January 13th, 2018

So tonight was supposed to be our conspiracy dinner. Hal did show up for lunch, but he was on the phone with Tim as he was walking in and wasn't able to put the phone down until halfway through our lunch. According to Hal, Tim is on the warpath about Melia and is insisting that Hal drop everything and all but walk up to her demanding to know who she is. I was only able to hear half the conversation. Hal spent a lot of time confirming that his schooling was actually his primary goal and that Melia is something he'll do when he has the time. And then they were going over his schedule and how much homework he was expected to have.

By the time Hal hung up, he was apologizing that he'd have to cancel diner tonight. I asked if we should just put it on standby in case Tim cancels again, but Hal said even if Tim did he'd neglect letting Hal know until it was way too late to get everyone together anyway. Besides, from the sound of things, this was one meeting that was going to happen whether Hal liked it or not.

So, I texted Sam and Max immediately and let them know what was going on. Both responded, Max seemed disappointed, Sam just said thanks for the heads up. And that was that. After work, I took the bus home. Mom and Dad were happy to have me "over for dinner" as they put it. And it was nice having an evening with the folks, don't get me wrong. It just sucks for plans to fall through like that.

That said, since it was my normal pattern to go over those things, I sat down at my computer and spent some time looking around just to see what I could find. Despite the winter weather, I have found that people are still disappearing. There was one just this last week up in Pennsylvania of a couple who were out cross country skiing. The guy came home alone and frantic because his fiance had disappeared over a hill. Her tracks just came to a stop and nothing. Search and rescue were called in, but as of yesterdays news they still haven't found anything.

This is not the time of year to get lost in the middle of nowhere, I just hope the lady is able to find shelter and supplies. If we're right, she'll be returned to her future groom soon enough, I just hope soon enough isn't too long.

I've found a couple of other similar reports, and now I'm feeling bad that we'd all allowed ourselves to get distracted by what's been going on here. It's all important, but people going missing is heartbreaking. And not that we're responsible, or that we could do anything about it, but it's like we're not even paying attention to it.

I don't know.

Max had asked if Sam and I still wanted to get together, but Sam mentioned having a lot of work to do at the shop and might have cancelled himself anyway. Since Sam was out too, Max said she should work on homework anyway.

I tried looking for more information on Jane Doe too, but didn't find anything. It seems a donation page was set up to help her with medical expenses and other immediate general needs, but there's nothing about how to get in contact with her. I was tempted to try and say something on the site itself, but felt awkward about doing so. There were a lot of well wishers, and even others that were asking to meet or inviting her to join them for various events. But there were no responses, only a note at the top saying that while the site was set up to help Jane, Jane herself didn't have anything to do with the site. That made me a little skeptical about what the money was actually going toward. Granted, if they were going to lie about it, they'd probably lie about who they were, so I hope this is going toward Jane. Still, not the place for me to try and make contact.

So back to square one. Hal was texting for a while, but I haven't heard from him in about three hours now. Awful long time to be meeting with Tim. I hope they're not getting in to trouble.

Nothing else I can do, so I'm going to go to bed.

January 12th, 2018

Today it just felt like I couldn't get anything done. I was up late last night thinking about how I might get into contact with Jane Doe. Really I just fretted about whatever conversation I might have with Hal should I accidentally ask him. I don't know why I'm so worried about it, or so focused on this, but I lost sleep to it last night.

So this morning I just couldn't keep up with Hal at the gym. He noticed and asked if everything was all right. All I could say was that I didn't get much sleep. Hal tried to pry a bit, but I just told him I didn't know why I couldn't sleep, just restless I guess.

Then at work we had a group come through that Karl forgot to mention to us and they came through my line. I started ringing them up like usual and they came down on me like a ton of bricks. They'd already paid a special group rate and couldn't believe I didn't have their group on file and on and on. Karl did show up, took responsibility, and apologized. But I was still getting looks from some of them as they passed by.

Hal did show up for lunch, but he was running behind because his class let out late, and so he was rushing through his meal while I was already having to clock in. I told him he could have just texted me and let me know, but he insisted that he wanted to be there. I appreciate it, but he was stressing out and I don't think it's healthy to eat that fast.

But since I was alone for the first half of my lunch, I tried to do some searching on my phone for articles about Jane Doe. I was hoping someone might have set up a contact number or something in case anyone recognized her photo or had any information. If they did I didn't find it.

