April 21, 2021
Right as he finished this second episode, he immediately sent it to his publisher, and closed the document, feeling that it was another small piece of the puzzle. When T.K. was feeling like it was time to leave Wayside, in order to avoid getting in danger, since he had already been there for twelve days, he was finally getting the materials together, and then left the hotel after about thirty minutes. When he was in his car again, that was when he was seeing Todd coming by, and knocking on his window.
"Hey T.K., I was wanting to talk to you. Apologize for the way that I acted earlier, You're right. I think it is time for me to finally accept the hands that I am given, and fucking help you. After all, I am getting older, and I feel that it is time for me to finally try again." After Todd said that to T.K., he was remaining silent for a second.
"Sorry for being so aggressive about how I was approaching you. In all honesty, I do regret the way that I was treating you. But I still felt like I needed to make a fucking point. Maybe we are both at fault in a lot of ways." After T.K. told Todd this, he was nodding, feeling that it was honest to look at things this way.
"T.K., are you sure that you are going to finally get the town to see the truth? With the book you are making. If you feel like that is the best way to do it, I will help you." After Todd was telling T.K. this, T.K. decided to take the risk and stand out. "I knew that my children were involved, and I cleared some of it up with him."
"They deserve the right to choose if they want to be involved or not. That is something that they have to understand for themselves." T.K. was saying, and even though he was aware that he would hate it if his own child got involved in this, he was well aware of the fact that at the end of the day, it was his choice.
"I mean, ever since Ridge was born in August, I kind of had a feeling that Gabe was up to something. I was just sort of hoping that over time, he would lose interest in the subject, and that I wouldn't have to worry about it too much anymore. But I guess that maybe something like this was just not possible." After Todd was saying this, T.K. was smoking his cigarette.
"I know that this might not be what you want to hear, but I feel like I need your help with liberating Wayside, and trying to turn it back. You have the right idea, even if I don't like to admit it." After Todd was telling T.K. this, he was looking at Todd, and he was just shocked to hear Todd admit to this.
"But you were like super against it earlier. Why are you suddenly acting different now?" T.K. asked, feeling like he was just needing to see where Todd was going with this. He was closing his eyes, and refused to have a response.
"It's because I'm fucking scared T.K. Simple as that. I am scared of what we are getting ourselves into, and I am just trying my best to have my children survive this crazy shit show. But I guess that at the end, like you said, it is your choice. And I would rather have them know the truth, I guess, than to be living in denial." After Todd was saying this, he was remaining silent for a few seconds longer.
"I mean, only Gabe knows still. Which is the main thing that is making me feel slightly better here. Knowing that at the end of the day, I can still have a small chance of keeping the others out of this for a bit longer." After Todd was saying this, T.K. was remaining silent for a few seconds longer.
"I'll do it. Even if you didn't want me to, I probably would have done so anyways. I am just glad to be finally seeing you come around to this idea. I needed that level of assurance." After T.K. was saying that to Todd, he was remaining silent for a few seconds longer. Wondering if it was possible for Todd to actually have his perspective on the subject chance.
"Don't make me regret this decision." After Todd was telling T.K. this, he was saying it in a way of just being tired of the way that everybody was acting. After a few seconds of waiting, that was when T.K. was just smiling for a second. He knew that Todd was doing the best that he possibly could. Even if it was hard to make everything turn out right.
Eventually, T.K. was hearing a notification on his phone. As soon as he heard it, he was feeling that he needed to just stop what he was doing, and check it out. Wondering if the publisher was going to finally come back to him relating to his book. As this was happening, Todd was staring, and remained silent for a second.
It was a email message from his brother Matt. As T.K. saw that, he was dreading what he was about to open up. He knew for a fact that whatever Matt was going to send him was not going to be pleasant at all, and that whatever he was going to tell T.K., he just needed to read it, and get it over with.
As he was reading the email, it read the following: I have no idea how serious you are about this. But if you are doing this, then I guess that you are finally doing something right in this town. And maybe I should give you a chance to show that you actually have good intentions. I will give you this much at least. Figured that you deserve a chance. Don't blow it.
T.K. was seeing at the bottom was a audio file, and T.K. realized that he was going to have to transcribe the entire thing. As he was annoyed with this, he was shaking his head, and decided that he would let it go, and that maybe this was something that he would work with now that he was given the chance.
"So your brother is finally doing something to help you out? That seems really nice of him. From what I remember, it seemed like you guys had a really hard time getting along when you were both younger. Maybe he is finally looking at the bigger picture." After Todd was saying this, T.K. was slowly nodding at that.
"Yeah, I guess that he is finally looking at what needs to be done. I just wish that it didn't take this fucking long for him to finally see the bigger picture. And I hope that maybe by the end of this, we could actually be getting along here." After T.K. was saying this, he was taking out a another cigarette.
"Damn. I wished that it didn't take this long for us to finally start burying the hatchet a bit. I feel like if we had started to get along better from the start, then perhaps things would have gone better." After T.K. was saying this, he was choosing to not say much.
"Hey Todd, thank you for giving me chance to finally show that I can finally do something right. I don't want to be making a huge issue out of everything. I just hope that by the end of the day, I can say that what I am doing is the right decision." T.K. said, wondering how he could even decide if something like this was possible.
"In all honesty, I feel like if my children are going to be involved in this, then I suppose that you might as well be there, to help them out, and see the different side of things. Train them to being able to fucking fight. Something that I am too old to do." After Todd was telling T.K. this, T.K. was shocked at this.
"Wait a second, you are wanting me to teach them about what is going on here? But just a few seconds ago, you were talking about how you wanted them to never get involved in that?" T.K. asked, and then Todd was raising his shoulder, trying to hide his annoyance.
"Look dude, it is not my choice here. Fate has to decide what everybody needs to do, and fate has decided that I help you out here. And if that is what fate wants me to do, then I feel like I need to let myself play along. So please, just do whatever you fucking can to turn things around for them." After Todd was saying this, he looked right at T.K., wondering if he needed to bother with anything else now.
"Fine. You're right. I mean, I was probably going to get asked by them anyways. At least with this, there doesn't have to be any deception to what is going on." T.K. said, and then he looked right at Todd, wondering if there was anything else to say here.
"I feel like knowing that you are willing do this, even if I am not the biggest fan of the world of it at all, makes me feel like we can potentially work together more. I just hope that by the end of the day, I won't be looking at myself in the mirror, and realize that this was a huge fucking mistake." Todd said, and then remained silent for a few seconds.
"I better get going now. Just remember what I said, and I will do my best to help you when it is needed." After Todd was saying this, he was getting back to his car, as T.K. was starting to slowly get a little bit upset at the way that Todd was treating this subject. As if T.K. was doing something wrong.
Episode 3: Nightcall (Matt's POV)
Scene 1: A Date Gone Wrong
Don't you ever have a situation when something bad happens, but in hindsight that might have been the best thing that could have happened to you. As it was the thing that gave you a chance to do something right for one? I went through one of those situations back when I was in high school. In the same summer as everything else was happening.
I was going to get ready to go on a date with Sora. I was feeling that whatever it was that she was wanting to do, and whatever it was that she had really been wishing to speak to me over, I needed to help her out as best as possible. I needed to try and see if it was possible for the two of us to just put these discussions all behind us forever.
As I had been almost ready to just head out and see her for a while, that was when I was seeing T.K. putting on his shoes, to get out and do something of his own, and to hang out with some of his friends. I was having a feeling that it was not going to be so much hanging out with his friends, as much as keeping up with this awful investigation.
I had sincerely wondered what the fucking hell was going on in his mind when he was thinking it was a good idea to be going through with this. I mean, he probably had to realize that there were people who were meant to do this. Like it was their fucking job to be doing this, and he was going around, and was willing to throw it all away for literally no good reason.
But I was feeling that as long as we were here, and we were working together, I needed to at least try and be friendly with him, and see what I might be able to find if I talk to him better. "Hey, how are you doing?" I asked, and T.K. was looking at me, as if feeling glad that I was still willing to speak withhim at the very least, given the fact that I made my thoughts very clear on his interests.
"Doing well. I was just getting some stuff done. I was going to be hanging out with Davis and Yolei again tonight." He said, and normally I would not have paid this a second mind, and I would have assumed that he really was just doing that. But then I was putting my arm to the door frame.
"Are you going to be playing detective with them, or just hanging around?" I asked, and I was feeling that whatever I was doing, and whatever I was planning, I just needed to fucking stop. I mean, if T.K. was willing to be friendly with me still, then there was no reason for me to be out against him.
"I don't know if playing detective is really going to be a super smart idea. I mean, I want to know what happened to Andrea, and I really do want to help out Tobias feeling better. But I have to understand that I do have limitations. I do have areas that I am unable to accomplish, even if I do not like saying so." After T.K. told me this, I was taking a deep breath. Him giving me that type of hope was all that I had wanted.
"I really hope beyond god that you are telling the truth here, and that you are not just saying this to be making me feel better. I really hope that this is not the type of thing that you would do." I said, and then I was looking at the door, trying to decide if that even fucking mattered if I was like that.
"What are you going to be up to tonight?" He took me looking off to the side as a chance to change the subjects. Which I think we might have both needed, and when I was looking at him, I was actually feeling a whole lot better. I was so happy to be aware that he was caring about these tiny details as well.
"I am going to be going on a date with Sora. I just think that we would both really want to go on and get to talk for a while. Forget everything going on here." I told him, and T.K. was nodding along, only adding a tiny comment in reponse to that.
"Seems like a solid choice." T.K. said, and then I looked at him, nodding at this, and I was just wondering if I was ever getting to the point where I was being too hard on him. Surely there was something he was trying to do, and that I was just being a dick for no real good reason.
"I justfeel like when I talk with her, I can take things less seriously. I can just focus on what is needed for myself. You know, just think about what I will actually be needing. And when I consider that, this is the thing that I am looking out for, and the thing that I really do need." I was saying, feeling like she really was the person that can help me with the chaos of Wayside.
"Well, whatever it is, I hope that things go along fine enough for you. I would just make sure that you do not do anything too dangerous here." He said, and then I was looking at him, and I was feeling like he really had no spot to be talking when he was saying this. Then again, I felt like he might have just been messing around this time.
"Yeah, I will see what I can muster up." I said, feeling like I would just dodge it, and play along, and not be a total asshole for no fucking reason. With that, I got out of the house, and about two minutes after my car started to drive off, I was already seeing T.K. walking along. I considered asking if he wanted a lift. But I knew that he would say no, so I respected his wishes.
Eventually, I picked Sora up, and we eventually went to the place where we were going to be having our dinner. Honestly, just relaxing with her, and just being able to talk with her, was the main thing that I had really needed. At least just putting everything behind, and seeing how she was truly feeling.
"So Matt, you seem to be thinking of something right now. Were you wanting to talk about it?" She asked and then I looked up at her, and I was feeling like I just needed to find some form of a answer for her. I knew that she deserved that much at least. But I think that my feelings to what was going on with T.K. right now getting to me a bit better.
"Just mainly about my brother right now. I can't help but feel like there was a lie that he had just told me. But at the same time, I am trying my fucking best to just remember that this is his choice, and that he is allowed to do all the investigations that he fucking wants." I said, having a hard time really getting myself to believe in this.
Sora looked at me, and I was seeing that she was clearly not wanting to be talking about this at all. As if finding the whole thing to be kind of a chore, and I was feeling like maybe she might have been right when she felt that way. "Matt, you need to understand that he has the right to be doing the things that he does. He does not need your help or your permission to try and follow through with what he believes is needed." After she told me this, I nodded, and slowly went with it a bit.
"Yeah, you're right. I just think that I keep having this complex of mindsets, where I tell myself I need to be there for him, and I need to just make sure that nothing happens, and I just keep telling myself over and over again that one single fucking check up would not be all that terrible of a idea. But I know that he would never want me to be doing this." I said, and decided to stop right then and there.
"I know that you are his brother, and you want to help him. But think about what you need to be doing for yourself first." After she had said that to me, I was slowly nodding, and I felt like I was kind of getting it. I was then feeling like I could at least try and enact that right here and right now, when I would be talking to her, and see what she would be saying.
"What do you feel? Like how has everything been going?" I asked, and I felt like the more that I was at least trying to do things this way, and the more that I was looking at things this way, the better that it could be. Sora was nodding at this, and I was seeing that she was knowing that I was getting it a bit.
"I am doing alright. You know, I guess that it might be a bit off for me to be telling you all this stuff with T.K. when I do find that concern to be coming along with Tai, and I do keep finding myself wondering when and if he is going to be helping himself out. I just feel like he has taken the whole promise concept way too far with Kari.
"What promise concept?" I asked, only really half interested. I was still recalling that time when he had brought that film over, and I was feeling that if this was any connection, and that if they were all a part of what Tai was doing, then he was probably in a worse spot than T.K. At least with T.K., there was nothing too serious with it all.
"Well, he told me that he had made a promise to his sister that he could at least try and see what he might find before he would end up just putting it all behind him, and giving up on this." After Sora told me this, I was nodding at this, and then I was feeling like we were almost needing to actually support something like this.
"Do you feel like something like this could be really dangerous?" I asked, and I knew what she thought, and I knew what the reality of the situation was. The fact of the matter was that it really was fucking dangerous. But I was just trying to at least give Tai a bit of credit, and the benefit of a doubt here.
"It's not what I believe. I think at this point, it is what I know." She said, and then I was going along with this, and I knew what she had meant. I knew what she was trying to fucking say. I was thinking that maybe if the situation ever came up again, and if she needed some help with this, then I would see what I might be able to dig up here.
"Well, maybe at some point in time, I might be able to see what I could talk to Tai about with it. I think that I would not be setting my mind too much on it. He is seeming to just be in a bit over his head. But aside from that, it seems mostly harmless. At least for the time being." I knew that I was needing to be looking at this better for Sora's sake. I mean, I was her boyfriend after all. But I knew that like with T.K., I could not find some random thing to make it all work out.
"Do you think that Tai would want to talk to you on this? I mean, just a couple of days ago, when he dropped that shit off, I was the one who was suggesting you can go and watch it, but then he was the one who was going around and telling me that you were not ready for this. I think that if you want to be aware of this stuff, sadly I am probably going to be your better bet here." I said, and then I looked at her, mainly just trying to see if this could get her to be more convinced here.
"Well, I mean, if you feel like this might be true, then don't be surprised if one day I do try and tell you some stuff that I found. I mean, I feel like I just want to at least keep a open mind. I am not wanting to go around, and search like crazy like Tai or your brother. But I think it would be down right dangerous to not at least keep the options open here." She said, and then I was slowly nodding, doing my best to understand this.
"Damn, I did walk into that one." I said, at least trying to be funny here. I was feeling like if I could try and crack some jokes while at this whole situation, and act like it was no real big deal, then Sora might at least find some enjoyment out of this, and she might be finding it to be something that she would slightly enjoy discussing here.
"Don't be too upset. I just know when to hear what people say, and examine a way to get out of this, and win my side of the statement." After she said that to me, I was feeling like if that was something she was sincere about, and felt was a honest ability, then maybe she needed to become a lawyer or something like that.
"I guess that is why you are able to do so much more than I thought you could." I said, and then I looked at her, sighing, and feeling like I was just needing to do something better to get her to open up more. I had to get her to open up as much as possible, for both our sakes. It was all that I fucking needed here, and all that I could have possibly ever wanted.
"I will keep it in mind though." I said, and then I was looking at the walls around me, and I was feeling that we needed to continue our discussion another day, and just start talking about actually fun things now.
Eventually, when our date was wrapping up, I was getting to the car, and when I was on my way to driving Sora home, I saw that I was low on gas. "I am going to fill up at the gas station. I guess that it could at least give us another few minutes to be together for tonight." I said, and I was looking at her, hoping that she was going to be cool with this idea.
Sora looked like she was just kind of glad that I was able to get to be with her a bit longer, and I was really hoping that if her parents really were going to be against the idea of us having another half hour or so, that they were going to be dropping the subject before long. You know, not trying to suspect that we were going out and having sex or some shit.
Eventually, I parked the car at the gas pump, and Sora was saying that she would be back in a few mintes to go and grab something, and I was nodding at this. I was getting out of the car, and I was just going to be enjoying the night breeze while I had the chance, feeling that there was only so much muskiness that I could take before I needed a bit of a break anyways.
I was looking around, and I was seeing a taxi pull up, and starting to fill up on the gas. I was feeling that despite literally every fucking thing that I had said about wanting to not have people go along with this whole thing, I just wanted to see what the hell the guy was doing here.
I was feeling that maybe I could just ask the guy around, and see what the driver would say to my question, and then I would let him go, and that I would move on with my life. So when the pump was filled, and Sora was still inside, I walked on over to the guy, feeling that I might as well see what he might say.
When I was in front of the window, he looked up at me, and looked annoyed, but that annoyed look turned into minor confusion, and then eventually of interest, when he knew what I was in this for. "So I was wondering if you know anything about what is going on in town. You know, with missing people. I am sure you hear about it all the time."
"Well, I hear a few things hear and there. I try to pay attention, but I have to keep focused on the road. That being said, if you ever want to know something, and if you wish to actually get it, then go ahead and try this place. Soon enough, you will get to know a lot of people. All you really need is a license. I've been doing this for eight years. It kind of blends together." He said, and then after he said that, I slowly nodded, not super satisfied with the answer. But I was thinking of something else.
"Thank you sir. I guess that it would make sense if you do not remember everything about these conversations. Thanks for letting me know." I said, and then after I was walking off, I was seeing that the man that the driver was having had a gun held in his left hand. I was wanting to stop him, but I did not want to create conclusions, and possibly make the thing worse.
Once I was back in the driver seat, I was seeing Sora coming out of the store, and then she walked right in, and she was smiling at me, and I was seeing that for better or for worse, just the mere sight of me was something that she really still appreciated. I was feeling that in some ways, that was all that I had really needed from her.
"I just realized that I needed to do something." I said, and then Sora was wanting to say something, but the way that she was seeing me react made her second guess, and she remained quiet as I was driving along, and then I was about a quarter of a block away from the station when I heard the gun shot.
I was basically down playing it for the rest of the ride, and pretending like it was nothing to Sora. I wanted to do whatever it would take for her to not realize the fact that we were barely getting out of this. And the fact that I had been almost considering what the heck the man told me. The idea of talking to people in the cab. The perfect idea to investigate, while also not putting myself into too much danger.
Despite my best attempts to be pretending like it was nothing, I was feeling like there was something I just needed to try and learn. There was something that I needed to really understand. You know, to actually make it seem like this was all coming together in some way. Even if it was only in a technical sense.
When I was parking Sora at her house, she had looked at me for a second, and she was clearly thinking of something, and I knew that I was not going to be liking what she was wanting to tell me. But it turned out to be relatively tame all things considering. "Just don't do anything that you feel like is going to be really stupid. I already have enough people aorund me doing stupid shit all the fucking time. I do not need you to add to that mix." She said, and then I was laughing at this, thinking that she was probably right.
"I will try my best. To be fair though, I think everybody is doing stupid things in their own right, so that is a rather subjective term." I was saying, trying to make the situation at least somewhat funny. She just sighed, and looked like she was not really wanting to be dealing with this, or really roll with it at all.
"I think you knew what I meant. Nothing like going around, and trying to play hero. I mean, after all, you did spend the entire date talking with me about how much you hate it when people do that exact same thing. So wouldn't it be at least a little hypocrtical?" She said, and then I was sighing, and I knew deep down she was telling the truth. Even if it was annoying to admit at the moment.
"Alright, I get it. I just wish that none of this ever happened. You know, if T.K. never talked with Tobias, then this would have never fucking started. Next time I'm telling him not to go around and talk to people unless if he knows what he is doing." I said, trying to at least be funny about it. Sora was seeing that it was my honest attempt right now, and smiled at this.
"Well, good luck on that. Just make sure that you do not do anything that might come off as a bit atagonistic. I would really not want that to be happening right now. It would just ruin everybodys day." She said, and then I was nodding at this, feeling like I just needed to end the subject, for her sake, since it was getting clear she was beyond over this.
"Thanks for going on this date tonight. It always feels nice to just get to have a moment where I can remind myself that there are other things I can do, and that I do not need to worry about everything all the time." After I had said that to her, I was seeing her smile, and I was seeing that this was something she would be more than happy to do with me.
"I always enjoy going out with you. I really like to catch up and get to see how you have been doing." After she had said that to me, I was nodding, and I was feeling like whenever we would be going on our next date, I owed it to her to make sure that I was not going to bring up these subjects again. I needed to for her own fucking sake.
"See you later. I trust that I will not be seeing any crazy reports of you tomorrow." She said, and then I was nodding, and then after she was done, I was driving the way back home, and I was feeling like I just needed to stop thinking about this cab thing from earlier, or else it would get worse.
Once I was home, I was walking by the living room, and on it was a television report on the news. Confirming what I was really honestly suspecting, and that was that the man in the taxi driver seat had been shot and killed by the passenger before they escaped. As I saw this, I did not want to admit it, but part of me was feeling that I could take advantage of this, and take the position at their job, and see if I could gather intel in a harmless way, and not be attracting attention by doing so.
Scene 2: Getting the Job
I was thinking about how if for nothing else, these people who were working at the cab company would be needing help really fucking badly, and that I was able to go on and use this to my advantage, and when I was thinking this all out, I decided to go on and look up what the number was.
I was in the main living room, and I was seeing that my dad was getting ready to head to work, since he was at the radio station and was there almost every day all day. When he was seeing me, he was quite shocked to be seeing that I was willing to be up so relatively early in the morning.
"Are you planning on doing something today?" He asked, and then I was looking at him, feeling that there was no real reason that I would lie to him. Even if something was going on in the town, I was sure he was too much of a good guy to be doing something this.
"I am going to be trying to find a job somewhere. But if they do not take me in, then I guess that I just wasted my morning." I said, and then my father was looking at me, and he was looking like he was kind of confused at what would be so special about one fucking place, and why I would try so hard to be finding it.
"Well, good luck with that. Out of curiosity, what was the place that you were going to be looking into?" My dad asked, and I was now feeling that if he knew the truth about it being the cab business, that he would be super against. But I did not want to be having him be aware of all of my plans.
"Just a fast food place. I heard that they were looking for new hires, so I thought it would be nice to just possibly get a quick buck. You know, especially with Sora in the mix and all." I said, and then after I had told him this, he looked at him, as if aware that I was lying, and aware that I was up to something, but decided against arguing with me, for my own sake.
"Well, just don't do anything that is going to get you in too much trouble. Although I have no idea how fast food would be able to do something like this." He said, as if feeling like he was being stupid, and that there was only so much you could justify as fatherly instinct.
"I won't. Trust me, I see too many people going around, acting like fucking knights and shiny armor. I do not want to add myself to that list of people." After I told him this, my dad laughed, and decided that he would let the subject go for the time being, feeling no need to be pressing me any longer over something so simple.
Once my dad was gone, I was sighing in relief, since I was really not wanting to have this discussion. I mean, I did not think that I was doing anything too awful. But I did not want my dad to be looming over me as well, so with that in mind, I was feeling like I was having a smaller burden.
I called the phone operator and hoped that they would answer. "Hello, this is Wayside Cab speaking." After the man on the operating line said this, I was sighing in relief, nd now I was feeling like I was able to go through with my plan. I just needed them to be happy with me being able to drive at all.
"I was wondering if I would be able to get a job here. Part time for the nightly crew." I said, hoping that he was not going to turn me down because of my night part request. After a second of speaking, and what felt like an hour of waiting, the man continued and responded to my inquiry.
"We do have a spot open. Normally we would do a back ground check, but after the circumstances of a accident last night, all we need for you is to confirm you are at least sixteen years old and a license. This is a one time deal." The man said, and i was sighing in relief, thinking that this was the moment of truth.
"Alright, just tell me where your station is, and I will show you my identification." I said, and then after I told him this, I found myself worried about what my brother would tell me. What he would say if he knew the truth of what I was doing. If he was going to find a way to be making me the bad guy because of the fact that I had been trying to be a bit more undercover.
He gave me the directions, and then I promised I would see him in half an hour before handing up. Once I was done, I was thinking about how I was probably either going to regret this choice, or be feeling like I was a fucking idiot for ever trying to make T.K. stop doing this.
Once I was looking back at the house when I had left, I was wondering what the fucking hell I was going to be doing. I was wondering what the fucking hell was wrong with me that I had been trying to be doing this anyways.
Eventually, I parked the car at the cab station, and then I was taking a long and deep breath, and I was just relaxed a bit better, and then I told myself that I could do it. That I just needed to fucking do it, and not be quitting at the last second. Plus I had a feeling quitting on a interview before it even happened was probably really unprofessional.
I went inside, and I was seeing a older and bald guy sitting down, and he was working on a lot of paper work. As if he was basically a politician or some shit. When I was seeing this, I was finding it to be rather funny, but decided not to be playing around, in case he wasn't in the mood.
"Hey, were you the one that I was calling about a possible interview over?" I asked, and then I was seeing him looking up, and being shocked when it was somebody as young as I was. And I was thinking that he was not even going to try and hide it either.
"I was expecting a relatively young guy, but not to this extent. Alright, well do you have a license and identification?" He asked, and then I was pulling it out, and handed it over to him. Once he took a second to check it out, and see the date, he looked up for a bit.
"It does check out. Alright, don't tell anybody else about how easily you got this thing. But we are super short staffed, and we need as many people as we can fucking take. Can you be able to start tonight?" He asked, and then I was slowly nodding at this, feeling unsure what to think.
"Since you are only seventeen, I will only be putting you on the clock for about six or seven hours. Can't have you pulling twelve hour days when you will have to do school in a few weeks anyways. Start at 10, and keep going until 4. Once 4 hits, go ahead and finish up the order you have, then turn the light off, and head home." He said, feeling that he would wrap it up there.
I was leaving the taxi station, and I was just feeling that it was a good idea to try and be a bit under cover. You know, see if there really was something going on here that was making this town so fucking obssessed with missing people. Like how did they all go missing. Why did they all go missing.
And as long as I was just behind the taxi seat the whole time, and I really never actually went out of my way to do something that would make it seem like I was trying to accomplish anything too dangerous, then I was feeling that this was going to really be all that I would actually need.
I went home, and I was getting a phone call right away. I was wondering what the chances of that timing being so fucking exact would have been. But to be honest, in case if it was something or someone important, I had no fucking desire to be making anybody feel like I was doing something dangerous. So I went to the phone to answer it.
"Hey Matt, I was wanting to talk a bit about last night?" Sora asked, and then I was sighing, and I was wondering what the story she was going to be asking for would be. I was feeling like I just needed to find at least some excuse to make it seem like I was not pissing on her or anything.
"What were you wanting to discuss?" I asked, feeling like if I just pretended like I did not know about the mans death, or what went into it, which that part was slightly true, then I would be able to get out of this relatively on top.
"I was wanting to talk to you about the fact that the shooting at the gas station happened right as we were leaving, and you seemed really fucking eager to get out of there. I feel like you must have known that something was happening." She said, and I was wincing at this, feeling that she was kind of giving me a punch in the gut.
"I had a bit of a bad feeling. I talked with the taxi driver for a couple of moments before you were leaving the station. Trying to see if I could find out something about them." I said, and then I was wishing that Sora was not going to be going any further on this at all.
"But why were you wanting to talk to them so badly to begin with? I mean, were you wanting to see if there was a ride that you would get?" She asked, and I was feeling that I needed to keep our relationship in tact, and I was feeling that the only way to do that, as much as I was hating to admit it, was just to be honest, and hope beyond god she was going to be fine with this all.
"I was trying to see if they did know anything about the town or missing people. I don't know why, but I did figure that out of all the people in town who must have known fucking something, that guy was probably the top of the list." I said, feeling that this could at least somewhat appease her.
"I just wanted to see what he could tell me. Turns out that he did not known all that much. I have no idea if he was just saying that to make me feel more safe, or if he was telling the truth though." I said, and then I was leaving it at that. Sora took a deep breath before asking me something else.
"So Matt, did you actually find anything from him? I mean, surely something must have come up. You're right after all. He is a taxi driver here." Sora said, and then I shook my head, feeling that I could just get more respect the faster that I told her the truth.
"Literally nothing at all. Not a single thing. That being said, I was wanting to get out of there because I was worried about the back passenger. I just felt like I needed to be able to keep you safe, and see what I could do by just staying out of the scene." I said, and then I was hoping she would be happy with this.
"Well, if that is the case, then thank you for doing that. I mean, you might have saved both of our lives by doing that. Although from what I understand, that driver was the only person who died?" Sora asked, this one more of just confirmation of this fact. I was nodding at this, although she did not know since I was talking to her through phone.
"I think that is the case. But to be honest, I think that it is kind of something that we just need to be more careful about here. I mean, I feel like if somebody knows that I was there, then I am going to be a bit paranoid when I say that I might be a new target of his." I said, and I was wondering if it could have been a girl. I mean, incredibly unlikely, but everything needed to be looked at when talking about all outcomes.
"That would be horrible if you were right. I would really not want to think that though. I mean, I think that if you got killed because of some thing with a taxi driver, then I think that I would sort of just lose all my hope in humanity." Sora was telling me, and I was feeling like she did not need to be worried about anything else here.
"Thank you for talking to me. To be honest, I don't know how long I would have been able to lie to you about that even if I wanted to. I guess that is what is making this work between us. We have been just pretty straight forward." I said, and then I was hoping that I was going to regret this statement. But at the moment, it felt good.
