The Call (A Marble Hornets inspired story)

Chapter 15, Ending 2: Exit

(Ending 2 - Good Ending)

 I sit in my burnt down house as I look at the camera. Jay's camera. Why did I not try harder to protect them? I could've done something, anything. But I didn't....I play the tape again. "Tim? C'mon man, it's ok." I push Jay off me, repeating 'it's all my fault' over and over again. "Tim, really. It's not your fault, it's Alex's fault!" He contradicts, but I don't listen. "It's not his fault, it's mine. And now Brian's dead because of me." I say, the line now stuck in my head. I pause the video. 'And now Brian's dead because of me'. I don't remember saying it. But there are lots of things I don't remember. But I do remember the look of pure terror on his face. And the hopelessness that came straight after. The way he just accepted his death. I down the rest of my whiskey. 'This is the third bottle i've gone through' I tally as I open my 12th bottle of beer. I throw the empty whiskey bottle on the pile that i've made in the corner of the room. I hear my phone buzz again. I take it out of my pocket as I read the name. Jay. I wish he'd stop calling me. It's getting annoying. I cancel the call as a new text appears and I decide to read it for once even though I know what it's going to say. "Tim please pick up. I didn't mean what I said. Just please pick up. - Jay" I read aloud somehow. Liar. I delete the message like I did for all the rest he sent me. I'm not picking up. The last time I did, everyone I ever cared about got killed.  

I look at the half empty bottle of beer as I get up, turning the camera off. "So, now what? Am I just going to sit here and drink myself to death?" I say to the empty room. I look over at my mirror, the words 'Your fault' written permanently on the reflective surface. I laugh at the sight. "So. What is 'The ark'? You seemed pretty desperate to find it." I ask myself, looking over at the laptop I had loaded to the entry 'Exit' from totheark. I see The Operator appear in the corner of my room, just watching me. I've gotten so used to it appearing now, it's not even surprising anymore. I wait for a headache or to start coughing, but nothing happens. "Hm, so no effects this time?" I ask it, looking it over. It did the same thing when I first started drinking, as though watching me to see if i'd do something stupid but not affecting me. I walk towards it, something that usually triggers the symptoms...But nothing. I go closer than ever before, able to touch it if I wanted to. I reach my hand out, feeling it's gaze on me. I hear my phone buzz again just before I touch it. I look at the phone, it's Jay again. Of course, who else would it be. I feel it's gaze shift off me and onto the phone, as though it wanted me to answer it. I chuckle, alright. I'll play your game. I look at my phone and press answer, putting it on speaker so that my new roommate could hear. "Tim? Tim, oh thank God you picked up! Where are you? Are you ok? Why haven't you been answering my calls? No one's seen you in three months!" He says in a way that I could swear was a world record for most questions asked in two seconds. "Tim? Are you there? Please answer me!" I hear him say, desperate to hear my voice. I feel the creature's gaze come back onto me. Let me guess, if I don't talk, you're going to make me pass out. Right? A very quick burst of static fills the room, not enough to do any damage to me but confirming my suspicions that this thing could read my mind. Fine. "There, I spoke. Are you happy now?" I say to both Jay and The Operator simultaneously. I hear Jay breathe out a sigh of relief, and feel an 'approving' look from the other. How the fuck I know what this thing is feeling, let alone what it wants me to do, is beyond me. I guess you could just call it a gut feeling. "Tim, please! Where are you? We've been looking everywhere for you!" He says. Wait, 'we've'? What does he mean by that? "We've" I repeat, making sure it isn't him accidentally referring to himself as two people. "Yes! Me and Brian! Didn't you read any of my texts?" He says, sounding worried again. Brian's alive? 

He's alive? He can't be, I heard Alex shoot him! "He's alive? I swear, Jay, this better not be one of your sick pranks or I am going to-" I get cut off by him switching the phone over to someone else. "Tim?" I hear Brian say. No voice changer. "B-Brian!" I say, my eyes tearing up from happiness. It's actually him, he's alive! "Tim, I need to know where you are. Now. Please, it's urgent." He says, slight panic in his voice. "Brian, calm down! I'm in my ho-" I get cut off from static erupting into my vision. I drop the phone from shock as I begin to cough extremely violently, my head feeling as though it was about to split in two. This is the worst episode i've ever been in. I hear Brian yelling my name through the phone. I fall to the ground, trying to crawl over to my table where I stupidly left my pills. I look down and see blood on the floor as my vision begins to spin and blur. I hear Jay and Brian banging on my door yelling for me to open it. I see The Operator appear ahead of me, blocking my only route to salvation. Why the fuck did I get so close to it in the first place? I feel myself go into a seizure as my window shatters. I silently beg for them not to come in, but they do. I wait to hear them start coughing, but I don't. I look over at where they are and see Jay, Seth, and Brian fighting it off...But, how? Then I notice they all have cameras. I feel my seizure end as it teleports across the room as my whole body erupts with pain. The Operator keeps teleporting around violently, causing my body extreme pain every time it does so. Everywhere it teleports, they follow it with the cameras, causing it to teleport again. I mentally pray for them to stop, for them to see the pain i'm in and stop. My vision and hearing fades as it teleports to the other room, causing me to scream from the pain. I see Jay and Brian run over to me as Seth keeps the camera trained on it. "Tim? C'mon, stay awake!" I hear Brian say, shaking me and forcing me to sit up. The movement makes me feel like I was getting ran over, but I just smile. Smile at the fact that Brian's alive, that everyone is alive and ok.