starter for @mimicksyou
Cutting through rural America harkened back to a time Alex could never forget. It’d be great if he could shake off the memories the way he did the rain. He thinks to himself as he rushes from his car towards the diner, getting soaked through in the short time it’d taken to get from one place to the next. He sighs, arms dropping to his sides as he tries to wring out the worst of it before going inside. He enters to a heated discussion amidst the locals. Alex intends to ignore it, he really does, and he does just that. He skirts the entire exchange and takes a seat in the back booth, and to his astonishment he’s recognized.
It’d been years since he’d done anything related to investigating. The last show he’d worked on had been focused on Europe and socioeconomic events. All of the trio’s videos had been removed years ago –– not that it stopped the re-uploads . . . But the waitress who brings him his coffee leans in and whispers, like it’s a secret, “You’re Alex Kalinsky aren’t you?” He blinks owlishly up at her, and she takes it for the confirmation it isn’t. She looks young, younger than him at least, and he asks her how she knows about him, and she says she grew up watching their videos, had even bought some of their merch back in the day. Alex chuckles, having forgotten what this felt like. The conversation takes a stark turn when she proceeds to infodump on him about how her town could use some help.
His stomach drops, and he takes a sip of the coffee to hide the way he grimaces. That must have been part of what he’d overheard. The group of people gathered around a table while they heatedly talking about needing to ‘deal with it’.
“I’m sorry I just . . . I don’t do that anymore.” Alex explains softly. Crestfallen doesn’t come close to how dejected she looks when he says it. But she nods, goes to fill his order and seems to bounce back quickly enough. Alex opts to spend the night in the town since it’s raining hard enough to apparently wash out some roads further down. The promise he’d made to himself about not getting involved gets broken the second he opens his laptop and starts searching for information about the area.
To his surprise it’s been going on for years. There’s articles, video feed, paranormal investigators, you name it, they’ve had it. “The hell?” He mumbles to himself as he pulls out a notebook to make a rough timeline of events. Alex works through the night, and come morning the rain has died down to a light drizzle. Easy enough to wander in around and check out some of the woods for himself, in the safety of daylight of course. He pays up through the week for his room, figuring he has no pressing deadlines so he can spend a few days here. Alex stands on one of the worn-down trails, arms folded as he stares out at the scenery.
It reminds him of Montana. The details are where things shift around. Different types of trees, the overcast weather, but he can’t help making the comparison as he stands out in the quiet of nature.
Maybe it’s nothing, but he has a gut feeling there’s something more going on here. Just like there had been back then. You never learn.