"Don't worry about it. I am honestly just happy that you were willing to talk to me at all. In all honesty, I thought you were going to pull some emo shit and tell me that you were not wanting to go and talk about it at all." She said, and then I was smiling at this, thinking that emo was the last word to describe how I was. But I would let her have her thing.
"Well, see you soon. Although just so you know, for the next while, our dates might have to be a bit earlier. You know, just to make sure that I can be home at a decent time. While this whole thing dies off." I said, and I was thinking that the fact that I was just talking about honesty, and then following up with a fucking white lie was the most oxymoron thing I could have ever done in my entire life.
"That makes sense. See you soon." She said, and then I was sitting down on the chair near me. I was staring out the window, wondering what it was going to be like to deal with a night job, where I would be trying to get to know people, and learn more of the truth of what my brother was so into.
Scene 3: Admitting To A Mistake
I was getting ready to be heading out for the first time, when I was seeing that T.K. was doing the same. I was kind of jealous of his time that he was spending with friends, if I was to be totally honest. I had wished that I would have been able to just have that moment of fun once again. That was the only thing I really did resent about our move here.
"Hey, I was wanting to speak for a bit." I said, and T.K. looked over at me, and I was seeing him looking like he had no real intention of talking to me about these things right now. Which was the thing that annoyed me the most about the way that he was acting. "I was wanting to actually apologize for the way that I have been acting lately."
T.K. looked at me, as if utterly shocked to see that I was willing to say that at all. As if he was seriously thinking that I was just incapable of feeling sorry. That I was incapable of feeling like maybe I went a bit too far in places.
As I was seeing this look on his face, and seeing him looking like he was just trying to find something to say, I just felt like I needed to go further and make it more clear what I was doing. "I mean, I have been trying so fucking hard to tell you to not be doing these investigations. I mean, I do not agree with them. I think that they are a horrible idea. But at the same time, I understand that you are doing what you feel like is right. You are doing what you want to do."
"What made you change your mind?" He asked, and then I was wondering why he would care about that. I mean, I just made my apology. Why the fuck is that not good enough for him? But then again, I remember when I was kind of lashing out when I was his age as well. And when I put these all into perspective, I had to be fair and realistic here.
"I guess that I just realized that I would not appreciate it if some asshole tried to be making me do something a certain way because he did not agree with the things that I was doing. Or because he would not understand it. I mean, I think you might understand what I am saying." I said, and I was sighing, and T.K. just looked unsure what to be saying now.
"Well thanks for trying to be helping me here. I mean, it feels better to be hearing you try and step back, and see things from my perspective. It does make me gain back some of the respect that you were kind of losing." He said, and while that did hurt a little bit to hear, and while I wished he had never told me this, I was considering that maybe I just needed to hear that. At least he was being honest with me here.
"That being said, if you were to do this, I need you to be honest with me going forward. I need you to understand that there are a lot of people out there who need to be having that person at their side, who need to just make sure that they are heard. I need you to understand that there are people who are scared of the things you might be doing right now." I said, and then T.K. sighed as I had said that to him.
"Dude, you are getting too caught up in this whole thing. Relax a bit. I am not that worried about it. I mean, sure it can be annoying as hell that you are wanting me to do things your way, but I get that deep down inside, you really do care. Just please know that I do have friends at my side, who will be there for me." T.K. said, and then I was sighing, and I was feeling like he was just giving these kids too much credit.
"That is the thing that I am scared of. The fact that you will all be together, and something will still be coming up. That something will still be making the whole thing even worse. But I guess that this is just all big issue that I know I can't really get you to see me on. So I am not even going to be trying anymore." I said, and I was not really coming off as delicate as I was hoping that I would have been. I was not wanting to make it seem like I was actually fucking angry or anything.
"Well, thanks for trying to help me here. Anyways, so do you have something you are going to be doing?" T.K. said, clearly just wanting to get this conversation over with. As I looked at him, I was kind of wishing that he would have wanted to have a bit more of a talk here, and I was wishing that he would have wanted to just take things more casually. But I was understanding that something like this was not going to be very feasible right now.
"I am going out for a bit. Looking around for something myself. Something that I will in all honesty admit does not add up. But that is not really anything that I am hoping to discuss here. If I did, then it would be a total fucking nightmare." I said, and then I looked at him, wondering what he would say to this.
"That's why you are being more open minded? Because you are going to be going around, and trying to do your own shit. Because you want to be the knight in shiny armor instead?" He asked, and then I was looking at him, and the entire time that he had been saying this, I was seeing that there was a level of dissappointment in his voice. He clearly wanted to be saying something else. But he was just feeling probably too lost to continue.
"It is not really like that. Or at least I do not think that it is." I said, thinking that maybe there was a small chance that it was like that. But I was feeling that if I admited to this, and if I was honest that I was wanting to be a bit of the hero on this as well, that he was not going to be very forgiving on me here. I was having a feeling he would lash out at me here.
"Well, I don't know what is running through your fucking head all the time. Either way, I doubt that either one of us want to spend another second talking about this, so let's just drop it. At least for now, while we find something else that we can find ourselves to be more interested in discussing." T.K. said, and he did not even give me a chance to offer him to go anywhere, or for me to consider it, as he was walking off.
Once he was gone, I was feeling that there was going to have to be a whole lot of closing the bridge between us at some point. I was feeling that we were clearly going to need to realize that all of these arguments, and all of these moments of anger, was just not going o be getting us anywhere. If we were still angry at each other, and if we were still going to be trying to just get the last word in on all of these things, then I was feeling like we were going to just be miserable, and that was not what we needed at all.
I was feeling that for the time being at least, I just needed to find a way to be making the first day of this hell storm I got myself into a little bit better. And as I was considering this, I was thinking that there was something that I needed to go on and check out. Or that I wanted to go and check out. If the man that I was going to check with would be willing to give me a fucking chance that was.
I was going to be talking to the main attendant at the gas station, and I was going to be seeing what he was going to say to me when I would try and see what he would have to tell me. I needed him to just give me a honest reply, that would make me have a bit of a clue here.
I was getting ready to leave the house, when I was shaking my head, and I was feeling more and more that there was going to be a chance that I was going to be seeing it the same way ever again. Instead of a good place to really get to know people, it was going to be a bad place where all I would do is just find something to be angry at, and try to unleash my annoyance at for everybody else.
When I was out of my house, I drove down to the gas station, and I was shaking my head, and I was feeling like I was only going to be finding a excuse for this guy to be brushing me off, and just to be pissed off for no fucking reason whatsoever. But I was not really too sure what I was going to get out of trying to oppose the way that he had been feeling.
When I was inside of the station, I saw that the man who was working there was the one that I was indeed looking for. As can be figured out with the cigarette that was coming out of his mouth, and he was looking like he was just wanting to get this transaction over with. Probably was heading out in a hour or two was my guess.
"Hey, I wanted to talk about something." I said, and the man was looking at me, and he was completely unsure of what to be saying to me. When he was hearing me saying this, I saw him looking like he had just collected himself a bit better.
"What were you wanting to discuss?" He asked, and then I was smiling, and I was feeling that as long as he was giving me his attention, and as long as we were going to be talking about what was actually needed here, then that was all that I had really wanted to do.
"I was wanting to talk about what happened last night. I was there for a bit when that event was starting. And I was just letting some things really coming into my head." I said, and then I was looking right him, and I looked at the name tag for the first time I believe.
"Shit, I was not expecting that. Well, since you're here, we might as well talk about it a little bit. I mean, every time I can get somebody to want to speak with me about these things, then I guess that I get to have people listen to the issues in town more." After he told me this, he looked around feeling so much better that if for nothing else, he was glad that nobody else was around.
"What is the issue?" I asked, and then I was looking at him, and I was feeling that despite every single thing I had ever said, and despite me not wanting to get into this at all, I was feeling like I just needed to find out what the hell this man was so scared of. I needed him to tell me. I needed o finally just get some fucking answers, and this man was the only one who would have even given me a minor amount of a chance here.
"I know more about this shit than you would possibly understand. Almost everything about what is going on there is something that I can fucking associate with. My god, everything that I have ever done has been trying my fucking best to just pretending like nothing that was going on was all that big of a deal.
"If that was the case, then how are you even alive?" I asked, feeling like I needed to just needed to entertain the statements that he was making. I felt like I just needed to see what the heck he could have done to really make me fully get it. He was shaking his head, and then he was looking like he was unable to believe in this, but he was getting over it.
"Because I make sure that those who oppose me are not anymore. When you would be stuck in the spot that I am in, and that you are trying your fucking best to be getting out of this, then you have to be putting everything behind you. You have to get rid of all fucking morals. As horrid as that might be to describe." He said, and smiled at this, thinking it was funny he was speaking about things like way at all.
"Damn, I never thought that you were going to be saying something like this. Although I am not entirely sure if what you are saying is exactly true." After I told him this, he was looking like he was not wanting to get too deep into this discussion, since it was nothing he was proud of.
"I honestly would not be talking about this, and be all that excited for it. I just did what I needed to do. When you are somebody who has a family that you need to be looking out for, then you just need to remember that nobody else is more important than making sure that they are able to last longer." He said, and then he said, as if proud of himself when he was saying this. As if feeling like there was a paltry amount of morals that he was displaying with here.
"Sorry, I mean, I just thought that it was rather interesting how you were talking about this was all." I said, and then he was sighing, and I was feeling like whateber was ging on, and whatever we were talking about, just needed to be turned into a more pleasant talk. I needed him to talk to me in a better light right now.
"We were still going to need to talk about the fucking thing that happened last night, and everything that you were aware of here." After I had said that to him, Sheldon sighed, and I was seeing that he had accepted that I was going to never be leaving this alone, so he was going to just make it all work out as much as possible.
Scene 4: Sheldon Oswald Lee
When I was seeing that he was calming down a bit, and looked like he was more willing to talk with me, I was feeling like this was the only thing that I had really fucking needed. "Well, I guess that there's really no reason to try and argue out of this... So since we're here, I might as well just talk about it, and get it over with."
"I guess that there would be too much to explain to you if I were to give you the entire story. Besides, I doubt that you're interested in the entire thing either. So I will give you the basics of it, to help give a minor amount of context." Sheldon said, and then looked at me, wondering if I had any intention to reply to this.
"What started your interest?" I asked, feeling that I would at least figure out where the story began, and then go from there. When he heard this, he was nodding, and then he decided to go with that, feeling that it would have to suffice from there.
"Alright, I guess that is as good of a starting point as any. So it started when I was ten years old. God, it feels like a million years ago when this was all happening." Sheldon said, and then shook his head, trying to get the idea of how long it had been out of his head, so he would focus on the discussion more than anything.
"My mother had a pretty bad illness. Breast cancer, and at the time something like that was virtually a done deal. She found out about it when we started our school year. My older sister Riley and I. By March of that year, she was dead, and my father made it clear he had no intention to make us live there any longer, for our sake." Sheldon said, and then I was sitting down, thinking that I would be here for a extremely long time.
"Forty years old. When she passed away, our dad let us at least finish the school year we were in, but on the second or third week or summer, we moved from our home in Arkansas, and went all the way here. He mainly moved here instead of some place else because of a work promotion. Although at that point I was so eager to leave that town and its memories that any place would have done for me." He said, shaking his head.
"Once here, my father was basically spending most of his days working at his job, only coming home for a extremely short amount of time before he would have to sleep every day. My sister Riley, being thirteen at the time, was just wanting more than anything to be popular." Sheldon continued, and I gave my first interupption.
"Is she the one that the story is about?" I asked, and then Sheldon thought about it before giving a slow nod, thinking that the answer was fair enough for the time being. One that would make the basic point.
"To some extent, yes. She was certainly the one that started it all up. Anyways, so soon after I moved there, I had made some friends with people in town. A guy named Dakota and a girl named Ashley. Once we had started to hang out, I started to feel like I really belonged at a place. Like what I was going to do was going to be making somebody actually happy for once." Sheldon said, and I was smiling at this, thinking of what it would be like to make others happy.
"When we had hung out for a while, that was when we were having a barbecue grill out with Dakota's father hosting the event, and during the event I heard them talking about something in the forest. Once they had realized that I was hearing every word of what they were saying, they decided that they would go around, and show me this place." Sheldon said, and while I knew what he would say, I did not want to interuppt him again.
"They showed me the tree house that was near the entrance of the forest. This was decades before the fire, and it was more popular than ever before. People came here all the fucking time, as you could see when you would go inside, and it was fucking littered with bottles, clothes, a random fucking bed..." Sheldon said, smiling at something that clearly he got but I did not.
"Well, once inside, I started to look around, and we were talking about what I thought of the town so far, and then there was this awful grinding sound, and it was killing my ears to even hear it. But as I heard this, that was when Dakota and Ashley explained to me what it was." Sheldon said, and for some reason, despite hearing this sound four or five times since I moved here, I needed to hear what he was going to say on it.
"They said it was labyrinth. A place in the mountains where bad things happen. That was what they had ended up calling it at least. When I tried to get more information out of it, that was whenthey rejected me, and told me that they had no desire to go over something like this again." Sheldon told me, and I was wondering if those kids actually knew of something, and was just trying to hold back or something.
"What happened next?" I did interuppt this time, but I was feeling that this was the type of interupption that would have been viewed as acceptable, despite the current circumstances. And despite this, I was wondering why there was nobody in the station yet, trying to do business.
"The next few months go by like a blur. I can't recall the exact order of many events. Although I feel like I should since I plan to leave something for my kid. Anyways, so the next thing I remember was when Riley had her friend, a girl named Christen, go missing. Such a beautiful name." Sheldon said, and I was not expecting that twist.
"My sister Riley had been pretty badly affected by what had happened to her friend, and she had clearly not wanted this to have ever happened, and I was just trying a way to be making her feel better about what was going on." Sheldon explained, remembering the nights where he would see his sister crying.
"The rest of the school year started to go on a little bit normally, and with each passing day, it had seemed that the life that Riley once had, and her enjoyment of things, were starting to come back once again, and I was feeling a bit better about what was going on." He shakes his head at this.
"It was the last day before school went off for the winter break, when there was a school presentation that Jimmy White was giving off." He looked at me, as if wondering if I even knew who Jimmy White was. I was feeling like the name was kind of ringing a bell. But I had no idea what to be feeling here.
"He was running for mayor of Wayside, and he was giving off this speech talking about the history of Wayside, and the mining accident. He really did have a giant level of excitement and charisma in his speeches, that made him such a likeable fellow." He said, and then I was shaking my head at this, feeling like there was no fucking answer now.
"What was the mining accident?" I asked, and then Sheldon shook his head, as if trying to decide if it was really going to be worth telling me these things. But then he sighed, and felt like there was no point in hiding the truth.
"It was something that happened to the mines. One of them exploded or something. And a couple of people had died as a result. The main point was that they were all shutting down, and there were leaks of ore into our system, and it was getting impossible to run this business, even if people had wanted to really fucking badly." Sheldon said, and then went back to the main point.
"When the speech was over, that was when I was hanging out with my friends again, and just enjoying myself. A hour or so had passed that day before the police came to me, and they were telling me that I needed to go on and speak to the principal." He said, and now I was starting to feel the fear of what was coming on get to me.
"When at the office, they had told me that my sister Riley had not been seen all day, and that they were listing her as a missing person. They tried really hard to see if I knew something, but the honest truth was that I had no idea what to be fucking thing. There was nothing I could hav etold them to help them out.
"I was not wanting to take no for an answer. I wanted to just find my sister so fucking badly that I was feeling like I just needed all the answers that I could have possibly gotten. I was looking in her room, and started to read on some information with Riley, since she had kept a journal that she had never let anybody else read. Although at that moment, I did not give a shit." Sheldon said, and then I was smiling, thinking that if for nothing else, I would at least get to appreciate the fact that he had cared for his sister.
"When I read the journal for a bit, I got to learn some things about Riley that I had never thought I would have learned." Sheldon told me, and I was now feeling like I had needed to fucking know. I was refusing to take no for an answer.
"One thing that I had learned about my sister was that she was actually a gay woman. She had been in love with several female students, and talked all about her crushes, and she was talking about how jealous that I was, kowing that I was a straight boy. Something she said she would tell from the moment she figured herself out." Sheldon said, and I was unsure of how to feel about her being a homosexual. To be honest, the whole thing just seemed a bit strange.
"This was at a time when being a homosexual was considered to be the worst thing that you could possibly do to your family. The one thing that you should never fucking do. But at that moment, I needed her to return, and I was not giving a single shit who she had wanted to have sex with." Sheldon was saying, having nothing else to be telling me now.
"Anyways, after I learned about the things that she had done since moving to Wayside, such as going to a Labyrinth Party, which was what people did when the grinding noise went off as a fun event teenagers have, I decided I would run on my way over there." I was nodding along at this when Sheldon continued, and then he got to the next part of the story.
"Anyways, so when I was in the forest, I was looking around, and I was seeing a giant building at the top of the mountain. By this point, I had known it was the broadcast station that was abandoned. I decided that I needed to just needed to run up there, since it was at least some fucking answer. As I was getting up above, I was hearing the loud as hell grinding noise. As I was hearing the noise, I saw Christen's scarf coming down, and I grabbed it. I cried, knowing she was dead, knowing that there was still a chance for Riley, and that my first crush was gone forever." Sheldon said, and looked like he was about to cry.
As he was looking like he was getting closer to breaking down, that was when a customer was walking in. I was feeling that for his sake, it might have been best for this guy to be coming in. That way, at least he would not have to be dealing with people talking to him about his sister and her going missing.
I was feeling like it was best to be heading on out. I was looking right at Sheldon, and I was wondering if maybe I could just talk to him later on, and see what he was going to tell us. "If you want to continue talking about this at some point, I would see what I could be more comfortable with." Sheldon said, and then the customer that walked in was looking at us, and I was seeing that he was looking like he was just a bit more confused now.
"Sorry to intrude on what is happening here. I wasn't expecting you to find somebody." He said, and then I was sighing, and I was feeling that it might have been a mistake to talk to Sheldon. I was wondering if maybe Sheldon was going to actually go through with the idea of talking to his kid about what was going on.
I then officially left the house, and then I was just wondering if I was ever going to speak to the guy again. I was thinking that maybe talking to him was going to be something that I would be doing later. But I was shrugging, and I was going to see what I would feel about it all later.
Once I was gone, and the customer was heading to his car, I opened it up, and was about to go in, when I was hearing the guy who went to the store earlier calling out to me. I was confused at this question, and I looked up at him, and felt that I just needed to see what he would have to say to me. "What did that man tell you just now?" He asked, and then I looked at him, feeling unsure of if I should be telling him anything at all.
"He was just telling me about some things that the people in this town have claimed to witness. He told me some of the things that he had to deal with when he had first moved here. Nothing too big, honestly." I said, and then I was seeing the man looking at me, looking kind of furious at the statement I just had.
"Most people in town knows that he had dealt with several things when he was younger. I am not telling you to never listen to him, but you would be wish to not be letting what he was dealing with being the thing that defines what you have been thinking of with the town." He said, and was walking to me, and I was seeing that there was a rather angry look on his eyes. I was wondering if he was the guy from the cab, or if he was listening to this conversation on purpose. Like he had known what we were about to do.
"I have a right to get to know what other people know here. And if you do know something that is going on here, and you are going to pretend like nothing is happening, then I think that you just need to stop getting in my way, and let me get back to doing my job." I said, and then I saw the man looking like he was able to appreciate the fact that I had a tiny amont of vigoor after all.
"What other people have to deal with in their past is none of your business. If you try and pretend like this is something you need to know, or that you have any right to know, then the only person who is making the mistake is you. You are the one who has gotten into a mindset that everybody needs to give you something. There are things that could not be understood at this town. That should not be understood." He was saying, and I was sitting down in my car, closing the door.
"Leave me the fucking hell alone. Nothing is happening here that is making me deserve this. I need to actually head out, and there is a job I have to do. Please do not fuck with me right now." I said, and then I was seeing the man looking like if I had said one extra thing like that to him, he would strangle me to death, and make me an example for others.
With that, I was starting to drive off. I was not going to let him attack me any further. I was not going to let him tell me that I had been wrong this whole time. I needed to just be out of this. I needed to just be in a mindset where I could focus at the job that I had been hired to do. I needed to get myself into the mindset where I could pretend to be ready to socialize.
The fact that this man felt like he had any business talking to me like a fucking animal, like a fucking man who had no feelings, was disgusting. I needed him to understand that I was just trying to be ready for something out there. That there were people who wanted to be doing something to me out here. That my brother was now in danger because of all of this.
The more that I thought about the state of my brother, the more that I thought about what T.K. needed to do once he found the truth out. I needed to make sure that he was never going to really see what the issues could have been. I needed to be safe for my own sake, for his own sake.
Scene 5: Night 1
I was sitting down in the taxi that was assigned to me, and I was just totally unsure of what I was going to be doing. I had a feeling that it was going to be mostly fine, and that I was not needing to be making a big deal out of this. I was wondering if I was going to be able to have a chance to talk to Sheldon again, and I was feeling that whatever Sheldon was wanting to tell me, it would all be making perfect sense.
Before I was even able to have a chance to get away, that was when the manager just got in the car, and back in the seat. As he was looking right at me, I was seeing him looking like there was something that was kind of concerning him. I was feeling like I would at least pretend like I had no idea what the issue was going to be.
"I got to admit, I am finding myself slightly scared for my riders right now. You know, the fact that the people are just getting killed here. That man was one of my favorites. Almost like a son in a way." He said, and then he was sighing for a bit, and I was just trying to focus on what was happening.
"Sorry about what happened. I don't think that anybody was expecting something like this to happen." I said, and I was trying to think of what that man had just said. But then I was wondering if this man even wanted me to be helping me at all. But before I could create doubt, the man continued.
"Just don't say anything stupid, and just focus on what the passengers want. Since you're new at this, just focus at the closest rides, and take care of them. I have a feeling that you will have an ability to be able to get people to talk. I just feel it in you." After he had said that to me, I was smiling at that small praise.
"Thanks for the confidence. I promise that I will absolutely do my best." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was seeing him rubbing his eyes, and I was seeing that there was a good chance that he had just never gotten nearly enough sleep.
"I just feel like whatever is going on is going to be over with soon enough. Maybe that rider did something in his past. I am more worried about the female riders." He said, and then I looked at him, wondering if it had something to do with a previous missing case. As he looked at me, he sighed, and he was looking like he was willing to just tell me, and get this over with.
"A missing person had worked with the company one time. She was only two or three of years older than you. Real sweet girl. But god was she naive. Went missing seven months after joining the job. Honestly, with her looks, and the men in this town, I am surprised she lasted that long. Never even finished up the shift she was on." He said, and then he took a deep breath, having nothing else to say now.
"How long ago did this happen?" I asked, and then the man considered this for a bit, as if totally unsure of what he was going to say here. I was wondering how the hell he would have forgotten about something like this in the first place. After all, this was his story about a employee.
"About eight or nine years or something. It was in the later seventies. Honeestly, when it had happened, I was pretty sad for her. But there was a small part of me that just wanted to know if she was fine. Never came back. Point is, some times things happen to my employees. But just stay on the job, and do not do anything too bad, and it will all be fine enough." Once he was done, I nodded, and felt like there was nothing else to say.
"Alright, thanks for helping me. I will see what I can do now. And I will make sure that I do not do anything too dangerous." I was saying, and then after I had said that to him, I was shrugging, and I was feeling that whatever this man was feeling, and whatever he wanted to tell me, I just needed to get this all done with.
"I got to get to other parts of the job. As my old man had told me once, every minute that I waste talking to employee is a minute of money lost." He said, and then he got out of the car, and I was shaking my head. I would never be a taxi cab company owner. This guy was fucking tired as shit, and probably like he had not slept in months or whatever.
"Damn, that man really needs to take a damn nap." I said, and then I was looking at the orders that were at top, and I was just looking at the relative locations of them all since I was just wanting to follow what my boss was telling me to do. Probably since he wanted me to get as many rides as possible in six to eight hours, while the others were doing nearly twelve fucking hours.
I was seeing that the closet was a woman named Lucie, and when I saw that she was only about three blocks away, I was driving on the way over. When I was parking my car, and I was seeing that there were two women, who looked a bit too close for a normal situation, and I laughed a bit.
Once she was inside, and I was seeing them talking for a bit, I heard one of them just give me the location that they had needed before I started right up, and they were talking as if I never existed. "So, what did you think of him?" The older of the two women asked, and the other woman instantly replied.
"Honestly, I thought that he was a decent looking guy. But he seemed to be a bit pretentious. You know, trying to pretend like he was able to hold his hold on every thing going on. But personality aside, he seems like a decent candidate." She said, and I was embarassed to admit that I was totally confused on what the hell she was talking about, although I was dying to fucking know.
"I mean, we are not really looking for a huge father figure. We always made it clear that there was no intention to be having him be there for the long term." After the first woman said this, I was was now focusing on the street again, thinking the story would start to make some more sense now.
"We are just looking for a donor. Once he donates to us, we will be fine. And then we can just move on with our life." She was saying, and then I was now picking it up, feeling that I just needing to pretend like I was innocent to this, due to the fact that I still remembered what Sheldon told me about his older sister.
"But what do you think our daughter would be like if she was able to inherent his genes?" The older woman, who I would later learn was Emile, asked, and the younger woman was looking like she was already getting tired of this conversation that they had a hundred times.
"You mean, if our SON is able to get the genes? He will be fine. Pretentiousness is not fucking possible to inheret." After she had said that, the older woman was looking right at me, and I was seeing that she had started to feel bad for me, but did not say anything, and was more focused on the conversation at hand.
"I guess it could be a boy. But I just know it will be a girl. Anyways, there is always a chance that these types of genes are inhereted. There are millions of cells and genes in the human body." Once she was done saying this, I was now starting to smile, and I was feeling that if the whole job was like this then this was actually going to be something I could stay with.
"Actually, this young guy knows things that men deal with more than any of us ever will. So let's let him be the tie breaker." She said, and then I looked right at him, confused as shit at what was happening. I was feeling like I just needing to see what the heck was happening now.
"So, we were both wondering if it was possible for a child to inheret pretentiousness from his father or mother?" The younger woman asked before the older one could. I was wondering why the younger woman was obssessed with having a boy, and the older one was obssessed with having a girl. I was wondering if the genes would be inhereted from them instead of the father. But I decided to give them a honest answer after I thought for four or five seconds.
"I think that it is possible. After all, as she said, there are millions of genes in the human body. So unlikely, but possible." I said, and then I was sighing, feeling like there was virtually nothing else that I could have said to make it sound any different. I was shaking my head, unable to believe that we were discussing this in the first place.
"See, not only does he believe that there is a gene for it, but that it could possibly pass down." She said, and then she was looking at her younger partner, and I was shaking my head, feeling like I really just did not want to be dealing with this at all. I was just wanting to get my job done, and that was not really possible with these arguments going on at all.
"Alright, I guess that we could always get a doctor to talk to us about it. Since he probably would have had to spend years of their life working on this." After the younger woman said this, this was when the older one finally seemed to concede to this statement. That was when the younger one was looking at me, starting to feel a bit more sorry for me.
"Sorry, we are just really wanting to have a family, and make it as perfect as possible. We probably should have never brought you into this." She said, and then I was shrugging, thinking nothing of it. I did not really feel like I needed to be too worried about what I was getting into.
"Don't worry about it. I think that whatever you do is always going to lead to a flaw in the system though. No family is perfect. But it is important to try." I said, trying my best to be sounding smart here. I remember the one time I had a teacher a few months ago tell me that I was smart for my age. Which made me proud.
"Thanks for listening to us." She said, and then when I parked the car, the older woman decided to ask me a question for once. And this one was kind of confusing me a bit more than the other ones, which did make sense in the context. "Why is your family not perfect?"
"Just that my brother and I both have something with us that our parents would not be too proud of. That is all that I feel comfortable giving for now." I said, and then they were getting out of the car. As they were leaving, I needed to call out to them to make them feel better. "Have a great evening. And good luck finding the perfect guy." After I said that, I was seeing another call from a mile away, and when I saw the name, I was worried.
Once I ended up parking the car at where I was supposed to be, I was seeing that the woman who was on the queue was the one person who I had felt like neither one of us ever wanted to be seeing again. Once she was looking at me, she laughed at this, and I was feeling like I could see where she was coming from.
She got inside of the car, and then she was smiling at this, as if feeling like seeing me was something that she was super proud of. I had no idea what was going on in her head. "How have you been the last ten months?" She asked, and then I was sighing, feeling like there was nothing that I could really say that would make the situation any bit more comfortable here.
"Doing alright. I just go around, and do whatever I can every day. Have been seeing a girl the last couple of months." I said, really not wanting to bring up the experience of what we had dealt with that one night. I was starting to find myself remembering the day, and I was kind of having a bit of fun with this.
"That's really awesome. I knew that you were going to have it in you. I have been doing this for twelve years. You were just a kid. And I know when the clients are already going to be capable of doing things on their own. I know what it is like when my clients are going to be happy with themselves." She was telling me, and I was feeling a bit unsure of what to think when I heard her mention the fact that I was only five years old when this started.
"You don't need to flatter me. I just needed that encouragement and it was able to give me a level of confidence when I was going back to school. I just wish that I could have thought about doing it where I had originally lived." I said, and I was shaking my head, wondering why I was even talking about this in the first place. She was not too sure what to say to me.
