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The upshot of such terrible news is that I’m secreted
away on this roof while Mr. Grey meets with some of his
would-be victims—and quite possibly, the killer that will
finally clip him. Provided the monster doesn’t rip him to
pieces first, of course.
I’m not sure how I’d feel about that, Mr. Grey getting
himself murdered. He’s a decent enough guy. He lets me
stay up late, eat all the junk food I want, he even buys me
gifts. Why, just last week he bought me an antique writing
set—it even came with a fancy-ass quill pen. But, like most
things my captor does, there was purpose behind his actions.
“Your penmanship often appears like squirming insects
curling and sprawling about the fine pages I’ve provided you
to write upon. This just won’t do, I’m afraid. You see, writing
is the art of trapping thoughts on paper—laying them to rest,
if you will. The shape of a letter can reveal much about the
writer, even beyond the content of his words. You have the
fine job of preserving my thoughts, and I should not want to
give the impression that I would take on the services of an
indelicate penman. So, I’ve gifted you with this calligraphy
set in the hopes of improving your ability to properly lay my
thoughts within their delicate white graves.”
I was never one for cursive writing, let alone calligraphy,
but what the hell, right? I gave it a shot, and it turns out
I’m not too bad at it. I like it, in fact. Mr. Grey was right,
the shape and style of the handwritten word lends a distinct
sophistication to the content being written, even transposing
that elegance to the writer’s thoughts themselves. Pretty
cool, don’t you think?
I can see Mr. Grey down there in the courtyard, his cane-
sword gripped casually in his left hand. He lit a small fire
just outside the broken entrance to the church, to signal his
location. Not a great move if you ask me, but he seems to
know what he’s doing. This gathering was arranged entirely
within the collective dream the killers all share, so I’m
curious if anyone shows. If someone does pop up, it’ll be
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