Welcome to the next episode of Archi’s Diary, a weekly entry in my favorite amnesiac’s journal as he tries to adjust to a world he doesn’t remember. Now with a proper cover by Patrick Crooker. Go visit his website at www.crooksandcrafts.com.
Episode 12 – April 2016
Hiding it is!
At least for now. This week was quite uneventful. In fact, it’s been a bit lonely and a bit weird.
On Saturday I had to re-raise my tent in the middle of the night, after it almost got blown away by a storm. I went and obtained some effective means to avoid having to chase down a tent cover at night again. Those rocks now hold down part of it. The only other thing I did was watching the video files over and over again until the battery ran out on the laptop.
That sphere that appeared in the lab is very intriguing. I have a few theories about it, except none of them explain the memory loss, which only make me feel more unhinged:
- It could be a physical anomaly in space generated by something at the Institute. A type of matter or area of space that is out of sync with the rest of reality. How and why would it cause memory loss? No idea.
- It could be a portal to another place, that looks exactly like here. Yeah, that also seems off. Unless it’s a time portal and not a space portal, and I’m an earlier/later version of myself. Still doesn’t explain the memory loss.
- The portal is the result of me sneezing so hard, that it warped the perception of light and there is no actual sphere. Nah…
The next morning I went to the village to see if I could meet some people, but it was almost empty. I just realised it then that it was Sunday. So I spent my day drinking coffee and researching the area on the web while the laptop was charging. I didn’t do much else that day, just returned to the camp afterwards. I had simply too much to deal with. Being alone is difficult, yet sometimes it’s even harder to be around others; I find myself avoiding people lately. Maybe to protect them… from the Institute and from me. I still miss company though, especially Willy’s. Hope this feeling will go away and I won’t feel so lost, once I figured things out. I’m having trouble rationalising all that’s happened. I know I killed in self-defence, it still doesn’t help with the guilt. It feels like I’m both the perpetrator and the victim. Like I deserved it for stepping out of line. I cry a lot these days.
On Monday I ran out of money. I still have a bit of food left, but I need to get a revenue stream going. I could beg for money, but even the local homeless seem unsuccessful at that. Plus, I don’t want to brand myself as a beggar, since it might make it more difficult to find work in the area.
Also Undead Steve visited me in my dreams that night. It was quite vexing. He came out that sphere for a change, as if it was portal from another world or reality, and tried to pull me in with him. First from emptiness, now from the sphere. Please don’t come through the tent door next…
After recovering from that little mind fuck, on Tuesday I decided to stake out the ferry port and spent some time by the ocean. I’ve concluded that the ferry is out of the question. The passport check can’t be bypassed, sneaking in either by car or ninja-style is way too risky. I don’t know anything about their procedures, the layout or even how to get onto ferry itself, so it’s definitely not wise to risk it. Also, who knows what awaits on the other side.
I managed to charge the laptop at a cafe though. I need to explore the files more in-depth later this week and get some freelance work online. I’ll have to worry about the payment methods later. Also, I’m getting very hungry…. Hardly ate anything today. Just a cheap scone (possibly the driest scone ever) with some tea.
On Wednesday I thought someone had found me, but it turned out to be a jogger taking the dog for a walk. Cute little pup. Sniffed my hand, then scrambled to catch up with his owner. Also, and I’m not proud of this, I stole some guy’s wallet at the cafe. He left it on his table after ordering, so as he started rummaging through his bag on the floor, I pocketed it as I left. I shopped for groceries using his card to pay for some minor stuff. I’ll save the cash for later. Might be risky if he blocks the card, but for now it worked.
The next day I decided to stay away from the town. I admit I also didn’t want to show my face at the cafe again, in case someone saw me steal. So I read a bit. Not every day has to have a purpose.
Which brings us to Friday, when I met Kerstin, queen of the forest, out on her morning run. No, she isn’t a queen of any kind, but that’s how she announced her presence when she found my camp and I asked why she was there. She told me it was an ‘April’s Fool’ joke. I’m not sure what that means. Turns out it was her dog I met on Wednesday. She seemed mighty suspicious about me at first, but relaxed when I told her that I was hiking the English coast as a travel project. Then I had to make up a complicated story to make that little white lie believable, since she wouldn’t let up with the questions. It was nice to talk to someone outside the usual customer setting at the cafe. She stayed for a two hours before resuming her run. I hope to see her again.
I have been here for a week now, nobody seems to be looking for me in or around Folkestone (not that I’ve noticed anyway), I have no way of leaving, very little cash to my name and a new friend who might be crazy but seems harmless enough. Tentatively crossing my fingers that I’m free, starving alone and confused, but free. Really need a plan!
End of episode 12. Share, like and follow for weekly updates. Thank you for reading. In the coming weeks I will be uploading a few extra posts. Stay tuned!
Torben Jensen 
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