Requested by @Ali_4_later

Request status- OPEN (10/22/15)

-Fandom: Marble Hornets-
-Character: Alex Kralie-

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Static.

Pure, blinding, deafening static.

That's all Y/N could comprehend as she clutched her head, barely feeling the dry, dead leaves crumbled beneath her figure. Her brain seemed to pulsate against her skull, throbbing painfully with each erratic heartbeat. She struggled to stay awake, her legs flailing wildly as she tried desperately to stand without removing her hands from their places- pressed firmly against either of her temples. Try as she might to resist, Y/N soon succumbed to the darkness that awaited her with open arms, the pain fading with her last shreds of consciousness.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Hours Earlier~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Jay, you can't be serious!" Y/N cried, shocked at the man's previous statement. "We CAN'T go back in there! You know what's lurking in those woods!"

"And everywhere else, Y/N! What difference does it make?" Jay replied, adjusting his grip on the camera in his hand.

"Then why do you want to go back in there so bad? Huh?" the woman argued. Jay opened his mouth to speak, but Y/N cut him off. "No. If it doesn't matter, then why are you so eager to get back in there? Look, maybe we should just forget all of this, maybe Alex was right-"

"Right? How?" Now it was Jay's turn to cut her off. "How could you possibly think that Alex was right? He's killing people, Y/N! How is that right?" Jay's anger was clear, but Y/N's was, too.

"I didn't say that!" she retorted, glaring at her companion. "I just mean that maybe he was right about forgetting all of this, letting it go. About the fact that, the further we dig, the more people get involved."

Jay shook his head. "We have to get to the bottom of this, Y/N. We have to figure out what happened to Alex."

"The only thing I have to do is get home. I'm done, Jay. I'm done." With that, Y/N turned and started away, back towards the parking lot.

"Y/N!" She could hear Jay calling after her, telling her to come back, telling her how dangerous it was to go alone.

She ignored him.

She got in her car, jammed the key into the ignition, and drove home. She didn't stop to question herself. She didn't look back.

And now she wished she had.

She wished she'd seen Jay turn and walk into the woods alone. She wished she'd turned her car around. She wished she'd gone in with him. Maybe then she wouldn't be back here in the dead of night, searching for him because he wasn't answering his phone, and, according to Tim, he had never come home- or, as close to a home as the motel could possibly be. Maybe then she wouldn't be writhing on the ground in pain as the faceless man hovered over her.

Maybe then, she'd remember.

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"Y/N... Y/N, hey! Wake up, c'mon!" E/C eyes blinked open as whoever was speaking broke into a coughing fit. Moving to sit up, Y/N quickly realized that that was not going to happen, squeezing her eyes shut as her head throbbed, sending a burst of pain through her cranium. The other person finished with a short, sputtering cough, breathing heavily. "Y/N.." they started, but she cut them off by blindly throwing her arm out and waving it around for a few seconds until her palm connected lightly with something that felt like skin. Her other hand remained firmly on her temple. Whoever was speaking seemed to understand, because they didn't speak again until she Y/N opened her eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the light. "Y/N?" The person, now identified by Y/N as a male by his voice, said her name softly, almost hesitantly. Y/N looked at him, her eyes widening as she realized that she didn't recognize him. She moved to sit up, the pain having mostly subsided by this point.

"H-how do you know my name?" she demanded, scooting away from him.

"Y/N, it's me! Tim?" Y/N peered at him through narrowed eyes. Dark hair, noticeable sideburns, red flannel shirt, a deep, brown eyed gaze that held obvious concern- and lack of sleep... "You.. You look familiar." Tim smiled a little.

"Of course I do, we've known each other for three years."

Y/N shrugged. "I don't remember you. You just look familiar. Sorry."

Tim's face fell. "What DO you remember?" he asked before coughing several times.

"I.. I remember my name... my age, my birthday..." Y/N trailed off.

"Anything.. else?" Tim pressed. The woman shook her head.

"No. Just that." Tim sighed, glancing around.

"Alright, well, we have to get you out of here." He stood, offering a hand to Y/N. She stared at it for a moment before taking it and allowing the man to pull her up.

They had only taken a few steps before Y/N's foot connected with something other than the dead leaves littering the floor of the woods. Curious, she let go of Tim's hand, crouching down to move some of the leaves aside. Tim looked around, almost nervously. "What the.." Y/N took hold of the object, turning it over in her hands. The camera was a small, handheld one. On the bottom, in silver sharpie, were Y/N's first and last initials. "This is.. MY camera."

"Great, you found your camera. Now let's get the hell out of here." Tim's voice was strained, as if he was trying to stay calm. Y/N stood, giving Tim a confused look.

"T-" He cut her off, his gaze suddenly snapping over to the area directly behind Y/N, a look of pure terror coming to his face. He reached over and grabbed Y/N's arm. "We have to go. NOW!" Tim stated as he took off, dragging Y/N behind him. Y/N stumbled, attempting to keep up with Tim. "Tim! Tim, wait!" she yelled, clutching her camera in her free hand. Tim's hand had slipped down her arm, and now he held her hand in a death-grip as he dragged her through the trees. "Tim!" Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her leg as she tripped over a tree root. Had it not been for Tim's iron grip on her hand, Y/N would've fallen flat on her face. "T-Tim!" she cried out, tears pricking her eyes as she was forced to put weight on her newly injured foot to keep up. The man didn't reply, continuing his mad dash through the trees with Y/N in tow.

