Entry #12050104001305

You're Not Suspicious At All

"Alex, where are you? Why won't you answer your phone?" Jay complained into the phone after Alex's voice told him to leave a message. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he took another breath to collect himself. "Something weird happened. I really need to talk to you. I'm at Rosswood right now. Please call me back. Or..." Another sigh. "Don't. Whatever." He ended the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket before grabbing his camera off of the car's dash and exiting the vehicle. In the daytime, the forest looked peaceful. But of course, the truth of it was that the forest was no safer in the daytime than it was at night. Few people walked the miles of winding trails so if something were to happen to Jay, he knew he'd never be found. And that was assuming he was left in the forest, not dumped some place else.

As Jay arrived at the beginning of one of the trails, he stared at the trees looming in front of him. "I wish I didn't have to do this alone," he said to himself, quiet enough that the camera wouldn't pick it up. Just as he was about to begin walking, his phone rang. Alex! He's finally calling! As he pulled his phone out of his pocket, he was surprised to find that it was, in fact, not Alex. It was Tim. "Hello?" he answered.

"Oh, hey Jay," Tim said, sounding surprised that he had answered. "Uhm, where are you right now?"

"I'm at Rosswood Park," Jay answered. "Do you need something?"

"I'm gonna come up there so don't move, okay? I just..." Tim let out an enervated sigh. "Something weird is going on and I don't know what to do. I thought maybe you could help... Ya know what? Nevermind, it's probably nothing." It sounded like Tim was about to hang up.

"Wait! No, it's fine. Meet me up here when you can. Something weird happened to me too." Jay tried to comfort Tim. At first, Tim refused, trying to convince Jay that it was nothing but Jay was persistent. Finally, Tim capitulated and agreed to meet at the park. Less than fifteen minutes later - twelve and a half to be precise, but who was keeping track? Definitely not Jay - Tim pulled into the parking lot. He immediately rolled down his window and asked Jay to get in, not bothering to explain the situation or give any hints as to what might ensue. All the same, Jay asked no questions and silently slid into the passenger's seat, resting the camera in his lap before buckling up as Tim pulled out of the lot.

The two rode in complete silence - no radio, no conversation, only the quiet - until Tim pulled into the driveway of a house. "Tim, what's going on?" Jay asked, growing slightly suspicious.

Tim seemed to avoid the question and replied by asking a question of his own. "What, uhm... What kind of weird things have been happening to you?" Jay let out a short sigh but figured that he might as well tell him. Trying to convince Tim to go first would do nothing but give him a massive headache.

"You remember that I told you about a masked figure that seemed to be following me?" Jay asked to which Tim simply nodded. Jay nodded once in acknowledgement and continued. "Well, I had a dream about him the other night. At least, I think it was a dream. That's not really important though. Anyway-"

"No, I wanna hear about the dream," Tim interrupted. "I mean, this could honestly be important. How about we go ahead and agree to tell each other everything? 'Cause I don't think telling half truths will get us much of anywhere." Jay knew he was right and if they were going to start working together - assuming this was more than just a one time meet-up due to a panicked Tim - then telling the full truth was indispensable.

"Alright. Well, in the dream, I started out in the forest. At least, I'm assuming it was a dream. If not, my memory only starts when I got lost in the forest. My camera's battery died and I ended up falling asleep. When I woke up, the masked figure was in front of me. He just sat there, staring at me, until I guess he saw something. He jumped up and grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him. We ran until I just couldn't anymore. When I stopped, he picked me up and kept running. I guess I fell asleep again because the next thing I knew, I was in my bed in the hotel room. So, are you appeased now? Can I move on?"

"Be my guest," Tim replied, his sarcasm matching Jay's. His tone almost made it seem like a challenge.

"Anyway," Jay began again, stressing the word, "After I woke up, I went down to the parking lot to leave when I realized I'd left my camera."

"So, of course, you went back to get it," Tim correctly predicted. "Because you're obviously the smartest one out of this little group."

"I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your comments to yourself, Tim." Jay was growing tired of Tim's sarcastic comments. "But yes, I went back to get my camera. After I finished changing the tape, the man appeared and knocked it out of my hand. Then he charged me and pinned me to the ground. I fought back and finally had him pinned when he punched me. I tried to chase after him but by the time I got to the parking lot, he was gone. That just seems really weird. I mean, seeing him is no special occasion but in the hotel? That just seems like it would be outside his comfort zone."

The entire time Jay was retelling his tale, except for his previous outbursts, Tim sat in reverent silence. Even after he finished, Tim remained silent. When he finally spoke, it wasn't something Jay had particularly expected. "I think you should stay here tonight."

"What? What about my car? We just left it at the park," Jay argued.

"Jay, I promise you, it's really not important. Please just stay. There's something you need to see and I'm not willing to just hand you the tapes and let you leave. 'Cause that's seriously one of the worst ideas ever," Tim explained.

"What do I get if I agree to stay?" Jay asked skeptically, unsure if the reward was worth the sacrifice, if there was a reward at all.

Tim gave Jay a slightly stunned look, like he couldn't believe he had just been asked such a dumb question, but he quickly composed himself. "You get answers. Isn't that what you want? Isn't that the point of doing all this? Of trying to find Alex and Amy and Brian? You just want answers. So that's why you'll do it." Tim's tone conveyed that he had Jay figured out. Even if they hadn't spent hardly any time together, he had easily figured Jay out. It wasn't that difficult. All Jay wanted was answers. He might have said that he wanted to stop everything, to make everything right, but Tim honestly thought that Jay didn't care. Whether or not things were returned to their previous state, Jay simply wanted to know why. Or so Tim thought.

Silence hung in the air like a heavy blanket, threatening to suffocate them both. What broke the silence, Jay noticed, was the sound of rain against the car's exterior. It quietly beat down on the aluminium and glass contraption that they were both seated inside, but it began to gain speed with every passing moment until the roar of the rain was deafening. With the rain drowning out his voice, Jay mumbled, "I want more than answers." But Tim heard. He heard the words crystal clear. He just didn't respond. Opening his car door, Jay climbed out into the drenching rain, immediately being soaked as he climbed onto the porch, taking the steps two at a time. Tim followed behind him but with less urgency, quickly being drenched to the bone.

Jay quietly waited behind Tim as he unlocked the door and followed him inside once it was open. The house was a mess: papers littered the floor, dirty cups and plates covered the kitchen counter and the coffee table, but most alarming of all were the half empty pill bottles strewn across the room. Tim had already informed Jay that he took medications, specifically an anti seizure medication and a few different antidepressants. Nevertheless, seeing the bottles carelessly thrown about was concerning.

"Tim, I have one condition," Jay finally said, Tim grunting in acknowledgement but not asking him to continue. Jay did anyway. "If you make me stay here tonight, I'm cleaning this place for you."

Tim laughed a snarky, sarcastic laugh. "That's not much of a deal for you, now is it?" Jay shrugged, not in the mood to reason with him. He had his own reasons for wanting the place clean, namely that he couldn't stand the dirty atmosphere. It was so counterproductive to him. So no, it wasn't much of a deal for Jay, but he would feel better knowing the place was clean. Tim would have a clean space to live and his medications organized and just knowing that let Jay breathe a little easier.