MICHAEL Part 1 (CASSETTE TAPE SOUND) MICHAEL: * Its April second, 1998, my name is Michael Dawson.

Ive been seeing and hearing things since February. I dont know if Im crazy, I dont want to leave it up to me to decide. Im going to record everything- as much as I can, it draws a lot of attention when Im outside but its the only way to keep track. I cant keep missing hours, losing days. I have to keep it all in line. I have to figure out what it means. (Scary music) *I went to the library to read up on mental disorders. There was a statue of a distraught woman in a long flowing gown nailed to the wall above me. Her head was tilted to the floor, her face twisted in agony. The more I read the book about hallucinations and voices the more disturbed I became by the presence of that statue looking over me. I tried to ignore it. After an hour I felt a sudden coldness in my stomach. I looked up, she was smiling at me. (Footsteps/street) *I stopped seeing my therapist. She doesnt understand whats happening to me. Im afraid talking about it will put her in danger. Its been five months since I started these tapes, Im running out of places to put them but I cant stop. Recording them makes me feel safe. I started them to keep track of things but Im more confused than ever. When I look for the previous days tape its always the wrong one. One time I listened to a tape that I could have sworn I never recorded at all. I was talking like a mad man. I kept saying something about the sheep summoning the wolf. Somewhere in the middle I mentioned the new-year. Its September now, I started recording in April, there hasnt been a new year yet. (Scary music) *Something happened last night. I was in bed, I had been trying to sleep for hours but I couldnt. And then I realized I wasnt alone in my room. My eyes scanned the dark, hoping there would be nothing; they fell upon a small dark shape in the corner by the closet. I thought it might be clothes I had thrown and forgotten to pick up. I said What do you want? The thing in the corner stood up. Its head nearly touched the ceiling. I could see gray skeletal fingers hanging from arms that were too long, even for its extremely tall body. I closed my eyes. It started talking very fast; I couldnt understand what it was saying. I grabbed the tape recorder and turned it on. Eventually it stopped and when I opened my eyes it was gone. I lay in bed too scared to move and

eventually fell asleep. When I woke up today my throat felt like it was on fire. I finally had the courage to listen to the tape. It was 45 minutes of me screaming. (Sad piano) *Im completely alone. I dont talk to friends for fear of infecting them with this- whatever it is. I buy my groceries only at 24 hour places; I dont leave the house before 10 P.M- I am withering to nothing, everyday Im weaker. If this is a test, I dont see how I can survive it on my own. *I had a dream. A man came to me in the desert; he gave me water and a sword. I told him I didnt understand. He pointed to a road I hadnt seen before and said This is the way. He put his hand over mine on top of the handle and squeezed, he said Their blood is black. *Im starting to put it all in place. Im starting to see the pattern. A week ago I started a habit of driving up and down the highway; it keeps me focused and I dont usually see or hear anything when Im on the road. A few nights ago I got lost and had to sleep in a motel I found along the road called the Mayflower. No one else saw it. It was all over the walls, the floor; the place was drenched in blood. I talked with the clerk, he didnt know he was marked, but I could see the cut across his throat- even as he spoke he bled. I stayed there, waiting for something to happen but nothing did. Now, the news is saying everyone who was staying at the Mayflower last night was murdered and a pregnant woman is missing. There were satanic markings all over. I think whatever is tormenting me is trying to make me go crazy so I wont do what I have to do. I have to find them, the people who did this. The Satanists. They look like everyone else but I can see past peoples disguises. This gift Ive been given that has caused so much pain, finally I see its purpose. I can see who people really are. I know what I have to do. I have to kill them all. TO BE CONTINUED