My
mother's
vase...!
The weight is instantly familiar in my hands, and a glance at the bottom confirms what I already knew.
Only
someone with access to
"my" apartment could
have thrown this
away.
Oliver
has a master key...
He probably saw me
holding the vase
too...
Is this
another one of the
security team's ideas
of a joke?
Or
was it
Anne?
I carefully set the vase aside and channel my rage and adrenaline from everything that's happened - my savings, the vase, my encounter with Wolf - into cleaning.
The room is filled with a cloying sickly sweet smell. It makes my stomach turn and my eyes burn the same way chopping onions does.
The journal mentioned the sound of wasps inside the trash chute. I knock against the metallic door and listen hard for over a minute.
I'm wary of any signs of wasps as I work, but I don't find any. Still, I move carefully and methodically.
Nothing...
I suppose the
journal didn't say
I couldn't open
it
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The first bag goes down the dark channel without incident. Followed by a second and a third. After almost an hour, all of the trash has been carefully disposed of down the trash chute and no sign of wasps. Still, I make sure the door is safely latched before I take my leave—
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
! !
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
That's when I hear it... the droning sound of thousands of insect wings getting louder and louder.
The vibrations begin to shake the chute door on its hinges, and it almost sounds like... voices.
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
H . . . I . . . V . . . E . . . . . . . . .
H . . . I . . . V . . . E . . . . . . . . .
W . . . H . . . A . . . T. . . . . . . . . .
A . . . C . . . C . . . E . . . P . . . T . . . S . . . . . . . . . .
W . . . H . . . A . . . T. . . . . . . . . .
A . . . C . . . C . . . E . . . P . . . T . . . S . . . . . . . . . .
T. . . H . . . E . . . . . . . . .
T. . . H . . . E . . . . . . . . .
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
H . . . I . . . V . . . E . . . . .
T . . . H . . . E . . . . . . . . .
T . . . H . . . E . . . . . . . . .
H . . . I . . . V . . . E . . . . .
R . . . E . . . C . . . E . . . I . . . V . . . E . . . S . . . . . .
R . . . E . . . C . . . E . . . I . . . V . . . E . . . S . . . . . .
I flee the room with my vase and head back to the office.
to hide this object go to the settings
Audio Trigger
to hide this object go to the settings
Audio Trigger
Did
I imagine it?
To make matter worse, the trash chute sounds like
it's been taken over by a colony of wasps. Just
my luck. I'll have to call an exterminator first thing
in the morning.
Wasps...
Just wasps.
All
of the stress
is making me
paranoid...
SCRATCH
SCRATCH
Wasps,
cockroaches, it
doesn't matter. An
exterminator can
deal with it.
Audio Player
Audio Player
SCRAWL
I write the message, word for word, and wait for the golden ink to appear.
Audio Player
Audio Player
Kogan,
I think it's safer for both of us if you handle things on your own going forward. You bought me some time, but every time I come out, my condition progresses. I wish I could say more, but the more you know, the more it knows. Right now, your ignorance is the only thing shielding you from my fate. I know this is hard. Trust me, I used to be just like you. But you'll get stronger. Just try not to let the others panic. The faerie feeds on fear.
-Anne
...What??
What does this
mean?! What "condition"?
What "fate"!?
This isn’t the message I was expecting. I thought I’d be getting some useful information, something to help me make sense of the chaos around me... But now I'm even more confused.
I snap the journal shut, pushing the unsettling thoughts aside. I need to refocus. Selling the apartment—that’s the goal. I don’t need a prophetic journal to do that. I can handle this. I just need to get things in order and make the place presentable. Simple, straightforward.
Standing up, I rub my temples, trying to clear my head. I can feel the grime from the day's activities clinging to my skin.
When
was the last
time I took a
shower?
The connected bathroom is cramped and has a musty smell, but the hot water works, and the steam already provides some small comfort as it fills the room.
I hang a fresh suit on the door. Unfortunately, I didn’t come across an iron during my earlier cleaning spree, but at least the steam should smooth out any wrinkles.
...I just
need to stay
focused.
Audio Player
Audio Player
I can do
this. I—
CLUNK
Get
the building in shape. Sell
it.
BANG
CRASH
...?!
Audio Player
Audio Player
SQUEAK
I hastily pull on my clothes and sidle up to the bathroom door. A strong, unpleasant odor emanates from the other side.
I ease it open.
to hide this object go to the settings
Audio Trigger
It looks like a hurricane tore through the place. Piles of wet cardboard boxes are strewn everywhere, with scattered papers and garbage bags burst open, spilling their contents across the recently cleaned room.
This... this
is everything I
just threw
away!
The
vase!!
Among the debris on the desk, my mother's vase lies shattered.
I pull the broken shards from the pile, my hands trembling as I choke on a mixture of grief and disgust as the putrid smell of the trash cling to my fingers.
After gathering everything I can, I turn to leave, but a thought cuts through the haze of shock and confusion: the journal in the top right drawer. I snatch it up and quickly exit the office, slamming the door behind me and gulping down a breath of fresh air.
...Oliver's
cameras!
HA...
HA...
HA...
He's
either behind all
of this... or he'll
be able to show
me who is.
That's the fuckin worst, you're nice and clean from a shower and then get dirty right after. Kogan can't even enjoy a goddamn shower
Cockroaches you say....
Ooh okay, so either the hive /didnt/ actually accept the trash, OR maybe ‘accepting’ it means agreeing to move it to the office. Maybe Anne set up some sort of deal to help secretly hide/move items? Either way I don’t think the trash chute is actually a trash chute. There’s so much space for theorizing this early on!
I jumped so bad when the wasp sounds started. 😂 Well played. The audio this chapter was top notch.
With how Wolf knew about Kogan's experience and how Oliver's cameras have been focused on, I really wonder what his part in all of this, as well as Anne's "condition/fate". Is she possessing/posing as Kogan or something?
And man, I'd be so frustrated on top of being disturbed by the room going back to its previous state.
The wasp sounds jump-scared me so bad lol
Kogan can’t catch a single break, huh? Poor guy can’t even stress clean :(
Oooooh Anne's message and the "wasps"'s message is so ominous!! And nooo the vase :(
Ohmygooooodddd this is one my new favorite episodes yet ! The horror and strangeness in this one was so GOOD - especially with the hive ! Not to mention the ominous warnings about the fairie from Anne. It looks like the more Kogan knows the more in danger he'll be. That just brings to question of what happened to Anne though, and what was their fate with this condition
Increasingly I get the impression that Kogan is actually probably a reasonably organized and clean person by nature, and fate is just like, "NOPE, YOU LIVE LIKE A RACCOON IN A DUMPSTER NOW, SUCKER"
All hail the hive. Good gods. This man cannot catch a break. He had 1 (one) source of comfort and now here it is, shattered and buried in trash. Trash that apparently doesn't want to be thrown away. What a time. Somehow I don't think he's going to like the answers he finds on Oliver's camera there.
This man is cursed to be stinky.