Bath time. Lets get our body and cloths cleaned in the river. We're probably not the best looking right now.

>>46373895

You head out of the cave and take a short walk to where you heard the stream.

It isn't very deep, but you could probably get yourself cleaned up in it.

You wash the dried blood off from your injury this morning, and take your spare clothes out of the backpack, ready to change into them when you're done cleaning off. You think you can see a small wooden bridge in the distance up the stream, but it could just be a log from where you're looking.

Your reflection tells you that your hair's a tangled mess. Your stomach kind of rumbles.

>>46373987

Wash our hair/search for grub in the river.

>>46374035

You do your best to wash your hair and the cool water of the stream actually feels nice, small wisps of red curling out into the water and vanishing as you get slashes of blood you hadn't realized were there out of your hair.

A small voice says warm blood felt nicer.

You decide to save the supplies you brought with you... a couple jars of peanut butter, some granola bars, and a box of cereal... for emergencies, and right now you're just feeling a bit peckish.

You can see small fish swimming down the stream, and though there are quite a few plants and a couple of mushrooms, you aren't sure what's edible or not... catching the fish with your hands proves impossible.

What do you do?

>>46374134

Lets try and find another town. Something rural, and distant from the carnage we've left behind.

>>46374164
While you could return to the road and follow that away from home, you guess that there's probably going to be a couple more days of heat on you meaning police on the highways and beyond following road signs, you aren't exactly sure where any nearby towns are.

You don't exactly have any good transportation and if you keep walking like you did yesterday you're going to hurt yourself.

A fish nibbles on your toes.

What do you do?

>>46374314

Make a shelter. Looks like home is futile, and we're destined to be nothing more than a legend of this forest.

>>46374314
Explore the cave and try to make yourself a shelter of some sort. Ponder what you've done and muse on the ancient, horrible, bored thing that has awoken within you. Wonder if you are still Lucy Cook, or if you are now only pretending to be that girl after all that's happened.

>>46374356
You scrunch your nose up at the voice.

You hardly consider yourself destined for anything, it's just the day after you murdered three people so everyone's going to be looking for you... and while you weren't so good at laying low earlier, you're gonna try your hardest to do it for now... you could make the cave you found more homely though, The ground was kind of cold and you barely explored deeper in... come to think of it, you're probably very lucky you didn't get attacked by a wild animal or anything.

You make your way back to the cave and hang your wet clothes up on a nearby tree branch.Your dry clothes got a bit sunbaked while you were washing and are comfortably warm.

You can't quite see the end of the cave from where you're standing.

>>46374473

It doesn't feel good, what you did. While a very small part of you... the part that you're almost sure is something else... is only excited by it... and you're starting to adjust... you're actually more sickened by how ok with what happened you are than anything else.

The cave is dark, but fairly roomy... it isn't a big thing, makes you think of a bears den more than anything but there's no tracks or signs that a bear lives here.

There's a square boulder sitting near the back, could make a decent chair or something.

>>46374572
Feel relieved that the most of you does not revel in blood and carnage and try to pull the squarish boulder down onto the floor of the cave. Once this is done, sit atop it and try to meditate on and isolate that small but frighteningly alien part of your mind that wishes to do harm to others. Try to understand it. Do not heed its words though.

>>46374572

You sit down on the chair rock and open up a granola bar to eat. You honestly take a moment to try and focus while eating... you think about Her for a moment, cause you're almost certain that this other presence in your head, sweeter and more personal than the currently fairly quiet voices, is a female of some sort.

You don't get much from the exercise... that little part of you is mostly bored again... though it's somewhat curious about the stone you're sitting on...

Giving it another look it's honestly a little like a gravestone. though if anything was written on it it's worn off with time... that's saddening actually.

You aren't sad at all though. Huh.

What do you do?

>>46374985
Is there anything on any of the stone's other surfaces? Anything of note? Anything similar to the brand that was on the back of our hand?

>>46375038

You have a walk around the stone.

There seem to be deep gouges in the back, carving out a symbol you don't recognize. It looks a little like your brand, but it's not quite the same. You're positive this is a grave now.

You let out a sigh.

It kind of makes you feel like a failure.

Though as far as you're aware, you haven't done anything wrong... in regards to this stone at least.

>>46375150
Examine our brand.

>>46375226
Agreed. Examine our brand, searching for similarities or differences to the symbol carved on the stone. Try to remember how we got the brand and ponder why we are feeling the way you are rift now.

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>>46375226
>>46375337

It looks almost scorched into your hand, you're surprised it didn't really hurt too bad all things considered. You aren't sure exactly when it showed up but you think it was probably around the time your hand stopped itching yesterday and it turned into a burning sensation.

