It's called "pal6.pdf" and is a file over Riley. It looks like there's some kind of weird overlay for this one like the prior two, but instead of a shadow, it's something else. There's color there, I think.
This one's the longest yet, at 10 pages. There's the cover page, and the rest is text, with one image put in it. Here's what it said:
PROJECT ASSEMBLY LINE
SUBJECT #6: RILEY DONNELLY
Marionettes recreation of her last staff photo circa March 26th, 2006.
"NAME: RILEY DONNELLY
STATION: #85
POSITION: CAMERA GRIP
Riley Donnelly was close to rock bottom in 2002. She was trying her best to get a degree in library science, while also scheduled to the third shift of a gas station. Her mother worked, but her father offered little, instead busying himself with sports betting and watching television. Because her mother had to pay for the basic household bills, Riley became the money well for her father to dip into whenever he ran out of his own cash. It weighed down on her until it proved to be too much in November of 2001. The two had a fight, and the aftermath was her being kicked out of the house. Unable to pay for both college tuition and a place of her own on minimum wage, she was forced to drop out of college so that she could work full-time, just one semester before she would have graduated. She spent her nights at the gas station, and her days in a local diner as a hostess. She was not paid well nor respected in either establishment.
She was starting to despair once the summer of 2002 rolled around. All she had to her name was a crappy studio apartment, her beat up car, and a dingy television. No cable, of course, so she could only watch the three movies she owned. There were few people she talked to, and nobody that she would consider a friend. There was no future for her. Something had to change.
To her surprise, she found a job listing from Upstaged Communications. They were hosting a training program for camera grips at Station 85, with pay far better than both of her jobs combined. There weren't any degree requirements, either--all it asked for was a high school diploma, and the willingness to perform above and beyond while on the job. Riley drove to the station as soon as she could, applied, and heard back only five days later. She had been accepted. When she heard the news, she nearly broke down from the wave of relief. She began her job on June 20th, 2002.
As a camera grip, her job was almost identical to Lily Boyce's. She was part of a team of four that ran the cameras, while also maintaining all the related equipment. Her job was easier than one would have expected, as she had two people her senior that knew what they were doing, and another newcomer who was just as inexperienced as her, but significantly clumsier. It made her mistakes pale in comparison.
It was a good job, for the most part; the pay let her move into a nicer one bedroom apartment, and allowed her to finally introduce some minor luxury to her life. Her team was tight-nit, and they all became friends, although Riley had a tendency to be a bit snappy. Her father tried to contact her and beg for more money, but she refused, deciding to cut him out of her life. After all, he never cared nor provided for her. She still talked to her mom, but paid no attention to her father. He wasn't worth it.
She had been on the job for eight months before something happened. Something bizarre. All the other grips were busy, so she was left to lock up the equipment once the day's programming was done, at two in the morning. She was exhausted, and blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes with one hand as she held a camera in the other; when she opened them back up, she was somewhere different. Not the equipment locker in Station 85. Instead, she was on a strange path in the middle of unfamiliar woods. There were fences on either side of her, and a clear blue sky above.
It was such a weird, inexplicable occurrence that she felt nothing but confusion. What was going on? Looking down, she saw that she was still holding the camera. When she turned it on and took a picture, it was exactly what she was seeing with her eyes.
She blinked a few more times, and it was gone. She was back in Station 85. Almost nobody else was in the station, so she was left alone, unable to comprehend what it really was that happened. After all, when she looked at the camera, the picture proved that she left the station. How was that possible?
Fear started to wrap itself around her mind as she left the equipment locker, making her way to the only other employee she knew was there. As she went to Edward Marion's office, she realized that she had never seen him in person. He had asked not to be interrupted from his work unless it was an emergency. She figured this counted.
When she knocked on his door, he opened it. She was surprised to see countless stacks of paper, several computers, and a side door to the left. The Marionettes server room was next to his room, so she assumed that it led there. She was also surprised by his appearance; she knew he was older, but he looked like a walking corpse. Skin wasn't usually that grey.
