Godless Sound

by YourHead

After the death of Lily Loud, many eldritch occurrences befall upon the Loud House. Lincoln decides to investigate each of these mysteries, each one of them seemingly related to the death of the youngest sibling. This is an interactive story that is "played" in the /trash/ board at 4chan in the /tlhg/ thread. What is posted here is each finished chapter. Go there at your own risk.

4. Chapter 4: Sister Moon

Godless Sound

A Loud House Interactive Story

CHAPTER FOUR: Sister Moon

The moon watches over humanity in the night, like a mother watches over her children. As a family tries to unite again, the moon becomes full, lighting their hearts, hurt by the constant pain and sorrow they've suffered through. But at the same time, it gives power to dark presences, fueled by the delusions of old ones. A living nightmare wants to unveil Itself, and calls for Its children in the mortal plane to bring It. The moon becomes the eye of chaos, lighting the path for a vessel to call Its unholy presence.

Soon, the shadows will work to find their mother.

The whole family has been getting better, but not without paying a price. It almost seems that the only thing keeping them together now is fear of losing each other. Every older sister has come around to visit, mostly triggered by Lucy's "incident". At first Luan was coming alone, but Luna announced she'd come around too. It was a financial risk for both, and Luan wasn't happy with that, but that last call had her worried about her rocker sister. She assured the family she was alright, and was going to stay at a hostel during a night before getting home. Weird choice, considering she would be in the vicinity anyways. And even though her comedic sister asked why, she would avoid any conversation about it. Her decision to keep away was strangely strong.

It was a mystery, and certainly, it couldn't go unsolved.

You are now Lincoln Loud.

The few last weeks have been less than ideal. Although ever since the twins' incident things have been peaceful, there has been palpable tension in the house. Mom and dad have all of you in a "lockdown" situation. Nobody goes out without their permission, and has to come back in a very precise time. One of them would stay at home instead of going to work now, even if that meant to have less money for the family. Sorely needed, by the way, thanks to the last expenses, like Lucy's treatment and medication, Lola's doctor or the orthopedics for Lana. However, they didn't want to risk any other accident happening.

As much as all of you tried to explain it isn't anybody's fault, as crazy it would sound, they wouldn't listen. It's understandable, nobody wanted to tell them why all the things that have happened… Happened. You want to tell them about the supernatural things you've faced so far. Lisa, on the other hand, considers they probably won't take it seriously, since all they've seen are the more mundane parts of your sisters' afflictions. Lisa always had some screws loose, so talk about ghosts might be just an extension of that; Lucy's attack may just be a psychotic outbreak, something triggered by the many issues she has faced; and now Lana's state could have happened by an accident nobody wants to admit.

Still, you managed to go with your sister Lynn, as you had planned before, to do a personal visit. This lady friend of her, Maggie, had some answering to do. At first you went to the hospital, but this raven-haired girl seemed to have healed enough to leave, so you had to go for a closer encounter: the crime scene.

The bus felt particularly empty, with only two more passengers besides you when you entered. Given the "ban" from your parents to get out of the house, you had to go after school, and Lynn managed to convince the folks with an "I'm an adult" speech. The crowded bus ride was annoying, but having Vanzilla borrowed was out of the question.

Lynn was visibly tense. She was surprised no cops or anything like that have gone to the house. Going by the few details she managed to tell you, it is something to worry about. Hitting someone with a metal bat until she's left bleeding and unconscious is not exactly a minor crime. However, it may seem that the recipient of such a beating either didn't report anything or managed for it to not be reported. You don't really know how the law works in these cases.

Your sporty sister was scared to even look at the old man behind the counter, so you did it for her.

"Hello, we're looking for Maggie; I think she lives in the third…?"

"Fourth" Your sister corrected you, whispering, hiding her face.

"Fourth floor".

The old man gives you both a very uninterested look. Even if he recognized Lynn, he probably didn't care about whatever happened between her and the nihilistic gal.

"She must be in her room. Are you a friend of her?"

"Yeah, we're acquainted" You lied.

"Well, if you know where she is, don't bother me".

"Shouldn't you call her or something first, so she knows visit comes or…?"

The guy just looked at you angrily, and you left swiftly after that. Maybe his "suggestion" was meant to be followed. Lynn goes behind you, trying to hide herself under your frame. Given her athletic figure and that you're not that bigger, it was hard for her to be invisible. When you were in front of Maggie's door and knocked, she had to resist the urge to flee, and just stood at the door's side, at a blind spot where Maggie wouldn't see her.

You waited for a few seconds for that emo girl to get close to the door. She opened just enough to be able to see you, as a chain prevented the door to open further.

"Who are you?"

"Hi, we probably don't know each other" you salute, cordially. "My name is Lincoln, and…"

She observed you thoroughly, like analyzing you.

"You seem familiar" she remarked, without emotion. "Did I see you at one of my lame birthday parties or something?"

You don't really remember to have seen her at all, and being behind the door you couldn't really see her that much to recognize her.

"Uh, I don't know?" You stuttered.

You saw her shrug dismissively.

"Whatever. Why are you here?"

"Well, my sister Lynn and I…"

She closes the door almost immediately after she hears that name.

"I don't want you here. Leave".

"Please listen; we didn't come here to hurt you…"

"I don't want you here, I said. Leave now".

You take a deep breath, as you see Lynn looking away, avoiding getting in the way.

"Lynn, please…"

"I can't" she mutters, still looking away.

You knew you wouldn't be able to talk with this other girl, but Lynn would be able to. You had to convince her to affront her however, since she was doing all she could to avoid it.

What did you say to her?

CHOOSE:

(Endearing) "Please, Lynn, talk with her. She's your friend, right?"

(Serious) "C'mon Lynn. This is something you have to do".

(Imperative) "Take some responsibility, Lynn. I can't solve your problems for you".

(Not say anything and keep trying yourself)

CHOSEN: SERIOUS

She sighed, kind of admitting her own part.

"I know, but I don't feel ready. Can't we come at another time, maybe?"

"This can't wait. I might not have another chance to come here with you, and we both know you won't be doing it by yourself".

She stays silent for a while, considering her options. She looked at the other end of the hallway. You could even imagine her thoughts in that moment. She maybe was actually considering running away and jumping through the window. But some sense snapped into her, and took a step towards the door.

"Maggie, please open the door. We need to talk".

"No, go away. I don't want you to see me".

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't want to beat you down, but I was scared and…!"

"I know it's not your fault".

Her voice was surprisingly monotone, but a slight change in the inflection showed you there was some emotion there. Guilt?

"Why, then…?"

"I don't want you to see me like this. I know it will hurt you".

Lynn rested her head over the door, stressed.

"Please, I don't care how you look now. My fault or not, I'll be sorry all my life for what I did to you. But we can't avoid each other forever. We're still friends, right?"

There's a long silence, and you didn't know if your sister's words worked. You were almost going to tell her to leave and maybe try again another day, but then you heard some locks opening.

The door opened, and the pale girl jumped at your sister, hugging her. She didn't say anything back. Your sister was too startled to react with more than a pat on the back.

Now you could see this girl completely. Her right forearm had a cast from below the elbow to the wrist; half her face was enveloped in a big bandage, one eye covered, with a big red spot on where that should be, like if a stitch snapped or blood discharge was still spurting out. It wasn't a comfortable sight, and you heard your sister had an agonizing gulp, hardly swallowing her own emotions.

"Maggie, I'm so sorry!" Lynn gasped, covering her face, ashamed.

"It's OK, it doesn't hurt terribly", the emo girl stated, trying to calm your sister down. "I'm guessing you two have questions to make".

"Yes, that" You said, a bit nervous, avoiding to stare at her face too much.

Maggie tilted her head, indicating you to come in, and you soon followed. You both get as comfortable as you can get into the apartment that could have been a serious crime scene. The lights were dim; a black curtain covering half of the window, letting just a bit of the cold autumn light to come through. A few bloodstains, probably still there from the time of aggression, remained unclean, as you could still see a few spots where there could have been blood that tainted the carpet irremediably. A few consumed candles remained around, the solid wax stuck like dribbles at the corners of the table they were placed over.

"I got out of the hospital recently" she explained, as she took a seat at the big couch, which also had more of those suspicious stains, a mix of reds and purples. "Everything's still a mess. Not like it was much better before, anyways".

Lynn sat at the other side of the couch. You preferred to stay up, having a clearer view of this wounded girl. She did seem familiar but you couldn't quite nail it.

"You didn't talk much about your family" Maggie said, talking to your sister. "I didn't know you had a brother".

"And many sisters" she explains, cutting that conversation thread off quickly. "But we have something a bit more urgent to talk with you, if you don't mind".

"What is it?"

What things did you ask her?

CHOOSE ONE

1. Are you into some kind of sect or cult that does any kind of weird stuff?

2. Were you going to do something to Lynn the day your "fight" happened?

3. [INSERT QUESTION HERE]

CHOSEN. 2

"OK then, straight to the point: Were you planning to do anything to my sister the day you had this… Fight?" You asked with arms crossed.

"Oh yeah, your house was pretty weird that day, if you ask me" Lynn interjected. "I know you're into this 'dark' stuff, but even then…"

The raven-haired emo girl seemed to gain some color on her pale skin, as she alternated her look between you and your sister.

"W-Well, I…" She stuttered.

That was a weird way to react.

"I know it all looked a bit weird, but I didn't have much money at the moment, so I didn't have proper curtains and…"

Her deadpan voice contrasted with the stuttering and her subtly nervous movements,

"But weren't you trying to hide something from me too or…?" Lynn questioned.

"Y-yes, but it wasn't anything that weird, just some clothes and chocolates… I wanted to give you a surprise and…"

"OK, I think I get it" You said, looking away.

"That explains a lot…" Your sister mustered uneasily.

"I'm glad you didn't drink the wine at least, I bet that thing had something to do…"

"Oh yeah, that wine" Lynn said, snapping back to the matters that brought you there. "What about it? It didn't have a label or anything".

"A friend I met some time ago gave it to me as a gift" She answered. "It was something his 'brotherhood' made. He didn't really specify what kind of brotherhood was, and I didn't ask. By his looks, I assumed it was a frat-boy thing. He just told me that wine would make wild things happen if I drank it with someone else… I think he was a bit more literal than I expected".

"That's why you suddenly jumped at me?" Your sister continued.

"I think so. After I drank my glass, something burned inside me. It made me feel powerful, like my deepest desires would explode from within me to the outside. I heard a voice calling my name, and telling me I had to do it, I had to have you, your blood…"

"Were you conscious during all that?" You inquired then, remembering the things you heard from your sister Lucy during her possession.

"Yes, I knew what was happening. I couldn't stop myself, but my body kind of had its own intentions. It was both following those secret impulses I had in my heart and the growing voice taking over my head, clamoring for Lynn's blood and flesh, to serve something else, some other purpose beyond my own".

This brought more questions to your head.

CHOSE ONE:

A. Do you know what kind of purpose that was?

B. What about this friend of yours, or his brotherhood?

C. [INSERT QUESTION HERE]

CHOSEN: B

"So, this friend of yours, and his brotherhood…" You queried, trying to dig deeper into this thing.

"I don't know much about it. He was very vague about it, even though he said he was 'talking too much'. He told me it had a long tradition, which existed long ago but resurfaced lately again, after being dead for many years. Very few people, according to him, are part of it, only those that can 'see beyond' can join, whatever that means".

"Do you remember if they have some kind of distinction?" Lynn asks too. "A mark or logo, whatever that may make them recognizable?"

"I don't remember clearly. He didn't wear anything in particular, just normal clothes, a frat-boy hoodie that he probably bought in a discount store and black jeans… Although he had something on his face, some tattoos or markings… Ugh…"

She grabbed her head and bended over. Her respiration got a bit heavy. Lynn, concerned, got a bit closer to her.

"Are you OK?"

"Aaah… My head…" Maggie complained. "It hurts…"

"Is it your wounds?"

"It's like my head is getting hammered…"

You don't know how to react to that. Her moaning grew louder, and you could see something moving below her bandages.

"Do you need anything, Maggie?"

"No… No, no, no…"

She stood up, still grabbing her head. The bandages were getting tainted with red, as something grew from below, bigger and bigger, until it burst in bloodied and long writhing appendages. What it seemed like a now lifeless body stood in front of you, as the tentacle-like limbs coming from the broken head of the pale girl tried to get closer to you…

Or so you saw.

Maggie was still there. She moaned, holding her head still, sitting and bending over. Where did the whole tentacle stuff go? You were so surprised you stood frozen in your spot, but when you got back to reality, nothing was happening.

"Grab me some ibuprofen, at my room's night table…" The darkish girl said, between pained whimpers.

