Episode 9

¿Como en ESE Oliver?

..!

This doesn't

look the same as Anne's

handwriting...

It looks

like mine...

As I trace each letter, I can hardly believe how effortlessly my hand replicates every detail, down to the smallest imperfection.

Letting my hand move freely, I quickly scrawl the remaining words.

Somehow, it still ends up being a perfect copy of the original message, without a speck of gold ink left on the page.

Another

one?!

It's

almost like it

read my mind...

I write faster this time, the tip of the pen gliding effortlessly over the golden path as if fate was guiding my hand.

That's

what I'd like

to know...

Out of curiosity, I close my eyes to write the next line.

SCRIBBLE

Again, it's completely accurate.

This

shouldn't be

possible... I couldn't

even trace something I

wrote myself this

perfectly.

Is there

some kind of trick

to the pen itself?

A scribble appears on the page next. In theory, it should be more difficult to reproduce.

But again, the movements come naturally to me.

My hand moves in a blur, copying each random scribble that appears on the page without pause. I don't even stop to examine the golden lines before swiftly recreating them.

Just as I decide I've had my fill of this trick, a new mark appears on the page.

...What happens

if I don't copy

what it shows?

What if,

instead of a circle,

I draw a square?

But the pen makes no mark when I try to draw something in one of the blank spaces on the page.

I shake the pen, expecting a few drops of ink to splash the page like last time.

SHAKE

But nothing happens.

Maybe

the pen only

works on top of

the gold...?

Sure enough, the ink flows as I trace the circle.

I veer right.

SCRATCH

Immediately, the ink stops, and I press down more firmly, practically digging into the page.

Pain slices across the back of my hand.

AGH!!

There's a thin laceration running just below my knuckles.

BADUM BADUM

What

the f*ck...!

Did this thing just

cut me!?

I see my blood splattered on the page.

Exactly

where the gold

splotches were

before...!

As if

it knew this

would happen!

TREMBLE

It must be a

coincedence... I'd have

to try again to

be sure.

Another stabbing pain accompanies my second attempt to draw a line.

HSK!

It

happened again...!

As if the lines are being

etched into my skin

instead of the

journal!

The circle gleams ominously on the page, just waiting for me to finish it.

...What

will happen to

me if I refuse to draw

it altogether?

I have a terrible feeling that I don't want to find out.

Alright...

this is the last

time. Then I'm definitely

getting rid of this

thing.

WOOSH

I think I understand now. The journal shows the next "entry" before it's written. So far, every time I finish writing what's shown in gold, another one appears immediately after. As strange as that sounds, it should at least help me to avoid any more surprises until I can get out of here.

Unfortunately, leaving is going to be harder than I thought. Apparently, I own this building. Nearly every cent of my savings is currently tied up in this damn place. Thankfully, I found the paperwork in the back of the filing cabinet. It may take a while to sell, but I could end up turning a profit.

P.S. Get dressed. Mrs. Green is about to arrive.

(clothes on the floor)