Happy Birthday

So, after Abdalin and I finished getting everything ready to go a few weeks ago, I called up Kyle to let him know I was heading back into town. As soon as I told him the news, my girlfriends, Seraph, snatched the phone from him.
“Daniel!” she said. “I need you to not come back until the day after Valentine's Day!”
“You mean my birthday?” I asked.
“Yeah, we'll see you then!” she said hurriedly, then hung up on me.
“Hey Abby!” I called.
“Yeah?” he said from the other room.
“Change of plans,” I said. “We're going there on the 15th.”
“You mean your birthday?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “We'll see them then.”

So, on my birthday, Abdalin and I teleported back home. After stashing a bunch of our stuff at my hideout in Temecula, We grabbed our backpacks and went to Kyle's place in Murrieta, right on schedule. There was a note on the door saying “Let yourself in, Dan.” I rolled my eyes and turned to Abdalin.
“Brace yourself,” I said.
“I am braced,” he assured me.
I opened the door, and we were greeted by several shouts of “SURPRISE!!!” I looked around.
“Lots of cake and balloons,” I commented casually. “How much did Pinkie Pie charge you guys for all this?”
Seraph walked up to me, sighing, and said “You could at least act surprised.”
“That's hard to do when you're totally expecting something,” I said.
I looked around. Kyle was there, as was JP, Jose, Luke, Alex, and Ariana. A bunch of runners Kyle had met through his drug deals. They've been hanging out with him a lot, and I've been giving them what advice I can to help them with their various Fear related problems.
Kyle walked over to me and gave me a bro-hug.
“Welcome back, man,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said. “Everybody, allow me to introduce the Black Joker, right hand man of the Game Master!”
Everyone except Kyle and Seraph stepped back in alarm. I had told them all about the Game Master, a man who had been responsible for a shitton of human suffering, basically killed one of my friends, and almost destroyed the world.
“FORMER right hand of the Game Master,” Abdalin growled, giving me a dirty look.
“Yeah, he's turned himself around,” I said, laughing. “You guys can relax.”
Everyne calmed down a bit.
“So, has anyone noticed any Fear acti-” I began, but Seraph quickly slapped a hand over my mouth to shut me up.
“Oooooooooh no!” she said. “Not today! It is your birthday and you are going to enjoy yourself!”
I moved her hand out of the way and said “But-”
“Damn it, Daniel!” she snapped. “I demand that you take a day off from your Fear bullshit and enjoy your damn birthday party!”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “I'll take a day off from my Fear bullshit.”
And so we partied until night time, and everyone started getting tired. Everyone ended up going home, except Kyle, Seraph, Abdalin, and me. Kyle went to sleep in his room. Abdalin and I took on the couches, and Seraph had a little futon-thingy set up that she slept on. I waited until Abdalin and Seraph were asleep before I got up. It was 3 a.m. I tiptoed out the front door and started walking. I hadn't even gotten to the end of the driveway when I heard Kyle's voice.
“Visiting it again, huh?” he asked.
I turned around. He was leaning on the garage door, smoking a joint.
“Hope you have your card on you,” I said. “It'd suck if the wrong people saw you smoking without it.”
He flashed his medical card at me before returning it to his pocket. He got that thing because of some knee and hip problems he inherited from his grandpa. He also has insomnia and a chlorine allergy. The guy buys Palomar water, because tap causes his skin to dry out, and he won't touch Splenda or any other chlorinated sweeteners. He's kind of a health nut, but he's still a cool guy.
“Seraph's still asleep, isn't she?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, leaning against the door, next to him. “You aren't gonna rat me out to her, are you?”
“She'll figured it out on her own,” he said, passing me the joint.
I took it from him and hit it. Yes, I smoked some weed. Deal with it.
“No need for me to tell her,” he said. “Besides, I understand why you gotta go.”
I handed him back the joint, which he took a puffs from before speaking again.
“Tell him I said hi,” he said.
“If I can,” I replied.
