Still many questions

I had hoped that the town meeting would provide answers as to what's been happening, but it didn't sound like the authorities have any concrete leads yet. We're still as in the dark as we were when the disappearances first occurred.

Some people, including Lisa, came away from the meeting even more concerned than before they went. They wanted to hear that everything was under control and it was OK to go back to their normal lives, but that's not the case. Lisa, for instance, jumped at every little noise last night, thinking someone was coming to take her next.

Town meeting this weekend

The mayor has called a town meeting this weekend to tell us what they know so far about the disappearances. Thank goodness. Everyone has been so on edge. I hope they're able to give us some good news.

Things have been working out OK with Lisa so far. She pretty much lives independently in the house, like she's renting a room. We've had some nice dinners together since she started staying over, but after dinner, I'm usually alone in my bedroom while she's doing her own thing in the living room, where she insists on sleeping.

False alarm

We evacuated the factory this afternoon because someone thought they saw a demon walking down one of the corridors. She started running hysterically through the factory floor, which set off a panic, and the next thing we knew, everyone was running for the exit. Even though we couldn't find any sign of a demon or any other strange presence afterwards, everyone's nerves were shot, so Mr. Ferguson told us to take the rest of the day off.

The only decent thing to do

Yet another person has disappeared -- Dana, who had just moved to Cherbeek Bay last year. That makes two in two weeks and three since the beginning of the year, four if you count what happened to Ed Wilson. Understandably, everyone is more freaked out than ever. Even I am getting the jitters about what's happening around here.

Lisa asked again if she could stay with me. There was a certain amount of panic in her request, making it impossible for me to say no, given the dangerous times that we're living in now. Lisa promised it would only be for a short while, until they solve the disappearances, and that sounded reasonable to me. She's bringing her things over this evening after work. I don't know if I'm really going to be able to do anything if someone comes into my house and tries to take us away, but if it makes her feel better, then I'm not going to worry about that unless the situation arises.

The side effects of recent paranoia

People have been getting really freaked out lately because Nancy's and Patty's disappearances are still unsolved. Nobody knows who did it (or if it's an other-worldly occurrence related to the end of the world), and everybody is afraid that they will be the next to disappear. This has caused a minor panic among some people, especially women who live by themselves, since the two victims were both women. I've even had one woman, Lisa Smith from work, ask if she could stay with me because she felt unsafe sleeping at home by herself. I didn't know if she was serious or using that as an excuse, but I told her no. I don't think I can handle having someone else sleeping in my house yet.

Just when I thought it was safe

I heard from two other people at work that Nancy Turner was abducted over the weekend. So the rumor I heard at the Super Bowl party was true. This is getting eerie, downright scary. Nobody knows what's going on, only that two people have now disappeared and a sane man tried to kill himself after warning us the end is near.

Sadness and strangeness

I wound up going to Steve's Super Bowl party after all. It was a pretty happy occasion until the end, when the Seahawks lost. I'm not much of a Seahawks fan myself, but some of the people there were big fans of our northern cousins. In a way, it's better this way, because we didn't have to deal with excessive drunken celebrations. Yeah, call me a party pooper.

One of the guys at the party said that he heard someone else had disappeared, like how Patty did. He didn't know the details, so we didn't know if he was making it up to scare people or whether it really happened. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough....

To party or not to party?

As expected, Steve invited me to his place on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl. He said he's having a big party this year, with over 20 people. I told him "no" initially (my response to all social gatherings these days), but he said I needed to get on with life and start mingling with people again. Also, with so many people at the party, it'd be easy for me to disappear if I wanted to.