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mysteriouslover1516 · 1 year

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Lost without You (Part 1)

The young hacker had managed to evade his pursuers once more, escaping the mine unnoticed and mostly unharmed except for the smoke in his lungs. Apparently there was an exit that not even the FBI had known of, allowing him to escape undetected and swiftly. Fleeing on foot past the outskirts of Duskwood, he was able to slow his pace, being careful to avoid any busy and populated roads. After finding refuge in another city and booking a hotel room under a secret identity, he was then able to focus on setting up his computer. It had been over five days since the incident at the mine, meaning the news of the explosion was everywhere.

Four days ago Alan Bloomgate, chief police of Duskwood, recovered the missing Hannah Donfort from the Grimstone Mine. Although malnourished, weak, and frightened; the young woman was in overall better condition than expected. She showed no signs of injuries beside slight cuts on her body, and chafing on her wrists and ankles from rope. Before anyone could reenter the mine and look for the perpetrator or the missing person of Richy Rogers, the Grimstone exploded. Officers have confirmed that it was clearly an inside job, the person behind everything had set fire to the mine in order to hide the evidence and avoid capture by the police.

Hannah Donfort was brought to the Duskwood hospital and checked over for any more injuries, luckily there were none major. Her family and friends are overjoyed by her safe return; however, the same can not be said for the Rogers family. Police are still searching the burnt remains for any evidence or trace of the young mechanic, another victim of the cruel actions of a maniac. The identity of the perpetrator has not yet been confirmed, officers are still looking for the body or possible bodies in the mine.

Jake bit his lip as he read the article, it was all lining up just as he had suspected. Michael was undoubtedly the one who had started the fire, opting to commit suicide instead of being imprisoned for Hannah’s kidnapping and Amy’s murder. His electric blue eyes then caught the headline of another column, immediately clicking onto the website.

Hannah Donfort has just confessed to being involved in a mysterious and tragic incident that took place nearly ten years ago, the cause of Jennifer Hanson’s death.

In 2013 a young woman by the name of Jennifer Hanson went missing. She was last seen at the Bar Aurora, where her father Michael Hanson was the current owner of. Michael made a statement saying she had left the Aurora for her father’s house, but she had never made it there. The case was thought to be foul play, until a few weeks later her body was found buried deep in the Duskwood forest, the onslaught of rain had washed away the dirt surrounding the grave. The autopsy produced evidence that Jennifer’s death wasn’t necessarily murder, but instead she had been hit by a car. Slivers of paint from an AMC Gremlin were found on her, leading the police to the owner of the matching car: Ted Madruga. Madruga was arrested and imprisoned despite his claims that he was not involved in her death. For ten years he has lived behind bars and been accused of Jennifer’s hit and run, until now.

Hannah Donfort remembers the incident perfectly as one that will never leave her mind. It is forever embedded in her brain, one that will haunt her the rest of her life. She claims it was an accident, afterall she had been only 14 when it had occurred. She also has named Amy Bell Lewis, now deceased, and Richy Rogers, currently missing and assumed to be dead, as being involved in the incident. According to Hannah, Amy had lost an important necklace during the carriage tour around the Grimstone Waterfall and had asked Hannah to go back and help find it. Since both girls were underage and couldn’t legally drive, they had asked Richy to drive them back to the mine. Hannah states that Richy had been drinking and refused, but after the girls’ incessant begging, he gave them the keys to an old AMC Gremlin. The same AMC Gremlin that Ted Madruga was the current owner of, he had apparently left his vehicle at Roger’s Garage in order to have the car scrapped. The file had been lost, which is why there was no proof that the vehicle had ever been on the shop’s property, leading to Madruga’s arrest. Hannah says she had been driving around the Rogers’ lot for about a year, so she didn’t think anything could go wrong, after all they would be driving on a mostly deserted highway.

Hannah claims that after the accident, she and Amy had returned back to Richy’s house, where the three of them then drove back to the site and buried the body. She was able to lead the officers to the exact spot where Jennifer’s body had been found ten years ago, and her description and obvious remorse and guilt left no doubt in the officers’ minds that she was indeed telling the truth. She is currently being held on trial for her involvement in the death of Jennifer Hanson, the charges will more than likely be lessened due to her confession. Ted Madruga has rejoined society after ten years of unjust and wrongful imprisonment. This is a tragic day for the community of Duskwood, old memories resurfacing as the village’s dark side has once more regained the spotlight.

Jake sighed as he read the article, he knew Hannah had done the right thing, but still he prayed that her sentencing wouldn’t be so bad. He hoped that since she had been a minor when the incident occurred and because of her confession, she’d get off with just a few years of jail time. He had known about Hannah and Amy’s involvement in Jennifer’s death since gaining access to the chat between the two girls; however, the news about Richy was quite unexpected. All this time Richy had held the answers, meaning they might have been able to trace the leads back to Michael Hanson much sooner. No, that was the wrong mindset. Richy was still missing, more than likely deceased, he was still in the mine when the fire broke out. He couldn’t be angry at the mechanic, not now, there had to have been a reason Richy had kept it secret, as did Hannah and Amy. God, this secret had killed Amy and ultimately Richy too, Hannah had barely escaped the hands of a maniac. The thought made his adrenaline skyrocket, fingers running through his black, wavy hair. His eyes landed on a public record that had aired just 48hrs ago, clicking on his mouse as the newspaper clipping flooded his screen.

A new statement has been released concerning the case of Hannah Donfort’s kidnapping, Amy Bell Lewis’ death, and the fire in the mine. Jessica Hawkins, a resident of Duskwood since moving here when she was six, and MC, the mysterious source that led Alan to the Grimstone Mine, have given the police crucial information that connects all three cases. Two recorded video calls have finally disclosed the identity of the kidnapper as Richy Rogers. The link to these two videos can be found here.

Jake watched quietly as he viewed both videos, one of his worst fears coming true. He felt the betrayal, he felt the anger, the pain, but he also felt the sorrow. It wasn’t that he was grieving for himself, but for the others. He couldn’t imagine the pain that the group was experiencing, especially Hannah, Jessy, and MC. Richy was their friend, how could he do this to them? How could he make the last few weeks a living nightmare for Hannah? How could he attack Jessy? How could he allow MC and the others to believe he was dead? How could he strike fear into the group by trying to attack the cabin in the woods? How could he ask MC to come to the Grimstone Mine? The devil had been right before their very eyes, and they had failed to see it. Jake’s breath stuck in his throat as he clicked on the latest article, emotions battling within him as he read the words.

The officers have given up on finding the burnt remains of Richy Rogers, however it is undeniably known that he is dead. The tragedy from ten years ago has finally been solved, but another one has just begun. So many questions arise, so much betrayal and sorrow weighing on the shoulders of the Duskwood community. There are no answers, no explanations for this, some might say this is what the mechanic’s actions warranted him. In just a matter of weeks the people of Duskwood have lost two of their members, Amy Bell Lewis and Richy Rogers. The town offers condolences to the friends and families of the deceased, and desperately hopes for a brighter horizon in the near future.

Hey lovelies! Thank you all for your kind words and support! Please leave reviews and comments in the box below, I love to hear from all of you. I will try to get part two and three out in the next couple of days. ;) Love you all.

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lyon-amore · 1 year

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What if...? Duskwood Chapter 30

Chapter 29 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Macie POV*

It seemed that everything was going well. We had obtained new information and... Of course, Richy is the first to be on the place when something happens, like in chats.

I order two coffees and I sit and wait for them to call me. I get a text from Lilly.

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Lilly Oh, you are online 🙂 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've left the chat online in case Jake worries about me. Better to be connected than to see me offline. I'd better not tell Lilly anything. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie Something new?

Lilly So halfway I went to my parents earlier I thought they might know if Hannah had anything to do with Amy Bell Lewis Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case

Macie Ah, but a good idea nonetheless ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading Lilly's next words, I feel sad for Jake. The situation he is in is complicated. Lilly hasn't been able to look at her father. There's too much tension right now…I wish I knew what happened to Jake's mother and her father. It's not to gossip, I just want to better understand the situation. We don't know if his father knows about him or perhaps decided to abandon them to his fate. I don't think a family can recover from something like that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie Is there anything else I can do for you? 🙂

Lilly I want to send Ted Madruga aletter

Macie I'm all ears Or eyes Depends on how you want to say it

Lilly 😄 I really want to find out what Hannah wanted with him Uh, you haven’t got any further with Ted, right?

Macie Jake’s still working on it ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know what this clue Jake is focusing on right now. It's not fair that he got all the work, I should help him too... I have worried him so much that now he has taken all the work and I am idly by and unable to do anything. "I want to do something… Even if it's tiny…" I say with a sigh. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie And how exactly can I help you?

Lilly Well, just with writing the letter What should I leave out? How do I phrase things, etc…?

Macie Yes, to be honest, I’m pretty good at that kind of stuff

Lilly So?

Macie Under one condition You sign the letter with my name ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think my last name could be useful. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly I don't know why that would important to you, but sure... Deal 🙂

Macie Let’s go ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wait a bit for her to tell me something. In the end, I answer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie There is something else you want, right? 🙄

Lilly I thought, maybe You could ask Jake if he could help us

Macie Jake?

Lilly Yeah I hoped we could talk But he hasn't texted me yet Well, and he's pretty smart too ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Lilly, you don't know what you're missing talking to him…" I say with a smile. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie Can you wait a moment? I'm not at Jessy's right now

Lilly Sure, I wait 😊 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally they call me for my coffee. Obviously I have given my mother's name, to avoid problems of being recognized. I pick up the two cups and go to the door, trying to juggle it open. "Let me help you." a man says to me, placing his hand on the door. "Thank you." I smiled kindly. "Wait" he stops me for a moment with his hand on my shoulder. "Have we met before?" I start to examine him. He had well-groomed hair, a little gray and blond. He must have been in his fifties, but he had that older man's good looks and an aura of keeping order. I notice that there is a weapon on his hip. Police? "No, I'm sorry" I say starting to get nervous. I hadn't had a relationship with the police in years ", surely you get the wrong person." "Yeah, maybe" he looks at me strangely. Oh no… not good ". Sorry, I'll let you go." “Thanks again.” I say as I let go. I feel myself shaking as I leave the cafeteria. I take a deep breath before heading back to the motel. I hope he didn't recognize me from the Lilly video… I knock on the door with my foot and Jake opens it, letting me through. “Two large, well-charged coffees of pure caffeine.” I say with a smile, setting it down on his table. "What would I do without you?" He answers with a smile as he looks at the coffee. "Are you saying that to the cup or to me?" I asked, pretending to be jealous. "Coffee makes me less nervous." He winks at me and I smile. He walks back to his table and I bite my lip. I has to tell him about Lilly. "What are you doing?" I ask, taking a sip of my coffee. "I am going through our previous investigations in order to ensure that the conversation with the others goes as smoothly as possible." he replies without taking his eyes off the computer and taking a sip of his coffee as well. I stare at him watching him run his tongue over his lips, savoring the remains of coffee. I shake my head coming back to reality, this is no time for distractions, and Lilly is waiting for an answer. "Could you help Lilly and me really fast?" Jake looks at me nervously "We want to send this Ted a letter" I reply, approaching him "I’d like it if you could join us" I try the trick again. If I tell him that Lilly asked me, he might get a lot more nervous. Jake nods and smiles. Now he seems excited and I find him adorable. Finally he will talk to another of his sisters. It must be the happiest day of his life… Or so I hope. "If that's so then there’s no way that I could say no say no" he agrees and looks to the side "I haven't spoken to Lilly thus far..." "Well, then this is the perfect time." I stroke his hair lovingly and he looks at me. "I'll be with you in case you get stuck." He lets out a laugh and goes back to the computer. "Alright, please add me to her chat." He looks at me almost pleadingly. "If I joined the chat like I usually did, I don't want to frighten her." "Sure, no problem." Could he be less adorable?" It's lovely that he care about his sister like that. Wait. I go to the chat that Lilly has set up and add Jake.

I listen as Jake sighs and types in the chat. I read how Jake thanks her for her help in reference to I Am Jake and Lilly apologizes for what she did. I can't help but let out a laugh reading them. And not to say that I would like to cry for this meeting of siblings. “Don't laugh, I'm nervous enough already.” Jake says, though he doesn't seem upset. "I'm sorry, it's like watching a series or a movie and…" I answer, wiping away small tears. "You're crying?" "What? Is very pretty." I hear him let out a long breath, along with a heavy laugh. It's not every day you get to see how two siblings who never met don't resent each other, it could be all very different, more aggressive.

We help Lilly write the letter. We decided not to talk about Hannah and her missing. She even pointed out that she had put a 'We' in the letter referring to the three of us. It is not good to involve so many people. And then comes the signing part. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly Ok. Done To summarizing: Dear Mister Madruga: Because of the application visitation rights, I know that Hannah wanted to meet up with you. Please tell me why Hannah wanted to meet up with you. Best wishes, Macie Connors.

Jake Why did you sign with her name?

Macie Because that was the deal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake looks at me worried. I know what's coming now. "I don't like that you signed your name." he says in an angry tone. “There was a man who was a police in the past named Herman Connors” I tell Jake and feel a wave of nostalgia wash over me. "He was a great police and maybe the last name can help us, since he and I have the same name." Jake's eyes widen. I think he just understood when I said that I learned from my father, but he is calm. "I'm sure he was a great teacher too…" he says at the end, his voice calm. I nod smiling at him. Jake smiles at me and returns to the computer. It is curious how with a simple confession saying that I’m partly related to the police, he did not worry or make him nervous. I've shown him so many times that he can trust me that he doesn't seem to care. He makes me happy.

I see a watch chat notification. Lilly has written to Jake, should I read it or is too private? I'm not sure I can do it... But curiosity gets the better of me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly Jake I wanted to tell you something

Jake What did you want to tell me, Lilly?

Lilly Hannah really liked you a lot back then And I'm sure that never changed

Jake Thank you. I am sorry that I stepped into your life in this way.