"Do you feel like you love her? Have you had any experiences with her?" She asked, and then I was sighing, and I was having nothing that I was even wanting to talk about. I mean, she had a right to know if what she had done had given me any help. But I was feeling like I needed to have some space.
"I mean, I really do like her. She is the one person that has made me feel so much better. I do want to have a round with her. Maybe when this whole thing is done." I said, and then I was shaking my head, wondering what Sora would have wanted. The girl I was talking with looked like she was wanting to say something to make me feel better now.
"You just got to show her tht you are comitted to making this all work out. But I guess that I am not really going to get you to actually listen to me." She said, and then I was looking right at her, trying to find something to say, but I was not really speaking right now.
"I did not know that you even got hired to be doing this at all in the first place?" She asked, and then I was looking at her, feeling like I might as well be honest with her, and that I just needed to maybe go on and get her help when we were speaking. Just to finally get some fucking answers here.
"I just started. I found out about something, and I am really fucking wanting to do something that I feel like can help my younger brother." I said, smiling and thinking that this was something that I could have been at least a bit more proud of here. The woman looked like she had nothing to say here.
"Are you sure that your brother would even want to be getting the help? You know, since he probably likes to hang out with people who are closer to his age, who would like judge him for his information." She said, and then I looked at her for a quick second, and then I was looking right at the street again, thinking of nothing else to say.
"I mean, T.K. needs to have some help. But you know, I think that whatever my brother is planning on doing, he is never going to tell me what I need to know. I just think that as long as I leave something on his night stand or something, he would be fine. That is the main reason I got the job here to begin with." I said, having nothing else to say here.
Eventually, I was parking at her house, and I was thinking of something else to be saying, to make her feel better right now. "So, thank you for helping me all those months ago. It really makes me feel so much fucking better." I said, and then she was nodding, as if having nothing else to say.
"If you need some help, to make yourself feel better, to be relieved, just come by. No charge. But in return, I get to have a free ride." She said, and then I was slowly nodding, feeling like there was no way to argue with this at all. I felt like I needed this for my own evidence.
"I will keep the offer into consideration." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was seeing her nodding, and then she was done with this conversation as she went inside of the car. As I was sitting down, I was looking at the time, and I was looking at the names of people who were now on the queue.
Once I was getting ready to take on the next fare, that was when a woman came into the door, and just slammed it as soon as she had taken the seat. As I was trying to decide what the heck I was going to be saying right now. But I was just taking a long and deep breath, feeling that I just needed to keep something together here.
"Hello young man. I was wanting to talk to you about something real quick. It is all about what you had seen yesterday." After she had said that to me, I was feeling like there was no way in hell that I was going to be able to tell her off. So I was taking a breath, and felt like I would give her a chance.
"What were you wanting?" I asked, and then the woman was smiling at this, feeling like she was proud of the fact that I had so much emotions. That I actually was aware of things that were going on here. Then with that, she decided to start speaking.
"I was wanting to get your help. You know, I need to get your help. As much as I hate to admit it, I need to see what you can work with here." She was telling me, and then I was looking at her, and I was feeling like I just needed to let her talk and that I was not going to get out of this as the winner here.
"What for?" I asked in a stern voice, and I was aware that if my boss was here, he was going to be furious at me for being so rude to her. I did not care though. I just needed to get the point of this done with. "I have other transactions that I need to do."
"I will be quick. For both our sakes. I need you to track down the man that had killed that taxi driver. You were the only one who was there, so you are going to be the only one who will actually make any real progress here. I trust that you understand that this is something that absolutely needs to be fucking done." After she told me this, I was sighing in annoyance, having nothing else to say now.
"I am not expecting you to bring the killer to me, and I do not expect you to tell me everything you learn about the missing girls. All you need to do is just tell me what you know once every few days, and I will see what I can get out of the information. I have a feeling that you will be able to make it all work out just the way that I need here." She told me, and I was shaking my head, not to reject her. But to just express my fears here.
"I know that you will be doing it. I know that you want to know the truth as much as possible. We all do. That is why I am making the right choice. Just take everything you have been hearing in the conversations, and learn as much as you can, and make the most realistic answer. I don't even know if the killer will be in the cab again. But I need you to try." She said, and then I was sighing, having nothing to say here.
"Alright, I guess that I will see what I can do. At least you're not asking me to fucking fight people and get into car chases for no reason." I said, and then I laughed at this. The red head cop did get a small laugh at this, but seemed to be getting right back into her business mood. Feeling that there was nothing else for us to be discussing here.
"Thank you. I will see what I can do here too. This is a two way street. I don't expect you to do everything for me." She said, and then I was looking at her, and I was not buying a fucking word of what she was saying. I knew she was indeed looking for me to do this. But I did not want to argue under any circumstances.
As she was back in the open air once again, I was holding the wheel as hard as I could. I did not want to be doing this at all. I was scared out of my fucking mind, and these people were just going to be getting me to do everything else for them. They only wanted me to be used as a tool. But I guess that this might have been something that I just needed to get over.
She was gone before I was able to really think any longer, and before I was able to really try and find a way to argue with her. In all honesty, I was having no idea if I wanted to try and reject this idea. In all honesty, a small part of me was actually wanting to do this. I was actually wanting to go forward, and see how many things that I could have seen. I needed to know the answers for my brother. If T.K. was able to have the answers that I could have gotten, then that was all that I had fucking wanted.
With that, I tried to look back at my queue, hoping beyond god that my boss was not going to be angry at me for not getting any transactions done in a while. So with that, I was driving towards the cinema, trying to get ready for the next ride. I was feeling that once i was talking to her next, everything would have been the way that it had needed to be.
Eventually, I saw a girl walk into the cab, and I was wondering to myself why there were so many girls that I was driving home today. I was smiling at this consideration, but I was not thinking too much about it, and then I was started to drive along. As I was driving, that was when the girl was starting to talk.
"How often do you watch movies at the teathers?" She asked, and then I looked at her, confused, and having no idea what she was going to be getting out of this. I shrugged, feeling that at least this would get me out of this stupid subject of that fucking bitch cop.
"Occasionally. Only once since I moved to Wayside last summer." I said, and then I looked at her, and I was wondering if she was going to be let down at this. But then she was looking like she almost was not even phased by this statement.
"I go every weekend. I love to watch the new options. There is always something new coming out. My parents feel a bit unsure of what it is like to spend every Sunday watching a movie, when I should be out with friends, or doing homework. But it is only like three hours of the day." She said, and then I was sighing, having no idea what to be saying now.
"How many hits or misses are there?" I asked, and then I was seeing her looking like she was just wanting to not make a choice. Like I was being a total dick for doing that to her. I was not wanting to say anything though. It's not like I was asking her who she was going to vote for.
"I would say most of them are hits. Most months have at least one big hit, and one big miss. It is the other two of the month that determines which one wins that month." After she had said that to me, I was nodding, and I was having nothing that I would say in order to argue. I was just wishing to make him feel a bit better about this all.
"What did you think of the one that you just watched?" I asked, feeling like I would at least change up the talk a bit, and see what she might be saying to this. She was putting her fingers at her face, and them moving them away in a explosion manner. I laughed at this, getting the gist.
"Totally fucking crazy. No other way to fucking describe it. I was just trying to figure out what the heck was going on, but I was just wanting to see what else was happening. I totally could not figure out what the heroes were going to do. It was Aliens." She said, and then I was parking at her house, and I was wondering what we were going to be doing now, since I needed to let her go home, so I could continue my job. Trust me when I say that it would be extremely hard to find the balance between the job and social lives.
Scene 6: Ocho's Revelation
I went home, and it was late at night, and I was really hoping that my parents were not going to storm into the room, to see what the heck I was doing. They were probably already asleep, thinking that snce I had my keys, that they would be fine with letting me go in whenever I wanted.
Good, I would suspect. I mean, with every day that I can just focus on this, and not have somebody trying to figure out what I have been doing, and that I could just try and see if there was anything I could give that officer, then I will be fine. Soon enough, she will probably leave me alone about it. Or I would hope.
I then saw the empty board that I had never used since I had moved to Wayside. I figured I might as well start now. So with that, I took out three pieces of blank paper, where I wrote down what I knew for each one of them, hoping to add more to these people later on, as I would learn more.
"Lucie and Emile. Lesbian couple, looking for donor father. Failed at a date with a man. The older one wants a daughter, while the younger one wants a son." I wrote, and then wrote down the date next to when I got that information. "June 15, 1986."
"Un-named woman. Prostitute working down under. Talked with me about my relationship with Sora, and offered me a free night under the condition the next ride home is free. June 15, 1986." Once I finished writing that, I really hoped the officer would not find this too strange, and I was really hoping she was not going to turn this whole thing into a investigating prostitution.
After I laughed at this, I continued. "Un-named teenage girl. Probably eighteen or nineteen. Watches movies every Sunday. This week she watched Aliens. June 15, 1986." I finished, and put the three pieces of paper up, and while the board was still empty as hell, it was a start, and when my officer would call again, if she ever did, I would be able to show her that I wasn't totally slacking.
When I had finished up, I had noticed that it was 6:50 in the morning, and that my parents would be awake in an hour. If they saw that I was at least asleep, even if it was only for about an hour to hour and a half, they would be feeling better about this. So with that, I laid down on my bed, feeling that I might need the sleep anyways, given all that is happening.
I shook my head, and I was really hoping that this was not all going to be biting me in the fucking ass. If T.K. knew what was happpening, he would probably never forgive me and preach me as a hypocrite, which I guess was not entirely wrong anymore. Even if unlike him, I had no choice.
When I woke up the next day, I looked at the board, and I would be lying if I said that I did not wish for at least some of this to have been a lie. But as I was looking around, and getting used to the fact that this was my reality now, I shook my head, and I was just telling myself that I needed to accept it all.
As I was slowly nodding at this idea, I was walking out of the room, and I was seeing that T.K. was still in the house. I looked over and saw that it was 12:01 in the afternoon. About five hours of sleep. Damn, that was really going to build up over time. No wonder why everybody uses energy drinks. I would have to tonight.
"How have you been?" I asked, pretending like he must have had no idea that I came in so ungodly late. I was feeling like as long as we ended up just getting to know each other and see how we were both feeling, then this was surely not going to be so bad.
"Doing alright. You came in later than usual last night. Did you go on a date with Sora?" He asked, and I was feeling that maybe this lie could live for a while longer. "Or is it something you don't want to talk about?" T.K. asked, taking on a more serious tone, given the way that I was feeling.
"A little bit of both, I guess that you could say. Nothing too important though. Or at least nothing that I believe to be important." I said, and then I was shrugging, feeling that I was able to leave it at this. T.K. looked at me, and I was seeing that he had a million questions in his mind. Not that I had any idea what he was going to try and get.
"Damn. Alright, just don't be doing anything stupid." He said, and I was rolling my eyes at this, wondering when he was going to stop saying this shit if he was not going to at least admit where his issues were coming from. But I did not want to fight this at all.
"Were you doing anything too strange yourself?" I asked, feeling that maybe I needed to give T.K. a chance at least. You know, see what he would have to say. Maybe he would have something to give me with the investigations. Even if it was going to become more and more apparant what I was going to be trying to accomplish.
"Not really. Just going around, and hanging out with friends. I would not be too worried about it though. Nothing crazy has been going on. Or at least so I believe." He said, and then I was feeling like I could pursue this, but at the same time, I was so tired that I was not even caring anymore. I just wanted to have at least some hours in the day to be doing my own thing.
"I got a call that I have to make. Thanks for not doing anything too stupid today." I said, and I was hoping that I was not going to need to take this shit back. I was just feeling that I really was beyond the stage of fighting with the guy even if he was doing something stupid as I would have put it.
With that, I was walking off to the house phone, and T.K. decided to ask who it was going to be that I was calling for some reason. I was unsure of why I was needing to tell him. Besides the fact that it would just be really fucking rude not to do it, and there was no reason to not.
"It's Ocho. I feel like I need to try and see if there is something that he might know that I have been missing on." I said, and then I was feeling that I needed to just leave it at that. I was seeing T.K. looking like he had wanted to know what I was going to be doing, trying and see what Ocho was feeling. He probably did not really understand that I was mostly friends with the guy.
"Well, good luck on that. It seems like he hardly talks with anybody anymore." He said, and I was hearinghim actually sounding really angry over something like this. I was wondering why he was even trying to get ahold of the guy to begin with. I was shaking my head, and decided not to be questioning it anymore. I was just going to focus on the call, and be getting on through with this all.
"He will talk to me. He is actually a friend of mine, so he will know who it is as soon as he sees that I want to talk." I said, hoping that the discussion would just end with that. I was shaking my head, and I was wondering why I was being so distant with him right now. He just wanted to know the truth, and I was not even giving him a chance to do such a thing, for no good reason.
"Alright, if you say so." He said, and then decided to just leave the subject at this. With that, I was sighing, and I was feeling that when T.K. was going to realize what he was doing, and where he was going with this, then I was thinking that this was going to be when we were going to try and work together a bit better. I just needed us to all be united together in some way.
When I was done thinking of this, and T.K. was away, I was starting to feel more and more bad for this guy. I was seeing that he really did mean well with what he was doing, and I was just here brushing him off for no real good reason. I was feeling like in a way, I might have been the asshole to look at here. But I was just focused on the call at hand.
When I made the call, it took several seconds, but Ocho did indeed answer me. As he was on the other line, I did consider what the hell I was going to tell him. "Hey, I was wanting to talk about a couple of things real quick, if you were willing to." I said, feeling that this was all that I had really needed to say. After all, it did get the basic gist across.
"Oh hey Matt. Haven't heard from you in a while. What were you wanting to talk about?" Ocho asked, and then I was feeling like I needed to make the choice of topic worth it. I needed to make it seem like I was really going to not just be wasting his time on anything at the moment.
"I want to talk about what you have gathered about the while missing case with Andrea. I got asked by somebody to do a bit of looking, and I was feeling that since you have been looking far and wide for anything you would get, that maybe you would be the perfect man to help me out here." I said, and then Ocho was taking a second to think about it.
"Not as much as I wished that I could have. I thought that after all this time of looking around, I could have learned a bit more. But that does not seem to be happenng any time soon." He said, and then there was something else that came into mind that he decided to tell me.
"So Matt, I was wanting to talk to you about something else that I think I do have, which would be really big if it were to be true." He said, and then I felt that it was a good time to give him a chance to shoot what he was thinking. I was crossing my fingers, hoping beyond god that he had what I had needed.
"What could this possibly be?" I asked, but despite what I had been hoping to hear him say, I was not expecting anything remotely like what he was going to tell me. And it was something that could really blow things sky high if I could be able to get people to know what it was.
"It seems like there is a sort of order that these people go missing. I have managed to compile every single person who had went missing, and I was able to look more into them, the order that it happened, and the year and date that it happened. And it seems like there was one thing in common." Ocho said, and then I was now feeling like I needed to go on and hear what he was having to say. This could be huge if it was true.
"It seems that these were all planned out in advance. As if somebody, or a group of people, have been scouting these people out. Picking possible candidates." Ocho said, and then I was wanting him to go into further detail for me.
"The other thing that I have noticed is that they were all going to these labyrinth parties. All of them. I was shocked to piece this together, but it seems as if there is something very distinct going on in all of these parties, and the girls are being picked that way." Ocho said, and then I was starting to get a bt more worried about ths.
"So you're saying that if the girls do not go to a labyrinth party, they are going to be effectively safe from going missing? How long does it take to have a person go missing after they attend one?" I asked, feeling that I needed to use this as a way to make sure that Sora never went to one.
"Usually, not always, but about eighty five percent of the time, the person who went missing was somebody who went to that previous party. The biggest gap I found only happened once. And that was three grinding noises later. So what would have been their fourth chance. I think that we should attend the next one, just the two of us, to be one hundred percent sure." Ocho said, and i hated to say it, but I knew he was right.
"Alright, at least it's fucking something." I said, and then I was thanking him for the information before I hung up on the call. I was now feeling that I needed to ask Sora and T.K. and everybody else if they or anybody else they knew went to the parties. I needed to fucking know immediately.
Scene 7: Night Two
I was sitting in the cab, waiting for it to hit ten in the evening, that way when it was the right time, I would be able to make my drive down to the church that was a block away. I had no idea what this person was going to want here, but I was feeling that I might as well just see what I could get out of talking to him.
As soon as it had hit ten in the evening, I drove to the front of the church, and waited for about two minutes for him to come out of the main hall, and come on down. After I had waited for a few moments, I had started to feel like I was wasting my fucking time here, and that I needed to just get this over with.
Once he was in the car, I saw that there was a desperate look on his face. Like he had needed me to help him feel something better about himself. I had no idea what the issue was. But I wanted to just find some way to change his perspective. As soon as I started driving after he gave me the address, he started his story.
"So, I was wanting to talk to my driver about something that has been going on lately. Something that I feel like would be best to only a few people knowing." He said, and then looked at me, wondering what I would say to this.
"What are you wishing to ask?" I asked, totally feeling like he was fucking asking for too much. But I needed to not be saying anything. The moment that I stepped out of line, even a little bit, I was going to get fired. It was all fucking over. And then everything that I was trying to do here would be worthless.
"I was wanting to actually get to know what you were feeling about the idea of a widower having sex with a man in a non committed relationship, before and after the death of their spouse?" He asked, and then after he had asked me this, I looked at him, and I was confused as how the hell he expected me to have the answer. But I knew that it would be something to think about.
"I don't know honestly. I think that if such a thing were to happen, I would just try and do my best to see what the story was. That led to them cheating in the first place, and what makes them still pursue love." I said, feeling like keeping an open mind was all that I had the option. Besides, people always preached me to give something a chance.
"Thank you. I know somebody who gave me the confession like this one time. When I had heard this, I was shocked at what he was telling me. But I was always told since the day that I got old enough to comprehend things that I needed to just listen to everybody's story, no matter what and no matter how shocking." He said, and I had no idea what to tell him.
"Well, I think that whatever he is going through, I would never understand. After all, I only know the shoes that I walk in." I said, feeling like I just needed to try and come up with long winded bullshit about why I was needing to give people a chance. But in the end, I was thinking that I was just coming up with total fucking rubbish, and I knew it.
"I guess that you're right. I did ask him why he was so worried about things if he knew that he was doing what was right for him... But at the same time, I think that he was just scared on telling me if he was feeling that this was right. Almost like he had just wanted to get out of the truth." He said, and then I was trying to understand.
"The truth of what?" I asked, feeling like I was going to have to really be pressing for more shit here. I just needed to get something to give me further context. The man shrugged, and then shook his head, as if feeling like he had been facing a giant moral dilemma. I was wondering if he was talking about himself.
"I don't know. He says he feels like he has been lying to himself the whole time. Like he had been searching for something that is not there. You know, like his life is a mistake. I wanted to help him. I wanted to help his fears. He is a scared man, and I understand why he is so scared. Everything about this fucking town is just messed up, and strange." He said, and then I nodded at this, having no way to argue.
"And I know thatwhen you talk about confessions, you are supposed to at least pretend like you do not have the answers. That you do not judge somebody. Am I correct when I say this?" I asked, and the man nodded at this statement. He was looking tired, and he was looking like he had a million things to think about.
I parked the car at the entrance of his house, and he handed me the money plus an extra dollar for a tip. "Thanks for talking for a bit. Even if I have no idea what I feel about the situation, just having somebody give me a chance to talk is always nice. I forget about how much I need this when I focus on the confessions."
"I will do my best." I said, and then I was nodding at this, feeling like that was all I needed to say. I needed him to be working with me here. I needed hm to understand that we were going to be friends here. That as long as he was in this cab, I was the one he was confessing to, not the other way around. But I figured I would express this next time as he was already inside.
Once he was inside, I was seeing another item on the list, being one from about four blocks away. I drove over there, the entire time thinking of this man who I just talked with, who I was convinced was just talking about himself, even if he denied it. But I was not wanting to make him feel bad for this.
I parked at my destination, and a girl looking about twenty one got in the car. I started to sigh for a bit, and then after this, I started the car. As I was driving along, the girl in the back started to speak up. "Have you ever gone on a trip or signed up for something that you knew was the right choice when you first did it, but now feel fucking scared to do?" She asked me, and I was confused why everybody thought I was the one to open up about this shit with.
I felt like these people did not understand that I was seventeen years old, and had no idea what the fuck was going on half the time. Anyways, I did do my best to try and answer. "No, never had something like that. I regret not doing something later on, but not actually doing it." I said, and then I was wondering if she would be satisfied with this answer. If this answer was going to make her feel happier or whatever the fuck.
"I guess that maybe I am starting to just see why my parents were always so scared of me going on this trip. They kept telling me, begging me in fact, to not do this, and that I was making a giant mistake. I never felt it. I never felt better at the time honestly... But now, I feel like going on this trip is going to be a big mistake." After she told me this, I knew that I needed to know what this trip was for, to have a chance here.
"What type of trip does your parents not want you to make?" I asked, and I was starting to feel my and grip on the wheel. For some reason, not knowing what I was doing here, and not knowing what she could have been doing here, was all that I needed for fear to settle in.
"I am going to be heading to Virginia. To visit Virginia Tech. They keep telling me this choice of a college is a terrible mistake. That I need to consider other options. I hate the idea of doing this. I know that I need to do this. I need them to understand that this is what I want in my life." After she had said that to me, I was nodding along, feeling that we were indeed close enough in age to have this feeling in common after all.
"Well, if it is a college that you want to go to, that you feel like you need to attend, then I am sure they will all go along with this. Or are they hoping for a different study?" I asked, feeling that this was a bit of a possibility here as well.
"I wish that they would fucking work with me here. Express their worried. At least if it was something like they wanted me to do a different place, I could at least know what the fear is. But they are not even giving me a chance here." After she had told me this, I sighed, and I was wondering if I was wasting my time talking to people like this.
We were getting close to the air port, which was where I needed to bring her, and I was feelng no fucking answer at all. "I mean this when I say it, but just tell them your perspective. Tell them why you feel like you need to go this way. When I tell my parents what I am trying to accomplish, they know where my views are. Even if they do not agree, they at least heard it all. I want to hear them here." I said, and then I was feeling like I could add in a bit more.
"Besides, I know they are more worried about my younger brother T.K. I know that everything that they said was a bit harsh when they said it. But deep down inside, I know they love him, and are just worried for him." I said, feeling I just had to leave it at this.
"I guess that I do need to remember that my parents are just tired, and worried about me. I know that at this town especially, deep down they are just glad for every day that I am even alive in the first place. But at the same time, wouldn't this be a blessing in disguise. You know, the idea that people would have a lower chance of hurting me by having me be away?" She asked, and then I shrugged, feeling like it was a genuinely good question.
Scene 8: Update Board
When I had gotten home that day, I was sitting down, and I was feeling like that day was kind of a waste, and that I did not really get all that much out of it. But in all honesty, despite what I was feeling, in a way, I did not even mind. I was just wanting to keep things together. I was feeling that I might as well just update the board, and be done with it for the day, and then go right to bed.
As I had decided that, I decided to just put up the two major names that I had talked with that day. "Church priest. Talks about somebody who confessed to sleeping with another man while they were still married, before husband passed away. He seems rather afraid the whole time." I wrote, and every single time I looked at this, I was convinced that it was him. I knew deep down that it have to have been. But I did not want to throw the man under the bus yet, especially with his job.
After I had wrote that down, I decided to look at the next pieces of info that I would need to gather. "Younger girl, probably between eighteen and twenty one, going on a trip to Virginia Tech. Her parents do not approve of this trip." I wrote, feeling that I would just leave it at this. "June 16, 1986." I wrote on both of them after I realized I did not date stamp either one of them yet.
Once I was done with this, I was sighing, and then I was feeling like I just needed to sleep a bit better when I was going to smoke. I was not even a man who wanted to smoke before getting this job. But god damn, for some reason, when I was here, and I was doing all of this shit, I knew that I needed to do it. I needed to for my own sanity.
I loved talking with these people, and it made me feel wonderful. I was feeling like I could always get to know them. But god damn, I was feeling like I just needed to take a bit of a break when I was dealing with all of this. I was not really feeling like I was getting enough sleep, which I guess was at least some what true considering.
Eventually, I was getting off of my chair, since I wanted to at least be somewhat comfortable while I slept, and then I went right to the bed, and I was wondering if I just needed to talk to T.K. again. I needed to give the man a chance. Maybe a chance was all that I had really fucking needed. A chance to get a moment to rest, and a chance to get some fucking things in my life a bit more figured out here. If such a fucking thing was even possible.
When I woke up the next day, I was shaking my head. I went to bed thirteen minutes earlier than I had the previous night, so 6:37 am. I was looking at the living room clock, and saw it was only a couple of minutes after when I went to bed the previous day. So all in all, I got roughly sixteen minutes more today than yesterday.
As I was feeling a bit more worn down, I was shaking my head, and decided that I was going to just find some way to be getting the proper amount soon. There was only so much that I could do before I was feeling like I would be totally and utterly fucked from feeling like I was getting the amount that I had needed.
Once I was out of the room, I was seeing that T.K. was already gone for the day. Same with both of my parents. I was just glad to know that they did not know of me going to bed so late, as well as waking up at this time as well. I was feeling that whatever my parents would have said after that was going to be something entirely just out of projection. Something they would tell me to just make me feel better.
I did figure that I needed to talk to Sora for a bit. I knew she was scared probably, and I had not spoken to her for a while, so I was feeling that she did deserve to have a chance to get to speak to me, and I was thinking that I just needed to have a moment where I was at least somewhat clearing my head at this whole fucking thing.
Eventually, I ended up ringing her number, and I was just crossing my mind, and hoping to god she would listen to me, and I was feeling that whatever was going to be going on in her head, I just needed to give her a chance to be feeling like I was not going to be a dick at all, no matter what was going on.
"Hey Sora. How have you been?" I asked, feeling like I would at least break the ice a bit. After I had asked her this, I was hearing her take a huge sigh of relief. Clearly she must have been worried that I was doing something dangerous. I was telling myself that I needed to speak to her better, as well as more, in the future. To make her feel better.
"I was worried about you. So it's nice to see you doing well." She said, and then I smiled at this statement, feeling that it was great to just make some progress with her at the time being. But I was going to have to really find a way to make it feel like we were actually going to be having a sincere discussion here. And not something that was fucking me over.
"I am really sorry for not getting to know sooner. I have been doing some things that I know I should not be getting into. But I just feel that I need to do it for everybodys sake." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I was aware of how fucking bullshit what I just said was. I needed to just not lie one fucking more word, and that I just needed to own up to it all.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Sora asked, and I was feeling that this was going to be something that I walked way too deeply in on. I was wondering what I would have said that could have made the situation at least somewhat less bad than it already was. "Did you do something dangerous?"
"Nothing like that. Thank god. But I was talking about how I never wanted to be getting into this all, and yet hre I am. So what I did was that I decided to at least casually try and see if I would find anything related to the missing people." I said, and then I was ready for her epic yelling at me before I would have a chance to talk.
"You were talking to me all of these times about how you never wanted anybody to be doing this? What is making you change your fucking mind now?" She asked and I was feeling like I needed to really just find a way to bullshit my way out of this. But I was tired of it all, and I was feeling like I needed to get the hypocrisy lecture later.
"I was mainly just wanting to make sure that the stories that T.K. were saying were either totally fucking horse shit, or could have been real. I mean, it was obviously going to be one of those two. So I was mainly just trying to make sure that I had a chance of knowing which." I said, and then I was shaking my head at this, and then I was wondering if she would forgive me.
"But Matt, after all of these times, and after all of these things that you have gone up and down about, that you never wanted T.K. to be doing, and this is what is coming out of it? I mean, I think that you need to at least try and see where some people would be coming from in that this just seems a bit off." She said, and then she was sighing, and calming down.
"That being said, I do understand that you do have your own reasons. I do understand that you are probably just trying to calm down, and that you want to fucking relax a bit better here. But at the same time, it just feels a bit off. That is all that I am saying. But I will not be saying anything else." I was feeling that if she was telling the truth, I would now get to start to have a voice on what I was thinking right now.
"I know that I have been making a huge set of mistakes here. I know that there is nothing that is good or perfect on what is happening here. But at the same time, I am feeling like I am so close to having the fucking truth here. I feel like I can actually fucking figure out what is going on. And that is what I need to look at." I said, and I was almost just not even caring anymore.
"I mean, I feel like if there is even a small chance that T.K. is right, and that something is indeed going on, it would be dangerous to be refusing to go along with this. And I feel like I just need to give him a chance. I guess that I will just leave it at this." I said, and then I was finishing up. I was feeling like there was nothing else that I could be saying now.
"Alright, I guess that there is just a part of me that is scared. You know, of the fact that if something is found, then everything that I fear is true. Or at least some of it is. I feel like that idea is the scariest thing to be going through at the current moment." She said, and then I was trying my best to be seeing it this way. Something that she went through her whole life.
"I will make sure that nothing too bad will be coming out of this. For what that is worth." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I knew that what I was saying was worth jack shit. I knew deep down inside that everything that I was saying was worth jack shit, since was not a damn thing I could do to make it all better for her.
"Well, I appreciate your attempts to make me feel better here." She said, and then after that, there was nothing going on to make the conversation keep going, so we ended up hanging up, and just leaving the subject for the time being alone. That was all that I could have really wanted.
Once the call was over, I was feeling the utter certainty that a part of our bond was going to be severed because of the confession that I just had. It was something that I really hated, since I wanted her to be feeling better. I needed her to understand that I had no intentions to be doing this. But that was going to be impossible to be showing now. As much as I hated this.
