Duskwood Legends [English Version]

The power of fear.

*⚠️WARNING⚠️*

This chapter presents some scenes and explicit language, which may offend the sensibilities of some readers.

The girl before our eyes is really her, in the flesh. We have found her, we have finally found her!

"HANNAH!!!"

We couldn't stop ourselves from exclaiming her name aloud, completely overwhelmed by excitement and uncontainable happiness. However, our cries of joy are covered by her, that is sobbing loudly; but they are tears of intense emotion, as well as relief for no longer being alone.

Hannah, you are safe now. This nightmare that seemed endless to you is now over.

Breathe, it's all over.

The rest happens extremely fast; all four of us find ourselves running toward the chair where she is chained, at a breakneck speed. My eyes are filled with tears, and there is a knot in my throat that inhibits my speech. Jake is at my side, his movements frantic, I can hear him holding back sobs to keep from breaking into tears. Instead, Lilly has failed, her tears seem like a flood, uncontainable; though emotion blocks her, she manages to say something to reassure her. "Hannah, it's Lilly! It's us, you're safe!"

"Hannah!!!" Thomas immediately pulls her into a strong embrace as we get close to her. He repeats her name at least four times, shaken by quivers that make him tremble violently from head to toe as he kisses her forehead. Sobbing, he tries to free her from the blindfold covering her eyes.

There is no need to say anything to coordinate, each of us settling around her so as to free her from all those restraints. Jake and I focus on untying her limbs. Thomas is already taking care of the bandage; Lilly, on the other hand, although her hands are shaking, manages to loosen the gag in front of her mouth.

"Guys..." What I hear is Hannah's voice, previously heard in recordings found on the Cloud. She is so full of suffering that I can hardly recognize her. This horrible experience has deeply scarred her in her soul. She cries her eyes out as she speaks her sister and Thomas's names several times. "You are here... You have arrived..."

"Yes we are here, now we will release you. It will be alright!!!" The two respond in chorus, trying to give her courage.

I bend down on my knees to ease my work. I struggle to undo the knot around her wrists. I pull at the ends with all my strength, almost hurting myself; it is really tight, fastened vigorously so as to make it impossible to free herself from it. I think she tried desperately anyway, with all the energy in her body, given the conspicuous purple bruise marks on her skin. As I manage to untangle it, my gaze rests on her offended hand; it is not even bandaged. The wound has merely been cauterized through who knows what atrocity. Shivers run down my spine as I notice the burned flesh above the severance. I cannot even imagine the pain she must have felt, when they placed the red-hot object over her cut, to stop her bleeding.

Hanson, I swear you're going to pay for all the pain you've caused her.

And for all the things you've done to us.

I watch as Hannah lets her arms fall back along her sides, exhausted. I get up and immediately move to Jake's side to help him untwist the ropes; the legs have been tied individually to the respective feet of the chair. Lilly and Thomas, on the other hand, have managed to remove the blindfold from in front of her eyes, allowing her to regain her sight. She immediately opened her eyes, only to close them again soon after, groaning; she must have been in the dark for so long that her pupils were no longer accustomed to the light.

After a few seconds, the ropes that were blocking her ankles fall to the ground. Both Jake and I rise from our crouched position, standing up in front of her, alongside Lilly and Thomas.