Lilly I'm happy you did See you later, big brother 😉 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I can't help but smile when reading Lilly's words. I look at Jake to tell him that I'm so glad to see that everything went well, but I shut my mouth. I see him shaking in the chair, almost like… I can see a tear fall. I leave the phone on the bed and approach him, hugging him from behind. I stroke his hair lovingly and he places a hand on the arm that encircles him. He doesn't make any sound so as not to worry me. But I'm here at least to comfort him. Surely he must be happy to be recognized as her brother.

After calming down a bit, he returns to the computer. "Thank you…" he tells me, in his soft voice. "You’re welcome…" I move away from him, but he takes me by the hand. I look at him and see that he smiles at me. "I don't think I could have done this without you." I hug him again for his words. I want to be there for everything he need too. The good and bad. Jake hugs me tight. Now he seems to be afraid of losing me with this hug. "So... big brother?" I ask, with a small laugh. I want to relax him a bit "I think you've never told me your age." He shifts a bit, as if he's inviting me to sit on his lap. I agree and he leaves his hands on my hips, a little nervous. "Too much information." he answers me, with a doubtful expression. He hasn't unscreened it, but only his and Lilly's conversation is visible. Which means a lot to me, that he trusts me. "Not a little clue?" I ask, putting on an innocent look again "Please? Just a number." He makes a throaty sound, as if exasperated. He lowers his head, then looks at me. Again, surrendered to me. “There's a three.” he says at the end. "Forty-three." I say jokingly. Jake's face is scared and I laugh. "Do you really think I'm forty-three years old?" He asks me and I keep laughing. “You should have seen your face, Jake.” I say between laughs. I stop laughing when he caresses my face lovingly. His smile is warm. "I love these moments with you, did you know?" He whispers, and I see his eyes rest on my lips. I think it is the moment… A little nervous, I move closer to his face, placing my hand in his sweatshirt. I can feel his heart beating fast.

We broke up when we heard the damn notification on my phone and computer. Couldn't you choose another time to feel better, Dan!? “We must continue.” I say, getting up to sit back down on the bed. "Yeah, time for work." Jake stretches out in his chair, clearing his throat. I look at him and he turns to smile at me and I smile back. There is no doubt: Although there is always something that stops us, there is no denying what we both feel for each other. *Jake POV*

Not that I'm overly happy about the interruption, but work is work and both Macie and I know it. It doesn't take long for us to return to our serious mode, we've already been through this several times, one more doesn't make it worse.

We pick up the conversation Jessica had with Jennifer's mother. Hannah told her that the same man who ran over Jennifer was the one who was harassing her. And that the bracelet belonged to Jennifer, which is why Hannah recognized it at her pawnshop, where Phil sold it. At the moment we still don't know why she had the bracelet, it remains a mystery. "If it hadn't been for the bracelet, Thomas and Hannah wouldn't have argued" Macie says, pained, "if Hannah had told him where she bought it…" “That's why we're here” I say, looking at the chat screen “, to find out what happened." "Even though it hurts." "Even though it hurts... " The pawn shop salesman told Cleo that Hannah had also asked him who sold it. And that's why she decided to meet in his apartment. I hope so, I don't believe that Hannah is capable of cheating someone.

We come to the call list. Jessica apologizes for being mean to the group and Thomas explains that he called her to apologize to Hannah, to meet her. And that she was very different from the previous days, more relieved to talk to him. We are left with the last number on the list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan That’s cause it was hackerman

Macie Why was it Hackerman?

Dan We talked about it right at the start? He was on the phone with Hannah when she was attacked Did I dream that or something?

Jake No. That isn’t my number. My number was indeed on this list. But I removed it before I sent the list to Macie ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I love the friendship you and Dan have.” Macie says sarcastically. I make a throaty sound. Annoying. Well, I don't think I won't change Dan's mind for now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jessica Yeah and who’s is this number then?

Jake We haven’t been able to find out yet. I have called it multiple times. The cell phone is switched on, but nobody ever pick it up.

Macie Do any of you maybe know the number?

Jessica Doesn’t seem familiar to me

Dan Nope

Lilly Any idea who it might be?

Macie Yes I do Amy Bell Lewis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I turn to see Macie. She looks thoughtful after putting those words. "Why do you think that?" I ask, wanting to know her theory. "Intuition" she answers without looking at me ", it's no coincidence that Amy disappeared before Hannah, here's something else..." "I understand."

We talked about the last topic. The body announcement video, where I managed to clear up the image of the memorial rock with Jennifer Hanson's name on it. From there he had found out the real name of our mysterious Jennifer. If Amy was found there and Hannah went to see Iris, Jennifer's mother, then they are both connected to Jennifer's case in some way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie Who needs the police when you’ve got a hacker?

Jake :)

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"Someone who appreciates my work" I commented, looking at her. "When have I despised him?" Macie winks at me and I laugh.

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Cleo So Amy Bell Lewis was found near a memorial to Jennifer Hanson

Jessica If Amy was responsible for Jennifer's death, then the man with no face would fit pretty well.

Lilly You mean as a sort of avenger?

Jessica Exactly Who associates her with Jennifer on purpose. To refer to the crime back then.

Macie That’s an interesting idea ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It bothers me a little that Jessica and Macie have the same thought. It is as if it also complemented themself with it. I don't really like that feeling. It doesn't bother me, that's for sure. It is that feeling of not being able to offer it what others can. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly How does Hannah fit into all of this?

Macie Hannah was involved in the crime ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That deduction again. She must have seen something I didn’t when we read Hannah’s notes. I can’t stop admiring her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thomas Then she would have been found with Amy After all, you said it’s somehow important to the man without a face for his crimes to be understood

Jake In any case, I’d to continue investigating Amy Bell Lewis with Macie As you can see, we are still very much at the start. At the same time, this clue has great potential

Macie I think so too

Jake So. With that, we’ve talked about everything important for the moment Unless one of you has something else to add?

Jessica Well, I forgot to say the vehicle involved in the accident back then was an AMC Gremlin And I got the files from Rogers Garage. Maybe I can find the Owner that way ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You didn't tell me the brand of the car." I comment to Macie, reading Jessica's words. "Oh, really?" "Any reason for keeping it from me?" I look at her raising my eyebrow and crossing my arms. Macie looks away, as if she's caught doing something wrong. "No…. You want to know." she replies slowly. "Do you know anyone involved with that car?" "It's…more…personal…" She avoid looking at me. If not for the case, why is it? <<Okay, I get it… I didn't want to know…>> I shake my head, letting out a sigh. "Are you jeal-?" "No." Macie laughs and I blush. Well, I have a past too, I'm not going to blame her. Besides, she's here with me, which is what matters most to me.

Lilly asks us if we want to talk about Ted Madruga and Macie does a little summary. Little by little they all say goodbye until the two of us are left alone.

I get up from the chair, lying on the bed next to her, staring at the ceiling. Macie puts her phone down on the coffee table and lies down next to me, I look at her and she looks at me, like she knows I’m doing it. "How do you feel?" Her voice sounds calm. I look at her and then sigh. It is the first time in many years that I am in contact with more people. "I don't know." I answered, without taking my eyes off her eyes. "And how do you feel?" I ask more concerned about her and her emotions. "Better." she smiles, leaning on my body. "Then so I am." I return the smile. "We have kept all this a secret for a long time. We gathered our information tirelessly and protected it like a treasure" Macie takes my hand and I return it We interlock our fingers ". It was something just between you and me. And now it no longer." She sighs, looking at me with those eyes that she knows I can't say no to. “I know what you mean” she says as she looks at our hands ", I must admit, I was a bit proud too. Every time you said 'we', it made me think we had something special that no one else shared” she admits and looks at me again ". We’ve come a long way." "We have" I smile at her and place a kiss on her head. ". I wish I could stay like this,” I say, slowly pulling away from her and standing up at the same time “but I have to get going looking for Amy." "Will you take a long time?" she asks impatiently, sitting up too. I see that she wants to be able to do something. I think she already seems better after what happened with Richy. Maybe if I come across something interesting, she can finally let her investigate. "Let's hope it doesn't, meanwhile, writes down all the new information we've obtained." "Got it boss." Macie kisses me on the cheek and picks up the phone again, probably rereading all the chat we've had.

I want to believe that we are getting closer to discovering something important. I feel it.

Chapter 31

#duskwood #duskwood jake #duskwood mc #duskwood jake x mc #duskwood fanfic #duskwood everbyte #everbyte studio

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hiramaris · 2 years

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Dusk til Dawn

Part 8

Summary: Following Episode 9. And spoilers for Episode 10.

Author’s note: As Episode 10 is just released I just want to say heads up for those who are not yet finished. Completing the game without spoilers really made a difference, and as much as possible I want everyone to experience that. And for those finished, I’ll gladly welcome you to my domain where MC took a different route.

Disclaimer: I do not own Duskwood or any of the related characters. Duskwood is created by and owned by Everbyte Studio. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the original Duskwood story belong to Everbyte Studio.

Warning: Mentions of blood, suicide, violence, pedophiles, drugs, gun, murder, sex offenders, kidnapping

Gif by weheartit.com

"Yes!" Jessy exclaims. "Haven't you mentioned that name before?"

You hummed, maintaining a composed exterior while your thoughts raced with utter excitement. To say you were surprised would be an understatement. "I've been after Ted for a while now."

"How fitting!" She exclaimed, "I'm sure the missing file is that of the AMC Gremlin. And that Ted Madruga signed that exact file."

She hit the spot right on. "Which means he is the owner of the Gremlin." You turn to her with eyes lighting up like a child getting his gift on Christmas. "This is a very good find, Jess!"

"You really think so?" she asked, her smile matching your enthusiasm.

"Hmm, we finally bridged the gap between Hannah and Ted." You told her. But something is still missing. If it's not Hanson, it could have been Ted, but he's in prison. The reason why is still unknown to you. But it couldn't have been because of the murder of Jennifer because it would seem whatever the culprit is doing is nonsensical if the killer is already found.

"Ted must have stolen the file." She assumed. "Because it would have incriminated him!"

You hummed thoughtfully, a hint of skepticism in your voice, "possible, but Ted's in prison."

"He is?" she questioned. "How sure are you about that?"

You paused. You haven't really thought about it that often. Back then, you were satisfied with Jake's findings about him. Plus, Lilly has already traced him all the way to prison.

“Based from what we gathered, we know he’s in prison,” you answered truthfully. “But right now, I’m not so sure.”

But you're sure it got to mean something. If Hannah ran over Jennifer using the AMC Gremlin that Ted owns, will that be the reason he's in prison? And the reason she tried to contact him is to admit the crime she did.

"Maybe he just sent someone else to steal the file for him?" You were snapped from your silent stupor when she spoke again. And then she added, voice cracking for a bit, "Y/n... is this why Richy has to die?"

Grabbing her hands, you shook your head. "He's not dead, Jess. We're going to find him, okay? Richy's strong. He's got to be with Hannah." That was the mantra you kept repeating in your head. As long as there's no body, you will refuse to believe he's dead.

You spent the next few minutes calming Jessy down, and probably yourself, too. As of now, Richy is still a sensitive topic for both of you. And you still can't erase the image of his blood coming out of his mouth, asking for your help and you have no choice but to watch.

"Hey... I need to discuss this with Jake first." You announced after a while. You're sure he'll find this information useful. "Will you be okay to watch over for a sec?"

"Of course." she nodded.

You squeezed her hands for the last time, smiling at her warmly. "You did really well, Jess."

She only smiled and squeezed back in appreciation.

Deciding to take a moment for yourself, you headed to the comfort room first, splashing cold water on your already pale and cold-to-the-touch face. Hopefully it would alleviate the persistent headache that seemed to have taken up residence.

Staring at your face on the mirror, you can't help but see your reflection staring back at you, with your face drenched with warm blood. It's been months since that incident happened and you can't seem to forget it. That day, you hoped it was actually your blood smearing your face, but it's not, and that's the horrible truth.

You shook your head to wipe away that memory, and all you can feel is the cold air against your damp face. No sightings of blood, only water.

Okay, focus on the task. You told yourself.

You stepped back outside the room and attempted to call Jake to share the news, but his line went straight to voicemail. You decided to let him be for a bit. He might be preparing some new leads you can focus on. You texted him the deets before pocketing your phone again. You went back to the room to find Jessy pacing back and forth. Seemingly nervous about something.

You approached her, worry drawing across your features. "Hey, Jess. You good?"

"Hey, Y/n." She looked startled, not expecting you to be back so soon. "You talked to Jake?"

"He's still busy," you replied with a casual shrug. "Anyway, are you okay? Something the matter?"

"Well, since you're already here..." she drawled on, tugging you towards the dresser. "I want to talk to you about something. Do we have time for that?"

That piqued your interest. Based on her behavior; sweaty palms, shaky hands and her twiddling her thumbs, and quivering lips, she is indeed nervous. But why?

"I know you're busy and all that but it's important— at least I think it is." She babbled, practically tripping on her every word.

She avoided your gaze, her eyes darting around the room. You gently caught her other hand, trying to get her to focus. "I can always find time for you. What's it about, hm?"

This time, she found herself looking at you. Her eyes held so much emotion in them that you were taken aback a bit. "Well, we can be open and honest with each other, right?"

"Of course, we can, Jess." You answered truthfully, not quite sure where this is heading. You chuckled, "What is it? You're making me nervous."

She groaned softly, using her free hand to cover her face in embarrassment. "This is harder than I thought. And..." she sighed. "It's not exactly good timing either."

"Hmm, well, we don't have much good timing around here but I assure you it's not bad timing right now." You smiled warmly, encouraging her to go on. "You can tell me anything."

"Well..." she chews the bottom of her lips nervously, and you found your eyes wandering there. You mentally shook your head when you found yourself staring at her mouth, and why the hell you are thinking how her lips would feel like if you kissed her then. "I know you already told me that you don't like Cleo like that, but about Lilly. I kinda noticed you two are okay now, and I'm glad about that."

"But?" You encourage her to continue, sensing that there's more she wants to say.

"But, I was wondering if you like her? Y'know? Like like-like," she laughed nervously. "Haha, I guess I used the word 'like' too much in one sentence, but you do know what I'm talking about, right?" She rambled, avoiding eye contact once again.

You find it cute when she asks things like this. You were definitely catching onto where this conversation was headed, making you nervous as well.

