For A Minute There, I Lost Myself

I've been dreaming again, since I got injured.  Different from how I remember dreams feeling, though.  This is more like I'm being dragged along somewhere.  Always through the City Without Shadows, and then looking at those yellow Operator Symbols.  I suppose it makes sense.  Major shit has been going on, and I can't get in touch with The Roommate, and now I can't even keep watch for...

Okay, I guess that betrays my real motivations.  I want to observe, because I want to help.  Sure, I'm terrified of actually being caught up in this again, and killed or worse...but I want to help.  I've been lurking around hoping to catch sight of the Thin White Duke stalking The Roommate, but what was I planning on doing?  Just observing as he murders someone else?  Tackling him and calling the cops?  I need a better plan.  How the hell do you fight these things?

The Panopticon has a plan.  It's not a good plan, but it's something.  They think the Slender Man is primarily an antagonistic meme, a sort of insanity virus.  At least, that's what I'd seen before.  Bentham's crowd is different from the others.  Different symbol, and that group doesn't seem entirely convinced that Slender Man is all in the mind.  Probably all the corpses, and the evidence.  They seem to be under the impression that he's a tulpa, not an uncommon theory, actually.  Doesn't make their plan any less ridiculous.  Since ol' Slendy is powered by belief, they try to get rid of all evidence that he might exist.  Including us.

Picked this up from Michael's story.  Apparently Bentham picked him up, flashed a badge, and pretended to be from some kind of X-File bureau.  Michael's actually met real NSA agents, though, something to do with the mathematical models at the heart of this whole mess.  Bentham just gave the wrong vibe, and seemed too willing to believe Michael's insane story.  Talked about how vital it was that it was kept secret, to keep 'civilians' safe.  At this point, Mike was pretty sure he was going to end up shot in the woods somewhere.  So, he jumped out of the car and ran for it at the next light.  Managed to pick up his Vespa and find a place to hide out.

Useful fact:  Burn Notice is a good way to learn a lot about the spy trade.  Corollary to previous useful fact: watching Burn Notice will not actually make you a spy.  I didn't spot the car following the bus I rode to the small hotel to meet Michael.  Didn't notice it pulling into the hotel parking lot when I got there.  Was, in fact, rather surprised when Bentham burst through the door with a pistol drawn.

I'm a pretty big guy.  And apparently something about me when I was running at him scared the hell out of Bentham.  That, plus the element of surprise, let me knock him over with a flying tackle without getting shot.  Michael scrambled past me while I was still wrestling with Bentham, grabbed the gun.  The agent, naturally, has better training than me...I ended up on the ground in pain, while he started chasing after Michael.  But, Mike was already on his Vespa and away.  I started running...Bentham got in his car, gunned the engine, and drove straight for me.

That's when everything went black.  Not when he hit me...I remember that.  It happened before I felt the impact.  Everything went dark, I stood there, then I felt a pain in one side, and got thrown violently in the opposite direction.  I woke up in the hospital, with cracked ribs.  Damn lucky...or something.  No idea why I'm not dead.