Lynn turned to you as she stood up to search for the medicine.

"Get some water, please".

You snapped out of your surprise and went for a glass in the kitchen. Once Maggie got her pills, she swallowed one and tried to calm down.

"Ugh, it's like my brain is still battered" She says, massaging the sides of her head.

"I'm so sorry".

"It's OK, Lynn. You were defending yourself, I guess".

The brooding and unemotional girl let out a long exhalation, eyes closed, and inhaled deeply.

What the hell was all that?

"Well, those markings…"

"Uh, yeah, that" You manage to muster, still dumbfounded by that strange vision.

"I'm pretty sure they were a mix between scarification and tattoos", she continued explaining, getting more comfortable as her pain subsided. "By his account, only a few of his brotherhood have them. Some tribal-looking stuff at the sides of his face and an eye on the forehead, with a circle cut in half where the iris and pupil should be. One side was painted black and the other white. Not the weirdest thing I've seen, honestly".

You search for anything you could sit on. After that vision, you needed something more comfortable to rest and keep your heart from exploding. Even though it was already gone, you felt your pulse going up. You found a stool at the kitchen and brought it with you, and sat on the same spot you were standing in.

"I guess that's as much as I can tell you" Maggie said.

"Well, maybe you could tell us one more thing…" You respond, getting in a pensive pose.

What else did you ask?

CHOOSE ONE:

X. Do you know any place where this brotherhood could be?

Y. Do you know where this friend of yours lives?

Z. [INSERT QUESTION HERE]

CHOSEN: Y

"I'm not sure. He always came to my place, but I never went to his. I know it's pretty far, almost going out of town. His family runs a hostel, and he crashes there, as far as I know. Don't know the directions, but I know it's called 'Townsend"... A bit on the nose, really".

She grabbed her head again, trying to ease her pain.

"And… that's all I know", she said finally, after the pain subsided again.

"Thanks Maggie, this will help us" You expressed your gratitude, standing up.

"Again, I'm sorry about all… that" Lynn says, referring to her friend's face, as she stood up as well.

"Whatever", Maggie says, waving her hand. "I'll get a cool eye patch or something".

"We should leave" You reminded your sister, hurrying up. Your parents would be suspicious if you took too long on going back home.

"Wait" Maggie said, "Can I know why all these questions? Do you know anything more about this?"

Lynn looked at you, like waiting permission from you. It's understandable to distrust a bit, knowing she had this strange friend who rang all the alarms for "cultist", but she was cooperative enough.

Did you let her know?

CHOOSE:

YES

NO

CHOSEN: YES

"If you wanna tell her…" You said to your sister, putting your hands into your pockets.

"Yeah" Lynn spoke, turning to her friend. "It's a long story, but a lot of things have happened in our family, and they seem to be related to what happened to us. One of our sisters went through the same as you, probably triggered by the 'situation' we had".

"Oh…" Maggie blurted out, maybe feeling guilty.

"Past is the past, right?" Lynn said, shrugging. "You helped us back. Now we may be able to track the culprit behind this".

"I'm sorry for getting you into this".

"Seriously, I'm sorrier than you will ever be. Hell, I thought you were dead at first".

"Whatever. I'm alive at least, and it's not like I matter to that many people"

"Don't say that!" Lynn exclaimed, holding her friend's shoulders.

"If it helps, our trouble seems to be only a part of it, not the whole picture" You explained, trying to make her feel a bit better,

"Well I'm alive, and you're OK. We're OK now, right?" The raven-haired girl smiled just slightly, looking at your sister.

She smiled back, but felt a bit uncomfortable a second later. She got her hands off the other girl and put them in her hoodie's pockets.

"Uh, anyways, we're leaving and stuff".

"Sure, sure…" She murmured, sitting down again on the couch. "You know your way out. See ya. Oh, and please…"

Lynn and you were about to leave, but turned around to hear Maggie's proposal.

"I want to help too. If you may need anything from me, tell me".

You just do a thumbs-up. Lynn gesticulates a "thank-you". You didn't have time to stay for much, so you waved goodbye. Your parents were waiting.

There's a lot you could do with this newfound information, but many things were troubling you. That horrible vision just snapped in front of you, like daydreaming, but with a nightmare. Was that an illusion, or a revelation? Could you trust yourself, really? You didn't have the problems Lana is still having, but you certainly aren't right either. This meddling has kept you in a very unstable mental health.

TIME FLIES AWAY

It has been almost three weeks since the twins' incident and the interrogation of Lynn's mysterious friend. You tried to find all you could about the brotherhood by yourself, but without much success. Since you could only be at home or at school, you had little time to go further, or only search for info on the internet, and that wasn't enough. The mention on local websites about the subject has been scarce and unreliable, mostly covered only by tabloids and sensationalist conspiracy sites. They might be right, but without any actual confirmation besides "rumors from reliable sources", you couldn't be sure.

You thought on asking for more help from one of your friends. Ronnie Anne might be your best choice for a more "in-depth" investigation. She could go observe from a distance whatever is happening on the directions Maggie gave you, and you know she's resourceful, so she wouldn't be in any danger. Clyde, although a great partner for investigations, wasn't as physically apt as your lady friend, and even though he already healed from that accident he told you about, he might not be the best option to run away if the situation arises.

Did you ask for help from any of your friends?

CHOOSE:

ASK (RA/CLYDE) FOR HELP

DON'T ASK FOR HELP

CHOSEN: ASK (RA) FOR HELP

The next week, after class, you asked Ronnie Anne to meet you at the school's gates. You walked together for a bit, and after catching up with more trivial conversations, you decided to ask for her help on your investigations.

"Wait, a 'brotherhood', like a cult?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid so. I have the suspicions that it has something to do with some things that have happened to my family".

Ronnie Anne had her doubts about it, and even though she didn't say it at first, you could read her uncertainty all over her face.

"You don't believe me, do you?" You queried.

"It isn't easy, OK? I know your sister acted weird that day and you had that crazy gadget, but ghosts and cults? That's… Too much".

You sighed, massaging your head's sides.

"What about you, though?" She asked now, concerned. "You look like a total mess".

"Huh?"

"Seriously, dude, you look sick, and not in a good way. I imagined having many sisters would keep you on your nerves all the time, but now…"

"What about now?"

She had some trouble finding the correct words, and to your taste she was a bit blunt about it.

"You don't only sound crazy, you look crazy too".

"Why do you say that?"

"You barely put attention in class, for starters, and everything has you on edge. You're even jumpier than usual. And your eyes… I don't know, there's something weird about them".

"How weird?"

"I dunno! It's just odd to see you directly. It's like… If I look at you too long, you'll… Attack me or something".

You didn't know what to say, really. You haven't cared about yourself in all these days, and maybe it's true you're looking like crap. You barely study for your classes anymore. You're smart enough to not completely flunk, but if the trend continued, you'd get terrible grades at the end of semester. You felt very tired, and it is true that everything kept you on your toes, like at any moment you'd get attacked for getting your nose too close to covered truths.

"Y'know, I was thinking…" Ronnie Anne continued, looking away. "You kinda need a time-off, so why don't we go out to the arcade or something?"

"Uh…"

"Just to hang out!" She clarifies right after.

"Sure, but… With all the stuff going on, my parents won't let me go anywhere else but home after school".

"You can go play sleuth all around but not go play outside, hey Lame-o?"

Although you knew she was just teasing, it wasn't very funny to you right then. She understood your mood and switched to a proposal.

"How about I go visit you sometime? If that's allowed, obviously"

"Will you help me out with the cult thing though?" You negotiate.

Ronnie Anne sighed, a bit tired about your antics, but she didn't show much disdain.

"OK, I'll help you out, but only if we hang out at your place and we DON'T talk about this stuff until I go wherever you need me to go".

You weren't sure about that. Your own health isn't that important to you right now, but you surely needed the information, and without help you wouldn't get it. You could also try to ask Clyde's help instead of hers, but you doubt he'd be as helpful as Ronnie Anne, if at all.

What did you decide?

CHOOSE:

HANG OUT WITH RA AND GET HER HELP

ASK HELP FROM CLYDE INSTEAD

CHOSEN: HANG OUT WITH RA

You decided to give yourself a time-off with your friend. It should be good for your health, you thought, and getting her help was a nice bonus. You don't want your friends too involved into the various phenomena you've been facing, but then, what's the point of keeping friends anyways?

You played videogames, watched TV and talked about life, mundane things like school, comics, or anything. You enjoyed your time off, but you felt a little bug on your head, one saying you shouldn't waste your time in this and keep searching for information on what is attacking your family. You tried to fight it and calm down, relax and have a good time, but it was a bit hard. You hoped Ronnie Anne didn't notice the worry written on your face.

Still, you had a good time, and you did feel more relieved after all that.

SANITY LEVELS STABLE

Ronnie Anne promised to come with some information to your house during the current week. Considering the week is already ending, you're a bit worried if she hasn't done anything, or worse, got in trouble.

THE MUSES

After that day, you tried to focus back again on school and a more "normal" life. But seeing your family in the state they were, it seemed that wouldn't be possible anymore. A normal life was never part of the Loud House,

Right now, it was Luan, or Luna. Both, maybe?

Luan has always been the kind to look as optimistic as she could, and have a smile, even in the face of death. The only moment you saw that smiling façade dropping was almost four months ago, where it became the dramatic mask of sorrow for a long time. Luna had a similar approach; live life to its fullest and never to show weakness. But differently from the silent approach the comedic sister had, she decided to drive her lifestyle to its extreme. There would come the time where even she would find it was too much rock 'n' roll for a person to stand, and Luan would feel the muse of tragedy to be a bit too sour for her cheer personality. Both decided leaving the nest would be better for them, and left to pursue their arts.

Right now, Luan was having trouble to keep that smile on her face, and a grimace of worry got there instead. You heard her talking with your other sister, discussing how irresponsible of her was to come when they were barely scraping by with all the travel expenses from Massachusetts back to California, or the rent on "that shitty studio you barely help to keep clean". But suddenly that confrontational tone changed, asking Luna constantly if she was OK and needed help. You heard that a bit before dinner, and Luan didn't join the table, excusing herself on not being that hungry. You decided to excuse yourself as well, and take this as an opportunity to talk with your older sister.

You knock on the door first, making sure your sister had some time to wind down. You had to wait a few minutes before having a response, and you were about to knock again until

"Come in" You hear from the other side.

As you enter, you manage to catch a small glimpse of sadness, but it didn't last more than a second, as the mask on Luan's face changed from tragedy to comedy.

"Hey there, lil' bro! What brings you here?".

She was sitting over a mattress set on the floor, the sheets and covers all messy, like the bed wasn't made for almost a month she's been around, like the life without parental figures made her forget about those menial tasks.

"Nothing in particular, just wanted to check on you".

"You heard the discussion, didn't you?" She cuts in, reading the worry on your face, as her smile fades away into a small glimpse of contempt. "That bit is over, but man, she's such... I dunno..."

"What's the deal with her?"

"I can't really tell, Jerry" she says, confusing you a bit with that name drop. "She won't really say what's her deal. Tough as a rock, I guess. See, when we were discussing, with me complaining about how she's wasting money on a shitty hostel at the ass of the town instead of coming over, she stood silent through all of it. It was weird, she always talks back!"

Something clicked in. A hostel at the edge of the city...

"Do you know the name of that hostel?" You ask, a bit out of the blue.

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"Just tell me if you know".

"I don't, really. I'd have to call her, but with the discussion we had, I don't know if it's a great idea to do it right now, she might answer with 'hostel-ity'... And I need a time-out too. But seriously, any particular reason?"

Right now, you preferred to leave her in doubt and hope she calmed down a bit instead You needed to calm down too; if you were right in your hunch, Luna might have stumbled upon trouble. You don't know if this is just a terrible coincidence or there is a curse on your family at this point. Might as well be, anything is possible now.

"I've gotta check on something, first. You need some space too, right? I'll come in a while".

"OK then, I guess" Luan says, shrugging.

You wait until most people has finished dinner, everyone going to different places around the house. After that, you leave and check on your family.

Mom and dad are still at the table, calculating the family's budget for the rest of the month, debts to pay and things to buy. Lucy has clammed up a bit again, hiding on the basement with a bunch of books; not surprising, considering disgrace looms over the house still. Lynn is at the couch, watching TV. Lisa is in her room, you assume continuing with her experiments. Lola is helping Lana out with the food still at the kitchen's table; the tomboy twin has been having more problems than usual lately in controlling her arms now, even though her legs have been getting better.

You didn't want to bother your parents, but maybe you could talk a bit with your sisters about your recent discoveries, or check up on them to see if they're OK. You could also call on Ronnie Anne, to see if there are any progress on the mission you gave her, since she hasn't reported anything.