"Are you jealous?" You teased, a playful glint in your eye. You bit your lip, trying to hold back a grin as you watched her reaction. You couldn't help but notice her eyes briefly flicker toward your mouth, making your smile grow wider. "Of Lilly?"

"No!" Her denial came fast. It would have been a bit believable if the color of her cheeks aren't rivaling her hair right now.

"You're blushing," you poke her cheeks, which she immediately swats away. You tried to lighten the atmosphere. Because she literally has nothing to fear about. You were never discreet about your feelings, and neither does she. Everyone knows what you feel about each other. You, who are supposed to be the embodiment of neutrality; always side with her at every chance possible to the extent Jake has to remind you each time to be objective with everyone, including with her. And she, the ever short-tempered redhead only ever calms down when you tell her to. "You're pretty cute when jealous, Jess."

"Just answer, okay?" She folded her arms, attempting to look indignant but failing miserably as her cheeks continued to burn bright. "And stop smirking!"

"Well, Lilly's a nice girl. A bit feisty but I guess that's a part of her personality." You told her, deciding to be serious now. To be honest, you don't have any idea why she'd thought you liked Lilly. You never liked her that way, not because you both started as enemies, but because you just never see her in a different light. Plus, Jake will probably kill you if you even dare to try and hit on his sister. "I see her as like my sister. She reminds me of my little sister back home. Why'd you ask?"

"Well..." She hesitated, her fingers nervously fidgeting with the hem of her blouse.

"You can tell me, Jess. You don't have to worry."

"I'm a bit scared to ruin our friendship, Y/n," she admitted bashfully, looking at you. Indeed you can see the fear in her eyes, and you want nothing more but to smooth the crease of worry across her forehead. But you also know how important this is for her. So, you opted to encourage her by flashing her a nice, warm smile to wash away whatever doubts she's feeling right now.

"Not gonna happen." You declared with finality. "Whatever it is you're gonna tell me, you're not losing me."

That must have been what she's been waiting to hear. From the look of uncertainty to determination. You waited patiently on what was about to happen. You had an idea, but you don't really want to set expectations for yourself.

She closed her eyes, inhaled sharply, and then blurted out "I have feelings for you, Y/n." This time, she opened her eyes, pure honesty and adoration dancing across them. "Like a lot. Pretty strong feelings."

For a moment, time seemed to stand still as her confession sank in. A rush of emotions flooded your chest, and you found yourself struggling to form coherent thoughts.

"You mean..." you managed to utter, your voice a mix of surprise and realization. "more than friendship?"

This woman, this incredible person in front of you, just said she likes you. A part of you before thought she was just being friendly with all the times you and her flirt back and forth. Hearing her say this wiped all your remaining doubts about yourself.

"Yeah..." she breathed.

You look down at her, and she stares back. The hypnotic swirls of brown and green in Jessy's eyes are stark and profound. At this close proximity, you can make out specs of gold in them reflecting the illumination of the lights. It almost reminds you of the setting sun, summer infused with a bit of spring. They remind you of forest and gentle flowers, allowing you to rest and breathe. You only then noticed the barely noticeable freckles dusting across her cheeks, and how they complimented her hazel eyes well.

You can't practically hide the adoration spreading across your features right now, but it doesn't seem that obvious to Jessy who was waiting for a response from you.

She carefully watched your expression, her brows furrowing as she saw a flicker of surprise in your eyes. Her face fell. Her hopeful expression began to waver, and disappointment crept into her features. "You see? Really bad timing! But it's always a bad time somehow."

Worried that she might be reading your reaction wrong, you swiftly reached out, your hands instinctively finding their place on her hips to steady her. "Hey, hey. Hey now. It's not a bad time, Jessy."

"What do you mean?" Your cheeks burned a bit by the close proximity, but she didn't seem to mind. "So, do you... like me back, or?"

"I have pretty strong feelings for you, too." You whispered as if it was some sacred secret you kept for a long, long time. "Really, really strong feelings."

She blinked, clearly taken aback by your response, her blush returning full force. "Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'," you echoed with a soft laugh. "So, no need to be jealous of Lilly, alright? It's always been you, Jessy."

She let out a contented sigh, and without hesitation, she nestled herself against your collarbone. Your arms instinctively wrapped around her in a protective embrace, tucking her under your chin, and you wonder how you two seemed to fit like some sort of puzzle piece. Her warmth almost lulled you to the rest you achingly want to have. It made you think about how can you crave someone's touch whom you have never touched before.

"You don't know how I'm so relieved to hear that. I really, really haven't felt this way in a long time." She confessed in a mere whisper. "My last relationship didn't go so well, you know?"

"Would you like to talk about it?" You ask tentatively, afraid it's still a sour topic for her.

"He..." she paused, her voice faltering slightly, "cheated on me. After a three-year relationship."

"Name please, so I can punch whoever the bastard is." You joked half-heartedly and her giggles slightly rumbled against your chest. Though you took note of this conversation if ever the name of the idiot arises out of her, you'll definitely be smacking the living daylights out of him.

"Haha, you sounded like Dan just now," she teased, her laughter laced with warmth. "Don't worry, you might cross paths with him if you stay here in Duskwood longer."

"How did you find out?" You asked once more.

"He confessed it to me." You noticed her grip on you tightened a bit. "The day it happened."

"Wow," you can't help but remark in annoyance. "Did he expect some sort of reward for doing the bare fucking minimum?"

"He also apologized and said it meant nothing," she chuckled dryly. "That it was nothing but a mistake."

"Yeah, as if." You scoffed. This only adds to your growing list of reasons why you have to beat him up. "It always means something."

"I was stupid enough to believe him." She shook her head a bit like she can't believe she'd do something like that. "The following weeks were horrible. I was torn apart. I really wanted to forgive him. But it hurts so much."

"It's difficult to forgive an affair." You whispered.

Cheating is a matter of choice. There's no valid excuse in this world for it. For you, if you don't like your partner anymore, why can't you just be honest with it? Because selfish people like them want the best of both worlds. They only care for their own satisfaction, not for their partners, and definitely not for others.

You plant a gentle kiss on her hair to soothe her growing nerves. Even though she'd move on, it would still be difficult to talk about it, especially something like that. "You left him though, right?"

"I wish I had, Y/n." Jessy looked up at you, her eyes wandering, searching for something in your face. "Instead, I held on to our relationship but we just argued all the time. Because of everything. Until one day he just didn't come back. I guess," she sighed, "he realized that his mistake did mean something after all."

"I'm gonna punch him hard. I'll even take Dan with me." You declared, anger rising in you. It wouldn't really be bad to take Dan with you. You're sure he wants to give the cheating fucker a piece of his fist, too. "Anyway, do you know who the girl was?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to know. You know how small Duskwood is. So, I'm pretty sure I know her. And I was scared her name would be burned into my head forever."

"That makes sense." You hummed. "I'd still like to punch your ex in the face though."

"Haha, I think he does deserve a punch or two." she giggled a bit, and you're glad she's smiling again. You didn't like seeing anything but happiness in her. "Has anyone ever hurt you like that?" she questioned innocently, curiosity thick in her voice.

That question almost made you lose your smile, but you tried to keep it in place but still failed. No one had ever hurt you like that, and you were determined to keep it that way. But the thought of you hurting someone else? That was a different story. There were too many instances to count, but only one ranked to the very top and the only thing you regret doing. That horrible moment coming back to you like a fucking harbor wave.

"I've hurt someone before..." You confessed quietly.

She held your cheeks with gentleness. "I think you're incapable of such thing, Y/n."

"I couldn't protect her, Jess." You shook your head, lips quivering. "She... died because of me." You let out a harsh breath. Swallowing down the accumulating sob in your throat. "That's why I was so keen on going here after you got attacked. I can't afford to make that mistake again."

Imagine the panic you felt that time to the point Jake has to talk you out of it when you were already ready to pack your shit and go to Duskwood.

"I'm sure it was never your fault, Y/n," she whispered, her fingers tracing a soothing pattern on your cheek. You wanted so badly to believe her.

To tell her everything but it's too risky. But you couldn't, at least, not right now. There's too much at stake already but at the same time, you wanted to tell her the truth. You want to give her you're all even if you don't have it. When Jill died, it's as if you died alongside her. You couldn't do anything but blame yourself. You kept this wound for as long as it became a scar.

You fear the same would happen to Jessy, and you wouldn't know what the hell would you do if it happens for the second time around.

"But it felt like it is," you murmured. Your fingers instinctively reached out to brush a strand of hair from her face, your touch gentle and affectionate. "I have never felt this way for a long time, Jess. You made me feel like I can protect someone again. That I have someone to treasure."

It's true. After losing Jill in such a manner, you have convinced yourself that you couldn't protect anyone. So, you closed off to anyone that dares to try to get to you. Hell, you even wanted to quit your job. What's the point of saving others when you couldn't even save the person you cared the most about?

When you joined the group, you tried hard to stay aloof as possible, not believing you can actually solve this case. But when Jessy starts believing in you, it made you feel things again. That someone, despite not really knowing you that well, believes in you unconditionally. You tried to deny what you felt for her is just merely adoration, nothing else. But you couldn't fool yourself anymore.

"The first time I felt it," you went on. "I was afraid to act on my feelings because I thought you have something going on with Dan."

She was surprised at the mention of him. But you wanted to address the elephant in the room. It's pretty much obvious to everyone the silent rivalry going on between you and Dan. You're just both too headstrong to actually mention it, and decided to resort to sarcastic remarks to each other that is entirely not that insulting though. He has become your pal after all, and you like to assume that's what he sees in you, too. That's why both of you never actually showed hostility with each other regarding fighting for Jessy's attention.

"He's... a different story," she sighed, her gaze shifting as if lost in thought. "There's nothing going on, really. You already know we're all childhood friends, and he's just really overprotective of us girls. He began pursuing me after my ex and I broke up. But I wasn't really ready for any relationship, and then you came. And you make me feel like it doesn't feel bad to fall again anymore."

"Because I'll be there to catch you," you said, tucking a loose lock of red hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Jessy, for telling me this. It was never a bad timing when I spend time with you."

She smiled at that, making your lips quirk upwards as well. "I can't wait for all of this to be over, Y/n. I want to recreate that date with you. I'm sure the others will also want to spend time with you after this."

"Well, that depends if Miss Jessica Hawkins is willing to share me with the others." You wiggled your eyebrows.

"I don't really do sharing." She told you with a straight face before letting out a soft laugh. "Just kidding, of course, I'll let you spend time with them, as long as I'm included," she said with a wink.

"Well, I wouldn't mind having you by myself." You flashed her a charming smile.

She chuckled, playfully rolling her eyes. "Hmm, I might consider it if you promise not to flirt with every girl you meet in Duskwood."

You feigned offense, placing a hand over your heart. "Me? Flirt with other girls? Never!"

"Oh, I believe you," she teased back, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But just in case, I'll be keeping a close eye on you."

"Deal," you replied, pretending to zip your lips with an invisible key. "You've got my word, and I promise to be the most well-behaved investigator you've ever seen."

She laughed, the sound like music to your ears. "We'll see about that."

Seeing her like this, all happy smiles and grinning eyes, for a second you thought that maybe, just maybe, everything will turn out okay.

Looking at the hazel eyes you have learned to love over the course of days, you realize you wanted to see them for the rest of your lives. This isn't exactly what you pictured yourself to meet her personally but that doesn't stop you to be enchanted by the mere presence of Jessica Hawkins. And you note to yourself that once this is all over, you'll give her the date you promised her before.

She stares at you for a minute, eyes searching for something in yours. And as if she finally found it, a small, tentative smile crept over her features. Her smile has always been your favorite. It's far by the prettiest thing you have ever seen in your life, for it extends to her eyes and deep into her heart. It was a rare sight to be seen and you always made sure to capture it with your own eyes.

Your eyes never left her own ones, unable to look away.

What was once a heart pounding like a drum in your chest, fast and hot in an uneven rhythm is now a heart steadily beating. It no longer feels like storms of uncertainties colliding in the middle of the ocean.

This love is calm and silent.

"Hey, um, would you mind if I..." she hesitated, her eyes wandering down your lips and then back up to meet your gaze.

"If you what—" you started to ask, but before you could finish your question, she closed the gap between you, eyes half-lidded. Like some sort of magnetic attraction, you find yourself drawing closer, her lips meeting yours in a gentle, tender kiss. It was like a spark igniting a fire, and all the worries and doubts seemed to fade away at that moment.

You wrapped your arms around her, pulling her closer as the kiss deepened. Her lips were soft and warm and you can literally feel yourself short-circuiting. However, the tingling of your stomach and pounding of your heart so violently against your chest like it wants to come out didn't stop you to pull her closer to you.

When you finally pulled away, both of you were breathless, but the smile on Jessy's face said it all. "Wow," she whispered, her eyes shining with happiness.

“Yeah,” you can only chuckle at her choice of words, staring back through drooping eyelids, seeing red dusting across Jessy’s cheeks. Your eyes wandered back to her lips, and then you met her gaze again. "Wow," You murmured with a dopey smile.

Lips still merely inches from yours, she breathed, “I adore you, y’know?"