“Oh yeah, got you a present,” he said. “Not much, but here.”
He handed me a car key, and pointed to a used car at the end of the cul de sac. I'm not sure what kind of car it was. I'm not good at identifying them.
“How much was that?” I asked.
“Oh, it was a steal,” he said.
“Kyle?” I said sternly.
“Relax,” he said. “It was cheap.”
“You know I don't have a license and have little driving experience, right?” I asked.
“Then don't get caught,” he replied.

We said our goodbyes and I went to the card. Before starting it up, I looked around the dashboard and glove compartment a bit. Apparently, the car wasn't my only present, as I also found a pair of binoculars, a set of handcuffs with a key, leather gloves, a hunting knife, some road snacks, and a four-bullet derringer. The derringer was a bit surprising. I tucked it into my sock and covered it with my pant leg, and pocketed the knife. Then I started it up and pulled out into the street.
It wasn't easy at first. I haven't had any practice driving for years. I kind of gave up on trying to get my license. Mostly because it's so much work and I am very lazy. Also, with all the Fear stuff, I haven't had the time. I managed to get the hang of it (more or less) after about five minutes of driving. By that point, my phone had started ringing. I slowed down so I could pull my phone out and slide the answer thingy and then hit speaker so I could keep both hands on the wheel. I recognized the voice on the other end instantly.
“Daniel,” Myrir said. “Don't go there.”
“I'm going there,” I replied, hitting the END button. She called back a second later, and I answered.
“You're walking right into a trap!” she said.
“I know,” I replied, hanging up a second time. She called again, but this time I ignored it.
I arrived at my destination and got out of the car. Before me stood an old church. It had seen battle, having a great deal of its windows shattered and most of the roof broken into pieces that littered the interior and the surrounding grass. From what I could see of the inside through the broken door and windows, it looked like the interior had suffered some damage from the weather. I stood outside the front doors for a long while. This is where it all started. Five years ago, a good friend of mine, Justin Ferin, joined the Timberwolves. He didn't know that they were servants of the Archangel at the time. Neither did I. We thought they were just some gang. I tried to talk him out of it. Told him he was being an idiot. We ended up having a fight. No real winner, we kind of just got pissed at each other after a few punches and went our separate ways. Not long after that, he was shot and killed by a group of unknown men, who I later learned were Slender Proxies. Right here at this church. According to the news, there were three other bodies with him, identified as Terrance McCleary, Ciel Potomac, and Gregory Garland. All four of their bodies had smiles when they were found there. Which sounds odd, thinking about it. Justin told me himself that their deaths had been unpleasant.
So, that obviously wasn't the last I saw of Justin. The Archangel claimed his soul, and used him as a vessel to interact with me. Pissed me the fuck off. I ended up fighting the Archangel here. It was the first time my powers came to the surface. Also the first time my sword burst into flames. Anyway, I pulled a miraculous victory over the Archangel, and unintentionally stole Justin's soul from him. After that, Justin lived in my subconscious. We patched things up, and eventually I took more of the Archangel's souls, so I guess he has company now. Unfortunately, since I lost my powers, I can't talk to him any more. Which sucks...

I knelt down, and started talking to Justin. I don't think he can hear me any more, but I don't care. I always feel like if I'm here, at this church, I can still be near him.
“Hey, man,” I said. “Been a while.”
Silence.
“I hope you're doing well,” I said. “I'm okay, I guess. Still trying to give the Fears hell. It isn't easy, though.”
More silence.
“I wish I could still talk to you,” I whispered. “I mean, you helped me a lot. I think some of this would be easier if-”

I stopped talking and threw my body to the ground. A trio of metal things attached to cords went wizzing over me and hit the ground. I rolled over and rose to my feet, stomping on the cords so they couldn't move. A teenage kid was standing not far off. The metal cord things were attached to a device strapped around his left wrist. He had an identical one on his right arm, but the cords were fully retracted, and three wolverine-like claws extended from it. I turned slightly to look at the metal objects attached to the cords I was standing on. More claws.