The symbol on the rock however...

File: Stone-Mark.png (21 KB, 660x660)

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>>46375437

While not actually blue like that, you get the sense it should be...and it was clearly carved out by something. You're pretty certain the emotions aren't exactly yours, if you distinguish yourself from Her... and this cave makes her pretty sad now that you've realized it was a grave...

>>46375522

You actually turn away from the rock as a tear that's not yours falls down your face. This is starting to hurt your head.

What do you do?

>>46375629
We should leave the cave and try to clear our head. We should take a look at that maybe-bridge upstream and try to get a sense of our surroundings. We should also, if at all possible, leave all weaponry hidden in the back of the cave. We should definitely leave Our Knife here, if at all possible.

>>46375687

Stepping outside the cave does wonders. You still have a lingering sadness but it isn't as pronounced as it was looking at the stone. You remove the kitchen knives from your person and stick them in your backpack, which you leave next to the gravestone.

You really don't want to part with Your Knife, and it isn't just Her making you feel his way. This part's you too.

You compromise with yourself and tear a strip off the bedsheet to roll up in your pocket.

You lay Your Knife on top of the stone and return to the stream.

--

It's definitely a bridge, and it looks fairly well maintained. There's a dirt path from either end and a signpost saying that there's a rangers station about a mile off of the side you found the cave on.

Looks like you were closer to the beaten path than you realized.

Your phone buzzes from your pocket, warning you it's almost dead.

What do you do?

>>46375987

Follow the river for a while, then throw the phone in it, lest the police tries to track it.

>>46376046

You walk further up the stream, passing the bridge for now and pull out your phone.

You don't think you have GPS enabled on it but you aren't sure... it looks like you have a few missed calls you don't remember getting though, must have been after you passed out.

Do you throw the phone away immediately or check the messages first?

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>>46376206
checking the messages can't hurt, but we certainly don't want to answer any calls or text back

>>46376232
Agreed, check the messages, but make sure that you're not seen or heard as you do, and don't use it to call or text out. Then, throw it into the stream.

>>46376232
>>46376365

-beep- First Message, from -Alexis-: "Hey, Lucy this is Alexis... show just ended and I wanted to call and make sure you were doing alright, your call kind of freaked me out... so I might have maybe called the cops and told them I was worried about you... sorry about that... call me back okay?"

-beep- Second Message, from -Alexis-: "Holy shit Lucy the police just called me, what happened, are you alright? They said they were looking for you and said you were a suspect for something... could you tell me what's going on? Lucy?"

-beep- Third Message, from -Blocked Number-:"Sweet dreams cousin. You should have cleaned up better though, you're on the national news."

-beep- Final Message, from -Alexis-:"Lucy holy shit where are you oh fuck." -beep-

You have no idea who that third caller was. You drop the phone next to the stream and stumble backwards a bit.

What do you do?

>>46376462
You feel bad about Alexis but you shouldn't try to see or speak with her again. You don't want to implicate her in your murders. You dot want harm to befall her. You feel bad for what she is likely having to to grouch now because of you and you feel worse that you'll never see her again.

That other voice though...

Someone knows what youve done and how to contact you. Someone who is claiming kinship to you, or perhaps to the Something in your mind that rejoices in blood. What's more, your killings have made national news, so you're going to have to stay on the lam indefinitely.

Get a knife and cut your hair short to make yourself look more different as you plan your next moves.

>>46376462
It's no coincidence that Lucy ended up in that cave. As much as she shouldn't stay in one place for long, she needs all the information she can get about...what the hell she is now, and about what SHE is. So head back to the cave and have another look at that tombstone, see if memories well up. It's likely the stone is connected to that strange dream as well.

>>46376692
Agreed.

>>46376636
>>46376692
Yes, and we should really keep some knives after all. Knives are nifty.

>>46376692

You scoop the phone up, turning it off while you stick it in your pocket, and make your way back to the cave a little hurriedly.

Things look roughly the same outside the cave so you make your way in, sliding Your Knife back into your boot to your relief, and get to looking around every nook and cranny of the grave stone.

The mark on the back looks clearer now, but that's about it... you're getting a little annoyed and kind of want to pack up and go somewhere more populated.

You remind yourself that's Her, and resolve to uncover the mystery.

What do you do about the grave stone?

>>46376636
>>46376692
This
Also, seriously consider masturbating.

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>>46376858
Didn't we want to throw the phone away?

Try to focus on the scene from the dream. Look for connections. Compare the area in front of the cave with the clearing from the dream. Also wait for an reaction from Her.

>>46376858
We have to talk to Her. Try cutting the brand.