“I adore you.” You whispered back, capturing her lips once again. "You."

~~~~~

The peaceful moment between you and her was shattered once again by a persistent notification from your phone. It felt like the universe was conspiring against your happiness, making every effort to interrupt your time together.

You had the temptation to silence your phone but you can't. Every notification right now is of utmost importance. But you cannot help but sigh, your moments with her are always being interrupted.

When you opened the notification, you saw an unknown person had added you and sent a link. Without thinking, you immediately pressed the attachment leading you to a footage of Hannah and Richy.

Your heart sank at the sight that greeted you.

Jessy must have noticed the sudden change in your expression. "Huh, what is it?"

"You have to see this," you managed to say. You're speechless. Just what the fuck? Both of them seemed unconscious, hands tied behind their back with a duct tape attached to their mouths. Seeing them treated like some sort of animal made your blood boil.

"Oh, my God!" She gasped. "They're both alive!"

"The others have to see this, shit." You fumbled over your phone. Immediately forwarding said attachment to the group.

"What the fuck is he planning now..." you murmured. This is an unpredictable move from Hanson. What is he expecting to get from this footage? That the others will barge in where he kept the two?

"We can save both of them, Y/n," she said beside you, feeling a bit more hopeful now. "They're both alive."

"Yeah..." You agreed, but you can't help but doubt, "but what the hell is Hanson planning now? Sending us this video?"

"It is?" Jessy turned to you.

"Yeah, it said so in the domain." You replied, pointing her the video on her phone. "And you can also see the time in the bottom left of the corner."

From the looks of it, they looked dosed, but you didn't want to jump to conclusions without more information. You knew that alarming them in their current state could potentially make the situation even more dangerous.

"Y/n," Jessy captures your attention again. Her entire demeanor has changed compared to her relaxed state before. You assumed seeing both of them alive arises the hope and motivation she thought she'd lost. "Can you send this to Alan? If he sees this I bet he's gonna want to help us again!"

You nodded, "Yes, I think I should." You sent him the attachment immediately. You waited for him to go online but unfortunately, he didn't. You cursed softly, "damn, he's not coming online."

"Oh, no..."

You immediately went back to you conversation with the chief. You had already sent him the link but he hasn't replied yet.

"Uhm, Y/n." You felt a gentle tug on your clothes, and you turned to Jessy with a quizzical look. "There's something back there."

"What?" Without hesitation, you moved to her side, tugging her slightly behind a dresser to remain hidden from any potential outside observers. You couldn't risk being seen by Hanson or anyone else at this critical moment.

"There, you see it?" She pointed towards the window, and you squinted your eyes in an attempt to recognize what she was referring to. The darkness outside made it challenging to make out any details, but there was indeed a faint light source in the distance. It was so dim that you were not sure what you are looking at. "I'm not sure if it's in the forest or on the road. It's too dark, and far away."

"Shit," you murmured under your breath, your mind racing with possibilities. "Do you think it's him?"

"I don't know." She answered, unsure, typing harshly on her phone. You assumed she was updating the group on what you and her have scouted from afar. "It's really hard to tell. It looks like a lamp or something."

"No, I've seen the road leading to the cabin earlier. It's a dead-end. Whoever that is on the road, I'm sure they're headed right to us," you said, your voice tinged with rising alarm.

"It looks like this lamp is heading towards us."

As if on cue, the light that was barely noticeable at first began to grow brighter until suddenly, it went off. "Shit, the light's gone."

"That's probably Michael..." Jessy tried to steady her shaking breath, attempting to suppress the panic that threatened to overwhelm her.

Indeed, the light had drawn significantly nearer. Fear enveloped you like a palpable, living force, paralyzing your senses. It felt as though a bloodthirsty beast had wrapped its claws around you, holding you captive in its grip. You're not necessarily scared by him, but the fact you might fuck this up.

"There, again!" Jessy's voice trembled with fear as she pointed out the light source. Her panic was contagious, and you couldn't help but feel the surge of anxiety yourself. "Y/n, it's a lot closer than it was before!"

You took a deep breath, forcing yourself to regain composure. You couldn't afford to succumb to unnecessary fear. You shouldn't be scared of anything. Despite being inactive for so long, you're still Dolos. And criminals fear you.

You typed a brief message to give the others a warning. You cannot afford to lose your position right now.

Taking a deep breath, you knew that drastic measures were necessary. You grabbed your backpack from the couch and returned to Jessy's side. You have to take offense now before he does. Plus you have the advantage as he really doesn't know you're here.

"Jess," you held her cheeks. You knew she won't like this idea, but you have to emphasize how important this is. "You have to stay here. I'll look outside."

"No!" As expected, she didn't like it one bit. She shook her head, adamant to make her point across. "You're not leaving this room, Y/n. I need you to be safe."

"And I need you to be safe," you countered firmly. "All of you. We can't afford to lose anyone, and I won't take any risks with your safety. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

The sudden darkness caused you and Jessy to gasp in surprise. Cursing softly under your breath, you realized that this was an unfortunate time for a power interruption. However, when you checked the group chat, you discovered that Thomas had shut down the fuse box as Dan thought it might provide an advantage.

Both of you hurriedly made your way toward the window. Jessy initiated a video call to alert the others, her voice trembling with urgency. "Y/n he's really here! There! You see him? He's right in front of us!"

Fuck, it's pitch black out there but you can clearly see the man without a face in flesh, and it sent shivers down your spine. He's carrying the lamp with him, illuminating the mask you saw when he attacked Jessy. That slight fear turned into an unidentified anger when you remember that night.

Fucking finally. You can't wait to hand him over in cuffs. And possibly beat him to pulp if you were given a chance.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"It looks like he's waiting."

"Shit," Dan muttered under his breath, his impatience getting the better of him. "That's not enough. I can't hit him from this distance."

"You have to wait, Dan," you reminded him firmly, trying to keep him focused and patient. "If you miss this shot, he'll know you have a weapon."

"It's exactly with her," Lilly found herself saying in a barely audible voice. "This is exactly what Hannah said. That there is a man standing by the edge of the forest."

"Yes, Lilly." You hummed. "You're right."

"He turned off his lamp. Y/n, I can't see him anymore!" Jessy's hands held onto your shirt in a vice grip. You can't see her properly but the way she struggles with breathing is enough to tell you she's frightened to the core.

"It's so dark..." You say in a low voice. Your hand reached for hers, finding her clammy palm and holding onto it gently, trying to offer whatever comfort you could in this unsettling situation. "He could be anywhere."

"Well," Thomas prompted. "What do we do now?"

"Stay in your positions," Dan commanded. "He's gonna try coming in any second now."

A message from Dan suddenly pops out, surprising you a bit. And you wonder why the fuck is he messaging you now in the most importunate time.

You might just have an idea about what's it about but goddamn it's not the best time to discuss it. And you know where this is going. Like 'whatever happens to me yada, yada, yada.' Like you'll fucking let anything happen to anyone of them.

He wasn't able to reply no more as Thomas alerted everyone that as of now, Hanson is on the porch. And after that, things just escalated.

You should have probably predicted what will happen next. Thomas and impulsive ideas just coexist with one another. And if you're gonna add crude reasoning, it's generally not gonna be a great mix.

Guess what? The idiot wants to go out there.

"Don't even think about it, Thomas." You said in a firm voice.

"I can catch him unaware." Once again, he's not listening.

"Dude, no."

"But he can't see me." He insisted and you fought the urge to smack him upside down.

"You don't know that." You countered back.

"I can see him too."

"Cleo, don't even encourage him." You want to facepalm so bad. Are you and Dan the only ones who actually think this is a bad idea?

"If he turns around now and leaves, that was it!"

"Thomas," this is the only time you heard Dan call him by his actual name, and you knew he's pissed as hell. "Seriously, I'm WARNING YOU."

As if not hearing anything, he left the call. Cleo also left and declared she'll try to help, and Lilly soon followed her.

"Oh, fuck it." Dan also left, ending the call effectively. It's only you and Jessy left, and god knows where the hell is Jake.

"Goddamn it!" The whole position is screwed thanks to Thomas. "They all went outside!"

With no one guarding the entrances, Hanson can easily navigate around the house without them noticing him, especially since the whole house is pitch black. He can easily attack them from behind and they'll never know.

You've easily seen how this kind of situation ends before and damn, you're all screwed in all ways possible.

"What do we do, Y/n?!" Jessy is pretty much freaking out just like you, but you're trained in being composed at all times.

Taking a deep breath, you tried to gather your thoughts and devise a plan. But with no other viable options, you're afraid you have to use your ace now.

"Jess," you gently held her shoulders, making sure she looked into your eyes, "listen, I have to go out there—"

Her eyes widened in alarm as she interrupted, "you're just going to do the same thing! It's too dangerous!"

"You have to trust me. I'll be safe. I'll keep them safe, too." You tried to assure her. If anyone is actually suited to defend anyone, it would be you. "But I want to make sure you'll be safe here first, okay?"

Assuming Hanson is already in the house, you cannot leave her here all alone, not until you know she'll be safe here. You cannot bring her with you, it's not safe, too. She's not a damsel in distress per se but you couldn't afford to risk her safety.

"Okay," she let out a shaky breath. "I trust you, Y/n..."

You gave her a gentle smile, appreciating her trust in you. "Lock the door when I leave. Don't open it to anyone other than me and the others. And not until you hear our voice." You told her. "Promise me you won't leave the room."

"I..." She almost hesitated, but give in eventually. "promise."

You pulled her into a tight embrace and she waited for no second to wrap her arms around you as tight as she could. Like if she holds you too loose, you'll slip away. You planted a soft kiss on her forehead in the most loving and caring way you could muster. If it's for giving her reassurance or for something else, you're not entirely sure. But at the moment, it feels like it's the right thing to do.

"Are you with me?" You asked softly.

"I am. Always, Y/n," she whispered, gripping your shirt a little bit tighter. "Please be safe."

"I will." You promised as you leaned in and gave her a quick but tender kiss on the lips. “Please be safe as well, Jess. I'll come back soon."

Leaving her in that room has probably been one of the hardest things you've ever done. When you heard her trying to silence her cries, not wanting to be heard by you almost broke your resolve but you got to keep going.

This is for her as much as this is for everyone.

The sound of the door locking behind you brought a slight sense of relief. At least that way, you knew she is safe. Now, in the darkness, you could fully embrace your skills and training. Stealth and darkness were your allies, and you moved through the area with grace and precision.

Your eyes adjusted to the darkness, allowing you to navigate the space with ease. From your bag, you retrieved the familiar item, holding it firmly in your hand. It has been a while since you used it, it still felt familiar as ever, not too light, and never too heavy.

Your heart pounded in your chest as you carefully descended the stairs, your eyes scanning for any signs of forced entry or unusual sounds near the front door. The house seemed eerily silent, and you couldn't shake the feeling that danger was lurking just outside.

In the dining room, where Dan was supposed to be, there was no sign of him. However, the open balcony door indicated that the others might have used that as an exit. You took a deep breath, steadying your nerves before venturing outside.

Guided by the soft moonlight, you cautiously stepped onto the deck, trying to make out any movement or signs of your friends. The tension in the air was tangible, and you couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency to find them quickly.

As you scanned your surroundings, the deck appeared empty. Your instincts led you to the porch, where Thomas had last seen Hanson. But to your surprise, there was no sign of anyone there, except for Cleo and Thomas's parked cars.

A knot of dread formed in your stomach.

"Where the hell are they?" You questioned yourself. It's far too quiet, and that only adds to the growing eariness you feel.

You decided to went further down the cabin's ground floor. The house is not that big of a mansion to get lost in so it's quite impossible for you to miss him or the others. You can't even find Dan for Pete's sake! And he's still in a wheelchair. He can't possibly move floor to floor.

Your blood went cold when the sound of Jessy's scream tore the silence of the night.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Hanson's not anywhere in your perimeter, and if he's not with Thomas and the others, he probably got Jessy. Adrenaline shot all throughout your veins as you ran fast with purpose. God, why have you been foolish leaving her alone? If something were to happen to her, you will never forgive yourself.

You sprinted back to the cabin with urgency, your mind racing with the worst possible scenarios. As you burst into the cabin, the sight that greeted you filled you with horror. There he was—the man without a face, standing before you.

Jessy lay on the floor, desperately trying to escape his grasp. You assumed she went out of the room and came looking for you guys, and was surprised by Hanson appearing at the front door. You thought that was sealed tight, how the hell did he get inside?

Hanson has got no time to be surprised by your presence as you point your gun and pulled the trigger with no hesitation. It didn't manage to hit him in the desired location you want to shoot him but you're sure you were able to graze his arm with your bullet. Another shot soon followed but it didn't come from your Glock. It was Dan!

Though he wasn't able to hit him as Hanson scurried away like some sort of coward. You wanted to run after him but you wanted to make sure she was okay.

Despite her shock and confusion, she only shook her head at you, "follow him, Y/n!"

You hesitated but decided to follow suit, and nodded in understanding. As you went outside, gun held close to you, you saw him running inside the forest, clutching his side for dear life. You debated going after him but it would be too dangerous. Besides, that bullet you have with you has a chemical infused to it that can paralyze a person within 5 minutes after being shot. He won't be able to return to Hannah and Richy anytime soon.

You sighed. That was a close one. You let out a harsh breath. It didn't miss your eyes the confusion on Jessy and Dan's faces when you shot him. Now, you have to explain to the others why the hell you have a gun with you, and how you know how to use one just as you feared.

When you entered the cabin, noting the lights are on again, all eyes are on you. All of them are huddled at the table with Lilly assisting Jessy in drinking her water.

"What happened?" Thomas questioned you.

"Did you..." Jessy panted, trying to catch her breath. "Did you get him?"

"I did, I went after him but he ran away in the forest." You told them. You also told them about him being paralyzed any moment now, and killing Hannah and Richy will be will probably the last thing on his mind right now.

The group fell into a tense silence, their gazes shifting between you and the gun in your hand.

"I'm gonna address the elephant in the room, alright?" Dan broke the silence, his tone surprisingly calm. "Firstly, nice shot, Sherlock!" He chuckled, giving you a small nod of approval. "Second: Y/n, you've been carrying a gun this whole time? Why didn't you tell us?"

A moment of silence occurred. Everyone waited for your response. Each second passing makes your Glock feels heavier than usual. And you guessed this is probably the best time to tell them everything.

Now or never.

"Old habits die hard, I guess," you murmured, reaching into your back pocket and producing your badge. You placed it on the table, revealing the truth about your past. "I'm Y/n L/n," you began, "Agent Dolos of the Gamma Force."

The room fell silent, the revelation sinking in for everyone.

"Wait, what?" Dan's eyes widened in astonishment. "As in the Agent Dolos of the FBI?!"

"Yes, but not anymore.”

~~~~~

A/N: Alright, sorry for the delay first of all. There's just so much going on with my univ atm 😣 but anyway, I hope this chapter will suffice. Some of you might be confused, but I assure you that whatever questions (especially on who Jill is) you have will be answered soon. Also, I'm editing the previous chapter as I've started to replay the game, and I saw that there are some things that I missed out on. My apologies also for the description of the cabin, I'm still quite confused about which room is located on which floor as I know that it's a two-storey house with a ground floor.