What would you do first?

CHOOSE:

CALL RONNIE ANNE

TALK WITH LUAN AGAIN (BLOCKED UNTIL 3 MORE ACTIONS)

SPEAK WITH SISTERS (Choosing a sister will come later if this option wins)

CHOSEN: CALL RONNIE ANNE

You decide to call Ronnie Anne now. She promised to help you out, but it seems she either forgot to report back or hasn't done it. You go to your room for some privacy, and call her. You hear the dial tone for a few seconds, and just before you get the impression she is taking too long to answer, you hear her voice.

"Lincoln?"

"Hey, Ronnie Anne".

"Oh, hey, what's up?" She says enthusiastically.

"See, I don't want to push you, but remember that I asked you a favor about... Looking out for something and all that?"

"Oh... About that..."

She goes quiet, and you're fearing she forgot about it. Some anger is building inside you, but you tuck that anger under your mental rug, trying to forget it.

"You forgot about it?" You ask as calmly as you can.

"No, no, nothing like that! OK, I'll be honest, I did my searching like a week ago, but I didn't know if to call you..."

"Did something happen?" You ask, changing a bit your tone to worry.

"Well, that's the thing... Nothing happened. There was nothing in the direction you gave me".

You can't answer to her, you can't believe her".

"Did you actually go there? Didn't you miss the directions, or something?"

"No, seriously, I actually searched all day by last Saturday. I asked for that hostel thing you told me about, and nobody knew about it. I searched on the internet maps and nothing either. I went as far as I could go, where we're limiting with the other towns. I got very tired of searching for anything that would fit your descriptions".

"Why didn't you tell me before then?" You ask now.

"Well I kinda... Was hoping you forgot about it, maybe you're too stressed and need to relax, because maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe you're... going... A bit mad?"

You cut the call. You don't have time to feel bad about leaving Ronnie Anne hang there. You have your own doubts now to deal with.

That can't be right, there must be an explanation for this. It makes no sense... Unless you got lied to directly. You didn't imagine Maggie, did you, and all that with Lynn, right? Damn, what to do now then?

CHOOSE:

TALK WITH SISTERS:

LUAN (blocked until 2 more actions)

LYNN

LISA

LOLA AND LANA

LUCY

CHOSEN: LISA

Although everyone thinks Lisa is OK now and has been more worried about Lana, the scientist sister still causes you a bit of concern. You have noticed her getting more reclusive, a bit too focused on her research, even though the past weeks have been tranquil. You're sure you also heard her doing something at very late night, and even... Whimpering? You're not sure about that last part. What kind of things is she delving now? Maybe it's good if you check on her.

You knock on her door, which was closed, with key even. That's weird.

"Go away" You hear from her, very serious.

Her reaction is surprising, to say the least.

"What?"

"Get out, please", she requests laconically, in the same tone.

"Why?"

"I want to be alone".

"C'mon Lisa, we need to talk. There's something..."

You hear her little steps coming closer to the door. It opens, showing the obscurity of her room, only some dim illumination from screens and gizmos' LED lights. The hallway's light helped you a bit to see her face. A tear on her face, and a bloodied bandaged hand.

"What happened to you?" You ask, worried, but trying to not call the others' attention.

"This is becoming too much, Lincoln. I can't help you anymore".

"OK, I don't care about that anymore, but can I help you with your...?"

"Stitches open when one is working. I can help myself. I can't help you. Get out".

She slams the door on your face. This is more than weird, and you still have a thousand questions.

"Can you at least tell me why you're crying?"

You hear no response from her, but not many seconds later you see something come from below the door. It was a letter and a newspaper page, with a column circled.

For the letter, see Main paste at Line 1869. For news article, see Dev Notes paste, Line 527

Dev Notes: /A6Jc18wX

That doctor Lisa knew is missing, it seems. You don't know the exact relationship they had, but you guess they were friends. Maybe Lisa isn't completely a machine of logic and reason, and some heart beats in there, and now it hurts for the possible loss of a companion. Many other implications from the letter also intrigued you more about your sister, but short of kicking the door down, you don't have many ways to get to her.

You slide back the things, they're probably too personal for her to leave them there or take them with you.

Nothing more can be done with Lisa.

What will you do next?

CHOOSE:

SPEAK TO ANOTHER SISTER

LUCY

LOLA AND LANA

LYNN

TALK WITH LUAN AGAIN (Blocked until 1 more action)

CHOSEN: LYNN

You go to the living room, and see your sister half-watching a wrestling match on TV, half-falling asleep. She has been a bit tired, maybe overworking it a little at the gym. She used to disappear during the weekends too, under the excuse of soccer practice, but she confessed to you she left after having some "disagreements" with some team members many weeks ago. Whatever the reasons were, you preferred not to ask. She also has gone to visit Maggie a couple of times more, although in general she keeps on her exercising routines outside, only staying put during the weekends.

You sit beside her at the couch. You remember the old days on how crowded it got when everyone lived there. Nowadays, it's even surprising if there's any fighting to change the TV to any specific channel.

"Hey" She yawns at you.

"Hey".

"Wanna see something? I think ARGGH was having a re-run".

"I have enough real ghosts to deal with nowadays..."

"Heh..."

You stay silent for a few seconds, while Lynn zaps around, checking for other things to watch. Apparently, the wrestling match was getting boring.

"So, Lynn, about your friend..." You call her attention.

"Yeah?"

"You trust her, right?"

She raises an eyebrow, looking at you, although still with the lazy face she had while watching TV.

"I don't have many reasons not to. Why do you ask?"

"I'm having my doubts with the information she gave us" You say in total honesty.

"Why? What did you find out?"

"Well, I asked a friend of mine to search for this place this weird guy is..."

She just waits for you to continue, distressed about what you're about to say.

"We WERE there, right? We talked with your friend some weeks ago, right?"

"Why are you asking this...?"

You sigh, not knowing if you'll get anything out of this questioning.

"My own friend didn't find anything".

Your sporty sister didn't blow up in fiery bits, but you can see in her eyes a feel of dread, like she's having the same doubts as you about her own memories, becoming slowly a fire of anger.

"If she lied to us, I swear to God..." She mutters, grinding her teeth, standing up.

"I don't want to believe that, it makes no sense in either way... But it's hard to make it fit in any other..."

Then again, you are having doubts on that too. OK, maybe she did lie, but there might be something else here. You've been facing ghosts and cults, maybe not everything is as logical now, right?

You decide to leave, after dropping that bomb on your sister.

"I'll think more about it. If you can call her, please ask her about it".

"Oh, you bet I will..." She says, still grinding her teeth, and standing up to search for her phone.

You walk around, thinking on what to do next. You could continue checking up on your other sisters or go check on Luan now. There's not much to be done with Maggie until Lynn calls her, and Lisa is unavailable for any theory-bouncing. Maybe your other sisters can help? Although you don't know how.

What's next?

CHOOSE:

TALK WITH LUCY

TALK WITH THE TWINS

TALK WITH LUAN

CHOSEN: LUCY

You head out to the basement, where Lucy has been going to recently. Nobody has much reason to go there lately besides the boiler or the laundry. Not to mention hiding in the vents now that all of you are older can get you stuck. Lucy was always the loner type so it's not that surprising for her to find a place to hide from the world, but you fear she may have a relapse. She doesn't want medication, and the visits to a therapist have been few.

However, you're surprised to not see her there... At first.

"Hey Lincoln".

You feel shivers down your spine, and turn back to see your sister, sitting on the floor, close to the boiler. You feel relieved, but immediately surprised at the visage of what it seems like the wall of a detective at work, with newspaper clippings and notes on a corkboard, books and a laptop. Lucy is sitting on the floor, reading a book. You could see the cover, it reads "The Family Trees of Massachusetts".

"Hey... Lucy... What...?" You manage to articulate, still struck.

"Same as you, brother. I'm digging".

"Why...?"

"The shadowy beasts attacking our family are targeting us. It's not just chance. I'm sure of it".

"How...?"

"It started as a wild guess, but there might be something luring the strings of chaos to tie us in this tangled path".

"And...?"

"I've offered to do the laundry so I could have this space for my own. Our parents didn't seem to mind".

"And what...?"

"I know you've been doing your own searching, through your own means. I wanted to do the same. Lisa seems to want to distance herself, who knows what grievances brought her to it, so maybe we're alone in this now".

"OK, OK, I get it. So, you'll be investigating too?"

"Yes" She says, finally letting you to finish your sentences. "I know, there are too many questions to answer, and so much to discover... I may not have found many gems still, but maybe I could help in shining on your path".

Well, might as well have a peek into her own investigations. She seems to have been doing a lot of work on it.

"What kind of stuff have you found?"

"Two things seem to be the most relevant, and both intertwined into our occurrences. One is information on old and forgotten cults with deep roots below our earth, and the other is the family trees that dropped their rotten fruit on our soil".

Seems like the kind of information you'd like to delve in, although you don't know if you have all the time in the world to do so. Maybe you should ask for one thing now and talk more later. What will you ask about first?

CHOOSE:

ASK ABOUT FAMILY TREES

ASK ABOUT OLD CULTS

NOT ASK AND LEAVE IT FOR LATER

CHOSEN: ASK ABOUT OLD CULTS

"Per what I have found, many cults have tried to influence our society, and the ones with their origins at the coasts of the Atlantic seem to be the darkest, if not as effective as others. Many have been forgotten, destroyed or crumbled from the weight of its plans and their weak foundations. Because of these, most of these cults seem to live more in folklore than ... But we've seen 'reality' has many layers of shadows that obfuscate the truth, right, brother?"

You just nod, letting Lucy keep talking.

"There is one known cult that had branches all around the world, including this country. Called the 'Black Brotherhood' by some. As far as I could collect from the information I found, this cult has been dead for many years. A man known as 'Marten', who supposedly was one of the leaders in the USA, got arrested and executed at the start of the past century, and the Brotherhood soon fragmented into many others. There are rumors in more... 'unofficial' sources about a group following in the steps of Marten, crying for some 'Lady of the Moon' to be their herald...".

"So how this would tie into our own problems?"

"I don't know if you've seen the news recently, but similar cases as mine have happened in our little town, so far from the metropolis but so close to chaos. People who were in bad times, and looking for a good one they become beasts, or downtrodden others feeling down, to soon get a high in blood and massacre. There are talks about this being the work of a cult, although no official news source give any information about this..."

You consider the information given by your sister. Could this be true? You're not so sure yet, but since you've heard about brotherhoods and drugged things, it might as well be true.

You'd stay to hear more of what Lucy has to say, but it's better to continue your own endeavors.

"Thanks Lucy, this will help. Keep searching, and we'll talk later, OK?"

"I'm glad to help, Lincoln. I hope my words helped on lighting your doubts".

"They did" You assure her, with a smile, as you wave goodbye, going upstairs.

So what's next?

CHOOSE:

TALK WITH LOLA AND LANA

TALK WITH LUAN

CHOSEN: TALK WITH LUAN

You gave her enough time already, it's better to talk with her now.

You go back to the room, and see the door open. Luan seemed to be about to leave the room, but maybe a call came around before she could exit, and is now standing at the door's frame, looking to the other side. She notices your presence, and nods at you.

"So, you said it's 'Townsend', right?" She says, letting you know about the information with a knowing wink. "Thanks. And hey, sorry too, you know... Are you alright, though? You sure? You left me kinda worried a while ago".

Both of you get inside the room. Whatever Luan was going to do can wait, and maybe she could sense you wanted to talk a bit more with her. She seemed relieved, but her face is turning into stress again.

"What's happening there?" Luan asks, weirded out, trembling.

You try to put attention, trying to make something out from the little you can hear. Some rumbling around.

"Luna, are you OK? Please, answer... Dammit..."

Luan turns off her phone, noticeably preoccupied now. Then, she looks at you directly at your eyes. You can't remember any moment where her serious face was more stern.

"I don't know what's going on, but if you know anything about this..."

May as well start giving explanations, really. You take a deep breath and start talking.

"I know that hostel's name, and that maybe that place..."

You're interrupted, suddenly, by Luan's phone... Laughing? Must be a ringtone or something.

"Wait, maybe she's calling back..."

Luan checks her phone again, holding her emotions back. Maybe there was no danger, and she was just exaggerating? She inhales and exhales before dragging the phone to her ear, but she realizes it wasn't a call she was getting, but a picture. She sees it, trying to make sense of it, and you can see almost in slow motion how her expression goes from puzzled...

To horror.

"No, Luna..."

Luna is in danger

END OF ACT I

USELESS

"So how will we find this place?"