The only break I had today was that after work Hal was waiting in the parking lot for me. The one class had run so long because they basically did their homework in class. And with the weekend coming up Hal could do the rest of his homework then. So he took me out to see the new Jumanji movie.

I'll admit it wasn't on my list of must see movies, but we enjoyed it. Jack Black did a great job playing a girl stuck in the body of an "overweight middle aged man." And I'm pleasantly surprised that they did what they did. There was a guy I was working with when I worked at the store. He'd pointed out that the first thing people are going to do, should they find themselves in a new body, would be to explore that new body. He asked the other guys, "You wake up to find yourself in a girls body, what's the first thing you're going to do?" They glanced at me and Angie and every one of them ashamedly avoided answering the question. And (I wish I could remember his name) so the guy pointedly turned to Angie and me and asked the same question, "You wake up in a boys body, what's the first thing you're going to do?" Angie didn't miss a beat, "masturbate" she answered.

It was funny at the time, but he was making the point that a lot of stories don't take advantage of that. Granted, Disney movies aren't going to go there, nor would any children's show/movie. Though some tease at it. I think it was one of the Scooby Doo movies that had a body swap moment and the girl forbid the guy to look down his (her) shirt.

Jumanji did well, remaining relatively careful of a youthful audience. They included a very appropriate scene that would otherwise never show up in any production. And having had that conversation, I was thrilled to see them go there. "It's like you're own little handle!" Every girl was laughing out loud in the theater. It was perfect!

So a good end to an otherwise unproductive day, but after last night I'm just exhausted. Hopefully my brain turns off tonight and lets me sleep.

January 11th, 2018

Today was a nice day, though I am worried about Candace. I think she's working outside as a way to avoid working on Eli's rooms. I don't think those rooms have been touched since last week. Candace caught me eyeing them when we first got back after the gym and she immediately grabbed the gloves she'd bought yesterday and tossed me a pair. Then we bundled up and went outside to work on her backyard.

I did mention that it seemed odd to be working on her garden this time of year, but she insisted that just because it's winter doesn't mean the garden is dead. She had gathered the leaves Sam had raked up during the fall and we were piling them over the tilled soil. Candace said it was like tucking the seeds in for a long night. They'd help protect the soil and seeds below during the winter and early spring while they sprouted. Then during the summer the leaves would provide nutrients for the soil and help feed the plants.

She had already done a lot of this on her own, so she had me mostly just finishing up a couple of places that she hadn't gotten too. While I did this she seemed to be checking the seeds, and the whole time she was talking to them. It was kinda sweet, though I wonder how lonely she gets here on her own.

It's been so cold and miserable lately, wet and windy, dark and cloudy. But working outside with Candace was in it's own way invigorating. Peaceful, hopeful. We kept busy, and that kept us warm, and the time flew by.

Hal stopped by around noon and brought lunch and some warm cider, which was perfect. Later I checked my phone out of curiosity and realized that Sam would be by soon for dinner. So we packed up, and cleaned up. Sam was running a bit late, but since Candace had bought groceries yesterday we were able to start working on dinner. When he did come in he complimented us on the smells.

And hot chocolate. Candace had me make that while she was working on dinner. She showed me what to add and how to do it. So good, and just perfect after the long day outside.

During dinner, Candace brought up meeting Jane Doe. She and Sam had been talking about it and Candace wanted to meet Jane. Sam said he was okay with it, and he'd like to know how it'd go. The question now is, how do we go meet her? Guess I've got a new project to work on.

Since it was a Thursday, Hal had his lab. So Sam gave me a ride home and thanked me again for everything I've done. I've got work tomorrow but I should see Hal in the morning and at lunch. I want to ask him what I might do to find Jane Doe, but that might lead into a conversation about why we want to meet her. So I'll have to do that alone.

January 10th, 2018

How awesome would it be to have a job in which your boss leaves you alone, cancels appointments, and you still get paid? I mean, I know it'd be frustrating to make plans and then at the last minute have those plans cancelled. But to end up doing nothing and still be paid for it, wouldn't that be nice?

Hal doesn't seem to think so. He picked me up this morning and we grabbed Candace on the way to the gym. He spent the whole time complaining about a dreaded meeting with Tim this afternoon, which was why he was saying he wouldn't be able to get together with me tonight. But I guess Tim's been even more distracted of late. Hal said he hasn't even been going to visit the tree like normal. Hal has no clue what Tim's been up to, all he knows is that Tim's not been doing anything at all.

