THE FILE BEGINS WITH TRANSCRIPTS TAKEN FROM BLAINE'S CAMERA. WHILE MOST OF THE FILMING IS CONSISTENT AND NONSTOP, PORTIONS WILL BE DESCRIBED IN SHORTER SEGMENTS WHERE VERY LITTLE OCCURS APART FROM WALKING AS ANDERS, BLAKE, AND EMMA WANDER THE TOWN OF [REDACTED].

--File 033: Eerie--

10/20/XXXX

This first segment is filmed back in the car. Anders, Emma, and Blaine have joined back up, and are also sitting quietly in their car together, a map of the town spread out between them. Anders has a cell phone out so they can talk to Bartosz. According to the map, the inn they are staying in is located at an outer edge of the town, on the way in.

It is unclear if they have talked about Emma's possession off-camera, but if they have, no one appears to be overly eagerly to bring it up now.

Anders: "All right, Bartosz, so what's the best plan of attack here? We're heading into this pretty damned blind. We're here, but what are we supposed to do next?"

Bartosz: "Information would be our best bet, but how we're gonna get it is the real ticket here. I've asked people I've come across- so has Alois, and many a reporter after her- and none of us have ever gotten anything out of these people."

Emma: "Maybe it would be best to know exactly what we need to know."

Bartosz: "You got a good head on those shoulders, kid. Let's spitball right now what we know and what we don't know, yeah?"

Blaine: "We know that this shit isn't normal."

Anders: "Paranormal, even."

Bartosz: "Someone's gotta say it. Something is going on in this town, and a good portion of these people, maybe not all of 'em, are gonna know about it. I've got a contact in town, but I'm hesitant to send you there, first."

Emma: "You're talking about the Priest and his student."

Bartosz: "Exactly. The guy's got more answers than I do, but we need to know what the town thinks of you first. We'll save that meeting for when we know what's gonna happen if they catch wind of you guys workin' together. Chances are good, though, that they already know. Or assume."

Blaine: "We know that Jake Grantham is dead. We know that, right?"

Bartosz: "I know it. I used some contacts I still have to confirm it. Grantham is deader than dead. Lethal injection, I think. He was charged federally on account of the sheer number of deaths, and let me tell you, the death penalty ain't handed out very often at the federal level."

Emma: "All right, so Jake Grantham is dead, but his flies are still coming for us from beyond the grave. We have a haunted video game that is associated with his murders, but seems oddly out of place with his M.O."

Anders: "Good use of lingo. Yes, that's correct. The game has to have originated from here, as well. We need to know how, by whom, and why."

Emma: "On top of that, we need to know more about Jake Grantham. His history was never uncovered, his mother is dead, and Bartosz, you mentioned in your book that the police report on her death was suspicious?"

Bartosz: "You really did read my book. Yeah, police report was suspicious, all right. It had nothin' in it. Claimed she fell down the stairs, broke her neck, and that was it. The whole thing was too short and too clean. Not enough to call 'em out on, not enough proof of otherwise, but something else was going on there."

Emma: "We know also that Jake Grantham was likely abused by his mother, as hinted at by the game. In most situations with serial killers and parental problems on the kind of scale I think the game's hinting at here, we can assume that Grantham killed his mother, and that means the town covered it up."

Blaine: "We need to know why they covered it up, and if your theory about pulling strings for Grantham is correct, then we need to know who's behind that and why."

Anders: "We also need to know why the killings waited until after Grantham's death to start up again. He's dead, so is this a case of a ghost, or someone who took over the control of his little pets and is now using them for revenge?"

Emma: "Where exactly do we start with all of this?"

Bartosz: "One place I could never get into was the local library. It'll have copies of all of their newspapers over the lifespan of the town, assuming they haven't cleared out anything relevant to the case. If we- you- can get in there, that'll give us a chance to figure out more."

Blaine: "Remember, we have less than 48 hours to get as much as we can, before the next level starts."

Emma: "Don't remind me."

Anders: "First things first. We need to know what the response to our being here is going to be. I think we need to do a few... tests."

Emma looks alarmed and ill at the thought of this.

Emma: "What exactly do you have in mind?"

Anders: "I think it's time to go have some lunch. There's a main street here, with all their restaurants, shops, and businesses. We're supposed to be lost; we could make like we're grabbing a bite to eat, and taking a look at the map to figure out where we're supposed to go to get to our next destination."

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Blaine: "Seems plausible. So you want to get into a restaurant and basically show ourselves, right? I'm guessing you want them to see the game."

Anders: "Emma, you did really well with the timing. I'm going to let you decide when you think is a good time to show off that game. Blaine, you try to record as many reactions as possible, without getting caught. I want to take a close look at people later, when we have time."

Bartosz: "Good call. Depending on how all of this goes and what folks say to you, we'll see if I need to camp out in the camper for much longer."

Anders: "All right. First things first: we'll hunt out a diner. After that, we'll hit the library. It might be a good idea to be able to pin down the events the game is talking about, at the very least. Grantham was in his fifties when he was executed, so this had to have happened... what, forty years ago? At least?"

Bartosz: "Sounds about right. Good thinkin', Jim."

Emma: "Got it."

Emma looks clearer than she has in a while, almost stable. Her expression is determined, and there's a glint of anger in her eyes.

Blaine: "Great. Let's get going."