Anyway, thanks for having you here! :)

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infoeverbytesblog · 24 days

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Personagens de Duskwood

Ao longo do jogo, conhecemos diversos personagens importantes para a história. Você se lembra de todos? Vamos conferir os principais e informações sobre eles.

Atenção! Podem haver spoilers no texto.

Jake

Hannah Donfort

Thomas Miller

Jessy Hawkins

Richy Roger

Lilly Donfort

Dan Anderson

Cleo

Phil Hawkins

Homem sem rosto

Alan Bloomgate

Ami Bell Lewis

Michael Hanson

Poke

Darkness

Lady Lotus

Iris Hanson

Ted Madruga

Sra. Walter

Alfie

Velho Gray

Sra. Sully

Miranda

Sophia Anderson

Paul Roger

Nathan

Atores e desenvolvedores de Duskwood. Fonte: Instagram Hen_with_pen

Jake

Jake aparece no início do jogo, logo após o jogador ler uma conversa entre Jessy e Dan, como um hacker. Com acesso às conversas da Hannah, ele encontra o número que ela enviou para seus amigos, o número do jogador, e o contata.

A partir daí, os dois passam a trabalhar juntos paralelamente ao grupo – que o jogador também ajuda – para encontrar pistas sobre o desaparecimento de Hannah. O jogador é único que consegue se aproximar de Jake e transpôr a barreira que ele impõe, tornando-se amigo de Jake e descobrindo mais sobre seus segredos e personalidade misteriosa.

Hannah Donfort

Hannah está desaparecida há 72 horas e a única pista forte que deixou foi uma mensagem enviada depois de desaparecida com o número do jogador. O motivo de Hannah ter feito isso não foi revelado pela Everbyte ainda.

Para encontrá-la, o jogador (com a ajuda de Jake) hackeia sua nuvem onde fotos, anotações, vídeos, gravações e lista de chamadas podem fornecer informações sobre seu paradeiro.

Thomas Miller

Thomas é namorado de Hannah e principal suspeito. Além da polícia, seus próprios amigos passam a desconfiar dele. Ele é o primeiro a contatar o jogador e o adiciona em um grupo onde o jogador tem um primeiro contato com os amigos da Hannah.

Thomas tem uma personalidade mais esquiva e distante, talvez para evitar mais desconfianças – o que gera o resultado oposto. Apesar de ser uma pessoa calma, tende a agir por impulso em alguns momentos, o que pode colocar os planos do grupo em risco.

Jessy Hawkins

Jessy é uma das pessoas mais próximas do jogador por ser mais acolhedora e otimista. Seu otimismo por gerar uma desconfiança por parte dos outros personagens ou jogador, visto como desinteresse ou despreocupação com o desaparecimento da amiga.

Junto com Richy, Jessy e o jogador seguem uma linha de investigação totalmente diferente de Jake e os demais personagens, mas no final todos esses caminhos se convergem para uma mesma direção.

Richy Roger

Richy foi a primeira pessoa a chegar na casa de Hannah após Thomas avisar sobre sua mensagem. O jogador cria um vínculo mais amistoso e de diversão com ele.

Richy é amigos de todos e ao mesmo tempo emocionalmente distante. Sente-se responsável por trazer harmonia e diversão ao grupo.

Lilly Donfort

Irmã de Hannah, desde o início Lilly deixa claro que suspeita do jogador e acaba se mantendo afastada da investigação.

Quando ela entra no grupo de conversas, rapidamente começa a criar conflitos com o jogador, reafirmando sua desconfiança sobre o jogador e o hacker. Sua atitudes podem levar a uma divisão do grupo e ameaçar a investigação.

Dan Anderson

Amigo de Thomas, é um dos principais suspeitos no início do jogo com seu comportamento hostil e por não contribuir com as investigações. Dan acredita que esse é um trabalho que deve ser realizado pela polícia e que o jogador é seu inimigo.

Para contornar sua impassividade e entendê-lo melhor, o jogador precisará de muito esforço e encontrar a melhor maneira de se relacionar com ele.

Cleo

Cleo é melhor amiga de Hannah e uma das pessoas que mais contribui para a investigação. Sempre esclarece todas as informações necessárias, se arrisca em buscas por conta própria (mesmo que isso a coloque em desacordo com os amigos ou qualquer outra pessoa) e ajuda no desenvolvimento de potenciais pistas através do raciocínio lógico.

Phil Hawkins

Phil é dono do bar Aurora e meio-irmão de Jessy. Ele surge como suspeito e é confrontado pelos amigos de Hannah, enquanto Jessy tenta defendê-lo.

Seu relacionamento com Jessy não é muito bom e as acusações contra ele só pioram as coisas, o que acaba deixando Jessy dividida e em conflito com o meio-irmão.

Homem sem rosto

O sequestrador de Hannah revive um personagem de uma lenda local, conhecido como homem sem rosto, numa tentativa de justificar os seus atos.

Desde o início do jogo, ele mantém contato com o jogador, utilizando de ameaças para forçá-lo a desistir das investigações. Quanto mais pistas o jogador coleta, mais realis vão ficando suas ameaças e o jogador tem que lidar com a pressão de colocar não só a investigação sob risco, mas também seus novos amigos.

Alan Bloomgate

Delegado de Duskwood, investiga o caso Hannah Donfort. Inicialmente ele insiste para que todo o grupo deixe o trabalho com a polícia e pare as investigações.

Ao longo do jogo, ele descobre alguns segredos que ameaçam a estabilidade das investigações e a segurança de alguns de seus amigos.

Alan tem um papel importante no fim da história, onde o jogador inevitavelmente precisa confrontá-lo.

Amy Bell Lewis

Amy está desaparecida assim como Hannah. Assim que a notícia sobre sua morte surge, o foco do grupo se volta para ela, que pode ter uma ligação com o caso de Hannah.

Amy era uma artista, frequentava as mesmas aulas de desenho que Cleo, a única que a conhece. Apesar de todos os esforços, ninguém consegue encontrar muita coisa sobre ela e a polícia se nega a revelar informações.

Jennifer Hanson

Jennifer está diretamente ligada com o caso de Hannah. Quando uma velha história sobre a morte de Jennifer Hanson perto da floresta de Duskwood vem à tona, o grupo se concentra nessa pista e vai mais a fundo descobrindo sobre ligação com Hannah e Amy, cujo corpo foi encontrado na floresta.

Michael Hanson

Pai de Jennifer, Michael está desaparecido desde o acidente da filha. O jogador e seus amigos desconfiam que Michael possa ser o sequestrador, por querer vingar a morte da filha.

Na época do acidente, há 10 anos, Michael também foi o principal suspeito no acidente de Jennifer.

Poke

Poke é um chaveiro que aparece pela primeira vez rodeado de mistérios. O jogador descobre sua profissão quando o sonda numa conversa para tentar descobrir o que ele negociou com Dan.

Dr. Ulric Barret

Ulric é o médico de Hannah, com quem ela desabafa sobre seus problemas. Através de uma gravação, é possível ouvir um trecho de uma conversa de ambos.

Hannah menciona uma história a qual ele parece duvidar, o que gera antipatia pelo grupo, mas também revela algo importante sobre Hannah, que pode levar a conclusão do caso com um final inesperado.

Darkness

Darkness é o nome de usuário do personagem do fórum Dark Mistery onde o jogador vai atrás de pistas.

Ao ver uma publicação interessante, o jogador recebe ajuda de Darkness para desvendar os mistérios de Amy.

Lady Lotus

No fórum Dark Mistery, encontramos uma personagem vidente. Seu nome de usuário é “Lady Lotus” e ela consegue fazer previsões apenas com poucas informações, como a cor dos seus olhos. É claro que as previsões não são verdadeiras, mas sim relacionadas ao jogo.

Lady Lotus é uma das personagens mais misteriosas, já que ainda não se sabe se suas previsões dirão algo sobre o futuro de Duskwood.

Iris Hanson

Mãe de Jennifer Hanson, separada de Michael mesmo desde a morte da filha.

Ted Madruga

Antigo dono do carro que atropelou Jennifer. Ted se encontra em uma prisão em Maydol.

Sra. Walter

Dona do hotel de Duskwood, onde Lilly trabalhou. É mãe de Alfie e graças ao seu ofício sabe muito sobre o que acontece na cidade.

Alfie

Filho da Sra. Walter, Alfie passa boa parte do tempo com o velho Gray, seu cuidador. Alfie tem problemas psiquiátricos, mas apesar disso, não parece receber os cuidados suficientes da mãe.

Velho Gray

Gray ou velho Gray, como é chamado, é o zelador do hotel da Sra. Walter e amigo de Alfie, sempre cuidando do menino.

Sra. Sully

Conhecida por ser uma dos maiores fofoqueiros de Duskwood.

Miranda

Mãe da Cleo, dirige o Portão da Esperança, um programa da igreja que ajuda fiéis e cidadãos.

Sophia Anderson

Mãe de Dan. Sophia é mencionada durante as buscas do Portão da Esperança pela Hannah, quando fica implícito um problema ao andar da mulher. Mais tarde é esclarecido que ela usa cadeira de rodas – mais como apoio – por conta de um acidente.

Paul Roger

Dono da Roger’s Garage e pai de Richy. Paul é casado e cuida da oficina junto com o filho. Durante um episódio, Richy fala algo sobre sua mãe ter se perdido de novo fora da oficina, o que sugere que ela tenha problemas de saúde, que não são explicados.

Nathan

Pai de Lilly, Hannah e Jake. Nathan traiu sua esposa, mãe das duas primeiras, com outra mulher, que gerou Jake. Contudo, Nathan nunca assumiu seu filho.

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wukindly · 2 years

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And now we wait.

Playing Duskwood again was a nice experience for sure, and I’m glad I got to document it here. I’m not going to post any theories about Hannah’s kidnapper, because honestly I have no idea who it is.

However, I am going to leave here some questions that got me thinking a lot.

I get that Phil had a connection to Michael Hanson, but was it enough to get him arrested? Why did they really arrest him?

Well, obviously, I want to know who kidnapped Hannah and killed Amy, but who is Ted Madruga and why Hannah wanted to talk to him?

And something that has been bugging me a lot - how did Hannah know our number and sent it to Thomas? Do we even know her? Do we have any connection to Duskwood?

And that’s it, I think these are the questions in my mind at the moment. If you want to talk about theories or Duskwood in general, you can DM me!

#and the duskwood saga comes to an end #for now #til episode 10 folks #duskwood #julie plays duskwood #hannah duskwood #duskwood hannah #hannah donfort #phil hawkins #phil duskwood #duskwood phil #ted madruga #michael hanson

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ryncorrect · 3 years

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The next episode of duskwood would be the final one but I STILL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

WHAT HAPPENED TO PHIL

WHO THE HECK IS TED MADRUGA

(obviously) WHERE IS HANNAH

WHO IS MWAF

WHY AM I SO SUSPICIOUS OF THOMAS TBH

#duskwood #aaaaaaargh #my life is over

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pennyl4n3 · 2 years

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Hey my beloved detectives, as I wrote, I'm going through busy times. I found this note on my phone, I wrote it after playing episode 9 but I can't remember why I didn't post it straight away... so I post it now, even if many of these questions had already been discussed

Questions questions and more questions

Let's assume that Hannah was driving that night and hit Jennifer:

Who was the owner of the car? We know it was supposed to be an AMC Gremlin right? If it get damaged Hannah or Amy should have take it to a mechanic, and at that time ther was only Roger's Garage in Duskwood. Maybe Jessy could find it in the folders she took from the garage.

And does this means that some other people helped her and Amy in hiding the body?

When did Dan get out (or escape) from hospital?

What was that chat between Dan and Hannah?!? I thought they hadn't so much confidence... what if he was actually the one who went with her to Iris house?

(This was before everbyte changed the gender in Hannah's cloud document, so I don't know if it's still possible)

Hannah was taking pills for depression or for hallucination? She was the only one seeing this man watching her...

Tommyboi... how the hell can he be that stupid 🙄🙄🙄

Why Cleo has always to see her mother, can't she just give her a call? I mean, you're chased by a mad man!

Phil? We don't anything about him...

Ted Madruga? Maybe we should wait a little bit for our letter to arrive to him and then for him to answer (if he wants)

Another question: Thomas said he didn't know the pin for Hannah's phone. So how can he do anything on her phone that make us loose our connection?

#duskwood game #duskwood everbyte #everbyte studios #duskwood phil #duskwood dan #duskwood episode 9 #duskwood thomas #duskwood cleo #duskwood amy #duskwood hannah

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robbybarnes · 3 years

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~DUSKWOOD~THEORIES~

I was thinking...

What's the point of putting Phil in jail?

In short,we know that every action that has been performed in the game has its own meaning. Some we know the gravity,others we are getting there.

If putting Phil in prison was the only way to find out about Michael Hanson it would make sense. But before Phil called to tell us that he had been arrested for his connection with the man,we already had the tape of the interrogation with Alan. So sooner or later we would have come to the same conclusion.

Some time ago I thought that Phil had been arrested because he could be our "owl" (potterhead here ^^) with Ted Madruga...but it doesn't run much as a speech. Maybe he could be our weakness that Alan could use against us: putting him in a common cell with other inmates to make him a target...but that doesn't seem fair either. I don't think Alan goes that far...

At this point I think he's using Phil as a bait so he can bring us out. He knows about our connection with him,that he is involved in Hannah's disappearance in one way or another...only since he knew her. But thinking of all that Alan may have about Phil,the execution of the plan seems exaggerated to me. Phil flirted with Hannah...but as a bartender that's something he probably did with any beautiful girl. He knew MH...but he was the previous owner and of course they know each other. Amy probably went to the Aurora too...so she probably met Phil at least once. Arresting him seems excessive to me,also counting that the police do not seem to have any kind of actual evidence on him.

What could he be in for? Did he fight with MH cause he completely changed the Aurora? And then,hypothetically speaking,he take revenge by killing his daughter? Come on...

Even if it were,Phil isn't that much older in age than the rest of the gang. So at the time he was little more than a young boy looking for a nice place to work. But the thing that in my opinion makes people suspicious is his way of doing. The fact that he says everything that comes into his head. Which can be a gift or a condemnation. In my opinion,in this whole story,the only one who has always told us things as they are was Phil...and maybe he was separated from the group for fear that he would say too much. The only thing he hasn't told us is the story with Jessy...which intrigues me,but in his shoes would you say something like that to a stranger?

