Tim's un-simple date
“Honestly not all that sure what to do with myself. Somehow I lost several years of time, and I’m not even convinced that this is what I actually look like. I feel like I should look like something else, but all the photos of me have this face. Is that too weird to bring up on a first date?”
“Yes. That's not normally something that one might bring up on a first date, but trust me mate, I’m very not normal. That's kinda like a normal Tuesday topic for me.”
Tim and Graham moved the date to the park after the meal was done. Had started normal enough, small talk, they had chemistry, so went for a walk. The walk landed them on a park bench enjoying the reflections of the sunsets colors, only for Graham to bring up how his own reflection unnerved him.
“So, you um, don’t think I’m odd? I didn’t mean to bring it up. I haven’t mentioned it to anyone save for an old friend once, then let it drop when he’d asked if I was safe. I don’t know why-”
“Don’t worry about it. I, unfortunately, have that effect on people nowadays. I don’t even have to ask, but people are more than happy to spill their horrors around me. Side effect of working at the Magnus Institute.” Tim sounded a bit tired, but not surprised. He could tell Graham had been thoroughly messed up by the Stranger, though he didn’t appear to be an Avatar. “With what you’ve been through, it would be more abnormal for you to recognize yourself.”
“That’s not ominous in any way. But you are the expert I guess?”
Tim let out a stale laugh. “No, that would be my boss. If you are worried, he would probably be more than happy to take a look and see if there is anything he can do to help you out. Otherwise, you might just have to get used to the face you see. It doesn’t change on you does it?”
“God, No, just mine, can faces even do that??” Graham laughed nervously and wasn’t all that confident it was a good thing Tim talked about it like it was nothing.
“Yeah. They can and do.”
---
“Graham, As in Graham Folger? “ Jon popped out from his office while Tim was talking to Sasha about how his date went.
“Yeah, you know him boss?” Tim leaned back in his chair, figuring if Jon didn’t know him, he would probably Know random junk.
“You should too, it was case #0070107 where he was mentioned in- You and Sasha both looked into his whereabouts cause the statement giver had seen him replaced- Oh. I didn’t- I never assigned that one out, did I?”
“Not familiar with it, no, but I can’t recall all the case numbers by memory. Want to tldr it?”
“Yes, Ah, it was a statement about the Web table and the Not!them. The same creature that would’ve- It was the creature that replaces people.”
“Of course it is.” Tim leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. “So what, he is part of the Stranger then? Tricked me?”
“If you didn’t see him as a threat, probably not. I trust your eyes Tim. I can check, but if you think he was human, he more than likely is.”
Tim nodded. “He looked pretty much like a person, seemed to be collecting Fear stamps like you though.”
“That’s not ideal. Did he mention anything?”
“You curious or hungry?” Tim grinned with a playful humor to it.
“Tim.”
“What, I wouldn’t fault you for either at this point. I know you are spooky and at least Sasha’s life depends on you not going hunger-strike. But yeah. He mentioned some things so might swing by so you can do your thing.”
Jon nodded. “Maybe I’ll give Nikki a call as well. See if maybe she did something after she took the table.”
---
Jon: Hey nikola, what did you end up doing with that table gave you a while back?
Nikki: Oh, nikola kinda business chat then? Well, Might have broken it so they could be free again? Dreadful outcome. Can’t explain why, but what came out was oddly human. He kept looking at us, so we sent him away to be human someplace else.
Jon:by looking you mean like beholding style or just you don’t like people focusing on you?
Nikki: bit of both? Think the table must’ve been there too long that the beholding imprinted or something?
Jon paused looking at his phone. That certainly didn’t happen before, nor did the Not!them have any trouble pretending to be Sasha for all the time.
Nikki: Oh! Should point out that the table was vandalized, there were some eyes carved into it.
Jon: Thanks. How come you didn’t tell me?
Nikki: you didn’t ask silly. I’m your friend but I’m also your competition.
Jon: right.
Jon tossed his phone aside and looked to the ceiling. He could try to Know, but it didn’t seem to be coming to him as random tidbits. He could go fishing for it, but Knowing that way tended to leave him in a daze and he wouldn’t want to be in that state for dinner. Jon could already smell the meal Martin was working on for them both.
---
Graham did end up coming in to talk with Jon and sat in front of Jon after signing some sketchy looking papers that claimed talking to Jon could cause weird nightmares, and it was too late to turn back. It was something to do about statements, but who reads all the terms on things like that? Graham was starting to think he should after seeing Jon’s eyes.
