Entry #12050104001305

Hospitality

Morning came with a few moments of blissful forgetfulness before the events that had taken place the night before returned full force, hitting Jay like a train. At first, Jay prayed that it had all been a vivid dream. He hadn't actually let a dangerous stranger into Tim's house and he definitely hadn't attended to his wounds before offering him a place to stay. Jay might not have been the smartest man but he was definitely smarter than that. Right?

Wrong. Unfortunately, it wasn't a dream, and Jay had, in fact, let a dangerous man into his friend's house. His first clue was the word written across the back of his left hand in thick letters: "BUYER". The second and most substantial clue came when Jay went to Tim's room to continue his analysis of the information he had gathered. Lightly turning the knob and entering the room, Jay's feet became frozen in place as he took in the sight of the man laying in Tim's bed.

None of his clothing had been removed; he remained in his tan jacket, dirty jeans, mud caked boots, and even his mask. Laying flat on his back, his arms laid limply at his sides, his damaged leg lightly propped up on a pillow. That small detail seemed odd to Jay, considering he hadn't seemed to care about the injury much. He wouldn't have even stayed if it weren't for Jay saying he should. Nevertheless, his leg was propped up on a pillow. At first glance, Jay wasn't sure if the man was asleep or if he was just remaining still like he normally did. Creeping closer, Jay peered into the holes of the mask to see the man's eyes. With the help of the light filtering through the blinds, Jay could see that his eyes were closed. His peaceful, deep breaths also led Jay to believe that he was still asleep.

Staring at what he could see of the stranger's face as he slept peacefully, Jay felt a surge of emotion that he couldn't quite place. His heart fluttered lightly and his hands shook slightly, but for once, it wasn't from fear. As Jay took notice of the empty water bottle on the nightstand, he decided to push the feelings aside. Emotions were not a part of totheark's game and feeling anything for him was dangerous (if not psychotic).

After grabbing a new bottle of water from the fridge, Jay returned to Tim's bedroom. The man was still asleep but he had shifted slightly. His right arm was tucked under his head and his left arm rested on his chest. It was the most relaxed and simply human that Jay had ever seen him act. However, with the new position, Jay noticed something he had missed before. Like Jay, the man had something written across the back of his left hand in thick, dark letters. The print was large enough that Jay didn't have to get any closer to read it. In a handwriting that matched the word on Jay's hand, the word "LIAR" was printed across the skin on the back of the man's hand.

Several things connected all at once. If this man was the liar, then he couldn't have been totheark. Totheark was looking for someone else, someone who would lead them to the ark. The ultimate questions were the ones Jay wanted to know the most: Was he lying to Jay, totheark, Alex, Tim, or someone else entirely? Was he working with totheark? Would this masked liar lead totheark to what they wanted or would someone else? Another frightening thought occurred to him as he stared at the sleeping man. If both of them had a word on their hand, then a third person had broken in last night. Totheark had been there, Jay had no doubt about that now.

Jay was jolted from his spiraling thoughts when the water bottle slipped from his grasp and landed on the carpet with a muffled "thud". The soft sound was enough for the man to jolt up, immediately alert of his surroundings. The feel of human that he had held while sleeping had disappeared the second he awoke. His fists rested in his lap and his tense muscles were back to remaining disturbingly still. With his stare boring holes into Jay's head, Jay stooped down and picked up the bottle.

"Sorry. I-I didn't mean to wake you. I... got you some water," Jay lamely said as he placed the bottle on the nightstand. "Do you... uh, want something to eat? Or something?" Per usual, the man stared intently at him but offered no response. "Okay, well, I'm going to make a sandwich. Or something. I'll... make you one too."

Jay returned to the kitchen to make sandwiches and when he returned to the bedroom, the man was nowhere to be seen. The bottle of water as well as the bottle of Ibuprofen were missing; the only sign of his exit was the blinds gently swinging in the wind that flowed through the now open window. Jay didn't even want to think about the excruciating pain that would come from climbing from the second story on a broken leg. On the bright side, Jay would no longer have to explain to Tim why a stranger was in his bed.