MONDAY JULY 25TH, 2011
(Avoidance)

8:32 AM
I don't want to get up today

8:35 AM
Donnie's up.
Hey Donnie, can we have a look further into the city today? Just you and me.
"Sure. Uh.. anything in mind?"
There'll be, like, a City Hall of some sort, right? Maybe we'll benefit from trying to talk to the 'other side.' The people in power here.
"Mr. Diplomacy, over here. What if there's Fears there? Like, dangerous ones."
Then we turn and leave?
"And have them follow us here."
Well, we're not gonna know unless we try. And, honestly, I…
"...yeah?"
...I just. Want a change from the RAF for a bit.
"Aww, did something happen yesterday? Did you get in an argument?"
No. Maybe I'm.. partied out? <:D
...she patted my head. .w.
"We can have a look around. Meet some new people."
kissss
Donnie, you're an angel, and it never feels right to leave your side.
"Awwww!"

8:50 AM
We had breakfast.
No Cody this time; he's still asleep. <.<;;
But we did talk with Heaven, and she gave us directions to City Hall, the "People's Palace." And she wished me luck with finding Bones!

9:14 AM
Short drive. San Francisco has good streets. I'm impressed.
Man, look at that building! People's Palace, indeed. Majestic, grey, greek-like. Naked lady carving up at the top.
"Probably a symbol of democracy or something."
Yeah. America!

9:15 AM
I'd expect there to be more people here. This city's, y'know, relatively safe. And people love to just mill about; it's one of our favorite pastimes.
"Well, we've been seeing a lot of people who don't like the old authorities that much. Maybe the people who did left the city?"
Then. Who are the RAF trying to fight?
"The Fears."
I dunno. Something feels off.

9:16 AM
It's... deserted. Yet the lights are on. Someone must be in here.
Hello?
…
HELLO?
…
that triggered a coughing fit from down this hall.

9:17 AM
Little office. Big man. Gotta be in his 40s, 50s.
"Hmph. You won't find much to steal in here."
We're not looking to steal, sir!
"You'd be the first, then. Even the scoundrels who used to work here were ripping the carpets up on their way out. And I trust that rabble by the park even less."
donnie "The world's ending. People are gonna panic."
"Quite." sigh "I just always liked to imagine we were a more virtuous nation than that. And I mean the whole nation, not California. We're a state, dammit. Nothing's going to change that."
Yeah.
..uh.
"Yes, who are you? Why did you come? To listen to me talk?"
Maybe?? I'm.. Jordan. "I'm Donnie." I came here to learn a little more about.. the way the city is run? "I just came along; I'm good with whatever."
"You came here to learn about civics? Huh." stroking his mustache "Maybe the youth isn't lost."
Do you know why money is still a thing here? What's this Z currency?
"That is still one of the most suspect things to happen in all this Rapture nonsense. The change happened overnight.
"Some senior investors and advisors came to the Palace one night earlier this month, and I mean senior, some of the most respected in the nation. They stepped into the Mayor's office, unannounced, unaccompanied, and spent a heated hour shouting profanities, then swiftly left in silence with stormy faces.
"Do you know what they had said?
"'The dollar is gone.'
"That's right. Just like that. It was a demand from 'higher up,' they said. Higher than Congress. Higher than the Senate. Higher than the Supreme Court. Higher than the Pentagon!"
W. Who. Who was it from? O:
"One of them." he pointed, sinisterly, for effect.
donnie "The Fears?"
"One of them."
Surely some people tried using the dollar anyway, right? Even just for a little purchase.
"Of course people tried! We were the first to, as this building was the first to hear of it. But another change happened on that same night: Shortly after the investors and advisors left, the red sky vanished, and that army began patrolling our skies."
The Ants of the Sky…
"The ANTS. Yes. ANti-finance Territorial Sentries. They know what we are doing in here. Anyone who spends so much as a penny, on any transaction, is hunted down within minutes. Gunned down... where they stand…" now he's looking off into space.
I'm. I'm sorry. You must have seen a lot of this.
"My colleagues dared the gods. I would have joined them too, had I anything to buy that night. I didn't believe in the demand. But blood speaks louder than decree."
What the fuck. What's the point of it? What kind of scheme makes this make sense?
..he's shaking his head. forehead on his hand.
"What bothers me is.. the Mayor obviously knew. He had that talk with the advisors. He didn't tell anyone. He let the rumor spread that it was just a demand. He let his staff exchange money. He had to have known. Why didn't he talk to us? Why did he just let us find out?"
... >_<
donnie "Then. Then the Z? Did that just.. arrive one day?"
"Delivered in secure vans. Stolen, I have no doubt. If anyone knows where they came from, they haven't told me."
..donnie "I'm sorry. Thank you for sharing what must not have been easy to recall."
"These storied walls deserve a witness. After all our nation has been through, these walls deserve that much."
So you really believe in this place.
"And what it means. I feel I owe it, as I didn't do my due diligence when the sky was... real."
I understand.
Do you want to be left alone?
"Yes. I have much to do. Archival work is never done."
Th.. thank you for your time.