...what do you think?

#duskwood #duskwood everbyte #duskwood game #everbyte studios #duskwood phil #literally wtf

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skyeofloxlay · 3 years

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DUSKWOOD EP.8!

Okay, it's been a long time since I posted here. I wish I had come back sooner, but the school has taken up any time I have, and unfortunately, I also didn't know what exactly to post here (And I had also stayed away from any social media for my own mental health.) But episode 8 of Duskwood gave me some excitement, and maybe I'll write some stuff here. (Or maybe I'll just do this post myself and be gone for a while longer until a new episode of Duskwood comes out ._.)

Needless to say, this post will be FULL of spoilers, but even so, it's good to warn unsuspecting people. Anyway everything will be below the cut, so prevent anyone from seeing it by accident.

(Sorry if it have something confused, or with English mistakes)

BUT LET'S GO WITH IT BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT, BUT A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS EPISODE.

For me this was one of the episodes with the most stuff, at least in my opinion, or maybe I think that because I've played so much the other eps. that nothing in eps. past surprises me. But anyway, let's start at the beginning. (I just hope I took a screenshot of everything, I'll be very frustrated if I forgot something)

Remembering that this is all from the choices I made during the ep, and maybe some things vary. I'm not sure, as I've only played it once I can't tell you where each question leads, and honestly, even though I really want to redo the game, it becomes more and more tiring, it took me 3 days to reach ep 8 (due to the fact that my game crashed when I was going to start ep 5, I had to uninstall the game and lost the progress of the game. End of story.) So, tell me what you think of the ep. I would love to know :)

(Sorry, I'm stalling again, it's inevitable.)

*Almost whenever I mention us/we, I mean MC.

Richy's death. This is where ep 7 ended.

We texted him, and obviously he didn't respond.

Thomas and Cleo call us saying they went to the pawn shop, they say Phil was the one who left the bracelet there.

We talked in the group about Richy.

Thomas wants to go search the forest, but we stop him.

Lilly calls the police.

Jessy says she's in the junkyard along with three policemen, she says she wants to talk to Richy's father, but she can't contact him.

She tells about the fish prank Richy did, and they made it a ritual/tradition(?)

One of the cops arrives with Richy's bloodied cap.

Jake talks to us.

He says he knows what happened and he's sorry.

We talked to Jake about Richy's death.

Jake tries to comfort us.

Jake confesses that he already thought about giving up, taking us and leaving it all behind, but he knew that sooner or later the consequences of that action would catch up with us.

We continued our investigations, telling Jake that Richy heard screams in the forest and so he went there.

We ask why Richy would be attacked, and Jake replies that the MWAF takes people marked, but they are taken in the new moon, but as he says, Richy wasn't attacked on the first new moon of the year, and we remember that it wasn't even night either when he was attacked.

Duskwood police call us. But Jake hangs up midway through the call. He says that talking to the police would not be a suitable move at the moment, as any information can make us the focus of investigations.

Jake tells us not to answer Alan if he calls again.

We commented to Jake that the killer didn't show himself this time, Jake says maybe we should focus on Richy.

Jake changes the subject and says he thought Phil would be our most important lead, but now that he's in jail, we've been forced to drop that theory.

We say Phil was the one who left the bracelet at the pawnshop, and that should be proof, and play a big part in all of this. And that was because of that fact that Hannah wanted to talk to Phil.

There is still a lot to be done: Ted Madruga, Amy, and now we know the right name for Jennifer (Hanson).

Jake says he's going to see which of these clues is going to be more productive.

If we ask Jake if he's purposely leaving us out, he says yes and says he wants us to rest. If we say that we don't want that, he says that we have a lot to do, and if we have to testify, we just have to ignore it, and that we must face the unknown with a clear head.

We say goodbye.

Lilly asks how we are going to proceed now. Whether or not they should go to the cabin.

We ask if anyone knows where the cabin is, and Cleo replies that she does.

They decide not to go.

Cleo says that we and Jake must reveal everything we know. And that we should add Jake to the group.

We talk to Jake, he accepts with the condition that we remove Richy from the group, because now the kidnapper must have his cell phone, and can see all the messages.

Dan says he was in the bathroom because the hospital food was hurting him.

Before we start talking about everything we have, Dan asks Jake how he knew Hannah was missing. He replies that Hannah had gone to get help from him, and he had a video call with her.

We ask if there's anyone close to Hannah, and Jake says from the angle the cell phone was on he couldn't see very well, but he doesn't think so. So we asked if it was like anyone could have seen Jake, and he said no. We ask how Hannah was attacked, but he doesn't know.

Jessy asks to wait because she wants to go home.

Dan talks to us and says he still doesn't trust Jake.

We tell the group to speak up when they have a question, join the conversation, etc.

We started talking about our MWAF clue and how/why we started to follow that.

We sent Hannah's photo of the crow. We ask about an incident Hannah could be involved in, but no one knows anything.

We talk about Hannah's notes. We said that she suffered from depression, no one believed it, even showing the medical prescription. Nobody knew what she was going through.

We show Hannah's psychiatrist's recording. We said that Hannah thought she was being followed, and that it was linked to her past.

We show the security camera recording.

We talk about the Jennifer incident, Jake asks who was asked about Jennifer, and (in my case) it was Richy. So... ._.

Jake talks about Jennifer's real last name (Hanson)

Jessy says she went to Hannah's car and went to the GPS location.

Thomas is confused by this information and says Hannah's car was not there before.

Dan asks for a break.

Lilly says she went to her parents' house to find out more about Amy, and says she couldn't even look at her father's face.

Lilly decides to send a letter to Ted.

Jake and Lilly finally talk.

We and Jake helped Lilly write the letter.

Lilly talks to Jake. (I found their conversation very cute, I have to admit)

Dan says he took a nap, Cleo said that too.

We resume the conversation.

Jessy says she met Iris. And that Jennifer was supposed to have been hit by a car, and the author of this was never found. Hannah was being followed by Jennifer's alleged killer.

We send the second note.

We talk about the bracelet.

Thomas talks about the bracelet, which he thought was proof that Hannah was cheating on him, so he went to the apartment to get it. Jessy says she saw it at the pawnshop, which led Thomas and Cleo there, where they found out that Phil was the one who left it there.

We said that Hannah should also know about this and that's why she wanted to talk to Phil.

We talked about the phone book. And about each one that was there. Rogers Garage because of Hannah's car in there, Alan because Hannah probably wanted something from the police, Phil because of the bracelet, Thomas and then the unknown number, where we thought it was Jake's, but then he reveals that it wasn't his, and that he had taken his number off the list before. And this is something we have yet to discover.

Jake then shows the stone it had in the place where Amy was found, said Jennifer Hanson. We concluded that it must mean something to the killer in some way that we don't know yet, but that everything is intertwined.

We talked about Ted Madruga in the group.

The group decides that it's better if no one leaves the house from now on.

We ask Jake how he feels, and he says he doesn't know, and asks how we feel.

Jake then finds a post from Amy on a forum. (Dark Mystery Forum)

Jake says we should check it out ourselves, but you can only log in with an account. Jake gives his account, Nymos and an impossible password. (I said it was a great password, that our account would be safe, mainly from me xD )

He asks if he wants to change the password for us, so we can choose the password.

(and damn, I picked cake when it was the perfect opportunity to put Jake as the password, I really wanted to know if anything would happen if we put him as our password, please, did anyone think about that? Could you tell me if something happens or not?)

We entered the forum, and there are 9 posts there, at least the ones accessible to us, some have nothing important, they are just stories that people post there, or interact to make a story, with each user saying a sentence, and so on. One has several pictures of ghosts. And well, on some posts we can interact (well, I know I didn't know, but as I read the posts, I saw that at the end of some posts there were some sentences and a button, but the button was in German, and I was too lazy to look up the translation, so in the post where each one posted a sentence to form a horror story, I clicked this button, and then I realized what that was, in this case, the sentence I accidentally put was that the gravedigger tripped on the phone cord, and fell in the middle of the room xD)

Definitely one topic that caught my attention was predicting the future, and I love it when it comes to games, because as much as I don't believe in real life, in games it always means something. I don't know if anyone else did, or if all the answers are the same, but mine said: LadyLotus "I see your pain Nymos. I share it with you. My prediction is stronger and clearer than ever. In your future, I see a king's golden crown. (I really don't know what that crown might mean.) Sadly, you're about to face tough times. But you won't go through this alone. There is one person in your life that you are very important to (I assume it is Jake) But something unsaid is still with you two. (I wonder what it is, but I have a feeling it's a very bad thing) And if something is offered to you soon, you must refuse. (I think this must be in relation to the Duskwood Police? Can't be sure)

Anyway, I thought it was really cool to be able to interact on the forum and predict our future. I loved the forum mechanics and hope we can use the forum more in the next ep :)

(I saw it Everbyte, and honestly I don't know how I feel about it xP)

We talked to Darkness, and found out Amy's number, which was the unknown number on Hannah's list. (Hello darkness my old friend was a tempting answer, but I didn't click, if someone chose that answer could you tell me what it answers?)

(I know at that time Jake sent a message, and I was scared xD, the scariest thing was in the dialogue I could say I got a fright ._. Everbyte, since when did you guys develop a mind reader in programming?)

We talked to Jake about the number.

I got another fright at Jake's notification, and what can I say, I wasn't really expecting this conversation, but it sure made me very happy. :D

Jake asks us if we like Chinese food. (I said yes, but to be honest, I've never eaten Chinese food, and I can't say whether I like it or not, but I said yes, I didn't want to say no to Jake. If someone said no, what happens? I'm curious.)

He says he has a restaurant in front of the hotel where he is staying. And he says he was thinking about us, and that it would be rude to invite us to a restaurant we don't like. We ask him if he keeps thinking about things like that, and he replies that he thinks a lot. We said that we thought about him too, and that it was good to think. Jake asks if we'd like to talk about it. (And my god Everbyte, I can't believe you turned my thoughts into reality, I mean "reality" as this unfortunately isn't real ._.) We have several answer options, and maybe I'll talk about it in another one post.

Jake says that thought is very good, and that he would like to make it a reality. (Everbyte, why do you do this with my heart? Why do I have to fall so hard for a guy who doesn't even really exist? TT_TT)

Phil calls us in prison, I can't remember his exact words, but he comments about Michael Hanson, that he's in jail because of Phil's connection to him, and that we should prove Phil's innocence.

Jake gets jealous. (I admit it was cute to see him like that xD)

We ask if there's any chance the police know that Phil called us, Jake asks if we were scared of the police, and then reassures us that we don't need to fear the police. We say that we can feel that Jake is hiding something from us, he replies that he still has a card up his sleeve, but that we would understand when the right time came (ah, he hasn't said that for a while, I don't even know why I'm still surprised xD )

Jake discovers an audio of an interrogation of Michael Hanson. We found out that Michael was the former owner of the bar Aurora, and that the day of the Pine Glades Festival was the day Jennifer disappeared/died, and that he didn't notice until the next day when he saw she wasn't in her room. The police suspected Michael was to blame for Jennifer's death.

We show the audio in the group.

Alan sends us one more message.

We found out that Phil took over the bar about a year ago, Phil changed everything there, and before that the bar was geared towards an older group. Thomas said that was where he met the group.

We know that Michael left Duskwood suddenly.

Thomas and Jessy go to the address that belonged to Michael.

We talked to Cleo and Dan in the meantime.

When Thomas and Jessy arrive at the house, (actually the mansion, because that's huge) everything was apparently abandoned. The two begin to explore, and even find a bunker, which was empty.

Lilly says she sent the letter and we say we found out the last number was from Amy.

At some point, Lilly says she remembers walking with her grandfather there a long time ago.

Thomas calls us, they find something inside the house, it was a room with lots of pictures and investigative stuff apparently.

Thomas and Jessy split up to find something. In the meantime the MWAF enters the house, Thomas and Jessy manage to escape in time.

MWAF then calls us asking if killing the mechanic wasn't enough for us? He then says that he's going to kill them all, one by one, that we'll have to watch them all die, and that he's finally going to come after us.

Phew, this took a long time to write, because a lot happened in this ep, I tried to put as much information as possible, but I may have left something out, and I also had no precision about what was said in the calls (and I was with too lazy to research, sorry.) Hope this post might be useful in some way? I kind of just wanted to comment on everything that happened in this ep. Maybe I'll comment on other things about this ep, and I also want to talk about Richy, all his suspicious stuff, and whether or not he's MWAF. (Of course, so far there's no way to know precisely, they're just theories, but I want to talk about it :) )

Oh well, and I also wanted to say, are we reaching the end of Duskwood? It would be ep. 10 the last one? One thing I noticed in the ep trailer was a puzzle, does that mean we're almost at the end of the mystery? Well, we'll have to wait and find out.

See you in the next post. And oh! Tell me what you think of this ep, and your theories :)

(In advance, this was one of the best eps for me, or maybe it is because I've played the other eps so much that I don't see it with the same eyes, but anyway.)

Restarting is tempting, but going through all 8 eps again, I don't think I can do that, especially as I would restart now, play a little bit, drop it, go into duskwood again just in the new ep, and have to spend another 3 whole days playing just to start the new ep. So... better not xD

#duskwood #duskwood ep 8 #duskwood 8 #duskwood new ep #duskwood spoilers #duskwood ep 8 spoilers #duskwood 8 spoilers

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hacked-by-jake · 1 year

Note

If my friends ghosted me after I helped their ass with their mess. Things will not be pretty.

I will get one way ticket to Duskwood and let's just say that I will just end up to where Ted Madruga is. -M

Yes! Feel you. They would be nothing without us. Hannah would still be missing. As I said, I really hope it has a more than good reason otherwise the next new moon will not be funny.

(Hope Dave the intern will not see our violence, he already hates me I think. 🫣👀)

#m my beloved #moonvale #duskwood group #hbj dw x mv answers

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ephemeral-sorrow · 3 years

Text

❌Duskwood episode 7 spoilers❌

My theories so far:

1) Ted Madruga(sorry if I incorrectly wrote his name) being that unknown man from Hannah's diary who was visiting Jennifer's family with her and supporting her mentally. I think his imprisonment is somehow linked with the long-time accident or at least he was present or knew something about it, otherwise why would he be concerned about this particular group of people and their tragedy?