By the time they reached the parking lot and stopped running, both were out of breath and Y/N could barely feel her foot; the pain had numbed it. Neither person spoke for a good five minutes, both being too preoccupied with catching their breath to formulate words in any way, shape, or form. Tim burst into a coughing fit, his hand frantically searching for his jeans pocket before reaching in and pulling out a bright orange pill bottle. He struggled to open it, quickly tipping it to acquire a white capsule. Tim popped the pill into his mouth, swallowing it between bouts of coughing- obviously, he'd done this several times before. Gradually, his coughing ceased, leaving the man panting, his chest heaving, his legs shaking from the effort of holding his shuddering, exhausted body upright.

Y/N just stood there, watching the man as she caught her own breath. She looked back in the direction they'd come from. Seeing nothing but trees, she glared at Tim. "What was THAT all about?" she demanded. Tim didn't answer, simply holding her gaze. "Tim!" Y/N snapped. When he still didn't answer, the woman sighed, running a hand through her H/L, H/C hair, pulling leaves and other debris from the locks in the process.

"You alright?" Tim finally asked, looking back towards the woods as he put the pill bottle back in his pocket. Y/N hesitated.

"Well, besides the fact that I can't feel anything from my right knee down, I think so."

Tim glanced at Y/N's leg, pulling his car keys from his pocket. "Well, let's get you home so you can ice your foot or whatever it is you hurt." Y/N nodded, taking a step towards the nearest car and wincing. Tim rolled his eyes, looping her arm over his shoulders and helping her to the other car; there were only two in the entire parking lot. They sat in silence until they reached Y/N's house/apartment/hotel.

Somehow, Y/N managed to remember which key/room was hers.

Tim helped her get settled in, then he left, giving Y/N a simple 'take care of yourself' before closing the door behind him.

He should've stayed. He should have tried to help her remember.

But Tim didn't.

So he did.

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Y/N was scared. Very scared.

Even though he told her not to be.
Even though he looked familiar.

"You really don't remember anything, do you?" Y/N shook her head, warily eyeing the gun he held in his hand as she cowered in the corner of her room. She had iced her ankle, and it had been feeling better. But now it throbbed lightly at all of the pressure that was being put on it.

The man eyed her, the suspicion in his brown eyes fading. "It's only a matter of time..." he murmured, seemingly more to himself than to her. "I'll help you remember." He lowered the gun, offering her his free hand. Y/N looked at it, not moving. "C'mon, I'm your friend. You don't even remember me?" Y/N shook her head. Something of a grin crossed his face. "Well, you can trust me." Y/N searched his face as she spoke.

"If you're my friend, why did you hold a gun to my head."

The man sighed softly. "I'll explain everything. I promise."

Y/N searched his face for any sign of deception. Seeing none, she tentatively took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She stood on her good one. "Alright..." she trailed off, not being able to remember the man's name. He smiled.

"Alex."

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"So, what you're telling me... is that there's this thing. Hunting us down. And the more people know about it, the more it spreads." Alex nodded.

"More or less. It's really spread through contact. If someone is infected, and they hang around with uninfected people a lot, then the uninfected people eventually become infected. Once you've seen it, you're infected."

"Ok. And this thing; it's the reason I can't remember anything?" Another nod. "And you're trying to stop it from spreading? But Tim and.. Jay? Jay. They're trying to stop you? Because you kill people. But you say it's the only way to keep it from spreading?"

"Otherwise, those who are infected will inevitably spread it. The only way to prevent that is to keep them away from everyone else- which is impossible to accomplish outside of death." Alex explained, his voice strained; he was obviously getting impatient with Y/N, but he was trying to be polite. Y/N nodded.

"Well, if that's the only way, then why are Jay and Tim trying to stop you? Don't they want it to stop spreading, too?" she asked, H/C eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"They're convinced that there's another way. They refuse to listen to reason."

"Is there another way?"

"No. Abslutely not. Believe me. I've tried."

Y/N frowned. "Well.... If you're trying to stop it from spreading... Why are you telling me?" Alex, who had been watching her this whole time, gave her a little shrug.

"It was only a matter of time before you started to remember on your own. I just wanted to make sure you remembered properly. Besides, you're already infected."

Y/N bit her bottom lip. "I am?"

Alex nodded. "And so am I. Which is why, once I've gotten rid of everyone else who's infected... I plan to take my own life. That's how this war works. If there's someone left, you have to kill them... And then kill yourself."

Y/N's frowned deepened. "But why couldn't you just stay away from everyone else?"

"Because there's still the chance that I'll happen to come in contact with someone and start this whole cycle again. There's no way to prevent long-term contact with at least one person." Alex stared up at the ceiling. Y/N nodded.

"It makes sense, I guess...." Alex nodded as well. "But... what about me?"

Alex looked at her. "Same goes for you. Thing is, I can't do this on my own."

Y/N raised an eyebrow. "Y-you want me to help you?" she asked in disbelief. Alex gave a short nod. "Alex, I don't... Killing people isn't really... I.." Alex placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Y/N. I can't end this alone. And you're the only one on my side about it. Every one else thinks I'm crazy."

Y/N's E/C eyes connected with Alex's brown. For a brief moment, a memory appeared in Y/N's mind. A memory of this same man, this Alex, pulling her to her feet after she'd tripped and fallen. She didn't know when this had happened, or even why, but she remembered him. He was a friend. He'd helped her then, and he had helped her remember now.

Now it was time for her to return the favor.

"I don't think you're crazy..." Y/N murmured.

Alex cocked his head slightly. "What?"

"I said you're not crazy." Y/N repeated.

"Really?"

Y/N nodded. "I'll help you."

A grin stretched across Alex's face. "Great."

Y/N smiled, holding out her hand. "Partners?"

Alex looked at her hand for a moment before taking it in his own, slightly larger one and giving it a gentle shake. Y/N's face warmed at this.

"Partners."