Tonight is the night we die

Chapter Fourteen . PART 1

My body is quivering and I do not have any control over it. I am cold and I am repeatedly moving my fingers so they don't go numb. My mind is blank, the stream of thoughts brusquely stopped a few minutes ago when the mask fell. I have a knot in my stomach. Expecting to see Richy was scaring me but I knew him, I knew what I could expect, at least a little, despite how bad Hannah's face was when we cross paths. I had hoped this could all go well and mostly end well. Now, I am not so sure anymore. I did not prepare an escape plan. How stupid of me ! I throw myself in the mouth of the beast and then I realize how unprepared I am. Classic me ! Listening to him is my best but also my only chance.

Speaking of him, Michael, I should assume now, grabs an old wooden chair and walks with it near me. It creaks as he sits down on it. He opens his hand in front of me, clearly waiting for me to put something in there. I draw my phone out of the pocket of my jean jacket and drop it in his large hand. He leans backward to reach a wooden table, barely standing on its four legs, behind him and drops the phone loudly on it :

" Let's start with the beginning, shall we ? " He rubs the palm of his hands on his thighs like he is nervous. Gosh, are you kidding me ? He is nervous ? In what state should I be then ? I want to laugh at his face but I sit straight and take a sharp breath in. I put my hands down on the bench, on each side of my body. I pick at the flaky wood with my nails to keep me busy :"

 I am Michael... Hanson you would have guessed that part. " Michael chuckles. His voice is not threatening at all, he is friendly, just as friendly as when I saw him in the motel. I knew I was missing something and I knew that this something was right in front of my eyes. How was I so blind and stupid ? Oh my God ! I scrape a bit of wood so harshly that it slides right under my nail, I hide the grimace of pain on my face :

" It's a long story. You know most of it already so I will skip a few steps if that's okay with you. " Michael crosses his arms on his chest and clears his throat " The right spot to start my little bedtime story is probably when I got declared dead. I was not, of course, you see me in the flesh here, I am not a ghost " He laughs apparently very amused by his own joke " I did go into the forest with the goal to end my life. I had my rope and everything. The perfect spot, the perfect tree, a strong, powerful tree that was going to hold me and my grief. Failing was not part of the plan, but... " He shrugs " But it was part of God's plan ! " He raises a hand above his head " Failing was a hard pill to swallow, but I accepted my fate. I had a second chance and I needed to do something with it. I did not come back. I have spent ten years rebuilding a life, a brand new life. My first life was over, the second one was starting and it was... " He frowns his eyebrows, looking for words, and sighs " I can't find the exact word, pardon me. I could do whatever I wanted, I was so in shock that God gave me a second chance like that, that I left my grief, my anger, and the man that I was behind. I felt good. I became another man, I had my new identity, I saw the world, and I saw endless possibilities. Ten years, Gloria. Of pure bliss ! " He laughs again and exhales a sharp short breath before pursuing :

" But your past, it always catches you back, always ! " He nods, his gaze lost in his thoughts " I was on my train back home, now keep in mind I live miles away from Duskwood, and in that train so far away from here, a man sat on the seat in front of me and he took something from his bag. And I could not believe my eyes. It was a little pamphlet about Duskwood and this year's Pine Glade festival " He slaps his thigh with the palm of his hand, making a loud noise and I jump out of surprise " Can you believe that ? Like my failed attempt at killing myself, a sign was given to me right there. 'What about your daughter ?' God was asking me. 'What about who took you away from her ?' " Anger appears on his face so calm until now. His voice so full of warmth takes a turn for something more sinister, more cold :

" I had this burning rage in me. I did things... " Michael's eyes are fixed upon me and he stays silent for a couple of seconds. I could not tell the emotions in his eyes, it was too complex for me to see clearly but maybe shame ? Was he ashamed of telling me what he did ? I frown my eyes at him, this urge to understand what is going in his mind at that instant :