Chapter Text
Alex woke up with a scream and a harsh, phantom pain in his throat. It took him a few seconds to remember. To remember what happened, what Tim did to him. His hands flew to his throat, as if to stop an imaginary spray of blood. There... should be blood, right? Tim had definitely slashed his throat and left him to die... He had died, hadn't he? He’d died clutching his throat, trying to stop the bleeding but knowing ultimately that he was going to die from it. He remembered taunting Tim in his last moments, despite the overwhelming pain in his throat, the blood making his voice wet and gurgly. There didn’t seem to be a wound there now though, just an aching, phantom pain.
He shakily got to his feet, catching his reflection in the shattered glass of one of the broken windows in the abandoned building. There was a faint, shimmering scar across his throat. Exactly where Tim has used the knife on him. It hurt to remember, to think about.
Speaking of Tim, where was he? And... why was his head so clear, free of that foggy, static-filled mania that he’d been fighting against (and failing) for the past few years? Shit, what about Jay and Brian? Alex remembered finding Brian’s lifeless body, seeing his former friend clothed in that old hoodie and poorly bleached mask, finally free of the insanity that had plagued all of the friends he had convinced to work with him to make his shitty college movie... And Jay... He had shot him. He had shot his best friend. Had left him for dead, uncaring of the fact that Jay wanted to help him, to save him. Fuck. This was all his fault, wasn't it? Shaking his head, he steadied himself on the wall. He could grieve and process everything later. Right now, he needed to leave the building. And locate Tim. Hopefully, he was still alive...
Coughing, Alex stumbled out of the room, into the hallway. Pausing, he noticed the bloodstains on the floor. Was that... his blood? Or was it Tim’s? Shaking his head again, he carefully walked down the first flight of stairs. Pausing at the bottom of it, he noticed an old, bloodstained pocketknife. That... was the knife Tim had used, wasn't it? Walking back up the stairs to where it was at, he picked it up with shaking hands and carefully closed the blade, slipping it into his back pocket.
Huh, his phone was still there too. Maybe.. Maybe he could try to reach out to Tim? Or at least see if Tim’s still alive? He pulled it out, opening up the messaging app and finding Tim’s contact. He started typing, and then paused. The channel. He should check that first.
Closing the text app, he switched over to the internet app and typed in the channel name Jay had come up with. Marble Hornets. The same name as that damned movie he had been trying to film back then, the one that dragged them all into this hell. Clicking on the YouTube channel link that popped up, he paused. There was two new entries, it seemed. He clicked on the newest one, uploaded on a few hours earlier, titled Entry #87. Watching through it, he hummed quietly. It seemed like Tim had survived then.
He opened up the texting app and finished typing his message, before hitting send.
Are you still alive? Sent at 3:45pm
Almost immediately there was a response.
Who is this and how did you get that phone. Sent at 3:45pm
Snorting quietly, Alex rolled his eyes. Did Tim always have to be so dramatic in his texts? He carefully typed out his response and hit send, hoping that his vague explanation was enough for Tim.
It's Alex. You left my phone in my pocket when you… Killed me, I guess? I don't exactly know what's going on but I'm still here. I found the pocketknife, by the way. You left it behind. Sent at 3:47pm
And... For the record, I'm sorry about everything. Sent at 3:47pm
He stashed his phone in his pocket again and walked back down the stairs, trying to locate the entrance to the building so he could leave. At least, that had been his plan, until his phone started vibrating. Was... Was Tim calling him? He pulled his phone back out and saw that Tim was in fact trying to call him.
Taking a deep breath, he hit the accept call button.