Willow stared out of the window as they approached the town of Bright Falls.
It was so much different from New York.
The chill returned to the painter's bones as she felt an uneasiness starting to stir inside her.
"Looks like we're here!" Barry told her as he drove off of the ferry.
Barry would be lying if he said he didn't notice the change of Willow's demeanor after she woke from her nightmare but Barry had always known the Wake siblings weren't exactly normal.
"Welcome to Bright Falls." Willow mumbled under her breath as she looked out the window.
If she was Alan, where would she be?
"We should go to the diner, Will. Get some coffee and food in us." Barry said as Willow gave a light nod.
Maybe someone there had seen Alan since nobody else around town had.
Besides, it would let her legs wake up from the plane.
Willow had never felt comfortable on those things.
Flying deathtraps, she recalled calling them.
Barry pulled the rental car into the diner parking lot as the duo exited the vehicle.
Willow was the first one through the door as she spotted Alan Wake.
Well, a cardboard standee of her brother anyway.
"Oh, I bet Alan loved it here.." Willow muttered as she spotted a waitress.
She looked way to happy, Willow thought to herself.
"Welcome to the Oh Deer Diner.!" The waitress said as Willow read her name tag.
Rose. That was her name.
"Hi, I'm looking-." Willow started to speak when Rose's eyes went wide.
"You're Willow Wake! The famous painter! You're Alan's sister!" Rose said ecstatically as Willow was slightly confused.
It was one thing to be called Alan's sister but it was another for someone to know her work.
"Jesus, Will, learn to wait up, would you?" Barry's voice scolded as Willow heard the diner door close behind her.
Barry knew Willow and he knew how she got when she was anxious and wanted answers.
Willow and Alan were no doubt related.
"You're Barry Wheeler!" Rose exclaimed as Willow put her hands into her jacket pocket.
She was done with the formalities.
While Barry and Rose talked about Alan and his work, Willow tapped her hand on the counter.
"Hey, how about a cup of coffee for myself and my friend here?" Barry asked the waitress as she nodded.
Rose went to work on getting the coffee as Barry turned to Willow, seeing the scowl across her lips.
"Hey, don't do that. You look a lot like Al when you're scowling." Barry told her, gently slapping her shoulder with his hand.
It didn't affect Willow.
"We should be looking for Alan, not hitting on girls!" Willow said in a low tone as Barry shook his head.
Sometimes Willow needed to be reminded to relax.
Much like her sibling.
"We're getting information, Will. Learn to relax, would you?" Barry asked her as his friend merely nodded her head in response.
The sound of footsteps broke the duo from their conversation as Rose handed the cups of coffee to them.
"I can't believe I've met both of the Wake's and Barry Wheeler!" Rose happily said as Willow held back a chuckle.
Alan hated fans like Rose.
He never really liked the attention, she figured.
Willow was in her own little world as she heard Rose and Barry carrying on about Alan's new book and other things amongst that line.
"This place have a bathroom, Rose?" Willow asked the girl as she gave a nod.
Willow didn't really have to use it but it would give her a quiet place to think.
"Sure do, Ms. Wake! It's in the back!" Rose told the black-haired woman as she gave a nod.
Willow stood up before clapping Barry on the shoulder.
"Don't let my coffee get cold, will you?" Willow asked her friend as he nodded.
Willow started to head towards the restroom when an older woman carrying a lantern stopped her.
"Don't go into the dark, miss! You could hurt yourself!" The woman told Willow as thoughts started running through the painter's mind.
What had this woman so afraid of the dark?
Was she like Alice?
"Right. Thanks." Willow said as she turned back around before walking back up to Rose and Barry.
Something about back there didn't feel right with her.
Before Barry could say anything, Willow grabbed the warm cup of coffee.
"Changed my mind. I'm going outside to get some fresh air." Willow said as she headed out the door before sitting on a nearby bench.
Willow continued to drink her coffee as she spotted two people coming up the street.
What was going on?
She watched as two old men got closer and noticed one had a bandanna on while the other had an eyepatch.
"Look who it is, bro! It's Maddie!" One said as Willow felt a slight pain in her heart.
Clearly, the two men were delusional, but Willow decided to let them ramble.
"Yeah! Tom's sister!" The one with the eyepatch said as Willow was confused.
Who was Tom?
"Good to see you again, Maddie!" The other spoke before they entered the diner as Willow continued to drink her coffee.
Well, that wasn't weird.
The bell above the diner's door rang as she half expected it to be the two men again.
"Hey, you ready?" Barry asked her as Willow stood up, throwing the empty cup away.
Barry really had asked her if she was ready?
"I don't know, Barry? You through flirting with Rose and wasting our time?" Willow mocked as Barry scoffed.
Smartass.
"Willow, relax! We'll find Al, okay?" Barry told her, actually using her first name.
He didn't want her having a heart attack before finding the missing writer.
"Yeah, I know. Sorry.." Willow told the man as Barry nodded.
Willow and Alan had always been close siblings.
The duo got in the car as Willow looked to Barry.
"Rose said to check the police station. If we're lucky, someone there has seen him." Barry told her as Willow nodded.
They pulled out of the diner as a sneaky grin came across Willow's face.
"You get her number?" Willow asked as Barry scoffed before reaching into his jacket pocket.
Willow loved to mess with Barry.
"I did actually! In case she saw Al!" Barry said as Willow laughed.
Right, in case she saw Al.
She was just hoping someone saw Alan at the station.
It's a small town, after all.
Where could have Alan disappeared to?
