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Ok, walk me through the situation again.
So, basically. He's my ex-best-friends ex-boyfriend.
And this isn't some "enemy of my enemy is my friend" type of situation, right? You all just hate each-other.
I mean, hate is definitely a strong word, but basically yeah.
... god, maybe I was right about this recluse stuff. That sounds exhausting. A losing situation for everyone involved.
I'm completely justified! I told her she's bad for him, but she just keeps going back. I mean, he literally cut her brakes! I'm not in the wrong for hating him.
He- I- uh- what?? He cut her brakes?? Actually? By God, that's... wow, that's uh. A lot. We should- um- start the statement now.Statement of Bowie Davies, regarding the trip to and from picking up his ex-best-friends - Emma Matthews - ex-boyfriend, Chase Dimatulac, drunk from the side of the road after a party. Original statement taken November 21st, 2023, direct from subject by Amber Mclean, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, Canada. Statement begins.[Bowie] Alright, a few days ago this kid in my Practical Applications of Physical Activity, Chase Dimatulac, called me in the middle of this party to pick him up from a curb a few kilometr-[Amber] The start, please. Background information, and all that.[Bowie] Oh, yeah yeah. I got you girl, don't worry about it. So, I go to Wawanakwa County University. It's just at the bottom of Wayward Street, directly next to the shutdown shopping centre. It's not... the best school, to say the least, but it's the closest one to my house. It's not like people hate me or anything, I just really, really, don't wanna do dorm rooms, y’know? I'm working on an athlete scholarship, which means most of the classes I take are centred around that type of stuff. Most of my classes have like, 16 people in them max. It's not exactly the biggest school ever, so most people who have classes together know each-other. Which then spirals into everyone at least kinda knowing each-other, even if it's just their name or their friends. There are still kids who are really well known, however.Saying that I'm one of them might be a bit egotistical, but it's true! Everyone at that school has at least heard of me, same with my now-ex best friend; Emma Matthews. She's doing a veterinary course, which has more people than you might expect in it. Though most people know her through her... ex? I think it's still ex, but with them theres really no way to know. Her probably-ex boyfriend, Chase. He's this like, somewhat famous YouTuber. Makes shitty little prank videos with two friends who are both, like, 10 years older than him and about 5 times as famous. Lives in his own house and everything; really fancy too, one of the expensive as fuck beach houses directly facing the boardwalk. In my opinion, he's a piece of shit who just managed to get lucky. That's a biased opinion though, based off of what Emma has told me. Not sure how much I trust her opinion on him anymore, but he literally cut her fucking brakes! You agreed with me, that's insane behaviour! An actual crime.Anyway, you'd have a hard time finding someone from that school that didn't know Chase. He's one of the most extroverted guys I've ever met. One conversation with him, and you knew basically everything about him. He's an open book. I mean, I thought he was. Either way, all of us are basically known by everyone. Which is actually really nice; it's difficult to feel lonely when you have about 100 phone numbers. They're still just numbers, though, and that's the thing. You can know hundreds of people, thousands even, but if you don't really care about them, what's the point? I've got a good handful of people that I care about. My boyfriend, my friends, my mum, people I actually know and who actually know me. If you were to ask me, which you are, Chase just... doesn't have anyone like that. He’s an everyman. I guess he has his friends from the beach house, but in the few interactions I've had with them, they were more just together for the sake of content rather than being genuinely friends. Him and Emma have been... together and apart and together again for about 3 years, but neither of them know each-other that well. I doubt they even know each-others favourite colour, honestly.I've heard that he has this weird type of almost romantic situationship with another dude called Ripper, but that might just be some stupid gossip. I've never actually met this "Ripper" guy and I'm pretty sure he doesn't exist. It's a stupid name, anyway. Think people just wanna make shit up.Being known by everyone comes with its perks. For example, you'll always find someone willing to give you their lecture notes. Sometimes people will spot your lunch, if they're feeling really nice. And you get invited to every single party. Like, genuinely. I don't think there's been a single party I haven't been invited too. I go to most of them, I'm always a sucker for a party. Thrown a few of my own, actually, on weekends when my parents are away. They're mostly fine, I think the worst thing that's happened has been a few instances of cheating. …Now that I'm thinking about it, I think Chase might've been