"Why do you keep asking me for help?" Lisa questioned back to Luan.

"Lisa, we need help for this, seriously. You saw the message Luna sent". You insisted.

"I can't make non-existent buildings appear out of thin air. Now please, I have other things to do".

"Goddammit Lisa, Luna may be in danger and you will ignore it?" Lynn interjected.

"I'm not ignoring it, I'm being realistic. I have nothing to work with here, no spectral signs, no ethereal readings. I can't suddenly invent magical things in one hour. I'm useless now".

She acted very stoic, but you were sure it wasn't out of insensibility She seemed... tired, like she has done everything and it still isn't enough. You've been noticing pill bottles on her room. Has she been trying to keep herself awake? Or sane?

"Now, unless you have a brilliant idea on how to use my technology to find an invisible hostel, please leave".

Lynn crossed her arms and rolled her eyes and walked to her room, signaling the rest to follow her. Lucy remained silent with her head down and followed, and the twins left somewhat concerned about their younger sister. Luan felt like saying something else, but she could notice words wouldn't change Lisa's stance, and left with the others. Only you stayed for a little more, at first just looking at her, trying to find any clue that could tell you what's going on in her confused head.

"You too, Lincoln" She insists.

You don't say anything. Maybe it's better to leave her for now. You walked out, looking back just once to see Lisa go back to her table, mixing many chemicals with luminescent fumes, being those the only light left in that room after the door is closed behind you.

PLANNING

After the call suddenly going off, Luan got a text message from Luna, it read in hastily written English "theyre mad send help im trapped in here", along with an attached picture of a wall smeared with a message written in crimson: "You are our Lady of the Moon". The implications alone are enough to know the third oldest of the siblings is in peril, but a few problems arise to go to her rescue, as you've been discussing.

Calling the cops for a place that may or may not exist is iffy, and if you'll deal with the supernatural, as it has been lately, you are sure that your family might be better suited for this. If Lisa helps with something, that is, and she seems a bit uncooperative.

You're assuming that Luan, being the "adult" and being the only one right now with a driver's license, could borrow Vanzilla for a while and give explanations later.

Really, the "how" is not a problem, but the "where" is. You have little information of the place besides the name and a very general location. Lynn called Maggie for more indications if that was possible, but the only thing she could think of is to follow around the city the symbol of this "brotherhood": A circle with one half painted white and the other black, sometimes drawn as the iris of an eye.

"The hostel might be a cover for whatever shady crap they do" you hear Maggie's voice when Lynn put the phone in speaker. "And if he's dumb enough to tell a total stranger about a 'secret' brotherhood, might as well be dumb enough to mark the place".

"There have been sightings of that symbol in Michigan" Lucy informs, checking on a little notebook. "It's not a far shot to find something like that at the rural edges of the city".

"That still doesn't solve our main problem" You interject. "Unless my own informant was lying, the building is magically invisible. Any idea on how to find it?".

"Beats me", Maggie answers. "My friend did talk about the brotherhood being for those who 'see beyond', whatever that means".

"How do we know we are 'seeing beyond' then?" Luan asks, confused.

"How did you meet this guy anyways?" Lynn interrupts.

"I won't say that on the speaker".

Something distracts you for a moment, while everyone else was talking about how to do the magic trick of making a hostel appear or Maggie's choices on friends. You see Lucy standing up and leaving. What is she up to? You stand up as well, excusing yourself, and follow your sister. You see her at her room, shuffling between books and magazines, in a hurry, dropping a few things in the process.

"What are you looking for?" You ask, entering through the open door.

In a weird twist, it is you who surprises her this time, making her drop the book. She picks it up again, looking at you through her dense raven-black hair.

"I may know what we need to do" She explains, pointing at the cover of the book.

You take a closer look at it; a seemingly old book, yellowed pages and dusty, leathery cover, with gold letters corroded in time. The same book you saw her reading at the basement a while ago, "The Family Trees of Massachusetts".

"Where did you get that?"

"My friend Haiku had it" She explained. "I believe she had a few relatives from there, and she got into the rabbit hole of genealogy. This book shows us the many families which traversed the Atlantic to live in this country and how their roots latched onto the land, giving us their poisoned fruit, such as..."

She starts to skim through rapidly, until she gets to a particular page. You get a peak of what seems to be a portrait of an adult to middle-aged man.

You consider this new information. It'd be great to have this invention, but...

"OK, he invented something... And how do we get that?"

"His invention might be lost in time, but not his investigation. I know I saw this name on Lisa's books when she lent me some for my digging, but..."

"We need to convince her to help".

Your somber sister nods, putting the book back on its shelf.

"She's losing her senses".

You don't comment on it. To say anything else would be redundancy.

"This whole family is walking near the abyss of madness, and she's probably the one who has stared to it the most".

"Don't worry, sis" You comfort her, although not sure of your own words. "I'm sure she's still with us. I'll talk to her".

"I hope your voice is stronger on her than madness' call" Your gloomy sister sentences.

You leave the room, decided to talk with her. Lucy, on the other hand, goes back to Lynn's, to keep discussing the rest of the plan.

Before going to talk with Lisa, however, you peek to downstairs, to see if your parents are still around. They seem to be discussing something too, but you don't manage to hear what it is. You assume the same as it has been lately: debt, stress, tiredness. Your sisters have been through a lot, but you don't know how your parents feel about the disgrace touching upon their progeny. You wish you could tell them the truth about everything, since they're the only ones to not know, but it's hard to know when the right moment is, or if they'd believe it in the first place. You thought on discussing it with Lisa at first, but you're having your doubts about her current judgement. The grief from losing a friend might be hurting her, but it may as well also be her mind being hurt by insanity. Your other sisters are in a divide: Lynn doesn't want them to know out of fear of their reaction, but Lucy prefers to have everyone in the know. Luan is currently neutral about this, since she only got informed about the situation after Luna's SOS message.

Maybe you could take this decision instead, since nobody will. You could talk with your parents after this whole debacle resolves, whichever the outcome, and get everything in the clear, even if it seems unbelievable. Maybe it's better to give an explanation to them rather than keep them in shadows.

On the other hand, you don't know how will they react about it, nor how your sisters will feel about it. You might just break more your already torn family.

CHOOSE:

TELL PARENTS THE TRUTH

KEEP THEM OUT OF THIS

CHOSEN: TELL PARENTS THE TRUTH

Nobody can take the decision, so you'll do it, everything be damned. You'll deal with those problems that they may bring. However, this should wait at least after you talk with Lisa.

ANOTHER TALK

You walk to Lisa's room now, and enter. It seems like she forgot to key the door this time, but she didn't flinch. She keeps on whatever she's doing now, which seems to be mixing some chemical concoctions, who knows for what purpose.

"Lincoln, I assume?" She asks, very concentrated on her task.

"Yes. We need to talk".

"I already told you I won't help. I can't, not this time" She insists, completely devoid of any emotion.

You pass your hand over your head, and take a deep breath. Right now, talking with your genius sister feels like smashing your head against a wall.

"Are you sure it's just because of that? Because Lucy found something that could help us, but we need you for it".

"I know our broody sibling has more wits than anyone would have thought before", she says, while observing very attentively to one of the test tubes. "I shared some of my knowledge with her and she seemed to understand a good part of it. But I can't think on any finding that could help".

"Does the name 'Tillinghast' ring a bell?"

She doesn't seem to respond.

"Lisa, I'm talking to you".

She keeps being silent, completely. It's starting to worry you now.

"Lisa, please..."

She stands up, suddenly, leaving the test tubes carefully on their place, and walks towards you. She doesn't seem very happy.

"I told you I need space, and I can't help. Doesn't matter what you tell me now".

You sigh again. She's being way too stubborn.

"Are you truly 'useless'? Or is it you just feeling useless because of what happened to your friend?".

You touched a nerve there, but she barely let it show.

"You haven't been yourself lately, and it shows. I know the issue with your friend has affected you..."

"How I feel is not of your concern. I'm fine, I really can't help now" She answers in monotone, even though she doesn't seem that unaffected by your words.

"Per the letter you showed me", you counterattack almost immediately., "I have enough reasons to be concerned".

"What she wrote about in that letter is not about current events" She defends herself. "I told her about the graveyard, and my experiments there. She gave me advice to avoid that, and nothing else".

You have serious doubts on that much. Her sentence seems strangely untruthful considering past situations you have observed, even though she has a strong conviction in her words.

You know you could crack her a bit and maybe she'd be more cooperative if you inquiry further on it.

Would you pursue this issue further, or leave it be for now?

CHOOSE:

YES

NO

CHOSEN: YES

You'll try to make her open up a bit. However, you need proof. You know that the letter not only talked about the graveyard incident, and you have noticed some things that have been strange about her. What are those details?

GIVE THREE CLUES:

1.

2.

3.

Clues given by players:

1. Lisa is missing more fingers.

2. She's taking pills, apparently.

3. She was crying at night or nights.

LISA'S LAMENT

"Show me your hands".

Lisa seems to be weirded out by your request, as she hides them under her lab coat's sleeves.

"Why?" She questions, trying to play dumb.

"Show them to me. If you haven't done anything else, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Resigned to her cover being blown, she extends her limbs forward, showing to you both of her hands, both with a missing pinky, covered in bandages, both with slight bloodstains. She looks away, avoiding eye contact with you, with a very slight expression of shame on her face. Clearly, you're not in the best mood either: why is your little sister so bent on hiding things from you and your family?

You don't comment further on her hands, the guilt she's probably feeling now is enough. However, there are other things in her behavior that need further inquiring.

"What kind of pills are you taking?" You ask now.

Lisa lets her arms down, and walks towards her bed, sitting on it. She stays silent for the longest seconds in her short life. She interrupts the words that were almost outside your mouth to explain herself.

"I know I'm not in a good shape. I need those pills".

"What are they?"

"Antipsychotics" She responds. "I'm not much of a pharmacist, and my psychiatry knowledge is unpolished, but they keep me sane".

"Wait, so you got them by yourself? How...?"

"Don't ask more questions Lincoln, please. I'm not ready for this" She mutters, covering her face with her tiny hands.

You grab the seat from Lisa's desk and sit in front of her, trying to find her eyes. You don't want her to feel bad because of you, but you really think it's better to make her come clean rather than keep hiding everything.

"I heard you crying. I know something's wrong, Lisa, and I know we've asking too much from you, but we want to help you too..."

She doesn't respond. She's still covering her face, arched down, like curling in a little ball; like she could get smaller and smaller, until disappearing.

"God, why do I keep doing this..."

You barely react at her almost mute exclamation, prompted by her own nervousness, maybe. She's trembling too, holding deep in her chest a whimper.

"I couldn't get Lily back, I lost a friend... And now that she comes again, I can't help her..."

You're now worried that she might be going crazy on you, that maybe she's rambling out nonsense. Who came back?

"I heard her, Lincoln" She continues, not letting her face be visible, as she grabs her head, almost pulling her hair.

"You heard who?"

"I heard her talking, calling for help. She said our whole family is in danger, and she is too, and she cried and cried".

"Lisa..."

"Why I can't help her? She cried, she screamed, she screams to me every night, asking me why I can't help her, and I'm so tired, Lincoln, I'm so tired of this, I'm tired of being so useless, trying to help everyone and not accomplishing anything, because we're still in danger, and she screams for our help Lincoln, and I'm so tired, I just want to..."

Her almost incessant rambling started to subside when she felt your arms around her. You hug her tightly, on your knees, resting your head over hers, as she rests on your chest. Her words kept falling out of her mouth, every second on a lower volume, until it got reduced to a mere mumble, and then silence.

She doesn't react, and both of you stay like that for a while, until you feel her pushing you out, lightly. You let her go, and see her to the eyes. They were watery, but still holding the tears in. She takes her glasses out to clean them with her sweater, and puts them back on.

"Have you heard her? Tell me I'm not the only one, please".

"Who?"

"Lily".

At first you think she might still be in a crazy tirade, but you make memory, and start to remember a voice whispering to you many weeks ago. Just before you woke up after Lola's dream you barely remember. What did she say?

It almost hurts your head to try to remember so hard. It happened so far away from your awakening, like in a limbo between dreams and reality. You didn't even think at first it was real.

"She told me... That our family needs... me? That she needs me..."

"It's her. It's Lily" She says now, like trying to convey wonderment in her unexpressive face.

Can that really be her? You don't believe it, it seems way too fortunate, or unfortunate, whichever It is.

"But didn't her trace disappear or something?" You ask, stunned by the revelation.

"I know, I've been trying to track her again ever since I started hearing her voice, but the signals are faint, if nonexistent. Maybe she's using some other method to communicate, but that would mean her consciousness is almost intact. How is she able to...?"

