Space challenge: The Fraser Record (Excerpts), by custardpringle

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

Title: The Fraser Record (Excerpts)
Author: custardpringle
Challenge: Space
Pairing: Vaguely F/K
Length: 2440 words, plus footnotes
Rating: R for horror themes, violence, and general darkness and doom. Also severe weirdness. The missing parts of text are supposed to be missing.
Notes: The idea for this has been floating around in my head for months, and I've been resolutely not writing it because it's difficult and cruel to the characters and just generally messed up. And then you people had to go and have a challenge about space.
This is a fusion with House of Leaves, which is also the book referenced by the footnotes (referring to the excerpted text in italics). You don't have to have read it, but this fic might be easier to understand if you know what it's about.
It was betaed by the_antichris and c_regalis, with extra help from silentvoice29. I honestly don't know how any of them put up with me. ♥

Summary: has passed and there continues to be little solid evidence favoring the truth of Constable Fraser's account, an increasing majority of expert opinion seems to be that it sheds far more doubt on his sanity than on the integrity of the laws of

-------------------------------------------------------------

nailed my windows shut, threw out the closet and bathroom doors, storm proofed everything, and locks, oh yes, I bought plenty of locks, chains, too and a dozen measuring tapes, nailing all those straight to the floor and the walls. They looked suspiciously like lost metal roods or, from a different angle, the fragile ribs of some alien ship. However, unlike¹

"Are you saying you've found evidence of a crime?"
"Room language, Fraser. It's just like body language, only, I dunno, the room don't move."
"Ray, the stakeout is over. There's no longer any need for us to be here. You should go home and rest."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, just look at this for a sec."
"Really, I don't-- oh. Oh, dear."

ago, the vast majority of publicity has been as much due to the men involved as to the facts of the case itself; in the three years of his highly unusual affiliation with the Chicago police department, Constable Fraser had managed to become one of the most recognizable and notorious people in the city, somewhere between a celebrity and an urban legend. There are even a handful of published reports arguing that the continued absence of Constable Fraser and Detective Kowalski has led to a measurable increase in the crime rate, although the amount of time in question is most likely too small to support any definite conclusion on the subject. At any rate, whether the attention is deserved or not, the case had already garnered a considerable degree of public interest even before the appearance of the document purporting to be Constable

"Don't get it. The guy who used to live here, whatsisname, Zorro--"
"Zampano."
"Yeah, him, been dead for months, right? So why's this stuff still here?"
"I really can't say. It hardly adds to the appeal of the apartment, should anyone be considering renting it."
"Guess we'd better have a look."
"Ray, I see no signs of foul play here, only that Mr. Zampano was clearly a very disturbed individual."

of graphologists from both the Chicago police department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who have reached a consensus that the handwriting on the envelope, and in most of the document itself, corresponds to samples of Constable Fraser's handwriting. To the untrained eye, however, the resemblance is not immediately apparent. The journal received by the 27th Precinct was written in lettering that was abnormally narrow and spiky, slanting sharply to the right, and the pen had been pressed so firmly to the paper that it had punched through at nearly every punctuation mark and at the ends of the tails and risers to many of the letters. All these, according to the experts consulted, are indicators that Fraser was under an increasing degree of stress as events progressed-- sufficient stress, in fact, to render his handwriting entirely unrecognizable to the untrained eye. As for the reasons why this might

"Ray. Ray. Ray--"
"What?"
"Lieutenant Welsh is wondering why you haven't been coming to work. Hard as it may be to believe, Ray, people are worried about you."
"Been busy. Fraser, you gotta see this, I found it."
"I'm worried about you. Please, Ray, you have to stop this."
"The house, Fraser. The one in the papers I found in Zantana's trunk. I found the house, Frase, we gotta go check it out."