“I’m not here to leave a statement or anything like that. Tim just mentioned you might have some information about weird happenings?”
“Yeah, if it were anything mundane I wouldn’t have you sign them, but I don’t have complete control over what counts as a statement and what doesn’t regardless of the format.” Jon was Looking at Graham. Tim wasn’t lying when he said that Graham had encounters. Jon could practically taste the statements that lingered off him. The Eye, Stranger, and Web were deep marks, while there was a light touch of End, Dark, Buried, and Spiral as the freshest mark. Handful of them seemed to be interlinked, but even so. “I can tell just by looking that you’ve had some experiences.”
“That's an understatement.” Graham let out something of a nervous squeak.
Jon laughed. “Yeah. I was hoping it sounded more positive as an angle. Been working on that lately. So you had some questions?”
“Right, yeah. So um, Tim mentioned you would be able to tell, but ah, how do I put this. Can you tell is this is my real face? It feels off, like something is wrong and the 10 years I’m missing from my memories seem to have sorta, I don’t know, like I can’t recognize myself.”
Jon nodded. “After getting a look at you, it’s not your face. Close as it could be from what you remembered before your encounter with the monster in the table. But it’s not completely the same. Like how a nose sometimes doesn’t heal into the same shape after it’s broken.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah. There is a possibility of it continuing to shift the more you try to remember what you looked like, but I would suggest just accepting this is how you healed and try to avoid the thought. Thinking too hard on it will only make it slip through your fingers more, with some rather unpleasant side effects.” Jon Knew that Graham was on a dangerous line of becoming the next Not!them if he dwelled too hard and tried to recall what was lost.
“So I just have to live with this? How did it even happen? I remember being stalked by something then just waking up in the middle of nowhere with years missing...”
“I can’t say for sure, but I have a theory I could run by you.”
“Might as well. Doctors had no idea.”
“Well, For starters, you appear in a statement were a monster, which we call not!them, and she watched it replace you. The details behind what it does can be rather, well-” Jon made a rather complicated facial expression trying to find the word. “well- the basic is that it will pick a host, replace them, but change every aspect to the person, and everyone around will not notice except for one person. Normally a family member, but with your circumstances, it was a neighbor. ”
“Do I want to know why you know so much details about my life?”
“Truth be told, the statement giver seemed to know quite a bit, and did some research on you for the lack of missing person’s reports. It was standard statement follow up to see if it could be marked as credited or discredited. There is a bit of my own insights cause I’ve interacted with the monster that caused you to lose so much time. What I’m unsure of is how you managed to survive. There has never been a surviving host far as I know..”
“Maybe I’m a zombie who is too clueless? God I need a smoke. You smoke?”
“I do from time to time. I know a good spot. Want me to show you?”
“Yes. Please.” Graham was sounding desperate as Jon prepared to lead Graham to the roof.
They spent the time on the roof talking about what all Graham could remember so Jon could try to figure out what happened. By the end of the conversation, Jon was certain that Elias was working on a backup that wasn’t Jon or Martin.
Jon was happy that Elias no longer could Know how the ritual worked, but how many more people did he have his Eyes on like this. Jon worried that they might end up getting claimed by other entities. If any of the other entities performed their ritual with an Avatar like him, could it work? The Beholding didn’t Know.
---
Later in the day Elias came into the Archives, Martin was certain he had an air of exhaustion.
“Sorry to interrupt. Glad to see everyone is present. I wanted to inform you that I’ll be taking a few months leave, and might I be able to borrow Sasha for the time? I’m hoping she will be able to assist Peter Lukas while I’m away. I’m sure her ability to mimic other’s will help ease him while he is around. He’s not quite fond of company as you all know.” That last line he looked to Martin almost as though to make a point.
“No. I can't spare-” Jon started.
“I’ll do it.” Sasha interrupted before Jon could finish.
“Sasha, Peter is-” Martin's concern was written all over his face.
“I know. I’ll be fine. And Elias might have a point. Could help keep Peter from messing with others?”
“Thank you, I’m sure Peter will be as excited as he can get to have someone that he will be able to not even notice. If you would like, I could give you a walk through of duties when I’m showing Peter around.”
“That would be nice. Thank you.”
“I’ll email you a time.” Elias nodded and with that concluded he went to leave. “Oh also Jon? Please don’t bully Peter.”