. So now the USA are now the DCA: the Divided Countries of America. In reality, things haven’t changed too much within our borders, but that’s because this whole secession thing is being kept a secret. If the general public were to catch wind that they don’t have to be so kind and neighborly to their neighbors anymore? Well. Leave it up to your imagination. We want as many people fighting the Fears as we can get.”

I asked what he knows of Europe’s new politics.

“Not good. The UK’s completely theirs now; the geography’s changing dramatically from what I hear. Spain’s where our Spanish sister group plots its rebellions, last time I heard. France is.. well, I’m really not sure. Reports are never specific. And that’s really all I’ve heard.”

1:16 PM

Mister Ginger’s taking us somewhere.

1:18 PM

Giant elevator. We’re going down.

1:19 PM

Ginger’s talking.

“We’ve been wondering, actually, if maybe you kids could help us out. Maybe you could do a little bit of… quote-unquote spelunking, so to speak.”

What?

“Multiuniversal exploration. You see, we sent an operative squad into a Door a little over a month ago, hoping they’d take scientific notes and possibly discover bold new things about Universe X.”

Donnie asked if he meant the place behind the rabbit holes.

“Yes! For lack of a proper title, we refer to the location behind the so-called ‘rabbit holes’ as Universe X. Anyway, our squad went in a little over a month ago and we haven’t heard from them since.”

I asked what, exactly, he wants us to do.

“It’s really not all that difficult. We’ll provide you with a Door, the very same Door the previous squad entered, and you’d keep a record on your explorations. You’d do your best to remain within Universe X, of course.”

Fentzy stated that they must have a more solid objective for us.

“Oh, yes. We do. We want you to find out any clues as to where the original operative squad went. Our instructions for them were to head southwest for a few days and return, but of course they are still missing in action.

“So. Do you think you can help?”

1:34 PM

We’re talking it over over a coffee.

Danny says he’s not going, and that’s final. His mission is with Archie. His mission is with Kaitlynn.

1:36 PM

Danny’s really set on this. His girl was.. taken. Viciously. And he really wants to get back at the bastard who took her away from him.

I told him I support his decision and that I wasn’t going to stop him.

He says he’ll look for me in his travels, and that he’s sure “we’ll meet again on the battlefield.”

“Battlefield.” Battlefield Earth.

How fitting.

1:39 PM

Donnie says she really can wait to go to Nebraska.

“I have the feeling the secret to Rapture is down there, further down the rabbit hole.”

I have the feeling she’s onto something.

1:41 PM

Fentzy asked me what I think.

I told her I have a feeling, deep in my bones, that we’re gonna progress the discord and bring Rapture just a little closer to the world.

She told me, if Rapture decides to speed up its arrival, “We’re coming faster.”

It looks like we’re going.

1:46 PM

As we were leaving the break room, I swear I saw The Harlequin.

..Mistress.

“Take a deep breath, White Jester. You’re entering a rule-free zone.”

1:57 PM

We said goodbye to Danny and found Mister Ginger.

I said I’d be the record-keeper, since I do write the logs. He’s giving me a good amount of multi-subject notebooks to keep as journals.

WHOO, more journals. :D

Now we’re being given a week’s supply of food.

2:02 PM

Alright, I think we’re ready.

2:10 PM

Oh my god that’s a Door, alright.

Fucking sci-fi stuff.

It’s a door in a doorframe. In the middle of a room. Not on a wall or anything. It’s standing up in the middle of this room. The door’s open, and inside is a.. wasteland, badlands-type place.

I guess we’re going in!

2:85858585858585858585855885858585885858585858588558585

88888888555555555 minutes have passed and we’re wandering in blackness.

Night fell really fast here.

It’s very quiet. I can hear only our footsteps as we walk over the sandy rocks.

858588585858555558585855558585585585855855585585585855

5888858 minutes have passed and and and

Remember the Agon Wastes from Metroid Prime 2: (Dark) Echoes? Yeah, this place is like that. But nighttime.