She stops talking to herself for a moment, connecting her eyes to you again.

"Sorry, this is too big. I thought it was just me losing my senses, and Dr. Curwen's disappearance hasn't helped my psyche..."

She takes a deep breath before going back to the floor, standing in front of you. She seems in a better mood, somewhat: her face is still somewhat stiff, like a carved statue.

"Sadly, I really can't help as much as in other occasions, that much is true, but maybe there is something I can still do".

She walks to her own shelves, and searches for the many science books she holds

"You told me something about Tillinghast, right, brother?"

You nod, still shocked by the revelation of your dead little sister still roaming the world, or the ethereal plane, however that works. Did you actually hear her? It's so confusing, it almost feels like your head would implode, or deflate, because of the revelation.

INSANITY AVERTED

INSANITY LEVEL STILL AT 3

You see your little genius sister shuffling around the books, taking her some time to find the one she truly wanted to check, cracking it open and searching for the page in the index.

"Dr. Crawford Tillinghast" She reads aloud from the book she grabbed, passing pages until she finds the one she wanted. "He proposed that the pineal gland, under a certain resonance, might be able to make a person perceive different realities".

She's very attentive at the content of the book, although you're not sure how much of what she's saying comes from the book or from her mind.

"Sorry old man, to think his investigations would be ignored thanks to theosophists and tarot-reading scammers... His observations were too influenced by esoteric readings of factual science, but he still managed to find some truth. If I have to believe Dr. Curwen's more insightful investigations, it might be..."

She looks at you, getting out of her own head again. She seems to still not be in all her senses.

"Sorry" She apologizes. "What's important is his investigations do have some merit. There is a part of the body, which might or not be the pineal gland, that is linked to our own souls. Affecting that body part to certain stimuli, like Tillinghast's resonance machine, prolonged or strong possessions, or being affected by some other ethereal entity, will let the affected person perceive a reality beyond our own".

"So these cultists are invisible unless someone is affected by this stuff?"

"Somewhat", she says. "It still is a wild guess, but it is the best we have".

"How will we find them, then?"

"I can't make a resonance machine that fast, especially if we are in a hurry to save Luna. But you have some options... Which might not be pleasant".

"How so?"

"Some of our siblings might have already an altered perception of reality. Maybe me and you, maybe Lucy, or Lana. Lola seems to have gotten out safe and sound of her catatonic state so she's probably unaffected, and Lynn acted as a carrier for the spectre, but didn't have as much of a prolonged exposure as Lucy had. One of us has to go with you to find that building".

This is a hard choice. You didn't want to involve anybody else than you and maybe Luan, who's the only one who can drive you there. But you don't know if your own affected state is enough, or if would work at all.

So far, the only one who you're sure is seeing "things" is Lana, but she's bound to the wheelchair, being her "heightened" perception the only thing she could help, and maybe it isn't very good to risk her.

You don't know how much Lisa might be affected, but she's a bit more able-bodied; of course, she's still a 10-year-old, so that point is iffy. Still, she's also the most intelligent of all of you, and that may also come in handy.

Lucy hasn't mentioned being still affected by visions or voices, but she's the most able to help in more physical tasks and do some sleuthing.

If you go alone and your own perception isn't enough, you'd lose time trying to find the hostel, the one resource you don't have at your disposal. Maybe you can ask for help to one of your sisters to find the place, get there and then send her back home, but in the same way, she might insist to stay with you.

Who should accompany you in this?

CHOOSE:

LUCY

LISA

LANA

GO ALONE

CHOSEN: LUCY

"I guess Lucy is the better choice", you say to your sister, still unsure of this.

"Very well then... I think I can make a device out of the scrap of that watch and the dream machine to help as well..."

"Thanks, Lisa. You're the best".

She slightly smiles, somewhat impeded by the rigidness of her face muscles.

"Thank you for helping me out, to get out of my mind. I felt like my body was a cage".

You smile at her back, as you walk out of the room.

"Tell the others about this for me. I gotta do something else first".

She seems a bit dumbfounded by your petition, but you don't give her much time to react to it. You walk downstairs to speak with your parents...

Or you would, since you see them going upstairs, and almost trip over them. They see your surprised expression.

"What's wrong son?" Your dad asks, feigning the parental smile, covering his worry. "Saw a ghost?"

You sigh with some relief and smile at the dad joke.

"What are you doing up here?" You ask to your parents.

"Just checking on you all, as usual" Mom answers. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

Maybe this fortuitous encounter is just what you needed. You feel the light steps of your little sister walking behind you, as she directs herself to the room, but stops when seeing the parental figures standing there with you.

"Well, there is something wrong, actually..." You hint, scratching your head.

"You think this is a good time?" Lisa asks, lowly, trying to not be heard by the folks.

"It's better they know now. We'll need Vanzilla anyways, right?"

She doesn't say anything else. Maybe she's also OK with it, and considering the urgency of the situation, maybe the truth will grease the gears of time on your favor.

"Come with us" You say to your parents, as you walk to Lynn's door.

Everyone looks at you, to mom and dad, and Lisa, who followed you right behind. You can see Lynn's straight disapproval, maybe guessing what you're going to do, and the surprise of the rest. You let your parents come in, and turn to them. Once everyone is sitting, and the silence being so dense that it could be cut with a knife:

"OK, this is a long story" You start. "You might want to take a seat..."

COMING CLEAN

It was a tornado of different reactions. Your parents tried to not act with anger, still some slipping out to their temper, soon being followed by dread and concern. They feel everything impossible to believe, but the state of emergency was clear. Luan showed them Luna's message, and they understood there were very few choices. Dad has had already too many problems with the police before when Lily died, and has learnt to distrust them. Mom is very concerned about it, and fears sending any of you anywhere, including the older siblings. Lisa explained to them as concisely as possible that You and Lucy have to go, or else the hostel where Luna is captive could never be found.

Your sisters also had mixed reactions. Lynn is somewhat annoyed by your rush, even though maybe it worked best for everyone, and Lucy is just happy that the secrets have finally been uncovered. Luan is too worried on her older sister to care about truths or lies, and wants everything to go as smoothly as possible.

Your parents agreed to help, but they have a condition.

"I know that maybe the police won't be of any help and I'm almost certain of it..."

"It's better if we do, children" Mom continues, elbowing her husband for that insidious remark against the public institution. "Too much has happened to our family to let it slide just like that".

This is the one thing you all feared, and don't know what to think about it yourself, but there is no way to stop that either. It had to happen at some point.

"So, will you lend us Vanzilla for this?" Luan asks, hurried up.

"I don't know if you should go, Luan..." Mom says.

"Oh no, Lincoln and Lucy are already putting their necks here!" Dad butts in. "It's better if I go".

"But Luna..." Luan manages to muster, shied away from the severity of dad's sentence.

Mom, seeing dad's reaction, doesn't seem very convinced on any of the choices. You're unsure yourself.

"Hun, are you sure you're in a good shape?" Mom says to dad. "You're maybe too upset and you've been..."

She tries to make it not very awkward to gesticulate the act of drinking with her hand. Maybe the twins didn't get it, but you're sure everyone else did.

"I don't want to risk my daughter!" He protests. "One of them is already in danger and we're sending other two right in the face of it? I can't deal with that!"

"Dad, I can drive them there, and maybe I can help them too".

"If we do this carefully, there might be no danger for us" Lisa interjects.

There's a lot of infighting on who should go to drive. Maybe you should butt in and say your own decision about it.

Who'd be better to drive you and Lucy to the mysterious hostel?

CHOOSE:

DAD

LUAN

CHOSEN: LUAN

"Sorry, but I think..."

You can't barely talk over everyone else discussing. Dad really doesn't want to risk your lives, but on the other hand, he's a bit tipsy, even if he doesn't show it that much. Maybe the man can hold his liquor, you guessed. Either way, Luan might be best; she might be less choleric about it, even though the worry on her face is almost palpable.

"I THINK" You try to say again, louder, although nobody seems to react.

This is too much.

"STOP!" You shout.

Everyone goes silent and looks at you, surprised. Nobody really expected you to take hold of the situation, and maybe it's better you do that now.

"Dad, I'm sorry, but Luan might be in better shape for this. Lynn can't drive and you are... Too..."

Mom makes signals for you to not say the word "drunk" in front of the twins, so you try to avoid it.

"Angry to drive".

"See hun? Listen to your son. They have managed to get this far on all the troubles, maybe they're better suited for this".

Your dad sighs, getting his hand on his pocket. He gets closer to Luan, and looks at her directly to the eyes. He's both angry and sad, worried and choleric. He grabs her comedic child's hand, and passes her the car keys.

"Take care of yourselves, children. I love you all".

He walks away, along with mom, as she pats his back. They're parents, their job is to worry.

But now your job is to find your older sister.

Lucy, Luan and you are in the car now. You sit beside the designated driver, meanwhile Lucy reads some other books related to this subject in the back seat.

You think this would be a good opportunity to talk with Luan and keep inquiring on past events, those your memory can't retrieve. Seems all the older sisters can do it without an issue, so maybe it's worth the shot.

"Hey, Luan..."

"What's up?" She asks, smiling to you, but not taking her eyes out of the driveway.

"There are some things I want to ask to you, about Lily..."

"Huh?"

"Well, turns out that I don't remember anything, and neither of us who still live at home..."

"Oh, you're closer to Pops now, white hair and memory loss!" She jokes, albeit cruelly.

"Ouch..." You say. "Anyways, could you help me refresh some things?"

"Sure, I guess. It's a touchy subject, but I guess enough time has passed to talk again about it".

"OK then..."

INSERT QUESTIONS HERE: _

(Following questions done by players)

What do you know about her summer classes?

"About the same as everyone else... But you, maybe. She had a few socialization issues so mom and dad followed the school's recommendations and sent her to this special ed place. I never thought Lily was that much of a nerd, she was just... Unique. But I get not having many friends makes for a lousy infancy..."

Heard anything about any Dr. Gilman?

"I think I heard mom and dad talking about that guy. Maybe they even met him, because they spoke wonders of him. Old fart from a university in Massachusetts, Miskatonic I think? Never heard of it before, really. I think he was part of the 'resocialization program' of that summer school, many universities were part of it, but the Miskatonic seemed to have more influence than others in it, for what I heard".

Did you talk to her before... that day?

"Oh, that day... Sure..."

Luan goes a bit serious, but also reminiscing, like some good memories came out of there. A mix of longing and melancholy.

"She was so happy to go there, and I helped her to make a sock puppet. They were going to do an experiment, she said. They were going to talk with friends through puppets, and then someone else would come in a costume. She told me they shouldn't know about the costumed man, but she saw the costume somewhere. She couldn't describe it, I guess it was too complicated..."

She sighs, now sadder than before.

"I... I was right at the backyard when she came back, preparing something for a birthday party. I didn't really notice when she entered and then..."

She couldn't continue her sentence. She takes a deep breath, just as a red light makes her stop.

"Sorry".

"It's OK" You comfort her.

Did she mention meeting strange people

"I think she did mention some guys in lab coats walking around. Considering most adults she met there were dressing colorful clothes or more, say, 'teacher-y' wear, that would probably be notorious. She also said she saw 'some guy who missed Halloween'. That was pretty funny".

Luan snickers a bit, as she pressed the accelerator once the green light comes.

What did she do in her free time?

"Draw a lot, and talk with us. She enjoyed spending time with us. That's why I think she didn't have a socialization problem, she just liked being in our family too damn much! Where are the family values now, huh?" She says, imitating the voice of an old lady. "Anyways... I never saw her drawings, but maybe mom and dad have them at the attic still, or at her deserted room..."

Any interactions between Lisa and Lily of note?

"Y'know, Lisa always acted annoyed when she tutored us on our classes, but I never saw her having problems with Lily. They were very attached, don't you think? Even if Lisa always acted like 'too smart for you', the smarty-pants has a heart of gold behind all that robotic-ness.

AT TOWN'S END

You were about to make more questions, but Lucy suddenly reacts, almost shouting, the louder she ever goes.

"Stop!"

You have been roaming the edges of the city for a while already, but this is the first time she says anything.

"The symbols are here, we must be getting closer..."

You look out of the window. Effectively, one of the many graffities in the walls of abandoned buildings were a strange circular symbol, half-white and half-black. You must be getting closer.

It didn't take much longer to see more of those symbols around. Almost everywhere, even in the streets.

"Do you see them, Luan?" Lucy asks, absorbed in the visage.

"I don't think so..." She answers, weirded out.

You see them too. They look a bit translucent, like they're barely there, phantasmagoric, even.

"How about you, Lincoln?" Lucy asks again.

"Yes, I do..."

