Talks

Well, I guess Albert's talking to me now. We had a chat and, well, he's staying. For now, at least.

The unconscious guy's name is Matthias, by the way. He woke up earlier today and we talked a bit. He had a similar 'haunted' look, like others I've seen, though his looked less haunted and more...I don't know. Uncomfortable.

Ivory talked to me some more, though still about medical stuff. She's off buying some cream to give to Matthias -- he's got a nasty rash on his side. I wanted to ask him how he got it, but held off - a lot of runners really value their privacy and I didn't want to scare him into leaving.

Anyway, I guess things have somewhat settled down since the revelation. I still got some cold shoulders from our remaining guests, but that's too be expected.

A Little Trust

“Yet man will never be perfect until he learns to create and destroy; he does know how to destroy, and that is half the battle.”

I was wondering why it felt like people were suddenly being cold, and the guests were leaving in a hurry. I'd heard some stuff that made me shudder, then I read the blog, and now everything is a little clearer.

I've never really questioned the way Sal's run things. I just do the work I've been given, and I get a roof over my head in return. But with a Dying Man piece around, I'm now not so sure. I've never had a run in myself, but all the stories I've heard about people encountering a Shard of Lazarus have never been good, or had happy endings for that matter. It may be keeping the Misery Makers away at the moment, but some of the stories I've heard about them make me worry. Some of our guests who have passed through here have been hunted by Dying Men before. They're all similar, yet all so different. Some of them are smart, some are mad, and some are almost human. But all are dangerous, and sometimes it's only because they've been seeking other shards to become whole again. Their endless pilgrimage of madness, built on the death of others.

I know that sometimes it's necessary to use evil to fight off evil. Sometimes, making deals with devils is the only way to get by. But it's still evil, never the less. What are their servants after all, if not people dealing their lives away for what may only be one more day of life. Whilst it might have warded off Ruby Tuesday for now, who's to say someone, or something, won't come our way seeking it out?

I guess I should trust Sal's judgement on this one. That man has proved his character after all. But something about this just makes me spooked. Not to mention the only real guest we've had recently is the unconscious stranger. It seems word travels fast these days.

The Stranger

Why do things always seem to get better and then get worse?

I met Ivory outside. She was finally able to look me in the eye. And she was about to talk to me, too. I could tell.

And then she looked over my shoulder and her eyes went wide. I turned and looked and saw it: there was a man sitting on the ground outside the hostel. Then I realized he wasn't sitting -- he was slumped, his eyes closed. Unconscious.

Ivory rushed over to check on him. He looked to be in his late twenties, dark brown hair. He looked shabby, like he hadn't shaved or changed his clothes in days, maybe weeks. Definitely a runner, by the looks of it. His arm and shoulder were also in a cast and sling.

Ivory had me help pick him up and bring him inside. We got him on one of the beds and Ivory checked him over -- plenty of scars, even a nasty one on his back, but they were all healed over. She said he had probably collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

So good news: she's talking to me again. Bad news: it was all medically related.

Well, you take the good with the bad, I guess.