Duskwood: And Beyond

11. Down We Go

ORYN

Cleo was in danger. The maniac just sent me her number. I texted Jake immediately but he wanted me to keep that information to myself. Was he crazy? He was worried the others would stop investigating. I rushed downstairs. Anabelle was making coffee.

"Cleo is in danger. The maniac called me and showed me her running in the woods and someone thinks I shouldn't tell her because it might cause the group to stop investigating," I was panicking and I needed guidance.

"That someone is right," Anabelle responded calmly. She poured me a cup of coffee.

"If the culprit wanted to hurt Cleo, we would find her body. He is trying to intimidate you," she continued.

"Well it's working," I said.

We analyzed the video together with Jake. I knew this was his way of calming me down. Under any other circumstance, my relationship with Jake would be inappropriate. He was stalking everyone including me, he forced me to keep things from others. But Hannah's life was on the line and I didn't have many people to help me. His knowledge of technology helped me so much in the past. I decided to trust him on this one.

And I was wrong to do that. The asshole already sent the video to Cleo, who later sent it to the group.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," Anabelle was looking over my shoulder.

"I told you so," I said.

Well, the group was not happy with me holding back information. Especially Lilly. This was the first time we actually talked and she already hated me.

"Great start" I rolled my eyes.

"I don't like her. She is taking it out on you." Anabelle took a long sip from her coffee. Lilly was going through so much, I understood her.

"Well, I can take it. I am a big girl," I said.

I took out my journal once again;

29 September 2019

Hannah Donfort has been missing for five days. The culprit stalked Cleo and threatened me. I believe she is in the forest.

The group was seriously holding back information from the police. They clearly didn't trust the police. Cleo was on the same page with Jake. Jake obviously misjudged them. And I was right. But it didn't feel like a victory. On the bright side, Dan was stable. I was texting with Jessy when Anabelle said she had to take care of something. I didn't question much but it caught my attention how she left so quickly.

***

The rest of the day was a bit less intense. Dan was doing better. Richy told me about the dare house. The dare sounded scary but it seemed innocent. Nevertheless, I was a bit scared when he knocked but I knew nothing was going to happen. I was starting to like Richy, he seemed nice. I felt like we were bonding a bit more. After my conversation with Richy, I texted Anabelle.

Oryn: You are not coming today?

Anabelle: Err, I can't...

Oryn: What are you doing anyway?

Anabelle: Mr. Becker asked me to handle something in the office. How is the case going?

I filled her in on Richy.

Anabelle: Well, that is a sudden and uncalled-for background lore dump...

Oryn: Why do you hate him so much?

Anabelle: Something just bothers me. I gotta go, be safe xx.

Well, maybe Anabelle had a point.

I was about to refresh my coffee when Richy texted again. He was marked. That was definitely a problem. The culprit really didn't want anyone in the forest. I noted this down and sent the picture to Anabelle.

Anabelle: How convenient...

Oryn: Seriously Ana...

Anabelle: Fine, it sucks boo

She really didn't like Richy. That was unusual for her. Jessy also freaked out. She had a point. We decided to share it with the others. That was a bad idea. Lilly didn't like that at all. Lilly was starting to get on my nerves as well. She even went as far as to kick me out of the group. They held a vote. I hated this but it was out of my hands. So much for less intense, I guess. I needed a break. I went to the kitchen to get some wine and texted Anabelle.

Oryn: Lilly wants me out. She is holding a vote.

Anabelle: Well, she is blond :)

I laughed, I knew she didn't mean it like that.

Oryn: Ana, you are also blond...

Anabelle: I am not the one kicking you out...

Oryn: I guess I have to wait and see. I don't like this.

Anabelle: Sleep a bit, you need it.

She was right. I decided to sleep a bit until the group gathered again.

***

It didn't take long until everyone was back. Jessy was very friendly. We were really becoming friends. I liked her. Cleo was on my side as well. She also mentioned that I was the key. Thomas and Lilly voted against me and it was a tie. Richy didn't vote. Dan was going to be the tie-breaker. I didn't know why I cared so much but I also wanted to stay. Maybe I really was getting obsessed. Just then, Jake interrupted and I texted him afterward.

Oryn: That was pretty impressive just now

Jake: ;)

Jake is now offline.

I was shocked. He didn't have to threaten them but it was also kind of reassuring knowing he had my back. After an hour he called me.

"Thank you for having my back," I said. He paused for a second.

"I do care about you." It was almost like a whisper.

"I do too," I said.

"I've added a map of Duskwood to your apps. It gets updated automatically." He said. It took everything in me to not tell him that Anabelle already had one. It was cute that he thought about it.

"I also think you should ask Jessica about the bracelet" he continued. I agreed to ask her and he decided to stick around and read along.

I asked but Jessy said it didn't belong to her. I believed her, Jake said this was a long shot anyway. I hated when she called him creepy but I understood. Under any other circumstance, Jake reading my messages or checking my cameras would be a huge red flag. But since there was a blood-thirsty maniac after me, it kind of felt reassuring. At least this way someone would have known what happened to me, unlike Hannah. It also bothered me that I couldn't tell Jessy I was also that creepy guy. I was also reading. But what she didn't know couldn't harm her. She freaked out about Jake reading our conversation and logged off. Funny enough Jake was not actually reading along. That made me laugh.

Jake also theorized about Thomas being behind all this but he also concluded that it didn't really fit so far. So we both agreed to scratch that theory. I really liked talking to him. It felt like he was actually there, but I was also sure that wasn't his real voice.

The rest of the day was pretty subtle. I filled Anabelle in and she was not happy. Richy had sent me a screenshot of his conversation with Phil and it did look a bit threatening. But Anabelle believed Phil was harmless. She thought he just needed more friends. It was strange that I didn't see Phil's conversation. I had access to their private conversations but not to Phil's. That was interesting.

The culprit called me again. It was creepy and there was nothing serious. But on the bright side, Jake was finally starting to believe the connection to the legend. We were getting close and that made me feel slightly better. Little did I know everything was going to get worse...