the strongest points of evidence against Fraser's account is the fact that, in the course of their joint investigation, neither the FBI nor the CPD has been able to uncover any trace of the house in question. Fraser's journal gives the address, quite clearly, as One Ash Tree Lane-- but that address simply does not exist in Chicago, whether in the city proper or in the suburbs. There is an Ash Tree Lane, but the house numbers along it begin at number 328. The next closest possibiity might be Ash Drive, which-- despite its typically suburban name-- is taken up entirely by abandoned factory buildings, and certainly does not lead to any residential structures. Beyond the address, unfortunately, there is very little potentially useful evidence in Fraser's journal; his account is concerned almost entirely with his experiences inside the house, and includes nearly no description of the house's external features, making

"Hey, Frase, thought you weren't coming."
"Your official status notwithstanding, Ray, I still consider myself your partner and your friend. I would be derelict in both capacities if I allowed you to explore this house on your own."

total comes to 32' 9 3/4" which the house plans corroborate-- plus or minus an inch. The puzzling part comes when [he] measures the internal space. He carefully notes the length of the new area, the length of both bedrooms and then factors in the width of all the walls. The result is anything but comforting. In fact it is impossible. 32'10" exactly. The width of the house inside would appear to exceed the width of the house as measured from the outside by 1/4". Certain that he has miscalculated,⁵

"Oh, shit. shit. This can't-- it's fucking impossible, Fraser, what the hell is going on here?"
"A grievous violation of the laws of physics, apparently."
"Feels like I just walked into a horror movie. This is nuts."
"Ray, ignorant as I may be of popular culture, I do believe that it's generally a bad idea to go off exploring on one's own."
"Which is why you're coming along, right? I mean, look at it, Frase. Whole hallway inside the wall. And I do not have one clue why you're not curious, but I am, and I'm gonna check it out with or without you."
"Ray, I can't let you go in there blindly. Proper preparation--"
"You gonna hit me to keep me out, or what?"
"I'd really rather not."

have done his best to keep track of their progress as they go deeper

"Fraser, you sure you left those markers right?"
"Quite certain, yes."
"Then you meant to leave this one pointing straight at a blank wall, huh?"
"Not at all, Ray. I seem to recall-- oh, dear-- I seem to recall that this is where we entered from the living room."
"So, what, we're trapped in here? In a big fucking maze inside the goddamn living room wall?"
"I'm sure there's a logical solution."
"Fraser, what part of inside a wall did you miss?"

no way to know how long the experience lasted, although nearly a week passed between the last time Constable Fraser reported for duty and the next time anyone saw him or Detective Kowalski. There is nothing in Fraser's account, however, to indicate that they were in any way supplied for an expedition of even more than a day-- no spare food or water or even flashlight batteries. Nonetheless, there was no trace of them for a week, and presumably if there was a house they were inside it for most of that time. If Fraser's account is accurate, it is almost probable that the passage of time, or even the functioning of the human body, was somehow distorted inside the house. Given only sparse and contradictory facts, however, we can do no more than speculate about

"As a matter of fact, Ray, this phenomenon is not entirely without precedent. As it happens, my own father--"
"No. No. No thanks. For the love of God, do not-- let's turn here, why the hell not-- start in about your--"
". . . Ray?"
"Fraser! Fraser, what the hell, get me outta here!"
"Ray, please, try to stay calm."
"Calm? Calm? Fraser, there was no wall between us a second ago. You try to be calm, huh?"
"I am trying."

akin to the root labi meaning to slip or slide backwards though the commonly perceived meaning suggests difficulty and work. Implicit in 'labyrinth' is a required effort to keep from slipping or falling: in other words stopping. We cannot relax within these walls, we have to struggle past them. . . . If the work demanded by any labyrinth means penetrating or escaping it, the question of process becomes extremely relevant. For instance, one way out of any maze is to simply keep one hand on a wall and walk in one direction. Eventually the exit will be found. Unfortunately, where the house is concerned, this approach would probably require an infinite amount of time and resources. It cannot be forgotten that the problem posed by exhaustion-- a result of labor-- is an inextricable part of any encounter with a sophisticated maze. In order to escape then, we have to remember we cannot ponder all paths but must decode only those necessary to get out. We must be quick and anything¹³

