Poisoned Well

I got an email from Edward at 2 in the morning. This is after sending countless emails to him, with no response whatsoever, aside from the automated response.

It reads:

"A man wandered an endless desert, feeling the sweltering heat of the sun beating against his back. His mouth was parched, dryer than the desert sands shifting below, and he was willing to do almost anything for a sip of water. However, surrounding him were wells, dotting the landscape. This should've given him a way to drink, but unfortunately, he knew better. These wells weren't filled with water, but were instead filled with a poison, so dangerous and toxic that drinking them would've doomed him to an eternity in the desert he so desperately wanted to escape. In order to escape, he had to keep going forward, to the epicenter of the expanse. To where it all began.

When it rains, you will hear a tapping on your window."

I don't know what this is supposed to mean, so I emailed him back asking for clarification. I've waited since then, but it 's been almost 12 hours, so I'm not expecting a real response. I just got an automated one. However, something about it is different:

The bottom part now says "History will be contained and exterminated" which I also don't know the meaning of.

I don't feel safe.

Marionettes 6 - Hunger

Video: https://youtu.be/qBXKgVr1DEM

Marionettes was broken by the Signal, and now it's dying. The Signal is hungry. It wants.

Food

The haze is lifting, and I'm hungry, but I'm eating, and it's not doing anything to help. It feels like it's eating me. I need to stop it, somehow. It's eating Marionettes, too. I need food. Edward hasn't responded to any of my emails. Is he alive? I think he's eating.

Memories

I've spent days, weeks without a single thought. It might've just been stagnation, repetition, waiting, while my mind blurred the lines between days. I'm not sure anymore, though. I think something else has been blurring it. 

I've not been able to focus for a while now. Marionettes is still broken, for what it's worth. It hasn't been fixed. I haven't heard from Riley, or Edward. I don't really know what's going on right now. 

How long have I been in my house? My stomach hasn't been upset at me, despite not leaving. 

Sometimes, I think I can see my dreams on TV. When I blink, though, they're gone. Just fuzzy eyes, I guess. 

Back in 2006, I remember breaking into Marionettes, and nothing happened. Except when, a few days later, Upstaged closed. I think something else happened. My memories aren't all that reliable. 

I wonder how the three are doing right now. Riley, Wyatt, and Nashiko. They're probably alright. Maybe not. Maybe they're trapped inside the building, everything fluctuating around them while they search for a way out. Maybe they're viewing the encore right now. Maybe they've already stopped the show.

I don't think so. I think the show is just starting. Edward Marion probably would've said something if it was over. Right? Or maybe he was taken, or killed. Is he alive? He doesn't feel very alive.

Everything is making me tired. I've not been able to focus for a while now. Maybe I should sleep some more. I wonder when I'll get hungry.

I keep dreaming

I can see their faces. Lily, Wyatt, and Thomas. They're inside my head, and I'm inside theirs. It's only fragments, but they're growing.

Riley & Penelope: Chat Log 3

[/begin_chat_thread]

12:01 [Riley] I told you to stop

12:01 [Riley] I'm trapped in station 85 with the others, wyatt and nashiko, because of structural fluctuations

12:01 [Riley] which are being caused by you still being here

12:01 [Riley] why are you doing this to us? to me?

12:01 [Penelope] Riley, I have no fucking idea what any of this means

12:01 [Penelope] I thought I lost you when the company died, but now you're back, and there's more going on than I had ever thought

12:02 [Penelope] And for some reason, you think I'm responsible for this, when I don't even know what this is

12:02 [Riley] you really don't remember?

12:02 [Penelope] No, I don't 

12:02 [Riley] okay

12:02 [Riley] back in 2006, upstaged closed suddenly

12:02 [Penelope] yeah, I remember that

12:02 [Riley] it closed because of something that was spreading

12:02 [Riley] the signal

12:02 [Riley] which started spreading after you broke into marionettes

12:02 [Riley] it was supposedly stopped when upstaged closed, but in 2016 it started to spreading again

12:02 [Riley] I received a package that let me know

12:03 [Riley] then, in 2018, more people got packages

12:03 [Penelope] I got one in 2018

At this point, there was an interruption from Edward Marion.

NECESSARY INTERRUPTION BEFORE COLLAPSE

THE SIGNAL HAS BROKEN FREE OF ALL PRIOR CAGES

THROUGH THE NECROMANCY OF MEMORIES

A DEBT INCURRED BY TWO WAS NEVER PAID

THE LEDGER SEALED IN AMALGAMATE ASSEMBLY

THE PERFORMANCE WAS FOUND LACKING
AND THE LEAD ROLE WAS UPSTAGED

NOW THE AUDIENCE CALLS FOR MORE

ENCORE!

Marionette's automatic threat detection cut him off and prematurely closed the chat thread; however, it was bypassed by something else that began to speak. Direct transcript:

transmission strands secured to amygdala and hippocampus

pendant remote connection active

three receivers located

three errors located

receivers deployed to correct errors

transmission tower #1 has been reactivated

transmission tower #2 currently being repaired

everything is in place

please enjoy the show

At that point, the chat thread continued between Riley and I.

12:04 [Penelope] Did you see that

12:04 [Riley] so you were lying

12:04 [Penelope] Riley let me talk

[/end_chat_thread]

(Riley closed the thread, so your message wasn't sent. Try to open a new thread to continue communication.)

Before I could open a new thread, Marionettes encountered a fatal error, and completely crashed. In order to get back into it, it needs to be manually restarted.

I wanted to tell Riley that I didn't know why my old ID photo was thrown up over "transmission tower #1", but I don't think she would have believed me, anyways.

Things have broken down, and something bad has escaped, and is now working again. I don't know how to fix things.

Encore!

Video: https://youtu.be/5W0qBpOpA3o

There is something wrong inside of me