[Spoilers for tma episode 124 -Left Hanging]
The title is giving me ddlc flashbacks-
"Statement of Julian Jennings, regarding a cable car journey up the Untersberg mountain in Austria." Wow, I can't remember the last time I was in a cable car...
"It was all impossible, and the terrible things that happened while we were hanging there absolutely could not have happened. But given that they did, I don’t understand why they happened to us." Well, it is unfair most of the time...
"It must have been the old man, of course, but again, why?" Fairchild?
Yeah, I was already suspecting that it was going to be the Vast, but now I'm sure.
"My father passed away almost twelve years ago now. Pancreatic cancer. I’m sure I don’t need to explain that it was devastating, probably the first true grief I’ve ever felt, but in the years that followed, I found that it brought me much closer to my mum." Oh...
"It was the second year after Dad passed that we started our annual holiday together. At first, it was just a way to try and get Mum a bit more interested in the world again, but soon enough it was a highlight of our year." They tried to start a sweet wholesome tradition...
"Her big passion was mountains. We always had to go up a mountain. Well, to be fair, it wasn’t mountains she loved specifically, it was views. There was little that delighted Mum quite as much as to see the whole of creation spread out before you like a grand carpet, and we would always burn through a good number of Euros using whatever coin-operated telescopes they’d set up at the lookout spot." Whatever happened, she probably doesn't like mountains as much now...
"we found ourselves returning to Salzburg, one of our first ever destinations, and to Untersberg, one of our favourite mountains, towered distantly over the city. It was a marvellous view, as I recalled, although the quickest and most reliable way to reach it was unfortunately by cable car." Yeah...
"You see, I don’t do amazingly with heights. I wouldn’t describe it as full vertigo – and certainly, when we’re actually at the top of the mountain, I don’t have any problem at all if I steer clear of the edges – but traditionally, getting from sea level up to the top is something of a trial to me, to say nothing of coming back down." So that's why you were targeted. Your fear will feed it.
"When we arrived at the cable car station this time, I was relieved to see that they seemed to have replaced a lot of the structure since the first time we were there. The cables stretched up the mountain, fresh and strong, though still with that disconcerting curve to them. And there was a shine to the cars themselves that I really hoped wasn’t just a fresh paint job." Hm...
"It was near the end of the season and we’d arrived as early as possible, so the queue in this case only comprised of one other passenger: an old man with stark white hair and a gentle, amused smile. He had a walking stick in his hand, though his back was straight as an arrow, and it seemed like he only remembered to use it in those moments when he noticed he was still holding it." Simon Fairchild, you absolute menace...
"By the second minute, I’d calmed down slightly, the angle of the cable and our speed of ascent having levelled out, and the third minute was almost peaceful." Almost.
"The sixth minute was the last stretch with just open air below us and would have been the final part before we hit the last tower and started travelling over the mountain itself, but that’s when the car came to a sudden, juddering halt." That's when trouble starts...
"Panic immediately pumped through me and I clenched my teeth together to try and hold in a cry. I took a moment and let out a shaky breath. It was fine." Yeah, panicking is only gonna make it worse...
"I heard similar sounds of irritation from Mum, and gingerly looking over, I noticed that some low-level clouds had come about us, and the window was now covered with a fine, swirling mist, obscuring the view below. The weather had been forecast as clear skies, but it wasn’t unheard of." Enjoy sky blue, with a few clouds.
"What happened next was so fast I barely had time to process it." Oh?
"The old man turned towards the door of the cable car, the door I had seen the driver lock and secure when we first boarded, and he walked over to it. He gripped the handle and with a single, easy motion, flung it open. The driver saw what was happening and started to lunge to grab him, but it was too late. The old man turned back for just a second, looked me in the eyes and gave me a huge, theatrical wink. Then he fell backwards, out of the car, and was gone to the swirling air beyond." Why are you like this-
"Then, without warning, and without any input from the driver, the car began to move again. It travelled upwards, gaining speed, and swinging with such force, I was afraid we’d all be thrown out of the open door." Hold on to your seat...
"One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. We should have hit another tower, or the top of the mountain, by now, but we just kept going, higher and higher, the clouds surrounding us tighter, flowing in through the open door." Oh no
"The brakes finally started again with such grinding force that we must have pitched almost forty five degrees forward, then back again, then forward. I could feel nausea wash over me as I was almost thrown forward onto the floor. Then everything was still again, save for the gentle swaying." This isn't over...
"After a while, when everything had calmed down, the driver looked over to us. We were all quiet, afraid I think of breaking the stillness we found ourselves in, but I saw him start to edge towards the door." Oh this isn't gonna end well...