9:29 AM
back in the car.
just sitting here.
What the fuck was that. Was that real.
"At least we know those Ants are dangerous."
But why the fuck is this happening this way? That Ant stuff is something I'd expect from Xanadu. But he says a Fear is responsible?
"They're Fears, babe. They're bad. Remember the Harlequin? Would this really be that out-of-place for her to do?"
I don't know! In terms of severity, sure, she was horrible! In terms of ambition, she was a terrorist! But what's with all the blue sky business? Why Z? Is Z a Xanadu currency, or did the same Fear give it to Xanadu?
..she's rubbing my back. "It's a world of trauma out there now. It kinda already was."
Everything just raises questions. All this gunning-down... I feel like my brain's gonna explode.
Why are the RAF... what are they doing? Are they just doing a takeover? Are they walking into a trap, the same situation that that government ran into? It doesn't sound like any human actually runs things here.
"Why don't we go back to the house and.. ask them? Talk it out. You like talking it out."
Talk to Cody?
"And Heaven. The leader."
I... yeah, okay. We can try.

10:10 AM
The house is empty.
They'll be off doing their.. secret plans.
hnnng.
"Then we can go off and do our plans until they get back."
Our plans?
"I mean the Derek thing. I think it's time we tried really driving around the city. Maybe we'll find places where the graffiti is more common?"
It's.. worth a shot.

2:35 PM
We've been driving slow. Looking for graffiti. There's been a lot of markings, symbols, tags. Some memes we've seen before. Occasionally a person nearby, who we'd ask about Bones. No luck. Not a clue.
We're stopping for lunch. We still have some beef jerky from the rabbit hole. We're gonna sit on a bench and eat.

2:42 PM
Some bikers just sped by, roaring without mufflers.
Huh. Hadn't seen that yet. I'd kinda been expecting bikers in all this.
I wonder where they're going.
Maybe we should get bikes too.

4:24 PM
Alright. Finished our cruising. I mean, we weren't exactly thorough with it. We just went on a graffiti tour of the city, that's it.
"I'm sorry, babe. We'll find him."
Yeah. I know.
I don't like this city.

4:39 PM
When we got back to the house again, this time Tiger and about half a dozen of others from the Party House were gathered on the front steps, listening to Heaven talk from her door.
We pulled up and got out of the car, and that's when we saw it: Hanging from a window of the RAF house, limbs tied with flag cord, Winston. With a nasty gash in his neck.
It's the modus operandi of the Masked Massacrer, and Heaven corroborated that, as she saw a man in a Jesus Christ mask skulking around nearby and chased him off before noticing Winston herself.
Dammit.
I mean dammit.
We just saved him.

4:45 PM
We're all going back to the Party House for a wake.

5:10 PM
Tiger couldn't stand it.

5:18 PM
When it came time to play some of Winston's favorite songs in memorial, the first one to come on was "Solitude." Candlemass.
Holy shit, that was... crushingly awkward.
Not many people were willing to listen to it right now.

5:24 PM
Someone brought out the alcohol.
Heaven left. I think she'd normally frown upon underage drinking, but.

7:58 PM
screams
"FEAR AT THE DOOR!"
oh jesus. another zombie? I'll fucking get it. hang on. head's swimming. I got this.

7:59 PM
Holy crap! it's not a zombie!! it's fucking EAT!
"Rael, we" shhh
IT'S OKAY EVERYONE! I'M GONNA TAKE THIS OUTSIDE! IT'S GONNA GET UGLY! I'M SORRY!
c'mon c'mon

