Duskwood: And Beyond

21. First Encounter

ORYN

I took my computer and went to the kitchen. I was a bit nervous to be in the same room as Jake.

After half an hour, Jake called for me. I rushed to the living room.

"I found something," he said. He started to play the voice recording. It was an interrogation tape between Alan and Michael.

We discussed the recording. I thought Alan was trying too hard to pin it on Michael. After all, it would have been a win for him. I also remembered what Jessy said some time ago. She had told me that the previous owner of the Aurora disappeared. Apparently, that owner was Michael Hanson. Maybe that's how Phil knew him. It was getting clearer that Phil was involved in this whole thing.

Jake and I agreed to send the file to the group chat. Thomas was a bit too excited and Jake was a bit too aggressive with him. I guess he didn't like Thomas as well. I still felt bad for Thomas. We discussed Phil and the recording with Thomas and Jessy. Lilly was in the bathroom so she was not available and the others were not present. I noted the discussion down.

01 October 2019

Hannah Donfort has been missing for seven days. Richy has been missing for a day.

Thomas and Jessy decided to check the house out. I also believed it would be important, I looked at Jake. He was watching me. He was wearing his usual dark hoodie and some sweatpants. He didn't shave for the past couple of days and it was visible. He had dark circles under his cold eyes, he looked like he was trying to read my mind.

"You want to go, don't you?" He asked. I nodded. He got up and started pacing around the living room. I watched him.

"Okay, it would make more sense if you were physically there," he said almost like he was trying to convince himself. I nodded.

"Promise me you will be careful," he continued.

"I will, pinky promise," I responded as I offered my pinky. He smiled, entangling his pinky to mine.

I started preparing. I tied my brown hair up in a high ponytail and wore some jeans and one of Jake's hoodies. I also called Anabelle and filled her in on the situation. She was not happy but agreed to it at some point. She said that since Jessy was going away, she would join Jake and Lilly. She didn't want to accept that this situation was stressing her. She was already close to the apartment so it took her a couple of minutes to arrive. She also brought the cat.

Lilly decided to join us after her never-ending bath. We filled her in on the situation and she seemed equally unsure about it. She tried to distract herself with the cat, just like Jake.

"Well, it is a male cat. The vet said everything was fine and gave him some shots. I also bought the necessities. We now have a cat." Anabelle explained.

"We should name it Nym," I said. Everyone turned to me. Anabelle and Lilly seemed like they were considering the name. Jake seemed happy about it. We all agreed to call it Nym. He was the new member of our dysfunctional family. I believed he would make this a lot easier for us all.

After an hour or so, Thomas and Jessy arrived. They didn't enter the house so Jake was safe. Anabelle rushed and hugged me so tight.

"If anything happens to you, I will burn the whole town to the ground," she threatened. I assured her that I would be fine. She let go eventually.

Lilly gave me a simple hug, it lasted short. I was certain everything would be fine. So, I didn't think all this farewell was necessary. I turned to Jake.

Jake seemed unsure about what to do so I took advantage of the situation and hugged him. He hugged me even tighter than Anabelle.

"I would help her," he whispered. I giggled.

"I am glad you two share the same interest, it would be better if it didn't involve burning things," I whispered back. Jake smiled. I took the jacket that Anabelle put in my bag and made my way to Thomas' car.

JAKE

I watched Thomas drive away from behind the curtain. I had a bad feeling about this. I was okay with the idea until Oryn got involved. I was okay with people putting themselves in danger if it was not Oryn or Lilly at risk. I kept thinking about my conversation with Anabelle when she first brought Oryn over. She looked worried and told me Oryn was sleepwalking. She asked me if it was worth it, the case. I told her that it was, that I was ready for anything. She told me our actions have consequences and asked me if I was ready to pay them. I told her I was.

Now, I was starting to realize Oryn was the consequence. The more we found out about Hannah the more we were losing Oryn. The thought scared me and I desperately needed a distraction.

I decided now would be a good time to handle the Alan situation. I returned to my computer. On one side I was tracking Oryn, on the other, I was trying to break Alan's code. Anabelle was on her phone, waiting for any information. After thirty minutes, Jessica texted saying they were almost there. Dan was not very happy about this decision and for the first time, I agreed with him.

They arrived at the address. The house seemed abandoned. It was a large property. Jessica informed us that they are going to the front door. They knocked but nobody answered. Jessica sent us some photos of the house. It really looked abandoned.

"Two of the windows are sealed shut," Anabelle stated. Just then Oryn texted exactly the same thing. Anabelle giggled. "I know how she thinks," she concluded. I smiled, wondering if I would ever know her the way Anabelle did.

"Uhm, I know this house. My grandpa used to take me there, there were sheep," Lilly stated. It didn't seem like relevant information but I still nodded. Suddenly, Oryn's location was gone.

"What happened?" I turned to Anabelle.

"Jessy said that Oryn's phone died," she seemed uncomfortable.

Jessica said that something moved inside the barn. My heart started to race. This was becoming very dangerous.

"There is something wrong with this house," Anabelle whispered. She was equally uncomfortable. I agreed. Jessica found a bunker but that was a false alarm. Meanwhile, Oryn and Thomas broke into the house. I joined in on the conversation as I was too worried at this point. They were silent for a few seconds. I thought my heart couldn't race any further, I was wrong. Then everything took a turn for the worse. Thomas called us and showed us the room.

There were photos of everyone, this was definitely the culprit's hideout. Lilly offered to call the police but Hannah and Richy could have been there so I decided to ask her to wait. Anabelle said they need to leave and call the police immediately but Jessica and Thomas already started searching for Hannah. Oryn was taking a closer look at the murder board. Thomas went downstairs to a cellar and Jessica went upstairs after she took more pictures.

"Were the candles already lit when you entered the room?" Anabelle asked. The time stopped with that question. That meant the culprit was nearby. I could feel my hands shaking.

Anabelle was already wearing her coat when Thomas told us that there was someone at the door. He called. The man without a face entered the house. He was aware that someone was there as he was searching the house. Anabelle froze. Thomas made a smart move and distracted the culprit long enough to help Jessica escape. But not Oryn. She was not with them when they were running. Thomas and Jessica escaped to the car. Thomas started the engine but Jessica told him to wait for Oryn. It was silent for a few minutes.

"Lilly, call the police," I yelled as I also went to join Anabelle.

Then Oryn rushed to the car. The culprit was right behind her. She made it just in time as Thomas started driving.

I realized I was holding my breath. She was safe. But what took her that long?

I took my phone and started texting the group. I told them that they will not split up again from now on. Anabelle will meet them at her house. I was also moving back. It was dangerous but I had to be there. I kissed Lilly goodbye and left the house with Anabelle and Nym to meet them.