Lady Luck

25

Unpublished tape—Transcript

[13:34] Tim is walking through woods. The Red Tower comes into sight.
[13:58] Tim: "Fucking finally..."
Tim jogs over and starts walking around the building. The camera zooms in on the graffiti on the walls.
[14:23] Tim: "Heh... Glad to see teenagers still like to hang out at park...s..."
Tim trails off. The phone falls to ground and lands with the camera face-down, the screen going dark.
[14:31] Tim: "...No, no, no, this... this can't be... this..."
Tim falls silent. Nothing is heard in the background.
[15:43] Tim picks up the phone and runs.

~*~

Walking through the dark underground hallways with only the flash from his cell phone to illuminate his way, it was only natural Tim felt uneasy. Cockroaches and rats probably scattered in the darkness where the light couldn't reach, and he couldn't tell if he actually saw something move from the corner of his eye or if it was just his paranoia. And given his situation, he had plenty of reasons to feel paranoid.

Moving slowly, Tim warily surveyed his surroundings until he finally reached the basement room from the videos. Memories of the photo-covered wall and the message waiting on the folding chair made him pause, and after a moment he slowly shined his phone's light around the room. There wasn't much to see this time, no photos or ominous messages anywhere. Something on the floor gleamed as the light passed over it though, and he unconsciously aimed the phone at it.

Scattered on the cement floor were a couple scraps of shiny, dark blue fabric, reflecting the light as he stared at it. Freezing at the sight, Tim's stomach sank and he slowly walked over, bending down to pick one up to take a closer look. Though he didn't know the exact name, he recognized the synthetic scrap of fabric it as the type of material typically used in sleeping bags—just like the one in the video. As he studied it he noted that while the edges were somewhat jagged, they weren't exactly rough.

Probably a knife, he thought grimly, imagining a silver blade tearing through the sleeping bag—no... He wasn't just imagining it, he was remembering.

An involuntary shudder ran down his spine as he recalled the video of himself sleeping in this room—the parts that he hadn't shown (Name). Static cutting into the screen, the image distorting as he suddenly rose from the air mattress and walked out of the room. Hours passing by after his departure, the image cutting out at times... And then—

Tim abruptly ended the memory there and pushed the thought away, shaking his head. No, he could think about that later. For now he shined his phone's light around the room, searching for any more clues. There had to be something else down here, any lead at all...

~*~

My hands trembled as I held the partially unwrapped mask, doubting my eyes even as I stared at it. The white base. The feminine-looking black lips and eyes. The perfectly arched eyebrows. So simple and unimposing in design, yet knowing its origin and history left me with a sense of terror that made my blood run cold.

Hoody was not the only masked stranger to terrorize Jay in Marble Hornets. Before him another masked man held that honor, chasing Jay through an abandoned house and watching him as he slept. Fans gave him the moniker "Masky", speculating about his identity until eventually Jay and Alex managed to subdue and unmask him. And of course, his identity was revealed to be Tim—a fact even Tim himself didn't know because he didn't control his Masky personality.

Why was the mask here? Looking back Tim never did mention what happened to it in the videos, and he'd never told me, but I'd always just assumed he threw it away. It certainly wasn't the trigger in his personality change—he seemed to undergo the change in one of the tapes without the mask—but it was still a reminder of it. He wanted to get away from that chapter of his life, so it didn't make sense to keep it as a "memento" or anything.

Staring at it silently, after a few moments I quietly rewound the layers of brown paper around the mask and slid it back inside the glove box. Then I grabbed a few memory cards from the bag and stuffed them inside my pockets before shoving the bag back inside, closing the door and locking it. As I pocketed the key I sank into my seat with a sigh, closing my eyes.

I couldn't let Tim see the mask or memory cards yet. Obviously I'd have to tell him about it eventually, but now was not the time. The mere presence of the mask meant that at some point during that two-and-a-half month gap in our memories Tim had most likely reverted to his Masky persona, and neither of us were ready to deal with the implications of that right now. We had enough to worry about as it was, if I told Tim he'd just worry about losing control of himself again.

And for that reason I also couldn't tell him about the memory cards, either. If I was right about the mask, then one of these memory cards probably had at least one video of him in his "Masky" state. Until I knew for sure what was on them, I couldn't let Tim see the videos. The secrets just seemed to keep piling up. Stressed by the thought, I pulled out my cell phone and stared at the lock screen. Did I even want to actually unlock it right now? My world was already turned upside-down enough.

