by Voss Foster
I’m going to the lobby. It should be clear of any people by now. But I’ll keep my gun out, just in case. I should be able to stop anyone I run across. At least that’s the plan.
ENTRY END
JOURNAL 03MAX
ENTRY 003
DATE: 1/7/2076
I think it’s close to time to have a talk with Joy and Terrence. I’m beginning to think we should be reworking our entire strategy if we intend to survive. Every time an alarm goes off in this damn hotel, it’s just a reminder that it could be in our room. I don’t know exactly what else we could do. I can’t see not staying in one of the rooms as any sort of a workable option. They’re the closest thing we have to any kind of protection around here. Yeah, they gave us all the gun and the knife, but I’d rather not have a situation where I need either one of those. Staying out in the open, that wouldn’t be an option.
The biggest problem bringing any of this up to any of them is that I don’t have any decent alternative to bring up. I just can’t help but thinking that sitting in this room ain’t doing us any kind of good. We’re barely any safer in here than we would be out in the hallways for God and everyone to see.
I hope we can figure something out. I don’t know about anyone else, but this ain’t working for me, just waiting for whatever the hell is going to happen next. If there’s any kind of action I can take, then I’m damn sure going to try to take it.
ENTRY END
JOURNAL 09HIKARU
ENTRY 003
DATE: 1/7/2076
I was out getting food from the machine. Luckily, my sense of time is strong enough that I judged the eight hours correctly from when I missed it before.
I heard a gunshot. It was distant and muffled, but I’m not sure where it originated, only that it wasn’t close enough to cause me much personal concern. I don’t even know for certain that it was a gunshot at all. I don’t know what sound these particular guns they’ve given us make. It sounded like a gunshot to my ears, though.
I hope, since these guns are supposedly non-lethal, that the victim survived. But I also know that non-lethal weapons can kill, depending on use. Until I know otherwise, I have to assume that there’s been a soul lost to this game. I can only hope that they went peacefully.
ENTRY END
JOURNAL 11LENA
ENTRY 004
DATE: 1/7/2076
Well, it turns out that Thermoblade thing actually works pretty well, if you give it some thought. And it turns out that invisible gun does do something. I’m not sure what, but I took aim at the pretty boy who came downstairs and fired that one. Figured it didn’t make noise, so it was worth a try. It floored him right away, and when he got up, it was almost like he couldn’t see where he was going.
I saw on TV once that the military and the police had some kind of fancy laser gun that could temporarily blind people. My guess is that Evenstad moved that into the mainstream, and now I’ve got my hands on one.
The pepper spray disabled the kid even better. A kid’s really all he was. Maybe twenty? I kind of wish he wasn’t so young. It’s a shame for him to die when he’s barely been through anything, but it was him dying or me dying, once he got himself recovered.
That Thermoblade went right through the side of his head like nothing, once it was heated. I figured that was fast, sure, and hopefully not too painful. I kept up my guard for about an hour, just to be sure. He didn’t move, so I went and dragged him into a storage closet. Out of the way so people don’t realize there’s anyone down here. I don’t know how long it’ll take, exactly, but this proves that people do walk through the lobby. They are leaving their rooms.
It makes the waiting seem a lot less difficult.
ENTRY END
10
TO: Laurie
FROM: Eddie
SUBJECT: Newsletter Reaction
SENT 1/6/2076 AT 2:48 a.m. EST
There’s something we need to keep an eye on. The public is outraged about the hack, which is what we wanted, but there’s been a statement released that they intend to trace the information back again. I don’t know that they can succeed. They didn’t before. But everyone needs to be informed. If we stay vigilant, we should be able to see anything coming.
Other than that, I think things have gone well, and we can move forward with anything else that might be on the docket. Unfortunately, the LeGrandes didn’t beat the odds, and they aren’t going to be much use in prison. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. They were rash, attacking people inside Evenstad’s offices.
Nothing you don’t know. I’m a bit tired. I do apologize. The information I thought was important is covered. You’re the next node on the tree. Pass word to your contacts and keep security procedures.
JOURNAL 01DEB
ENTRY 005
DATE: 1/8/2076
Do I really just have such awful luck? I must. The room I settled in just had an alarm go off, but when I ran, I left the pack with the gun and the lighter and everything else inside, so I had to go back in.
Do the people running this show have the same definition of non-lethal as I do? I guess they must not. Whatever happened in there scorched all the furniture. I don’t want to find out what it would have done to my body if I hadn’t gotten out. That’s some serious heat, and everything was still smoldering. Even the carpet was burned. Everything touching the floor. Did they expect me to climb up the curtains? I don’t consider that a real option. This trap would have killed me. And that was my second one.
Did I do something that annoyed the people in charge? Maybe I did. If that’s the case, I wish I could apologize to them, somehow make it right. Is that ridiculous, wanting to apologize to the people who kidnapped me and locked me up in this place? I can almost guarantee it is, but I would do it anyway if it would get them to leave me alone.
