Caspar does just that. Within seconds, the video begins playing.
At first, there is a long stretch of silence, the dolls on the screen unmoving, as if patiently waiting for the game to begin.
Then the show's host speaks. And Adia squirms uncomfortably. Because that is Josh's voice. Not his real voice, but the distorted one he used when he first spoke with her. It's ominous, it's... sadistic. This isn't some innocent trivia show she had initially assumed. It'd dark and macabre.
But they're just dolls. Right? Avatars for the real contestants? Except in his journal, Josh had written about what he was attempting to do with those dolls...
She watches the whole thing, clearly disturbed but not quite convinced. Okay, maybe Josh is more off-balance than she assumed. His emotions are clearly coming from a dark place. His feelings for her are borderline obsessed. But... a murderer?
Then Harley shows her the picture of the persian.
She has seen this cat before. And all at once, she remembers where.
Her stalker. The tableau of death he created for her during the Khan invasion. His shadowy outline on the laptop screen, grilling her about her willingness to care for others.
And one smug, cat-like pokémon.
Paling to ghost-white, Adia brings her hands up to her mouth in horror. "No no no, she whimpers, her voice soft and strangled. No, no. He can't be. He can't be.
"Adia." Caspar has his hands on her shoulders, staring at her worriedly. He expected her to be upset, but he's never seen her this terrified. "Adia. Adia, talk to me. What is it?"
Her eyes shut, like she might cry. "It's him. He's..."
Caspar is clueless. Adia never told him about her stalker. His eyes wide and desperate, he looks to Harley for help.
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Date: 2018-02-12 05:00 pm (UTC)At first, there is a long stretch of silence, the dolls on the screen unmoving, as if patiently waiting for the game to begin.
Then the show's host speaks. And Adia squirms uncomfortably. Because that is Josh's voice. Not his real voice, but the distorted one he used when he first spoke with her. It's ominous, it's... sadistic. This isn't some innocent trivia show she had initially assumed. It'd dark and macabre.
But they're just dolls. Right? Avatars for the real contestants? Except in his journal, Josh had written about what he was attempting to do with those dolls...
She watches the whole thing, clearly disturbed but not quite convinced. Okay, maybe Josh is more off-balance than she assumed. His emotions are clearly coming from a dark place. His feelings for her are borderline obsessed. But... a murderer?
Then Harley shows her the picture of the persian.
She has seen this cat before. And all at once, she remembers where.
Her stalker. The tableau of death he created for her during the Khan invasion. His shadowy outline on the laptop screen, grilling her about her willingness to care for others.
And one smug, cat-like pokémon.
Paling to ghost-white, Adia brings her hands up to her mouth in horror. "No no no, she whimpers, her voice soft and strangled. No, no. He can't be. He can't be.
"Adia." Caspar has his hands on her shoulders, staring at her worriedly. He expected her to be upset, but he's never seen her this terrified. "Adia. Adia, talk to me. What is it?"
Her eyes shut, like she might cry. "It's him. He's..."
Caspar is clueless. Adia never told him about her stalker. His eyes wide and desperate, he looks to Harley for help.