"I knew what he was trying to do. He wanted to close it, lock it back in place and get some semblance of control back. I wanted to tell him to stop, to warn him about whatever was about to happen, because I knew something was about to happen." Of course something was going to happen!
"Sure enough, as he approached the opening, his hand just starting to reach out into the mist, I heard something on the cable that stretched out behind us. I didn’t turn around, but I could hear the rhythmic, scraping sounds of something crawling rapidly towards us." Creepy....
"There was a thump from above, the sound of something heavy landing on the roof of the car, and the driver froze, arm still outstretched. His eyes widened in sudden realisation, but before he could pull back from the edge, an arm, long, grey and completely inhuman, reached down from above with terrible speed. It grabbed his wrist, just for a moment, and then he was gone, his own scream vanishing into the abyss beyond the door." This is scary...
"Then came three bangs, one after another, on the roof of the car. Knock, knock, knock. Then a laugh. A terrible, whistling sound like the howling of a gale." THIS IS SO CREEPY
YES GO PRESS THAT BUTTON ON THE CONTROL PANEL
"When my fingers finally found the button, I slammed it with all the strength I had left in me, and I felt the car begin to move upwards again." Yay!
"I remember talking to the police, even if I don’t remember whether I told them the truth. I think the official story became that the driver, a man named Otto Hessler, had killed himself halfway up the mountain by leaping to his death." That poor guy...
"I still get nightmares, of course, and my fear of heights has worsened considerably. I’ve tried talking to professionals about it, but for the most part they treat it as though I’m talking in metaphors. And I generally let them believe that." Probably for the best...
"The worst part is the strain the whole affair has put on my
relationship with my mother." Oh no :(
"She refuses to admit any of it happened, repeating the same version of events given by the Salzburg police. She looks me right in the eyes and tells me she doesn’t know what I’m talking about, that there was no old man, no clouds, nothing climbing the cables behind me." She's traumatised...
"In other cases I might think the location noteworthy, might try to piece together some wider plan, but Fairchild seems to travel far and wide for his victims, with no motivation other than variety. I do not think I ever wish to meet him." Yeah, might be best to avoid...
"Of course, even if I did want to do research into this statement, I wouldn’t have any help doing so. It’s been a week and Melanie’s attitude towards me hasn’t softened, and Basira, though she is very willing to talk, still doesn’t seem to trust me enough to let me in on whatever plans she might have. If she has any plans at all, of course. I could make her tell me, I know that, but I can’t afford to burn any more bridges." Yeah, you better not do that.
JON RUSHING TO TALK TO MARTIN BECAUSE HE PROBABLY SAW HIM WALK BY-
"Martin, i-i-it's, uh— I-I haven't seen you."
"Yeah. Sorry."
"Where, where have you been? I-I mean, I thought…"
"No, No I’ve been here. I just, uh, you know, been busy." There's something wrong. I can feel it.
"Right. Working for Lukas?" JON NO, DON'T- If you make this into an argument...
"No, P-Peter's— I— It's complicated." I can imagine that it's complicated... But first name basis now, hm?
"Anyway, I should, uh, g—"
"H-H-How are you Martin? Is everything…?"
"Oh yeah, no, I'm, I’m alright. Everything’s fine." No??? You're clearly not fine, no one in here is fine????
JON ASKING ABOUT THE POETRY-
"Look, Jon, I've really got to go, so, um… I’m sorry I—"
"Oh, okay. Well, it was good… It was good to see you."
THIS IS THEIR FIRST INTERACTION OF THE SEASON????
Martin... He sounded so... distant, and avoidant... and somewhat... empty? I don't know how to describe it.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT PETER LUKAS HAS DONE OR SAID TO HIM, BUT IT'S WORKING AND I REALLY DON'T LIKE THIS.
Martin's clearly not okay. Please, explain what happened...
Jon clearly wasn't expecting that, it really hit him. And he was trying so hard to actually talk, to have a conversation, HE ASKED ABOUT HIS POETRY-
He was so sad that Martin tried to end the conversation as fast as he could....
I was on the phone with a friend today to update him about tma and I was like "I'm worried about Martin, what if Peter Lukas is trying to make him become an avatar of the Lonely? :("
And my friend was like "😮Oh he better not!😡"
(Yes, he's very invested in this)
BUT NOW I'M EVEN MORE WORRIED????
He's gonna become an avatar of the Lonely because of Peter Lukas, I can feel it. AND I DON'T LIKE THIS AT ALL.
This is only the fourth episode of the season. Things will get better. I wanna hope.
The statement was... well, it was the Vast. Simon Fairchild is a menace as usual.
Yeah, I'm gonna focus on hoping that things will get better.