>>46376947

You take a break from the stone and step outside to the clearing. The dream's a little fuzzy... you have the general shape of things but the details elude you... you get the sense this isn't the same clearing... but the trees are the same kind and it might be close.

You're probably safe with the phone off. If you turn it on later they might be able to find you, but you might also need it for an emergency... or to contact whoever the guy on the phone was.

>>46376636

You take Your Knife down to the stream, using it as a mirror and a good way to wash away your hair after you cut it. It's a hack job but your hair's a lot shorter now and you honestly feel you look kind of boyish... so that's something. You also notice when the water isn't moving that your brown eyes seem to have speckles of red in them.

>>46377002

You're not sure talking to Her is possible beyond the emotions you're picking up... bored at the moment... but you hold Your Knife over the brand.

You tilt your head in confusion before giving yourself a slight cut across the brand.

It hurts. Like you just cut the back of your hand with a knife. You're bleeding a little.

What do you do?

>>46377169
Lucy should scout the area, try to find the clearing, this might trigger something.

Is She reacting to seeing our own blood?

>>46377236

Her confusion is really starting to leech into your feelings...

You think scouting around would be a much better use of time than staring at the wound and Your Knife though.

You tear the end off the strip of bedsheet you have in you pocket to make a bandage out of it.

Her honeyed voice mumbles something in your mind. Keeping this up you'd be wasting a perfectly good strangling device.

You begin to wander around to see if you can find the clearing from your dream and find yourself quickly drawn to the path across the stream, about to head towards the ranger station before you catch yourself doing it.

What do you do?

>>46377169
Try using Your Knife's mirror finish to get a closer look at those red speckles in your eyes.

>>46377442
>>46377450
Don't head toward the station. The rangers inside might have been alerted to your crimes, and you don't want to commit more murders continue looking for the clearing and any other symbols or clues about while steering clear of people.

Remain mindful of Her influnce.

>>46377442
Move closer to the station, but stay away from the path. Move through the woods and try to stay hidden. Be careful, don't get to close to any rangers.

For Lucy's sake and theirs

>>46377442
try to find a lone hiker or something, feign injury to draw them close, and then kill them.

Drink their blood.

>>46377450
>>46377497

The red speckles are honestly not that obvious now that you look at them, they almost blend in and it was something with the lighting that must have made you notice them.

You turn the other way and begin scouting for the clearing again. Instincts leading you to the path once more. You're getting annoyed again, or rather she is.

>>46377616

You decide to follow this compromise for now, and begin heading in the direction of the rangers station.

You're in the underbrush and you can hear someone on the path.

What do you do?

>>46377675
lightly cut our leg, hide knife, call for help.

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>>46377675
Sneak up on him. Very carefully. Keep your knife ready. Like this doesn't go without saying[\spoiler]

>>46377817

>>46377844
>>46377817

She recommends that you take the sneaky approach, the idea of hurting yourself anymore doesn't appeal too much anyways.

You careful step past some bushes to where you can see the path. A man in a three piece suit is whistling while he carries a briefcase down the path the way you came.

He seems oblivious to you and continues walking. She tells you a handful of ways to kill him.

>>46377941
You don't really want to... but She does, and Your Knife is in your hand already...

What do you do?

In which I accidentally post before finishing

>>46377941
Go for it. In addition to Lucy's/Her craving for blood, he might have some money we could use. But be careful that no one else is around, and dispose of the corpse in the wood afterwards. Come to think of it, strangling him might be the way to go, so that as little a trace as possible remains.

>>46377941

Lunge and bite his neck.

>>46378178
KILL HIM

DRINK HIS BLOOD

>>46378190
>>46378227
>>46378232

You keep the knife on standby and get the bedsheet ready to wrap around his throat.

You lunge forward to strangle him but also plan to do a little bit of visceral damage when you're done.

And then he cheats.

One moment you have the makeshift garrote over his head ready to pull back and the next he's facing you with a peaceful expression a couple of feet away.

He punches you in the nose and disappears while you're reeling.

The path is empty, your face hurts, and that wasn't supposed to go down like that at all.

You're kind of freaked out.

What do you do?

>>46378453
Calm the mind, the lamb shall be slaughtered soon.

>>46378453
Well, shit. Don't fuck with this guy. Walk back to the cave, he is likely waiting for us there. Perhaps he might even give us some answers if we apologize and don't attack him

>>46378453

CHASE HIM.

EAT HIM.

SAVOR HIS MARROW.

FINISH THE HUNT.

>>46378546
>>46378528
>>46378526

Surprisingly She doesn't want to chase after him. She just wants to the ranger station. But now you're invested in this and hell if you're letting anyone escape you once you've committed to it, even with the once voice warning you against it.

