THE CAMERA USED AT THIS POINT NO LONGER APPEARS ABLE TO TELL THE PROPER DATE AND TIME. IT DOES, HOWEVER, BEGIN TO DISPLAY THE WORDS "THEEND", INSTEAD, WHERE THE DATE AND TIME SHOULD BE DISPLAYED.

--File 057: Into the Grantham House--

The video begins much later. The group appears to have quickly traveled from the lake to Grantham's house, and filming begins just outside of the building. It is now late afternoon, and the sun is setting; time is no longer clear from the camera, so it is uncertain how much time has passed since the face off with the lake creature.

Blaine is standing apart from the group, and he is the one with the camera. When it turns on, there is several long seconds in which the camera is angled at the ground. There is no talking, nor are there any sounds from the forest; it is eerily silent. When he raises the camera, Jake Grantham's home is visible in its full scale, just beyond them. It appears in relatively good shape, a wooden construct from which a dirt road stretches out, away from them. It possesses two floors, and seems to loom ominously in a way that is difficult to describe; even from a scientific perspective, there is something strange about the house, which now has no lights on, despite Alex's previous claim that the lights are never turned off.

Alex is a short ways in front of Blaine, sitting in the grass. He is pale and gray; a series of heavy bandages have been expertly tied around the wound he's sustained from the creature, and Bartosz is silently in the act of changing out the bandages. A lot of blood has seeped into the surrounding shirt area; Bartosz takes a moment to use a knife to clear most of it off, presumably to fight infection. Alex grimaces, but says nothing, expression tight and exhausted.

Emma notices Blaine recording. Her expression is also tight and exhausted, and she walks over slowly to stand close to him. Anders is staring out in the direction of the lake, occasionally looking around them, alert but similarly tired.

Once the bandages are exchanged, Bartosz gives a heavy sigh and steps back, putting a full first aid kit back into his bag.

Bartosz: "He's on a timer. We've got to get him to some kinda hospital, sooner rather than later. If I've got to, then I can give the kid stitches, but I'm not a professional, and it's an 'emergencies only' typa skill."

Emma's voice is very soft when she responds, with no hint of reproach or irritation.

Emma: "This might be an emergency, Bartosz."

Bartosz: "We all know it is, kiddo, but I need a sterile environment if I'm gonna do that sorta thing, and Jake Grantham's house hardly strikes me as sterile."

Blaine: "This is fucked."

Anders: "That's putting it mildly."

Emma: "The heroes in books never seem to struggle quite this hard. It always seems like they have the upper hand no matter what- or maybe I never had a frame of reference for what they were all really going through."

Alex finally speaks for the first time. His coloring has gotten more pale as the conversation has gone on; how he has walked this far with such a wound is unbelievable.

Alex: "That's because we're not heroes."

Bartosz: "It doesn't matter what we are. We're here, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Anders: "Oddly sentimental, for you."

Bartosz: "Hardly. It's pragmatic, is what it is. We're the fuckers who got picked for the job. Now we just gotta get it done."

Alex suddenly looks up toward the camera, his eyes trained on the person behind it.

Alex: "I'm sorry."

Blaine: "Shut up, dude, you're going to be fine."

Alex: "No, you shut up and let me talk for five minutes. I'm serious."

There's a moment where he grimaces, waits, and then keeps talking.

Alex: "I haven't been handling any of this well. I have this giant hole in my life that has haunted me for years, now. All I know is that whatever happened, it took everything from me, and I mean everything. My entire family and the life I'd led till then was gone. I woke up in a hospital from rampaging nightmares I couldn't remember to a Priest, the only person in the whole town who would so much as look at me, because everyone thought I was fucking cursed."

Everyone exchanges looks, but says nothing.

Alex: "He raised me. He brought faith to me. I know- I know, you don't want to hear me preach, but just... give me a second. He brought God to me. It was the only way I could stay sane. I had done something, or someone had done something to me, and all I had to show for it was a small journal with someone's name I'd never heard of written on it, and I couldn't even open it. And then you lot showed up."