“You know, you're less surprising then the party,” I said turning back to him.
Now that I was really paying attention to him, I could see a very large coat laying on the ground behind him, and several pieces of tech were clipped to his person, including a speaker system at the front of his belt. He raised his right arm and fired the rest of his projectile claws at me. I threw myself to the ground and performed a roll, coming back up in front of him. I heard a whirring sound, and the cords retracted, pulling the claws back into their wrist mounted places. Before he could jabbed me with them, I summoned my sword to me and rammed the end of the hilt into his Adam's apple. He stumbled back a bit, and I swung my sheathed sword at his head. One of his armored forearms came up to block it, and he swiped his other claw at me. I drew my sword a few inches from its sheath to block, then I caught him with a surprise kick to the solar plexus, forcing him away from me.
“Wolverine claws “I asked. “Really? You can at least try to be original.”
He glared at me, and then I heard this weird humming noise coming from his claws. I could see the hair on his arms start to become rigid. Electric Wolverine claws. Well okay then...
He charged at me, swinging the claws, I kept my sword sheathed and used it to deflect his attacks. He was an okay fighter, but all that machinery he had one wasn't doing much to improve his speed. I managed to get behind him and slammed the hilt of my sword into the back of his skull. E went down, but not quite out yet.
“So who are you?” I demanded, stepping on his lower back so he wouldn't so anywhere.
A scratchy sound came from his belt, and then a distorted voice spoke from it.
“I am Mute,” it said. Okay, guess this guy speaks through his belt. Weird.
Then he plugged his ears with his fingers. I saw what he was doing and threw my hands over my ears, dropping my sword in the process. I wasn't quite fast enough. His belt emitted a deafening feedback sound, giving me a headache. I stumbled a little bit as I tried to protect my fragile ears. That gave him the chance he needed to roll over, kicking my legs out as he did. I fell down, and he got on top of me quickly. He pulled back his forearms, preparing to drive his electrified claws into my chest. Be fore he could, I wrapped the edge of my coat around my right hand and summoned my sword to it, smacking his left elbow with the sheath as I did. That startled him a bit, and I drew the sword quickly, knowing that my next move was gonna suck. He turned his attention back to me. He swiped one claw at me, and I angled my sword to catch the attack. As I did, a spark ran along my sword. Fortunately, the coat I was holding and the swords wooden hilt stopped me from being electrocuted to death, but I still got some heavy tingles from it. I focused and angled the tip of the sword a bit, so that it touched the exposed flesh of his upper arm. I jumped back, as he was hit with this own voltage. Not enough to do any lasting damage, but it stunned him.
I threw him off of me and got up. I drew my concealed gun from my waistband and aimed at him. Once he stopped convulsing, he saw my gun and froze, obviously smart enough to not attack me again.

“Nice one,” I heard from a few feet behind me. “For a second there I was worried I'd have to intervene.
“I had everything under control, Valerie,” I said.
“Not from where I'm standing,” she said.
I turned around. Valerie, a.k.a. Wildfire, was standing there. She's a woman, bout my age, with ling blue hair and pink irises. She was dressed in a purple hoody and jeans, and I could see that she had her left-handed claw gauntlet on. She's a former Emissary of the Game Master, but she's on our side now. I teamed up with her back in... June of last year, I think I don't remember. But we're friend. I guess.
“So, what brings you here?” I asked.
“Got a tip you were about to get in a fight at the church,” she said.
“Myrir?” I asked.
“Myrir,” she confirmed.
I had a funny feeling. A feeling I get a lot when Myrir comes up in conversation. I'm not sure what it is though.
“Well, you can tell her I can take care of myself,” I said. “I'm a big boy.”
“I know,” she said. “I don't care what she says to be honest. I just came cuz I wanted to tell you something.”
“Oh really?” I asked.
“There's something going on with the High Blood,” she said. “They're planning something. I don't know what it is exactly, but they need some kind of weird book to pull it off.”