I was then feeling that even though I had only done two days, I needed to take a day here. You know, I was just feeling tired as shit when I was here at the moment. The entire time that I felt that something would come along here, I was feeling utterly and totally fucked, and I hated this.
I had wondered if maybe since I had started this whole thing, if I needed to just fucking go with it, and see how fucking far I could get. You know, just test what I would be able to find if I went around for a bit longer, and what was going to happen if I just showed people that I was just willing to at least consider every option.
I was also wondered if what Ocho said about the labyrinth parties were true. After I remembered that coming up once again, I knew that I needed to contact Sora instantly, and that I needed to just see what she would be able to tell me about her going to one or not. I was really hoping beyond god that she was going to tell me no. But a small part of me knew deep down that something like this was just not going to be this easy.
I was getting in my car, and I was just driving on down to her house. I was having a feeling she was not going to be having a whole lot of patience for me calling and stuff. So with this in mind, and the more that I was driving down the street, I was going to be praying to god every second that she was going to say no. If she had said no, then I would deal with T.K. and the others soon enough.
You know, despite my uncertainty, I was just feeling that maybe if I was going to be hearing that she did go, I was going to have to be realistic in that there was no way in hell that I could be able to take care of keeping her safe. There was nothing that I as one person could be able to realistically do. I knew that deep down. I was not stupid. But I was just hoping that she was willing to over look this a bit better.
Eventually, the car parked, and I was shaking my head. I was rubbing my eyes, and I was wondering what I would tell Sora if she was to try and get to know more of what I was feeling.
I knocked on the door, and I was just letting every single second get to me. Every single second of not knowing if she was guaranteed safety for at least one more missing case, or if she was going to be in danger and I was unaware of it until today. I was just feeling totally out of it.
Eventually, she answered, and I was taking a deep breath, knowing that nothing happened to her in the last hour or so. When she was looking at me, her face went from confused and mildly annoyed to being one of great concern. After she had seen me like this, she was calming down, and looked like she was more willing to at least hear me out.
"What is going on?" She asked me, and then I was sighing, feeling like now that I was getting her attention, and that now that I was able to calm down, and focus on the point, and hopefully she would be willing to hear what I was having to say without thinking me as just some stupid and insane fucker, I was now more ready.
"I was wanting to ask you a question. A really fucking serious one." I said, and then she was looking like she was just kind of concerned for what was so important that I was coming here like this. Especially with being so sleep deprived that I could not do a single fucking thing anymore for the time being.
"What is it?" She asked, and then I was shaking my head at this, as if feeling like I was just wasting my time even bringing this whole thing up. I was feeling like she was needing to be doing something better with her time than to deal with me acting like a fucking buffon for everything. I was just probably making this whole thing much worse.
"I was wondering if you ever went to any of these labyrinth parties before?" I asked and then I was seeing her looking confused as to why I went all of this way to be asking her this. "This is serious. Please just let me know." I said, and then I was seeing her looking like she was just wanting me to fucking stop for a second, and give her a chance to compose herself, to actually give me a fucking answer in the first place.
"Matt, relax. Give me a chance here." She was saying, and then after she was telling me this, I was calming down, and then I was sighing, and I was just telling myself to fucking relax. She was still here, and she was still safe for the time being. And as long as she was, then it was going to be fine. I knew it would be fine.
"Yes, I did go to one a while ago. This was before we really met, and I was trying to find a man to go on a date with." She said, and then as soon as she had said that, everything after yes seemed like a blur. I mean, I heard her, and I knew what she had said. But it was something that seemed almost pointless. I really was finding myself just not even caring if she had been doing it to basically get laid or not.
I was nodding, and then I was looking at her, and I was feeling like there was now a very good chance that I would not see her again after a certain while. When I thought of this, I was sighing, and I was hugging her. I was feeling like I needed to give her as much love as fucking possible, to make myself feel better here.
I was then feeling that in order to make it seem like I was not being incredibly over the top, and dramatic for no reason, I decided I would let her know what was going on. I would tell her the story that Ocho told me, and I was hoping that by doing this, she would understand that this was not a fucking game. That this was some serious shit, and that she needed to understand that this was beyond anything else.
"So you know Ocho?" I asked, and then she looked at me, as if totally fucking confused why I was bringing him up. But I was seeing that she was also looking like she was willing to hear what I needed to say. Since it clearly must have been important. She was nodding, and then I decided to go with the momentum of what I was doing here.
"Yeah, well the thing was that he had told me something really important about the missing girls. He was telling me that one thing they all had in common was the fact that they went to the labyrinth parties. Probably thinking that it was going to be some fun light game to play. But then when then they would go missing later on. So with you going, you technically just increased your chances of being a victim to the situation." I said, and I was hoping that she would not be too scared of this, like I had been.
"Are you sure that maybe he did not over look something? You know, that maybe someone had slipped in there, and he just never noticed?" She asked, and I was feeling that such a thing would not even fucking matter. The fact of the matter was that she had just given herself a higher chance than ever that she would be the next one, or a later one.
"I don't know. In all honesty, I feel like such a thing would not even matter anyways. I mean, we all know that something could fucking happen. And that we just need to make sure that no matter what else we do, you do not go missing as well." I said, and then after I was done with this, I was feeling like the entire world was falling down upon me. I was wanting to scream at the top of my fucking lungs.
"Okay, relax. I did not mean to upset you. I was just feeling that I needed to see where this could go. Fuck, I did not realize that you were going to be so worked up over this. To be fair, I did not even know that Ocho had found such a thing out." She said, she was starting to look like she was letting the gravity of what she had done start to settle in a bit more. I was feeling like I needed to just see what she would have told me with this now.
"I genuinely have no idea. I really feel like the idea of helping you here is going to be a bit fucked on my end. Although I think that maybe they just wish they were at your side." I said, feeling like I could offer some random shit here. But I had no idea what else to be saying to this now.
I eventually parked the taxi at the air port, and she was looking at me, and looked back at the time, and I was realizing that next time, I needed a better route to get there faster. "Thanks for driving me." She said, and gave me the fare, and an extra ten percent to give me a bit of a tip.
"Good luck at Virgini Tech." I said, and then she was out of the taxi, and in the air port. I stayed for an extra twenty seconds to be one hundred percent sure, but left the second more cars started to pull on up.
Scene 8: Update Board
When I had gotten home that day, I was sitting down, and I was feeling like that day was kind of a waste, and that I did not really get all that much out of it. But in all honesty, despite what I was feeling, in a way, I did not even mind. I was just wanting to keep things together. I was feeling that I might as well just update the board, and be done with it for the day, and then go right to bed.
As I had decided that, I decided to just put up the two major names that I had talked with that day. "Church priest. Talks about somebody who confessed to sleeping with another man while they were still married, before husband passed away. He seems rather afraid the whole time." I wrote, and every single time I looked at this, I was convinced that it was him. I knew deep down that it have to have been. But I did not want to throw the man under the bus yet, especially with his job.
After I had wrote that down, I decided to look at the next pieces of info that I would need to gather. "Younger girl, probably between eighteen and twenty one, going on a trip to Virginia Tech. Her parents do not approve of this trip." I wrote, feeling that I would just leave it at this. "June 16, 1986." I wrote on both of them after I realized I did not date stamp either one of them yet.
Once I was done with this, I was sighing, and then I was feeling like I just needed to sleep a bit better when I was going to smoke. I was not even a man who wanted to smoke before getting this job. But god damn, for some reason, when I was here, and I was doing all of this shit, I knew that I needed to do it. I needed to for my own sanity.
I loved talking with these people, and it made me feel wonderful. I was feeling like I could always get to know them. But god damn, I was feeling like I just needed to take a bit of a break when I was dealing with all of this. I was not really feeling like I was getting enough sleep, which I guess was at least some what true considering.
Eventually, I was getting off of my chair, since I wanted to at least be somewhat comfortable while I slept, and then I went right to the bed, and I was wondering if I just needed to talk to T.K. again. I needed to give the man a chance. Maybe a chance was all that I had really fucking needed. A chance to get a moment to rest, and a chance to get some fucking things in my life a bit more figured out here. If such a fucking thing was even possible.
When I woke up the next day, I was shaking my head. I went to bed thirteen minutes earlier than I had the previous night, so 6:37 am. I was looking at the living room clock, and saw it was only a couple of minutes after when I went to bed the previous day. So all in all, I got roughly sixteen minutes more today than yesterday.
As I was feeling a bit more worn down, I was shaking my head, and decided that I was going to just find some way to be getting the proper amount soon. There was only so much that I could do before I was feeling like I would be totally and utterly fucked from feeling like I was getting the amount that I had needed.
Once I was out of the room, I was seeing that T.K. was already gone for the day. Same with both of my parents. I was just glad to know that they did not know of me going to bed so late, as well as waking up at this time as well. I was feeling that whatever my parents would have said after that was going to be something entirely just out of projection. Something they would tell me to just make me feel better.
I did figure that I needed to talk to Sora for a bit. I knew she was scared probably, and I had not spoken to her for a while, so I was feeling that she did deserve to have a chance to get to speak to me, and I was thinking that I just needed to have a moment where I was at least somewhat clearing my head at this whole fucking thing.
Eventually, I ended up ringing her number, and I was just crossing my mind, and hoping to god she would listen to me, and I was feeling that whatever was going to be going on in her head, I just needed to give her a chance to be feeling like I was not going to be a dick at all, no matter what was going on.
"Hey Sora. How have you been?" I asked, feeling like I would at least break the ice a bit. After I had asked her this, I was hearing her take a huge sigh of relief. Clearly she must have been worried that I was doing something dangerous. I was telling myself that I needed to speak to her better, as well as more, in the future. To make her feel better.
"I was worried about you. So it's nice to see you doing well." She said, and then I smiled at this statement, feeling that it was great to just make some progress with her at the time being. But I was going to have to really find a way to make it feel like we were actually going to be having a sincere discussion here. And not something that was fucking me over.
"I am really sorry for not getting to know sooner. I have been doing some things that I know I should not be getting into. But I just feel that I need to do it for everybodys sake." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I was aware of how fucking bullshit what I just said was. I needed to just not lie one fucking more word, and that I just needed to own up to it all.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Sora asked, and I was feeling that this was going to be something that I walked way too deeply in on. I was wondering what I would have said that could have made the situation at least somewhat less bad than it already was. "Did you do something dangerous?"
"Nothing like that. Thank god. But I was talking about how I never wanted to be getting into this all, and yet hre I am. So what I did was that I decided to at least casually try and see if I would find anything related to the missing people." I said, and then I was ready for her epic yelling at me before I would have a chance to talk.
"You were talking to me all of these times about how you never wanted anybody to be doing this? What is making you change your fucking mind now?" She asked and I was feeling like I needed to really just find a way to bullshit my way out of this. But I was tired of it all, and I was feeling like I needed to get the hypocrisy lecture later.
"I was mainly just wanting to make sure that the stories that T.K. were saying were either totally fucking horse shit, or could have been real. I mean, it was obviously going to be one of those two. So I was mainly just trying to make sure that I had a chance of knowing which." I said, and then I was shaking my head at this, and then I was wondering if she would forgive me.
"But Matt, after all of these times, and after all of these things that you have gone up and down about, that you never wanted T.K. to be doing, and this is what is coming out of it? I mean, I think that you need to at least try and see where some people would be coming from in that this just seems a bit off." She said, and then she was sighing, and calming down.
"That being said, I do understand that you do have your own reasons. I do understand that you are probably just trying to calm down, and that you want to fucking relax a bit better here. But at the same time, it just feels a bit off. That is all that I am saying. But I will not be saying anything else." I was feeling that if she was telling the truth, I would now get to start to have a voice on what I was thinking right now.
"I know that I have been making a huge set of mistakes here. I know that there is nothing that is good or perfect on what is happening here. But at the same time, I am feeling like I am so close to having the fucking truth here. I feel like I can actually fucking figure out what is going on. And that is what I need to look at." I said, and I was almost just not even caring anymore.
"I mean, I feel like if there is even a small chance that T.K. is right, and that something is indeed going on, it would be dangerous to be refusing to go along with this. And I feel like I just need to give him a chance. I guess that I will just leave it at this." I said, and then I was finishing up. I was feeling like there was nothing else that I could be saying now.
"Alright, I guess that there is just a part of me that is scared. You know, of the fact that if something is found, then everything that I fear is true. Or at least some of it is. I feel like that idea is the scariest thing to be going through at the current moment." She said, and then I was trying my best to be seeing it this way. Something that she went through her whole life.
"I will make sure that nothing too bad will be coming out of this. For what that is worth." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I knew that what I was saying was worth jack shit. I knew deep down inside that everything that I was saying was worth jack shit, since was not a damn thing I could do to make it all better for her.
"Well, I appreciate your attempts to make me feel better here." She said, and then after that, there was nothing going on to make the conversation keep going, so we ended up hanging up, and just leaving the subject for the time being alone. That was all that I could have really wanted.
Once the call was over, I was feeling the utter certainty that a part of our bond was going to be severed because of the confession that I just had. It was something that I really hated, since I wanted her to be feeling better. I needed her to understand that I had no intentions to be doing this. But that was going to be impossible to be showing now. As much as I hated this.
I was then feeling that even though I had only done two days, I needed to take a day here. You know, I was just feeling tired as shit when I was here at the moment. The entire time that I felt that something would come along here, I was feeling utterly and totally fucked, and I hated this.
I had wondered if maybe since I had started this whole thing, if I needed to just fucking go with it, and see how fucking far I could get. You know, just test what I would be able to find if I went around for a bit longer, and what was going to happen if I just showed people that I was just willing to at least consider every option.
I was also wondered if what Ocho said about the labyrinth parties were true. After I remembered that coming up once again, I knew that I needed to contact Sora instantly, and that I needed to just see what she would be able to tell me about her going to one or not. I was really hoping beyond god that she was going to tell me no. But a small part of me knew deep down that something like this was just not going to be this easy.
I was getting in my car, and I was just driving on down to her house. I was having a feeling she was not going to be having a whole lot of patience for me calling and stuff. So with this in mind, and the more that I was driving down the street, I was going to be praying to god every second that she was going to say no. If she had said no, then I would deal with T.K. and the others soon enough.
You know, despite my uncertainty, I was just feeling that maybe if I was going to be hearing that she did go, I was going to have to be realistic in that there was no way in hell that I could be able to take care of keeping her safe. There was nothing that I as one person could be able to realistically do. I knew that deep down. I was not stupid. But I was just hoping that she was willing to over look this a bit better.
Eventually, the car parked, and I was shaking my head. I was rubbing my eyes, and I was wondering what I would tell Sora if she was to try and get to know more of what I was feeling.
I knocked on the door, and I was just letting every single second get to me. Every single second of not knowing if she was guaranteed safety for at least one more missing case, or if she was going to be in danger and I was unaware of it until today. I was just feeling totally out of it.
Eventually, she answered, and I was taking a deep breath, knowing that nothing happened to her in the last hour or so. When she was looking at me, her face went from confused and mildly annoyed to being one of great concern. After she had seen me like this, she was calming down, and looked like she was more willing to at least hear me out.
"What is going on?" She asked me, and then I was sighing, feeling like now that I was getting her attention, and that now that I was able to calm down, and focus on the point, and hopefully she would be willing to hear what I was having to say without thinking me as just some stupid and insane fucker, I was now more ready.
"I was wanting to ask you a question. A really fucking serious one." I said, and then she was looking like she was just kind of concerned for what was so important that I was coming here like this. Especially with being so sleep deprived that I could not do a single fucking thing anymore for the time being.
"What is it?" She asked, and then I was shaking my head at this, as if feeling like I was just wasting my time even bringing this whole thing up. I was feeling like she was needing to be doing something better with her time than to deal with me acting like a fucking buffon for everything. I was just probably making this whole thing much worse.
"I was wondering if you ever went to any of these labyrinth parties before?" I asked and then I was seeing her looking confused as to why I went all of this way to be asking her this. "This is serious. Please just let me know." I said, and then I was seeing her looking like she was just wanting me to fucking stop for a second, and give her a chance to compose herself, to actually give me a fucking answer in the first place.
"Matt, relax. Give me a chance here." She was saying, and then after she was telling me this, I was calming down, and then I was sighing, and I was just telling myself to fucking relax. She was still here, and she was still safe for the time being. And as long as she was, then it was going to be fine. I knew it would be fine.
"Yes, I did go to one a while ago. This was before we really met, and I was trying to find a man to go on a date with." She said, and then as soon as she had said that, everything after yes seemed like a blur. I mean, I heard her, and I knew what she had said. But it was something that seemed almost pointless. I really was finding myself just not even caring if she had been doing it to basically get laid or not.
I was nodding, and then I was looking at her, and I was feeling like there was now a very good chance that I would not see her again after a certain while. When I thought of this, I was sighing, and I was hugging her. I was feeling like I needed to give her as much love as fucking possible, to make myself feel better here.
I was then feeling that in order to make it seem like I was not being incredibly over the top, and dramatic for no reason, I decided I would let her know what was going on. I would tell her the story that Ocho told me, and I was hoping that by doing this, she would understand that this was not a fucking game. That this was some serious shit, and that she needed to understand that this was beyond anything else.
"So you know Ocho?" I asked, and then she looked at me, as if totally fucking confused why I was bringing him up. But I was seeing that she was also looking like she was willing to hear what I needed to say. Since it clearly must have been important. She was nodding, and then I decided to go with the momentum of what I was doing here.
"Yeah, well the thing was that he had told me something really important about the missing girls. He was telling me that one thing they all had in common was the fact that they went to the labyrinth parties. Probably thinking that it was going to be some fun light game to play. But then when then they would go missing later on. So with you going, you technically just increased your chances of being a victim to the situation." I said, and I was hoping that she would not be too scared of this, like I had been.
"Are you sure that maybe he did not over look something? You know, that maybe someone had slipped in there, and he just never noticed?" She asked, and I was feeling that such a thing would not even fucking matter. The fact of the matter was that she had just given herself a higher chance than ever that she would be the next one, or a later one.
"I don't know. In all honesty, I feel like such a thing would not even matter anyways. I mean, we all know that something could fucking happen. And that we just need to make sure that no matter what else we do, you do not go missing as well." I said, and then after I was done with this, I was feeling like the entire world was falling down upon me. I was wanting to scream at the top of my fucking lungs.
"Okay, relax. I did not mean to upset you. I was just feeling that I needed to see where this could go. Fuck, I did not realize that you were going to be so worked up over this. To be fair, I did not even know that Ocho had found such a thing out." She said, she was starting to look like she was letting the gravity of what she had done start to settle in a bit more. I was feeling like I needed to just see what she would have told me with this now.
Scene 9: Night 3
I was feeling a bit better now that at least Sora did know of what was going on. She had known that I was trying to just make sure that she was doing alright. And when she had seen that, it was making me feel like I could be able to actually fucking make things work out so much better. I was wanting her to be understanding that I would have had no intention to make her feel bad about what we were doing.
"Thanks for letting me know. I mean, I know that you are probably not wanting to consider the idea that something is going to happen to you. I get it. But the fact of the matter is that we both need to just make sure that something does not come along and take you away. We just need to be at least somewhat safe." I said, letting the ideas of what Ocho said running through my mind again.
In all honesty, I was wanting to maybe just focus more on that than anything else, and not be putting my mind on whatever was going on. Even if that fucking officer was going to be finding a way to make me the bad guy for this, I was not even caring anymore. Just as long as Sora would remain safe.
"Matt, do not smother me like this. I understand that you are just trying to help me. But I feel like I need to be taking care of myself here. I feel like if I do not at least try and be doing things my way, then what is even the point of complaining about what is happening? I got to do my own thing to make sure it does not get any worse." She said, and then I was feeling like I needed to stop this mentality, but I was feeling that she was probably right.
"Please don't say that. I never was trying to make you feel that way." I was saying, and then after I was done telling her this, I was sighing in annoyance, and I was feeling like she was never going to understand where I was coming from. I was feeling that she was going to be jumping to conclusions on everything that was going on.
"I mean, I know that you are going to be saying this. You are going to be acting like this was something you never wanted to do, but at the same time, I know deep down inside that you are just wishing that this shit never came. We both wish that this discussion was never had." Sora was telling me, and then I was looking like I was just going to have to be dropping this all for her sake. As I was considering this, I was starting to feel a slight bit different. I was then feeling that she was going to be telling me that I had been totally wrong here.
"Matt, I appreciate your concern. But at the same time, you are just taking this whole thing too seriously. We were talking earlier about that we were both finding Tai and T.K. to be looking way too deeply into this whole damn thing." Sora was telling me this, and then when she had told me this, I was feeling like she was not really seeing the bigger picture.
"That was how I had fucking felt, you know, before the fucking situation with the labyrinth parties come along. Once I was finding out what the parties were, and I understood that this was more than just a strange interest that he was having, this was what was making everything different." I said and then I was just thinking that she was probably going to be not very forgiving on it.
"My friend Ocho was trying to do something for his missing girlfriend, and he thought that he could have done something right. He had every right to want to know what happned with Andrea. I was feeling a bit differently at first, thinking that I could just let him be doing this on his own. I would casually listen to the evidence he had gathered up, feeling like I needed to give him a chance here..." I said, and then I was shrugging, thinking that she was going to be letting this whole thing go now.
"What was he finding before he told you about the situation with the labyrinth parties?" She asked, and then I ended up looking right at her, and then I was feeling that she was going to kind of angry when she was finding out what the truth was. If she had known that it was somebody that she respected from back in the day, I was feeling that this would be really bothering her.
"Honestly, he had found out about something with the Steven Small teacher. I never wanted to tell you, since I know that you were attached to him, and that you were wanting to continue working with him after school." I told her, and then after I told her this, I was seeing her looking like she was wanting to find something to ask. I was seeing her looking like she indeed was going through a mix of emotions.
"What did he tell you? Just because he has a different thing that he is interested in than the vast majority of people doesn't mean that he is behind anything." She said and I was looking at her, and I knew that she had meant what he took photos of in his spare time.
"I think that Ocho had said that some of his films and photos had been been of these missing girls. You know, the people who he had been working with him for the longest period of time, and then they went missing. In a really odd and concidential fashion, related to what their projects were." I said, and then I was feeling that maybe Steven Small should have not been so open about the fact that he was into making porn videos in his spare time.
"Well, that would make some sense. That does not mean that Steven was connected with any of these things." She was saying to me, and then I was looking at her, and I was wondering if she was really buying that, or if she was just saying that in order to be making it fit into this narrative a bit better. I was shaking my head, and I was feeling like there was a good chance that it was probably nothing, but I could never be sure.
"Look, I know that there is a good chance that nothing is happening. And I know that I like to just over think things when it comes to my brother, and a lot of other things. But I guess that just being paranoid gets me to be doing this a lot of the time." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I was pissed as hell that we had been going down this route to begin with.
"Let's just drop this. The guy is a institution. He is a mentor figure to so many people. I doubt that it would be possible for you to understand, even if you tried. I'm sorry. But I just can't really get myself to be feeling any differently about this. Not unless if there is proof here." She said, and then I was nodding, feeling that maybe this was a bit more fair than I was wanting to admit. So with that, I was just holding up my hand, and I was feeling that I just needed to drop the subject for the time being.
"Sorry. I really did not mean to upset. I was just trying to be keeping a open mind. But I was not really meaning anything about it." I was saying, and I was hoping that if I tried hard enough, I would be able to get myself out of it decently enough. I knew how much of what I had done was total fucking bullshit, when I can be more objective here.
"I hope that you understand that some of this is just a bit hard to understand. But how do people get chosen when they go to the labyrinth parties?" She asked, and I was looking at her, and I was shaking my head, feeling that what she was telling me, and trying to know, was going to be impossible to understand.
"I have no idea. I think that this could be a great question to ask Ocho. I will see what he might have to tell me here." I said, hoping that he would actually give me a real answer here. If he was able to do that at least, then maybe we could work together on getting this all done with. "But Sora, if I can't reach him at all, then I am sorry." I said, and then I was shaking my head, feeling that she would never really let this drop.
That night, it was back to the grind. I was not focused at all on what I was supposed to be doing though. I was feeling like I just needed to at least fake it until I make it in order to not anger the boss. Since I knew that he was going to be rather disappointed if he gave me a chance and I failed on day 3.
I ended up pulling up at the house that I was supposed to reach. When I got inside, a relatively older guy was looking kind of angry at me. But when he was seeing that I was my age, he was calming down, as if feeling like he needed to give me a chance at the very least.
"Shit, I was not expecting somebody your age to be the rider. Maybe I do need to relax a little bit, and give you a chance." After he had told me this, I was sighing, and I really had no real clue what I was going to be saying at this rate. "Anyways, so I will ask you a basic question... What do you think the concept of reality really is?"
Once he had asked me this, I was looking at him, feeling a bit fucking lost on what he was saying. I was just feeling like whatever he was asking, it was going to not really be a basic question at all. "Well, the concept of reality is something that is the truth of life. You know, on fiction stories." I said, and then I was shaking my head, feeling like there was almost nothing else that I could have said that would make this whole thing at least a bit less strange to be going through for all of us.
"Not bad for somebody your age, I suppose. To be honest, I know that it is far more complex than that. There is something much bigger than just the mere concept of things seeming to be real, and seeming to be fake." After he had told me this, I was feeling like there was nothing that I could have told him here.
"What do you think that it could have been?" I asked, feeling like whatever this man had wanted to tell me, it was going to be some random attempt to be sounding deep and shit. I was feeling that I would just play along with this, since I was not wanting to be making him feel like I was not listening to him.
"I think that the concept of reality is the firm grasp of understanding what the world is like. If you don't really get the ins and outs of what this world is, then you don't really have the firm grasp on reality. You do not really have the idea in your hear what people can truly be capable of." He said, and then I was shaking my head.
"I think that it is going to be impossible to understand what everything about reality is going on in the world. You know, the world is just a giant place, and it is a bit hard to fully comprehend." I said, and then I looked right at him, wondering what he was going to be telling me. "If you understand the reality of the world, I would be fine with giving you a chance."
"Thank you. I would say that there is a good chance that you are right, and that there is no way to fully understand the entire world. But there are some concepts I can tell you of right now, before you get your hopes up. One is that the human race is just one inherently set of selfish people." He said, and I was thinking that what he was saying was probably true. But I did not really have any idea what to say.
"There are some people out there that do care for the sake of others." I said, and then I was seeing the man laugh at this. I was feeling like this guy was going to be relatively insufferable. But I was not wanting to say anything that could make him feel like I was being rude.
"Sure, a couple out there. Once you get older, and once you start to slowly understand the world a bit better, you will have to understand that not everybody in the entire world is the way you see them. I can count all the people who truly do care about others before themselves on one hand. And even then, it is usually only their kids that they care about more. And even then, it is only a disguise." He was saying, and then I was feeling like there was nothing else I could have done.
"What would the issue be? If everybody is this way, then is it really so fucking bad?" I asked, not really having any idea of what I was going to be accomplishing here by telling him this, and I was feeling like if he was going to be arguing with me here, then I was not going to be getting this whole thing any worse.
"It is. And the worst thing is that we all know deep down that it is a going to be fucking lie. Every single thing that we do is something we can't fucking do a damn thing about. We are all going to be just pushing these things forward." After he had me this, I was feeling like there was nothing to say.
I parked the car, and I was seeing the man's destination, and he was looking like he had something else to say. "If you are like them, that is fine. But the least you can do is be a real fucking good faker. That is all you can do. That is all anybody can do." He said, and then he walked off once again.
Once I was done seeing him head on out, that was when there was another destination, and I drove all the way over there, hoping that the man was going to be somebody with less to tell me. When I pakred the car, I was seeing that it was a old man. Not just older man, but a cop. Retired for six years, from what I heard.
He got in the car, and told me to head to the hospital. Once I started, he was smiling, and looked at me, wanting to say more. "So young man, how many stories do you know about this town?" He asked and I was kind of confused at what he was asking. I really had no idea what to be telling him.
"Just the ones about the missing girls, and the things that people claim happen to them?" I asked, and then he was shaking his head, feeling a bit better at this here. Feeling unsure of what to say.
"I bet that most of the stories are lies. You know, to cover up for the shit that really is going on in Wayside. People really do have something that they always try to do. And that is save their kids." He was saying, and shaking his head at disgust.
"I remember the first time that the missing girls happened. Vicky. Seventeen years old. A little bit younger than you, I would assume." He said, and I was nodding along, going with this here. "Anyways, it was the first time that I realized that people will lie about everyrthing if it will mean that they can be safe."
"Everything that happened with that case was bullshit. Nobody wanted to find her. Nobody cared about her. They just wanted to get this thing done with. I looked everywhere in the town, trying so damn hard to find her, and trying my fucking ass off to make sure that her parents would see I could save her." He said, anger in his voice.
"Was she ever found?" I asked, feeling that this was my one chance to try and find something else to be talking about. I was seeing the man taking out a cigarette to smoke, and he answered with something I never expected.
"Yes, I did find her. I found her in the forest one day, much later. Her throat was slit open, and she had clearly been raped. She was found less than two miles away from the mines that were shut down. When somebody looked at her autopsy, it had been clear that she had given birth to at least two children since she went missing. But nobody cared, since the town was doing well. Took off financially, and the population was recovering." He said, and punched the car window.