involved in one before, but I can't really remember. After a certain point, I've been tuning everything out about that guy. Anyway, a few days ago this kid, Daniel Summers, was throwing a party with his older sister and her boyfriend. No clue about their names, sorry. It was about thirty minutes away from Wawanakwa, in a proper costal town. Sure, technically, Wawanakwa is a coastal town, but it's not really, yknow? This town felt like a beach town.The road between the towns, Lost Man's Road, was pretty long, but everyone just sped through it because it was super backroad. Like, basically no-one took it unless you were going between the towns, and most ppl just took the underground railway system because it's easier. Hella empty. People sped through it so fast that this one group showed up with blood splattered across their windshield. Apparently, they hit a deer really hard. Like, really hard. Said it exploded into pieces. I don't think I believed them; pretty sure they were high. They definitely hit something pretty hard though, that much was obvious. Party was an absolute rager. I barely saw Dan, think he was busy with something-or-another, but his sister's boyfriend? That guy can throw one hell of a party. He's a riot; I've seen him around town before, he’s a spokesman for a handful of brands, I think.Emma wasn't at the party. It's not like she hates them or anything - they're not her favourite, though - but her and Chase were definitely broken up at this point, and she really didn't wanna see him. I asked her about the party, after this all happened, and she said that she hadn't heard anything from him. Instead, a mutual friend of theirs, Zee, told her he would be there. Got absolutely no clue what that dudes actual name is. He probably doesn't know himself. I didn't see Chase for the entire party. Like, anywhere. Which is weird, because he's the most obnoxious man you'll ever meet. Even if you try to avoid him, you'll see him doing some stupid self-centred fuckery. Basically guaranteed that he'll pull some shit. Especially to me, he's like constantly bugging me about Emma. Something about me knowing how to get them back together. If you ask me, they shouldn't be allowed without 25 feet of each-other. Both of them seem to think otherwise, though. Which is why I don't like either of them. Not a losing situation when I don't have to put up with bullshit anymore-[Amber] Yes, yes. I understand the situation now. My apologies for not being great at understanding your... messy, to say the least, situation. My bad.[Bowie] Wow, you really didn't have to be so passive aggressive. I kinda dig it through, the professional anger. Not directed towards me though.Anyway. He was just gone for the whole party. Didn't care at all. If anything, the less I saw of that guy the better! He was a massive cunt, just incredibly annoying. Better off without him. It wasn't until like, the very end of the party, that I even heard from him. The party wasn't exactly over, but most everyone had left and the few that passed out drunk were starting to wake up. The fading period, yknow? I always tried to at least help people pack up. It's just a good thing to do, and my tolerance is through the roof, so I'm always sober enough to help. Around that time, I got a call in from Chase. Which was weird, the last time we texted was when he needed me to pick Emma up from his house because she forgot her phone and had soccer practise to go to, which was like 5 months ago. She was lying, by the way, she just wanted to leave. We had never called, I don't think, so there was no reason why he should've called. Also no reason why I should've picked up.Don't remember the exact details, but he said something about being along the road to the party, walking up beside the road in a ditch, his clothes being soaked through with mud. He said that he just needed to be picked up. Said that he was scared. Scared that it would find him. That it would get him again. He was clearly out of it. There's no way that he would ever admit to being scared while sober, and the whole... "it" thing. Kind of freaked me out, but I just assumed he was high and scared. He's not normally the type of guy to get paranoid, but it was always a possibility. Plus, what other explanation was there? Some dangerous otherworldly being hunting you down is hardly the ramblings of a sober man.When I tried asking him what he was going on about, he completely dodged the question. Kept saying he didn't want to get dragged down again. That he just needed me to pick him up immediately. Again, absolutely no clue why he called me. The group I had driven down already caught a ride home with other people, so I was able to leave with just myself. Said some quick goodbyes and took off. I drove just under the speed limit on the road, so it took me about 20 minutes to reach the first turn-off. The reason Lost Man's Road is so abandoned is because it was the road that led off to all of the factories, but once they all shut down because of the fire it became basically useless. There were about 4 turn-offs into the different entryways into the factories.I don't know the names of all the factories, but I know the first road lead to the