THE FOLLOWING SNAPSHOTS ARE TAKEN THE SAME DAY AS THE PREVIOUS ONE, PEPPERED THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE DRIVE DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS.

--File 026: Snapshots #2--

10/17/XXXX

SNAPSHOT #2

Blaine and Emma are seated at a very old, almost rusting outdoor table at a pitstop restaurant on the side of the road. There are a few other travelers there, and though there are three plates of food on the table, Anders is nowhere to be seen.

Blaine: "For posterity, I want the world to know exactly how much we suffered on this journey of life saving."

Blaine turns the camera toward his plate, which is filled with both an exorbitant amount of grease and also a hotdog that is sweating harder than it probably should. There are numerous squeezed dry packets scattered across the table, and a smattering of ketchup and mustard on all three hotdogs. A large, horrifically greasy collection of fries sits in a flimsy cardboard holder already soaked through.

Emma: "I feel like I'm going to barf this up later."

Blaine: "For anyone wondering where old Anders is-"

Blaine swings the camera round briefly to show Anders talking on a flip cell phone several feet away, head bowed and one hand on his hit. He seems annoyed.

Emma: "Who did he say he was talking to?"

Blaine: "His boss. I think he wanted him to quit the leave Anders was taking, but then found out he had already left town."

Emma: "Ugh, turn that off, I feel like I'm about to puke, there's so much grease..."

Blaine shuts the camera off, but there is a split second where his own discomfort is visible in the camera.

SNAPSHOT #3

This one appears to take place much later in the day, when Anders, Emma, and Blaine have reached a motel. Anders has sprung for two rooms, likely to get Emma privacy, though both rooms feature two beds. At this point, Blaine is sitting on one bed in Emma's room, and Emma is sitting on the other. Blaine has just started recording, but it's apparent they've been talking for a few minutes already.

Blaine: "Anders is already out, yeah."

Emma: "It's, like, eight o'clock, though?"

Blaine: "He told me once that as a Homicide Detective, there's always a chance that he'll get a call in the middle of the night, so he goes to bed early. Conks right out, too, sleep of the dead."

Emma: "I never thought of that before... the things he must have seen..."

Blaine: "Imagine that, and then imagine the fact that he still considers the Maggot Man the worst."

Emma: "Doesn't he have a wife?"

Blaine: "I don't think so. No kids, either, as far as I can tell."

Emma: "That seems... sadder."

Blaine seems to pause hearing this.

Blaine: "What, you want kids?"

Emma: "I mean, sure, someday. I want to get married to someone I love, someone I have a connection with, and then after a while we'll decide the next step is kids, and we'll raise them up to be their own little people."

Blaine: "Huh."

Emma: "What, you don't?"

Blaine: "I don't know."

Blaine seems uncomfortable. He's fiddling with the camera, and then places it on his nightstand, facing the two of them. Emma must realize they're recording, because she makes no comment on this, only continuing to watch Blaine.

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Blaine: "My entire childhood is a horrific mess. I don't know if I could bear the thought of bringing someone into this world, to risk them going through the same nightmare."

Emma: "Surely you know you'd be better than what you experienced?"

Blaine: "Would I? What's the guarantee? How do I know some monster isn't lurking inside of me, and having kids won't set me off? What if I choose the wrong mother? What if I have kids and I resent them after all, and I can't help but take it out on them?"

Emma: "Whoa, hey- it's fine. You don't have to make a decision now. You're, what, 19? Like me?"

Blaine: "Yeah."

Emma: "Right, so who knows. Maybe in ten years, I'll change my mind, and you'll change yours. We're nowhere near that stage in our life, and on top of that, we've got a haunted video game and potentially the ghost of a murderous serial killer following us around."

Blaine: "That thing really doesn't leave your side."

The two of them glance away from the camera, toward the center of the room; on a cheap, small table that serves as a dining table of sorts, the outwardly unassuming gray handheld console sits perfectly.

