THE FOLLOWING CONSISTS OF A SERIES OF BROKEN, CORRUPTED DATA, FOLLOWED BY MORE STABLE FOOTAGE DEPICTING THE RESULTS OF THE PREVIOUS FILE. THE GREATEST OF EFFORTS HAVE BEEN PUT INTO RECOVERING THE CORRUPTED DATA, BUT IT WOULD APPEAR THAT, LIKE MUCH OF THE CASE INVOLVING THESE EVENTS, THINGS ARE OUT OF OUR CONTROL.
--File 066: An End--
Chaos follows the disappearance of Emma into the hole formed in the glass surface of the pool.
Immediately, the cavern begins shaking, a deep rumbling filling the air. The camera is snatched up by, it would appear, Alex.
The footage clips several times, showcasing different parts of the rush to get out of the cavern. Where Weiss and Grantham go is not immediately clear, except that it is not with Alex, Bartosz, or Anders.
In the first stable clip, they appear to turn back toward the entrance of the cavern from which Emma and Blaine had entered, only to see the ceiling cave in on top of fleeing cultists. There is a burst of static and corrupted audio, and in the next frame, they are sprinting along the length of the pool toward the back of the cavern.
Anders shouts that there appears to be several tunnels along the back wall of the cavern, and there is another burst of static and corrupted audio.
In the next frame, they are sprinting wordlessly down the length of a black tunnel, occasionally swearing when the shaking of the underground cavern causes someone to lose footing. The only light they have is from the camera.
There are bursts of racing through tunnels and dodging falling debris, even having to double back down another tunnel when coming across a newly formed dead end from fallen ceiling.
At last, however, following a burst of static and still corrupted audio, the three burst out of the caves into a section of the woods. There are shouts in the distance that they hear as they exit out into the night air, shouts and screams, and the ground is still quaking ominously. Without a word, the three take off in the direction of the shouts.
It is unclear how long it takes to reach the location due to more corrupted flashes of footage, but when they arrive, it's with a sudden burst from the woods into the space which has the lake.
The glassy water is roiling like ocean waves during a hurricane, spewing shards everywhere; the unnatural alien music splits the air in enraged discord. Cultists are shouting all along the edges of the lake in confusion; some appear to be trying to do something to calm the raging glass water, but nothing appears to be working. As Anders, Bartosz, and Alex stand and stare at the scene unfolding in front of them, the nearest group of cultists is suddenly engulfed by a wave of glass water, and they are eviscerated on the spot.
Alex: "Don't let the water touch you!"
Bartosz: "No SHIT, Sherlock!"
Anders: "INCOMING!"
Alex turns on his heel, and they see, emerging from the direction of Grantham's home, a collection of the people who were underground. Included in this group is the unmistakable form of an enraged hive mind of flies.
Anders: "If you were ever going to open that fucking backpack, Bartosz, now is the time!"
Bartosz: "Shut the fuck up and take a can! MOVE! Get the fire going!"
They are moving fast even as the sound of buzzing hits the speakers on the camera. Alex drops the camera on the grass and accepts a can; from the angle of the camera, we see the three create a triangle of defense, backs against each other, as they raise up the cans of hairspray.
The night is immediately lit by fire. Alex is shouting meaninglessly as they arc the flames around them in an attempt to curb the murderous supernatural flies; either they are weakened by the events below, or the trio manages to keep it up.
Weiss and Grantham appear to catch up to them, and the flies fall back; the arcs of flame stop, but no one steps out from the defensive position.
Weiss: "What the hell have you all done?!"
Alex: "You're gonna put the fucking blame on us?!"
Grantham: "Death! Destruction! Murder!"
There is no forthcoming explanation that can clear up what is happening to Grantham, but he seems less in control, the shape of his form rippling like water.
Bartosz: "Losing control, Grantham? I love to fuckin' see it."
Weiss: "Shut up! You don't understand anything! We're GODS!"
Alex: "Oh yeah? Some kind of gods you are- can't seem to fix fuck all!"
Weiss: "Where the hell are they?!"
Anders: "How the hell are we supposed to know? It's your pool! You're supposed to be the all-knowing time travelers!"
Bartosz: "I don't even fucking care. I spent my whole life waiting for this moment. I'm going to take the two of you down, if it kills me."
Weiss: "Do try, old man, I've been dying to kill you for fifteen years!"
