Elliot In Between: Contingency

SURVIVOR: Bunker A:12 come in over…[aside] Is this thing even working? - Professor Ryan come in over, I have something I think you’re going to want to hear…A:12 do you read me? Over. Damn it…I’m going to play this anyway, if someone is listening, someone at A:12. Please respond. It’s from Elliot. I found something from Elliot! It’s a video on a phone. I found it in a pile of rubbish, I was…well it doesn’t matter. Ryan you always said if there’s anyone out there who has more…I have it! I have more! [aside] God, I hope you can hear this. [sighs] Okay, [SFX: Movements] Here it goes.

ELLIOT: Didn’t think I’d be up for this whole record and ditch thing but, well…here I am! My name is Elliot, Elliot Taylor, I’m…well I don’t know really. One of the last few people alive? Maybe. I mean, it seems too implausible for that to be true, but at the same time of the two people we’ve seen in over a week, one was eaten alive by some hideous unearthly creature and the other, well, I really don’t think she was in a fit state to last long. I’m out here with my brother Roman, we headed out on an off-grid camping trip and, well that was that really. It’s funny, I’ve kinda come to believe it’s the only reason we haven’t ended up like everyone else. Vanished. If I’m not the last person, or one of the last few, then surely there can’t be many left. Every house we’ve passed, every school, community centre, every god damn building - It’s just empty. We’re heading to a place called Bunker A:7 at the moment. I’m hoping there will be some people there waiting for survivors like us, but I’m not too hopeful, I’ll be honest.

I’ve been keeping a journal and using Roman’s voice recorder to document our experiences and findings. I reckon if anything happens to us out here, then it’d be a good thing for anyone who is curious about what happened, like us, to find and learn at least something about the world as it is right now. There’s all sorts of bizarre and horrific things happening, and from one day to the next I never know what’s going to suddenly change. I’ve seen plant life take over a building overnight, then those same buildings crumble and deteriorate into rumble. 

Given how quickly everything has the potential to change, I figure it’s only sensible to document what it is like now. Then perhaps all of these entries can be like a jigsaw puzzle of our ruined world. However, I’m also horribly aware of the fact that something truly awful could happen to Roman and I, something that means our recordings and writings are unable to be recovered. So I figured I should probably do something about that. This is my first, step, I suppose into that contingency. I sort of got over the whole stealing thing a while ago, given that there are no actual people around to be ‘stealing’ from. Plus, I aim, really, to leave the things where I find them. Let me explain, we’ve been dipping in and out of houses quite frequently on our journey and there are many of them that have some form of recording devices in them. Whether that’s a laptop that isn’t password protected, or a phone where you can access to camera without unlocking it. Now, unfortunately, most of these devices have ran out of charge, but there are some that have been switched off this whole time or are just about going still. This is one of them, someone’s much used mobile phone, classic cracked screen, cracked camera, all wrapped up in a tatty jewelled case.

And here is my contingency - Little snippets of our experience, our story, stored on different devices dotted around on our journey. So, if you’re listening to this - Congratulations! You’ve found the first one…what on earth are you doing out here?

[sighs]

Anyway, my brother who I mentioned earlier, Roman, he’s asleep and as usual, I can’t sleep. It’s a good thing at the moment though, cus I wanted to do this without him knowing. All the questions he’d ask me if he knew, and he’d only poke fun anyway. It was bad enough when I told him the reason for me continuing to write about our journey after we realised the world had gone to shit. So I’m going to try and record these in private as much as possible, that way I can continue to tell our story to someone, probably no-one, without Roman quizzing me every time. Or laughing at the things I say.

Rather than recording the same thing every time though, I’m going to explain the things that happen to us inbetween, the things that don’t always make it into the journal or get captured on Roman’s recorder.

This one is about a note I found just a few streets away, it was on someone’s door. I was going to take it with me but I decided against it, I thought about how upset the person who put it there might be if I'd moved it, or how the person who it was meant for could return home at any moment and not ever know that there was something there waiting for them. Not know how much this person cared for them.