“What book?” I asked.
“I don't know what it is exactly,” she said. “They call it Bleeding Crest, and I think that...”
He hesitated.
“What?” I asked.
“I think the Game Master knew about it,” she said.
“So, it'd be where ever he used to keep his books?” I asked.
“Unless the remaining Aces moved them, yeah,” she said.
“Great,” I said. “I'll look into that. Marshall might have some ideas, but contacting that guy is a pain in the ass.”
“What about ParaDan?” she asked.
“If he ever answers any of my calls, I'll ask him,” I said. “But I ain't getting my hopes up.”
Without warning, I kicked Mute in the face, knocking him out.
“What was that for?” Wildfire asked.
“I'm heading back to Kyle's,” I said. “Don't want him tailing me.”
“If you see Kallaway-” she began.
“Tell him you said hi,” I finished for her. “I know. Later.”
Then I went back. Seraph woke up before I got back and chewed me out for leaving, but she understands the whole “Visiting and old friend's grave” thing, so we're still good. I'm gonna wrap this up here.

Happy Valentin's Day

I crept along the dark, rounded hallway, keeping to the shadows so that the occasional floating eyeball sentries might not notice my presence. The walls were all brick, with mold and blood staining them at different points. There was noise behind each door I passed. Screams of torment, moans of sadistic pleasure, the whirring of various tools, animalistic growls and hisses. The Screaming Tower is never a pleasant place to visit.
From the outside, it looks similar to the Temen-Ni-Gru from Devil May Cry three. But the inside is much more complex than the level designers team at Capcom could possibly imagine. I peeked into a room briefly to see if it was occupied. Upon confirming it to be empty, I slipped inside and pulled out the map Marshall hand given me. He had already told me not to rely on it too much, as the rooms and corridors of the tower occasionally shifted and rotated, but it was a useful reference.
After studying it for a few minutes, I left the room and continued down the hallway. After a while, I found what I had been looking for; a stairway. I began ascending it. It was long and round, and after several minutes I stepped off onto a new floor. I consulted the map again briefly before continuing. If the map was right, I was still two floors below my goal, and the best was up was a stone ladder on the outside, next to a balcony. I kept moving, turning down a different hallway after a minute, then turning down another own a couple minutes after that. I was the doorway to the outside a few yards away and approached it.
I stepped out onto a short balcony overlooking a maze of plants. Different kinds of bizarre plant-life grew in that garden, ranging from bushes that repeatedly retracted and extended their thorns, to oversized, mutated fly-traps, to giant flowers that dripped acid and venom from their drooping petals. I felt a surge of sympathy for the poor men and women I saw wandering around in it, with chains tied to their ankles, dragging large balls of steel behind them. Most of them looked starved. All of them looked tired.
I shook my head an began looking for the stone ladder. I had a goal to focus on. Mercy could come later.
I found the ladder. Or, what the map described as a ladder. Several feet from the right edge of the balcony was a curved wall of stone, broken off around the edges, that looked like it had been glued to the outside of the tower. It stretched up several stories above me, and looking up, I could see the balcony above that I was supposed to reach. Looking back at the wall, I could see that it was covered in bulky rocks, much like a practice rock climbing wall.
On any other day, I could phase into the Godsway and reach the wall effortlessly. But I'd had enough trouble entering this realm without the Wooden Girl noticing me. If I went and used my Devil Killer powers here, in her domain, she had ways of sensing it, and she would find me almost immediately. The only way to reach it was to jump. I gulped. I'm an unaging, super-powered fencing master from the future. But there are still moments when I fear for my life. Especially with the disturbing forest of death and madness beneath me.
