A/N: Hey everybody, I'm back from my vacation! Yeah, it was pretty kickass. Except I saw my grandmother in a bathing suit O.O Err… onto chapter thingies. I've decided that this will no longer be one of those long-fic things. (Those guys require fillers, ew). I'm planning to end this story soon, and start up on a Rune Factory fanfic. (Yeeees, I got it in the states. I recommend it-ish). It doesn't matter anyway, because I think writing this has given me a lot of experience, for lack of better word. The chapters are getting shorter… I've killed all the excess characters off. Damn.

I'm gonna make the best out of the rest of this story, so continue to expect frequent updates. I've got to say, Blue and Bob are my favourite characters to write about ;)

Thanks klutz586, The Scarlet Sky, kisa-chan-2006, and NightimeRoseOX for reviewing :)

Disclaimer/Warning: I don't own Harvest Moon. Not any warnings, actually… damn, I'm getting weak.

This chapter is dedicated to happy sacks.

Her Name In Blood

Jamie remained in the same position he was in, as did Jack. Neither said a word, Jack still surveying the scene with wide eyes. Jamie, however, knew completely what happened, requiring not a second more to contemplate it- he didn't know why he was being silent in the first place. Was he too ashamed of the murder at his hands, or was he giving Jack the cold shoulder?

Where is my pride? Jamie's fists clenched. I know what happened. Shouldn't I be…

Be what? Worshipped? Rejoiced? What should you be, Jamie, for committing a murder?

Then his heart sank so painfully he felt it throb, still unable to meet eyes with Jack. He couldn't say, "It wasn't my fault," because it clearly was, and he'd just admitted it was as well. The only thing to do was… act calm. Was that the case here? How was he supposed to act, in a situation like this? Back at his farm, he'd always mentally trained himself for whenever an animal got loose, or whenever the fence broke. He'd never thought he'd need preparation for an excuse as to why he rammed an axe through a claymaker's skull.

He was startled as Jack stood up- but not facing him. Jamie expected a brutal screaming from him, or some glacial, guilting words. What was he doing?

Jack started to walk to the opposite side of the room, Jamie's eyes on the back of his head. When he stopped, Jamie looked down for the first time and his guilt vanished, being replaced by terror.

Jack had bent down and picked up a hoe.

"What are you doing, Jack?" It came out more quietly and shaky than he intended.

Jack's eyes flashed into his. "I'm teaching you what it's like to die, because you obviously don't know the pain."

Jamie was greatly taken aback.

"This is what it's like to die…"

Jamie grunted so loudly it felt like a low scream, clobbering the axe downward like lightning.

Again, he felt the sensation of bringing the axe down, and the cool drizzle of blood against his skin.

But he was snapped out of his thoughts when Jack charged towards him, his hoe raised against his shoulder.

xoxo

Martha and Dia's mother followed the mystery man slowly, neither of them questioning who he was. As long as he knew where Dia was, that was all that mattered. Martha felt relieved and scared all at once. Relieved that Dia was found, but scared of what state she was in when she was found. Instant images of blood, gore, and tragedy flooded her mind, unable to get them out.

"What's your name?"

Her head shot up at the sound of Dia's mom's voice. She waited for the man to reply, but realized she was talking… to her.

"My name is Martha," she replied, trying not to sound nervous.

"Oh." She brushed herself up quickly. "Well, my name is Elvira."

"Elvira…" Martha repeated. She looked up at the man, who was walking with a slight limp just a few feet ahead of them. She was too scared to ask for his name.

The next few minutes included silences. Elvira tripped once and grabbed onto Martha's arm, but nothing else happened. Upon closer inspection, Martha realized they were going up the mountain trail. She said nothing as well.

Finally, the man spoke.

"We are almost there." Something about his tone just wasn't right. It was… emotionless. But not monotone. It was too hollow to be monotone.

"But… we're in the mountains. I don't think Dia can make it up the mountains," Martha began. She waited for the man to say something back, but he didn't.

"Walk across this," he said as they came to a halt in that same, empty tone. Then he shifted over a bit, revealing the limp rope-and-wood made bridge that had been there for decades. No one even knew who built it; it was so old.

Martha saw Elvira eye it wearily in the corner of her eye. She too wondered if it was even safe.

Her breath caught when the man grabbed the rope rail and started walking across. Still not assured, Martha followed soon after him, taking slow, steady steps and clutching the rail tightly with both hands. She felt colour rush to her cheeks as she made it to the end.

"Go," the man commanded darkly, eyeing Elvira with steel eyes.

Elvira faltered for a minute. Then she furled her fists slowly against the railings and tried to repeat what the other two did.

"You're almost there," Martha boosted after a few stiff steps.

Elvira bit her whole bottom lip, nodding and actually looking a bit more confident.

She took another step down the bridge as it completely split in half.

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Gina felt more shocked than ever. "You're apologizing to me?" she asked. "But why?"

Alex took a steady breath. "I shouldn't have let you go."

Gina felt an immediate pang of embarrassment. She realized soon after that he'd been referring to the separation… nothing to do with their relationship. No. Nothing.

"It's okay." She would feel too guilty if she told him about how she'd been responsible for ditching him in the first place. Ditching, she thought. That's what I did, isn't it?

"No, it's not okay. There's a terrible storm out there and…" He sighed heavily. "I am so, so sorry."