Bartosz drops the can of hairspray and removes the gun from his waste. Weiss, simultaneously, removes a familiar gray device from his own person and drops that, too, on the ground; the camera stutters, and the shape of him seems to pixelate, before shifting into multiple copies. Bartosz chases after the figures, firing a bullet at one figure before it assimilates into another, creating a deadly game of "Find the fake". Every time Bartosz misfires, Weiss reforms and takes a jab at Bartosz, who manages to barely dodge several before getting hit square in the jaw.
In the meantime, Alex and Anders slam together to make up for the missing third of their triangle of defense, and the arcs of fire spout out once more as a haphazard cloud of flies descend on them; the burning bodies of flies and maggots drift down into the camera's view like little burning confetti.
Suddenly, however, everyone's attention is grabbed by the lake, which stills as suddenly as it has been roiling. Defying the laws of gravity and physics, the lake instantly becomes a still, glassy surface, and silence descends on the entire area. All, including everyone involved in the current fight, turn to look.
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The surface of the lake shatters and explodes outward.
An enormous creature lunges up out of the water, a horrific, dark shape made entirely of eyes and shrieking in an ear-splitting sound like something sharp on shards of glass, and a mass of tentacles burst out of the lake. A scream pierces the air, and as one, Anders, Bartosz, and Alex all turn to the lake; Alex dives for the camera to use the zoom function.
Along with the mass of the creature, there are two other shapes that are expelled from the surface of the lake: Emma and Blaine.
Alex: "It's them! It's Emma and Blaine!"
Anders: "Thank FUCK!"
Grantham: "Pay attention!"
Weiss: "It is not too late! We can still right this wrong, if she dies!"
Alex: "No you fucking don't!"
Alex, somehow gripping the camera and a lighter, manages to arc his jerry-rigged flamethrower in the direction of Weiss and sets his shirt on fire. Grantham's flies shriek in an inhuman, unholy sound, and he turns as if to try to ward the fire off. Anders immediately sends a burst of fire in the direction of Grantham, and Bartosz leaps forward to land a punch square in Weiss's jaw, even as he's trying to silently put out the fire rapidly spreading across him, like he's doused in some sort of flammable fuel.
Alex, however, turns and begins sprinting across the surface of the lake, camera in one hand as he does so. He is able to catch the seconds of chaos leading up to his rejoining with Blaine and Emma.
Emma appears to have the dagger from before; one of the tentacles slashes toward her and Blaine lying dazed on the surface of the lake, but Emma swipes at it; the glass shatters down the length of the tentacle, and the creature howls in that glass tone.
Another tentacle from behind manages to swipe at her, sending her sliding with a pained shriek across the surface of the lake; the dagger drops from her fingers.
Blaine scrambles up to his feet and dives for the dagger, narrowly missing another tentacle that makes an angry slash toward him. He flips around and slices at this tentacle, which also disintegrates into shards of shattered glass.
Alex is still too far off, but gaining distance, breathing hard. Blaine is knocked off of his feet and the dagger goes flying once more. It would appear that the creature is trying desperately not to lose this implement that has supposedly traveled across dimensions, the only one of its kind, no copy.
Emma has managed to get to her feet, grabs the dagger, and shatters another tentacle; she now throws the dagger across the surface of the lake, where Blaine catches it. The tentacles trying to attack them are dancing uncertainly, afraid to lose the dagger but also afraid of being slashed at. Blaine rushes toward the main center of the shape, the creature made purely of eyes, and this seems to frighten it enough into action. It slashes at him, sending him flying backward; Emma dives for the dagger, but is pinned down.
Alex: "HEY! Over here!"
Emma looks up, sees Alex running toward them, and slides the dagger in his direction. He, in return, slides the camera at her; the creature, confused, watches the two devices exchange hands.
Alex snatches up the dagger and begins running for the creature; it tries to cut him off, but he throws the dagger toward Blaine, who is still mostly covered in drying black, viscous body fluids. He catches the dagger and begins trying to get through a sudden onslaught of tentacles, most of which he slashes through in a showering of glass particles.
Unheedful of this danger, he slides the dagger back toward Emma, who trades for the camera; it slides with unering accuracy toward Blaine, who catches it easily, and Emma, running parallel to Alex through another attempt to stop them, manages to get through another attack before getting swept off her feet. She slams into the surface of the lake before sliding the dagger toward Alex in the center.