"Well, we're getting closer then!" Luan exclaims, very nervous about what's to come. "Just tell me when we get there".

You drive a few minutes more. The symbols become more frequent and frequent, but you stop seeing them after a while, at the same time that a fog covers you all.

"Damn, this fog... I didn't see the weathercast on TV..."

Both you and Lucy start paying more attention to the surroundings. It's getting hard to see between the fog, and who knows what's real or not anymore. Maybe what you and Lucy can see are real, but not from this reality. It's confusing to think that way, that only a select few can truly see beyond nature's designs. It's like you could peek to what older entities created, and maybe you'll get a peek at what those elder entities are planning now.

Maybe they're planning destruction.

"Wait!" Lucy exclaims again in her lowly voice. "It's here! Townsend!"

She points at nothing, or at least that's what it seems to you at first. Luan follows Lucy's directions, and the neon lights of what looked like a normal, cheap hostel appeared in front of you.

"I hope I don't crash Vanzilla over this invisible building..."

Luan can't see it, but you start to.

Now you can see the bright lights of the hostel at Town's End.

A WARNING

"Tillinghast's research was a base for the spectre detector I made a month ago, along with Dr. Curwen's advances" Lisa explained to you, as she adjusted a few screws on the bracelet she gave you. "Considering both you and Lucy have already the capacity to perceive things in different planes of existence, you only need something to amplify that, in case the alternate plane fades away from your view. However, I advise to only activate them if absolutely necessary".

"Why?" You asked, feeling the tight grip of the metal device on your arm.

"The ability to see beyond our own reality comes with the price of mental instability" She clarified, moving on to your raven-haired sister. "We were not meant to traverse planes beyond the physical; much like our bodies can't handle the pressure of the deep sea, the mind can't handle an alien reality".

"In which cases should we activate these devices, then?" Lucy inquires, looking at her own.

"My advice is to use it as sparingly as possible: just enough to be able to see where you're going".

"Makes sense" You said, standing up, getting ready to go to Vanzilla. "Anything else?"

"Yes" Lisa affirmed, adjusting her glasses after giving the finishing touches to the bracelets. "It's a long shot, since Tillinghast's life is clouded in the fog of folklore, but if some of that is true, then you might be able to see things beyond existence…"

She makes a pause, trying to find your eyes, making sure you get the message. This warning couldn't go unsaid.

"But those things might also see you".

BEYOND

The building seems like it was abandoned for years. It even had an "evicted" document stapled to the front door, with date of 1988. The reason a whole building would exist far from the reality anybody else could see is a complete mystery, and maybe it would go unsolved forever. Whatever it is, whatever it happens, you have no choice but to enter.

There's nobody at the hall, you can only see chairs on the floor, trash and a desk, where you guess, long ago, someone would have been there to attend you, give you keys for a room and have good night of sleep. That is clearly not the case right now.

You and Lucy start searching for anything that could give you a clue on where your older sister is, but there're not many leads for that. You check on some notebooks at the desk, many were blank or had scribbles and doodles from what would be a bored person working at a crappy hostel. Lucy seems to have the same empty results as you.

Something calls your attention: an old painting hanging at the wall right at the center of the room, above the attending desk. A lady with a dress you imagine comes from centuries ago, painted on many red and brown tones of oil over a canvas. The woman depicted was smiling slightly, with one eye covered and a strange shape over her cheek, like a birthmark. It seems like Lucy is also observing it, and she looks very pensive. She pulls out her phone, searching for something in there.

You consider if asking her what's on her mind or not. She might have noticed something on the painting, and it might be important to the whole mystery around the cult and your sister's hostage situation. On the other hand, you're trying to keep as silent as you can. If Luna is here, then you're obviously not alone, and attracting attention is not that good of an idea.

What will you do?

CHOOSE:

TALK WITH LUCY

REMAIN SILENT

CHOSEN: REMAIN SILENT

You decide to keep on your search for leads as silently as possible. If it's anything that important, she might tell you later. Of course, unless she's thinking the same way as you and keeps her lips shut to not call any attention.

You continue searching for any leads, until you notice an open locker with many hooks, one lone key hanging on one of them. You grab it and examine it. It had a tag on it, with the number 302. It didn't look like the building would have a third floor, but maybe you didn't notice.

KEY ADDED TO INVENTORY

You go to check on your little sister, who was rummaging through piles of different papers on the desk. When she notices your presence, she shows you one of the documents she found: a map of the place. That'll be handy for your search, and you have a goal too, to find room 302. Neither of you know if you'll find Luna in that room, but it's your best guess right now.

Maybe there is something else you can check before going to the hallways. There are a couple of drawers at the desk you didn't open, and maybe there is something else in the locker with the hangers. Or you could rummage through the garbage bin at the corner of the room. Or you could leave and not waste more time.

What will you do?

CHOOSE:

CHECK DRAWERS

CHECK LOCKER

CHECK GARBAGE

LEAVE

CHECK LOCKER

The key hangers didn't have anything else, but there's a post-it note pasted on the locker's door you completely missed for some reason. It read "Lady is in the room". Nothing very telling, you already supposed that.

However, there's also a few gun bullets. If there are bullets, there might be a gun close.

3 BULLETS ADDED TO INVENTORY

Not much more to do here.

Will you examine anything else, or leave?

CHOOSE:

CHECK GARBAGE

CHECK DRAWERS

LEAVE

CHECK GARBAGE

You find between many crumpled food envelopes and rotten fruit a small notebook, more like a journal of sorts. A lot of random doodles and unimportant musings, like "God it's boring to be here" and variants. You give a quick read to a couple of entries that seem interesting, however.

Day 18:

"The distribution has been going swell. I've been getting the money and I'm helping on furthering our brotherhood's goal, whatever it is. I'd like to know why this place exists, anyways, but they keep me in the shadows about it. Sometimes I feel like a blind dog, guarding a house without even knowing my masters. As long as I can live here and have money, I guess there's no problem..."

Day 23:

"Well shit, she survived. I was expecting her to get killed or at least banged up enough to not remember, not to run away unscathed and leave my squeeze with a blasted eye. I just hope they don't learn about it, or else I'm done. That'll teach me to not go around giving the merchandise away for experimenting. I've been giving this stuff away to 'consumers' and never knew what it did. Now I know at least. I hope she didn't see me spying either. Thankfully she missed covering a spot on the windows, so I managed to take a peak. I was hoping for something else to happen before that fight, but I guess the other girl just isn't into that".

Day 26:

"One of them came and told me I've been chosen. This might be good, maybe I'll finally get given my purpose, the reason I can see this place, why I woke up with the blood of my dad on my hands. I barely remember the voice I heard, calling for his blood... Remembering this stuff is not good for me. He wasn't the best but I still miss the old man, he didn't deserve that".

There are more notes that seem interesting. Will you read them, or go do something else? Or leave and not waste more time?

CHOOSE:

KEEP READING

CHECK DRAWERS

LEAVE

CHOSEN: LEAVE

Nothing more to be done here. You have to find your sister.

You walk to the hallways, your sister following you closely, behind you. The hallway looks very long and narrow. You try out a few doors, some locked and others with empty rooms. It doesn't really matter, since you have a clear place to go; the third floor.

Everything was between rusty and humid, mold on the ceiling and rust on the doorknobs and the doors' metal plates, and the scenery repeats constantly, like you're not walking any inch further, even though you're moving. You look back, seeing the hallway as infinite to that direction as the one you're walking to. Lucy takes notice of this too, and looks just as puzzled by it as you.

"This might be what Lisa told us about" She whispers, looking everywhere for something that might look like an exit.

"Is there a way out of this place?" You think aloud.

It does seem like there's a way out. You haven't checked all doors, maybe one of them would lead you actually somewhere. You don't think the cultists that come here just have that much of a heightened perception, or do they?

Maybe you have to find a particular door that will lead you where you need? Or you need to activate the bracelet Lisa gave you? You might lose time if you try to get to the place by your own wits, but you might lose part of your sanity if you activate the bracelets for too long.

What will you do?

CHOOSE:

USE BRACELETS

USE YOUR WITS

CHOSEN: USE WITS

"OK, let's take a closer look..."

You get to one of the doors and enter. Your sister follows you, to see what you're doing.

It seems to be the same hallway, but only three doors are visible. You don't notice anything at first glance.

You don't really know what to do. Which door will you take? Or will you ask Lucy if she notices anything?

CHOOSE:

LEFT DOOR

CENTER DOOR

RIGHT DOOR

ASK LUCY (HINT)

CHOSEN: LEFT

CORRECT ANSWER

You enter another hallway, but it seems to be real now. You can see the end of it, being the stairs to the second floor, and the hall from where you entered is just by the other side. How does this happen? You may never know. No matter, you must keep searching for your sister now.

You go up the stairs only to be stopped by a door. It seems to be locked with a digital lock. Although you don't have any of these in your house, you remember Lisa using them for her now defunct bunker, not to mention plenty of these in videogames or TV shows. Maybe it's the standard stuff, four-digits code? However, there are not many clues for the code. You take a closer look to the numbers on the pad.

What could the code be?

INSERT CODE: _ _ _ _

CODE ENTERED: 0866

CODE ACCEPTED

A very short and acute "beep" resounds in your ears.

"Finally..." You whisper to yourself.

You don't give yourself much time to think, and go through the door.

You enter the second floor, almost sure that there wasn't anything around, but you hear something that makes you stop right on your tracks, freezing your blood. Your sister touches your shoulder, but you can't stop listening to that chilling tune vibrating on the air. She doesn't seem to understand, since you feel her pushing you, like trying to make you react. But you're just paralyzed, because the music you heard had a strange power over you. It wasn't good, or bad, you couldn't tell if it was actual music, like anything planned, sounding like a string of unconnected notes, but at the same time it was too deliberate to be the machinations of untrained hands, complex mixes of melodies that give the result of an opus from the dark depths of the heart and a crying guitar

"Lincoln!" Your sister Lucy strongly whispers to your ear, trying to get you back to your senses.

You manage to snap out of that enthralling music, and you're having your doubts if it really existed, until you hear four last notes, but you can't really know what they are. Your knowledge in music is very limited, and although you remember Luna trying to teach you all that. They're very deep and low, lingering in the air and resonating in your ears profoundly, like dragged from the depths of the mind of a tortured musician and violently put inside your own.

"Did you hear that?" You ask your sister.

"I think… What did you hear?"

"It was music, a guitar…"

"I think we heard different things then... I heard someone crying".

You don't know what to really make of it. Every step you go further into this place it becomes more surreal. You just keep walking, hoping your sister will follow.

The room is very dark, with only an oil lantern at the wall giving light to the room, and there's not much of note in there. There's another painting, like the one below, maybe depicting the same lady, although you're not sure with the poor illumination. It's hard to describe it to yourself, but the shadows feel oppressive, like weighing on you. Surprisingly enough, when walking forward you almost stumble over a black piano, its ivory keys uncovered and dusty. It looked very elegant, yet antique, bordering on decrepit.

There's nothing else to see in the room, at least with the illumination there is. You walk around with your sister, both of you trying to find a door or stairway to the next floor, but nothing else seems to be there.

Your sister goes to check the painting, using her phone as a light source. You stand there, thinking on how to proceed now, what merits your attention right now.

What will you do?

CHOOSE:

EXAMINE PIANO

EXAMINE PAINTING

You go to the piano, to give it a closer inspection. You press the keys, one by one, giving a very dead tone, somewhat eerie, you don't know why. The way it sounds reminded you of a sob. Each note was a different tear, being cried out, the hammers hitting the strings like pain on a sorry heart.

There was a note on the music rack instead of what you'd expect to be a partiture. You give it a read, see if there's anything interesting.

It reads the following:

"The moon will become red, and then it will be dark. It'll open her eyes and watch over us, lighting a path to the end. Chaos is the matter that created us, and chaos will eat us alive. There's nothing to do but play dead".

Maybe it's like downstairs, maybe all this is a very intricate code. You guess it makes sense if they don't want any kind of intruder here, waddling their way about to rescue their captive. You take a few moments to think on what kind of code this piano would be. You guess you have to play something, you've seen this before. But which would be the clues for this? What will you play?

PLAY THE NOTES:

NOTES: D E A D

You take your time to check what note would be the C, and start from there to check the scale. Thankfully, having to listen to your sister's songs every time she composed anything on any instrument she could play helped you to, at least, recognize a simple scale. You play the D, and then keep going with the rest of the notes: E, A, and back to D. It's the same notes you heard a while ago, the same crying song. You hear a click somewhere, but it's very mild, you barely heard it really. After that, you hear a thump on the carpet floor, coming from below the piano. You see it's an antique key, very big and heavy. Obviously, this must open something, but what?