I took a few steps backwards, then ran forward and launched myself off the edge. I reached out, and just barely wrapped a hand around one of the jutting rocks. I hung there for a moment or two, catching my breath and giving the adrenaline some time to settle. Then I realized it wasn't a rock I was holding. IT wasn't quite hard enough, and there were patches of soft, wet material clinging to it. I took a deep breath and looked, then I came very close to emptying my stomach. I now knew for sure it wasn't a rock. Embedded in the wall of stone was a skull, of some kind of large feline. It was fresh, too. Bit of muscle were still attached at points, and it still had an eye in one of the sockets. Through the other socket, I could see there were still scraps of decaying gray-matter on the inside. I struggled to keep hold and keep my lunch simultaneously as I looked up. It wasn't just this rock. It was all of them. Skulls of various animals, even people, and been worked into the wall as makeshift hand and foot holds. The Wooden Girl has a sick taste in exterior design.
I pulled myself together and started climbing. I kept my eye on my destination above. Reaching it wouldn't be easy, and of course, the tower decided to make it harder. The chunk of wall I was clinging to detached itself from the side of the tower and began floating upward, and away from my target. I passed above it, but I was too far to the side now, and getting farther. I let go and drew my sword. The chunk of wall moved away, and I stabbed the blade of my rapier into the outside of the tower, barely stopping my fall. I was in one place now, but I was too far away from where I was headed now.
I suddenly heard a shriek of surprise from the other side of the wall. Someone had taken notice of the tip of my sword from the other end. I heard another shriek from behing me, and I turned to see one of the Tower's flying guardians soaring nearby, watching me. It shrieked again, and was answered by another creature higher above, then by more creatures in every direction. So much for stealth... Now she definitely knew I was here.
Which meant hiding my powers was pointless now.
I pulled my sword out of the wall and flung myself at the distant flying creature. It began flying at me, as if accepting my challenge. My body changed, becoming semi-corporeal, stuck somewhere between fluid mass and pure energy. Gravity ceased pulling me, and I simply soared in a straight line at the thing in front of me. It noticed the change in my being a few seconds too late; it was too late for either of us to change our flight path and avoid the other. I melted through it, passing through its skin and infecting it. I melded with its nervous system, and entered the depths of its mind. I could feel its madness, its instability, its desire to serve its master. I could feel its will, and I forced myself against it. As a being made to serve, it didn't have the strength to fight back against me. Its will was pushed to the back. I was in control.
I guided the creatures body toward the opening I had been trying to reach via the ladder, and crash landed on the floor, unintentionally breaking its neck in the process. I was ejected from the body, and rolled across the floor painfully as I became solid again. I rose to my feet. My body resisted. I felt fatigued, and weariness took hold of my mind. I shook myself awake and began moving. This was a terrible place to pass out.
I hadn't gotten very far down the hallway when a group of people stood in my path. They were visibly in pain. Their mouths were sewn shut by Her strings. Their eyelids had been stretched open, the top ones sewn into their brows, and their bottom ones sewn into their cheekbones. I couldn't see it, but I could easily imagine the threads running through their bodies, pierced into their muscles and bones, forcing their bodies to move as she wanted, whether they liked it or not. Puppets. The unwilling servants of the Wooden Girl. And they were lined up to stop me.
I raised the blade of my sword to my lips and whispered to it.
“Blade of darkness, deliver mercy to the wicked,” I spoke.
Then I charged. Every Puppet that came near me had their life ended abruptly. I slashed throats, pierced hearts, impaled organs and opened intestinal tracts. IT only took a minute for me to kill them all and get to the other side of their gathering. Killing them wouldn't stop them, of course. Even in death, the Wooden Girl still had control over their bodies. But I had accomplished two things. First, I had saved them from another moment of their suffering. Two, I had moved past them. Now I just needed to outrun their lifeless bodies.
I kept moving. I didn't have time to check the map. Instead, I decided to check behind every door I passed as quickly as I could. I'd need help with that.
“Shadow!” I commanded.
My shadow rose from the ground beside me, taking an almost solid form, gliding an inch or two above the stone and moss floor.
“Open!” I ordered it.
