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[sub][color=a0410d]April 3, 2021, Saturday, 11:43PM
CH Motel, Caulder's Hollow, North Dakota[/color][/sub]
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[sub][color=gray]Every day since his arrival at Caulder's Hollow had been hectic, a fact that he attributed to his own growing agitation. He had never liked small towns much, he felt like he could not breathe in places where everyone seemed to know everyone. It was [i]exhausting[/i] to be perceived by [i]so many[/i] unfamiliar faces. Every time he looked at one of them looking back at him, he wondered if they'd known Farrah, if they felt the chill of her absence like he did. There was something kind of disturbing about it all, something kind of... ominous. However, despite this odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, he had managed to stay there for about a week and he'd uncovered... [i]almost nothing[/i]. 

He'd have to go home soon, he knew that. As much as he wanted to keep poking around Caulder's Hollow to no avail, he had a life outside of his obsession with his friend's disappearance. Elias couldn't feed his cats forever and sooner or later his mother would realize that he hadn't even [i]attempted[/i] to call home. His therapist had certainly noticed his absence, as she had been calling him on and off since he'd left New York. It was a reminder that he was missing expensive meetings and worst of all, he was [i]drinking[/i]. He didn't really want to stop drinking but he couldn't stand to see the stupid, pouty look on his little brother's face whenever he complained about stomach trouble.

"[i][color=sandybrown]If you weren't drinking so much, you wouldn't be so sick.[/color][/i]" [i]Fucking kid.[/i]

So, in good faith, he was [i]trying[/i] to slow it down. However, once he'd arrived in Caulder's Hollow, he'd found himself staring down the bottom of multiple bottles and feeling too sick to eat again. He'd [i]have[/i] to go home soon. At least he felt [i]guilty[/i] at home when he drank too much and woke up with the light burning his eyes but here he was free to wander outside of the hotel and light up a cigarette instead. It was good weather for it, at any rate. If he closed his eyes he could imagine that he wasn't just here to avoid his issues in New York. 

He could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket, he silenced it as he took another drag from the cigarette and looked up at the sky overhead. [i]Good weather.[/i] He thought, watching smoke crawl towards the clouds overhead. [i]Good weather but-[/i]

A sound resonated with him, briefly brought a chill up his spine. The sound of crackling fire, of crumbling wood. The cigarette fell from his fingers as he turned to face the hotel behind him, staring at the entrance. The door was [i]ablaze[/i], burning with an unnatural light, all except the handle which still looked cool to the touch. He froze for a moment, staring at the fire that ate at the wood and wondering why he was the only one staring at it. There was a sharp [i]crack[/i] as the frame started to cave over the door and he tensed at the sound. There weren't many people outside but surely, [i]surely[/i] someone inside would be grabbing a fire hydrant or--

[i]I'm finally fucking losing it.[/i]

He took a hesitant step forward, heard someone say something behind him but it was lost in the sound of the fire. He placed a hand on the handle, the heat made his skin feel like it was blistering and he had to squint to avoid his eyes watering. He didn't hesitate again before he passed through the burning doorway, leaving the sound of someone shouting behind him.

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He surfaced somewhere [i]unfamiliar[/i].

It was like no place he'd ever seen before, it certainly wasn't the hotel that he'd left behind. A black sky that looked as if the stars had been blot out, eight moons hung overhead and the buildings that stretched beyond them were [i]alien[/i]. For a moment he thought that he had landed some place... that didn't exist at all. That maybe he'd stepped through the fire and promptly passed out but his dreams had never been so colorful or so unimaginably [i]weird[/i]. He squinted at the neon sign ahead of him, cocked his head at it like the change of angles might clarify it. There was no clarification to be found. 

[i]Population infinity? Nonsense.[/i]

The sign flickered, light bouncing off their surroundings and making his bleary vision blearier. It flickered again and he saw the figure [i]below[/i] the sign, how it stood long and dark, cloaked in shadows with a terrible and gaping maw. He nearly blanched in horror, wondered if it was too late to go back now that he was standing here, staring at it. It wasn't [i]human[/i] or like any creature he'd ever seen before. He was ready to stumble backwards long before it's jaw unhinged to release the metal cords upon them. It was like something out of a horror film and he [i]refused[/i] to stand about idly for it.

With a sharp gasp and a quick leap, he avoided the hooks with ease. He heard the one nearest to him hit the ground and scrape through it with a nasty claw. He might have felt elated but he was instead struck with concern because for the first time since he arrived, he realized he had [i]companions[/i]. One looked a few years younger than him, the other looked a few years older, the sight of them brought him very little relief. They felt a lot like [i]responsibility[/i], but he had very little time to stress over it.

"[color=a0410d]Good fucking God.[/color]" He said, voice a hiss through his teeth. "[color=a0410d]What the [i]fuck[/i]?[/color]"

The younger of the two was not fortunate enough to dodge the hooks, one burying into the skin of his leg and tightening to prepare to pull him back towards the waiting jaws of the monster. He tensed, prepared to spring forward to try to help because even if he couldn't dislodge the hook, he could at least try to keep the kid from getting dragged to his doom.[/color][/sub]