"The man who did that to the sweet girl was never found. Her parents never recovered. Her body went missing just two days later, and there was no funeral. No closure. That was the first time the grinding noise went off." I parked the car at the hospital, and he looked at me. "Men are vilent monsters. Digusting beasts. What happened to that poor girl was the first time I realized how horrifying the male species would really be when you give him a beautiful young girl." He said, slamming the door shut, but not before giving me a fifty percent tip and a cigarette.
"Thanks for listening to me tell you that." Once he was in, I knew that I needed to know more about that, as I took out the cigarette, and started to smoke it s I was putting the tip in my 8: Update Board
When I had gotten home that day, I was sitting down, and I was feeling like that day was kind of a waste, and that I did not really get all that much out of it. But in all honesty, despite what I was feeling, in a way, I did not even mind. I was just wanting to keep things together. I was feeling that I might as well just update the board, and be done with it for the day, and then go right to bed.
As I had decided that, I decided to just put up the two major names that I had talked with that day. "Church priest. Talks about somebody who confessed to sleeping with another man while they were still married, before husband passed away. He seems rather afraid the whole time." I wrote, and every single time I looked at this, I was convinced that it was him. I knew deep down that it have to have been. But I did not want to throw the man under the bus yet, especially with his job.
After I had wrote that down, I decided to look at the next pieces of info that I would need to gather. "Younger girl, probably between eighteen and twenty one, going on a trip to Virginia Tech. Her parents do not approve of this trip." I wrote, feeling that I would just leave it at this. "June 16, 1986." I wrote on both of them after I realized I did not date stamp either one of them yet.
Once I was done with this, I was sighing, and then I was feeling like I just needed to sleep a bit better when I was going to smoke. I was not even a man who wanted to smoke before getting this job. But god damn, for some reason, when I was here, and I was doing all of this shit, I knew that I needed to do it. I needed to for my own sanity.
I loved talking with these people, and it made me feel wonderful. I was feeling like I could always get to know them. But god damn, I was feeling like I just needed to take a bit of a break when I was dealing with all of this. I was not really feeling like I was getting enough sleep, which I guess was at least some what true considering.
Eventually, I was getting off of my chair, since I wanted to at least be somewhat comfortable while I slept, and then I went right to the bed, and I was wondering if I just needed to talk to T.K. again. I needed to give the man a chance. Maybe a chance was all that I had really fucking needed. A chance to get a moment to rest, and a chance to get some fucking things in my life a bit more figured out here. If such a fucking thing was even possible.
When I woke up the next day, I was shaking my head. I went to bed thirteen minutes earlier than I had the previous night, so 6:37 am. I was looking at the living room clock, and saw it was only a couple of minutes after when I went to bed the previous day. So all in all, I got roughly sixteen minutes more today than yesterday.
As I was feeling a bit more worn down, I was shaking my head, and decided that I was going to just find some way to be getting the proper amount soon. There was only so much that I could do before I was feeling like I would be totally and utterly fucked from feeling like I was getting the amount that I had needed.
Once I was out of the room, I was seeing that T.K. was already gone for the day. Same with both of my parents. I was just glad to know that they did not know of me going to bed so late, as well as waking up at this time as well. I was feeling that whatever my parents would have said after that was going to be something entirely just out of projection. Something they would tell me to just make me feel better.
I did figure that I needed to talk to Sora for a bit. I knew she was scared probably, and I had not spoken to her for a while, so I was feeling that she did deserve to have a chance to get to speak to me, and I was thinking that I just needed to have a moment where I was at least somewhat clearing my head at this whole fucking thing.
Eventually, I ended up ringing her number, and I was just crossing my mind, and hoping to god she would listen to me, and I was feeling that whatever was going to be going on in her head, I just needed to give her a chance to be feeling like I was not going to be a dick at all, no matter what was going on.
"Hey Sora. How have you been?" I asked, feeling like I would at least break the ice a bit. After I had asked her this, I was hearing her take a huge sigh of relief. Clearly she must have been worried that I was doing something dangerous. I was telling myself that I needed to speak to her better, as well as more, in the future. To make her feel better.
"I was worried about you. So it's nice to see you doing well." She said, and then I smiled at this statement, feeling that it was great to just make some progress with her at the time being. But I was going to have to really find a way to make it feel like we were actually going to be having a sincere discussion here. And not something that was fucking me over.
"I am really sorry for not getting to know sooner. I have been doing some things that I know I should not be getting into. But I just feel that I need to do it for everybodys sake." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I was aware of how fucking bullshit what I just said was. I needed to just not lie one fucking more word, and that I just needed to own up to it all.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Sora asked, and I was feeling that this was going to be something that I walked way too deeply in on. I was wondering what I would have said that could have made the situation at least somewhat less bad than it already was. "Did you do something dangerous?"
"Nothing like that. Thank god. But I was talking about how I never wanted to be getting into this all, and yet hre I am. So what I did was that I decided to at least casually try and see if I would find anything related to the missing people." I said, and then I was ready for her epic yelling at me before I would have a chance to talk.
"You were talking to me all of these times about how you never wanted anybody to be doing this? What is making you change your fucking mind now?" She asked and I was feeling like I needed to really just find a way to bullshit my way out of this. But I was tired of it all, and I was feeling like I needed to get the hypocrisy lecture later.
"I was mainly just wanting to make sure that the stories that T.K. were saying were either totally fucking horse shit, or could have been real. I mean, it was obviously going to be one of those two. So I was mainly just trying to make sure that I had a chance of knowing which." I said, and then I was shaking my head at this, and then I was wondering if she would forgive me.
"But Matt, after all of these times, and after all of these things that you have gone up and down about, that you never wanted T.K. to be doing, and this is what is coming out of it? I mean, I think that you need to at least try and see where some people would be coming from in that this just seems a bit off." She said, and then she was sighing, and calming down.
"That being said, I do understand that you do have your own reasons. I do understand that you are probably just trying to calm down, and that you want to fucking relax a bit better here. But at the same time, it just feels a bit off. That is all that I am saying. But I will not be saying anything else." I was feeling that if she was telling the truth, I would now get to start to have a voice on what I was thinking right now.
"I know that I have been making a huge set of mistakes here. I know that there is nothing that is good or perfect on what is happening here. But at the same time, I am feeling like I am so close to having the fucking truth here. I feel like I can actually fucking figure out what is going on. And that is what I need to look at." I said, and I was almost just not even caring anymore.
"I mean, I feel like if there is even a small chance that T.K. is right, and that something is indeed going on, it would be dangerous to be refusing to go along with this. And I feel like I just need to give him a chance. I guess that I will just leave it at this." I said, and then I was finishing up. I was feeling like there was nothing else that I could be saying now.
"Alright, I guess that there is just a part of me that is scared. You know, of the fact that if something is found, then everything that I fear is true. Or at least some of it is. I feel like that idea is the scariest thing to be going through at the current moment." She said, and then I was trying my best to be seeing it this way. Something that she went through her whole life.
"I will make sure that nothing too bad will be coming out of this. For what that is worth." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I knew that what I was saying was worth jack shit. I knew deep down inside that everything that I was saying was worth jack shit, since was not a damn thing I could do to make it all better for her.
"Well, I appreciate your attempts to make me feel better here." She said, and then after that, there was nothing going on to make the conversation keep going, so we ended up hanging up, and just leaving the subject for the time being alone. That was all that I could have really wanted.
Once the call was over, I was feeling the utter certainty that a part of our bond was going to be severed because of the confession that I just had. It was something that I really hated, since I wanted her to be feeling better. I needed her to understand that I had no intentions to be doing this. But that was going to be impossible to be showing now. As much as I hated this.
I was then feeling that even though I had only done two days, I needed to take a day here. You know, I was just feeling tired as shit when I was here at the moment. The entire time that I felt that something would come along here, I was feeling utterly and totally fucked, and I hated this.
I had wondered if maybe since I had started this whole thing, if I needed to just fucking go with it, and see how fucking far I could get. You know, just test what I would be able to find if I went around for a bit longer, and what was going to happen if I just showed people that I was just willing to at least consider every option.
I was also wondered if what Ocho said about the labyrinth parties were true. After I remembered that coming up once again, I knew that I needed to contact Sora instantly, and that I needed to just see what she would be able to tell me about her going to one or not. I was really hoping beyond god that she was going to tell me no. But a small part of me knew deep down that something like this was just not going to be this easy.
I was getting in my car, and I was just driving on down to her house. I was having a feeling she was not going to be having a whole lot of patience for me calling and stuff. So with this in mind, and the more that I was driving down the street, I was going to be praying to god every second that she was going to say no. If she had said no, then I would deal with T.K. and the others soon enough.
You know, despite my uncertainty, I was just feeling that maybe if I was going to be hearing that she did go, I was going to have to be realistic in that there was no way in hell that I could be able to take care of keeping her safe. There was nothing that I as one person could be able to realistically do. I knew that deep down. I was not stupid. But I was just hoping that she was willing to over look this a bit better.
Eventually, the car parked, and I was shaking my head. I was rubbing my eyes, and I was wondering what I would tell Sora if she was to try and get to know more of what I was feeling.
I knocked on the door, and I was just letting every single second get to me. Every single second of not knowing if she was guaranteed safety for at least one more missing case, or if she was going to be in danger and I was unaware of it until today. I was just feeling totally out of it.
Eventually, she answered, and I was taking a deep breath, knowing that nothing happened to her in the last hour or so. When she was looking at me, her face went from confused and mildly annoyed to being one of great concern. After she had seen me like this, she was calming down, and looked like she was more willing to at least hear me out.
"What is going on?" She asked me, and then I was sighing, feeling like now that I was getting her attention, and that now that I was able to calm down, and focus on the point, and hopefully she would be willing to hear what I was having to say without thinking me as just some stupid and insane fucker, I was now more ready.
"I was wanting to ask you a question. A really fucking serious one." I said, and then she was looking like she was just kind of concerned for what was so important that I was coming here like this. Especially with being so sleep deprived that I could not do a single fucking thing anymore for the time being.
"What is it?" She asked, and then I was shaking my head at this, as if feeling like I was just wasting my time even bringing this whole thing up. I was feeling like she was needing to be doing something better with her time than to deal with me acting like a fucking buffon for everything. I was just probably making this whole thing much worse.
"I was wondering if you ever went to any of these labyrinth parties before?" I asked and then I was seeing her looking confused as to why I went all of this way to be asking her this. "This is serious. Please just let me know." I said, and then I was seeing her looking like she was just wanting me to fucking stop for a second, and give her a chance to compose herself, to actually give me a fucking answer in the first place.
"Matt, relax. Give me a chance here." She was saying, and then after she was telling me this, I was calming down, and then I was sighing, and I was just telling myself to fucking relax. She was still here, and she was still safe for the time being. And as long as she was, then it was going to be fine. I knew it would be fine.
"Yes, I did go to one a while ago. This was before we really met, and I was trying to find a man to go on a date with." She said, and then as soon as she had said that, everything after yes seemed like a blur. I mean, I heard her, and I knew what she had said. But it was something that seemed almost pointless. I really was finding myself just not even caring if she had been doing it to basically get laid or not.
I was nodding, and then I was looking at her, and I was feeling like there was now a very good chance that I would not see her again after a certain while. When I thought of this, I was sighing, and I was hugging her. I was feeling like I needed to give her as much love as fucking possible, to make myself feel better here.
I was then feeling that in order to make it seem like I was not being incredibly over the top, and dramatic for no reason, I decided I would let her know what was going on. I would tell her the story that Ocho told me, and I was hoping that by doing this, she would understand that this was not a fucking game. That this was some serious shit, and that she needed to understand that this was beyond anything else.
"So you know Ocho?" I asked, and then she looked at me, as if totally fucking confused why I was bringing him up. But I was seeing that she was also looking like she was willing to hear what I needed to say. Since it clearly must have been important. She was nodding, and then I decided to go with the momentum of what I was doing here.
"Yeah, well the thing was that he had told me something really important about the missing girls. He was telling me that one thing they all had in common was the fact that they went to the labyrinth parties. Probably thinking that it was going to be some fun light game to play. But then when then they would go missing later on. So with you going, you technically just increased your chances of being a victim to the situation." I said, and I was hoping that she would not be too scared of this, like I had been.
"Are you sure that maybe he did not over look something? You know, that maybe someone had slipped in there, and he just never noticed?" She asked, and I was feeling that such a thing would not even fucking matter. The fact of the matter was that she had just given herself a higher chance than ever that she would be the next one, or a later one.
"I don't know. In all honesty, I feel like such a thing would not even matter anyways. I mean, we all know that something could fucking happen. And that we just need to make sure that no matter what else we do, you do not go missing as well." I said, and then after I was done with this, I was feeling like the entire world was falling down upon me. I was wanting to scream at the top of my fucking lungs.
"Okay, relax. I did not mean to upset you. I was just feeling that I needed to see where this could go. Fuck, I did not realize that you were going to be so worked up over this. To be fair, I did not even know that Ocho had found such a thing out." She said, she was starting to look like she was letting the gravity of what she had done start to settle in a bit more. I was feeling like I needed to just see what she would have told me with this now.
Scene 10: The Mines
When I had heard about what the man, who I learned was named Paul in later rides, had told me, I was feeling that I needed to fucking learn what the heck was going on with the mines. I mean, the man had told me that he had found that first missing girl dead near one of them.
I knew that the location itself probably did not have any real meaning, and that I was just most likely over looking all of this. But at the same time, I was feeling that I was just needing to kind of learn what I could be able to, and what was actually going on here.
Once I had gotten up that day, I was sighing in annoyance, and I was feeling that I was probably just taking this whole thing too seriously. I knew that I needed to remember that I was against T.K. doing this, so I needed to get it in my head that I was not going to let myself get too deep into this whole thing. Because if I did, then I would be no better than my brother, who I kept saying needed to stop doing this all.
In all honesty, I had remembered that there was a nightmare that day. It was something that crossed my mind, and I was wanting to put it behind me. I was wanting to just drop the subject, and I was wanting to go back to normal. I was feeling that I would need to do this, for my own sanity, and to give myself even a vague ass chance of not having this whole thing take over my entire life. And that of everybody elses.
I saw T.K. in the living room, and he was looking like he was much more relaxed, and in a casual attitude than before. I was wondering what was going on, and I was wanting to see if perhaps I could go on and see what he was feeling right now. "Hey, I was wondering if there was something that you might have known, after all of these investigations."
After I had said that to him, I was seeing him looking quite shocked to be hearing me ask him this. As if he was feeling that I was needing to try and practice what I preached or something. But when I was done feeling this, I was seeing him looking a bit more excited once again.
"Well, what were you wanting to know?" He asked, and then I was sighing, and rubbed my eyes, and then I looked right at him, and I was feeling that now that I was finally having a chance to talk to him about these things, and not have it be a rough or painful discussion, then we were going to be doing a whole lot better.
"Well, I was hearing about something with the first person that ever went missing at this town. Something related to the mines, and that somebodys dead body was found near them. She had been murdered." I said, hoping that I would not bother T.K. too much with what I had just said.
"I never knew anything about that. What part of it were you wanting to talk about though?" He asked, feeling that this was not quite the thing that I was going to be asking about. After he had asked me this, I was sighing, and I was feeling that he was going to be just a bit confused and shocked why I was even trying to get to learn from him here.
"I was wanting to know why the hell she had been found near the mines. I was wanting to know if there was perhaps something going on over there, and that maybe there was something that would explain why she was at the forest in the first place. I mean, if she had went missing there, you would have thought that sooner or later, she would have been found alive or at least dead a whole lot sooner." I said, and then I was shaking my head, unsure of what to say.
"I mean, the man who told me about it said that she had been found a couple of years after she had gone missing. That seems to be a rather long ass time." I said, feeling like there was no reason to be going around, and mincing what it was like.
"Damn. I wonder if she was the only one that was found at least." T.K. said, and then I was seeing that for once, he was truly letting this whole thing settle in, as if he was feeling like reality was kicking in once again. I was feeling bad for the guy, but at the same time, I was feeling that he should have known what he was getting himself into.
"I have no idea. What the officer also told me was something that I thonk would be rather important to know. The fact that after her body had been found, it had gone missing again just a couple of days later, and the grinding noise had gone off for the first time." I said, and then I was looking right at T.K., who was clearly looking like he was a bit unsure of what to be telling me here. I was seeing that he was really letting it all get to him.
"Shit. This just keeps getting worse the more and more that I talk about it." He said, and I was seeing him let the whole thing really settle in. I was seeing that he was no longer looking excited, or at least interested in this anymore. He was looking like there was a full set of terror in his eyes. I did not want to be making him feel this way. But I was feeling that at least he was no longer taking it lightly.
"Don't worry too much about it. That is all in the past now. But I just need to know what the connection to all of the mines were. That is the main thing that is getting to me right now." I said, feeling that as long as I figured that out, everything would be fine.
With that, before he was able to go on and say anything, I was already walking off. Once I was away from there, I was taking a long and deep breath. I was tired of everything going on around me. I wanted this whole situation to just make a bit more sense.
I was also starting to regret this whole decision more and more by the day. The decision to go on and do this investigation. It was honestly starting to just get to me much more than I was wanting to admit. But the thing was that in a way, I was almost finding myself just not even giving that much of a shit anymore.
One thing was coming to my mind was the uncertainty of what was happening to all of the customers. You know, just trying to see if they were going to be able to handle everything alright. But I guess that maybe I was just taking this whole thing too seriously. Maybe I just needed to understand that I needed to fucking relax. You know, that I just needed to understand that perhaps I was needing to have a good day, away from what everybody was telling me.
I was having certain customers come to my mind over and over again, thinking about what their issues were. I had some issues with knowing why they were even doing the things that they had been doing. I was feeling that they were just probably trying to find a real donor. Somebody who would take care of their needs.
In a way, I was not going to lie, and I was going to be real about the fact that a lot of time, gay people were kind of grossing me out, and that they were always making me feel a bit strange. But at the same time, those two women were actually kind of making me feel a bit differently. I was feeling like maybe there was something to them this time.
I really had no idea what to be thinking. All that I had known was that whatever was going on, and whatever their goal was, that they would have had at least some chance on meeting them all. That was the only thing in my mind, and honestly the only thing I truly cared over.
I was shaking my head, and I was feeling that maybe I needed to contact Ocho once again. Maybe he did not know about that first case. I was wondering if he would have been able to appreciate that hint. It would have at least made it feel like we were going to be getting something else going on. Something that could give us a real destination.
After I figured this out, I was starting to get in my car, feeling that driving to his place, for a real in person discussion, was going to be much better than just trying to get ahold of him on phone, when it was going to have no chance of working out at all. I was feeling it would be a waste of time.
Eventually, once I was getting to his place, I was taking a deep breath, and I was totally just unsure of what the hell I was even going to be doing once this was over with. I was feeling that despite all of the things going on with the stories in my head, and everything going on, I was finding myself actully wanting to know more.
I knocked on the door, and rubbed my hair for a few seconds, acting like it was all fine, and like nothing was going on, and I was shaking my head. I was wanting to just get to hang out with him. I was just wanting things to be normal once more, like nothing even mattered.
When his mother answered the door, at first I was seeing that she was looking like she was about to murder somebody if she had to tell them one more time that Ocho was not in the area. But once she was seeing me, she nodded for a bit, and looked a bit less annoyed then.
"Hey Matt, how have you been?" She asked, and then I was sighing in relief, knowing that at least we were in a good mood. I was feeling that the moment we were no longer on at least decent terms, was going to be the time where I would be wondering if I truly fucked up in some royal as fucking shit fashion.
"Doing alright. Just trying to be making things work out well. I was wanting to get to know how your son had been doing." I said, and I was feeling that this was the strangest thing ever. The idea that we were talking about Ocho like this. I was just feeling that I was not really ready for this at all. I was feeling like I needed to plan ahead now.
"He is doing alright. You know, just trying to be taking care of everythng going on. He is always a really fucking busy man. You know, despite my worries about him, and he would roll his eyes when I tell him this, but I am actually proud of him." She said, and I was feeling that while this conversation was great, I needed to know more about what was going on now.
"That is great news. I was always a bit worried that he might have bitten off more than he can chew, so to speak. So to hear that he is doing alright, it is making me feel a bit different." After I had said that to her, I was seeing that she had looked like she was wanting to be saying more.
"Thanks. I just worry that he might be getting off something that is a bit more than he can chew. You know, I just worry about the fact that one day, he might be kind or trying to go all Iron Man on everybody." She said, and then I was looking confused at that analogy, but I was shrugging.
"Well, it seems that everything will be fine for the time being. Honestly, I feel like everything that we are doing right now is just sort of a set up for everything that we are wanting to do with the summer. Ocho wants to be the hero of the day, and while it is absolutely crazy what he is doing, I do think that I sort of respect what he is getting into." I said, and then I was shrugging, unsure of what the hell I would say now.
"I guess that there is a small chance that you could be right. But I do not want my son to be the first male in several years to go missing, because he is hardly able to keep it in himself." After she had said that to me, I was nodding along, and I was feeling like I might have understood what was going on here.
But despite everything else going on, I was feeling that once I would get to see her again, then the entire scope of this was going to be much better. "Hey, just tell him I said hello when he gets home." I told her, and I was feeling that whatever I just said was stupid, and that it was not going to be making any fucking sense. But at the same time, I was finding myself not even caring at all anymore.
"I will. Thank you for stoping by. I always did appreciate the fact that you made him see that there are friends out there for him." She said, and then I nodded, feeling that it made perfect sense to be doing this. I was feeling that there was no reason to be making him not have this feeling. This certainty in his life.
After I had nodded at this, I went in my car, and then I was shaking my head, and I was feeling that whatever happened tonight, I needed to just fucking be careful, and I needed to be calm, and I needed to just never do anything too dangerous. If that was even possible to be doing at the moment. But whatever, I guess there was nothing else to say.
Scene 11: Night 4
I was shaking my head as I was in the vehicle, and I was wondering what the hell I was going to be getting myself into. When I was going to pick up on these rides once again, and when I was going to start to get to know these people, I was wondering what I would do to make it seem like I was not having a clear agenda that I was having in my mind.
When I got my first order of the night, I was slowly feeling like I knew the name of the person that I was going to be driving. But I did not say anything. In fact, I was hoping deep down inside that I might have been wrong with my assumptions.
I eventually parked the car, and I was just hoping that whatever she was going to be doing, it would not be something that was going to be leaving a pit in my stomach. She got into the car, and as soon as she was inside, I knew that she was clearly upset about something. Let me tell you, it was impossible not to see it.
"Hey..." I said, feeling like the least that I could do at the time being was just try and be polite with her. I was feeling that everything else sort of did not really fucking matter anymore. She looked up at me, and started to speak to me, and the longer I listened, the less sure I was feeling about everything.
"I got a strange situation that I am in." She said, and I looked at her, trying to decide what I was going to be saying to that. "It's about the family that I am currrently baby sitting for." After she had said that to me, I was calming down, feeling a bit more at ease.
"What is it?" I asked, feeling that I needed to see if I could at least somewhat appeal to her senses. "Let me see what I can do to help you out."
"Don't bother. It's nothing like that. It's somethingI will not be able to fix. It is related to the kids father. I am in love with him. Or at least I think I am." She told me, and as soon as she had said that, I was unsure of what to be saying, and I was gripping the wheel tightly. Something about this all just seemed so fucking wrong.
"How do you know what it is?" I asked, and then she was looking at me, and I was seeing her looking like she had just wanted to hurt herself for even bringing up this whole thing to begin with, and I was feeling like I just needed to try and make it all better somehow.
"I just feel different from everybody else when I see him. I see him, and just everything makes me happy. I've dated before. Always had a couple of guys at my ready... But never like this." She said, and then she winked at me, and I was sighing, knowing what she was meaning. But in all honesty, I knew that she was telling the truth this time. I just felt it.
"I left him a letter. I know that he will not accept my feelings. I know that he will hardly read it probably. But I just felt like I needed to say it. You know, to make it clear that these feelings do exist. That they are not something that I am just making up, or imagining." She said, and then I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders when I heard this.
"Do you think that you will have a chance?" I asked, feeling like the least that I could do was be there for her in these couple of minutes, add try to see if there was a way that I would be able to make her feel differently now. But she was looking at me, and she looked like I was just out of it.
"Yeah, maybe. He loves his wife. But I feel that maybe somewhere deep down inside, there is something. I know that it won't happen though." She said, and then I was feeling like maybe this was in a way what was to be expected. I mean, she had been going around, always with some boy toy, as she admitted. But then the one time she was the one to fall for a man, it was her turn to feel this way.
"Well, I do wish you the best of luck I am sure that everything will resolve one way or another soon enough." I said, and then I was feeling like this was the best way that I could go at this. I was seeing her looking at me, and I was seeing that she was not buying a fucking word of that. As if she was feeling that I was just making her feel this way to make it slightly less bad.
"Thanks. I never thought that I would be having somebody wish me luck on this. I just hope that even if he says no, even if he has no interest, that he would at least respond. It would at least be a answer." She said, and then after that, she shook her head, and was leaving it at this.
Once she was out of the car, before she left, she looked right at me. "Thanks for talking to me again. It feels so much better. Knowing that somebody believes in me." She said, and then once she was gone I was feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulder.
She was then gone, just like that, and I was wanting to see her again one day. I was hoping I would see her again one day. She made me smile when she was talking about this. When I looked down, I was seeing the lesbian couple on the queue next.
When I parked at where they had their meeting that time, I was seeing the two of them both looking like they were a little bit let down. As if they had expected things to go better this time, but it did not. As I was seeing the younger one looking at me, I was seeing her looking like she was a bit less feeling sad than her older counterpart.
"Hey, how have you been?" She asked me, and then I was shrugging, much more interested in their story, and wanting to know more. I was feeling like I needed to know more. It was the thing I was more interested in then ever.
"We saw another guy tonight. Phil I believe his name was. Can't remember." She said, and then shrugged at this, as if thinking that it did not really matter all that much to begin with.
"How did it go?" I asked, more interested in this than any other story that I had seen so far with these rides. It felt like there was an actual plot, so to speak, moving these two forward. "Was he better than the first one?"
"Yes and no." Her older counterpart said. "On one hand, he was much better looking. And a lot less of a know it all. But he was so much more full of his own personal pride. It was very off putting." She finished, and then I was feeling that maybe I needed to try and help here.
"But to be fair, it would almost seem worth it, because our kid would look so fucking good." The younger one said, smiling. "Our son would be kidnapped in ten seconds flat." She said, and then laughed while the older one chimed in, with her somewhat expected one.
"Or our daughter." She said, and then she was shaking her head as if unable to believe that they were having this discussion once again. Like she was wondering when her wife was going to understand that there was always more.
"Yes, or our daughter." The younger one said, but it was clear from the way that she replied, the very low key venom, that she did not even want to entertain the idea. "Anyways, sir, here is a fun question for you." She said, and then I looked at them, unsure of what to feel now.
"If you were straight, would the woman that you would date be somebody you would pick because of their looks?" She asked, and I winced at this question. I tried my best to be away from this discussion, since it was the one thing I never wanted to talk about. The dating scene with girls.
"Well, yeah. It makes things easier for both my brother and I. Looks certainly help make it much easier to go around and date. But as you both are feeling, there is something about the personality that makes it better. But looks is a start." I replied, hoping that I would be able to leave it at that, and not have to go any further.
"Well, thanks for being honest." The older one said, and then I was sighing, and felt like I needed to break the ice when we were going to be talking about guys that they could use as a donor. I was feeling that by doing this, this would be my true way of helping them out here.
"Don't even waste your time trying to find the perfect guy. They literally do not exist. Nobody who you are going to be looking at is perfect. Hell, maybe none of them are even good. And the longer you keep up this act of looking around, the harder and harder the fall will be." I said, feeling that by being totally real, and one hundred percent not fucking around, they might take what I say a bit more seriously.
"There has to be somebody out there." The younger one tried to be sounding a bit more sure of this. I was feeling a bit bad for telling them this. For being upfron and honest about it all. But the fact of the matter was that they were going to just only make it worse.
"You know, I just wish that this whole thing was going to be a whole lot easier. I just wish that we could find a choice that we can both agree on, and both like, and then we can just move on with our life." After the older one had said that to her lover, I was feeling like I was needing to try and find something to say, to make it feel a bit better. I was feeling that they would really have fucking needed it.
"Let me know how the progress goes." I said, feeling that by saying this, and by making it clear that I was actually wanting to know where this was going, then things were going to be a whole lot easier for both of us. I needed the truth. I needed to know that they were having a fucking chance.
"Yeah, sure. Thanks for talking to us. You're nothing like those other two." The younger one was saying, and then after she had said that to me, I was unsure of what to tell her I was wanting her to know that she was wrong about this. That she had no idea what she was talking about. But I did not want to say anything.
"It's the least that I can do." I said, and then after I was saying this, I looked at them, and I was really hoping that whatever the hell their plans were, it was going to be ending soon. That they would find the next man to be a better choice.
But despite this, I was feeling like I was getting too staggered. I was feeling like I was losing too much sight on what I was supposed to be doing. You know, trying to find the person who was supposed to be a giant and awful killer. I was feeling like I was losing almost all track at this as I was going.
Scene 12: Meeting Joe
When I was done that day, I was feeling more and more of the sense to try and help that desperate couple with their kid issues. I mean, I knew that they were probably going to be able to take care of it themselves. But seeing that they were just needing the help so fucking badly, and the fact that I was right there, willing to do it, was getting to me.