Still, she pushed aside her fear and discomfort, showing him what she saw on the camera. Edward looked at it, and she could've sworn that she saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Maybe excitement, maybe fear of his own, but his dead-looking eyes were alive for just a moment. The two sat in silence for a few seconds as Edward weighed his options, before he asked her to come with him.
The two left through the other door, and just as she suspected, it led to the server room for Marionettes. He went to an access terminal and searched something up. Stepping back, he showed her the station monitor system. She didn't understand most of what it said, but she noticed that it mentioned the station's stability being 9.2/10, with infrequent fluctuations. That made no sense to her.
He sat her down, and the two of them talked. They talked about what the reality of the station, the company, was, the presence of the fluctuations, and the whispers of strange intrusions circulating among the staff of all stations. They talked about the Signal. Riley didn't believe it at first, but she was given a glimpse. Just a glimpse. It was all she needed.
Edward didn't tell her everything, but he told her enough to convince her to stay quiet, and to act as his eyes and ears. If she saw or heard of anything like that happening again, it was her job to contact him and let him know, so that he could take care of it.
Over the years, little flits of activity appeared. Nothing drastic--the odd appearance of its symbol, of its music, leaking through the cracks of Marionettes. No matter how hard Edward worked, there was always a new leak, a new way for the Signal to slither a part of itself out. Despite this, he was confident that he had patched all major flaws, all the big holes that it could escape through. Whenever a new one appeared, he would send her to investigate, such as when she filled in for Lily in Station 48.
While working with him, Riley found another employee. A server technician, who worked under Edward. The technician knew not of any details of the Signal, but she was crafty, and noticed multiple irregularities with the system. As such, she attempted to search the Marionettes archives for any other examples of these peculiar occurrences. Riley caught her.
She was initially mad at Penelope, and reported her to Edward, who warned her against investigating further. Penelope, however, was inquisitive and stubborn, constantly wanting to learn more about what was going on at Upstaged. She was hired as a technician, after all; why wasn't she allowed to know about any of the deficiencies in the equipment, or in the central system itself? Why wasn't she allowed to know anything about the system she was being paid to look after?
She would not get her answer. Not from Edward or Riley. However, her curiosity led to her spending more time with Riley. Not just on the job, but off the job, too; it turned out the two lived close to each other, and went to the same diner every morning. Despite her initial hostility at Penelope's improvised investigation, the two found that they enjoyed spending time together. They then found out more. Neither were open about it with anyone else, but they began to spend more time together than with anyone else.
For the next two years, they were in a private relationship. During this time, Riley convinced Penelope to give up her search for answers, saving her from potential misfortune. Edward, none the wiser, complimented Riley on her persuasiveness, and gave her a nice salary bonus. All seemed to be going well before everything broke.
On October 16th, 2006, Riley and Penelope were both nearing the end of their 12 hour shifts in the station, anxiously awaiting the time they could leave. The other grips had left early, so it was up to Riley to prepare the equipment for the nightly broadcast, which began at midnight. As she was preparing the equipment, however, she saw something. It lasted for just a moment, but she could've sworn that the ceiling above her faded, dissolved, revealing a strange, organic hole in the sky, with dozens of nearly invisible stars shining through, a tapestry of cavities in the night sky. Riley didn't need to be told what this meant. It was another fluctuation.
As she rushed to Edward's office, the clock struck midnight, and things began to change. Collapse had begun. The Signal had broken free. She saw someone wearing a pendant around their neck, and they looked wrong. They looked just like she remembered, at first, but it was wrong. That employee had recently lost their eye in an accident. How was their eye back? She knew it had to be the Signal.
She barged into Edward's office without knocking, bringing an end to the meeting between him and Wyatt Reed, and told them that something had happened. The three rushed out, but the station began to fluctuate, dragging Wyatt through the floor, while Riley and Edward were thrown back into his office. He slammed the door shut and paced, trying to think of a plan. She begged him to tell her more, but he refused to do so; he didn't want her to be compromised by grief or paralyzed by fear. After almost an hour, he figured out how to take his already existing contingencies, and adapt them into Project Assembly Line. He then drafted a letter to the board, and told Riley what she was to do.