You follow the path to the stream and then branch off where you know to get to the cave. You see a foot print in the mud so he must have gone this way at least... you get to the cave and there's an air of danger. You don't see the man or any signs of him... but there's a small trowel in the dirt next to the grave-stone.

She's angry. Very angry. So angry it overpowers you previous resolve to kill him.

What do you do?

>>46378453
Retreat to our cave.

>>46378686
Listen, meditate and calm our spirit.

>>46378686

Let our rage over-take us. WE ARE CHILDREN OF MEAT!

>>46378708

You sit in the entrance to the cave, calming yourself down and reminding yourself that you have little reason to be angry that isn't the result of Her and pay attention to what exactly She's angry about.

Her rage seems to bubble up most when you think of him and his smug peaceful face but it also rises when you look at the shovel... underlined with a twinge of fear... huh...

What do you do?

>>46378882

Sharpen our knife. Prepare for ambushes. MEAT IS THE ONLY CALMER.

>>46378882
Restrain Her, we slaughter, but not for pride.

>>46378882
We shouldn't be kidding ourselvers here, he certainly already knows where we are. No point in trying to stay stealthy. Shout something like "Come out, I don't want to fight anymore. But I need some answers!"

>>46378965
>>46378950
>>46378944

You're gripped with a twinge of fear yourself. He could be watching you. He knows where you are.

You wait for Her to calm down a bit and call out your desire to speak. The wind in the leaves is the only answer.

You find you're nervously fiddling with your knife.

She's still pissed at the shovel and wants you to toss it away, though the fear has subsided.

>>46379107

Dig a pit. Sharpen sticks. Set a trap.

FOCUS ON MEAT.

>>46379164

You scrunch your nose. One of the voices is clearly obsessed with eating people, and to be honest you find your propensity and desire for murder sickening enough.

That said... She gets worked up again when digging crosses your mind, and you find your gaze just flicked to the grave-stone.

...

You go back to thinking about eating people.

Her apathy to the subject is somewhat alarming.

>>46379324

SHE CAN BE BROKEN. INTO THE FOREST. CONTINUE THE HUNT MY GIRL.

>>46379324

You breathe calmly to relax yourself and look out the cave. Your clothes hanging on the branch seem to be dry now. You're actually kinda hungry, though thoughts of cannibalism are almost fixing that problem. She's gone from angry to bored though things get tense in the cave...

The voice is suggesting you find someone to kill again... probably the one guy in particular but that seems like a bad idea to you and Her both.

You could try the ranger station again... but She seems insistent you do something with the shovel before going, even if she likes the idea. You could ignore her but you feel it'll bug you personally... especially since it was obviously left on purpose.

What do you do?

>>46379572
I don't have a feeling that the man in the suit is actually an enemy...if he is indeed the one from the vision, he could have killed us if he wanted to. I think we should do what he suggested and dig

inbf we find our own corspe[\spoiler]

>>46379572
Dig under the gravestone.

>>46379921
>>46379937

You know what, screw Her. She doesn't want you to dig, you're going to dig.

You walk into the cave and grab the shovel and begin digging. She's furious but her anger only makes you dig faster until you uncover... not very deep down... a child sized set of bones... holding an apparently immaculate book with the same mark as on the stone in blue on its cover.

You can't feel Her very strongly anymore... those feelings are muted as you look down at the little journal.

>>46380046
Listen to her before you make any decisions to open it, or not.

>>46380046
read the journal. Try not to cry.

>>46380150

That's the thing... what little you are getting from Her is a cocktail of fury, grief, and guilt... but it doesn't seem to have much direction... whatever this book is... with it's clean white cover, unmarred by dirt... it's almost like She doesn't want to be present for it? Though that's a lot of speculation... you remind yourself that She's never spoken to you in words like the voices... just feelings... sometimes very precise feelings... but just feelings.

>>46380211

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCLgWHE6fiQ

You pick up the book, it's binding and cover are perfectly white except for the symbol on the front, it takes a bit of effort to open up at first, like it's locked but then it pops open with ease.

The first page is written in crayon.

"Miss Lucy Cook
Killed Mr Robert Smith
Killed Mr Gary Golding
Killed Mr Stan Matthews
Tried to kill Cousin H-blacked out-.

Sissy M-blacked out-
Killed..."

The list keeps going... as far as you can tell it takes up the rest of the book.

I think I need to tap out now. This episode was a little slower than last one, sorry if you were hoping for more blood spilling (Though it was a possibility if you had taken a somewhat different path... and the book would read differently when you ended up finding it too...) in any case, see you lot tomorrow, noon again.

>>46380458
Thanks for running.

>>46380458
thanks for the show!