I was feeling like their questions that day were indeed a bit intrusive though, and it did kind of anger me that they were acting like that. I was feeling that if we were going to be working together, we needed to establish trust in each other. All that being said and done, I was trying to bring myself down to earth, and remember that it was not my choice. I was needing to accept the fact that they were going to be doing whatever they wanted, and that I was just needing to acceptthis.
I got out of my room when I woke up that day, and then I was thinking about everything that T.K. and I were discussing. As I was thinking longer about it all, I was seeing that T.K. was looking at me, and I was seeing that he was clearly a little bit concerned over how I was doing.
"What is going on? You look like you are just getting more and more tired by the day." He said, and then I was shrugging, not knowing what to say, except for the fact that he was not even fucking wrong with that assumption. But I did not want to make him be aware of what was going on with me at the same time.
"I just have been doing a lot of random things, and things that I probably should have never gotten myself into. But I guess that I am just a bit desperate." I said, and then I was shaking my head, feeling like there was nothing else to tell him there.
"Sometimes I have the hardest time buying a fucking word of what you are saying. I hope that you know that." He was telling me, and then I was looking at him, and I was feeling that the way he was saying that was making a point very clear to me. And I was just looking down, having no idea what I would even want to tell him there.
"Look, I am just doing what I have to. Same with you. We are both just doing what we think needs to be done." I said, and then I was shrugging, having no idea how to be going after that. Despite everything, and despite the fact that I was wanting him to just fucking stop, and leave me alone, I was feeling a bit more uncertain on what I felt with these stories. I felt like I just needed to make sure that he was going to not be doing anything too dangerous.
"Are there any people that you know who might be able to figure out what to be doing here?" T.K. asked, and I was looking at him, unsure of what I might be able to tell him, and I was feeling that what he was feeling here was going to never be changed just by simple descriptions that I could give to him.
"There are only one or two people who even remotely come to my mind. But I have no idea if these ideas will be working, so I might not even waste my time going around, and trying to look around for it. Probably would be a huge waste of time." I said, and then I was shaking my head, feeling that there was more that I could have done. But it just wasn't there.
Before I was even able to have a chance to continue, he was already leaving, and I was shaking my head. I could not have cared less, and at this point in time, I was feeling that there was no way in hell that he was going to give me a chance to explain myself, and to do whatever I was feeling would have been good. I was just going to do whatever it would take in order to make sure that I would get to learn more of that story from Sheldon.
I sighed when I remembered that story. I totally forgot about it, and I was feeling that maybe by talking to him once again, and trying to make him talk a bit better, than that would help me with some extra clues on what was happening. So as I was coming to these ideas in my head, I was nodding at this, and I was getting up, and I was getting ready to just move out here.
I got in my car, and then drove on over to the gas station. Once I was inside, I was looking around, and I was seeing that Sheldon was just doing his rounds. As I was watching him, I was then considering once again just turning around, and just leaving him all alone. Maybe by doing that, he was going to not feel totally forced into anything right now.
"Are you here to hear more?" Sheldon asked when I was about to walk away, and then when I was turning around, to look at him, I was sighing, and I was feeling that there was no real need to be trying to hide it anymore. I was sighing, and I was just thinking of what I could say.
"I was hoping that you would be willing to. But I was starting to think that maybe this whole thing just might not be a story you want to talk about. And when I think this, I just have to consider what you feel." I said, and then I was shaking my head, feeling like I was just saying stupid mundane shit in order to get him to not feel totally annoyed at the fact I was here.
"Well, I think that the fact that you are so interested in it is something that I will just refuse to understand. I mean, you never really got to witness what it was like to be going through it all the way that I did. But after all, mabe because of that, it is harder to be taking some of these things as seriously as it should." Sheldon said, and then I was looking down, having nothing else to say to this, and feeling that I was being attacked in a low key way.
"I mean, wouldn't understanding it also help make sure that something does not happen again later on down the line?" I asked, feeling a bit unsure of what the hell I was going to say. I was seeing Sheldon looking like he was just feeling totally out of it, and looked like he was not really wanting to be having to talk about this at all.
"Look, let's just drop this, for now. While I get a bearing on what I am dealing with. I never had somebody so interested in this stuff. It just seems a bit sudden, and hard for me to be fully ready for. I just wish that I was having a bit more time to prepare for what was happening." He said, and then he was shrugging, and looked like he was done with this.
"I'm sorry. I mean, I never thought that I was going to be making a problem here. In all honesty, I thought that something like this would have been something that you would have wanted to discuss. I guess that I might have made a bad mistake here though." I said, and then I was shaking my head, feeling like I just needed to try and at least pretend like this whole thing was not going to be a big deal. I was seeing Sheldon looking like he was feeling bad for me.
"I do appreciate the offer. I mean, it is nice to be seeing somebody out here, actually looking like he cares. I mean, I never thought that I was going to be seeing this in my entire life." He said, and then I was looking at him, wondering how this was the case.
"I mean, you still have your wife, and you have Cody, and maybe even your dad." I said, unaware of how fucking impossible that last bit was. But I was just trying to be making him feel better under any methods possible. As he was looking at me, I was seeing him looking like he was sincerely having no idea what I was even trying to accomplish now.
"Maybe when Cody is a bit older, I will help him understand." Sheldon said, as if feeling like he might be willing to look at things this way. Almost like he was actually feeling good about that idea. I was glad to be feeling like I might have been getting something done here after all.
"Sheldon, I understand if you do not want to tell me what is happening. I mean, that is entirely up to you. But the fact of the matter is that my brother is doing something out there, and I am scared out of my fucking mind for him. I want him to be safe, and I want him to return home every day. But that is going to be hard without some form of assurance that nothing is going to be happening. Even if you can't tell me the story, is there a hint that you might be able to give me?" I asked, and then I was looking at him, hoping he woul enligten me on this one at least.
After I said this to him, I was seeing him looking a bit unsure of what he was going to want to tell me. I was seeing that he had clearly never wanted this conversation. I was feeling that he was just sad at the fact that I was being sent to my grave or some shit. But then he was sighing, and looked like he was slowly giving up on this whole thing.
"You are really not going to be leaving this alone until I give you a answer, are you?" He asked me, and then I was smiling at him, and I was feeling that I did not even need to be saying it. He had given me the exact answer that I would have said.
"Shit, you really are just as I was when I was your age. That is not a good thing. I would never want anybody to be going down this hell hole again." Sheldon said, and then took out another cigarette, and started to smoke it, as a way to be making himself a bit more calm here.
"Is that the way you still are now?" I asked, feeling that since he mentioned that this was how he was back then, I would try and see if maybe I could get a bit more out of it. When I was saying this to him, I saw him just sighing in utter fucking annoyance, and I was seeing that there was only so much of this that he was going to be able to take.
"I really fucking hope that my son is not as stubborn as you are one day. My god, if that were to happen, I think I would be losing all my hope in humanity." After he was telling me this, I was sighing, and I was needing him to be helpng me out here. Eventually, he was shaking his head, and decided not to be saying anything else.
"If you really want to know more, I would suggest that you do some research about the science facilities. It was something I never did back then, but I don't think that I was ever going to go there, even if I did have the option. I was too focused on little shit." He said, and then I was smiling, unsure of what to be saying now.
Once I was out of the station, knowing damn well that Sheldon was wanting to talk more, and probably needed to, but was also well aware that he was not going to. I was aware that he was going to be finding something to say to turn down this entire idea. He was scared of something, and it was very clear that he had no intention of opening up.
I was angry at this whole thing, and I was shaking my head, and then I was looking at a car that was coming up. As I was seeing the car coming, I was wondering who it was goig to be. Maybe talking to him was going to be giving me something. Maybe I could actually just focus on what I was wanting, or even needing to do, if I was going to be having any small remote chance to work this out. So with that, I sighed in annoyance, and began walking over.
Once I was at the car, I was taking a deep breath, thinking that this was what happened last time, and that maybe I just needed to leave the situation alone. But right when I was getting that idea in my head, I was seeing who it was. And I was shocked to be finding him here at all.
"Hey Matt. What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, just trying to get more of a ice breaker going than to make me feel strange or wrong. I was then thinking about it, and I decided that I was going to just go along with this, and see what he would do if I offered to hang.
"So Joe, how have you been?" I asked, and then he was sighing, just not thinking much on it. I was seeing that due to the fact that he was not ready for this at all, he was just thinking of something to say to make it seem like he was prepared.
"Well, I was just dropping by here. I am planning on asking somebody out, and seeing if she might like me." Joe said, and I was seeing him looking a bit embarassed to admit this. As if he was feeling that admitting the truth was just the worst thing in the world. I was laughing at this, as if thinking that there was no reason for him to feel bad for himself.
"Dude, that's cool. I was not expecting you to do somethig like that. I thought that you were going to be too scared to ever make the leap." I said, feeling that I might as well be honest here. Joe looked like he was just not wanting to be talking about that idea at all.
"I mean, it's summer. So worst comes to worst, if I get turned down, nobody will have to know. That is probably why I am finding myself with relatively more courage than usual. You know, just the idea that it almost does not even fucking matter." Joe was saying, and I was feeling that I would just leave him there, and only talk further if he was personally wanting.
"You seem like a rather busy guy right now. Is there something bothering you?" Joe asked, and I was so tired of everybody asking me this. It was getting just annoying to hear everybody want to know if something was wrong or not. But at the same time, I was feeling that there was nothing else to lose, and that I might as well tell him.
"My brother is just going out and doing things that I think he might really regret, and I am just wanting to make sure that he stays safe." I said, feeling that there was no need to go any further than this. Joe was looking at me, and I was seeing that he was just wanting to find something to say now.
"Shit, that sounds terrible. What do you think that you would plan on doing? I mean, you say that you don't want him getting involved, but unless if you have a plan for that, this could be just impossible." Joe said, and then I was sighing, aware that this was the case, and wishing that he would not be saying this to me.
"I know that. But listen, this is my brother we are talking about right now. He is needing to have a person at his life. He needs to understand that he is going to be fine, and that he doesn't need to be doing this all on his own." I said, and then Joe was thinking about what to be saying or doing at the moment. As if he was just trying to be figuring something out here.
"Want to talk about this for a bit? You know, away from here?" Joe asked, and then I was considering turning him down, because while I was willing to be friendly with the guy, I hardly even fucking knew him, and he was doing other things anyways.
But to be honest, I was just wanting to talk to somebody here, and if he was willing to give me the light of day, and if he was willing to just talk for a while, then I guess that I did just need to be giving him a chance here.
"Fine. I feel like you will be a lot more willing to listen to me than some others. It feels like every time I try to talk to somebody here, they either don't really get it, or don't care what I am thinking at all. As if I was just wasting my time here." I said, and then Joe was shaking his head, and I was clearly seeing that he looked tired as shit. Like he was willing to give up on this right here already.
Eventually, we were sitting down somewhere, and I was seeing that Joe was clearly looking like he was thinking of something to say here. Like he was just wanting to break the ice in any way possible, but was feeling that such a thing was fucking impossible. "So Matt, do you exactly know what all of his plans really are?" Joe asked, feeling like he would start somewhere at least.
"No. I really have no idea what he intends to do. I just know that he is going to be doing something that he feels might try and expose something, or bring back the cousin of his friend. Just a lot of shit that I am utterly unsure of. But he thinks that he is going to the John Wick man that can do it all." I said, and then I was shaking my head, wanting to laugh. As if it was just too good to be true.
"It's like he is unaware of what he is getting himself into. Like he just finds it to be a game. You know, by acting like there is nothing to lose by doing this. But I think that what he really just does not realize is how much shit can really go on at town if you are not careful." I said, and I think that I was just mostly projecting, since I did not know the full extent of the towns issues as well.
"Well, I think that what you need to do is just make sure that he feels like he does have somebody who is willing to listen to him. Even if you do not agree with a single fucking thing or word of what he is doing, as long as he feels like there is somebody who will listen, he will surely feel less attacked. That is the only true way to get anybody to listen." Joe said, and I was nodding, fully ware of this.
"I wish it was that easy. I mean, if it were, then I would totally love to just leave him to his own thing. You know, just let him see what he can accomplish on his own. But I feel like there is so much more to it than this." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I was thinking that maybe Joe would understood it better if I had a brother.
"That being said, I mean, I really do see why he is trying to help out. I mean, there is a small part of him that just has it in his nature to do so. I just think that the least that he can do is see what everybody else would say. If he would fucking just listen, then that is all that I really need." I smiled, as if thinking about myself there.
"I think we both know that this is probably not going to fucking happen. I think we both know that he will just be doing whatever he wants." Joe was saying, and then he considered what else to be saying. "Do you think that this is something that is starting to just bother you more than you think? Or was this always getting to you?" Joe asked, as if trying to expand the discussion a bit better.
"It always has bothered me. But that is mainly because it all only really started recently. I never really undertood or knew that he was doing this until then. At first, I thought he was just doing as a peace keeping of his friend. You know, something to make Tobias feel a bit better." I said, and then I shrugged, thinking that maybe that was a fucking mess up of an idea to have.
"Shit, that one." Joe said, as if thinking about it for a second, and was just trying to find a way to get to that a bit better. "If I had known that he was focused on that, then I think that things would have been a whole lot different in this discussion." Joe said, and then he shook his head, feeling a bit just out of the loop there.
"Do you have something that you would be able to tell me?" I asked, feeling like I just needed him to fucking just be real with me. I was not going to be letting this slide after that comment. He was looking right at me, and I was seeing that he clearly was looking like he must have made a mistake when he had said that.
"I mean, I have no idea what different it would make honestly. I just think that whatever is going on here, with that case in general, it might be best to be taking it a whole lot more seriously. I just understand that things really could be going bad if he is does not take it more carefully." He said, and then I was looking right at him, and I knew that I needed him to tell me then.
"Did something happen to Andrea that was worse than usual?" I kept persisting, feeling that I as not allowed to be letting this go until he was open with me. Joe was looking like he had regretted bringing this up in the first place. As if he was feeling like he had made a huge mistake.
"I heard a lot of shit. That is really the only good way that I can describe it. Shit is going on with that whole thing, and I am not exactly sure what it is, or why it is happeing. But it is fucking happening, and I think we just need to be more open minded to this than usual." Joe said, and then he was looking like that was all there was going to be to the discussion. I was feeling totally lost and out of it when I was hearing this.
Scene 13: Night 5
In all honesty, there was a part of me that was finding a total and utter lack of interest of going forward with doing this whole driving thing any longer. I was feeling like I was just getting tired, and while I did enjoy the interactions with people, and while I really did enjoy getting to learn more about them, I was feeling like this was just something that I was not going to continue any longer.
I was feeling that I needed to take the whole thing more seriously about getting into this to find out if there were things going on in town. That was the whole reason I started to get into this whole fucking disaster to begin with. It was just annoying the shit out of me that I was having to do this at all.
I mean, the police had a job that they were supposed to a do. A job they were sworn to do. And yet they fail to do it for no real good reason. They just fail to do it because it probably would be taking a whole fucking lot of out of them to be doing this to begin with.
Eventually, I was just telling myself that getting angry over them being lazy, and not doing their shit, was just something that was going to be sending me down a wave of insanity. I was feeling that there was nothing that I was going to accomplish by feeling and thinking of what I was going to do without their support. Since it was already reality.
As I was making my feelings more and more calm, and focused on what I was doing, I was smiling. I needed to focus on my side of things. I was just needing to see if these ties were real. If they were not, then I could just brush them off, and I could be able to just focus on showing T.K. why they were false. I was just trying to put it in a somewhat healtier mindset.
I got in the car, and just told myself that I was only doing this for the investigation tonight. No matter what was hapening, and no matter what I was thinking, I just needed to work on this investigation. And maybe by working on this, and nothing else, I would go back to the thing that reminded me the most of what T.K. was getting himself into.
Once I was driving around, and I was just focused on the rides that I felt would get me the most results, I was focusing on what I would have been able to tell people if they asked why I was doing this. I was wondering if I just needed to be honest, or come up with total shit to be making the whole story make some more sense.
Eventually, I was parking the car at the first house that was on my list for the night. As I was taking a moment to be thinking about what I was doing, I was getting more relaxed. I was just going to ask around. Nothing else.
As I was waiting for the ride to be coming along, that was when I was hearing a strange voice calling to me. I was turning around, and when I was seeing what it was, I was just unsure if I was wanting to scream, or just accept what was happening.
I was seeing the ghost of a young boy. Probably nine to eleven years old. He was staring right at me, as if having nothing he could have said. "The rumors of the town are true." He said, and then I was wondering what to tell him. I was wondering if he was even real.
"How do you know?" I asked, feeling that while I was doing this, I might as well at least pretend like I was going along with this. I was feeling that whatever the ghost would tell me, it was going to be better off than just totally rejecting the whole thing.
"I seen these things happen. I have witnessed things that no person should ever deal with. It is what I am forced to deal with. Memories, and events that will get lost eventually." The ghost said, and then I was feeling that if he was telling the truth, I just needed to act fast.
"What happened to Andrea? The most recent one?" I asked, feeling that if he was going to tell me more, and if he was going to tell me anything at all, I just had to see if the shit was going to get me anywhere. I just needed this for myself.
"The same as all the others. Taken to a place that she will never be seen again. It is the fate that they all must go through when they go missing." The ghost said, and I was aware that what they were saying was the truth. As plain as day.
"I feel like you might be telling me the truth. But the thing is that I have no idea to know if there is any way to reach it. I just need to know if I can reach it." I said, and I was getting much more serious. I was getting much more focused. I NEEDED the fucking answer, and I needed it right now.
"You can reach it. All you have to do is look for the entrance. Once you know where the entrance is, it will be fucking impossible to miss." After the ghost told me this, I was sighing, and I was feeling like there was something that I needed to tell her in order to make it all work. I was then feeling that the ghost was looking at me, as if needeing to find more to say.
"The entrance is found somewhere in the forest. But it had been blocked off, and destroyed. The only fucking way to go into this is if you have a key." After the ghost was saying this to me, I was feeling a bit unsure of what to be telling them. I was feeling scared out of my mind on what I was telling them.
Once the ghost was fading away a bit more, I was feeling like I just needed to have one more question to be making them feel a bit better. "Hey, do you think that you can tell me how to be getting inside of it? The giant key." I said, and then the ghost was looking at me, and gave me one final answer before they were truly gone.
"Either join the business that is involved with this, or break into where the heart of the beast is, and then force it out." After the ghost was saying this, they really were gone, and then that was when the ride had shown up. And I was feeling like I just needed to see where this was going to be heading at this rate.
I ended up seeing that the priest was there, and I was feeling like maybe I was going to have to see what the man would have told me, and make me feel at least a little bit better. "I was having some news that I was wanting to tell you." After the priest told me this, I was sighing, and I was feeling that I just needed to fucking give him a chance, and see what he was feeling.
"What were you planning on telling me?" I asked, feeling that the man was looking at me, and I was feeling that the guy was just feeling a bit lost. He clearly had nothing that he was planning on saying. I was going to ask him to help me after this, hoping to make the whole situation a bit better for him
"I was wanting to let you know that there was a small part of the story that was a lie. The story was mine. I was the one who the widower is sleeping with." He said, and then I was nodding, feeling that he did not even need to be telling me this at all. I knew that this was the case.
"I figured as much, honestly." I said, feeling that there was nothing else that I could have said to be making it all better. "I mean, the whole thing just seemed to be too personal. And besides, aren't priests actually not allowed to be telling confessions about what somebody else said?" I asked, and then I was seeing the man looking like he was having nothing else to be saying to this.
"I guess that maybe I could have thought about this a bit better." After he was saying this to me, and then I was shaking my head, and then I was then wondering what to be telling me now. Then with that, the man was talking once more again, feeling that he was needing to just get this done.
"Anyways, I was wanting to tell you something that I am really happy for. The fact that she is pregnant." He was saying, and then I was having nothing else to say here. I was finding this situation to be a bit scary. In all honesty, I was wishing that he had never told me this. I was just then calming down, and decided to just calm down.
"Damn. Do you have any plans on what to do here?" I asked, and then I was feeling that there was nothing that I could have been able to accomplish by just speaking to him. I was just taking a long and deep breath, and then I was thinking about the fact that I needed to get back to the investigation.
"Yeah I do. I plan on talking to her, and trying to see what I can do to make it work. I want to see if it might be possible to quit my job, and try to settle down with her, and make her feel like I am going to be keeping her safe." He said, and then he was leaving it all alone. "I mean, I just want to make it all work. It is all that I really want."
"Good luck on this. I mean, this whole thing is just a bit strange. I never thought that you were going to admit that she was pregnant." I said, and then I was shrugging, and then left it at this. Feeling that there was nothing else that I could have done here.
"Yeah, I never thought that she was going to be like this. I just wish that I could have been able to help her out. The whole thing just seems really hard on what my choice is going to be. I was wanting to help the kid. But I also believe in god, and I want to be helping him out." The priest was telling me, and then I was parking the car on the front of where her destination was.
"Well, I hope that maybe you can make up your mind soon. That everything will be fine." I said, and then after I was telling the priest everything that I had felt, he looked to be totally unsure of what the heck was going on. Then with that, he was walking out of the priest, and had nothing else to be telling me here.
"Thanks. It does make me better to be talking to you." After he was telling me this, he left the car, and then I was feeling that I needed to just continue the investigation. I was feeling that the investigation was just losing its sight. I screamed, and pounded the wheels with my fist. I was having nothing else to do, and I was pissed at everything that was going on. I was just wishing to get this whole thing over with.
Once I recalled everything I heard about the entrance, and it being in the forest, in a way, as crazy as it was sounding, I was feeling that I would just abandon everythng that I was doing right now, and just go around in the forest. Or at the very least drive around near the area, and take a "break" and look around.
In all honesty, I was just desperate for the answers. I needed everything to be done, and I was going to just find out what was going on. I was wanting to know if everything that T.K. had done was worth it or not. I needed to walk away, with the knowledge that he was either getting himself into a real answer, or just getting himself in danger.
I eventually drove by the entrance to the giant Lazarus Coporation building. I had no idea why I was doing it. Maybe I was feeling that going by there, and just walking around, and forcing those men inside to give me clues, would have been something that would make me feel like I was sort of getting some higher ground or whatever.
Once I was looking in front of the door for a bit, I was just thinking that I would walk around for a bit, and see if it was possible to make a deal. Once I was feeling that making a deal was going to be the only way to get the answers that I was needing, I was wondering to myself if perhaps I was the one who was getting himself too deeply into this.
I knew that what T.K. was doing with his friends was at least relatively harmless for now at least. You know, he was just trying to play hero. There was nothing wrong with playing hero. I wanted to say that there was. I wanted to believe that there was. But I knew that deep down inside, he was just doing something totally normal.
As I was looking inside, I was seeing a couple of workers talking with each other, and they were both looking like they were rather busy. But the second that I was inside the store, I was seeing both of them looking very serious. As if they were scared that their mother had seen them steal something out of a cookie jar. As I was seeing this, I was shaking my head, and felt that I needed to at least pretend that I had no idea what was happening.
But then I was seeing one of them motion me to come on over. As I was seeing this, I was shocked to be seeing that. I was telling myself that maybe they were going to be telling me that it was rude for me to be coming along like this, and not to be doing such a thing. Not that I was in the mood for this.
Once I was there though, the man looked tired, and then I was feeling that whatever I was feeling the need to say, and whatever I felt like I could have said, I just needed to be getting right to the point. "Where you here to discuss something with us?" After he asked me this, I was feeling like I just walked into a murder scene.
"I was wanting to know about a secret entrance in the forest. I was hearing about it. And I figured that since many people in this business are smart and know everything that they are doing, that maybe you guys can help me figure it out." I said, and then I was seeing both men looking at each other, scared out of their minds on what I was saying, as if I was just talking about them getting arrested.
"I have no intention on exposing anything. I just feel like I need to know." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I was feeling that the idea of me exposing anything, and trying to be the fucking hero of the story, was going to be a giant fucking ruse. It was going to be terrible, and I was not wanting to deal with this.
"Our bosses have told us to never go around and talking about what we can find in there. You can try if you want." The man said, and I was seeing him taking out a cigarette. As he was doing this, he looked right at me, and I was seeing that he was kind of looking a bit dazed. And I was aware right then and there that I was getting somewhere.
"So are you saying that there is indeed something going on?" I asked, feeling that I just needed to push forward at this. The other man was coming up to me, and the moment that I had seen him, I was starting to realize that I might have been in over my head. I was calming down, since I wanted to be holding my ground for a bit.
"Listen, any rumors you heard about these missing girls if just something people say because they are scared. Do you really think that there is somebody that is going around, and doing this?" He asked, and then I was stopping to think about this. I was actually telling myself to really think, and think as smart as possible.
"No way that one single person can do this all. That person would be way too old now, and there are way too many that were gone." I said, and then I was still not feeling fully in love with this answer. I was feeling that I could have gotten more if I had pushed harder. I needed to push more, if I was to make this work.
"You are correct. There is not a single person who could have done this all. It was just a bunch of really bad cases of luck. It is horrible to admit, but there is no conspiracy. There literally can't be." He said, and then I was feeling that this was still a bit of a stretch. But I was getting there.
I was feeling that I was just making this all get too deep into my head. "Could you at least give me suggestions, on the off chance that something is true?" I asked, feeling that maybe if I was going to be doing this, I was going to have to be doing it all on my own. And for better or for worse, I was feeling that by keeping the options open, it would all be better.
"The is a pathway in the forest that you can access by following the trees path near the Welcome To Wayside sign." The man said, and I was sort of confused, but I was keeping the memories of the tree coming back, and then when I remembered it, I was nodding, and felt that I could go there. Maybe by going there, I would finally just have the answers that I was needing.
"Is there a small hint of a path or something?" I asked, feeling that while I was still having this man willing to talk to me, I was needing to just make as much of it as I fucking could. He was slowly nodding at this, and I was feeling that there was certainly a over plan that he was having telling me this now. But I was willing to just go along with it, and see what I might be finding, under any other case.
"Yes, you will find it when you look forward to your left." The man said, and then I was nodding at this, and then I smiled, and I was feeling that I might as well beat this man at his own game. I was aware that whatever this guy had felt, he was going to be angry at me. He was going to tell me that I was a monster, or that I did something wrong.
I was then leaving the area, and I was aware deep down inside that I was getting all that I could have. I was wanting to get as much info as possible. I deserved it all. I then got in the cab, and felt like whatever these men were discussing, I wanted nothing to do with it, and I was going to just get as far away as possible.
I was getting back on the road, and at this rate, anything that I was doing was just purely as a way to get the investigation further. My brother was doing one. And if he was going to tell me not to be doing something like this, then I was going to be basically telling himself to look at the mirror, and make him understand that I was not going to be letting this game be played. I was going to be making this very clear, no matter what.
Scene 15: Blinded By Obssession
Eventually, I was able to go on and talk to Ocho once again. I was feeling that by talking to him again, and by seeing what he was feeling, I would be able to just get him to open up about what was really driving him forward. I was feeling that by talking to him a while longer, I would see if this had anything to do with Andrea anymore.
I knocked on his door, and after a moment, I was seeing him looking right at me. He looked like he was just trying to find out what to be saying. "I never expected you to come by. I was thinking that maybe you were too busy or something to go out and do a whole lot." He was telling me, and then I was feeling that I just needed to get through to him, that I was wanting this discussion.
"Let's just go for a ride for a while." I said, and then Ocho was thinking about it for a second. I was seeing that he was wanting to turn me down. That he was wanting to just focus on finding Andrea. That he was just letting this fucking focus, this obsession take him over. But I did not say anything yet.
We got in the car, and we were driving along. I was feeling that the least that I could do was just break the ice a little bit. I was hoping that by doing this, and making it seem like I was not attacking him, or making him think it was personal, then I could really get through to him a bit better.
"I still have a fear about what you were telling me with the labyrinth parties. I mean, just thinking that there is something about what I thought was a relatively innocent thing, that could be tying this all togethr." I said, and then I shook myhead, not wanting to be talking about it too long.
"I wished that I had fought harder when I told Andrea not to go to that one. She was just sounding so excited to go, and she was looking like she was going to be having the time of her life. I was feeling that there was nothing wrong with it. That it was just a random event." Ocho said, and I was seeing that fire coming back in his eyes for a second.
"Did you end up going as well? I mean, there might have been something that you just didn't notice the first time." I asked, feeling that maybe by talking to him a bit better, and just keeping a open mind on what was happening, I could get him to be talking for a while longer. As he was looking right at me, I saw him looking like he was calming down once again.
"Yeah, I did go to that fucking party. I wished that I had tried harder to be looking around. At the time though, any interest I had in the whole labyrinth shit was just purely casual. There was no personal stakes in it. Nothing strategic. I just wanteed to see if it was as fun as Andrea was saying." Ocho smiled, and then that smile was turning away again.
"I just wanted to do whatever it took to make her happy. I loved that girl. Much more than I wanted to admit. I guess that was one of the reasons why Julian was intimiated by me. Because he knew that there was no realistic chance that he was going to be able to be with her." Ocho said, and I was seeing him looking slightly proud of this fact.
I was unaware that there was even a slight contest between the two guys. But I was keeping these facts to myself. I was feeling that for now, it was just best to be letting Ocho talk for a while. You know, just see if there was something he was wanting to tell me beyond what I had already known.
"Honestly, I just wanted to do whatever I could to make it easier for her. I guess that nothing I do is good enough." Ocho said, and then after he had said that, he was looking like he was coming to that acceptance a bit better. But he was shaking his head, and decided not to be saying anything else.