"Really, Alex, it's o-" Gina was at a loss for words when the doctor stepped towards her and pulled her into a tight hug. She returned it a little awkwardly, but she meant it all the same. They silently hugged for what seemed like an eternity. Gina didn't care. She fell into his embrace wholly.

"Are we going to die?" she finally whispered. She didn't know if it was her idea of a pick-me-up or what.

Alex spoke without hesitation. "No." That was all. No.

Gina blinked, still holding tightly against the doctor. His grasp was warm, passionate, and comforting… yet something wasn't right. Her breath unevened.

He's thinking of Dia, isn't he?

xoxo

"Bob, I'm going insane!" Blue screamed into the eerie silence, jamming his knee into the crate parallel from him. "I can't do this anymore!"

Bob looked exasperated. "Blue, shut up," he said for the thousandth time.

Blue leapt up and started flailing his arms in the air like a madman. "NO! YOU CAN'T STOP ME!"

Again, the bulky rancher sighed. "Blue…"

"No! That's not my name anymore!" Blue slammed his face against the hard wood wall. "I'll change it to Yellow! Or Red! Or even Rainbow!!" he shrieked. "Just not Blue!"

"Blue, you're going mad!" Bob roared, standing up. He'd intended to scare Blue to the point where he'd finally shut up, but it was to no avail.

"I AM MAD!!!" he bellowed. He looked around frantically, then picked up a milker off the wall and started hitting it against his nose.

Bob stared, entranced, for a couple moments. Then he walked up to Blue and wrenched the milker out of his hands, tossing it behind the array of crates where Terry's corpse laid.

"Blue, sit down," Bob said, roughly shoving him onto the floor. "I want you to take a deep breath."

Blue breathed giddily, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the sides of his pants.

"EXHALE!" Bob yelled when his face purpled, smacking him on the back until he gagged.

Blue chewed on the insides of his mouth. "That makes me feel much better," he said sarcastically.

Bob stared, bemused. He had seemed to calm down.

"…Tomatoes!" Blue burst out into the abrupt silence, snickering.

Well, not completely, but at least he'd stopped playing leapfrog on the crates.

"Why don't you take a nap or something?"

"A nap?" Blue repeated incredulously. "Is that your idea of fun?"

Again, Bob was shocked. Since when did Blue understand the concept of fun?

"You're loopy!" he exclaimed. "You're completely deranged! What happened to the Blue I knew?"

Blue's face numbed emotionlessly. He was silent before bursting into blatant guffawing.

"What?!" Bob demanded tersely.

"You… you…" Tears rolled down the side of his face. "Blue rhymes with knew!"

It was Bob's turn to hit himself in the nose with a milker.

xoxo

Dan's resolve seemed to melt as he thought back to when he'd seen Meryl. He'd come to the decision that it wasn't a mirage he'd seen- it was the real deal. And Meryl… the rope? The blood? The overturned stool? She'd hung herself. It was no coincidence.

He bit back tears. But why? Why would Meryl kill herself? Was she really that unhappy?

Unhappy doesn't even cut it… he thought in utter misery. Was she so… revolted, to the point where she decided to… end her life? Was it all that bad?

He almost wished he could go back to the scene. Almost. It was said that if you died with a smile on your face, you'd go to heaven, and a frown- to hell. Then he shuddered, envisioning Meryl's purple, vein-bursting face, and seeing a deep grimace implanted in it.

No. It was just a myth. It didn't matter.

He approached Ronald wearily, deciding not to mention Meryl whatsoever. He'd pushed it back there, and he knew it. Plus his pride was too tight to let out the s-word. It was best to pretend it never happened.

"Erm, terrible storm, isn't it?" he said, mirroring the man.

Ronald merely raised an eyebrow at him before turning back to the window.

Slumping, Dan stalked over and sat down on the floor on the other side of the room. It would be too unnerving walking down the hallway… and passing her room…

xoxo

Dia blinked and awoke soundly. She boosted her back up against the tree trunk of the Willow and looked around. Had she fallen asleep? She brushed the fallen, crisp-green leaves off her lap and stood up slowly.

No one was there- still. That is, no one but her.

A branch shook from behind her, causing her to whip around in fright. When she saw a petite chipmunk cock its furry brown head at her, she breathed in relief. Then she bent down and reached towards the chipmunk, expecting it to scamper away, but instead it stayed. She petted its back, enjoying the soft feel of its fur. Then she stood up, and it climbed up the tree, where it disappeared from view.

Too perfect.

She looked at the imprint her body had made in the field of grass and just wished she hadn't awoken so soon. Then, for lack of better things to do, she squatted down before the grass and picked the long, full flowers that smiled enticingly at her from the soil.

xoxo

Martha let out a strained gasp the instant the rope broke. She cringed when she heard Elvira let out a bloodcurling scream, piercing the sky louder than any thunder. Her body shot upright as she tumbled forward aerially. Martha's breath had caught the instant the bridge had collapsed below the woman. She shot forward to try and grab onto her wrist, like they did in movies. But to her surprise- and terror- the man had seized Elvira instead. By her hair.

"What are you doing!?!" Martha shrieked. She felt like pounding the man, but she knew it wouldn't be a good idea. Holding herself back, her eye bulged out of her head as the man dragged Elvira onto the land, still having a vicegrip on her long black hair. The instant her legs touched the soil, he snapped away.

"We are here."