Entry #82

I went into James's room yesterday. I sat around from 9 A.M. to around 2 P.M., just trying to gather the courage to go in. I had both his notes in my pocket.

I opened the door and shone the flashlight in. Due to the lack of use, my parents had turned off the circuit breaker for his room. The previous owner, who was also the builder of the house, had done a shoddy job with all the wiring, and he made it so each room had its own circuit breaker. I didn't want to turn it back on because I didn't want my parents to know what I was doing.

My parents basically ignore the room now. They act like it's not there.

So I shone the flashlight, and the first thing I saw was another ripped-off corner--another note. It was lying in front of his bed, stuck in the carpet. I crept in and flipped the note so I could see it.

All it had was another arrow, and the word "CLOSET" bisected by the arrow. James has a fairly large closet in his room. Not a walk-in, but large. Both of the sliding doors to it were closed.

I turned my flashlight to the doors. There was a larger corner pinned onto the door with a tack. All it said was "JUMP".

Yeah, I was nervous. I felt like I was about to vomit. But I swallowed the bile and whisked the door open.

Void. Black emptiness. The air whooshed past me from the room into the void, and the room suddenly turned cold. There was no closet left. The room terminated at the edge of the closet. My flashlight's beam didn't even penetrate the blackness.

I was too scared. I couldn't do it. I couldn't jump like he wanted me to. I slammed the closet door shut, ran out of the room, and shut that door. I don't know if I can go back in there.

R.C.

Entry #81

There was absolutely nothing back at the 909. Nothing. No traces of--well, of anything. No footprints in the mud, no box like the last time. I was there all day, looking for something. There was no point.

And when I got back, there was this.

I'm going into his room now. It's been shut off, forgotten, since the last time I was in there. James wants me in there now. I have no idea how he's getting the notes to me, but it's going to help me help him.

I would have gone in there as soon as I saw the note, but to be completely honest, I haven't had the courage to go into the room again. I'm afraid everything's just going to become...real, I guess. I know it is, but I just want to wake up. I can't wake up. This is my life, and I don't know why this happened to my family, but I--we, actually, as a family--have to face it. I have to act.

R.C.

Entry #80

So I looked up the two words I didn't know on that paper. "Champain" and "aery".


According to a gardening website, "champain" means "flat, open plain". Aery means "nest, haven". So I have to cross a plain, pass a playground, and find a haven...sounds easy enough, right? Nope. Heh.


Still have no idea what James's little puzzle in the corner is. Why is he playing games with me now? Doesn't he want to be safe? God.


I'm going to keep my eye out for any playgrounds in the area. I know Locust wants this to be fairly easy for me to find. He wants to play with me.


Tomorrow I'm going to the 909. It's finally dry enough. Wish me luck, again.


R.C.

Entry #79

Thank God. I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but thank God, there's another note. Cursive again. And the corner isn't ripped out. Well, I think it was meant to be, but it wasn't.

And that's James's writing in the corner. Hahaha, finally something! Can I show my parents this? Is it proof enough? Should I wait?

And really, what does it mean?

Entry #78

In regards to the funeral...

I think it's two weeks from now. I want to confront my parents so much, but they don't know I've been listening carefully to what they've been saying. I've picked up little bits of information every time I hear them talking. They don't want me to know (yet, at least, I hope they'll tell me at some point), so they change the topic if I come into the room while they're talking.

I've been having visions again. Last night I woke up, and felt compelled to look outside. It was the middle of the night, supposed to be pitch black.

The sky was red again. Everything was normal, but the sky was red. It wasn't bright out, everything was obscured in shadow, but the sky was red. I slammed the shade shut as fast as I could, but not before I thought I saw someone sitting in the swinging chair out front.

It's hard to go to sleep when you know there's things like that outside your house. I can feel the air changing when I go outside. I can feel a heaviness in the air, a heaviness that's not caused by humidity or weather. It's just an unnatural stillness. I can't stand it.

R.C.

Entry #77

I heard my parents talking about a funeral for James today. They were discussing where to have it.

They were in their bedroom, with the door closed. I could hear them talking when I woke up, and when I got up to go to the bathroom, I heard my dad say "James" clearly. Then I heard my mom shush him, and they went silent. My mom heard me walk by.

I went to the bathroom, then I carefully opened the door so it wouldn't make noise and walked up to the bedroom door so I could listen. I heard them name three funeral homes nearby, and I heard my mom ask if there should be a wake.

I went back to my room before I heard any more. If I had heard anything else, I would have walked in and told them that James was still alive. They would really think I was crazy.

You have no idea of the feeling I had when I got back to my room. It was just a hopeless, desperate feeling in my gut, weighing me down, making me feel as if I couldn't do anything. And if I could do anything, it would be wrong. After all, if I told my parents what had happened to me, even if I showed them the papers, the journal, the shirts, the cloth, they would still think I was crazy. I know they think I'm still affected in some way. I am, in a way.

What do I do? They're going to have a funeral for James.

R.C.

Entry #76

Couldn't go out to the 909 again. Too much rain, too much cold, too much snow. I'm still sorta tired from waking up at 5:30 A.M. to get to the swim meet both days this weekend. We decided not to go to a hotel, even though we had a reservation. My mom just said she didn't want to stay in a hotel, so we just drove home both days.

My legs are very sore. Combined with the tennis I've had the past two days (Yes, I went straight to tennis after the swim meet yesterday. Dumb idea.), I'm pretty ready for my 'easy' day tomorrow. I only have swim practice, no tennis.

I'm not going to try for the 909 tomorrow, even if the rain stops. It'll be ridiculously muddy and cold, and I just want a day where I can chill on the computer or watch T.V. or something.

R.C.