Duskwood: And Beyond

22. Dead Man's Wish

JAKE

Anabelle and I arrived home before the others. We parked the car carelessly. We entered the house and locked the door. Anabelle started placing Nym's equipment. She was keeping herself busy. I let go of the cat and started going through the liquor closet. Oryn and Anabelle always had something to drink. I took the good old Jack and poured myself some.

"One for me too," Anabelle yelled from the living room.

I poured some to her as well. She joined me shortly.

"Do you think... Did he..." she was unable to ask but I knew what she meant. She downed the drink and shook her head due to the taste. We stood in silence until we heard another car approach.

We rushed to the living room in time to see Thomas and Jessica enter. Oryn followed them and locked the door immediately.

Thomas and Jessica went to the kitchen to grab some water. Oryn rushed upstairs and locked herself in the bathroom. I sat on her bed and waited. It took her some time as the water kept running for a while. She was caught off guard when she noticed me. She even took a few defensive steps back and suddenly realized it was me. She was in shock. I remained silent for a few seconds, trying to form the right sentences.

"I... Did he... You didn't leave with Thomas and Jessica," I eventually said.

"What do you mean?" She knew exactly what I meant but I suppose she was not ready to discuss what happened.

"You were inside... with him... what happened?" I was really struggling to ask. I hated to think he hurt her.

"I am fine, he didn't hurt me... much," She forced herself to sound assuring. I smiled but it was also forced. We walked down the stairs, I noticed Jessica and Thomas staring at me like they saw a ghost. I realized this was the first time they saw me.

"Uhm, this is Jake," Oryn introduced. I nodded in acknowledgment. It took them some time to process what Oryn just said. Then Jessica smiled.

"Hey, Jake. Nice to meet you," she went in for a hug. I was caught off guard so I couldn't stop her. It was a short and insincere hug. Thomas nodded, he kept his distance, which I appreciated deeply.

"What now?" Anabelle asked. We all remained silent until Oryn decided to drop the bomb.

"We should call the others for this," she started. Jessy arranged a group call. I didn't join.

"He talked to me. He said he wants to kill you. All of you... He said it with names." she continued trying to get it out as fast as she can.

"Well, we did anger him a bit," Anabelle said. She sounded frustrated.

Dan was angry, it bothered me how he didn't want to do anything. He was always opposed to us investigating. I understood at first but it was getting frustrating. They discussed their options. Lilly offered to go to the house in the woods. After some discussion and persuasion, everyone agreed. Just then Thomas mentioned that he got Hannah's phone. He even showed it to Oryn. The phone was dead. I motioned Oryn to join me in the kitchen. She left the conversation.

"He should connect the cellular phone to a power supply immediately and inform us when it is 20% charged, in the meantime nobody should use the phone" I instructed.

"We can do that ourselves," she questioned.

"The police will be looking for it, I can't risk it," I explained. she nodded and returned back to the living room.

"Thomas, can you charge the phone and let us know when it is at 20 percent. While charging do not turn it on or use it in any way," she said, emphasizing phone and charge. I smiled and shook my head. Thomas said yes.