Emma: "Alex..."

Alex: "I'm not blaming you. Clearly, this is the way it's gotta be. It's always had to be this way. I had to deal with not only the horrific death of Father Perez- the only human willing to look at me, because again, the whole town thought I was literally cursed- but also the realization that it was inevitable. It had to happen. It's happened before, and it happened this time, too. So..."

Alex's voice cracks, and he turns somewhat green as he clamps his eyes shut.

Alex: "So the more I remember, the more I realize that I'm not... I'm not supposed to get this far. I'm supposed to die."

Blaine: "Shut the fuck up, Alex. You're not dead."

Alex: "As good as. You told that thing to back off, and it did, and what for? It probably backed off because I'm good as dead."

Bartosz's expression is not very good at hiding the grim reality of Alex's situation.

Alex: "I've been taking it out on you, Blaine, because if Father Perez's death was inevitable, then that has to mean that mine is, and if mine is, then... then your fate is also inevitable."

Blaine: "I haven't turned yet."

Alex: "No. But trusting you..."

Alex's voice flounders, and he pushes up to his feet, looking both exhausted and defeated.

Alex: "I want to. I want to so bad. If I could trust you, then that means I can believe you won't turn, and if you won't turn... I can live."

Emma: "If it makes you feel any better, Alex, we all die."

They all look blankly at Emma, who just shrugs, somewhat embarrassed.

Emma: "Think about it. We all die, everyone except Blaine. All of us are trying to subvert fate, Alex, not just you."

There's a long moment, and then Bartosz scratches his chin, looking thoughtful.

Bartosz: "You know? That kinda makes shit better."

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

Anders: "No, I get it. We all have the same fate, Alex. You've already subverted yours- what, twice? It's a good sign... and you're not the only one. You're not the only one trying to beat fate, here. We all are."

Alex pauses, and then snorts with amusement- though it quickly turns into a grunt of pain, the color in his skin rapidly draining again.

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Bartosz: "I don't think I'm going to have a choice. I know what we're all doin'- we're tryin' to stall. Let's get this fuckin' bullshit over with."

Blaine hands the camera to Emma, who wordlessly takes it, before moving over to Alex and offering a hand. Anders steps up to the other side, and the two of them help carry Alex toward the hulking house, the setting sun a blaze of fire behind it.

The steps creak as they begin to walk up them. There is no other sound, not in the house, around the house, or in the surrounding nature. The floorboards of the porch creak; a nearby rocking chair rocks slightly. There is no light in the windows, and though Emma focuses on both front-facing panes, there is no movement beyond.

Bartosz steps forward, removing his pistol from his belt, and stands at the ready to the side of the door, grimfaced. His expectations are correct; he simply turns the knob, and the door swings inward. He quickly raises the pistol to point beyond, but there is still no movement.

Bartosz: "I want you all to stay here."

Emma: "What? You can't be serious."

Bartosz: "Deadly. I wanna check the premises. Anders has got another pistol; you stick with him. I'll be back in a jiffy."

Before anyone can stop him, Bartosz steps in through the portal, swallowed by the darkness of the house beyond.

Nervously, the crew steps back away from the entrance onto the porch, as if afraid someone might still peek a head through. Seconds tick by, dissolving into minutes, and there is no sound anywhere. So tense is the air that it is palpable even through a screen, and there is a collective jump when Bartosz reappears.

Bartosz: "As far as I can tell, we're all by ourselves in here, but I don't trust it as far as I can throw it. Come on."

They all slowly step in through the doorway into the darkness beyond. Bartosz takes a moment, pistol still out and armed, to begin flicking on some lights; he drops the curtains to conceal their presence, though it can easily be assumed that the Enemy already knows they're there.

