[ The voice over the payphone asks that question, and Alan grinds his teeth in frustration. ] How the fuck could I?
[ It's clear from Alan's tone that he's in no mood for being jerked around by the mysterious voice on the other end of the phone. He's been jerked around by the story too, even killed by it, and he's been through more hell than anyone really deserves, even an asshole like him.
All he wants is to get out of this hellish nightmare, and finally get to go home. But he still sees no end in sight, just more loops, more drafts, more people who are far too vague and seemingly more interested in stringing him along than they are in helping him. Of course, there's a couple of people who are exceptions to that, but the voice on the phone doesn't seem to be one of them.
He and Alan exchange more words, and Alan's frustration only grows. The voice drops more hints, more vague details, and the call ends with Alan finding the mysterious man's room key sitting on the payphone. It's convenient. Almost too convenient. Alan doesn't trust in convenience anymore. He doesn't trust in much of anything.
But what does he have to lose? The Dark Place could screw with him more, and raise the stakes more, but he feels as though it's not tempting fate to say that he's already had so much taken from him that anything else is just par for the course at this point. There is a part of him that expects there to be nothing left of him by the time the Dark Presence is done with him. The only thing that might stop it is if he finds a way to end the story and escape for good, but in his eyes, the likelihood of that is growing less and less all the time.
He doesn't really want to take this detour, but he figures if he does, he can finally find out just who's been talking to him on the phone, and that'll be one less mystery for him to solve. Another one is likely to crop up in its place, but he'll cross that bridge when he gets there.
The hotel is every bit as winding and looping as it's always been, or maybe it's just the Dark Place making it be that way. He passes doors and goes down hallways, sometimes using the Angel Lamp when it resonates with something, but for the most part, the trek to Room 665 is uneventful. That is, until he turns a corner and spots a familiar box that normally contains supplies. He opens it, and instead of finding ammunition or med kits, he finds a keychain. Not just any keychain either. The sight of it causes Alan to let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in.
I know this. It's from her, but what's it doing here? How did it get here? I lost it in one of the loops. At least, I think I did. I don't understand anything about this place. Dream logic, I guess.
He moves to clip the keychain onto his bag, but at the last second, he decides to hold it in his hand for a little while. Something about having it makes him feel closer to... well. Someone. It's a fool's hope to think that maybe a keychain could lead him back to that someone, but, well... Alan knows he's a fool sometimes.
An image, or a recollection, flashes into Alan's mind then. It's similar to something he's seen before, but it's changed somehow too. He hears his own voice narrating and sees his own silhouette in his mind's eye, the keychain having triggered a memory of some kind.
I couldn't explain it. But something about this felt familiar. I felt an overwhelming closeness to home. Something was trying to guide me there. I wanted to let it, so I followed that feeling, hoping it took me where I wanted to go.
Alan turns another corner and finally spots his destination: Room 665. He doesn't waste any time inserting the key into the lock, turning it, and stepping inside. ]
Hello?
[ If the person from the other end of the phone call is here, they're doing a good job of hiding themselves. Alan takes another step into the room, still looking around. ]
no subject
[ The voice over the payphone asks that question, and Alan grinds his teeth in frustration. ] How the fuck could I?
[ It's clear from Alan's tone that he's in no mood for being jerked around by the mysterious voice on the other end of the phone. He's been jerked around by the story too, even killed by it, and he's been through more hell than anyone really deserves, even an asshole like him.
All he wants is to get out of this hellish nightmare, and finally get to go home. But he still sees no end in sight, just more loops, more drafts, more people who are far too vague and seemingly more interested in stringing him along than they are in helping him. Of course, there's a couple of people who are exceptions to that, but the voice on the phone doesn't seem to be one of them.
He and Alan exchange more words, and Alan's frustration only grows. The voice drops more hints, more vague details, and the call ends with Alan finding the mysterious man's room key sitting on the payphone. It's convenient. Almost too convenient. Alan doesn't trust in convenience anymore. He doesn't trust in much of anything.
But what does he have to lose? The Dark Place could screw with him more, and raise the stakes more, but he feels as though it's not tempting fate to say that he's already had so much taken from him that anything else is just par for the course at this point. There is a part of him that expects there to be nothing left of him by the time the Dark Presence is done with him. The only thing that might stop it is if he finds a way to end the story and escape for good, but in his eyes, the likelihood of that is growing less and less all the time.
He doesn't really want to take this detour, but he figures if he does, he can finally find out just who's been talking to him on the phone, and that'll be one less mystery for him to solve. Another one is likely to crop up in its place, but he'll cross that bridge when he gets there.
The hotel is every bit as winding and looping as it's always been, or maybe it's just the Dark Place making it be that way. He passes doors and goes down hallways, sometimes using the Angel Lamp when it resonates with something, but for the most part, the trek to Room 665 is uneventful. That is, until he turns a corner and spots a familiar box that normally contains supplies. He opens it, and instead of finding ammunition or med kits, he finds a keychain. Not just any keychain either. The sight of it causes Alan to let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in.
I know this. It's from her, but what's it doing here? How did it get here? I lost it in one of the loops. At least, I think I did. I don't understand anything about this place. Dream logic, I guess.
He moves to clip the keychain onto his bag, but at the last second, he decides to hold it in his hand for a little while. Something about having it makes him feel closer to... well. Someone. It's a fool's hope to think that maybe a keychain could lead him back to that someone, but, well... Alan knows he's a fool sometimes.
An image, or a recollection, flashes into Alan's mind then. It's similar to something he's seen before, but it's changed somehow too. He hears his own voice narrating and sees his own silhouette in his mind's eye, the keychain having triggered a memory of some kind.
I couldn't explain it. But something about this felt familiar. I felt an overwhelming closeness to home. Something was trying to guide me there. I wanted to let it, so I followed that feeling, hoping it took me where I wanted to go.
Alan turns another corner and finally spots his destination: Room 665. He doesn't waste any time inserting the key into the lock, turning it, and stepping inside. ]
Hello?
[ If the person from the other end of the phone call is here, they're doing a good job of hiding themselves. Alan takes another step into the room, still looking around. ]