Alicia the Owl

First off, I made a mistake in my last post. I had explicitly said that I would not be revealing any names. Yet I revealed both my own and Alicia's name. Just more proof that I'm an idiot I guess.

Secondly, according to Alicia the guy that attacked me belongs to a gang/cult called the Timberwolves. So when my mother's text mentioned a wolf, that's probably what she was talking about. Specifically the same timberwolf that attacked me. Unless their cult happen to all share the same van or something.

Which begs the question, how did my mother know what a timberwolf even was? Also what does the rest of the message mean? I still have no idea.

With that out of the way, back to where I left off in my last post.

I did eventually manage to let go of Alicia's hand. Only after I had melted into an amorphous blob out of embarrassment. With her hand now free she went over to the timberwolf and tied him up. Just in case he'd wake up.

She then asked why I was even there at night in the middle of what was apparently timberwolf territory. So I told her the whole story. Even the part where I was about to break into the van. At which point she held up a set of keys and gave it a jingle. “Well, guess what I found in this creeps pockets.” We used the keys to get into the van and started looking around. I looked for clues about my mother. I'm not sure what Alicia was looking for.

We found a laptop but it needed a password. So we didn't get anything out of it. After looking around the entire van we found a folder with a bunch of files in them. Most of them were profiles of people. Some were crossed over, all of them had pictures of the people they were about. I was hoping to find one on my mother. Instead I found a file with my picture. I was instantly creeped out. Even more so when I saw that they used my deadname on the file.

Seriously you can be an evil cult and not be bigoted assholes too.

All of these files had a weird symbol on them. It looked like an upside down octopus or something? Alicia said she had seen it on an oathbreaker once. I recognized the word “oathbreaker” from when the timberwolf mentioned it. I told Alicia about this and asked what an oathbreaker was.

According to her they're another cult similar to the timberwolves but based around disease and illness. While the timberwolves are more of a death god cult apparently. Why would anyone even worship any of those things?

Alicia seemed concerned about the possibility of these two cults working together. Which I guess I can understand. Evil cults working together can never be a good thing, probably.

We then finished looking through the van and Alicia locked the timberwolf inside. She then threw the keys into a nearby sewer hole. She then started walking away. I wasn't sure what to do next so I just followed her.

While we were walking I realized I still had no idea where my mother could be. So I asked Alicia if she knew any way I could get more information. She turned to me and said: “You've got that blog right? Maybe the people who read that know something?”

I sighed. “My blog only has like three or four people who read it probably. If any at all.”

She shrugged. “You'd be surprised. There used to be a large community of blogs by people like us. I'm sure a handful of them are still around.”

“Really? I'll give it a try then.” To be honest I don't think it will work but if you're out there and you know anything that can help, I'd appreciate a comment or something. Anything can help. Maybe you know what my mothers message meant? Maybe you know what the octopus symbol on those files was? Maybe you've even heard of that Dr. Slager the timberwolf mentioned? Please, let me know.

“If that doesn't work there's always the Archive. If you're willing to take the risk.” Alicia said as she walked up to an old car.

“What's the Archive and what risk?” I asked, still following her for some reason.

“The Archive is another one of those cults. They are the go to place for Information about these things though. They're like a hybrid between creepy libraries and information brokers.The risk is that they might be working with the people you want information on. In which case they are not going to be friendly. Also their information isn't free and the price can sometimes be something you'd rather not pay.”

“That sounds dangerous and ominous.”

“It is.”

If I had been told about the Archive a week ago I would have gone to them in a heartbeat. But after nearly being killed by that timberwolf guy.. I was having my doubts. Even so I figured I'd at least ask where to find this Archive in case I do decide to take the risk.

“So if I wanted to contact this Archive place.. Where could I find them?”

Alicia sighed. “How about this: Since you're extremely new to this and frankly you're already too deep in this shit to get back out even if you wanted to.. Which means you would probably not survive for long by yourself. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“Also if I just left you alone now I'd probably never forgive myself. So I suggest this. I'll take you to the nearest Archive library. After that when we get the information you need I'll stick around. At least until we find your mother or you learn to take care of yourself in this fucked up world you've gotten into.” She opened the car door and gestured for me to get in.

This of course was an offer I just couldn't say no to. Maybe I'm a bit too quick to trust this woman. And maybe Its because I have a crush on her but that's not important. What's important is that I no longer need to do this alone. I might not be able to find my mother by myself but with Alicia's help? I think it could be possible.