Blaine fiddles with the camera, then cuts the recording.

The next clip begins inside the car once more. Blaine shifts the camera so it's facing Anders, who is looking at him grimly; he nods once, waits for some response from Blaine, and then turns to look at Emma. She nods, grimly nervous, and hugs her backpack to her chest. There's a collective squaring of the shoulders, and then the three of them exit their car.

They are in a parking lot that has quite a good number of cars sitting in it, meaning the diner they have chosen is a popular one, perhaps one of a very few in such a small town. As they walk through the lot, people in the middle of exiting their cars stop and cease all conversations, making no effort to hide their interest.

A reflection in a passing window shows that Blaine has cleverly disguised the camera by tucking it under his arm, in between himself and a few of his own text books; the viewfinder has been closed, but the camera is still recording, and there is no visible light indicating that this is so.

Anders opens the door into the diner, and as they walk up to the front desk, the waitress's smile immediately vanishes, and silence spreads outward from their appearance through the entire restaurant.

The waitress leans over her seating chart and glares at them, very clearly wanting them to leave. Her nametag reads "Diane".

Diane: "Can I help you?"

Anders: "We're a bit lost, and we're hoping to get a bite to eat while we figure out how to get back on the road."

Diane: "How about you just get back on the road and keep driving? We're not interested in taking care of lost tourists."

Emma: "We're not tourists, ma'am. We're driving to meet with my mother-"

Diane: "Not my problem. We don't take well to strangers, here. All you tourists just care about that murderer from 15 years ago, and we're sick of the nonstop questions. Get out."

Anders sighs, scratches the back of his head, and turns to Emma. Blaine catches this as he turns to place a hand on Emma's shoulder. The silence is so complete that nearly every movement they make can be heard. Just past Anders, on the left side of the restaurant, there is a collection of police officers staring very hard in their direction, as if expecting- or perhaps desiring- trouble.

Anders: "Well, that's a shame. Em, I gave you the keys, right? Can you grab them for me?"

Emma nods, kneels down, and begins to shuffle around in the backpack, identical to how she'd done it back in the motel office. Blaine shifts, and Diane is seen rolling her eyes heavily, and the police officers appear to be preparing to stand up and walk over.

As one of them begins to walk in their direction, however, Emma suddenly removes the game console from the bag without looking up, holding it in the air and digging around, as if trying to see if the keys are underneath the game console.

There is an immediate response to this.

Diane seems not to react to the game, but the police officer who was about to walk over is suddenly yanked back down into his seat, and another one stands up instead, striding toward them. Not every face currently in view of the camera reacts, hostility still oozing off some faces, but there are several who suddenly split into overly-wide grins, their eyes seemingly enlargening in the space of a fraction of a second. They do not move.

The officer approaching them is one such person.

Blaine steps back as the officer reaches them, a young, dark-skinned man with overly large eyes and a too-wide smile. When he grins at Diane, she blanches and leans back from her counter, looking pale and uncomfortable.

Diane: "Officer Barton, what... seems to be the issue?"

Barton: "Nothing, Diane. I've heard about these folks. They're more than welcome here, in town."

Officer Barton turns to grin at Anders, who, in spite of good acting, only manages a grimace in response.

Barton: "Friend of a friend, I think, right, Sir?"

Anders is clearly still trying to play dumb. He tilts his head, looking surprised (and uncomfortable).

Anders: "Are you sure, Officer? We don't want to be a bother."

Barton: "No problem at all, Detective Anders. No problem at all."

Anders's expression drops, and he assumes a grim, resigned look. Blaine shifts toward Emma, who glances at him with wide eyes. She slowly tucks the game back into her backpack, which Barton sees, his gaze shifting to Emma. Somehow, his eyes grow wider, the whites disappearing as darkness overtakes them. The smile widens further, stretching the skin nearly to the ears.

Barton: "Ah, Miss Emma. I didn't realize it was you. If you need anything at all in your stay in town, you just give me a holler, would you?"

His hand snaps up to his chest, making all three of them jump, but he merely pulls out a card and hands it toward her. It has contact information on it, and Emma accepts it with shaking fingers, taking the furthest edge from his own hand as possible. Barton grins at all three of them once more, before inclining his head.

Barton: "We've been waiting for you. It's so nice of you all to join us, at last."

He begins to walk away, but pauses on the way back to a table of madly grinning police officers. Several of the seemingly regular patrons have sunk into their seats, turning their attention very pointedly to their menus, though shaking hands and sickly skin obviously shows they're aware of the nature of the scene.

Barton turns around and grins at the three of them once more.

Barton: "Before I forget- if you'd like to let your friend in the woods know he's now welcome within city limits, we won't detain him anymore. He's welcome to join you for some damned good food, right Diane?"

Diane looks like she wants none of this situation and nods very quietly as she pulls menus up off the table.

Barton: "Excellent. Fantastic service here, you'll see. Good folks in this town. Know how to do as they're told."

Barton then turns back around and rejoins his table.

Blaine, Emma, and Anders turn to silently follow Diane to an empty table. At this point, the only people openly watching them now are the ones with the too-wide grins, though they slowly turn back to their own menus, and the mad stretch of the faces slowly returns to normal.

Blaine sets the camera down on the table and ends the recording, seemingly to separate out the files- but not before a very uneasy look is exchanged between the three of them.

--END TRANSMISSION--