Blaine: "I know you left it in the car."

Emma: "I did."

They both shudder at the same time and turn back to each other, expressions grim.

Blaine: "You doing all right?"

Emma: "You always think of me. I should be asking you if you're all right- you've seen the same shit as I have."

Blaine: "I've seen worse, remember? I killed my step-dad."

Emma: "It was self defense, Blaine."

Blaine opens his mouth as if to argue, but seems to think better of it. There's a dark look to his expression, however, and he looks away. Emma seems to want to say something, but changes her mind, saying something else instead.

Emma: "You know, it doesn't define you."

Blaine: "What?"

Emma: "What you did to him. I can imagine you had a lot of very frightening feelings during and after something like that."

Blaine: "..."

Emma: "I'm just saying. In a moment like that, there must have been- well, relief. He was gone."

Blaine: "Yeah. Relief."

Emma: "Maybe vindication."

Blaine: "You sure you're feeling all right, after everything? Have you heard anything about Keith?"

Emma doesn't seem fooled by Blaine's subject change, but she acquiesces.

Emma: "No, though I talked to my mom earlier, after dinner. They're being really hush-hush about the whole thing; Keith's mom hasn't heard anything, and she's... she's a mess."

Emma's face crumples suddenly, and she looks down.

Emma: "Sorry. Sorry. It's all my fault."

Blaine: "No, it's not. You couldn't have thought something like that would happen."

Emma: "I should have left the game with you."

Blaine: "Yeah, and then I'd probably be the one in the hospital. Things are... we have to hope everything's happening for a reason. There's got to be a reason that it was him and not me, right?"

Emma: "A reason?"

Blaine: "You know... Divine intervention, or... something."

Emma gives a small snort.

Emma: "I can only hope something good comes out of all of this, and something good enough to make it worthwhile. Do you really believe that?"

Blaine gets very quiet.

Blaine: "I have to, or else... how do I explain everything I went through? There has to be a reason that I can't see yet, some reason for why a child was beat every single day, his mother abused and threatened, and no one cared to do anything about it."

They both fall silent. Emma realizes there isn't much she can say to him on this subject. She reaches over and squeezes his hand.

Emma: "For what it's worth, if in ten years you did change your mind, I think you'd have the tools to be a great dad."

Blaine looks away from her, pulling back.

Blaine: "We should get some rest. At about 10:00am tomorrow, we can expect that game to do something nuts, when it hits 24 hours on that timer."

Emma: "I don't know if I can handle a car-full of maggots and flies again."

Blaine: "Shower good enough?"

Emma: "The second one was ice cold, but I still... needed it."

Blaine: "Right."

Emma: "Blaine, will you sleep in here? I'm not- I'm not trying to- There's two beds-"

Blaine: "I don't think you should sleep alone in here with the game, and it's definitely not going to leave you. It might've said both our names, but it seems to have designated you as the holder."

Emma is visibly relieved.

Emma: "Exactly. Thank you."

Blaine: "I was trying to figure out how to suggest it, so, you know, thanks for making it easier on me."

They laugh, but there's too much tension, too much unsaid. As Blaine reaches for the camera, Emma stops him suddenly.

Emma: "Why are you doing this, anyway?"

Blaine: "Doing what?"

Emma: "You're pretty steady on the whole life saving journey. It feels like you've just sort of accepted that this is where we're going."

Blaine thinks for a minute, frowning.

Blaine: "Sometimes, it feels like... like I've already done this. like I'm getting deja vu, almost?"

Emma is startled, but Blaine shakes his head and laughs before she can agree.

Blaine: "That sounds so dumb. I don't know- I need answers, I think, and the idea of what happened to Wynona happening to someone else..."

Emma: "Yeah. Yeah, same."

Emma seems unsettled by Blaine's response, but she says nothing. As she gets up to get her things, Blaine reaches over for the camera to shut it off. His expression is oddly calm and still up until the camera shuts off..

--END TRANSMISSION--