And I get it, it'd have been nice to have some heads up for tonight 'cause then he could've gotten me and we could've gone to a movie or something. Hal had gotten all his homework done so that he could meet with Tim. So his evening was open. But Tim didn't call until an hour after he was supposed to show up and by then I was already eating with the folks.

Anyway, after our workout, Hal dropped Candace and I off at the store so we could run our chores and he went to class. And yea, I did say our chores. Candace seems to be trying to take a more active role in taking care of herself now. She's still using Sam's card, but I guess if she doesn't have any other income anyway...

So we did some grocery shopping. She seemed overly perplexed by the selection of foods, the way they were priced, what difference there was between brands and on and on. I didn't have any good answers for her, which didn't satisfy her at all. So she just went on and on about it. Maybe that's why Sam does the shopping?

She wanted to buy everything, but I told her she'd have to carry everything she bought. She finally trimmed it down to two bags. I felt so bad for the carry out's that'd have to return the items.

Fortunately I didn't have many more stops to make, and nothing was frozen. The only other stop Candace wanted to make was to get a couple pairs of gloves. She's still trying to work in her garden, so gloves for her and me. When we got back to Candace's place she used some of what she'd grabbed to make a fruity sweet bread that was better than donuts. They were fantastic. I helped and I still couldn't say how she did it. Fantastic treat though.

But I couldn't stay at her place, I had laundry to do and will be back tomorrow anyway. And it appears I'll have to dress warm if we're going to be working in Candace's garden. I thought we'd be working on Eli's rooms a bit more. I don't know.

Today though was Efe's birthday, and we didn't get a call from him. Don't know what's going on, but he's not always able to call. So hopefully everything's alright and we hear from him soon. I wonder if he's gotten his package yet?

January 9th, 2018

I spent yesterday recapping what we'd seen on the news and forgot to mention work almost entirely. Not that it was hard to do, we had almost no visitors. Which considering the events was understandable. Today was about the same, and even those visitors who had come in were surprised to find we were open. No one thought to call ahead to see if we were open, they just showed up.

What it comes down to is that there's not a whole lot to say about today. News has been full of speculation about who the deer head guy is, and even the media is questioning how appropriate it is to call him a hero. Strangely the only people who seem to insist on calling him a hero are animal rights groups. I guess it's not that strange. I'm just thinking of the clear line between those who are pro-tree versus those who are burn it down!

Hal visited for lunch, he's enjoying his new classes. But he's already got a ton of homework. He's acting apologetic about me coming over only to have his face in a book, it's like he's already forgotten that we had agreed to work through it together. Either way, he had lab tonight, so I had to take the bus home.

Mom and Dad gave me a hard time, as though they hadn't seen me in ages. Dad said something about renting my room out. I'm glad he's handling it well.

Chores tomorrow, Candace wants to join me. It'll be nice to have some company.

January 8th, 2018

Woke up this morning to Max frantically texting me to turn on the news. When I did I found out that last night there had been another incident at the tree. I mostly let it play in the background while I got around for the day, but it seems a group of inciters tried to scare away the crows that had been guarding the tree.

Hal came to pick me up to go to the gym this morning, just in time for me to have another dizzy spell. A week since the last one.

Anyway, going to the gym with Hal allowed us to talk about the news a bit. No one seems to be taking credit for what happened, and the inciters weren't wearing the Guy Fawkes masks as has been done before. Though they were wearing ski masks, much more appropriate for the winter. It was rather disturbing, and of course lots of people got cell phone pictures and video's.

The attackers came prepared for the crows, shotguns were employed though later reports claimed only salt pelt was used. Still, it did a number on the crows, which is what was so disturbing about it all. Nets were also used to try and catch the crows, which were not as successful as they might seem. For good or ill, considering they were shooting the crows I'm scared to think what would've happened to the crows that were caught.

What makes the report that much more interesting though, and why Max was frantic about letting us know, was that the new local hero showed up. And with all the cell phone video's, we've not gotten a very good public view. Whoever this person is, they are brutal. They didn't appear to use any weapons, but they weren't against picking things up and using those items. In fact at one point an inciter had thrown a net over the hero, which at first caused issues 'cause it caught in the antlers of their mask. But the mask must be on rather well 'cause nothing was dragged off. Once the hero got untangled from the net, they proceeded to bundle the net up like a think rope and was using it to bludgeon the inciters who were attacking them. And the hero was strong to, later they lifted one of the inciters and threw the inciter into a group of his fellows.