2) Amy, who was gruesomely murdered, has a rather mysterious role in the whole picture. It almost seems that her identity was revealed to distract us from the crucial detail we got dangerously close to.

The investigation took a lot of time, being suspiciously silent for a while and most likely crime experts already examined the body and the surroundings for possible evidence so there really was no reasonable excuse for them to make it look like police didn't care about it(remember newspaper notice and how the first page was about sale at Rudy's instead of the headlines about the incident? Also, Duskwood is a pretty small town - "rumors fly quickly there", plus a bunch of people has proven to actually know Amy or be acquainted with her. It's strange that almost no one paid attention to her disappearance).

So there must be something that provoked the police to broadcast the whole thing and tell us her name and show her face. I suspect that it was quiet on purpose. The moment to reveal information was way too ideal: the atmosphere in the group was alarmingly intense. It's just like a card house: one wrong movement and everything falls down in key reaction. Why would someone be interested in doing such thing?

a) to throw the group into greater turmoil and make it split --------> as a result, our private investigation slowly comes to a stop

b) upon it's stopping MC and Jake lose control of the situation and can't receive data anymore due to their contacts being cut off (at the same time they realise that coming to Duskwood is impossible. Both of them will be in danger. The person behind this is aware of these facts on account of Lilly's video)

c) Phil's arrest(I suppose he's not the one who commited this murder) is also for distraction and group splitting. He could've been chosen as the scapegoat to win some time for a real killer. That matchbox and rumors about his evil deeds(painting Richy's garage and badmouthing Hannah) were used to frame him along with the statements someone in the group has given.

Most importantly, why would Phil call MC? Did he want to tell something vital but he was interrupted? Does this mean we were deprived of a valuable info?

It may seem unlikely, but all strings lead to Alan, who was later discovered to be the chief of the police. He has the power to control mass-media and the official investigation, he was contacting Hannah on the day when she went missing, he's the one who could be most displeased about our search and he might've maneuvered Amy's case.

#duskwood #everbyte #duskwood spoilers #theories #duskwood mobile game

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duskwood-fandom · 3 years

Text

Algumas questões que tenho, e se quiserem discutir, ou se tiverem teorias, me chamem:

1 - quem é a dona da voz feminina que Richy ouviu?

2 - porque Hannah queria falar com Phil?

3 - quem é Ted Madruga?

4 - porque Dan mente sobre o corpo dizendo que ele nunca foi encontrado?

E Dan é o mais velho do grupinho, ele seria a pessoa com maior capacidade de se lembrar. E acho que os outros não falam sobre não ter encontrado o corpo, mas posso estar enganada. Ah, e não acho que Dan seja uma das crianças, quando Richy e Hannah eram crianças ele devia estar na pré-adolescência para a adolescência. E Phil muito menos, acho que ele é o mais velho de todos sem falar que boa parte de sua infância foi fora de Duskwood.

#duskwood

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lyon-amore · 1 year

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What if...? Duskwood Chapter 28

Chapter 27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Macie POV*

I wake up alone in the room. I don't see Jake either on his computer or in the bathroom. I just hope he'll be careful if he's anywhere in Duskwood. It's still too early.

I read the chat I had with Lilly last night when Jake was in the shower. The visiting request was for a man named Ted Madruga. Since it was late, I decided not to bother Jake with this new clue. I hadn't done it out of selfishness to want him for me, obviously, just that with everything he's been through these months, I think he needed to take a little break, just that. An ordinary person can't always carry the weight of the whole world on his shoulders and I want him to know that he can't beat himself up so much. "You just make me worry too much…" I whispered, letting out a sigh.

I get a notification from the group. Richy had sent a list of things that he was going to need to take home. I still haven't decided what to do. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie Hey Richy Richy Hello there 😁 Macie You’re aware that this isn’t gonna be a fun family vacation, right? Richy Of course I’m aware But it feels like a step in the right direction The police investigation appears to be in full throttle We’re taking ourselves out of the line of fire The only way is up for us 🙂 And what are you going to do? Will you come? Because… Well it would be fun if you came 😳 And that we would all be together Macie I don’t know yet I'm thinking about it Richy You should come So you will be safe 😉 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I bite my nail, nervous. I don't want to go but...

My brain starts to think is it safe to go? And with him? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie OK Why not? It will be fun 🙂 Richy Cool! 😆 I hope that I can finally sleep in peace again in that house 😩 😄 Cause I haven’t really been sleeping that well lately 😅 Macie Hopefully we can rest 😊 Has Jessy messaged you at all? I don't want you two to argue Richy Oh, it’ll be fine 😅 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I feel angry with myself talking to him this way, because at the same time I appreciate him. He's not a bad guy but... My stomach turns to think that danger is really close to us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie Richy you can talk to me Richy She quit Macie What? Richy Yes but is all good I bet she didn't mean it Once we all have our normal lives back, I’m sure everything is gonna clear right up 🙂 You know I’ve got the feeling we’ll have overcome everything soon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How can you write me this?" I squeeze the phone, hoping not to break it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie What makes you think that? Richy 🤔 Mechanic’s intuition 😆

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

If I end up making a mistake, I won't be able to forgive myself. I won't be able to see his face again. Dad... why did you teach me your job?

We talked a bit more about Dan's car. It seemed that he was a bit upset, but he accepted it. I don't see any reason to tamper with Dan's car, it would be too extreme, because it could have killed him. "But Amy... She's dead..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Richy You know I was wondering how everything would have gone if you weren’t with us Macie I’ve asked myself that too You would have never found the man without a face Richy Yeah, probably not ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I notice annoyance in his message. Like in the beginning when he didn't want me to put those fantasies into Jessy's head. The monsters I look for are always going to be real, not fantasy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie What if someone is trying to frame Phil? Someone who knew he’d be on Hannah’s telephone list ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don’t understand these actions. The kidnapper might not have done anything to put all the blame on Phil, which only makes the suspicion even greater.

Richy takes time to answer…

After a while, I get a message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Richy I just heard a scream From the forest ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I close my eyes and breathe in. I must continue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie Was it the voice of a man or a woman? Richy Female Hang on, I have to get closer Again! Macie Richy, I’ve got a bad feeling about this 😕 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After that message, I get a call from him. I accept and instantly hear his voice. "Hey, ah, well, that wasn't just any random scream, that was someone shout it my name, that for sure." From the tone of his voice, he seems to be walking fast. "You're sure?” I ask, a little doubtful. “Yeah, straight from the forest” he says quickly. ”. Wait, I'm going to turn on the camera.” I put my phone in front of me.

Richy focuses first on the ground and then on the forest. I tried to take a good look at every detail that was important, but it was just forest and more forest. He sighs, calmer. "Out quiet now." he tells me, still focusing on the forest. "Richy, I think it would be better for you to come back." I tell him, starting to feel worried and nervous because I don't understand his attitude. "What if it was Hannah?" he asks me, looking at me with concern. "What if she needs my help?" "But taking risks like this is also risky, remember?" I ask, frowning. "We weren't supposed to go into the forest." "And we don't lose anything by proving it's true or not, either, even if it's just a quick glance," he replies before stopping his walk, looking off into the distance. "I think I see someone." He starts to run, but he doesn't focus on what he saw. "Richy?" I'll call him "Richy, tell me what you've seen." He continues running some more until he stops, refocusing on the forest. I can't see anything. "Hello?" Richy yells, waiting for an answer "Hello?!" "Richy, enough nonsense, get out of there!" I yell at him now. "No! Maybe it's Hannah I've seen!" He answers nervously "Hannah!" It is then. Something he didn't count on. I hear Richy grumble as he drops the phone, falling to the ground. "Richy?!" I yelled nervously. I didn't want to go through the same thing as Jessy again. Right now I can't think. They are my feelings before my reason. I wait for the attacker to make an appearance again, but Richy picks up the phone, focusing. "RICHY?!" Are you ok?!" I ask when I see his face, it was as if something hurt him. Richy continues to make sounds of pain. And everything I believed in, it fades away. "Richy! Tell me something please!" I sit up in bed, sitting up on my knees nervously. When he opens his mouth to speak, I see blood spurt out of it.

Blood…

My weak point…

I start to get dizzy, but still try to hold myself there for him. "Rich, please! Hold on!" I scream and cry. I get up and walk around the room as if I wanted to look for him in this place. What do I do?! What can I do?! "Everything will be fine! I promise you!" Little by little Richy begins to stop moving and I can't do anything else but shout his name and cry for him. He is alone and he has me for support. A support that had been doubting him. From being Hannah's kidnapper… Richy's attacker. When I see that he is no longer moving, I feel my heart race and my legs give out. I fall to the ground. "Richy! No! No, no, no! Richy!" I yell into my phone, watching how the sky ends up coming into focus. In the background I can hear the crows, waiting for something. I don't know what, because in my brain it only occupies the image of Richy dying. I cry and cry, watching the Duskwood sky. Grey. Sad.

The group! I have to warn them! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macie SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENED TO RICHY! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I receive a call. Cleo. I was waiting for news about the bracelet. I don't answer because of my status and she texts me that Phil left the bracelet at the pawn shop. I'd be glad if it wasn't for the situation I was going through. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thomas Macie, what happened? Macie RICHY WENT INTO THE FOREST! THERE WAS A LOT OF BLOOD! Cleo Oh no Macie I THINK I'M IN SHOCK RIGHT NOW! Cleo Macie, you need to calm down Macie HOW AM I GOING TO CALM DOWN! I HAVE SEEN IT! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did Cleo really want me to calm down? After I seen my friend die? After my suspicions towards him made me feel guilty for his death?!

I try to explain the situation to them, breathing hard. Where the hell is Jake?! Why is he not with me right now?!

I try to get up, but my legs fail me. It's as if hands had grown out of the ground and were holding me to it, wanting to swallow me for having thought that Richy was behind everything. A punishment for being the worst person in the world.

Lilly sends me a private message, she was going to call the police. This went beyond research. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly Macie, did Richy go into the forest from the junkyard? Macie Exactly, thhhhat's where he heard the screams He calllled me when he arrived in the forest ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m shaking as I write. I cannot think. No... I don't have the head to write. I only have the image of Richy in my head. Dying.

Although I don't like the idea, I agree that she tells the police to tell them that he was talking to me on the phone. After all, I’m an eyewitness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jessy It can’t be true. Richy can’t be dead He was probably just attacked Like I was! Dan Oh shit Jessy I need to go him Macie PLEASE DON’T DO THAT! Jessy I just have to Macie PLEASE! BE REASONABLE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I couldn't risk anyone going into the forets. The kidnapper could still be there! As I read, I start biting my nails. I don't even manage to notice that I ended up biting one of my fingers until I noticed the blood. I don't care. I can't stop thinking about what happened!

I get none of them to go into the forest and sit on the ground, waiting for Jake.

Jessy texts me. I haven't stopped crying. I'm even scared. What if the kidnapper has Jake?! It's impossible. But why isn't he here?! Why has he left me alone again!? His stuff is still here, which means he'll be back… right? I try to cheer myself up with the story of Jessy and Richy and the office fish, but this makes it worse. It must hurt her more what happened, since they were much closer. At least she didn't have to see him...

I can't calm down... The... Blood... Everything... It's all in my head... I have the image of Richy suffering... I get a group notification, but it only makes it worse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jessy They found Richy's cap in the forest I saw them carrying it away in a plastic bag I was covered in blood ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I put my phone down and start to hyperventilate. I put up with Jessy because in the end they didn't kill her. But this? I put my hands to my face, embarrassed. I had accused Richy and now… It's my fault! This is my fault! "He-Macie?!" I hadn't heard the door open when Jake entered. He removes my hands from my face and I see him looking at me concerned. "What happened?!" "It's my fault!" I yell as I try to break free from the grip of my wrists "It's all my fault! He is dead! Richy is dead!" "Macie I-" "Where were you?!" I reproached him, hitting him in the chest "Where were you when everything happened?!" "I was worried about Jessica" he answers, holding my hands to make me stop ". I thought you'd be calmer if I watched that she was going to be safe around her house, if the kidnapper was there." I breathe hard and end up burying my face in his body. Non-stop shaking. Jake hugs me and tries to calm me down. I can’t calm down. All I want to do is scream in rage. "I am sorry about what happened" his voice sounds calm, though broken. I know it hurts him to see me like this, but what do him want me to do? "Do you want to talk?" "I've tried to be strong!" I begin to say, avoiding looking at him "To not let anything get me down!" I hold him sweatshirt tightly, looking for a little more comfort, all I do is keep blaming myself in my head that I caused this "But I just can't do it anymore, Jake! I can’t anymore! Seeing how much Richy was suffering! But I was the only one he had in that moment!" I clench my hands tighter, I feel like I'm slipping even though I'm sitting down." It was like it was with Jessy, only a hundred times worse!" I end up looking at him, no matter how I was. My mind was blocking him. I couldn't see anything beyond Jake, I only saw Richy "I abandoned him! All I could do was scream! To tell him everything would be okay! " Jake looks at me and caresses me lovingly, but I feel nothing but pain. “I am here, Macie” he tells me. "You weren't here!" I pushed him angrily and hit the ground with my fist "You weren't here hugging me! Not even to look me in the eyes and tell me that everything was going to be fine!" I look at him angrily. With rage. I see that he sits against the wall, in front of me. He doesn't know how to comfort me because he can't. No... He doesn't know what that is after years alone, without contact from people. "I wish I had been here." he tells me, hurt. "I'm sorry." What is he sorry? He never cared for Richy. He didn't like him. "It's our fault, you know?" I say, opening my eyes desperate "Yours and mine" I can notice my voice rising with rage, I almost feel like I'm out of control. "We ignore so many threats, even when Jessy was attacked, we just continued.” He looks away, starting to feel guilty. “We've lost Richy, but aren’t any closer to finding Hannah!" I crawl over to him and grab him by the collar of his sweatshirt. I've never felt like this before "But you’ll just go on saying that we're on the right track" I continue and he dares to look at me ", that we just need to go a little longer" I see Richy's ghost next to him and I end up screaming "But how many friends do you want me to send to their deaths, Jake?! Tell me at least so I'll be ready and stop hurting! Say it to my face!" He doesn't make any movement, nor does he get upset or angry with me. I need some reaction to what I'm doing, Stop me! I'm out of control and yet he… Why doesn't he react?! Why am I the one who has to be suffering like this?! “You are angry” he says finally, in that calm voice of his. Now he makes me sick. ”I understand.” "You’re trying to understand you mean." I clenched my jaw. "Have you ever watched a friend fight for their life?" I see a small reaction in him to my words. He too tenses. No with me. Something bothers him. He sighs and places his hands in mine. I purse my lips seeing how little he cares. "There’s nothing I can do but tell you that I am sincerely sorry for your loss" I start to breathe heavily. I don't know why I feel a wave of hatred towards him now, something I didn't think would ever happen ", but we have no other choice but to carry on." I snap at him, picking myself up off the ground and he does the same. ”Giving up is a luxury that we cannot afford right now, considering what is at stake for us.” I start looking at the ceiling, listening to his words. No… I can't look at him, but I know I have to tell him to his face. "You mean what's at stake for YOU!" I point at him angrily. Jake looks at me hurt. Approaching me slowly.