meat factory. Yknow, the place where they kill off animals to be turned into meat? The second the fire started it had become entirely abandoned. Apparently, you could still find animal bones and rotting cow corpses. Absolutely rancid, but a handful of people explored the abandoned factories as a hobby, so a lot of that had been stripped down. The second was some drink company, if I'm remembering correctly. Then a car company, then you got to the burnt factories. The last road had the most factories in it, a bunch of smaller places packed together with some storage containers. I mean, it did have the most, before that massive blaze about 20 years ago. The entire place went up in seconds, all melting together. Anyone working in it got killed, and no cause was ever determined. Legend says that they're still haunting those halls. "Legend" being the crazy conspiracy theorists. It was probably just some machine malfunction and shitty infrastructure. Nothing that special.[Amber] You seem to know a lot about this place. Wasn't it burnt before either of us were born?[Bowie] Well, yeah, but my dad explained this to me about 80 times each week. He had a pretty considerable company in the little junction with someone else’s dad, working on sport commentators and distribution. He was pissed when it burnt down, wouldn't stop talking about it until I was like, 10... he still brings it up if you mention fire. Annoying, but I get it.The road had been completely blocked off by the cops. Several hundred 'do not enter' signs lined the road, and almost all of the had been vandalised. There were ways over any blockages the cops put up, and eventually they stopped caring, so there was really nothing stopping you from entering. Other than a pretty short chain link fence, the only thing that could've stopped you was your own conscious. It had taken me about an hour to reach that gate.At this point, I was pretty fucking exhausted. Could see some light start to come up over the horizon. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep. Unfortunately, I'm an actually half decent person, so I couldn't just leave Chase out there. Good thing, though, was that I didn't have to look for him. He was pretty easy to spot, honestly. Mostly because he jumped in front of my fucking car! Difficult to miss him, not only because of the bright ass headlights, but also because I almost crashed while trying to avoid hitting him. At least I didn't have to scan the side of the road, I guess.When I got out help him up, and got a proper look at him, he looked... fucking horrendous. Like he had just clawed his way out of his own grave. Actually fucking gross. His hair was matted as all hell, clothes were torn and absolutely soaked through with mud and what I assume was blood, and his head has this massive fuckin’ scar across his forehead. It just barely missed his eye, but his whole face was just dripping with blood. Like the movie Carrie, yknow? Just... drenched. It was like he had just been dragged out of hell. As soon as I recovered from the shock of seeing something as just... much, as that, I grabbed an old piece of clothing from the back of my car. Ran straight over to him and tried to stop his wound from bleeding. It was a miracle he hadn't fainted from blood loss already.He was completely out of it, not in the way most people are after a party though. He was in shock of something, but he at least looked mostly sober to me. I helped him to my car. He was gonna get literally everything in it dirty, but at least he wouldn't die. As much as I hate the guy, you've gotta be a psychopath to just leave someone in that state. After that I completely booked it down the rest of the road. Through the town as well, they could give me a speeding ticket for all I care. I didn't go to the hospital.I know, dumb idea! But like, being on questionably legal substances and bringing in a dude who looked like he died isn't exactly a good mix! So, I just took us to my house.I'm not good at first aid, but I know enough. My boyfriend's parents taught me, I was confident I knew enough to not kill him. His head had stopped bleeding at this point, but it had bled through the shirt I used about halfway through the car ride home. I don't think my explanation is doing enough justice to just how disgusting this shit was. It was properly something out of a horror movie. There was blood and dirt everywhere. Like a slaughterhouse. Or that one abandoned meat factory I was talking about. I used water from the sink to clean the wound, just so it didn't get infected. If something like that for infected, it would probably kill him. Using gauze and safety pins from the medicine cabinet, I managed to get it patched up. It was sloppily done, but I hadn't slept for like, 32 hours at this point, and Chase wouldn't sit still.He was antsy, mumbling something about being found or dragged down again. He was paranoid as fuck. I don't think I've ever seen him as scared. It was kinda freaking me out. I still got it done, though. He was a bit less out of it by the time I had finished making sure he wouldn't bleed to death. He recognised where he was, and he was actually acknowledging me outside of his ramblings. He asked if