"Why, hello, son. Funny I should meet you here."
"Dad, in all honesty, I don't think I could imagine a worse time for you to make an appearance."
"Manners, Benton. And it isn't as if I meant to end up here, wherever here is. I was only trying to build an addition onto my office."
"I've been having some suspicions about that office, actually."
"And you didn't see fit to tell me before now?"
"Well, I've been trapped in this house. It wasn't as if I could just nip back and pass on the news."
"Oh, I don't know, son. I think this is more than merely a house."
"So I had noticed."

out of all the many strange things in Fraser's account, seems to be one of the strongest points indicating that Fraser was mentally unstable and may have been for some time. Even through his writing, it is clear that he was entirely unsurprised to encounter his father-- even though Sergeant Fraser had been dead for years. His references to his father seem more affectionately annoyed than genuinely unsettled, which implies that he had been hallucinating his father's image, and interacting with it in this way, for some time before the advent of either an unnaturally structured house or much stronger, more dangerous delusions-- whichever one chooses to

"Fraser! FRASER! That you?"
"Oh, thank God, Ray. Listen, we're trying to find our way through to you."
"We? You got company or something?"
"In a sense."
"At least he's acknowledging my existence. It's an improvement."
"Forget it, Ray, it's not really important right now. The point is, even if I find an exit, I don't intend to leave you in here."
"Fraser, listen, you gotta hear this before something happens, okay? You still there?"
"I'm here. Go on."
"There's a staircase in here, Fraser. Big spiral staircase. I dropped a quarter in, never heard it hit the floor-- fuck, Fraser, I want outta here, I keep hearing things. Something keeps growling."
"I know, Ray. I've heard it too."

with many aspects of Fraser's account, there are a wide variety of theories about the growling noise he mentions at several points. The noise apparently varies in volume, sounding closer at some times than at others, but at no point is the source actually revealed-- unless, of course, Fraser chose for some reason not to write about it, although his writing is characteristically thorough about even the most horrific portions of the rest of the experience. Whether the house is real or a hallucination, however, the significance of that growling noise is still important in comprehending what happened. Some believe it is merely a noise produced by the constant change in the structure of the house; other popular theories suggest a living creature wandering in the structure with them or, most disturbingly, a noise of hunger like the growling of an empty

"Admit it, Benton, we're lost. Our only hope is to to try to find our way back to the exit."
"Leaving Ray behind? I doubt that very much, Dad. And after all, it isn't as if you were in any danger from being here. You're already dead."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. I may be dead, but that lets me see things you can't. And trust me, h re is ven mor wrong with his house th n you can p sibly im gin ."
"Are you all right? You're-- flickering."
"Ther 's som thing v ry wrong wi h his plac , son, more wr ng han y u can p ssibly im g n . Y u d t g ut. v r m d h Y k-- h r 's g g h m b ck w. d h w ll , B nt n-- w ch ou "
"Dad?"

seemed to have the ability to consume

"Dad!"

another mystery in Fraser's account: there was, given his experiences so far, very little chance of eventual escape, and yet

"Hi there, Fraser."
"Oh, Ray, thank goodness. I thought you weren't-- I couldn't find you, I-- it's wonderful to see you."
"The floor went away, Fraser. Just-- went away, dropped me down, and I landed back here in the living room. Shit, Frase, I should be dead now. I'm not dead, am I? Check my pulse."
"Ray, don't touch--"
"God. Holy fucking god. Frase. Your hand."
"I'd been-- ah-- trying not to think-- about that."
"What the hell happened to you?"
"A corridor closed. I couldn't quite get-- Ray, could we--"
"Yeah. Yeah, of course. C'mon, let's get you to a doctor."

