synthneon | oceanview (different path) || ❝ turn the page i need to see something new. ❞

People don't ask for my help. [ Despite the tone she had just used, the explanation comes easily. Not softly, but, not hostile either. Her green eyes stay trained on the road ahead. As well as they can with how thick the darkness is anyways. ] I... try not to be noticed by anyone, or leave an impression. I made it a habit to just fade into the background. You noticed me anyways. You even put me in this story.

[ She frowns slightly. ] I didn't ask for any of it. Or, maybe, I really did. Coming here might of been asking for it even if I didn't realize it. Like I said, my friend told me to come here. I didn't realize what any of it meant and just acted on blind faith.

[ Jesse spares a glance at him again. ]

Bright Falls has always been weird from what I can find. Stories about people going missing. Being struck by lightning. Flash floods, tornados. Things that don't happen in any other place like this happen here. [ She tilts her head with a frown. ] There was this famous poet that lived here. Thomas Zane? He... actually wrote some of my favorite poems. He lived on Cauldron Lake with his girlfriend. She... drowned, apparently, in the lake. Then the cauldera erupted and took him out with his cabin. It happened in 1970.

[ Little does Jesse knka she is repeating what Barry Wheeler found a few days ago. What he reported to Alan when they went to visit Rose. ]

So... if the Dark Presence is behind all the weird things? You're just next, I guess. [ Another glance. ] Where were you staying when you showed up here?

That almost makes it worse, doesn't it? I asked for your help, not realizing I'd put you into the story without asking if that was alright. If you didn't want to be involved, I didn't give you a choice. [ Typical Alan Wake, being a selfish asshole again. Maybe she doesn't think that, but what if she does? ]

You might have been told to come here, but that doesn't mean you wanted to be a part of this, does it? Hell, I don't even want to be a part of it, but I can't back out now. You could, because it's not your problem. Saving Alice is something I have to do, but you don't have to.

[ Alan may have heard this all from Barry already, but he listens to Jesse explain like it's the first time he's hearing it. Maybe it's just that writer's instinct in him, that part of him that's used to doing research for his books; this is obviously different from that, but he knows there's no harm in getting different perspectives on the same topic. ]

So, if it's always been weird, maybe it's always just drawn in events like this... people like- well, like us. And Zane, too. [ Alan's expression turns thoughtful as he mulls this over. Jesse has experiences with the otherworldly, even if she didn't ask for them either. Zane was a poet. Alan's a writer. ]

What if this place draws in people who've seen the other things out there in the world, and draws in artists too? [ It draws us in, jerks us around, and doesn't give us any choice but to keep digging. Maybe Zane had the same problem. All I know is, I don't want to see anyone drown in the lake, or drown in whatever the hell the story is doing. Not Alice, not Jesse... Not me. I think. ]

Great. I won the lottery no one wanted to enter. [ He huffs out a dry laugh. ] Bird Leg Cabin, I think it was called.

Maybe you asked for help because it's in the story. Maybe there's only so much we can do that's not written on a page. [ She shrugs. ] No, I didn't want a part of it. That doesn't mean we always get what we want or don't want. I didn't want anything of what happened to happen in Ordinary. It did anyways. Some things are bigger than us.

That doesn't mean we stop trying to change it.

[ She's not sure where the words come from, but they feel right. They're something she'd say. If she was more confident and trusting. Instead, all she has is her belief and knowing the truth of what happens in the world. It's carried her for eight years.

How much longer and further can it alone carry her? ]

Besides. What if the government shows up here like it did in Ordinary? What if they try to take you too?

[ Another glance from the road is given at his statement. A tilt of her head.

« I can't say any of it wouldn't be possible. All of it is. Why would the Dark Presence want artists? I guess people like me could be tricked into... I don't know. Worshiping it? Maybe I wouls have, if it wasn't for you. » ]

You said that you weren't sure why you picked Bright Falls to get away from everything. [ Her tone is soft, leaving the room for the implications. She frowns. ] There's no cabin on Cauldron Lake. There hasn't been since everything went up in 1970. [ A glance down, then back to him. ] How did you get to the cabin?

[ Alan frowns, clearly not liking the idea of being forced to do certain things: forced by a story, no less. He's always liked making his own decisions and not having things decided for him, which might seem like it puts him at odds with being a well-known author, but he still likes to think that being recognized hasn't changed who he is as a person. Whether people who know him agree with that or not remains to be seen. ]

Isn't theoretically writing a way out for you changing it? But I guess that I don't know just how much I can change about a story that's already written. Something tells me this isn't going to be as simple as editing one of my books.