I've been avoiding using any gendered terms 'cause with the mask and costume there's no way to know for sure. But with the way they were moving around and fighting, we got a good look under the cloak. As dark as things were, and only cell phone video quality, we can't make out what they're wearing. It doesn't look like they're wearing any body armor, but the clothing is relatively loose, so they might have on a kevlar vest or something. It's still possible this person might be female, after all she could be about as well endowed as I am, but most likely they're a guy. So until I learn better, he it is.

I also keep saying he's a hero, or using that label. I've only been doing it because that's how he was introduced to us. But I'm not sure I can call him that in all honesty. Especially not after seeing him break one of the inciters legs. Not even incidentally, he used the net to trap a guy and then purposely broke the guys leg against one of the barriers that had been put up around the tree.

And lets not forget about the shotguns the inciters had brought. They did turn them on the deer mask guy, but his cloak must be pretty thick. The way it moved it seemed heavy, like it was made of jean or even leather. He did take one shot to the chest, which only seemed to piss him off. After that he was pretty good about pulling the cloak between himself and any more shots and hiding his face. He got a hold of one of the shotguns and broke the stock over the inciters back.

By then the inciters were already getting the clue that they shouldn't stick around much longer. While the two were dragged away the rest fled.

Anyway, it was over pretty quickly. What was most interesting was that before the deer mask guy left too, and we could already hear sirens in the videos, he approached the tree and bowed to the tree. What crows remained seemed to perch in the trees branches, or on the ledges of nearby buildings. And I don't think anyone saw the crow with the silver bar across it's chest. Granted, it was after the sun had gone down, so there wasn't much light to reflect. So it may have been there, or may not. The intersection looks like a battlefield, but the only bodies are crows.

We watched the videos later after Hal had picked me up from work. It didn't take many before I felt like I'd seen enough. Hal was paying close attention to the deer mask guy. He said something about not noticing any limp or anything for having been hit by a car just a few days ago.

News reports later in the day said police had caught up with a couple of the inciters from last night. They had gone to a couple of hospitals to have their wounds tended to. A broken leg, and a broken rib bone on the back side. Reports are they'd gone to different hospitals thinking it wouldn't raise any flags. The guy with the broken rib was lucky his lung hadn't been pierced.

I can't help but think of Sam's warnings. I doubt he knew any of this was going to happen, but he really seems to have known something would happen. I'm glad I wasn't there, for the riots or anything. But I'm starting to think I should have listened to him after all. I still don't like how he's handling this, just telling us not to go without any explanation. And now I want an explanation. I think this next conspiracy dinner I'll have to take advantage of having the others around me, and confront him about it. But I think I'll also avoid the tree from now on.

January 7th, 2018

I'm a little sad knowing that Hal's vacation has come to an end. The new semester starts tomorrow and he's got class early, so he can't stay up any later than I can. He also won't be back at the museum, his intern project was completed and there's no reason for him to repeat it. He wasn't earning much money, so he'd need to spend his time getting another job anyway, were it not for his new position with the Illuminati. He did say that'll make things easier, and since his job is to go to school, he'll have more time not needed to work. Which is nice for him. But he'll be up early enough that he can come get me and we can hit the gym together in the mornings. And he specifically made sure to keep an hour free around the time I'd normally take my lunch. So I should see him regularly then. He's got a lab in the evenings though, Tuesdays and Thursdays so I won't see him then. But the rest of the week I might be able to help him with homework or whatever. Be good for me.

He had stopped by for lunch and let me know his schedule and how that'd effect our chances to see each other. And after work he picked me up and brought me to his place where we discussed how we'll make things work.

I got to meet his new roommate too. Simon was his name, and he was pretty preoccupied.

When Simon took off to get his own dinner, Hal took the chance to talk about Sam. He said he'd had some time to think about it. He agrees that Sam has another motive, and is certainly curious what Sam knows and how. But he did say that whatever the motive was, it at least seems to include keeping us safe. He thinks that's a good thing at least, and were he to think that wasn't the case he'd immediately want us to break ties with Sam. But since Sam seems to be protective, even if overly so, maybe we can use that to stay close and potentially learn what Sam's motive is.

Personally I think the Illuminati's cloak and dagger is rubbing off on Hal, and that concerns me. But it seems to be a solid thought process. Besides, whatever intent he has for us, safe or not, I'm concerned about the sway he has over Candace. I'm with Hal on trying to learn Sam's motives, because I want to know what it has to do with her.