"Have you talked to her parents much since she went missing? I mean, they could probably always use somebody at their side to help them out." I said, and then I was seeing him actually consider this for a quick second.
"How much progress have you made on this?" I asked, feeling that by just getting right to that point, and just seeing what he had, I might be able to feel slightly different about this all. He looked at me, and I was seeing that he was clearly feeling slightly guilty. Like I had just ended up asking him a question about the meaning to life.
"Not much. I mean, I feel like every single time I learn something, either something comes up to ruin it, or something else comes up that distracts me. But I just feel like if I can find a way to piece it all together, I can finally see where Andrea had gone. I just need to look a bit harder." He said, and then I was looking at him, feeling that whatever he wanted to say was just going to have to be a really good response.
"Ocho, do you feel that this whole thing had taken too much out of you? I mean, I know you will not want me to say this, but I feel like you are getting too caught up in this whole thing. Like to a dangerous extent." I said, and then he was looking at me, as if refusing to even consider it.
I parked the car in a empty space. I just had nowhere else to go, so I figured that this would be good enough. Once I was out of the car, I was looking at Ocho, and I was just feeling like I was kind of being a asshole. But I was telling myself not to be too worried about it.
"Look, I am scared that this is just turning into more than you wanting justice. I am scared that this whole thing is just turning into one giant fucking obssession with your desires. I mean, I know that you are going to tell me not to worry about it. But that is going to be really fucking hard right now." I said, and Ocho shook his head at this statement.
"Well, nobody else fucking cares here. Nobody else wants to make sure that the one person that can be found within a reasonable about of time is located. I mean, you have a giant piece of information about the missing people. You know, the labyrinth parties I just told you about." He said, and then I was looking down, thinking that he was right. He was indeed learning more than any of us ever had been.
"Have you ever found out if Sora had gone to some? Or are you just too scared to be doing what you know everybody in this town should have been doing this whole time?" He said, and then I was really getting ticked off by the fact that he was accusing me of not doing enough to keep Sora safe.
"I am doing more than enough to make sure that Sora is safe. At least I am not puttng a fucking target on her back because of this whole gallant knight phase that you are going through. Did you ever think that by constantly doing all of this, you ended up making her in danger. Maybe you were inadvertently responsible for her going missing in the first place."
I knew from the way that he was looking at me, and the way that he was trying to keep his calm at that statment that I really fucking pissed him off. I was unsure if this was the reaction that I was going for, or just something that came out of all that I had been doing.
"Don't you ever say that about me ever again." He said, and then I was sighing in uncertanty. I was feeling that maybe he had a right to be angry at me now. But what I was not expecting was him lunging at me, and tackling me right down to the ground.
For being a skinny guy, the boy was strong. I tried to fight for a bit, and I wanted to get him off of me, and I think I got a good hit on the chest when I was fighting back, but in all honesty, the guy had beaten the shit out of me. I tried to get up, but when I was doing so, I was sure that he had broken a rib or something. "If you ever accuse me of making Andrea go missing again, I will make sure that there was more where that came from." With that, he walked off.
...
I was getting in the cab once again, and this time, I was just trying to reflect on the things that had been told to me earlier. I was feeling that maybe I did need to at least try and put it all into consideration. I was wanting T.K. to not hate me, or feel like I was a total fucking asshole. I was wanting him to understand that I was wanting to just work with him, even if it was going to be fucking brutal.
When I was getting in, I was seeing the exact destination that I had really wanted to see. I drove on over without any debate, hoping that the two women were going to be able to help me out. That they could have provided at least some form of a answer. After they told me what their story for the day was. Since I always did want to hear their progress updates.
Eventually, I parked the car right where their next pick up was, and they got in without any real hesitation. Once they had ended up seeing that it was me who was the rider, I was seeing both of them clearly looking a whole lot better. I was having a feeling that maybe they had been planning this one out. But I did not say anything, to not come off as bragging or anything of the sorts.
"It is so good to see you again. I really enjoy these conversations that we have." The older woman said, and then I was driving along, trying o be careful. I was seeing the younger one looking at me, and I was seeing her looking relatively happy, all things considering. So I figured I might as well at least ask.
"Things are turning out to be a bit better. The new guy is really productive, and has accomplished a lot in his life so far, despite only being in his earlier twenties." She was saying, and I was considering how old these girls were for the first time. I did not want to be doing that, but they kind of brought me into a corner there.
"Yeah, but don't you think that he is letting his personal ambitions and accomplishments get to him a bit too much?" Her partner asked, and then that was when I was rolling my eyes. I mean, I supported their goals, and wanted to see them doing well. But it had seemed like there was always something going on that made these women turn down a guy when he seemed fine enough.
"Sure, but if we do learn that traits are passed down from person to person, then wouldn't we want our son to be a hard worker who always gets things done." She said, and then looked at her partner for a moment before adding in a clearly annoyed part that she had no desire to add. "Or daughter. You don't need to say it."
"I never said anything." The older one said, and then after that, the younger woman was looking like she was wanting to say something, that could add extra emphasis to what she had been feeling on the whole debate with the babies gender.
"I know you didn't. But I know that you were thinking it. I want a son though. Why do you never understand." She said, and then after that, the older woman only took a second to think about it before looking right at me again, and she was probably just trying to lighten the mood a little bit. Not that I could blame her, considering everything that was going on here.
"Anyways, we still have to make a choice on who to take. I mean, I feel like we just need to accept the fact that nobody is going to have all we want, and just pick one of them." She said, and then after that, the younger woman was thinking about it a little bit, and it had seemed like the son daughter debate was over for now at least. Which was a huge relief.
"I know that you wanted to have a family before too young. And I guess that the sooner we just pick somebody, the better we will be. Who do you think would be the best choice?" The younger one said, and then I was feeling like this was the moment of truth. "I personally like the third one the best. A little annoyance is a price to pay for hard ambitions I say."
The older woman was looking at me for a second, and then nodded a bit. "Yeah, out of the three, he is probably the least bad. But I do have another option in mind." She said, and then I was only having a couple of seconds to mentally prepare for what I knew she was going to say before she really did say it.
"Sir, do you want to perhaps do it? You're always reasonable, you're decently good looking for somebody your age, and you always let us finish our thoughts. Compared to the other three, you seem like a better choice." She said, and then I looked over at them, and then I was thinking about everything else.
My relationship with Sora. My investigations. My desire to improve my family and friendship bonds. It was all feeling like everything was coming right down, and that there was nothingto fucking do about it. I was looking at them. "It's not possible. Too much on my plate." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and before the older woman could interject with why, I decided to retract with a statement I knew I preferred. "Never mind, give me a few days, I will think about it. Give me your number, and I will let you know my choice as soon as I decided."
The older woman was looking like she was able to take this slighty better than a all out no. "Alright, it's better than nothing." She said, and wrote down the number. "You have seven days. If you do not respond at all in that time frame, we'll just go with the man we met today. But I know you'll pull through." She said, and looked happier for the first time in three rides.
Once she was out of the ride, I was sighing, and I was wondering what I was going to do. I wanted to do it. But I was unsure if I was going to be done with my road to rehilbilitation. But at the same time, I was thinking that maybe contributing to that family having the kid that they wanted was going to help me down that road at the same time.
I was smiling, and I was telling myself to just take advantage of these seven days, and really just get to know what my choice was going to be before I made up my mind. As I drove along for a while, I ended up parking the car at my next destination. It seemed vaguely familiar, and when the babysitter lady came in, I was nodding.
Despite our differences, I really did want to help her. I really did want to know what her struggles were. I needed to see if I could help her. It was killing me to know that she was dealing with these things, when I was one of her classmates that could have changed it all up.
She looked up at me, and I was seeing a slightly better look on her face. I was telling myself that this was a sign that she did at least get the answer of the man reading it. "Good to see you here. I never want to talk about this to anybody else, if that is fine with you."
"Your desire about who you share this to is none of my concern." I said, being totally fucking sincere. As she was looking at me, she nodded, feeling that she would just leave it at that. Having no real reason to keep going further with the build up, when I wanted some answers.
"He did get the letter." She said, and then I was nodding at this, just pretending to be surprised. I was feeling that in all honesty, this was the best out come she would have been able to really hope for given this type of man. "And he responded before he left."
"What was he saying?" I asked, and then she nodded, glad to see that I was taking a interest in this. "I mean, was it exactly what you had been hoping for?"
"It was. Or as close to it as I can get when you have a man who is dedicated loyally to his wife. Which is another reason I love him so much. The fact that he had no moral issues. He told me that I was beautiful. It never made me feel so good to be hearing another man tell me this. That was exactly what I had needed." She said, and I nodded at this, thinking that I understood as best as I could.
...
When I went to bed that night, I was in pain. A whole lot of it. But the worst thing about this all, was that when I was being real and honest with myself, was that I knew it was my fault. I egged Ocho on for no good reason. I kept talking about how he was not helping out Andrea. I think I might have gotten away with that part. But the act of telling him that it was his fault was when I pushed it way too far.
I woke up several hours later, and I did not even know what I was feeling. Confusion, uncertainty, but most of all determination. I knew that I had pushed several people to their limit. I knew that I was taking this whole thing way too fucking far. I wanted to do the right thing. But I was doing the exact opposite the entire time.
I was going to have to find something that I could do that could help me redeem myself to at least some extent. Redeem as a friend, brother, and as a specter of the town. Something that could show everybody that I did really want to help the girls be found. I really did want them home. I was not wanting them to be missing.
I got out of my bed, and I was seeing that my father was looking at me, and he was looking father concerned. "What the fuck happened to you?" He asked, referring to just how fucking destroyed I looked. With the ribs, the fatigue, the leg and arm pain, and the bruises.
I figured that I might as well tell him the truth. "Ocho kicked the fucking shit out of me yesterday. I didn't even have a chance. Before you do anything, it wasmy fault. I accused him of never loving his girlfriend, and that he was the reason she went missing. It went from me expressing concern over spending so much time looking for her, to just that." I said, and then I looked at him, wondering what he would have said to this.
He looked at me, and I was seeing him nod. "While I do not approve of what he did exactly, I will admit that you did that to yourself. That man really cares for that girl who went missing. He's not a bad guy from what I have seen of him. I just hope that you can both apologize to each other in due time, since that needs to be worked on." He said, and then I was wondering whose side he would have taken, if he was forced to be choosing one. Although I had a idea who he would have picked.
My father was walking out of the room, and then I was feeling like it was going to not be a good time, now that I was knowing that the one person who might have supported me, along with my mother maybe, was basically telling me to get my fucking act together. As I was thinking this, I was shaking my head, and I was feeling like I just needed to start now.
I got out of the house after I rested for about twenty minutes on the couch, and I was walking to my car. I was feeling that despite it being a odd choice, and not really going to be getting me anywhere, I was feeling that I might as well try and speak to Joe again. You know, see if maybe I could just form a minor friendship with the man for a bit. Get him to see that I am trying to make it all work out between me and everybody else.
I was feeling that Ocho wanted at least another couple of days to be thinking about what we just did before he would even consider speaking to me, which I guess was fair enough. But then beyond that, I was feeling that maybe I just needed to see what Joe was up to. The one time that I was speaking to him, and the one time that I was getting him to slightly talk up, I was seeing that he was sort of buying it all. I was feeling that maybe that was going to be what I needed.
And to be fair, Joe was close enough to a clean slate that I was feeling that maybe I could get something with him before anybody else. I wanted to be making this whole thing work. I was just hoping that maybe Sora was going to support me still. She was the only other person who at the moment I felt like I had any chance at all of making things better with. Although even that was getting more and more of a uncertainty. Which I hated.
I knocked on the house door, which I only knew because of our hang out a couple of days ago. Once I did this, I was laughing at myself, and I was wondering if this was going to be worth it at all. I was shaking my head, and I was telling myself that Joe was not going to be wanting to do this.
Eventually, Joe did answer the door, and he was looking shocked to be seeing me here. I was looking down, and up at him once again. I was sighing, and I was wondering what to say. "I really messed up. I got a lot of work to do to fix it. And you're the only one who can help me." I said, being upfront about why I needed him in my life at the moment.
Scene 15: Joe's Confidant
"Matt, okay, this is strange, and I am not even going to pretend like it is not. But you clearly want to discuss something here, and I will do my best to respect your wishes. So what are you feeling like you need to discuss." Joe asked me, and then after he had said that to me, I was seeing him just trying to get this all together. I was then feeling that it would be best if I did not waste his time at all.
"I just feel like I need to talk to somebody about everything that I have been doing, and everything I have fucked myself over on. And I was feeling that maybe you might be the best chance that I have to sort of make some sense out of this all." I said, and then I was seeing him looking like he was accepting the fact that this was going to be a really long discussion.
"Okay, and why did you find me to be the best candidate to be taking care of this?" Joe asked, and I was feeling like if he was going to be like this, and just continue to ask questions over and over again, and not be helping me out, then I just needed to find a different person. One who would actually go on and listen to me.
"Well, it is because I am just ruining everything with everybody else, and I feel like I need to just give them some time, and show them on my own that I really am trying to make things right." I said, and then Joe was closing the door to his house, and then he was getting to his car door. As if he had accepted that he was not going to be getting his quick and easy answers this way.
"Alright, let's just talk about this somewhere else. I feel like neither one of us want to talk while we are standing out here in the cold." Joe said, and then I was nodding, and I got in the car as well. As we were in the car, Joe was starting up, and we were going along for a while, just trying to think of something to say.
"So tell me everything that you feel like you remember. Start from the top, and we can go from there." Joe said, as if feeling that he was going to have to pretend to be some form of a therapist or something like that. As we were driving along, I was gathering what my responses were going to be.
"Well, for starters, I was wanting to talk about how I might have ruined my friendship with somebody because I could not keep my mouth shut, and I could not think of anything logical to say, so I ended up letting emotions get in the way." I said, shaking my head, and wondering if apologizing to Ocho and redeeming myself in his eyes was even possible.
"What did you exactly do?" Joe asked, and then I was looking right at him, and I was shaking my head. I really did not want to be having this discussion. I was feeling though that for some reason, I just needed to get right to the point though. I was thinking that there was a slight chance that Joe would take my side if he was aware of how things really were.
"I went on and told him that the reason why Ocho's girlfriend might have gone missing in the first place was because he was so focused on this stupid fucking legend of people going missing. I told him that it might as well have been his fault. I was not really thinking about it though. I just told him what I was feeling, and now I am going on and regretting it." I said, and I was realizing how fucking shitty what I did really was.
"I was just feeling upset because everything that has been going on was all tied down to that investigation. So just simply telling him this was something that once I had finally done so, it just felt right. It was only after I saw his reaction, and had him beat the crap out of me, that I realized that I might have over stepped my line." As I finished, I saw Joe looking right at me, and I was clearly seeing that he was not really happy with what I did.
"Wow, I am not going to lie, that was a pretty shitty thing for you to do. But it does take a lot in a person to start to admit where he was going wrong. Which you seem to be starting to do. So I will not hold it against you too much." He was saying to me, and I was wondering if Joe was going to judge me, or if he was going to be giving me a chance.
"I know that I will never be able to give off any excuses that will be good enough to satisfy what I am doing. But at the same time, I feel like as long as I at least try, and as long as I show him that I am willing to admit what I have been doing, then perhaps we could repair this slow fracture that is being grown." I was just not really saying anything, since I had no real desire to be saying anything at all, as I was feeling that I had made my point now.
"Matt, how do you feel like you are going to be going forward with this? I mean, you do express desire to change the situation, but what do you feel like you will be doing to actually enact all that you say?" He asked, and then I was unsure of what I was going to be saying. I was unsure if there was anything to say. But I needed to think of a plan here.
"I think that just trying to apologize to him is going to be a good start. But beyond that, I think that I need to understand that actions so in fact speak louder than words." I said, and then I was shrugging, feeling like what I was saying was making a whole lot of sense. "I think that I really need to not just apologize to him, but really show him that I am listening to him. That I really do want to make it up to him." I was shrugging, and left it at that.
"I also have been messing things up with my brother. I almost got into a fight with him too. I restrained myself. I told myself that he was not worth hurting. You know, that he deserved better. But in all honesty, there was a short moment where I was indeed considering it." I was shaking my head, feeling that what I had just said was fucking disgusting, and I needed to be considering what I was feeling.
"Well, you have a long way to go. But I guess that I do need to sort of understand what you are doing, and why you are exactly feeling this way. I feel like maybe giving you a chance is the least that I can do right now." Joe said, and then I was nodding, and I was thinking that if he was going to give me a chance, I just needed to fucking take advantage of it as much as possible.
"I am trying to understand if the rumors are true. You know, if these ideas that there is somebody or something responsible for all the missing girls is true. And if it is, then I want to try and understand the why of it. I am just trying to break it down as much as possible, and see what I can be able to get out of it all." I sighed, thinking of how fucking unreal this all was.
"So you are basically doing the exact same thing that these people are concerning you over? I mean, I think that you need to understand that what you are doing is not different from everybody else. I mean, I have nothing against you trying to make sense of it all. But I think that you need to just admit to it." Joe was saying, and then I was slowly nodding. I did not want to be going down this road though. I did not want to be admitting that I was a fucking hypocrite.
"I guess that I really am doing the exact same thing. I think that it is all going to be a horrible mistake what they are doing though. And I don't know why, but I feel like there is just a part of me that is going to do a better job at this than they have been." I said, and I was not even caring what Joe was going to be saying to this. I knew that he was going to be telling me to get off of my high horse with that shit.
"Well, if you want to really find something out here, and you feel like you can, the I think that I do need to gve you a chance..." Joe said, considering all of what he was saying here. And then with that, he was ready to be picking up here. "So what do you exactly know about this?"
I was thinking that now that Joe seemed to be giving me a chance to talk now, and that we were going to be getting somewhere with this, I was feeling like I just needed to be taking as much advantage of this as I possible could. "Well, I was told by Ocho that all the girls who went missing were all related to these labyrinth parties that happened. They all went to at least one of them. And then beyond that, something I did learn myself, was that there is indeed some place in the forest where at least some of these people went. Although where in the forest I do not know."
"Well, if that is the case, then that means that the forest, which is growing smaller with each passing year here, is ging to be giving us more of a concrete answer. Because if there is something that is keeping these people, that is probably going to be the one part of the forest that will not be torn down. You know, to add more cover." Joe was saying, and he was smiling, feeling like this was going to finally get us to be getting the ball rolling here.
"That makes a lot of sense actually. Good thinking there. I guess that we got to look around, and see if there are any places in there that do look a bit suspicious." I said, and then I was thinking about what else to be doing here. "So with that, once I spend some time there, I can go on and talk to Tobias or Rachel. You know, Andrea's cousins."
After I told Joe this, I was seeing him looking confused as to why that was going to be a part of my plan. I figured that I would give him a chance to understand. "The reason is that I want to understand which labyrinth party Andrea went to. And I have a feeling that they will know the answer. At least one of them."
Once I was done, I was seeing Joe nod along, and then he was then looking like he was going to be seeing what else we might be able to gather up. "Seems like a solid idea now that you mention it. So Matt, what are you going to be doing once you talk with them? I mean, once you get to have them open up to us, then you got to earn their trust." Joe said, and then I was feeling that the longer and longer we were talking, the more that a small bond with the guy was growing.
With that, Joe parked the car near a random entrance of the forest. "I can't believe that I am doing this right now. I never wanted to be doing this in my entire life. But if it will make it so that you are less antsy and getting in the way of what people are doing with their own time, then I will try my best to support you here." Joe was saying, and then I was seeing him looking like he was going to just only stay at the side lines. Maybe that was for the best here.
"What do you think you have grown to known about the forest, and everything in it?" I asked, feeling like I needed to give him a chance to speak, and that maybe he did know a whole lot more about this than anybody else that I had known. As Joe was hearing me ask this, he was shrugging, and had no idea what to be saying at that idea.
"I don't know all that much. All that I know is that everybody goes around and claims that they see random items in the forest. Things that looked like they had belonged to somebody else, and that they were all having numbers on them." After Joe told me this, I was nodding, and I was feeling that by having him tell me this, I was going to be able to come up with a real clue here.
"Which ones have you heard of?" I asked, feeling that if this was true, then I might as well entertain the idea a bit. Surely Joe must have heard of some of these, even if he was going to be trying to deny that entire idea. I was seeing him looking like he had not believed that he had just said all of this righ now.
"I barely know of any of them, to be honest with you. I just know of the ones that are relatively close to all of the entrances. I even heard that there are a few that are outside of town. But I do no know much about anything here." He said, and then we were walking along for a while. It was about two or three minutes of walking before he could tell me anything.
"I did see one of them though. Nothing that I was ever paying attention to. I just thought nothing of it, honestly." Joe said, and then eventually, he was showing me a small hole that was on the ground, and then he digged his arm around for a bit. "If you try and look around for a while longer, you will be able to find something. Unless if it had been taken away already." Joe said, leaving it alone after this, not wanting to do anything else there.
Eventually, I ended up pulling a small doll. On the doll was the number "11" on it. And then when I looked at Joe, I was seeing him shrugging for a bit. "Maybe related to her age, or which order she was when she went missing. Don't know. But it is there."
Scene 16: Hotel At Nipton Avenue
Joe and I were in my room, and I was finding it relatively odd that Joe was willing to go on and talk with me for a while, feeling that whatever we were going to be talking about, we just needed to make some progress on what the story was going to be. "So Joe, I found these tapes. Well, Tai found them. But you probably never knew him. I decided that I might as well watch them when they are available." I said and then I was looking right at Joe, I was just needing to get him to actually understand where I was coming from.
"What do you think you are even going to be getting out of this in the first place?" Joe asked and then I was shaking my head, feeling that there was no real good answer. The only thing that I was able to get out of this, was that I was just thinking that the options were going to be at least on the table for now.
"I mean, I think that if people who have their missing cases proven by what they are able to find in here, then I think that this whole thing is going to finally come loose." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and then I ended up pulling out a random fucking tape that was in the bag.
"It is called "The Hotel on Nipton Avenue, Rough Version, Not All There." I said, and then I was looking right at Joe, and Joe was looking a bit shocked at what he was hearing. Almost as if he was putting some information together, but not wanting to go on and say it. I was feeling that I just needed to fucking hear it, no matter what it was.
"I think that this is the place that had a relatively recent controversy, if I am correct. Although I have no idea what exactly went on in there. So I guess that maybe if we watch this, we might get a hint of a answer." Joe said and I was not really wanting to know the truth at all. I was kind of feeling like this was not what we were in here for.
"If you think that you might be able to get something out of it, then I guess that we might as well just see what we can find out here." I said, and then I was finding the whole idea to be relatively pointless. So with that, I was just seeing Joe looking kind of excited. I was seeing that there was just some answers that he was dying for.
I ended up putting the tape in the player, and I was not really wanting to be doing this. To be honest, I was finding it all totally fucking pointless. But once I put it in, I was sitting down, and I was looking at Joe, wondering what else we were going to do out of it. And as we were watching, I was kind of surprised at the story that was coming out of it.
...
It started with a man sitting down at a bar, and he was smoking a cigarette. He was looking a bit tired, and he was staring at the woman dancing. He was smiling, really fucking happy at what he was witnessing. He put his necklace down on the table, and stared at the six caps.
Six blue starred bottle caps. A good luck charm that he had been building up over the years. And he had just added his sixth one about three or four days prior. And then as he was thinking this, that was when a woman was sitting down next to him, and stared right at him.
"Hey Tomas. I was wanting to get your help on something really important." She was saying, and then Tomas was looking at her, and then snubbed the cigarette off, and stared right at her. "I was wanting to see if you might be able to find somebody for me."
"Who are you wanting me to find, and do you have a price that will make it worth my time?" Tomas asked, feeling like he was not going to be no longer wasting his time on this. Then with that, the girl was happy that she was at least getting his attention, and felt that she would just get right to it.
"My name is Jaclyn. I need you to find Richard Watterson for me. He is somebody who I have been friends with for a while, and he has been keeping a really low profile lately. I just want to make sure that he is safe." She was saying, and then she was pulling out a bag of money, and then Tomas was looking slightly more interested at this.
"Ten thousand dollars for the total contract. Twenty five hundred for accepting the contract. And you get the other seventy five hundred for finding the man." Jaclyn was saying, and then Tomas was looking right at her, as if wondering if this idea was going to be worth it. But then he was thinking about the money.
"You have a impressive record on you. And people obviously know to trust you with their jobs." After she had told Tomas this, she was looking down at the necklace. Tomas was looking down at Jaclyn, and saw that through the pocket at the top of her shirt, due to it being a white shirt, Tomas was able to figure out there was another one in the pocket, as there was no way her left boob had a extra bump.
Smiling at this, and knowing what he was going to have to do, Tomas nodded and decided that he needed the money, and that finding somebody was not going to be the worst contract that he ever had. "Sure, I will accept." Tomas was saying, and then he was puttng his necklace on.
The first set of static was when Tomas was sitting down at a cafe, and he was taking out his first cigarette, and there was a man who was coming right to him. "What are you doing here? Do you know what you are getting into?"
"I am on a job right now. I am just trying to find out some clues on where I need to be going." Tomas said, leaving it at that, and then after he was saying that to the man, this was when the man was laughing at this, and then was walking around Tomas for a second.
"Who are you looking for?" The man asked Tomas, trying to see if Tomas was going to be breaking down here. Tomas was looking right at the man, and then he was havig no patience to be dealing with what this man was wanting to be talking about right now.
"If you do not want to be helping me right now, then I am going to be taking care of this. I am looking for Richard Watterson, and I am just needing to get him soon. Or else I will lose three quarters of the original offer here." Tomas was saying, and then he was looking right at the man, and the other man refused to be saying anything.
"Yeah, I guess that I will help you. If you want to know more about what he is up to, he heads out to Nipton Avenue every two weeks to get into a important business meeting." The man said, and then Tomas was nodding, feeling that this was probably going to be the best thathe was going to be getting out of talking to this guy. Which in all honesty, a small part of him wondered how he he even got his hopes up anyways.
"Why would he be talking to anybody there? That just seems like a strange place to be going to..." Tomas said, thinking that if he was trying hard enough, the man would just finally tell him what the fucking hell was going on in the first place.
"It is probably the best way to be giving him cover in a general situaton. Keeps his family away from what he is doing. In the end, if you know what he is doing, it would be a rather smart idea." He said, and then Tomas was walking off, taking out another cigarette, not even wanting to spend his time dealing with this in the first place.
In another shot of static, Tomas was sitting down on a chair, and he was staring at a man with a face covering. Probably to be hiding his involvement on what was going on. "Hello I was wondering if I was able to buy a gun from here. For a contract." Tomas said, feeling that it was getting kind of tiring to be telling somebody this every single time he got a new job.
"Alright. I trust that by now, you know what the rules of our trade is." The man was saying, and then Tomas was unsure of why they were even talking about this again. As the one man said, this was something that they had discussed numerous times.
Tomas was looking at all of the options for a second, and then he was looking at the prices for a bit, looking for what he was feeling would be the best bang for his buck. Once he was done, he was placing a bunch of money on the front, and then this was picking his gun that he was going to be using.
"Odd choice. But if this is the one that you really feel like is going to be for the best, then I will respect your choices." After the man said that to Tomas, they ended up pulling the gun off, and then ended up grabbing a couplf of sets of rounds, and put them down on the counter.
Tomas put down 800 dollars to the table, and then he placed the gun in the pocket, and then the bullets in the other, while keeping the other money stashed away in his wallet, and keeping the necklace on. As he was heading off, he was wondering what the luck was going to be placing upon him later on down the line.
Eventually, Tomas was sitting down on a car trunk, and was smoking a cigarette, wondering where Richard was going to be. He was also wondering when and if somebody was going to be able to actually explain what was going on. Feeling that he just needed to understand what the heck was really going on here anyways.
There was another set of static once more. Eventually, it was coming to an end when Tomas was walking inside of the Nipton hotel, and he was holding his gun. As he was putting another cigarette in his mouth, he was wondering what it was going to be like to find this man. If it was going to be super easy to be finding the man, or just the hardest mission he ever seen.
As he was looking around, he was seeing that there was a room with a couple of men standing in front of the door. He walked on over to that door, and stabbed them both in the throat, and they were both falling down to the ground, dead, and Tomas looked around to make sure that nobody saw what he had just done.
He then opened up the door, and he was seeing Richard sitting down in the hotel, and he was looking like he was having a meeting with a man, and Tomas was now bringing out his gun with the silencer. The target was standing up, and Richard was looking like he was just getting kind of scared now.
"Did Jaclyn send you to be finding me?" The man with the second gun said, as Richard was standing up, and he was walking to the corner, and then Tomas was looking at Richard for a second, feeling that there was no way in hell that any of this was going to actually be worth it.
"No, I am here to be finding your friend over there." Tomas said and then he was seeing Richard looking even more scared. But now that he was aware that Jaclyn was the one who sent Tomas down to be taking care of the situation, Richard was feeling a bit better about it.
"Are you seriously thinking that this crazy bitch even cares about what you feel?" The man asked, and then Tomas was shrugging, having no real idea on what to be saying to the matter.
"I don't care at all. You know, I was just given a job. Once it is done, I am heading on out and it is over." Tomas was saying, and then the man was thinking that he might as well try and figure it out.
"She killed one of my closest advisors in order to help you get here. She could have already done this on her own." The man said, and then Tomas was shaking his head, not even giving a shit, and just wanting to be done with this. So with that, he started the fire the gun over and over again, making the man fall on down to the ground, killing him.