a little after 3 A.M., two John Does. Their anonymity was due not to coma or amnesia, but to their vehement refusal to give names; hospital staff have since identified them, from photographs, as Constable Fraser and Detective Kowalski. According to the doctors on duty at the time, they both showed signs of severe exhaustion and possible PTSD onset, although only Fraser was severely physically injured in any way. Kowalski had some bruises and a cracked rib, but seemed not to have noticed either in his concern for Fraser; the impression of the doctors was that he felt personally responsible for whatever had happened. Fraser, however, was only semiconscious; his left hand had been badly mangled, as if crushed by a heavy weight, and required a great deal of splinting and the prescription of heavy painkillers. The hospital's orthopedist recommended immediate surgery, but was assured that Fraser would be seeking such treatment elsewhere. Kowalski and Fraser apparently refused to stay in the hospital any longer than was absolutely necessary, and left as soon as Fraser's medication allowed him to

"So. The Northwest Areas, huh? Never thought I'd actually get to see 'em."
"Was there somewhere else you'd rather go?"
"Nah. Big spaces, right? Big, white place, that's all I ask."

was, apparently, the last time they were seen

.

END

.

¹Truant, xviii.

⁵Danielewski, 30.

¹³ibid., 114-5.

EDIT: and there is now a slashier coda to this, Exploration n.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

...dude.

[etben.livejournal.com]

(and, um. that was me? but I seriously don't have anything more to say.

dude. fucking A.)

[impactbomb.livejournal.com]

sdasj;fkljdskghfkl;sdjl;jdfl;

I got nothin'.

askafjs;kldh;

You stuck them in the and you let it rip and I got nothin'.

Voices are perfect.

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

\o/

[hieronymousmosh.livejournal.com]

Okay, here's a coincidence for you, Poe's Haunted was playing when this came up on my flist.

Well done - *creepy* and well done. Wow.

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

OK. OK. Good. Hi. You have Poe music. You can help me out, here. Wouldn't "Hey Pretty" make the best F/K vid EVER?

I'll check 'em out-- thanks!

[dragonwhishes.livejournal.com]

lkasjldlsf I am joining Todd in the "fjadklada" and "I got nothin'" group because while I technically didn't really finish the book, I have about twenty pages left, and that's just the index and stuff

alksfjalsdalkf

GOODBYE SLEEP, MY ADOPTIVE BIG SISTER IS TO BLAME.

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

WHICH IS WHAT BIG SISTERS ARE FOR :P

[silentvoice29.livejournal.com]

:D

I would classify that as WUNDERBAR.

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

As long as you like it I know I'm doing fine :'D

[sam80853.livejournal.com]

GREAT!

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

:D

[gaffsie.livejournal.com]

Creepy as hell. I haven't actually read the book this is based on, but I think I might have to now.

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend it, yes. But I'll warn you: in terms of abnormal typesetting and formatting, this fic has got nothing on the original book, which has footnotes up to ten pages long and has layouts varying from one word on a page to this (http://flakmag.com/features/mzd/mzdpg139a.jpg).

Absolutely brilliant, but I wouldn't recommend reading it right before bed.

[llassah.livejournal.com]

Holy shit,this is amazing! It made my stomach do that clenchy thing, and it was just wow. Errm, that might be the most sense you're getting out of me, but I really really love the way you've set this up, it's such a cool creepy drip of information! *worships*

[lipstickcat.livejournal.com]

That was just, incredible. Wow, holy shit. I loved the links to houses and had to put my breakfast down as I became increasingly convinced that the very last link you provide, something would flash up on the screen and I'd end up with milk and cereal on my keyboard.... Talk about building an atmosphere though. *goes to lie down with the lights on*


Also? Totally going to read House of Leaves now....

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Cracked out crossover, indeed. And damn wonderful at that. Also? It's kind of creepy and gave me that wonderful little chill down my back. Congrats on an excellent job!

[laylee.livejournal.com]

This was just wonderful. I'm not a big horror story fan, but it had me on the edge of my seat until the end. I really enjoyed the fact that, although the story is told via snippets, you've still managed to construct a coherent narrative that makes perfect sense. And I definitely have to read the book now.

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

wHOA. Way to scare the pants off me. Excellently done.

[izzybeth.livejournal.com]

adding my own holy shit to everyone else's. i never got through Of Leaves, but my attention span ain't that great. unlike this. this is amazing and gah and HOLY SHIT. creepy awesome.