Am I just a victim of odds? It’s possible, but I can’t help but think it’s too much to discount. Fate? I never really believed in that sort of thing, but maybe that’s what it is. Maybe fate is angry with me because I didn’t believe, so this is my punishment. Do I really put any stock in that? No. I still hold that it’s the show producers screwing with me for some reason I don’t understand. I’m not that big of a threat, I don’t think, but maybe they know something I don’t.
ENTRY END
JOURNAL 02JOY
ENTRY 003
DATE: 1/8/2076
Max wants us to move somewhere, but I just don’t know. It don’t seem like it’ll make a damn bit of difference to me, but he seems pretty dead set on it. Way he was talking, it’s sounding like he’s losing it a little bit, all cramped up in this place. Could be safer just to go along with what he wants if it don’t hurt us.
I guess it wouldn’t be so bad, if we had an actual plan we could work with. But between the three of us, we ended up with nothing more than “maybe moving ain’t so terrible.” No place to go to, no plan for making the situation any better than it is around here when we finally figure out where it is we’re going. If we’re going. That much is still up in the air, too. I don’t mind staying here, if that’s what it comes to. If an alarm goes off, then I’m all for moving ourselves somewhere where we ain’t going to get hurt. Beyond that? I think we’d be just as well off staying here as in any other room of this hotel. Unless we can find one that ain’t going to explode or catch on fire or whatever the hell happens when those alarms go off.
But I’ll go where Max needs. Maybe Terrence, too. He’s nice and quiet and gets along well with me and Max. I even had a few decent conversations with him since we’ve been here. If I had to pick, Max of course. But I suppose I don’t mind having Terrence in here with us. Another body, if nothing else, right? Fodder, if I want to be morbid. We could both outrun him, if it came to that.
Of course, he’ll probably end up turning and killing us both, now that I’m accepting him. That’s how these things always go, ain’t it? I guess I don’t know. I ain’t worrying
about it unless it comes to it, otherwise I’ll drive myself nuts and then I’ll be the one angling to get out of here. Probably get myself in more danger than I was ever in sitting in here with Terrence, if I did that.
ENTRY END
JOURNAL 06RAY
ENTRY 003
DATE: 1/8/2076
Man, I can’t hardly sleep in this place, I’m so nervous. I mean, this is ridiculous. I’m so shaken up by that close call I had, and I don’t even know how bad it would have been if I didn’t make it out of the damn hotel room. I keep thinking I should go back and see what’s up in 2106, but I can’t make myself do it. It would probably make me feel better, or at least help give me something I could work with instead of this stupid ass blind fear.
I’m going to do it. If I haven’t done it by the tenth, I’m damn sure getting my ass out of here and heading back. I have to force the issue. Force it. Right. Waiting two days isn’t really forcing myself to do anything. But I did try to leave today. I still couldn’t manage it, couldn’t even make myself step out into the hallway. That shit needs to stop, but I don’t think pushing myself that hard is going to make it work better. Just like when you’re a kid and your dad pushes you to do something too scary too fast for you. It just makes you that much more terrified if you’re not ready for it to happen.
And I’m not even a little bit ready.
ENTRY END
The Inn: The First Episode
Posted 1/8/2076
Well, it finally happened, and it looks like I’ll have to eat some crow. I was complaining during The Mall that they’d probably never manage to make one of their shows stand up to The Park. I never thought it was possible, really. Something special happened in The Park. It was so different from anything else I’d ever seen, and the players had this incredible chemistry. I couldn’t see any way that they could even try to come close to that.
The Inn is good. The Inn is proving to be amazing, if I can judge it on the first episode at all. The trap rooms are doing their jobs, keeping people on their toes. They’re managing to still show the psychological side of things like I think they were trying to do with The Mall. Ray is collapsing a little bit, Deb is freaking the fuck out, and the whole thing with Billie is just amazing on the part of whoever cast these people. I’m not normally the type to get involved with emotions and things with the people I see on TV, and I watch a lot of TV to get the content for this blog. But even I’m getting a little worked up watching her struggling in there. I can’t even imagine that hell, and I really do hope that she makes it out of this all right. She won’t, but I can hope.
I don’t think it’s good in the same ways as The Park. The chemistry is still lacking because they aren’t interacting nearly as much as they did in that first season. I guess you can chalk it up to people finally wising up, now that the show is actually out. They know that there really are some dangerous people out there in the world, and pretty possibly in whatever arena they happen to choose for a given season. So I can’t blame them for any of that.
Suffice it to say that I intend to watch this. If I watched The Mall, why in the hell wouldn’t I watch The Inn when it’s clearly the better show? I’m watching it, I think you should watch it, too. Hell, I think everyone should watch it. It’s a good show, it’s going to get you right in the emotional core, and, maybe even more than that, it’s now a part of our zeitgeist. You need to watch at least one season to stay caught up with the times. If you can’t stomach it? Well, I personally think that you’re going to have problems heading forward in our culture.
