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[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
[MUFFLED FIRE CRACKLES IN ANOTHER ROOM, CABIN SHIFTS.]
ARCHIVIST
…The cabin wishes to keep us. It wishes to feed more off our stagnation day by day. It knows we plan to leave and it cannot truly stop us but it wants too. Perhaps it once could.
[CABIN CREAKS]
ARCHIVIST
Perhaps it has the power to keep mere mortals here. Perhaps it could keep Martin if he was alone. It cannot keep us now.
We can't kill it. That much it knows. We can hurt it.
It hurts now, its boards creaks in horrid agony as truth is pulled from the logs and nails that comprise parts of this place, a place meant to never be able reveal its secrets— it hurt before too, the first time.
[CABIN CREAKS MORE]
ARCHIVIST
Eyes see it from both inside and out now. More than when it originally took us. It wants us to stay, it wants to eat.
It does not want to be seen, to be eaten in the same way it intended to eat us.
[STATIC QUICKLY BUILDS THEN FADES]
ARCHIVIST
I- I don't like this change in the nature of the cabin. The implications, well they are quite concerning to say the least.
Ever since well I died some of my interactions with the enties and their manifestations have changed, in truth i haven't wanted to think to hard about why but I don't think I count solely as something that can be fed off of. I'm also the one doing the feeding.
I'm one of them. (sad sigh)
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
[A FIRE BURNS LOUDLY IN THE BACKGROUND AS A COUCH CREAKS WHILE SOMEONE SHIFTS UPON IT.]
ARCHIVIST
(long sigh)
[MORE SHIFTING. DOOR CREAKS OPEN AND IS ALMOST INSTANTLY GENTLY CLOSED AS MARTIN ENTERS. HIS FOOTSTEPS ARE LIGHT ON THE FLOOR BUT THE OLD CABIN STILL GROANS AS HE CROSSES THE ROOM.]
MARTIN
I made us some tea. [COUCH SHIFTS AS HE SITS]
[LONG PAUSE]
ARCHIVIST
Why are you still here.
MARTIN
What do you mean?
ARCHIVIST
Martin I literally caused the apocalypse, and I'm some sort of statement eating monster now- you saw me earlier! I literally had to record a statement and it felt good!
MARTIN
Are you kidding!
Jon. This isn't you're fault!
it's Elias or Jonah Magnus or whoever all has been plotting this for years! You're just the unfortunate person selected to be the keystone their plan! Besides, it's not really like I'm the same either! Neither of us have slept or eaten or anything in the traditional sense and some how we are fine.
ARCHIVIST
Yeah, but-
MARTIN
Jon. We have a plan to try and fix this, that makes you infinity better than all those horrid monsters out there who are willing to continuously torment people for no other reason than satiating themselves. We just need to keep doing it until we get to- to-
ARCHIVIST
The panopticon?
MARTIN
Yes, until we get to the panopticon and stop this. Then everything can go back to normal.
ARCHIVIST
Hopefully.
MARTIN
Are we all ready to leave in the morning? or well- like 8-ish hours?
ARCHIVIST
(Laughing) Martin, thats the 3rd time you've asked. We've been packed for the last 2 days.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]