[lucifercircle.livejournal.com]

Despite seeming incoherent, I can actually tell what was going on. Reading this was very different, but I think the style works well. Excellent job.

[omphale]

This is...I'm not even sure how to describe it. It's creepy, and weird, and everything good about Danielewski, combined with spot-on Fraser and Kowalski voices, and dead!Bob, who makes everything better.

I love this. Love, love, love it.

[nos4a2no9.livejournal.com]

This was really, really creepy and brilliant and between you and troyswann I think we've just about hit our quota of brilliant sci-fi literary AU adaptations. And, um, thanks for not *severing* Fraser's hand, which was what I thought had happened.

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

And I am immensely flattered that you put me on a level with "Real Boys," because that fic made my month. Very glad you liked :'D

[catwalksalone]

*cowers in the corner with all the lights on*

I have to admit that I wasn't going to read this because I am bad at horror (see the little monsters creeping round my head) but after the third, or maybe fourth, 'OMG you just have to read...' I caved. And, whew! glad I did.

This was odd and creepy and suspenseful and you gave so much whilst keeping it hidden (if that makes sense). I really enjoyed it - but SO glad you let them out of there alive.

I need a fluff recovery package.

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

after the third, or maybe fourth, 'OMG you just have to read...'

@_o people SAID THAT?

I need a fluff recovery package.

So did I after writing it. The current challenge at ds_recsredux was a big help.

[eledhwenlin]

I am awed.

And slightly scared to go to bed now.

[shoemaster.livejournal.com]

Dude, I'll probably never read House of Leaves because the formatting gives me a headache but, whoa. Insane. I loved Dead!Bob's dialogue losing letters and yeah.

[ruthless1.livejournal.com]

Thank god you got them out of there. That was ubercreepy and even a bit crawly! You did an excellent job of recounting the sheer creeptitude of House of Leaves (which I couldn't get through because it's so scary.) Joyce Carol Oats wrote a story once about a house that is bigger on the inside than on the outside. It was absolutely the scariest thing I've ever read in my life. The title is just a black rectangle. It's not even a word. Just thinking about it - it gives me the shivers.

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

This is awesome. And now I gotta read that book.

[c-regalis.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just... wow. It's even more awesome now. I love the links to the pictures of houses. I think I am actually afraid of old houses now. *shivers*

And, I think I didn't tell you earlier, but the voices are just perfect. Just, the whole thing. *flail* This is amazing.

[troyswann.livejournal.com]

Oh cooooool!

I've not read House of Leaves but I like this very much. I think my favourite part is the images of the houses, all different, leading me, dear reader, into an obsessive relationship with clicking preceeded each time by a little shiver of anticipation.

And the context is so neatly "explained"--mostly by all the stuff left out, like the text itself is a house of shifting dimensions where the stories are inside the walls. Looooove that.

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

the text itself is a house of shifting dimensions where the stories are inside the walls.



MARRY ME. Please. For serious. And instead of babies we can produce whole swarms of cracked-out horror/SF/due South fusion fic.

*is not writing about aliens for the harlequin challenge, nope, not at all*

[troyswann.livejournal.com]

oh oh! and the whole metaphor of the house bigger inside than outside? That's my absolute favourite metaphor to describe what writing is. :)

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

Someone on Wikipedia has pointed out some things about that: for example, since leaves is a synonym for pages, the title of Leaves also describes the book itself, or any book. This particular novel is, in its paperback edition, actually literally bigger on the inside than the outside; the front cover is deliberately trimmed half an inch short of the edges of the pages.

[bathsweaver.livejournal.com]

Oh my God. ::blinks::

I have to tell you, after clicking on the fourth damn house link I had to stop (clicking on them, not reading)--by the end, I dreaded even seeing those blue links, and slowed down as I approached them, speeding away once I'd gotten to the other side.

Holy Hell. PTSD, indeed.

[custardpringle.livejournal.com]

PTSD, indeed.

. . . you're not going to sue, are you? ::puppy eyes::