The front entrance is uncannily similar to the one level Emma played so long ago. A table with a few photographs, mostly depicting Jake's father, greets anyone entering into the domain. There is a moth-eaten runner leading away from the door, and an open doorway that leads into a living room.

There is no sound in the building at all. Outside, the silence was heavy, but inside, the silence is so oppressive that it is nearly physical tangible. There is no food in the kitchen, no sign of any flies or maggots, and not a sound reaches their ears. Even their footsteps appear to be muted in the heavy stillness.

Bartosz: "There's a bathroom upstairs that I can probably work with, if the shit's clean enough. Can't really tell. I got a lot of crap in my bag though, so we'll try to use only what I've brought and nothing in here."

Alex: "At this point, I'm willing to take risks."

Bartosz carefully takes Blaine's place, motioning for Blaine and Emma to stay there.

Bartosz: "It'd be good if you two could keep an eye on things down here. Secure the only entrance we know of, and all that."

The two nod- presumably, anyway, as Emma's camera shifts slightly- and then they watch as Bartosz and Anders slowly walk Blaine up the stairs. Neither speak until Alex is completely out of sight.

Emma: "I can't believe we're in here."

Blaine: "I can't believe we're all alive."

Emma: "What did you say to that thing?"

Blaine: "I... I told it I still needed him."

Emma: "What? And it listened?"

Blaine: "It was a shot in the dark. I'm supposed to be some kind of harbinger of death, right? If that thing is from some dimension that knows what I've done- or... what I'm about to do? I dunno. Look, I was out of ideas. It was risky."

Emma: "It worked, though. That's pretty genius."

Blaine: "Not really. I gambled with what information I had, and it took the time to make sure you were only out of the way. It needs us. They all do. It needs you and me, specifically. I banked on that, and I cashed in."

Emma: "You're right. Risky."

Blaine: "How are you feeling?"

Emma: "Tired. Scared. Mostly tired. I feel like I'm adapting to a life of constantly living in fear and terror."

Blaine: "Ain't it a bitch?"

Emma: "Adaptability and all that... And of course, there's that thing."

Emma jerks the camera to the side. On the table where the photographs continue to sit, in the entrance, still visible through the open arch they've walked through, the gray handheld console sits, looking so innocent and unassuming.

Blaine: "Tomorrow is D-day, huh?"

Emma: "Don't remind me."

Blaine: "We have a bit more than twelve hours, and then we get... presumably the last level of the game."

Emma: "And then what? What are we even doing here?"

Blaine is silent for a long time, before glancing at the curtains. He parts them slightly and, standing just to the side, peeks outside, angling himself so he isn't easily visible. He snorts bitterly and lets the curtain drop.

Blaine: "I can see them, phasing in and out of reality again. They know we're here. This is so fucking stupid. I feel like we're sneaking around in plain sight."

Emma: "Great. Love that for us."

Blaine: "Emma..."

Emma seems to realize that something is wrong, and turns to face him, the camera tilting slightly.

Emma: "What is it? Do you want me to turn the camera off?"

Blaine: "No. It's important though. The camera- that entire thing was recorded."

Emma: "What? What thing? You mean- the lake?"

Blaine: "Yeah. The camera was recording."

Emma: "I... I know I dropped it, but-"

Blaine: "No. Not from the ground. Someone was recording the entire thing. Not just anyone- me."

Emma says nothing. Her expression can only be guessed.

Blaine: "I'm not making things up. I know what I saw. It wasn't just me- it was my reflection. It was made up of glass."

Emma: "You've got to be shitting me. Like the one from the motel?"

Blaine: "I'm positive it's the same one."

Emma: "So, what, it's following us? Why?"

Blaine: "Your guess is as good as mine. I didn't get much from it. I just suddenly felt like- like this weird feeling of being split, or pulled apart. When I looked, I saw my camera, and I saw... me. Weird ass feeling."

Emma: "Do you think it means trouble?"