It flew ahead of me, twisting all the doorknobs and flinging them open faster than I ever could. As I passed each one, I glanced inside, for a couple seconds each, to see if I could find my target. At the 14th door, I stopped. It wasn't what I saw on the inside, but what I could feel. I stepped inside. In the center of the pentagon shaped room was a table. The legs were made from human bones and strips of muscular tissue, bound together with countless strings, and the table top was made of broken pieces of wood, glued together with what appeared to be coagulated blood. Sitting on the morbid table was a chipped wooden music box, with faded carvings depicting some kind of olden fairy tale I was unfamiliar with. There were words along the lid, written in what I think was French, or maybe a similar language. I opened it up, and the rusty gears began moving, producing a soft tune, that might have sounded beautiful when the box was new, but in its old age, the melody had grown scratchier, and distorted, do to the poor conditions of the internal mechanism.
This is what I had come for. The next piece Marshall had sent me to find. This makes 8.
I felt a presence behind me immediately after I shut the lid on the box, and the door slammed. I could feel the eldritch power of a Fear. I gripped my sword and spun around, expecting the Wooden Girl to be right there.
“You!” I exclaimed, upon seeing who had arrived.
An old man stood before the shut door. His clothes were old and musty, but still seemed to have some antique charm about them. His hair was thin, and clunk tight to his wrinkled scalp, and a pair of dark glasses concealed his eyes, or lack thereof. In his gnarled hands he held an old, decrepit book. His withered lipped curled into a gentle smile.
“Paradox,” he said.
“What do you want” I demanded, lowering my sword a few inches.
Now, don't get me wrong. I hate the Fears. The Blind Man is no exception. It's just that... well, in my timeline, he was important. He has a purpose, and I don't want to finish him until its been fulfilled. But if he crosses any lines, I won't hesitate to kill him with the others, purpose or no purpose.
“I've been made away of what you and the Chaos are up to,” the Blind Man said.
“What of it?” I demanded.
“It is a foolish idea which will likely end in the deaths of you and countless innocents,” he said. “That being said, I can tell you exactly where the next piece is.”
He told me before I had a chance to question him on it. Then he turned and opened the door.
“Why would you tell me if you have such a dismal idea of how it will end?” I asked.
“Because a certain mortal may balance the scale,” he said. “Oh, and you'd best leave before She sends more puppets.”
“What about-” I stopped myself before finishing the sentence.
I was gonna say “What about the Puppets she already sent?”, but then I became away of another presence on the floor. Someone powerful, wreaking havoc further down the hall.
“The Fury is here?” I asked.
“Don't get in his way,” the Blind Man said nonchalantly. “He's in what Martyr Beta refers to as 'the Zone'.”
With that, the Blind Man vanished. I stepped out into the hall. I briefly considered going to confront the Fury, but I didn't. It wasn't his time, and it wasn't my duty. The Fury was someone else's to deal with. IT would have to wait.
I stepped out onto another balcony, overlooking the maze of terrible plants, with its numerous victims wandering endlessly in it. I fought back a few tears and raised a hand toward the ground below me.
“Who will find more peace in Hell,” I said, and orange flames accumulated in my palm, “then in this nightmare she has created for you.”
With that, I unleashed the inferno and set the garden ablaze. The plants went up in flames rapidly, far faster than ordinary foliage would ignite. Screams echoed beneath me, and I turned away from in, feeling sick. I stepped through the Godsway and reappeared in my hideout, dropping the music box amongst the other pieces I had gathered. I crashed on the torn mattress and closed my eyes, trying to stamp the images and sounds of death out of my head. It wasn't easy.
It never is.

The Chain

I picked up my phone and started making calls. First was Estren.
“Sup?” he asked me.
“Hey,” I said. “I was wondering if you could help me with something.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“I have this piece of chain, and I was hoping you could help me identify it,” I said.
“Seriously?” HELLFIRE asked, taking over. “That's why you're calling?”
“It's not normal,” I said. “It's made of some kind of gold mixed with red, and it gives me this weird feeling.”