[ Suddenly, Alan feels like he's staring up at a mountain that's much bigger than him. Can he climb it? He doubts that he can. He's only a writer, only a man who came here to get away and found more than he bargained for. ]

If they show up here, I guess I'd run. Maybe they wouldn't catch me.

[ Except he doubts that he could run and hide from them forever. He's recognizable, and he's not sure how discreet he could actually be.

Maybe I'll have to find out.

But then he registers what Jesse's said, and he just stares at her. ]

No cabin? [ His expression turns confused. ] But I- I saw it. I saw the trail leading to it. I got the keys to it and everything.

[ She gives him a shrug. Not from dismissal, but because she isn't sure. This is all uncharted territory. None of how this... thing has happened is similar to Ordinary. There's no Slide Projector. There's no gateways to other places. She thinks, anyways. There might be and she has no idea. ]

Well, you brought me into it. You're stuck with me.

[ « Even if he doesn't like it. »

Jesse slows the jeep to a halt and places it in park. She turns to look at him properly, frowning, with a look of worry in her gaze. ]

Wake. I went hiking around the Lake when I got here months ago. There... there was a sign post marking where the entrance used to be. There was no way to the island or an island. I'm--I'm not lying. Or, making it up to make you feel insane. I wouldn't do that.

[ « I lie about myself but not about these things. Wait. Did he say keys? » ]

Who did you get the keys from?

Edited 2024-01-10 04:04 (UTC)

[ When she shrugs, he looks at her intently, his eyes locked on hers. He knows he's pinning her with his stare, but he can't help it. Some instinct or brain wave or something is telling him he needs to make it clear he's giving her a way out. Maybe if she doesn't take it now, she'll never be able to get out. Or maybe she will. She seems to be made of sterner stuff than most. But still, he feels like it's important. ]

Well, you can't say that I didn't try, then.

[ He's not liking the feeling he's getting that this story is going to keep pulling both of them in until it's too late for them to get out. Maybe it's too late for him, but she doesn't have to go down with him. But it seems that she's made up her mind for now. ]

Okay, but- I saw it. I got the keys to it. I got them from- From a lady. I think she said she was acting on behalf of the guy who rents out the cabins. She seemed strange, but I just figured she wasn't used to dealing with visitors. I know I saw the island, and the cabin. I didn't imagine it, I'm sure I didn't.

[ Jesse stares him down evenly. She doesn't flinch, or lean away, or even curl up. She stands her ground in some sort of assures defiance. A sense of what she knows is right radiates off her. Even if he dragged her into this mess? She's apart of it.

« I won't run away. Not again. »

A roll of her eyes is given at his slight attitude. No wonder people say he's an asshole.

Her eyebrows come together as she looks down to the side. Stuckey didn't work with an older woman that she has ever seen. A frown pulls at her face. Then, a shake of her head.

« No. That's wrong. It's not how... is it the story? How can a story affect the memories of the person who wrote it? »

Polaris shifts.

Jesse looks back at him. ]

What did the woman look like? Did she ever give you a name?

[ Some part of him is warning him not to poke her too much or push her too far, because she might get angry and run off if he does. But he can't pretend that he isn't still a prickly man with a prickly personality who lashes out much too easily. When he sees her roll her eyes at him, he figures he's getting off easy here. He really doesn't want to drive her away, but turning off that abrasive side of him isn't easy. ]

What is it? [ He notes how her gaze shifts away for a second before she focuses on him again. ]

She didn't give me a name, and I have no idea where she came from, or what she was doing down that hallway. Yeah, she was down a hallway, almost like she was waiting for something, and she was wearing a black dress and a black veil. It seemed weird, like she was going to a funeral or something, but she said Stucky couldn't be there for whatever reason and she had the keys I needed.

I never got her name because she didn't give me one, and I didn't stop to ask. Guess that was stupid of me.

[ « Hallway? »

Her expression falls slightly as he continues on describing the woman who gave him the key. It definitely wasn't someone affiliated with Stucky. There's only one person in town she can think that matches that description. Someone who isn't even a person in town. She feels a cold chill roll down her back at the realization. There's no question in denying it, especially as Polaris confirms her suspicion.