anyone knew where he was, if I felt anything was wrong, if I would tell Emma what happened. Dude nearly fucking dies and he still tries asking me about his ex-girlfriend.What a cunt, right?I put up with it though, figured he was just going through something. As far as I know he's just a narcissist and a sociopath, but he could've been like, I don't know, having a panic attack or something? Maybe he was on molly or something......Don’t look at me like that, I'm not a therapist!I assured him that I wouldn't tell Emma what had happened, that everything was completely fine, and that no-one knew where he was. He visibly relaxed at this, looking more like his normal self, with slumped shoulders and an expression that looked less like he had just seen God. I didn't tell Emma what happened. I haven't told anyone, other than you, actually. I don't know why. It's not like I particularly care about that guy. Maybe I'm just a good person, maybe he kinda freaked me out too. I'm not sure.Either way, that's really the last unnatural thing that happened. I drove him back to his house, where we were questioned by his roommates. Just basic questions, y'know, like 'what happened', 'is he ok', 'can we still record content today'. Mostly concerned about their fake fucking jobs. Absolute dickheads, but nothing too overtly rude. I haven't heard from his after that. Granted, I haven't tried to contact him, but I haven't seen him around town either. He also hasn't been in any classes. Supposedly he's fine, he hasn't died or anything. I'm just assuming he's in shock or something. Anyway, is that all you need from me?[Amber] Yes, that should be all. Thank you for your statement. And just before you leave, you definitely don't know anything about the situation with Rajesh Anand and Wayne Graham?[Bowie] Nah, sorry girl. I haven't been told anything that they wouldn't have told you.[Amber] It's alright, I suppose. Nothing much I can do in terms of research for that case anyway. Not until Mr Anand gives his statement. I can show you the way out, you need a keycard to go anywhere.Statement ends.
*click*
So, there was a lot of leads that I could've gone after for this case.Mr Davies wasn't lying, Chase Dimatulac is a decently popular YouTuber, just shy of 1 million followers on his personal channel. However, his shared channel, Three Guys in a Beach House, has over 5 million followers. It does appear as though he is the least popular member of the previously mentioned "Three Guys", although he was still fairly well known. I also took a trip to the Wawanakwa University, and most people know of Chase, Emma, and Bowie. Most everyone I could interview was at least faintly aware of all three of them, at the least they knew one. No-one was particularly close to any of them, so that's a bust.I also attempted to follow up on this "Ripper" guy. According to the university students, he doesn't attend the school, although he is supposedly real. Which was good news. Another source that is closer to Chase, who can help give some insight into his mental state, would be a good lead. Or it would be a good lead if he wasn't impossible to contact.A few people directed me to one Millie Sekha as a possible source of contact. I attempted to find her, although any calls I've made have been outstanding and emails have remained on sent. I sent a letter to her dorm room number and am still waiting for an update. Will record a later statement if she responds.Another source said that his "frenimie", one Axel Leone, could direct me to him. Although, she completely denied any attempts in research. She's apparently, if the people at university are to be believed, a doomsday prepper. Makes sense that she would be uncooperative with government agencies. I would be to, if I was paranoid about the world ending.Unfortunately, any attempts made to contact or even confirm the existence of "Ripper" have remained unsuccessful. Current status on validity of existence is pending.Contact with Emma Matthews hasn't been any more successful. She was nicer, however denied any involvement with Mr Dimatulac. She was "above" him, or something similar. I completely understand. If someone almost killed me, I wouldn't want to talk about them either. But it does make my job more difficult. She didn't know anything that I was talking about, however, so I presume she wouldn't have been that overall helpful for the case at hand. Still, I would've liked to interview her on whether or not someone would be after Chase.The other two guys from the beach house, Derek Schultz and Brad Port, also denied any follow up interview. Couldn't damage their PR. Egotistical maniacs, in my opinion, however this isn't an opinion piece. They did say that they haven't seen Chase for the past few days and haven't heard anything from him. Scouring his social media accounts show an ongoing inactivity starting 5 days ago. Nothing previously posted hinted at mental illness or paranoia, or anything mentioned around being hunted down or buried.I also called Chase Dimatulac. I got his phone number off of Bowie Davies after the statement ended. He denied a follow-up interview, however I did record the call. Here is the audio included in the recording.