“So what?” HELLFIRE asked.
“So, figuring out what it is might help me find someone I'm looking for.”
“Go to hell,” HELLFIRE said. “Maybe they'd have an answer there.”
Then he hung up. No help there...
I called up David Kallaway next. Asked the same question.
“I dunno,” he said. “Sound like a piece of jewelry to me. You sure it's special?”
“I'm not sure,” I said. “There's something about it I can't put my finger on.”
“Well, I'm afraid I can't help,” he replied. “Sorry.”
“It's fine,” I said.
We hung up, and I tried calling the Black Crow. I got a lot of people's numbers off of Daniel's old phone. He didn't answer, so I just left a message asking him to call me back. I called up Daniel and Kyle too, but they didn't know anything about the chain either, and Abdalin wouldn't say anything. I'm not sure if he didn't know, or was just hiding what he did know. I tried Isaac next.
“Hello?” he asked.
“Hey,” I said.
“Tony!” He said. “What can I do you for”
“You're a smart guy,” I said. “I was hoping you could help me with something.”
“K,” he said.
I described the chain to him.
“Hmm... I dunno,” he said. “Maybe the chain that bound Prometheus?”
“I don't think so,” I said. “Even gods couldn't break those chains, and this one I've got has definitely seen some damage.”
“Maybe the ones used on Fenrir?” he suggested. “Or some other significant mythical prisoner? I dunno. I've always been better with science and math than history.”
“Right,” I said. “Think it might be connected to a Fear, or maybe another layer of reality?”
“The Brute, maybe?” he said. “Fetters of Ferratis and all that jazz?”
“Idon't think so,” I said. “The Brute's the Fear of war and a creator of conflict. I'd think something connected to it would be... a bit more violent, I guess.”
“What do you mean by that?” he asked.
“Well, when I hold these chains, I don't really feel anger or anything,” I said. “I kind of feel... peace, I guess. Doesn't seem like something Brute related to me.”
“Good point,” he said. “Hold on, let me ask around.”
He started talking with the runners he helps about the chains, and if they might know anything. After maybe twenty minutes, he put someone else on.
“Um, you're Tony Helioson, right?” Said the voice of a young boy, maybe 8 or 9 years old.
“Yeah,” I said. “What's your name?”
“It's Gray Nicholas,” he said.
“Do you know something about the chains?” I asked.
“I found one like it before Isaac picked me up,” Gray said.
I sat up.
“You did?” I asked. “Where?”
“It was in Hearmein Kentucky,” he said. “Underneath a table in a McDonalds. I picked it up because I thought it looked cool. I like it. It makes me happy when I hold it.”
No doubt about it. These were the same type of chains.
“Did you see anything else near the chain?” I asked. “Anything unusual?”
“I don't remember,” he said. “But there was some graffiti on the table.”
Some of the Fears had their own symbols. It was a shot in the dark, but I decided to asked.
“Were there any unusual symbols there?” I asked.
“There was one,” he said. “It was hard to make out though. Kind of like a big A. I can't describe it really.”
I sighed.
“Well, thanks kid,” I said. “It's something to go on, at least.”
“Um, you're a detective, right?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“And you find people?” he asked.
“I try to,” I said.
“Do you think you could find my mommy?” he asked.
Damn it. Damn it damn it damn it! Why do frightened children always hit my weak points!?
“I can try,” I said. Damn kid sounded too sad and scared to say no too. “Can you give me a description?”
I put the phone on speaker so I could jot down what he said about her. Blonde hair, just past her shoulders, baby blue eyes, slightly overweight, liked to wear green and red. I'm a little surprised a kid could give a description like that, but I'd bet Isaac used his telepathy to jog the kid's memory or something.
“And where's the last place you saw her?” I asked.
“It was in Hearmein, a couple weeks before I found the chain,” he said. “She left for work and never came home.”
“Where does she work there?” I asked.
“At the Sam's Club,” he said.
Damn. I need to get a membership if I wanna investigate properly...