Something clicked in the room. What could it be?

You grab the key and walk around the room, using your phone as a flashlight, like your sister is doing. Both of you search for anything that could have acted up at the piano playing. You can't really figure out what was it, but your sister soon discovers something. You see her approaching the painting of that lady, noticing something changed there: The moon symbol on her mantle went completely black, instead of the half-circles. Or more likely, a hole opened there. You illuminate the painting and find the keyhole, and proceed with the logical conclusion.

The key is a bit forced in there, and it takes you time to get it inside, like it wasn't really made for that lock, but it works. As you turn the key, you hear the piano play itself: a similar tune to what you heard in guitar, but now in the piano, finishing again on those last four notes. As the last note lingers, you start to wonder if that did anything of importance, but soon a trapdoor opens in front of you: the wall moves in, revealing a path forward.

You and your sister walk closely in that path, only illuminated by your improvised flashlights. It felt damp, and it's very narrow, not having more remedy than to walk in a line, your sister going behind you. You can't really see anything, either further or back. Are you at an infinite hallway again? You can't really tell if it's infinite. The light source from behind you is getting smaller and smaller, but it hasn't disappeared, so maybe this isn't the same.

You keep walking, touching the walls in case there's something around. It's very silent too, almost unnervingly so. You felt comfortable first with the silence, but it's becoming more oppressive, like if silence was not a gift, but a curse, like you weren't allowed to hear, to speak, to see. You look back for a little, your sister is still there. The room is still somewhat visible behind you, but nothing can be seen forward. This narrow passage keeps getting narrower, and you don't know if it's too late to stop and go back. You keep pushing further; you know you'll find something eventually.

There it goes again, the music. It makes you stop walking. The electric sounds of a now thunderous guitar play above you, a confused melody drawn from a deep well of madness, a sound not describable with any human words. How could that music be made with a guitar goes beyond your comprehension.

"Do you hear that?" Your sister asks this time.

"Yes".

"May that be her?"

You don't answer back. Really, it's the only thing you could imagine to be.

You keep walking, still that guitar playing up above, like a cry for help. You know you have to find her, you're so close now. You get to what it seems to be the end of this near-infinite hallway, but it also looks like it can go further. In a way, the hallway shortened for some reason. It also became wider too. Was this just the crazy architecture of this cursed building, or product of something else acting on this malleable environment?

The music stops, very abruptly. If that was Luna, she stopped. However, it was too sudden to be on purpose.

You don't give it much thought now, and search for any clue on where to go now. Your sister touches your shoulder and points up, illuminating the ceiling. A trapdoor is visible there, but you can't really get up there, it's too tall. In fact, it seems way too tall, not even if your sister stood over your shoulders to get there.

This might be another illusion, since you can't really believe on the architecture of this place, but maybe risking your sanity isn't good either. Getting to your sister, however, worried you too much to not consider that option.

You can either try to solve this problem with whatever you find on your environment, or see if the bracelets Lisa gave you can help on it. You already know the consequences, so it's time to decide.

What do you choose?

CHOOSE:

USE YOUR OWN WITS

USE THE BRACELETS

CHOSEN: USE BRACELETS

You prefer to waste away your mind than your time. You point your sister the bracelet, like telling her to do the same as you.

She, however, disagrees with you, showing you her negative shaking her head.

"I know we have to get to our sister, but we can't risk ourselves further either. It won't be good for any of us".

You understand her concern, but you disagree.

"It's more important to get to our sister now. We can deal with the consequences of this machine later".

"I don't know Lincoln… Our minds are already cracked. We're here because of it. But what if we keep hitting the shell until it breaks open?"

She looks away, caressing her arm, a bit ashamed to the words she says next.

"I… I think I'm not ready to deal with the consequences".

You can't really be mad at her, even if what she says means she probably can't go further. You can notice she's scared of this, and followed you this long fighting that fear that now grew. You don't know if you can go without help, or how hard will it be if you can. You think about it before giving any kind of response to your sister.

What will you say to her?

CHOOSE:

(Understanding) "It's OK, it's better if you go back".

(Convincing) "Please, Lucy, we need to keep together".

(Neutral) "It's your choice if you want to come with me or not".

(Change Mind) "Maybe it's better if we don't do it then".

CHOSEN: Convincing

You try to push your sister a bit. You must get to Luna, and you don't know if you can do it alone.

"Please, Lucy, we need to stay together".

"I'm…"

She's having trouble admitting it, but you already know what's going on with her.

"I know. I am scared too but… I fear to lose our sister more".

"So do I. I just can't…"

She doesn't say anything else. She's still doubting if to proceed with you or not. You can tell she's scared, that's not a feeling she's good at hiding. When she was a kid, she didn't really flinch with scary movies or anything like that; maybe she understood the difference between reality and fiction. However, reality was breaking apart, and that's something that scares anybody, even you. You don't know how you keep pressing further, even, maybe only your sense of duty and care for your family is the only thing still driving you.

She nods to you in the end, standing firmly.

"OK, I'll go with you. Together we might surpass these challenges".

You activate the bracelets, and see how the world starts to make sense, even though to your eyes they're as surreal as they looked before. You don't know if you're growing taller or the ceiling is falling over you. Whichever the case, you can't stop now. Even if your head hurts on the realization of a different world, of different rules of existence. You start seeing things now, crawling the walls, but you're not sure if it's just you, until your sister has to cover a scream with her hands, lest it goes out of her mouth.

INSANITY LEVELS RISING

3….4

You try to see what is she screaming at: you can see worm-like creatures in the walls, crawling and leaving a slimy trace all around. There are many, and looking at them closer, they look more like larvae, with a long line in their backs. Out of curiosity, you pick on that line, to see an eye open wide, bloodshot and yellow, looking at you directly. You jump back, surprised, but see that the eye closes and the larva keeps crawling away. This must be what Lisa meant when there would be things to see you too.

"Don't mind them" you say to your sister, avoiding to look anywhere else. "Come here so I can lift you".

She doesn't say anything, and follows your command. You help her get up your shoulders. It's hard to keep balance, none of you two are exactly the most athletic people. This kind of maneuvering would be better fitted for Lynn, but she couldn't help this time if her mind wasn't… blessed, cursed? Like yours. Fortunately, Lucy manages to keep her equilibrium, and grabbed the handle of the ceiling door, opening it. A ladder falls down and extends to the floor, finally giving you a way in.

What you thought was a third floor looks more like an attic. A very ample one, but an attic nonetheless.

You help your younger sister to get up there without much trouble. Almost as soon as both had a stronger standing on the attic's floor, after closing the trapdoor's lid, you heard something, you get closer and closer, to listen to it clearly, and you get to a door. You turn off the lights from your phones, just in case anybody can notice from the other side.

"Oh, fair lady, we have longed for you so, so long…"

Steps echo afar, and a snivel is hushed by the creaking wood planks. The pitch-black obscurity enveloped the walls, the doors, the souls.

"Why…" You hear the whisper barely blow out of someone's lips.

"Forget the hills, the sound of your music revives us! And soon you will bring the end closer, the new child!"

The sobbing and moaning is barely audible. You want to find it, but it's so hard. You start to walk faster, like that would help to find from where the voices come. It's coming from somewhere, you know it.

"But the vessel has… too much…"

"What...?"

You hear some rustling, metal sounds, clanking. It sounds like someone is searching for something.

"Ah, dammit... Wait here, lady, please?"

"Fuck you...:"

"Please, please, no need to be hostile. How about I let your hands free? You'll need to play your hypnotizing music while I'm out, unless you prefer to..."

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" She claims. "Please, no..."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear".

You hear no response from her, and more unidentifiable sounds. Then something walking again, and a door creeks. You and your sister, worried, jump to whatever seems like a good hiding spot. Luckily, many wooden boxes filled with bottles were there, piled up tall, enough to cover a teen growing into his adulthood and a girl on her youth. You see a shadow from the corner of your eye, illuminated by a dangling light source. Maybe it's an oil lantern? The place seemed to have a big clash of time: being both a building closed decades ago but you entering there in the present.

The shadow moves very close towards your hiding spot. You hug your sister, trying to get closer, be a smaller target, one that can hide anywhere from danger. Your hearts pound hardly, as you were about to vomit them. You see a hooded figure from behind, holding a lantern as you guessed. It walks forward, not turning back to you at first, but your sister lets a gasp out, alarming him...

And illuminated by the lantern, you can see his face.

Both seemed to be solid, making you wonder if the man could see at all. You see him directing his view towards the ceiling, for whatever reason. You do the same, but you can't really tell what is up there. You see something move, crawl around. Maybe it's one of those worms you saw below? Whatever it was, the masked man turned around again, leaving the place, going down the ladder.

You waited a few minutes before getting out of the place, just in case the guy came back. You can hear now music again, the strings of an electric guitar crying, like you heard a floor below. It certainly would come from the room you've been trying to find, Room 302. There is another room next to it, Room 301, but you don't know what it would contain.

The music is entrancing, psychedelic like the things your sister used to listen at home, but with a very somber tone, like they were sounds not meant to be. The notes thud on your head, striking hollow into your mind, empty, void of thought and spirit. The song maybe was from your sister's fingers, but not from her own mind. You can't explain to yourself how you knew that, but you felt it in your heart.

You grab your little sister's hand, and go together to the doors, not knowing which to pick. You had the key for 302, or so the label said, but you're not sure if it's safe to enter. Something just gave you the creeps about it. There was the other room, 301, but you don't know what you'd find there if you dared to enter; maybe you found something that would help you out to get out of there, maybe you'd find danger. You could ask Lucy what did she think, and let her take the decision. Maybe she had other ideas on what to do.

What will you do?

CHOOSE:

GO TO ROOM 301

GO TO ROOM 302

ASK LUCY ABOUT IT

CHOSEN: ASK LUCY

"What should we do, Lucy?" You ask your little sister.

She doubts a bit, thinking on the next course of action. She doubts on what to do, just like you, but she seems determined on keeping on.

"302. We need to find our sister now".

You nod, and follow her lead.

You walk to the door, trying to find the key in your pockets. You get a bit scared when you couldn't find the key, but you found it eventually. The nervousness doesn't help your case, failing to get the key into its hole, but you managed. Your sister pats your shoulder, as a sign of empathy. She's scared too, unsure if she wants to go with you inside, but both of you know you have to. You hold each other's hands tightly, getting into the dark room.

It looks enormously huge inside, like an infinite, dark void. The music can be heard in the distance, inside the sea of shadows. You grab your phones to illuminate your path; however, the darkness swallows the light like a hungry animal devours its defenseless prey. There is no other choice but to walk forward, holding yourselves closely, hearts pounding in your chest, trying to run away from the dangers that touch your shoulders like icy fingers crawling your back. Nothing happens, only the music you follow with all your senses What would happen if the music suddenly stops, and you're lost in the dark, with no direction? You can't see the door behind you now, and you're afraid to turn back. Your sister hugs your arm, afraid she'll get dragged out of your range. You fear it too, and keep your gloomy sister close; you don't want to lose your sisters, they're all to you. You can't fail them, not again, not like you failed Lily.

The music gets closer to you, or you get closer to it, you're not sure how it works anymore. A dim light twinkles close, flickering for each note played in the hands of a music prodigy. You can barely see a face with the lights... Is it the lady of the paintings? Is she an actual person, someone alive?

No, it's her. Your lost sister Luna.

Her eyes and mind are blank, only her body still working to play the chaotic sounds of the guitar, resounding stronger and stronger. It illuminates even more than before, keeping the darkness at bay, keeping something else back, holding the weird reality together.

"Luna!" You try to call her attention, with no success.

"Luna, please, snap out of it" Your sister also insists, trying to stop her trance, to no avail.

She stops just for a few seconds, extending her hand forward. It was weird, but the light stopping the shadows started to fade, and the shadows got closer and closer.

"The abyss calls for me, calls me by my old name" You hear from Luna, still in that both conscious and unconscious state. "I hear the music of darkness calling my name, the Bright Sun calls for his Dark Moon. I will come to you my sun, I'll bring the Light Child I will..."

"Luna! Stop!" You shout at her, shaking her body, seeing how the shadows get closer to you, engulfing you.

"This is my destiny, as it was before, this is the path, I'm all by myself in your silver light..."

You decide to pull your sister out, along with Lucy, trying to get her out of there, but the darkness enveloped all of you like sticky mud, slowing you down, drowning you, suffocating you. You need the light, you need to get out of there...

How? How to get out of there?