8:05 PM
okay I think we're far enough away. and this is a good alleyway. none of them will come looking. but just in case, if they do, put me in a headlock. just in, y'know. just in case.
"That is a strange plan. Is it just you this time?"
Yeah. Donnie's.. I think she went home hours ago. I like your Camper. :) She has blue hair...
"I see."
I am drunk... I apologize...
"Rael, if it makes you comfortable and focused, you may say what you like to me. But I have to talk to you."
Holy shit. Please, please talk. I'm all ears.
"Can I trust that you will take in what I have to say?"
I'm writing it all down! So I will be reading it again in the morning. Or whenever I'm sober.
"You... hm. You know by now not to decode the Ciphers."
Yes!
"This was a surprise to me as well. When I advised you to pursue the sixth Cipher earlier this month, I only knew what I had read in your journal. And I only know the reality now because I read your newer journals. I suspect I may have learned about this on my own had I been in regular conversation with the other Fears, but Rapture has taken up all of my concentration."
You really want to stop it.
"I do."
I do too! If at all possible. For a human like me.
"But there is a complication in the Cipher matter. Someone else has heard about the Ciphers, and not the most up-to-date information. Someone else is going after the seventh Cipher."
Someone. Someone else. This is bad, right?
"Yes. This is something that must be prevented at any cost."
Are you the one who told someone else about the Ciphers?
"Not.. to my knowledge. It might be possible that the wrong Camper spoke at the wrong time, but when I talk to myself, I do not go over every detail."
You talk to yourself? O:
"Don't you?"
Only all the time!
"..I think I like you drunk. You're so easy to read."
I don't think I like being drunk, though. Being drunk is nice when I'm still drinking, but then when I'm not drinking, it's one long ride to sobriety.
So. Gotta stop someone from going for the big video game boss battle. Do we know who?
"I believe so. I first noticed other people discussing the Cipher in Texas, and I followed the rumors as they spread westward. With birds, I traced their source to a group on motorcycles. They have entered this city, and so I cannot follow them so easily anymore, as suspicion of Fears is greater here. Speaking candidly, I was taking a risk coming to see you at all."
Aww, you risked for me.…
"I risked for the world, Rael. You're my human emissary in this. You can go where Camper can't."
I'm your emissary…
"I need you to find these motorcyclists and stop them. Or lead them out of the city where I can act unobstructed."
Got it. I can do that. I can do one or the other.
"You will have to act fast; it is not safe to stay in the city for much longer. The Archangel is amassing the undead, and a horde of them will hit in a few days."
The Archangel... that's the gas mask one. The zombies. A horde? A few days…
Y'know, the RAF have something planned for Wednesday. I don't know what it is, but they're working hard at it.
"...Anonymous."
Yeah. RAF are Anonymous.
"Rael, Anonymous is allied with the Archangel."
.....what. 'allied with' like, they're neutral towards each other?
"They are working for him, delivering his will."
How do you. How do you know?
"My birds have seen. That adult woman you are staying with leaves the house every day, and her first stop is always to the same construction site, where Death meets her for updates on their plan, not unlike you and me right now."
This is huge. This is.. sobering.
"I am glad you are returning to your senses. I'll understand if you have trouble believing my information."
No, I.. I didn't like the vibes here anyway. Too many things weren't adding up. Plus, I'm pretty sure Cody shot a kid in the head.
"Which one is Cody?"
The adult man. Do you follow him too?
"Of course. But I don't think I should tell you what I have seen."
You don't?
"It concerns a subject that humans generally do not like to know."
Worse than working with Death? Worse than shooting a kid? C'mon, EAT. Don't I do things for you? :C Aren't I your emissary?
"And it concerns Donnie."
........read you loud and clear. o_e
"I'm sorry."
No, no, it's.
I get it.
On all counts.
They have a history. And I don't think it was resolved. And, like. I've been really friendly with you, and there's no way she likes that.
"I'm.. sorry."
Please.
EAT, you're. A friend. I shouldn't have asked. It's not your fault.
"I don't want to impact you like this."
I know. Unfortunately, this is.. the kind of thing that just happens, with feelings, sometimes. And definitely with drinking. Wow, that was a sloppy move on my part.
"Feelings. I think I fear my feelings more than I fear the changes coming to our world."
Heh. You and me, both.

8:13 PM
"...at times like these, what should I do?"
To achieve what?
"Making you smile at me again."
..…
hugggg

(Attached: "A Fear’s appearance, you know, is important. If we want humans to listen to us, we have to play up our powers, make ourselves look more important than we are. This is why the slender man wore a suit, why Death wears a gas mask, and why I keep my beard long and my book large– we want humans to fear us, we want to appear formidable. Salmacis, however, has a soft spot. It refuses to acknowledge any of them, but the apocalypse brings them out of her. And one of these soft spots of hers is the idea that humans will be more likely to assist if they feel they can trust her, rather than fear her. So over the course of the apocalypse, when it realized it needed to take some serious action to convince lots of people in so little time to help, it experimented with lots of different looks and approaches before it settled on giving her Camper blue hair– usually through wigs or hair-dyes– and overall blue colour schemes for clothing. And that all started here. Her first blue Camper was complete accident. It was just the nearest one to Jordan at the time.
California, am I right?”)