As I reflected over this suddenly I heard a knock on a window and I jumped in my seat in surprise, snapping my head to the side. Tim stood outside the driver's door peering at me through the glass, mouthing something as he pointed towards the handles. Realizing the doors were still locked, I quickly scrambled to find the button to unlock them and the locks rose with a small click.

"Thanks," he said as he opened the door. As he climbed inside he glanced at my phone on my lap, asking, "Any luck with the password?"

"Nope, still locked out," I sighed, which technically wasn't lying. "So, what about you? Find anything interesting down there other than cockroaches or rats?"

"...Not exactly." His vague tone me pause, glancing at him with a frown.

"'Not exactly'? Kind of vague..." I trailed off and waited for him to elaborate on what he meant, but Tim didn't respond right away, his brown eyes unfocused as he stared forward into nothingness. That was never a good sign. "Was it that bad?"

"No, not really," he said after a moment, shrugging. "There wasn't much to see down there, no new leads or anything. I just... I have a lot to think about right now, that's all."

"Oh... I see." I decided to drop the subject there, knowing exactly how he felt. Sensing that I wouldn't press for more information, Tim silently started the car, the hum of the engine filling the silence as he pulled out of the parking spot. As we drove away I just leaned my head against my hand and looked out the window, watching the college campus fade into the distance.

I wondered what Tim found down in the basement, if anything. As far as I could tell he didn't seem to be outright hiding anything from me this time, or at least nothing too major, so that was good. Meanwhile, the list of my secrets just continued to grow. I felt a strong urge to groan as I thought about the cards and mask, shaking my head at myself in silent disgust. When would the secrets end?

"Hey (Name), do you think you'll get into your phone anytime soon?" Tim's voice abruptly jarred me from my thoughts, and I looked at him in surprise before slowly shaking my head.

"...No, not really," I admitted reluctantly. "I'm just going through the numbers in order now, and I'm barely at the nine hundred range. Unless it's one thousand, I don't think I'll get it anytime soon."

"And you're still not up to just plugging the memory card into my phone to look at the stuff, right?"

"Nope."

"Thought not." Tim sighed and shook his head slightly, before shrugging his shoulders. "Fine then, whatever." Raising an eyebrow at his dismissal, I contemplated replying but quickly decided against it. I'd expected more of a fight over it given our previous conversations, but I wasn't going to complain. So instead I just turned back to the window, letting the conversation peter out. After a while Tim turned on the radio, and we continued the rest of ride just listening to random songs.

Eventually we arrived back at the hotel, and headed to our own rooms in silence. Closing the door behind me, I headed straight for my bed and quickly grabbed the pillows, shoving my hand inside the cases to feel around. Of course I felt nothing but pillow though—especially nothing like a piece of paper. I cursed slightly as I tossed them back onto the mattress, sitting down with a soft groan.

Was I really disappointed not to find a note from Hoody? Sure, the last time Tim and I went to explore a lead Hoody broke into my room and left a note, but that didn't mean he always would. And even then, did I reallywant him to break into my room every time I left? Possibly scrounging through my belongings, looking for things to steal like in Marble Hornets? Just the thought of him creeping through my clothes sent shivers up my spine.

However, despite this, right now I needed to talk to Hoody. The memory cards would provide some answers, but only some, and little context for what happened outside of the videos. Hoody would have the rest of the answers, and explanations for the events that extended beyond the camera's range. I had no way to directly contact him to arrange a meeting though, so as it stood any potential meetings were mostly at his discretion.

Mostly.

An evil plan slowly began to take shape in my mind as a thought popped into my head, but before it could fully form my thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door. My thoughts seemed to be getting interrupted a lot today. Sighing, I walked over and opened the door, revealing none other than Tim. "Hey, Tim, what's up?"

"Mind if I come in?" he asked, and I looked at him thoughtfully.

"...No." His expression quickly shifted to surprise as I closed the door, but after a few moments I opened it again with a small smirk. "Yeah, come on in."

"Gee, glad you changed your mind," he said, rolling his eyes with a smirk as he walked inside.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I asked as I closed the door behind him. "Is it about today?"

"No. Or, well, sort of, I guess."

"You're still being vague," I commented, raising an eyebrow as I leaned against the wall. "Why don't you try being blunt for a change?" Tim rolled his eyes at my remark, but this time he didn't smile and kept his expression serious.

"Alright, fine. (Name), how do you feel about splitting up?"