Hopefully This Works

Shrody's gone. I put her on a plane this morning. I took some time last night to get her an apartment and a bank account somewhere far away from me and New York and anyone who knows to wish her harm. I don't expect that alone to keep her safe forever, but it should buy her some time in safety. If proxies come calling, she knows how to reach me, and I'll get her out of there.

For now... I'm about to attempt something insanely dangerous and probably pretty stupid. I'd prefer to keep the people I put at risk here to a minimum.

I realize that's perhaps a little ironic since I'm staying in a place with more people in it than I've interacted with since the wedding. But the point stands. Even though I will miss her and Frank both.

Also. MrStumblr died. He didn't exactly have a whole lot of people he talked to, but we've interacted a lot. I... I wasn't exactly easy on him, he had done some bad shit, but apparently he thought I hated him. 

He... He left Spence a delivery request. The bastard thought he was about to die, and what are the two things he tries to do? Leave his girlfriend his money and send me a fucking apology bouquet.

I am starting to think I may be even more of a cunt than I previously thought.

On a happier note, the worst of the withdrawals is done. I'm back in business, bitches!

Also, the House is great. Shrody found it unsettling, but for whatever reason I'm really comfortable here. Not entirely certain if that's a good thing or not...

In any event. I'm going to finally catch back up on my sleep, I think. Expect me to be perhaps a little scarce over the next couple days. 

Fire

Fuck. Got careless, got sloppy, and it's ended badly. Shrody and I have come out of this with our skins intact, anyway, and Frank's still being his usual loving self, so it could be a lot worse.
Still, I lost half of my notes, including all of Alice's notes AND her notebook itself.  Not to mention the fear that comes when you get stupid enough to think you might be safe and something terrible happens.

See, we hit a motel a little early tonight. I know I haven't been sleeping worth shit, and taking care of a new kitten means Shrody's not sleeping as well as she could be either. I think all three of us were relieved to see the inside of our rooms-two, with the connecting door wide open, as usual. I took first watch, it's not like I was going to sleep anyway-apparently suddenly sobering up will do that to a girl.

In any event, when they called the alarm over the intercom, Shrody and I were up and moving in a flash, grabbing what we could and out the door. The other guests-not that there were many of them- followed us out shortly afterward, followed by the staff, the manager carrying his ledger and doing a head count.

The motel was going up FAST, from several different points, but it looked like no harm had been done to any of us. I motioned for Shrody to follow me to the car and started loading up. It was only when I turned to ask for her bag that I noticed she was gone. And then I immediately realized that Frank hadn't made it out with us.

It was stupid of me not to grab him and stupid of me to let Shrody out of my sight when her kitten was in danger. So, I did something equally stupid. I ran in after her. Because like hell was I going to risk anything else happening to her.
If you've never walked into a burning building, it's a little pointless to describe the suffocating heat, the smoke everywhere, sometimes thin enough that you almost wouldn't know there was a fire, sometimes so thick you can't see a foot in front of your face. Mostly I stayed clear of the flames, but trying to get through the hotel occasionally I'd hit a stretch where the flames bloomed above me or to the side and made the entire place look like some crazed artist's rendition of hell. It's the sort of thing you have to live to really understand, and trust me, you don't want to.

That said, it didn't take me long to get to her, it just felt like it. She'd made it to the room, but she was OUT. The ceiling was starting to cave, and something fell on her-though I'm not really sure what, there was nothing nearby that looked like it fell. Looked like it was on fire when it hit, but for whatever reason it went out quick-which was good for her. Even better, Frank was there, nosing at her, trying to wake her. I grabbed her and Frank and got the fuck out of there. Once we were out, the Manager started fussing over us and trying to insist on calling an ambulance. I'm not ENTIRELY sure how Shrody's condition works and I didn't think she'd want doctors peering at her if she could help it, so I stalled until she woke up.
Oh that was such a relief. I'm willing to admit now, now that we're safe and far away, that I was terrified. I was so worried that something serious had happened-or worse, that I'd lost her completely.
She seemed to be in a lot of pain, but she insisted the man not call an ambulance, and so he FINALLY left to deal with his other customers. After that it was a matter of waiting until she was alright to move and then getting the fuck out of there.

Though I will say. The smile on her face when she saw Frank safe and well made it all worth it.

More Travel and Page Theory

Shrody and I left Ro's house this morning. We were both kind of sad to go, Ro's been very nice to us, but I think the situation with David had all of us on edge, and we'll all be breathing easier now that we've left.
All the same, I'll miss him. We had some great late night conversations, and Frank really adored him.

In any event, nothing much to report there. The big reason for this post is that I promised you lot a review of Page Theory, and while recent events have conspired to delay it a little while, I'm putting it up today.

Here's the original write-up.

The theory attempts to explain several things: the way the Path of Black Leaves works, the reason slendershit can be in several places at once, the reason slendershit seems to work differently for different people, and the existence of loops-or labyrinths as they were once commonly known.

To summarize, the actual theory is as follows:
Everyone sees the universe from their own point of view. This makes up THEIR universe, or page. Everyone has their own page, and all of the pages together make up the stack, or the universe at large. Pages can be crossed through, and people from different pages can interact without a problem. The space BETWEEN the pages is where loops form, where the outside edge where all the pages meet is the Path. In addition, Slendy works kind of like... stabbing a pushpin through the pile. He can be present on multiple pages at once.
As far as WHY we're split into pages, Spence has several theories, none of which he seems to have a particular preference for. It could be the presence of slendershit himself, or possibly a direct result of the creation of loops, or possibly it's just a matter of everyone having their own perspective. I tend to think it's the latter-there doesn't seem to be a reason to make it any more complicated.

Generally, I'm extremely hesitant to adopt anyone else's theory on anything regarding our current mess, specifically BECAUSE of the variable nature of slendershit's influence on all of us. Page Theory, however, is perhaps the absolute NEATEST explanation for this phenomenon I've ever had the good fortune to come across.
Page theory has the added bonus of explaining why Spence's team are so damn good at finding people. If everyone has their own slice of reality, it would theoretically be possible to flip through the pages to find the right one. Maybe?
Didn't actually ASK Spence about that one, I'm just guessing...

So, that's Page Theory. And the last of the things Spence gave Cam. Next I'll start putting up Cam's notebook. But. Um. It's...
Well, you'll see. When I can put it up. Right now... I need to think about it some more...

Visiting

Throwing up a quick post to let all of you know that Shrody and I are safe at TMV's house.

Those of you who read Shrody's blog will know about what happened. On the bright side, we have a kitten. A tiny adorable kitten named Frank who makes our lives so much more interesting and whom I've admittedly been spoiling rotten. It's... it's her story to tell, really, but I wish there was something I could've done.

Again, I think being in the company of someone other than me is doing her some good. I'm unfortunately not the cheeriest of traveling companions, but Ro's been really sweet to us both, and he seems really fond of Frank. Which is nice, because I would've hated to come all this way only to leave because his house wasn't cat friendly.

In any event, I should go. I wanted to chat with him tonight, to thank him for having us.