CHOOSE:

USE THE BRACELETS

PLAY LUNA'S GUITAR

CHOSEN: PLAY LUNA'S GUITAR

You don't know what to do, but your brain makes a connection. It was Luna's playing what kept that darkness behind, right? You pass your fingers over the guitars' strings, making whatever sound. The light didn't expand around you as much as it did with Luna's playing, but it kept you on your feet. You ran to the door, it was visible now, close to your range. However, it is still not enough. You feel the darkness grabbing your feet, pulling you in, pulling your sisters in. They want to consume you,

"Luna!" You shake her, trying to get her back.

"I'm the dark mother, I'm Lurlene, I'll go back to the roots, to the land that saw me grow, and walk with the sun, burn the nest..."

"Goddammit..."

You do the same as before on her guitar, trying to play whatever it could work to stop the shadows from swallowing you whole. You see your other sister, Lucy, very nervous, but trying to concentrate, as she hardly pushes Luna as you pull her forward.

"Lurlene?" Lucy stutters, trying to piece together her thoughts. "Lurlene Zann!"

"What?"

"The lady from the paintings!"

"She played something, a special song, I read about it..."

"Please, Lurlene, play your music!" You shout, walking slowly, even though you were trying to run.

"What should I play for you?" Luna responds, in a very sweet voice, like it wasn't her.

You look at your brooding sister, trying to get answers from her.

"I... I don't know, I knew but I don't remember!"

You try to remember anything. Maybe the riddle on the piano's music rack? The four notes...

SAY THE NOTES: _ _ _ _

NOTES: D E A D

"D..."

You see how Luna's hands automatically go to position, playing a single string, and the first note played.

"E..."

Another note, played with precision. The darkness feels less powerful over you now.

"A..."

The guitar emits another sound, a higher note than the last, and then...

"D".

As she plays that one last note, the rest comes naturally, the crazed melody you heard before. The music leaves her fingers, like it was the last song they'd ever play, this time with passion instead of sadness. They now were making a real song, one you couldn't describe, but instead of pressing your heart, it liberated it from the fears it was sinking in.

The shadows leave and go back to the other end of the room. You can finally move freely, getting to the door easier. Luna seems to be recovering her senses, grunting, losing her equilibrium, but getting it back soon enough. You and your other sister help her to keep on her feet, while you hardly manage to open the door.

You get through it, and close the door behind you, hopefully forever.

"What the hell was all that?" You ask, although not expecting an answer, but to let off some steam.

"Luna, are you OK?" Lucy asks to her older sister, holding her.

"...Lucy? Is that you?" She manages to pronounce, shaking her head.

"Luna! It's you here now, right?"

"I... Think... Lincoln, is it you lil' bro? What are you two doing here?" She asks, now standing on her own, looking at you both in disbelief.

"We came to rescue you, we got the message you sent to Luan" Lucy answers, not as scared as she was before.

She goes silent for a while, thinking on what happened. She looks a bit confused.

"Yeah... I think I did that... I'm a bit confused, I don't know but... I feel like I have some conflicting memories, pressed between the pages of my mind..."

"It's OK, we got you out of that place" You tell her, patting her shoulder.

You're happy to see your sister alive and well, with the guitar still on her, like you remembered her when she was still at home, composing her own stuff, playing at the garage, having fun. However, there is no time for memories, you have to leave.

"Well, we got you now, sis".

"You really got me now, alright" She says, smiling to you. "How do we get out though, lads?"

"Luan is waiting for us outside. We have to get out before that guy comes here..."

"No need, ladies and gentleman" You all hear from a disembodied voice. "Make yourselves comfortable, because you're not leaving.

All of you look around, trying to find from where the voice comes, but they didn't come from anywhere. However, you could see something... Many eyes observing you from the walls, from the ceilings. Those worms... What the hell were they?

"If you're wondering how I know you're here, easy. The walls have ears... Or eyes, to be more precise".

From the trapdoor, you see the masked man enter the place. He didn't seem to be actually moving, more like the world moved around him. In a matter of seconds, he was already in front of all of you.

"It took me time to see you and this young girl" He says, keeping his hands behind his back. Was he hiding something? "But now you're resonating at a more visible frequency, sort to speak. That is good".

You remember the bullets you found. It would have been ideal to find a gun too, because the only thing you wanted to do now is to shoot him and run away. But you're now frozen in place, not knowing if to attack him is a good idea. Your older sister looks at the guy with disdain, clenching her teeth.

"Let them go. I know you only want me" She says, defiantly now.

"Feeling confident, out of the darkness' grasp?" He remarks. "None of you will leave. You thought you could wander in?"

You must think fast. You can't run away just like that. But maybe you can appeal to whatever he has as a heart, and convince him to let Lucy go. Whatever he has planned, is better to not risk your little sister any further. Now, you don't know if it'd work, or if it will anger the man with the yellow mask.

What will you do?

CHOOSE:

TELL HIM TO LET LUCY GO

REMAIN SILENT

CHOSEN: TELL HIM TO LET LUCY GO

"Wait, no!" You shout. "Let my little sister go at least, she has nothing to do with this!"

"Lincoln, what are you...?" Luna manages to whisper.

"It was my idea to come here for Luna. Let my sister Lucy go".

The masked man doesn't turn to anybody, but you see the worms in the ceiling staring at your raven-haired sister. She was trembling, not knowing what to do.

"Your name is Lucy?" The masked man asks, talking very softly to her.

"Y-yes..."

His mask doesn't let you read his expression. His silence could be either hesitation or machination. He pronounces some words.

"Your past is troubled, and your future even more so. Maybe the cursed nest has something else to offer..."

You have no idea what he is saying, but you hope it's good for your little sister.

"Very well. You shall leave".

His voice sounded grave and powerful at first, but now it's soft and calm, even soothing, like a sweet song a mother would sing to her baby, a lullaby.

Lucy looks at you, and you nod at her. She nods back and leaves, running. It was better for her to leave.

"Now, as for you two..." The man says, his voice going to a deep, hellish baritone.

You suddenly feel pressure on your back, like something fell over you. You see something fall in front of you too: one of those worms, looking at you from below.

"You'll come with me, whether you like it or not. I can't let the Lady go. She has to continue her purpose".

For some reason, you can only see shadows now. And you can't hear either. It feels... Odd. Like you wanted to sleep, but it wasn't your real intention. You want to run away. It can't end like this, can it?

"Sleep, children" The man commands.

And as such, you fall asleep.

HELENA

You wake up, tied to a chair. You see your sister in front of you, poorly illuminated by a dangling light bulb. You try to get out, but you're tightly tied up, leather straps holding you down. Luna seems to be still alive, breathing heavily, but she looks oddly quiet. Was she sedated? You look everywhere. There's a worm near your foot, looking at you. It's strange to see a huge eye looking at you from below, staring firmly, not blinking.

"Nice to see you up, boy. I hope you can help us now, since you were so kind to come here".

You remain silent, not trying to give anything to him to work with.

"Oh, am I a ghost now?" He says in a mocking tone. His voice goes up and down in tone, like a melody, a very twisted one. "How about we strike a deal? I know you want to know things. We've seen you, meddling into our business. I think I saw you even, down in the Enchanted Woods... Who would've thought the nest could get so far without knowing what they're doing?"

What was he talking about? Enchanted Woods?

"Maybe, if you give me the information I want, you can leave. Of course, the lady here..." He says, getting close to her. You see a saw in his hand. "Might not".

"You mother..."

"Oh, don't fret. I don't plan to kill her. She's our vessel. She has a purpose to fill. But the vessel needs to be trimmed down..."

"Don't!"

He places the edge of the saw over your sister's arm, which was being held by another contraption you could barely see in the dark room. You try to look away, close your eyes. And then the man sings, with the harsh harmony of a scream behind.

"Oh, our fair lady is so beautiful

She gave her all for her loved ones

She gave her music, so graceful

She gave her body, so generous

She gave her soul, how lovely

All for the moon to go red".

"But one thing we needed

Was not her music

Was not her body

Was not her soul

The dark void wanted

Her talent".

The screaming stops. Red soaks the floor, and you keep your eyes closed, only going up to see your sister crying. She's in pain, in so much pain and you couldn't do anything to stop this. Tears drop from your eyes, and you feel a knot in your throat, making you drown in your own breathing. You're angry, sad, disappointed, you don't know what to feel.

"Oh, hush now, lady". He says, as he gives her the sleeveless coat she was wearing before, covering her severed arm, soaking in the blood. He ties something on the stump, a tourniquet to stop the blood flow.

Your sister can't talk now, and she's breathing heavily. She's trying to hold her own tears, to hold her shrieks of pain. You can see her trying to stand up, but the man doesn't seem to notice, as he gets closer to you.

"Now, you, white-haired boy... How about we talk a little? I might let you go if you comply..."

You want to curse to him, but you can't.

"You can ask me three questions, and then I'll ask you three. If I like what you answer, you can leave. And if I really like the questions... You might get your sister back! Well, although... I don't know how alive will she be..."

You don't want to take his offer. You want to kick him, but you can't. You can barely move your foot... Unless...

ASK THREE QUESTIONS

Questions given by players

Why do you attack my family?

"A better question would be why you attack us! It's so annoying to take one life and have a whole army of idiots coming to you, thinking they can bend the will of chaos. You are the cursed nest, but gave us one great fruit for us to relish on. You were a hindrance, until I saw this lady..."

He turns to your sister, who's still trying to stand up. You get your foot a bit looser from its ropes.

"Who would've thought the cursed nest would have two prizes! The rest of you though... All a hindrance. We thought the little lady in pink would be helpful, until we noticed she was part of your clan. We couldn't stop the process, so we hoped for the best... And the worst happened. How terrible".

What are you trying to release?

"Ah, ah, ah. You don't want to spoil the ending, don't you? I can only tell you this: We need blood, we need souls, and we need the lady. We also got something from you... The little light child. They will come to be vessels for the chaos to feast upon this planet... Oops! I guess I told you the ending, didn't I?".

Your foot is almost out.

Did you guys have anything to do with Lily's death?

"Lily? That was the light child's name? Oh dear, what a lovely name. She was pretty as a flower too. It's a complicated matter, and you wouldn't understand. But I can say she will help us in our plans... Even if her soul keeps fighting it, she will be the one to call for our God".

Your foot is out.

Will you answer the questions, or defend yourself?

CHOOSE:

COMPLY

ATTACK

Finally, you manage to get one foot free. It seems the masked man didn't notice.

"Now I was nice to you, it's your turn to be nice to me" You hear him say, standing up firmly. "I'll ask you a few questions, and I may let you go".

You stay silent. You see your sister standing up behind you, slowly. Maybe you can distract him.

"However, I can see through your lies" He says, pointing down. "If you say anything suspicious... You may leave, but not alive. Get it?"

You nod. The guitar was close, and Luna notices it. You try to keep yourself quiet, trying to not give it away. She might be onto something.

"Here are my questions, boy".

Where does your family live?

How did you get here, so far from reality?

How is little Lisa doing? Dr. Curwen wants to know.

ANSWERS GIVEN:

in the cursed nest obviously/ far from your influence

we´ve relied on our perception

so it was you/ sad because a bunch of psychos killed her

You give him very short and obtuse answers. It seems to get a reaction from him, even if you couldn't see beyond his mask.

"Oh, I get it! You're not lying! How funny are you! How about I pull a prank on you too, kid?"

He's about to take something from behind him, but you know what to do now. You don't say anything else to him, and raise your liberated foot just above the worm.

"Wait, what are you doing, when did you... STOP!" He screams in his infernal baritone, trying to stop your foot stomping the gigantic eye-worm.

He starts to scream in pain, grabbing his head.

"Why are you doing this!? You cursed child! Your family will burn!"

He keeps screaming, trying to gain his composure back. It is what he deserved.

You see your sister stand up, finally. The guitar was close, you could see it. She grabs it by its long neck. Her axe was in her hand now, for one last song.

"You will burn, you will be eaten by the beasts from beyond! We'll feed all of you, all your family will be the feast for ancient ones! I hope you...!"

His screaming stops to a halt, and you hear a heavy thud. He falls to the ground, as his body stops moving altogether.

"This is the end... My friend..." Your sister whispers, holding now a broken piece of wood.

She tries to hold her posture, but to no avail, she starts fainting.

"Luna, wait... I can't get out..."

You manage with some more fumbling to get one hand out, and liberate the rest of your limbs right after. You take your time to also kick the masked man now that he's down, getting some relief. With all the strength left in you, you lift your sister, grabbing her remaining arm and putting it around your shoulders.

"You'll survive, I know you can..." You tell her, trying to get out as fast as possible. "Everybody is waiting for you now..."

Your older sister breathes heavily.

"I don't know bro... Maybe this..."

"Hush... You helped me when I was a little kid... I'll help you now".

Luna is safe.

There are still mysteries unresolved.

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

grah'n