He grabs my hand and I push it away, but he tries again, to which I let him. He is not going to achieve anything by wanting to have these gestures. I'm fed up. I'm tired. My chest hurts, my soul... I have lost a friend and I have not been able to help him, but to doubt him. "Macie-" "Shut up!" I look away, trying to separate myself from him. "Macie, please listen to me" hIs voice, previously without any emotion, seems to break as he utters those words. I just look at him and see again that broken and tired boy I knew. The one who hid everything to protect everything. "I want to be honest with you.” I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to control my breath. Jake brings his hands to my face, caressing me carefully, as if he's going to break me. "I've thought of stopping everything too, because I worry so much about you that it’s crushing me" now I cry listening to his words, which finally manage to reach my heart. I didn't know how he felt about everything that was happening to me so far. Or I simply ignored him because I thought that everything was fine knowing that he was there. Jake rests his forehead against mine, while I now try to calm down from his confession. "I thought about taking your hand and turning my back on all of this.” I can feel his hands tremble as he says it, but not his voice. He really means it. ". But it would be pointless, our responsibilities would cacth up with us. No matter where we go. " We are both from two different worlds. I know perfectly. Jake pulls back a bit and I catch a glimpse of his eyes. It almost looks like he's going to cry. I don't want him to cry and not be able to comfort him knowing that I can't right now. “When you agreed to work with me that day, you took Hannah's destiny into your hands, too. That day, her destiny become your burden, just like it became mine.” I hang my head, hating it all. So if it wasn't for Hannah, we might never have met. It wasn't fair to meet like this. He cups a hand to my chin, tilting my face up so that I look at him. I lick my lips, savoring my tears. "All we can do is not to lose sight of our path, even if path seems ends and insurmountable at times." I let out a charged air, beginning to calm down. I wasn't the only one who was suffering, it's true. Jake also has his problems, I can't blame him, I can't ask him to cry for someone he hasn't gotten to know like I have. I have to at least accept his support and that he is by my side during this difficult moment.

I nod, struggling a bit. I don't know if it's because of the blind love I have for him or because he's right. I decided to accept to help because it is part of me. I'm always repeating it to myself. Jake never threatened or forced me. He could have perhaps pulled a gun on me or forced me to stay with him while I exhaustively searched Hannah's cloud for clues. My God… I was reproaching him and it's his sister who was kidnapped… How could I have been so stupid? He is also suffering. "I will." I replied. Jake smiles at me. Although it's not a happy smile, he seems rather sad. I'm making him suffer enough with my way of acting. "I have told you once before" he starts to speak and hugs me "and I am even more convinced of it now than I was before" I hold on tightly to his sweatshirt, while he rests his head on mine, he even leaves a kiss on me "we will find Hannah, Macie and Richy too" I nod and little by little I'm calming down. I try to take a deep breath, letting the heat of his body wrap me up and calm me down completely.

We stay like that for a while, until Jake lifts my chin and even though he doesn't want to, I know it's important to say. "Can we continue with our investigation?" I nod, wiping my face from my tears. "Yes, there's… There's a lot to discuss" I move away a bit, but he grabs my hand so I don't fall. ". But first I want to ask you a favor." "Which favor?" “I want to see Richy's video." "No. " "Jake-" "You're not going to see it, not after how you've been." He walks away from me, sitting down in the chair. I see that it turns it on the computer and goes directly to delete it. "No! " I take his hand off the mouse and look at him. "I need to see it." I keep my gaze steady. He looks away as he rubs his chin, hesitating. A spark has awakened in me. The spark of curiosity. Jake gets up from his chair and motions for him to sit me down. “Okay” he says finally. "But listen to me carefully" he leans towards me, raising his finger: "The moment you don't feel well, you close it, okay?" "Okay." I accept his proposal, sitting down in the chair. Jake stays next to me and I play the video. *Jake POV*

She's played the video at least four times, even opening the one of Jessica's attack. I see her keep her gaze fixed on the computer, almost without blinking. I look at her hand, she has some blood on her fingers, how come I hadn't noticed before that she was hurting herself? “Macie, stop.” I take her hand from her, pulling it away from her mouth. “You're hurting yourself…” "Sorry." she says, stopping to bite her nails. I look at her face again and something seems strange about her. I don't see her nervous or sad on the contrary. She would even say that she has cracked a very small smile. Maybe she is affecting her too much that she doesn't know how to feel. "You finish it?" She removes the videos and stands up from the chair, staring at the floor. "Yeah" she starts to think, and then she looks at me. ". Okay, I'll tell you what happened.” I nod at her and she sits on the bed, placing her hands on her legs. She almost seems like she's a kid telling a mischief “Richy told me he heard screams coming from the forest.” I sit in the chair, listening to her speak. ". I couldn't hear anyone screaming, but he only called me after he had heard it already.” She looks at me, frowning, thinking “How likely do you think it is that was Hannah?" "Well" I lean back in my chair, scratching my chin, thinking, “thanks to you we know it was a female voice." That wouldn't even have occurred to me, because it could even be the sound of some animal. "because you thought of asking Richy that question, That was very attentive of oyou." "Yeah, I guess it's just my curiosity," she says with a shrug. "So the attacker may have used Hannah to lure Richy into the forest." I look at her curiously. "Why would he do that all of a sudden?" “I don't know yet. She stays thinking. I feel like she's left alone in this.

I know I didn't behave properly when she told me about Richy, but I did hate that she suffered because of me. It shouldn't have taken so long to get back. Or at least have left a note or sent a message so as not to worry her. The bad habit of never having had anyone to tell that I was leaving. I don't have to do this anymore, I can't make Macie suffer anymore. "Let's analyze it together." I move the chair closer to her and taking her hands, I begin to speak. "Since Richy got the sing of the raven, you’ve been expecting an attack on him, isn’t that true?" "Yes, that's what the legend says." She looks at me and carefully responds to my touch. "If I remember the legend correctly, the marked people are only brought into to the forest in the night of the new moon." "Correct," she nods slowly. "According to Jessy it’s only in the first night of the new moon of the year. "But Richy's attack did not occur in the first night of the new moon of the year" I didn’t understood exactly our perpetrator. He is supposed to be imitating a legend, why not follow it at least do it at night? "And it wasn't night either" as if Macie read my mind, she says it concentrated. "Which is why Jessy is so sure that Richy can still be found.” At Richy's name, she sighs. I can't tell her that she keeps what she feels, she would end up being like me "Richy wanted to tell me something" She looks at the computer screen, surely remembering the video. She surely must not have paid attention earlier because she would be crying. "It sounded like… An apology.” I stare at her. She seems to have her mind elsewhere. "But I don’t know what for."

Her cell phone rings and I go to the computer, waiting to know who is calling.

"Hello. My name is Alan Bloomgate, I’m with the Duskwood Police" What? Why is he calling her? Does it have to do with when she called him? "I hope not bothering you, I have few questions for you concerning Hannah Donfort and Amy Bell Lewis." I hang for her. This would cause problems. Macie looks at me confused. "I terminated the call" I say fearfully. I don't want to risk her that much. "Sorry Macie, but talking to the police wouldn't be a wise move right now." She hugs herself, uncomfortable. "I agree." "In any case, we have to assume that you're already a suspect..." I put a hand to my head, overwhelmed by the situation. Little by little, things were getting worse for her. "I knew that already" she says without much encouragement. "I'm probably more suspicious than the entire group put together.” She looks at me and frowns. It’s not exactly helpful that you ended the call right in the middle of the conversation... " "I know," I admits. This may make her more suspicious of her avoiding the police "Still, I thught it was the best option in that moment." I see how she starts to look at her cell phone, squeezing it tightly. "In case he calls you again, please do not accept the call" she nods without looking at me. I hope I didn't make it worse. "So… Is there anything else we should discuss concerning the attack on Richy. " I let her take her time answering. I don't want to put pressure on her and when she feels better, she should tell me. "Yeah, one more thing…" she looks at me as she brushes her hair out of her face. Opening and closing his mouth wanting to speak "The... The attacker didn't show himself to me this time, why do you think that was?" She is asking me to say one of my theories? "Hm..." I tried to think a little about that legend and what happened. Maybe it's the same as with Jessica, right? She herself say that the kidnapper only wanted to scare us "That could have multiple reasons" I answered "Didn't he think it was necessary? Were you maybe only supposed to concentrate on Richy?" Macie looks at me, but she looks past me. "No, that’s not really his style." she replies in a flat voice. I stare at her, waiting for something else. <<A coin for your thoughts. >> "Yes, you might be right there," I accept her answer, not wanting to continue with the subject because of her emotional state. "Right, I think we've discussed everything that concerns Richy's attack.” I relaxed a little. It has been quite tense the moment before. I still haven't recovered from seeing her in such bad shape. "I had thought Phil would be the most important of our clues." "Are you saying it because it is convenient for you to be?" She asks me, arching an eyebrow. “Let's drop that topic.” I say, wanting to forget about the jealousy. "But considering the current events, I am forced to re-think that idea." "The police should see that Phil is innocent too, right?" I see that she's hopeful. Something positive that at least makes her smile a little… Even if it's about Phil... “If the attack on Richy gives enough evidence for Phil's innocence…” I say unsteadily, “After all, we don't know the charges or any of the circumstances." “Phil gave the bracelet to the pawnshop…” Macie looks at her phone again, running her thumb over the screen. "Cleo called out to me, but I couldn't pick it up right now because…" "It's okay, thanks for telling me." I thank her smiling and she smiles back. "Him giving the bracelet to the pawn shop is more proof that he does appear to play a part in all of this." "You think that's why Hannah wanted to meet up with him?" Hannah bought the bracelet and Phil had sold it, but why would Phil have the bracelet? "That's a very good question, Macie," I tried to cheer her up a bit by flattering her. "Maybe she also found out that Phil had given away the bracelet." "I'm sure the pawnbroker isn’t too big on data protection." I smile at her knowing that she makes a reference. In addition to the fact that it is not governed by the trust of the seller and the client. I wonder if Phil ever did something to make him say it's him, buy and sell some jewelry for him to pick up? "Richy was the first one to suspect Phil." Macie's voice doesn't match her expression. She almost looks like another person. As if it bothered her. "Yes, he had made direct connection between him and the raven on his garage door." I still remember the commotion that there was, because of that brand, Lilly was afraid of me. I would love to find out who did it for doing that to my sister. Not in a direct way, but it also annoyed me that it happened.

Macie falls back on the bed. Tired. I get up and sit next to her. I think everything is already discussed. "So, what now?” She asks me, looking at me. The light in the room spoiled all her charm. I caress her cheek carefully. "There's lots to do" I replied, then remembering the messages from Lilly and Macie that I read when she fell asleep and I was finally able to work. ”We have a prison inmate which Hannah wanted to visit. " I begin to count. "We know the identity of the body from Duskwood forest-" "Amy Bell Lewis." Macie says her name sadly. "Sorry, go on..." I don't know why but I like that she remember her despite not knowing her. Her anger at knowing that no one remembered her touched me. "And we even know Jennifer's name… Hm… Let me think." Macie stops my hand from caressing her, entwining her fingers with mine. I squeeze carefully not to hurt her. “I think first of all I will check wich of our clues will yield results the most quickly” I say, and she nods. "And then go after that clue." "That sounds good." She looks at me like she's waiting for an order. I guess I got her used to my errands "Are you keeping me out of everything right purposely?" "Yes" I smile at her, nodding. ", I want you to rest." "That's nice of you…" She exhales as if she's feeling heavy. “What you had to witness…” I say slowly, choosing my words carefully now “You shouldn’t just shrug it off. Right now, we don’t know what else will have to put up with" she nods, settling down a bit and I continue. "But it is important that you face the unknown both rested, and with a clear mind." Macie smiles at me. A smile that she missed and that Richy's attacker had taken from me. She had returned. "Thank you for caring about me." she looks at me innocently and I am paralyzed when I see her. If she looks at me like that, it's normal that the first thing I feel is wanting to protect her. I'm going to get up but Macie stops me, standing up.

She stares at me and I feel like my heart is going to drop out with that look. "Thank you…for calming me down." she whispers and I feel her skin warm from her hand. "You're welcome" I replied, still worried "I promise we'll get this over with soon..." "Yeah…" She gives me a little kiss, like the one I gave her when we saw each other again. Damn, if it wasn't for the fact that I promised that I'll be looking for clues… "Then I'm going to get some rest" she says, crawling on the bed until she lies down ". My head hurts from crying so much..." "Do you want something for the pain?" I asked, remembering the medicines Ashley gave me. "Yes please." I get up for my backpack and take one painkiller out, along with a bottle of water. I hand it over to her and she settles back on the pillow, closing her eyes.

I'm not going to forgive anyone who made her feel all this suffering that she's been dragging.

Chapter 29

#duskwood #duskwood jake #duskwood mc #duskwood jake x mc #duskwood fanfic #duskwood everbyte #everbyte #everbyte studio

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