THE FOLLOWING FILE CONTINUES DIRECTLY AFTER THE PREVIOUS, AS THEY ARE DIRECTLY CONNECTED. DETAILED CARE AND ATTENTION WERE REQUIRED IN THE FORMING OF THIS FILE AND THE POINTED DETECTION OF MINUTE DETAILS.

--File 043: Alex Part 02--

The silence that follows Alex's admission is thick with implications. No one moves a muscle. Blaine is still holding the camera, but it is pointed at Alex, perfectly still, and Alex's eyes are trained on Blaine in a nearly beseeching manner. Emma is the first one to break the silence.

Emma: "Blaine is covered in blood? After I've been killed? So you're saying- you're saying he kills me?"

Alex: "Over and over and over. Every single time."

Alex pauses, then looks directly at Emma- pointedly.

Alex: "Every single iteration."

Emma: "Oh... oh, my God."

Blaine: "The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Blaine's voice is odd. It's almost hoarse, a strange mixture of intended force and quiet whispering, and seems distant.

Emma: "Iterations, Blaine. Weiss is saying that this has all happened before, repeatedly, and in every single iteration, you... you go to him."

Blaine: "Why the fuck would I do that?"

Alex: "I... I don't know."

Blaine: "That's real fucking convenient, dude."

Alex: "I'm only telling you what I remember!"

Blaine: "How. Fucking. Convenient."

Blaine takes a step toward Alex, the camera dropping almost forgotten to his side, but Emma quickly darts forward and grabs his arm. To his credit, it appears that Alex does not back away, remaining still to his spot.

Emma: "Blaine, cool it!"

Blaine: "He's accusing me of killing you, and you want me to cool it?!"

Emma: "Yes!"

Blaine: "Why?! You can't seriously believe him?!"

Emma: "'Emma must not die'."

From the shifting of the camera, it seems that Blaine deflates somewhat, turning toward her.

Emma: "The message isn't for me. It's for you. It's always been for you."

Blaine: "I'm not going to kill you."

Alex: "Weiss seems to think he knows something about you- something that he can use to control you, or to move you to his side. He's totally unconcerned- they're not even chasing after you. He knows neither of you can leave. He's completely convinced you'll do his work for him and kill Emma."

Blaine: "I'm not going to fucking kill her!"

Emma: "Blaine, we need to consider every single avenue here."

Blaine: "Yeah? Why? Because you think I'm going to kill you? If so, why don't I just do it right here, right now?"

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Alex: "Don't be so fucking dramatic, asshole. You're not the one dying, here."

It's the first time Alex has used any foul language, and his tone is sharp, causing Blaine to go very still and quiet. It's unclear if the words have struck a chord, if he's just surprised, or if he's angry.

Emma: "Obviously, Weiss plays you. He can create haunted video games that spew murderous flesh eating flies, and your concern here is that you think you're going to kill me of your own accord?"

Blaine: "...I-"

Emma: "I need to read this version of my journal. It's obviously got something in it, or else why would it cross... what, dimensions?"

Alex: "We'll just say 'iterations'."

Emma: "Fine. We need a gameplan, because unless I'm much mistaken, the moon's heading toward the horizon, and we're running out of time."

Alex: "Time?"

Blaine: "The game. Every 24 hour mark, it goes haywire. Did it not do that for you?"

Alex: "I..."

Alex goes quiet, and Blaine- seeming to remember the camera- pulls it up, showing that Alex is looking confused. The moonlight appears to be waning, but Emma's flashlight is still lit in the darkness, revealing more detail than might otherwise be shown.

Alex: "I can't remember. I only remember very little. It's like... it's like it's shut away."

Blaine: "Great."

Emma: "We have the answers we need right here."

Emma flaps the little journal around.

Emma: "We need to rest, though. We don't have very long until the next eruption, and we need to be ready to deal with that."

Blaine: "You want to head back to the motel?"

Alex: "I wouldn't advise it. Weiss doesn't seem concerned, but he's not sane. I wouldn't put it past him to fuck around with you guys, and wherever you're staying is probably known by every cultist in town."

Emma: "Alex..."

Alex: "Yeah?"

There's another very long, heavy, pregnant pause.

Emma: "Did... did Bartosz and Anders..."

Another pause.

Alex: "I'll be honest- I don't know. I was heading toward the entrance of the church when I saw Father... when I saw him go down."

Alex swallows hard a few times, clenching and unclenching his fists stiffly.

Alex: "I couldn't get out the doors without running straight into him. I heard someone shouting for you to run, and I turned and booked it out the back of the church. I'm... I'm lucky I'm alive."

Emma: "Ah..."

Blaine: "They'll be fine."

Emma: "Blaine..."

Blaine: "There is no fucking way Anders is going down to a few flies. He's fine."

No one says anything, but Emma casts a small glance toward Alex, who looks down for a moment.

Blaine: "Look, we just need to figure out what our next plan of action is, right? What do we need?"

Alex: "Rest, for starters- and then cover."

Emma: "I need to be able to read this journal."

Blaine: "You need rest, first. That game isn't going to wait for you. We get one eruption, and then 24 hours until the next clue."

Alex: "Assuming Weiss continues to play by the rules."

Emma: "Don't jinx it, dude."

Blaine: "All right. So... where do we go?"

Alex: "There's... there's one option. A place no one goes, not even the cult."

Emma: "Then that's the place to go."

Blaine: "Where's the 'but'?"

Emma: "What?"

Blaine: "It's too perfect, and Alex is hesitating. So, where's the 'but'?"

Alex: "It's Grantham's home."

The pause that follows this is even more pregnant than the previous.

Emma: "What?"

Alex: "I know, but I think Weiss has declared it off limits to the cult. A few times a year, he has someone go in to maintain the place, but absolutely no one goes out there. Ever. Father Perez and I did a stake out for a few months once, for Bartosz."

Blaine: "You can't be serious."

Alex: "You have no idea how long we've been trying to catch these guys slipping up. It always felt like they were several steps ahead of us... now, I guess we know why."

Emma: "Whatever. We need to get going. The moon's definitely dipping."

Blaine: "I don't suppose you know where we are?"

Alex: "I know how I got here, which was directly south of the church. If we hit the lake, I'll know where Grantham's house is... and the lake is hard to miss. I can get us there."

Emma: "Are we going to be able to get around a whole lake in time to get any rest whatsoever?"

Alex: "Oh, no, absolutely not."

Blaine: "Then-?"

Alex: "We go across the lake."

Emma: "Of course. Fabulous."

Blaine swears, before lifting up the camera, mumbling about checking the battery and getting started immediately, and shutting it down.

--END TRANSMISSION--