Blaine: "I don't know what it wants. That thing's already killed you once- er, its version of you. I don't know if I want to-"

Blaine's vision suddenly seems to go out of focus, and he stiffens, looking alarmed. He spins on his heel, looking off camera, and Emma immediately follows his line of sight. One of the nearby doors has been swung open, into the room beyond. Standing in the doorway, visible from the camera, is the mirror version of Blaine.

The difference between the two is stark. For starters. he's made entirely of glass shards, which shift and catch the light of the room, refracting his own form. His eyes are pitch black, and he's grinning in a way that is unfamiliar of Blaine to this point. He is seemingly leaning against the doorframe, if one takes in the position of his stance, but the glass itself seems to just hang in the air.

Emma: "...Blaine..."

Blaine: "Why are you following me?"

Mirror Blaine: "We all have a part to play in this- even the forgotten."

His voice echoes oddly in this space, as if coming from a distance.

Emma: "Are you- are you on our side?"

The mirror Blaine turns to look at her, and there is a sudden expression on his face that flickers uncontrollably into place. It can only be described as hunger. Blaine hurriedly steps in front of Emma, and the Mirror Blaine shakes his head- rather, the reflection does, because the shards of glass do not move with the motion.

Mirror Blaine: "I apologize. I am what I am, and I am not you. Not quite."

Blaine: "What are you?"

Mirror Blaine: "Forgotten. A fragment. A memory. I am all that is left of my timeline."

Emma: "Why?"

Mirror Blaine: "What exactly do you think this cult wishes with this world? What do you think the Others desire? What I desired?"

Blaine: "Control?"

Mirror Blaine: "Hardly. Destruction. Consumption. Erasure. Finality."

Emma: "Wait- they want to destroy the world?!"

Mirror Blaine: "And they have succeeded again... and again... and again."

Blaine: "Why the time loop? What's going on? Why isn't it just ending there?"

Mirror Blaine: "Your guess is as good as mine. The Others pretend to know, but I have realized they don't. Just as everything is about to end... it begins again. Rewind, stop, play... repeat."

Emma: "What makes this time different?"

Mirror Blaine: "A buildup of differences. You've a grand part to play."

Emma: "Why?"

Mirror Blaine: "You are the corruption of the greatest piece. Him."

Silence falls on the room as they both take that in, stunned.

Emma: "I... corrupt him?"

Mirror Blaine: "Your death does. You die, and he is embraced by Weiss and Grantham as a long-lost brother. We suffered together, my found family and I, and then we made the world suffer, too. We reveled in it... and it solved nothing."

Emma: "What changed?"

The reflection seems to consider this.

Mirror Blaine: "Futility. As my timeline faded, I remained, and I questioned. I thought. As time rewound and began again, the loop started over, I wanted to know why. Why keep trying? Why are we so desperate to suffer and create suffering? And also..."

Here, Mirror Blaine grins so widely, it seems nearly to split his face in half- the Smile.

Mirror Blaine: "Boredom. I have upped the stakes."

Alarm runs through Blaine, and presumably, Emma.

Emma: "What the hell does that mean?"

Mirror Blaine: "I have created a tipping point. I have made a change. How this Blaine runs with that change will dictate whether there is another run."

A palpable chill runs through the room.

Blaine: "What have you done?"

Mirror Blaine: "It will become clear. Fuck up, however, and it really will be the end. The power accumulated in this run is astronomical. It is boiling over. They can feel it, too- the Others, and Weiss, and Grantham. They are champing at the proverbial bit."

He smiles that same Smile again.

Mirror Blaine: "Don't fuck up."

And then just like that, the glass drops to the floor and shatters, the reflection of Blaine gone. They both jump, and the sound of the glass alerts the team above, and there is the sound of thumping coming down the stairs. Hurriedly, Emma switches off the camera, ending the footage.

--END TRANSMISSION--