Part Twenty-Two (April 23, 1972)

Sorry, guys. I had another schedule slip. My home Wi-Fi was down, for an absurdly long period of time. When my internet was finally working, again, I lost all motivation. There didn't seem to be any point in any of this. I hardly have any readers, and it's not like this is even going to help anyone. He'll still come for you.

I know... I've got to stop using that excuse, but it can be difficult. I've talked to a therapist about some of this. Of course, I had to sugar-coat it, and mask it as a generic kidnapping case, but it seems as if it might help. The doc says that it's too early to tell, but I seem to have some signs of PTSD, along with a healthy dose of clinical depression. I don't really know what to make of that, but I guess that it's good to know. I'll see how it goes, in later sessions. Anyway, I'm gonna try to be more consistent about all of this. It pains me to continue telling this story, but I'd prefer to finish what I start. So, even if it causes me to go catatonic, I will do my best to carry on.

Now, give me a couple of minutes, to figure out where I was at. I haven't been here, for a while, so bear with me. It's getting hard to remember what I have, or have not, written.

Right, Professor John... Okay, so we told him everything that had occurred since we'd found that body. We went into a good amount of detail, too. He needed to understand the sheer terror that we faced, so nothing was brushed over. The description of the attacks, in particular, covered a decent percentage of our story.

John listened intently, hanging on every word. Sometimes, he would lean forward in his chair, as if he was watching a monster movie. After we had finished talking, he was quiet for a while, like he was gathering his thoughts. Then, he spoke.

"Hmm..." He said, "Out of that whole account, one thing struck me as odd. This other boy was tricked into following the creature, correct? It presented itself as helpful, and later assaulted him. That also seems consistent with some of the other stories. But you, Lyle, were forced to directly challenge it. It was only observing you, until you reacted in fear. So, the big question is this: What made you different?"