*click*
Hello? Who is this?
I'm speaking to Chase Dimatulac, correct?
Ummm, yeah? What's going on, is something wrong-
My name is Amber Mclean, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute. I'm calling in regard to the party you reportedly attended a handful of days ago. Specifically, being picked up by Bowie Davies. Please spare any details you have.
Oh, uh... my god, how do you know about that? Why do you have my phone number? The fuck is a Magnus Institute?
I'm not being questioned. Would you consider coming in for a statement? I can explain better in office.
Coming into... office? Yeah, no, who is this prank calling me? Derek? Brad? Wow dudes, haha really funny. I'm busy.
Not a prank call. I'm with the government. Uncooperative behaviour is a punishable offense.
Yo, what the fuck! The government? Am I getting arrested- I can't get arrested, I've got shit to do!!!
You're joking, right?
Please relax, Mr Dimatulac. Just cooperate, and you'll be fine. Recount the events of December 18th, which lead up to you being picked up by Bowie Davies after a party held by Daniel Summers.
... I'm not answering that. You can't do shit to me.
I don't believe you understand the magnitude of the situation. I can do everything. Please just explain.
No, no, no. I'm not fucking talking about that. There's nothing to explain. How do you even know about that?
...let me rephrase.On the 18th of December, you were picked up curbside by Bowie Davies outside an abandoned burnt down factory lot-
Shut up.
-while you were rambling about being found, buried, or dragged down-
Shut up, shut up, shut up!
-by some disembodied third party. Reports say that you were absent from the party and that you weren't seen from sundown to sunrise-
You don't know what you're talking about!
-before being picked up in front of an incinerated factory kilometres from the party-
You don't understand! You'll never understand!
-in a clear state of mental and physical distress. I am-Shut up! Stop trying to parent me, you don't know what's best for me! I am not in danger!-simply trying to put together a complete story-
No-one ever fucking understands! Just shut up!
-for government records. Please, explain what happe-
Shut the fuck up!
...
Please just drop it. You don't know what shit you're getting into. I don't want to talk about it.
It's my job to not "drop it", so unfortunately, I can't do that. I can't force you to talk. I understand this must have been traumatic-
Don't fucking say that! You don't understand, you'll never understand! I am not some... traumatised lunatic who's being hunted by some ghost. I know what I saw, I know what I did. And I'm not telling you. Arrest me, for all I care. Just stop looking into this shit. And stop pretending you understand, or that you know what's best. You don't. You never will. Leave me alone.
...Fine. I'll leave you alone. If you ever change your mind, you can find me in Pakithew. Ask for the "crazy person carrying recording equipment" and you'll find me just fine. Have a nice day.
Yeah, fuck you too.
*click*
So, needlessly aggressive. The call was... unhelpful, I suppose. Although, it did give somewhat of an insight into his mental state. I don't believe any of the recounted story to be fault of mental illness. Influence of substances would be the most probable answer; however, I'm tempted to refuse that idea as well.I propose the supernatural.I understand that the supernatural element of the institute is regularly leveraged against us by other scholars. However, I still believe that this is the explanation. 'Supernatural' is not exclusively attributed to the ghosts, werewolves, aliens, and vampires. It's simply anything existing outside of our version of the natural order. The evidence that currently exists leaves me unable to make any solid conclusions, however, it's all simply hypothetical situations.Recording ends.
*click*