Firewatch

Chapter 5

None of the Cell variants are as obscure and secretive as the Stalkers. Very little is known about them, as we've never been able to capture one for study. Actually, the number of direct human sightings of a Stalker is low enough to be counted on two hands - nine.

Here's what we do know. They're tubular in shape, with twelve appendages. They exist in a separate dimension and have the technology to both create and repair worldholes at will. By using these "pocket worldholes," Stalkers are capable of free movement between their dimension and ours and between any two points in space. They have highly potent warding, enough to make all but the most powerful sorcerers pass out on the spot due to the pain. And they only appear when massive damage is done to our dimensional fabric, typically resulting from a worldhole.

This has predictably led to many people speculating wildly about their intended role in the Cell structure. Some have posited - and this is a stance that I tend to agree with - that the Stalker is a sort of dimensional maintenance unit, arriving only when needed to observe and potentially repair damage to our dimensional fabric. Several small worldholes have disappeared without explanation in the past, though no sightings of a Strider conducting this work have ever been reported. Presumably, they also do this for their own dimension, though that is pure conjecture.

This theory has issues. Most large worldholes have never been repaired - many have existed for tens of thousands of years. It is also clear that the Stalkers serve as some kind of dimensional police and that they definitely aren't on our side. Several incursions onto Firewatch from other dimensions have been rather violently destroyed by Stalkers. The dismemberment of several of our breach-teams has also been attributed to Stalkers. So at best, they're neutral and view humans as we view single-cell organisms - that is to say, insignificant. At worst, they have some ulterior motives that we don't understand. One way or another, they're scary.

Good news is, they've never been known to go after regular people. As long as you aren't a sorcerer of any particular note, you should be fine.

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The voices.

They were everywhere. The walls, the ceiling, the doors. The furniture. Everywhere she turned, every step she took, always looking over her shoulder. 

Something crashed behind her. Instinctively, her body flashed. Energy poured into her palms. Alex whirled around, her heart pounding, her arms outstretched. 

Just an empty, hazy room. 

Obviously, Alex thought, scolding herself halfheartedly. She had asked to be alone. There was nobody, nothing. Shaking, she sat down cross-legged, her back against the wall, looking at her palms. The energy was dissipating, slowly, but they still glowed white-hot. 

She didn't even know where she was, nor how long she had been wandering. Not even what time it was. Sleeping in her current state was a fantasy - she would set the bedsheets on fire. 

An empty, hazy room. The walls were shimmering. Why? Where was she? She stood up, still shaking, leaving charred marks on the floor where her hands had been resting. With one arm, she reached out, running it across the smooth marble and watching with a start the ripples of a forcefield radiating from her forearm. 

With her other arm, she felt for her personal shield generator. It hung off of her belt, right where it was supposed to be, but it was ice cold. Confused, she ran her fingers through the field, then looked down at her glowing hands. Back up at the walls, and her eyes widened as she realized the truth.