He's already at the creature when he catches the blade, turns, and sinks it straight into the creature.
The music that pierces the air is filled with a howling rage, but Alex doesn't stop there. He slams the dagger repeatedly, over and over, into the monstrosity, carving his way through it to the center, methodically and with some level of insanity.
Then, suddenly, them eerie, horrific sound that has been shredding the air ceases, and there is a horrible rumble.
Blaine: "TO ME!"
Emma turns and begins running across a suddenly uneven surface of the lake, but Alex doesn't seem to hear him, still carving his way through.
Emma: "ALEX, IT'S DEAD!"
Alex still doesn't hear. Swearing, Blaine and Emma take off in his direction, grabbing him by his shoulders and wrenching him from out of the center of the creature.
Inside, the creature appears to be made of some organic material that, at the quick glance in the dark afforded to the camera, is difficult to identify. It is shiny, black, thick, and seems to be both solid and fleshy. Alex is covered in black viscera, but allows himself to be hauled away. The dagger glitters in his hand.
As they begin sprinting back toward shore where short bursts of fire can be seen, there is a rumbling- a deep rumbling that seems to go further than just the lake- and a horrible, crooning sound that rends the air. Something shimmers all around them, a falling of a celestial net, a disintegrating of something paranormal, and the glass surface of the lake begins to dissolve in spaces around them- everywhere but beneath Blaine's steps.
There is another burst of static and corrupted audio, and then in the next frame, they are crashing onto the shore of the lake. There is no time to waste, however.
Bartosz is still fighting Weiss, but he is injured and winded and unsteady. Anders is holding off a cloud of flies and maggots on his own; his pant legs are covered, and he is sweating and appears to be in pain.
Emma rips the dagger from Alex's hands, sprinting forward before anyone can stop her. With a vengeance, she rips the dagger straight into the heart of Grantham's nasty, disgusting form of flies, and everyone and everything around them freezes. Silence falls, except for Emma's clear words:
Emma: "That is for Wynona."
She rips the dagger out of Grantham's form, and for a second, he hangs in space.
Unceremoniously, the flies and maggots all melt into the same disgusting black ooze onto the floor. Not a sound escapes Jake Grantham's form as he collapses; any loose attackers drop dead around them, before bursting and turning to ooze themselves.
There is the sudden shot of a gun in the silence that follows, and they turn to see Weiss standing in front of Bartosz, too stunned at the death of his "brother" to remember his own danger.
Blood begins to pour from a bullet wound in his chest, a perfect shot to where his heart should be. Even so, Emma tosses the dagger to Alex, who charges forward and buries the blade deep into his chest.
There are no more words shared beyond this. Weiss looks up, past Alex, toward Blaine. His expression is odd, even as the unknown black substance begins to leak from every orifice of his face.
Weiss: "Why did you... betray... your brothers?"
But Blaine doesn't answer. All of them watches as he collapses, then disintegrates, and when they turn, they see the shape of the creature slowly beginning to dissolve as well, turning the now-watery lake into a black miasmic, viscous fluid.
They stand for several moments in the following silence. All cultists have either fled or died in the chaos, and both Grantham and Weiss are dead.
Emma: "Is it... is it over?"
Alex: "Do we take the dagger?"
Bartosz: "Nah. Leave it for the cleanup crew."
Blaine: "What fucking cleanup crew?"
Anders: "You seriously think the Government hasn't been trying to get in here since all of this started?"
Blaine: "Fair. So, what, do we just... start walking back toward town?"
Bartosz: "Hey. Kid."
Silence falls on the group.
Bartosz: "The fuck did you do?"
Blaine: "I killed myself."
There is a long beat of silence that follows this extremely subpar explanation.
Bartosz: "You know what? Good enough for me."
The footage cuts abruptly to black here.
For the record, Blaine [REDACTED], Emma [REDACTED], Alex [REDACTED], Jim Anders, and Jakub Bartosz were all picked up on the outskirts of town by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Paranormal Research Branch, where they were taken in for questioning. Up until this point, the Branch had been held at bay by a combination of cultists and Paranormal activity at any and all entrances into the town of [REDACTED]. Compared with the notes of present field agents, entry was suddenly free and open to all attending operatives upon the felling of the "Other" creature in the lake.
This file ends here.
--END TRANSMISSION--