It said something along these lines: ‘To Aanya, we’ve had to go, something happened in the basement. I don’t know what. Your father went to investigate and when he came back he would only tell me that something was making a terrible sound and that the house wasn’t safe anymore. We’re heading to A:6, I know it’s not our designated bunker, but your grandparents are going there and they said they’ve arranged for someone to let us in.’ Then there was something about how they had just managed to speak to the grandparents before the phone lines went down and they’re sorry that they couldn’t wait for her, Aanya, that is. Poor person. Judging by that last statement how badly water damaged the paper was, even though it was inside a taped up plastic wallet, I’d say it had been there right from the start. So, easily over a week…possibly longer. We both have no idea when it started and, well, we have reason to believe that this whole thing had begun even before we left. I know it’s a bit much to hope they return and get to see that note, but..well I really do. I even found some tape and sealed it up a bit better to stop it becoming completely illegible.

Okay, god. Right. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna go through with this, but clearly I’m feeling a lot braver than usual today, likely a mistake. I didn’t want to say until I knew I could carry on but…well I didn’t remember what that note said. I read it…because I’m at the house. I’m on the doorstep and I’m going inside.

[SFX: door opening and footsteps inside]

Alright, looks okay so far. Little bit cold but that’s to be expected. Clear skies at the end of summer and a long since empty house…or at least I hope it is.

[SFX: Footsteps inside]

Looks like we’ve got a door here that leads to the kitchen. If it’s anything like the old terraced house I used to live in the entrance to the basement will be in there. Under the stairs. Just, hold up a sec [pause] Sorry, I thought I heard something just, just checking. [SFX: Door opening] Fuck my life it stinks in here, urgh, that’s grim. [coughs] Okay, [clears throat] Just gonna open a window. [SFX: Metallic breathing] Alright, that’s a bit better. Jesus, that was grim. [shocked] Oh holy shit, the door…The door to the basement, that’s…okay how can I describe it to you. Fucking cracked camera…It’s like, uhm, remember those nest-like growths we saw in th- Oh, shit ‘course you won’t, this is…yeah, okay. So basically we saw these tendrilly growth things coming out from a body once or twice that looked like old grey wasps nest, but with little shimmers of [SFX: Metallic breathing] Oh sh-Okay, no thank you! Fuck…[SFX: Rapid footsteps, door, outside] Absolutely not. [gasping breaths] [SFX: Footsteps away] Jesus what the fuck is up with me…sorry..sorry I just, what was I thinking? Why am I like this?

Look, whoever you are listening to this, please do not be as stupid as me. Do not go in that house. If there is a bloody sign on a door somewhere vaguely suggesting that something went wrong or something is dangerous, freaking listen to it! But absolutely DO NOT listen to that metallic breathing…Seriously. It messes you up, fast! I’ve heard it before, in Roman’s house, his daughter’s room to be precise. It came from this huge growth on the wall. We almost both became completely mesmerised by it within seconds. I makes you see what you want to see, or at least what it thinks you want. Roman thought it was his daughter. I thought it was some magnificent creature, so unique and interesting. Something new and fantastic…that was almost my downfall.

You see, I am literally the definition of curiosity the killed the cat…[sighs] It’s a problem of mine, I’m aware of it but, well sometimes it gets the better of me. If I think something is bad, or dangerous or scary, but I don’t quite know, sometimes I can’t help but just look closer, just take that extra step toward the threat, just so I can see. So I can prove that it really is what I think, or perhaps worse.

Alright, that’s enough for now. My name is Elliot Taylor. For now, I’m a survivor of this weird as hell apocalypse with my older brother Roman. Almost everyone has vanished or in hiding. Many areas have become completely degraded or overgrown. And there are horrific creatures waiting in all the darkest corners. I don’t know what the future holds for this world, I don’t think any of us do. But for now we’re headed to A:7 to look for safety, and that’s the best hope we’ve got. 

If you find this and this isn’t all over, I wish you the best of luck.