So it’s like Dark Agon Wastes, but not anywhere near as gut-wrenchingly nightmare-inducing.

And I can’t hear anything besides our sandy footsteps.

855858585858585858585888588858858585858588885888858885858

We’ve found what look like sand cuccoons dangling from a tree that is actually a rock.

A faint hum can be heard from within.

Fentzy says we’re getting close.

85858585558585858858858555858858558858585558858858585588585

The moon is rising.

This particular area is getting very rocky.

As the moon rises, the ground gets harder to see. It’s like moonlight but.. well, the opposite!

Fentzy says it’s up ahead.

855858585855585885858585585855855585558555555585555558555555

The moon has risen.

I cannot see anything around me.

I can hear only the other two’s breathing.

We’re holding hands now.

It’s getting harder to walk.

It feels like we’ve hit sludge.

The sand is rising.

We’re swimming in sand now.

We’re swimming to the moon.

8555858558585858585885885858885885885885858585858858858

“The drifting drifter… look into the picture.”

Swim to the moon.

It’s much closer now.

85585858858858585858585588585858588858858855858858888

I can see.

Millions of other drifters floating off to the sand sea.

The moon is lowering.

The sand is waving.

Tidal waves of grit and dust form a crust on the drifters in front of us.

The sand piles on the crust and forms density unseen.

The cuccoon sinks into the waves below,

and now the moon descends upon us.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

A perfect sphere colliding with our fates.

This story ends where it begins.

Hit the moon with your stream of consciousness.

9:00 PM

It is hard to write when sliding

we are sliding down a very long slide

it is red

turn coming up

to the right

now we drop

9:01 PM

Train of thought.

Wait, no. We’re just on a train.

The scenery is yellow.

That one’s orange.

KNOCKING

that’s the door.

We have a door.

9:02 PM

It’s George Washington, the first president of the United States of America.

Or Divided Countries of America, if you will.

He’s asking us to help him find his shotgun, ‘cause the zombies are coming.

9:08 PM

OH DEAR JOSH THEY’RE EVERYWHERE

SHOOT THAT ONE

NOW THAT ONE

HIT THAT ONE IN THE FACE

HIT THAT ONE IN THE FOOT

NOW ITS FACE

NO, THE OTHER FACE

DON’T GIVE ME THE SHOTGUN

WHAT IS THIS I DON’T EVEN

OH GOD

DOUBLETAP

DOUBLETAP

DOUBLETAP

THE DOUBLETAP DOESN’T WORK HERE

OH MY GOD THEY JUST KEEP GETTING UP

AND UP

AND up

and up

and

o______o

9:12 PM

THEY’RE LEVITATING.

SEE THIS, WAT DO.

I WAS NEVER BRIEFED FOR THIS!

9:13 PM

Open some fucking windows. Everybody strap in, I’m about to open som I got that backwards, didn’t I?

9:14 PM

OH MY GOD LIQUID IS POURING IN THROUGH THE WINDOW I JUST OPENED

IT’S PURPLE

IT’S

OH MY GOD

IT’S PURPLE DRANK

9:17 PM

It’s flammable.

Okay, kids. It’s time for a little… liquid tension experiment.

..with.. acid rain and stuff.

It’s a pun.

….just die, okay?

9:20 PM

The purple drank is mixing with their zombie selves.

…FUCK

EXPLOSIONS

THAT’S GOOD BUT ALSO THEY’RE EXPLOSIONS

DUCK AND COVE

9:21 PM

Really?

Right into the next nightmare?

Hello, hotel hell. Have you heard of happiness?

I take it you haven’t. Okay.

Let’s just check in. I’m too tired to speak coherent bananas.

9:28 PM

Sleeping with Fentzy tonight. I don’t expect to wake up in the same hotel, or even really alive at this rate, but I don’t care. Let me sleep.

We’ll go deeper in the morning.