This is the way we’re going, so you’ll have to get on board eventually. As for me? I’m here hook, line, and sinker.
Phil Boggs
JOURNAL 08BILLIE
ENTRY 005
DATE: 1/9/2076
I’m definitely feeling emotionally weird, more than I have in a really long time. I’m doing my best to keep it all inside, but I needed to write about it somewhere to try and get things totally settled in my head. And I needed to purge all of these weird feelings before they cause problems.
I’m nervous and worried and, worst of all, I’m about to push myself way further than I ever do in my normal life. I guess in a way, that’s the idea. They want to push all of us way outside of what we would normally ever do. I mean, I can’t imagine anyone would have to deal with this kind of thing outside of this hell of a hotel and this horrible show.
But I’m forcing myself to be a role model, which means I need to be brave. And not just internally brave or brave for being here at all or anything like that. I’m not the one to say that I’m like that. I don’t think those things about myself in the slightest. But I see that a lot and I hear that a lot. “They’re so brave.” It’s always something that gets assumed, though. There’s no empiricism about it.
I don’t want to have to make people assume. If I’m going to make myself a role model for trans people watching this and hearing about this, and an example for the rest of the world, I’m going to have to really make a statement with what I do.
So I’m heading out. I’m going into the halls and taking the risk that I might get noticed, just so I can actually make some sort of impact, maybe start trying to change opinions out there. It’s still surreal to think that I’m in a position where I even have to think about how my own presentation is going to reflect on others. Like, a lot of others. I try not to think about it a lot. When I focus on that, that sick feeling in my stomach get worse.
Anyway, that’s all. I need to go out. Either I’m going to get killed, I’m going to scare the hell out of people acting like there’s nothing that bad going on, or I’m going to meet someone I can ally with.
I doubt that last one is going to happen, but it’s what I’m secretly hoping for the most.
I would head out right now, but I’m going to give it just a little chance to calm down. An alarm just went off when I sat down to write this entry. I don’t know for sure what’s happening and how bad it’s going to be if I try to leave. So I’ll give it an hour.
Then I can be a “champion of the people.”
ENTRY END
JOURNAL 04KATYA
ENTRY 003
DATE: 1/9/2076
Calm down, Katya. You’re better than this.
The whole room I was in just blared super loud again. I ran out of there and just kept running. Thank God I was actually carrying my tablet and gun and everything, because I couldn’t say how to get back to that room if I tried. It would have been a matter of checking every door on the way back and hoping that there wasn’t anyone inside of them who wanted to kill me. Not great odds.
I’m not even in a room, anymore. I can’t get myself to go back into one and stay there. It’s not worth the trouble to me at this point. I can find somewhere else, even if it’s not as comfortable. I can’t believe that they would make every single place in this room a danger. There has to be a safe space, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair.
Right, Katya. This is about fairness. That’s why you were kidnapped or drugged or whatever. That’s why you’re here at all. Innocent little flight attendant in this hideous damn place, fighting for your life and all that. Because this game is fair.
I’m going to have to be careful, but I’m going to try and explore around here. I don’t know what to even try looking for, but I have to do something else, something with a chance of some real safety. If there even is a chance for safety. I don’t know that I would be able to continue on if I didn’t at least make the attempt.
You’re not going to be a victim of yourself, Katya. Just go out and do what you need to do.
ENTRY END
WHO IS GOING TO WIN THE INN?
POLL 1
1: Lena (30%)
2: Terrence (15%)
3: Max (12%)
4: Daniel (11%)
5: Joy (9%)
6: Ray (6%)
7: Hikaru (6%)
8: Deb (3%)
9: Billie (3%)
10: Katya (3%)
>
11: Jeremiah (1%)
12: Shelley (1%)
(Information collected by The Cruise)
Public Outcry at ‘The Inn’ Death
1/9/2076 at 9:54 a.m. EST
The Inn, third installment of Evenstad Media’s hit reality show, drew the expected large viewership for its premiere, but there’s also an unexpected group of rather vocal detractors. Many of the fans of one of the losing contestants, adult film star Jeremiah North, are in a riot over his death. In spite of quite a large amount of controversy surrounding some of his actions outside the studio, he maintained his popularity with both male and female audiences, starring in nearly seventy films in his year-and-a-half long career. During this time, he acquired a very large following, including the eighty-thousand subscribers on his private website.
Many letters have been sent to Evenstad Media expressing displeasure. Some of these have included threats against the company, including Niels Evenstad (COO) himself. It’s unclear what Jeremiah North’s fans intend to accomplish with these letters, but it’s very clear that he was blessed with an incredibly loyal audience before his loss. It gives at least this reporter hope that he’ll be remembered by people after this is all said and done.