Riley's role was to amalgamate all of the company's history, so that it could be delivered to Penelope. She was not informed of what Penelope had done, but she was told that Penelope had been put to sleep, with the Signal now in control. If she were to be saved, if the Signal was to be stopped, then Riley had to do what she was asked, without question. She agreed.
She was left in Edward's office, the only stable room left, and was told not to open the door for anybody. Nobody could be trusted, no matter who they appeared to be. As hours turned to days of work, she was forced to endure countless knockings and pleas from former employees, begging her to let them in, until she heard gunshots outside. Edward then opened the door. When he entered, she noticed flecks of red splattered against his suit. He took the information she collected over the days she was in the office, and left, finishing the job without her so that she would be safe. He finished Project Assembly Line.
He kept he and his cohort's actions quiet, so that Riley would not be forced to suffer the same tragedy as them, and instead kept her in his office as the seconds ticked down to the 20th. She was one of the eight that survived the events that began October 17th, 2006.
Just like Thomas, Joshua, Lily, Nashiko, and Wyatt, she was free once the Signal was trapped. Her memory had suffered no damage, as she was able to escape the worst atrocities the others were forced to commit. She remembered everything. Despite this, she was forced into silence, as Edward warned her against mentioning Upstaged to anyone in the future. He also told her not to talk to Penelope, no matter what, lest they risk reawakening the Signal. She was heartbroken, but she committed to it. Unable to face anyone after those terrible days, she refused to answer when her mother called, eventually cutting the last of her family off. She was alone again.
She dutifully did as she was told, locking up the horrible memories and dreams of those days, until 2016. When she was out, visiting that same diner she went to with Penelope, she saw her. She was older, more weary, but it was her. Overjoyed at the chance to see her again, Riley immediately tried to talk to her; however, Penelope said that she didn't recognize her, and left. Five days later, Riley received a package in the mail. It was from Edward. She procrastinated for days before opening it, finding it to be Penelope's old remote communicator. It had more functions than what Riley had expected.
There was also a letter. The letter was from Edward, informing her that he was intending to gather everyone back, and refresh the memories of the ones who had theirs shattered. He wanted her there, so that they could welcome the others, as they were the only two with complete memories.
Riley did not listen. She wanted nothing to do with the company, with Edward, with the terror she had experienced, and so she chose not to go. As such, she did not learn of its reawakening.
Everything remained silent until October 3rd, 2018. She had thrown the remote communicator into a drawer by her bedside table, not expecting anything to come of it; however, on that fateful day, she heard a ping, waking her from a particularly frightening nightmare. It was a notification, which informed her of Thomas, Joshua, Lily, Nashiko, and Wyatt receiving their packages. Their communicators. After realizing that Edward planned to drag all the others back to himself, she began to talk, reaching out to the first person who received her package: Lily Boyce. She saw one other unnamed active user, and assumed that it must've been Penelope. She was unaware of the Signal now roaming through Marionettes, slowly building its strength back up. She did not know of the pendant escaping destruction until Lily saw it.
Once Lily was taken, Riley reached out to all the others, attempting to piece together everything that had happened and would happen. She is the sole reason any have survived. At the same time, she learned that the Signal was originally released because of an intrusion from one she knew. One who claimed to love her, who said she dropped all investigations into such matters. She learned that Penelope had been the one responsible for releasing the Signal. Despite her warnings, there was only failure in her attempt to save the one she loved from the Signal, and she had instead been taken, turned into one of its transmission towers. It left her feeling hurt, and bitter.
She has not been captured yet. She is no longer protected, but she can still be saved. One chance. One solution."
That's the end of the file.
I miss Riley. I feel awful for looking again. I don't remember why I did, though. I still can't remember.
It's pretty obvious what Edward and the others did to the other receivers. I don't think there's a way out for them.
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