“I'll see what I can do,” I said. “One last question. What is it you're running from?”
He was silent for a while. I heard Isaac say something, maybe giving some kind of encouragement. Then, after a little while, the kid spoke.
“A bunch of people,” he said.
“Can you tell me anything about them?” I asked.
“They're really creepy,” he said. “They talk weird, like their all the same person. And they're always wet.”
Crapbaskets.
“Do they call themselves anything?” I asked.
“They said they're the Camper,” he said.
EAT. The Fear of obsession. A being that possesses people who ingest its water-like ink. They gradually become part of its hyper intelligent hivemind, the Camper. It's fond of evolution, and is constantly trying to improve upon humanity through its servant.
“I'll do what I can,” I promised, before he handed the phone back to Isaac.
“You're really gonna look into it?” he asked.
“I have to go to Tennessee soon anyway,” I said. “It's nearby.
“Be careful,” Isaac said. “For all we know, his mother could already be-”
“Don't,” I said, silencing him. “I get the picture. But it's still worth checking out.”
“You be careful,” he said.
“You too,” I replied.
We hung up. I still had some time before Keursio came over. I slumped back in my chair and began fiddling with the bit of chain. I sighed. I couldn't think of anyone else to call. I tried to relax a bit. I put up my feet, but I lost my balance and the chair almost fell over. I steadied myself, and in doing so, I managed to knock the phone over. It hit the ground with a loud noise. I sighed, and picked it up. I put it up to my ear to hear the dial tone and make sure it still worked. The annoying sound of the tone filled my ears.
My eyes widened.
Annoying sound.
I reached into my desk drawer and pulled out my phone book. I shuffled through it, and found a number I had written down, but never had any intention of ever calling. Now seemed like the time to.
I punched in the numbers and waited for the response. It came. A voice answered.
“Who isssssssssss thissssss?” it hissed, drawing out the S sound way to much. It was really raspy, like Gollum with a throat cold.
“Hi, Jerome Welric,” I said. “This is Tony Helioson.”
“Oh, it'ssssss you...,” he rasped.
Jerome Welric, better known as Sound, is a servant of the Slender Man. He's also a mutant bat person, with wings and claws and shit. He weilds an arsenal of dangerous, sound based weapons. He's the one Daniel got his Sonic Sword from. And as a Slenderproxy, he's not the kind of person I would normally try and get help from. But who else could I ask right now?
“I need to know if you can help me identify something,” I said.
Once more, I described the chain. He let out a weary sigh from the other side.
“Sssssssssssssssstop wassssting my time,” he said, and hung up.
I slammed the receiver down, ticked. Jerk...
It rang a few seconds later. I picked it up.
“Who's this?” I asked.
“My name is-,” said a female voice on the other end, but I cut her off.
“Myrir Serena,” I said.
She was an ex-Archivist, and a current Slenderproxy. She also used to be Benjamin Malkator's mentor, and lover. She's the reason Ben's son, Little Isaac, exists.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“I heard what you said to Jerome,” she said. “I have a word of advice I'm willing to trade to you.”
“What do you want for it?” I asked.
“Daniel Ferris's new phone number.”
“Call me back in five minutes,” I said. “I'll tell you if we have a deal then.”
Daniel had gotten a new phone over his year long absence from the blogosphere. I'm one of the few people who knows his new number. I called him up and explained the situation.
“Fuck it,” he said. “Give it to her. I don't care.”
“Alright,” I said. “I'm expecting her to call back soon. I'll talk to you later.”
“Sure thing,” he said.
She called back on schedule. I gave her the number.
“So,” I said, “What's this advice you have for me?”
“Demonology,” she said. “Look into it.”
Then she hung up. Great. Real helpful. Bitchface...
Anyway, Keursio should be here so, so I'd better go. We'll be leaving for the Panopticon base in Tennessee soon. Honestly, I think they could have picked a better State. I fuckin hate traveling...

-Tony Helioson, signing out.