« That's your enemy? HER? That's the... the dark thing that's trying to get out of the Lake? Shit. Shit. »

Jesse leans over to him--not that they're that far away--and grabs onto his sleeve to make sure she has his attention. His full attention. ]

There's only one person that ever matches that description in Bright Falls, Wake. The Scratching Hag... Barbara Yagger. She's a local folktale--who obviously isn't a folktale. She's the one that drowned in the Lake. Thomas Zane's girlfriend.

[ A slight shake of her head. ] Which means it isn't a real person. It's...

[ That reaction wasn't one he expected, not that he really knew what to expect about any of this. The situation at hand is bizarre, but Jesse herself is also a stranger, and he's still figuring out who she is and how she thinks. It's obvious to him that what he's said has rung a bell with her, so maybe she knows something about the mysterious lady who seemed to lurk down a hallway waiting. ]

The Scratching- What? [ He shakes his head in something like disbelief. ] A lady who's a folktale but not a folktale... She seemed real enough to me. And how can someone drown but still be walking around?

[ His confusion only seems to be growing, but he wants to understand, so he adds: ]

If she's not a real person, then what is she?

[ Jesse's hands curl around the stationary steering wheel. Something tells her he knows who the woman is. When he wrote the story--even if he doesn't remember it. Why can't he remember? That whole week is missing, as is any keys to what's really happening in Bright Falls. ]

...what else could she be? [ Her eyebrows draw together. ] If someone drowned in a Lake that's controlled by something otherworldly... what else would be using that someone's body?

[ Her instincts tell her she can't be blunt with it. Alan has to figure it out on his own. She can guide him to the puzzle pieces and give the direction, but he has to put them together. He has to see the whole picture to... stop it? End the story? She's not sure on that part. ]

Edited 2024-01-20 10:53 (UTC)

[ Alan's not trying to be difficult on purpose, but he's honestly not sure what exactly the lady he met is, if not a real person. ]

Did I walk into a haunted town by accident? Is she a ghost? Or something worse than a ghost, if she's being controlled by something.

[ He can't help but think all of this sounds like something from a bad horror movie. ]

I'm guessing I should just know what she is, but- [ He shakes his head. Maybe he's stupid. Maybe he's not as up to speed on spooky lore as he should be. ]

I wouldn't say it's haunted like a ghost story.

[ Jesse let's go of the wheel in order to reach over for her bag. The car remains stationary, but there still seems to be no danger near them. She opens it, pulling out the stack of dimly glowing papers. Her finds mixed with the ones Alan found. Maybe she'll put them in order like a story for him.

It might help.

She flips through the pages, and then hands him one and then another. A hesitation is in the motion, as if she expects him to reject the notion of it all.

She frowns slightly. ] I know you don't remember writing the story. But, I think we should start relying on what you wrote. We might be able to save your wife if we do.

[ Then, a gentle voice comes to Alan's mind. One he should recongize--it's Jesse's after all. Older, more assured, from a dream.

『 I learned how the manuscript pages work from you. I'm pretty sure you can already tell how what's happening matches what's typed on the pages. Well, it's real. You know it is....

...What's real and what people want to perceive is different. Really different...

Ask me--when you wake up. It's 2010, right? I'll know what you mean if you ask. 』]

Maybe not exactly, but there's some weird things going on here. It might as well be a ghost story.

[ Or a story that lures people in until it's too late and then destroys them. But I'll stop that from happening. It won't destroy me, or Alice, or Jesse. Somehow, I'll stop it. I don't know how I'll do that, but I'll figure that out as I go.

He watches as Jesse reaches for her bag and begins to search through it until she pulls out a stack of papers. He takes the pages she hands him and begins to read. Realization begins to dawn on him, showing on his face, as he continues reading. ]

The Dark Presence... yeah, that's familiar. That's what's making people do crazy things and act all violent. And that must be what's pulling the strings here. It's- it's inside Barbara Jagger, if I can believe what's on these pages. [ I have to believe them, don't I? I have to trust what's written on them. It's not like I have anything else to go off of. ]

I-

[ He silences abruptly when he hears that familiar, gentle voice. It's Jesse's, but it's different. The words are familiar too, however, and it confirms for him that he can trust the words on the pages without having to worry too much. ]

All right. I think you're right, and these pages are our best bet. [ Especially since something's screwed around with my memory. ]

( cont here )

oceanview (different path) || ❝ turn the page i need to see something new. ❞

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