There was a hint of static, and as it was playing out, there was eventually a man who was coming out of the front lobby of the hotel, and he was having a fat man behind him. He was putting a necklace he was wearing in his pocket, and he was looking up and seeing a woman standing out with a gun staring at him.
"Jaclyn, why are you here?" He asked, and then she was pointing the gun at the fat man, and then right back at Tomas. She was smiling, looking like she was just wanting to get the main show over with.
"Tomas, thank you for bringing Richard here. But now that you are here, I need you to do the second part of your job." She said, and Tomas was taking a second to think, and remembered that when she had hired him for the contract, she had told him that there was going to be a second part to this contract.
"Hand over your caps. There is a lot more to them than you are pretending like you are oblivious to?" She asked, and then Tomas shook his head. He was looking like this was just about the worst thing that she could have asked him. But then Tomas was then thinking about what to be saying.
"I have no desire or reason to be handing them to you." Tomas was saying, and then Jaclyn was laughing at this, as if feeling that Tomas was not quite understanding what it was like to be in the position that he was currently in.
"I am the one with the gun, and I am the one with the knowledge on what you are dealing with. If you were smart, I would hand the caps over to me, and you might be able to live. And then I will just take Richard, and you can move on with your life. With nothing to show your value." Jaclyn was saying, and Tomas just shook his head at this.
Tomas was thinking about the fact that the gun that he was using was gone, and he was wondering how he was going to be getting out of this. He was putting his hand in his pocket, feeling that he was probably in the smart move to be giving her this, and just be doing this.
Then with that, Jaclyn was smiling for a second. "I knew that you were going to accept my statement. I knew that you valued your life more than you care about the value and answers to Wayside. What a selfish fucking coward." She said, and then Tomas pulled something out of his pocket, and was holding it with his balled fist.
What Jaclyn did not know was that Tomas had kept a secret weapon in his pocket just in case if he needed to defend himself. With that in mind, he was releasing the fist, and it sent two poison darts right at her neck, killing Jaclyn instantly. Tomas walked over to her body, and grabbed the bottle cap from her left breat pocket, the white button down shirt now being covered with dirt and blood. "How many do you have now?" Richard asked, and Tomas put the blue star bottle cap on his necklace and replied 'Eight'. And he walked off, One for each person he killed related to this business.
Scene 17: Labyrinth Parties
I decided if I was to have any chance on redeeming myself to Ocho, I was needing to go on and look into the whole labyrinth parties. And this time, I really mean look into them. Not just do a half ass investigation for five or ten minutes, and then lose my patience, and then move on with my life. I needed to really fucking do it this time.
I was getting up, and when I was about to be leaving, I was seeing T.K., and I was seeing that he was not looking too sure of what to be saying to me. "Sorry for everything. I lost everything a bit. And in all honesty, I just feel like I am being a bit of a dick." I told him, and then after I told him this, he was shaking his head.
"I appreciate the thought. But the reality is that there is a whole lot more that you are going to have to do in order to prove it all." After he was telling me this, I was sighing, and I was aware of what he was going to say would have sounded somewhat similiar to this. But in all honesty, I just really did not care too much.
"I got a idea in my head. I will be heading right out now. I just feel like there is something that I am fucking missing." I said, and then I was feeling that whatever T.K. would tell me here, about my idea, was going to make me feel like I was a fucking asshole. That I was doing something wrong somehow.
"What are you planning on doing?" T.K. asked, putting his arms together, and then after he was done telling me this, I just needed to be finding something to do to keep him out of this. I was just mainly wanting to keep him out of this. But I was no longer going to be super open about it. Which I had learned my fucking lesson on.
"I am going to be looking into the labyrinth parties a bit. I feel like that by doing this, I can see if Sora can have a chance of being safe or not. Since she had actually gone to one of these." I said, and then I was seeing T.K. looking a bit unsure of what to be saying here. But there was nothing in his mind.
"Interesting idea. I guess that I will let you take care of this." After T.K. told me this, I was having no idea of what to be saying at all. I was seeing that T.K. was just wanting to be dropping the subject again, since he was not looking very interested in this anyways.
"Hey T.K., I was wanting to ask you something real quick." I said, and then I was looking right at him, and I was seeing that there was nothing that he was really wanting to talk to me about. "Have you ever heard of a man named Tomas?" I asked, and then T.K. was having no idea of what to even say to this idea. As if it was just kind of random.
"Not much honestly. I mean, he can probably be found somewhere if you look around for a while." After he was telling me this, I was feeling like I should have expected this. I should have tried to find something to make him feel like there were some bells that rung. But then again, if there was nothing that he remembered, then I think that I just needed to accept this.
"I just saw something about him last night. He killed somebody at the Nipton Hotel. I just want to know more of what happened to create this situation in the first place. Although I guess that it is not really all that big of a deal." I was saying, and I was having a strange feeling that with the last message, maybe he was somebody who investigated what was going on in the town at his own time.
"I guess that I can look around for a bit. Although I highly doubt that I will be finding any more." After he had said that to me, I was feeling like I just making a huge mistake by letting him know this. The moment that I was trying to be helping him out, I was making things just all over the place. I was walking out, and decided not to say anything at all.
I was thinking that whatever I could get out of working with him, and talking to him at all, I just needed to take. I mean, for fucks sake, he was a guy who was wasting his summer away on little fucking things such as this. He was trying to be doing something for others, and while he was doing this, he was refusing to be taking himself into account. Maybe I was just needing to try and be looking at what he was doing, and see what I could have done to improve myself.
I was heading on down to one place that I was feeling I could get some information from. It was going to be a rather odd place, and I knew that the person I was going to discourse with was going to probably be making me not open my mouth relating to these events. But if I was a little bit more firm, and did not let go, then I might make it work.
I eventually parked the car at where the mansion was. I was wondering what either Tobias or Rachel were going to be saying when they were seeing me here. I was wondering if either of them would have been here. You know, due to the fact that Tobias was probably hanging out with T.K., and Rachel was probably off doing her own thing.
I was staring for a few seconds, and I was wondering what to do. I was wondering if I was just going to be wasting my time by even coming here in the first place. As I was thinking more and more about it, I was feeling that this was probably going to be the truth. And when I was thinking about that, I was shaking my head, and I was just telling myself to ignore everything and head off.
When I had thought about it a while longer, I decided that there was one other person who I could try out. Somebody who was not Ocho, but close enough with him that I was feeling it would be good enough to just discuss with him, and see what he was feeling. Surely he was going to have some advice if I dug around enough.
I was then driving on my way to the only other house that I really did know of, and I was feeling slightly embarassed to not even consider this option, and I was wondering what my issue was when I was not keeping this man in question. I guess that maybe I was just not finding it really important. But I was just feeling that maybe by talking to him, I was going to see what he might have had in store for me.
Eventually, I knocked on Rob's door, and I was feeling that whatever Rob was feeling about me right now, and whatever he was feeling about the whole Rachel and Andrea thing, I was feeling that I just needed to be speaking to him as calmly as possible. I needed to be getting him to understand that I understood that these things were going to be rough no matter what. I wanted him to understand that I wanted to make things easier though.
When Rob answered for me, I was seeing him looking like he was just wanting to ask a million questions. I was seeing him looking tired and annoyed. As if he had not slept in weeks. I was wondering how true something like this would really be. "Matt, why are you here?" He asked, and then decided to go even further with what he was saying.
"Ocho told me about what happened. Are you sure that you even want to risk association with him, after everything that is going on?" He asked me, and then I was feeling that whatever Ohco said was probably the truth. After all, I was a man who had a long ass way to be going. But the matter of the fact was that I was at least able to try and make things work out.
"I am not here for that. I am honestly just not even going to be thinking about these things at all. I am just more focused on whatever is going on around me. I just want to know something that might seem to be a bit random, but it does actually make some form of actual sense given the extra context." I said, and then Rob was sighing, looking like he just wanted me to get right to the point.
"Did Andrea go to a labyrinth party recently before she went missing. And if she did, what exactly happened, and were you there to be witnessing anything in it?" I asked, and then Rob was looking more just confused about what I was saying than anything else. I was just seeing that he was steering his mind for a second.
"Ocho told me about it. I was not there. Honestly found no real interest in the subject. But Andrea was all over it. She was talking to me about something like a bunch of those guys in black standing around, not saying a word, but always looking like they were getting ready to make some busts. Usually I would just assume that these men were just guards." Rob sad, and then I was shaking my head, and I was thinking a bit about it.
"Was there always somebody else, who might have given off some vibes or whatever?" I asked, and I was feeling like I just needed to be getting deeper. I was feeling like I was not getting enough. I was already aware of these basics. It was all that anybody ever talked about. I got it, there were strange men who watched.
"Well, she did mention that there was one guy. A guy who was taking pictures everywhere. And it was clear that he was pretending to be discreet, but he was going around, and making strange stories about it all. Talking about how he was just doing it for the research and history of it." After Rob said that, I was nodding at this, thinking that strangely enough, that one might have actually worked.
"I guess that maybe he was taking them to prove that these girls and guys did show up. You know, to just get a idea on things." I said, and I was just trying to be finding the missing piece of what this guy would have even wanted anyways. All that I did know was that this man had a plan, and he went with it.
"I think that Andrea told me that the pictures were sent to the art shop that Steven Small and some other people work at. I have a feeling that maybe there are pictures of various labyrinth parties in that shop. You know, maybe not all of them. But maybe a fair deal." Rob said, giving me a new clear goal and objective on where to be heading.
I then was getting right to my car. Rob was walking along behind me, and he was trying to keep up a fair pace. I was wondering what he was going to be doing. Then he was starting to speak up once again, ready to just get the point made. "Matt, are you going to be heading there? If there is even a slight chance that the man working there has a clue on what to be doing, then I want to be heading along."
"I mean, I have no idea if anything is even going to be there. For all that I know, this is going to be a total waste of my fucking time." I said, and then I was shrugging, thinking that what I was saying was making a lot of sense here. I was not wanting Rob to be getting his hopes up, for something that would be a total downer.
"Well, it would at least be giving me something. I have known her for years. I just want to have something to be living for. Something to be giving me hope. If that party is the reason that she went missing, for whatever reason, then I just need to see what I might find in it." Rob was saying, and I was appreciating the firmness that he was having.
After he was telling me this, and I was seeing him looking like he was going to be on the verge of begging, I knew that I could not say no. I was feeling that whatever I tried to say, even if I wanted to turn him down, he was going to be finding a way to force this along anyways. So I might as well just go along with it.
"Why is it that this town has produced some of the most stubborn men to ever exist?" I asked, feeling like I might as well just joke along with it. I was feeling that whatever this man was going to be doing, I might as well just go along with it. At least he was going to be hearing my perspective soon enough.
I sat down, and I was taking a long and deep breath. Rob was going to be just excited to know if there was nothing else here. I was thnking if he had gone on and found nothing, he would have been just losing his fucking mind. Not that it had mattered though. "So Rob, if this was something you wanted to know the answer to so badly, then why did you not try and find the answer in your own way?" I asked, and I was feeling that it was a valid enough question.
"Because no matter what is going on, I do not want to be putting my life at risk. I feel that there is something that I can live for, and I feel that the answers are there. But I just have a feeling that for better or for worse, they are going to be coming up in their own way. I just need to be sitting back, and I just need to watch." Rob said, and then I was just feeling even more lost than I did before.
"But you want to be doing this, despite what you just said? You were talking about basically letting fate decide itself, and then you are going around, and just trying to be getting all the answers right now?" I asked, feeling that he was presenting me with slightly false information here.
"I know that everything that I am saying sounds like it is going in circles. Blame this damn place. Everything about it is making mo go in circles. I want to just not care less one day, and then the next day I want to burn the whole fucking place down. It is a pain in the ass to be feeling this way all the time." Rob said, and then he was sighing, and despite what he was saying not making a whole lot of sense, I knew deep down inside it was making perfect sense.
"I guess that I get it. I mean, that is sort of how I feel with my brother. Every single time that he is doing this stuff, I feel like one day I want to be there for him, and just give him a chance. Then the next day, I want to scream at him for being so fucking dumb, and going out and trying to be a hero for no fucking reason. I mean, I just try to do my best. But I guess that this is impossible." I said, and then I was shaking my head, feeling that this was the best way to say it all.
"See, I think you do indeed get it. I just wish that one of these days, everything would be fixing itself up. I just am getting so fucking sick and tired of it all. I just wish that I could just put this behind me. And I wish that I knew what I was doing going forward. I just think that I was a bit confused on what I was feeling the whole time." Rob said, and then I parked my car, and I was aware of what he was going to be saying.
"I just am unsure of what I think about when Ocho was there. I mean, I liked the guy as a person. But I will be the first to admit that he was making things a lot harder for me. Just trying to decide what I was feeling all the time. Trying to make me understand what was going on all in my mind. Even though I guess that this was impossible." Rob said, and then he was giving up. and I was wondering why everybody hated Ocho so much. Even if they were trying to be nice about it.
"He is not a bad guy. I mean, sometimes I feel a bit upset because I feel like getting to know him was the main reason why my brother feels like he can play super hero. But at the same time, I have a feeling that my brother would be doing this anyways. He was going to be the guy who was wanting to be the big savior. Like he was in Onett to begin with." I said, wishing that Onett never happened to begin with.
Scene 18: Reconciliation
I figured that with as little information that I had gotten, that I just needed to deal with what I was having. I was thinking that the reality of the matter was that I had not done nearly enough to be making any of this worth it. I was feeling that talking to Rob, and basically just having him admit to be a walking complex of inconsistent answers was not going to be nearly enough to be making me feel very satisfied.
I was feeling that from now on, I just needed to do things myself. If I was just alone, and I was not really pushing too much effort into this all, and if I was just focused on what I would be able to find out, then I would be fine. I accepted the fact that nobody wanted me around. I was accepting the fact that nobody wanted to help me, or to be giving me any form of advice. I mean, I might have been rude, but I was not stupid.
So as I was riding around that night, I was wondering what I was going to do. I was just telling myself to focus on seeing if I could extract anything from people. When I parked my car for the first round, I saw a woman wearing a white hoodie come in. When she was inside, I was clearly seeing her not looking too good. Like she was just not down to earth right now.
I started driving, and I was just feeling that whatever she would want to say, if there was anything, would have been coming up later. "Hey, do you know anything about the underground scene?" She asked, and then I was shocked at this question. At the very least, it was giving me to think about than the fucking things going on outside of my cab life.
"Not really. Just kind of give people rides. I have no spot to get into their business. In all honesty, everything in that field is just new to me." I said, and then I was feeling that whatever she was wanting to say would be coming up very soon. And I was preparing for the moment she would open up.
"I guess that when I moved here, away from my conservative parents, that I would be more free. That I would finally get to meet a group of attrative women at least. You know, being a urban area that attracts attention. But now that I am here, everybody here is either scared or in denial. And the ones that do open up with me go away." She said, and I was feeling that I just needed to let her have her emotions run.
"I mean, there was one only a year or two ago. I had only been in Wayside for ight months or so. She was in her earlier twenties, and she was full of energy. When we met, and I found out that she was the same way as me, I was feeling like we would have a chance. Even went on a couple of dates. It was starting to be perfect." She said, and then I interuppted her rant for a quick question, feeling that it was a valid enough one, even if she was not going to be in love with it.
"Did she end up going to a labyrinth party?" I asked, feeling that maybe if I asked enough, she would be willing to tell me. When she looked up at me, I was seeing that she clearly forgot that I was listening to all of these comments. She sighed, and decided to just go along with it, since I was already asking.
"Yeah, she did. I never thought of it. Although I was scared that she would cheat on me. Since from what I heard, some of those parties were the only times where there is no shame for us. I didn't go though. I had work that night. I only do night shifts, since by doing that I deal with the least amount of people who would judge me as possible." She said, and then I was nodding, and then remained silent once again, feeling that this was a good idea.
"She went back that night, and everything seemed to be fine. But then five weeks later, she was gone without a trace. As if she had never even existed. After that, I have just been in the dating pool. Sometimes a girl and I might sleep with each other out of sheer neccesity, but my needs are never fulfilled. There is always something that I am missing." She stared out the window once again. I was driving by her place, and I was feeling that I needed to at least try and find something to say to make her feel better.
"I'm sure that somebody will be there to support you if you look enough." I said, and then I was feeling like that was such a bullshit idea. I mean, I've become a bit more of a expert on this situation than I ever thought that I needed to be. And looking at her, I was feeling that it was really fucking clear that she did not buy a word of what I was saying.
"Maybe. I wish that I could feel the same way. I just wish that I had never moved here. If I stayed at my older town, at least I would have known what I needed to do. I would have known that I at least needed to pretend to be straight. I might not have been sexually drawn to the man I would be forced to marry. But at least I would be with a good person." After that, she nodded, and thanked me for the ride, and gave me a two dollar tip as she went inside, and then I was sighing, as I decided to drive off once again, to get ready for the next bit. I wished I had asked for that girls name, the one she was talking about.
I was figuring that the next time that I had a chance, I needed to just branch out, and maybe learn some details here. You know, see what I might find if I just simply did not keep looking at the same two or three things. I was starting to feel that perhaps these labyrinth parties were not the entire answer here.
Eventually, when I parked the car again, I was seeing a guy who looked like he had been having the worst sleep schedule a human being could fathomably have, getting in the car, and then he was looking right at me. As if having no idea of what to be saying. As if my mere presence was almost bothering him.
"Hey, can you never mention this ride to anybody? Pretend like it had never happened." He said, and then I was shrugging, since I had literally zero reasons to be arguing with this man over it. I mean, it was strange as hell. No doubt about it. But I was having no idea if he was dangerous as well.
I agreed, and then I was driving along. "I have been trying to find out more about the people in this town. Same as you. With the look on your face." He was saying, and then I was just pretending like I had no iea what he was talking about. Since I knew for a fucking fact that he was going to be probably telling me something that I should have never heard.
"I ended up finding a way to get into the police station, to be looking around in it." After he had said that to me, I was wondering what he hell he was telling me this for anyways. I mean, I have literally given him no reason to trust me. But I guess that maybe there was some ulterior motive.
"The reason that I am picking you is that I can tell that you are different. I can tell that you are no fan of the police, and that you are just probably wanting nothing to be doing with them." After he was saying this, I was smiling, and nodded at that. In all fairness, that was not false at all.
"Many people want me to be working with them. I feel like if you want to be trying to find somebody who will be doing things independently, then I think that you will be needing to find somebody else to be talking to." I said, feeling that by saying that, I might get out of this as fast as possible.
"But those other people only have minor pieces of the puzzle. Since they have no idea what the general thing is, you can always just tell them the bare minimum of what they would want to know, and then just avoid telling them the other things. It is not going to be that fucking hard." He said, and then I was sighing, feeling that what he was saying was going to be a whole lot harder than he was giving it credit for.
"I'll think about it. I have a fucking case to finish. When it is done, I will see what I might be able to accomplish here. How did you even get all of this information anyways?" I asked, feeling that if the information has even a small chance of being false, then I was going to have to turn this down. I was not going to be wasting my time here.
"I got it from the police station. I took it when I was feeling that I was needing to just get what I could. Nobody will ever know what I have been doing." After he had told me this, I was then feeling like this man was going to be the death of me. I was not going to be ready for this, and I was wanting him away.
"God, you are going to be getting me killed with this. I have no idea if I am willing to be doing this." I admitted, and then he ended up handing me a folder. He was looking like he was just really desperate. As if this was all that he could have possibly wished for. When I was seeing this, I was just telling myself that I was going to just read it once, and see what I could get later.
"It's up to you what you do with it. All that I am doing is just merely giving you the chance to make your mind on what you will be doing." He said, and then after he was telling me this, I was sighing, and I was feeling that I just needed to deal with this right now.
With that, I parked at the spot he requested for me, and then I was seeing him pay the fare, and then leave. He was taking out a cigarette as he was leaving, and when he was gone, I was sighing, and I was wondering how many people I was basically going to have to be making deals with. I was feeling like I was making deals with virtually everybody known to man, and in all honesty, it was feeling like it was impossible to keep on top of it all.
When he was gone, I was shaking my head, and I was placing the folder under my seat. I needed to make sure that before I went home today, I would just grab it real quick and put it in my room. Now that I had it, this was going to be better for me to be reading and using than for it to go to waste. At least with it being in my room, I would be able to just find out what I needed from there. It was honestly just scaring me what I was going to be finding it in there.
That night, I went home, and I was putting down my information, feeling unsure of what the heck to be saying. I was opening up the folder, and I was feeling that whatever I could have possibly felt about this man giving me the folder was not going to mean a damn fucking thing when it was going to be presented to me.
I was thinking that the fact that he even knew what I was doing, or who I was to begin with, was another thing that I needed to look into later. I was thinking that if he was going to be using this as an attempt to bribe me with something, or intimidate, I was not going to be falling for it. I was never going to be the fucking tool that people just wanted. I was honestly not even giving a fuck what that officer was feeling anymore. She could go and eat shit for all I cared.
I opened up the file, and I was seeing that they were talking about reports of the missing person before Andrea. I was hardly even aware of this person, and to be honest, for a while, their name was basically as far as it had gone. I was just thinking that if this was all that I was getting, was just a fucking read and sign of a person, then I had nothing to even bother with.
"Age twenty one. Friends included most of the people that she had met during college. Went bowling every weekend to celebate the end of a school week." After reading that first bit, I was mentally hoping to god that these people were smart enough to at least investigate the alley itself, and not just be brushing it all off.
"Claimed to only have dated one or two guys in her life, and never really had much interest with them. Would break off with them after a few dates." I opened up the file, and dropped the contents on the table after I decided that I just needed to see what might be worth looking into.
There were a few checks written out, and a couple of reciepts that had photos taken of them. Some going as far back as 1982. Which meant that she was seventeen years old when she was making those purchases. I had also seen that there were a bunch of lists of all of her classes, and written statements on what people she knew were saying about her. The point was that at the very least, there was some actual fucking time and effort put into these.
I was smiling when I knew that whoever did this at least tried and put some effort into it, and that it was making my time less painful to be going through this all, I was just putting these pieces in order on my table, feeling that I could make a story about it. As if it was making sense.
...
The next day, I didn't even waste my time talking with people. Not for a lack of feeling correct and right with them, but just more of the fact that I was feeling that I needed to find out what the hell was going on with the story at that hotel. Maybe by going there, I might have found something out.
I eventually parked once again, and then I got out of the car, looking around, and seeing that nobody was around. I had no idea why I was so scared of such a little thing. But I was just feeling that doing something like this was going to be a big deal, and I wanted to just simply not deal with it at all.
Once inside, I was looking around, and I was seeing that the person in the lobby was reading some random book while smoking a cigarette, and in general looking bored out of his fucking mind. I was not surprised by this, and I ended up going right to him anyways.
"Hey, I was wanting to talk about a night that happened here a while ago." I said, and then the guy was putting down the book, and staring right at me. He was still keeping his cigarette though, which I did not mind. I mean, I did not mind an occasional one here and there for fucks sake.
"What was it?" The man asked, and then I was thinking about how to word it without sounding like I was just making shit up, and sounding like I was being dumb or whatever. I was shaking my head, and I was certain that even if this was a newer guy at the company, surely he would have known what to say.
"It was about a gun fight that happened out here. I heard about it a couple of days ago, and got morbidly curious. A woman named Jaclyn got killed as a result of it." I said, and then the man was looking at me, and he was clearly looking like he was just having no idea why the hell I was even wanting to look into this at all.
"Oh that thing. People don't really like to talk about it here. You know, bad reputation. But honestly, I doubt that many people here are caring that much anymore. People are just doing whatever they can here." The guy said, and then stood up, and had a idea in his head.
"So you do know about it?" I asked, and then the guy was sighing, and looked like he was just not wanting to talk about this at all. As if he was feeling that I was going to be making the entire situation a whole lot less comfortable. "I mean, just a yes or no would be fine. I just want to see what I can find out from it all." I said, feeling like there was no point in not pushing around here.
"A little bit. There is something that was left in here. Some rough copies of the tapes were made, of the guy involved. He has not been seen in Wayside since what had happened. As if he never existed. In fact, if it were not for the tapes, and the eye witness testimonies, he might as well never have." He said, and then I was putting both my hands on the table, ready to make my case.
"Can you get to the point? The rough tapes exist. I know this. I saw one of them. What I want to know is what happened to the main one. There has to be a full tape, or a journal, or something. You know, anything to show the actual answers of what is happening. I just want the fucking answers." I said, and then I was seeing him looking like he was trying really hard not to just throw his cigarette in my face for being so rude. But then after he was calming down from that anger, he was sighing, and clearly just looked like he was defeated with life in a way.
"Yes, there is one full copy. It is the one that exists in the hotel archives." He said, and then I was smiling. I knew that I just needed to fucking provide a real reward. Something of money. Something that would make him feel like it was worth letting me have the tape. Or at least be able to see the footage of it.
"Can I be able to just watch it? I have no desire to be taking it or anything. Just one view." I said, and then I was seeing that he was slowly just not buying a single fucking word of what I was saying. I think that he knew that I was lying through my teeth when I was telling him that I had never wanted to take it
"If you provide me with a lot of money, then I will let you watch it one time." After he had said that to me, I was nodding, and I was feeling glad that I took the empty tape that I found in that bag. Well, one of the two anyways. Which was kind of a sad amount since there were probably fifty in there.
I ended up putting down the money that I had earned from the cab business down. I was seeing him looking actually just more surprised than anything to be seeing that I even had that much to begin with. I only kept about fifteen bucks in order to make sure that the boss did not get too suspicious of me. When he saw this, he shook his head and sighed.
"Okay. You made your point. I will let you watch it. But I am locking that door forever after you are done. And you are on the recordings, so everybody will know it is you if you try again." He said, and then I nodded, and he went to the room with me. Once inside, I put in the empty tape, and loaded the entire nights footage on there, that way when I was ready, I could just see Toma's entire story for my investigation.
Scene 19: Misty
I was knocking on the door to Ocho's house once again. I was feeling that I was going to be the main enemy here. The one person who Ocho had no desire to be speaking with. But I was feeling that as horrible of a ideas as it was, that I was needing to just talk to him. I was feeling that I needed to really earn his trust once again.
I was feeling that even if his mother was the one that responded to me, I was somehow going to be the villain. People were going to be finding some excuse to be making me look like the one who had ruined everything. In some extent, it was true. But at the same time, I was feeling that I just needed to own up to this, and apologize.
Eventually, Ocho answered the door, and for a clear second, it looked like he had wanted to just slam the door shut on me. Like he had wanted to just pretend like he had never known me. "You know that what you said was really fucked up, right?" He asked, and then I was sighing at this idea.
"Yeah, it probably was. But I was feeling like I just needed to say it. I was not in a real good place when I said it though." I said, and I was feeling that the honesty might win him some points. Ocho looked like he was wanting to get to the main point of the subject. As if he knew what to do now.
"I am sorry. I really should have put more thought into what I was saying. I have honestly just started to get the ideas in my head. I was thinking that I needed to sort of just stand my ground. But I guess that maybe I should have considered your own." I said, and then I was sighing, as if wanting to just drop the subject.
"I think that this all being said, we both would benefit each other greatly by just working together." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I was feeling that whatever I told him, and whatever I was going to try and say to be making the situation less awful, they were simply not going to be buying it.
"Fucking hell. Why is it that you are wording some things in a way that is very true." After Ocho said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was just trying to pretend like it was no big deal. But then with this, I was just kind of thinking about what I could accomplish with this from now on. I was then holding out my hand, and then he was shaking it. "I still am unsure about full on declaring us friends and good again. But we have a common enemy, and a common cause. So for that, I'm willing to be friendly."
"Because one of the people who helped me get adjusted to Wayside was a man who always basically gave me ideas and advice. Helped me see what is best between knowing and suspecting." I said, totally referring to Ocho, and I was hoping that he would know that. I knew that if he understood this, we would have some chance of being truly friends again.
"Thanks for the comment. Now let's just get right to work. You know, not wanting to hold anything up." After Ocho said that, he was sighing, and lookeed like he was just wishing to be getting this over with as fast as possible.
We went to his room, and Ocho was sitting down, and he was pulling out a cigarette. "I didn't know you were into that stuff." I said, and then Ocho was shrugging, as if having nothing else to be saying to the idea. As if he was kind of embarrased to be admitting it or something.
"In all honesty, I think that I was just wanting to not do it. But sometimes, I feel like maybe having one here, and one there, is not going to be the worst thing in the world." After he had told me this, I was seeing him looking like he was just feeling almost home as he had said that.
"So some of the things that I have learned is that there are people who are going to be holding a event. A annual summer thing. I only know this because Sheldon said it himself." Ocho said, and looked at me, as if feeling that he needed to see if I was going to register this, or just thinking that he was being totally fucking insane.
"Damn, how many things was this guy doing back then?" I asked, almost impressed, but not wanting to admit it. I was feeling that impressed was the very last thing that Sheldon wanted us to think or feel for him. Even if it was impossible to be feeling so.
"No idea. But I guess that when you are in the zone of trying to save somebody you love, then that is all that matters. Anyways, I feel like I might be needing to go to that. As if Andrea herself, even though you made what you thought quite clear, I have found out more of what she was doing in her own spare time." He was saying, and then I was nodding, feeling that I needed to accept that he was not letting it go.
"I found out that she not only had the photography hobby, but that she had done some school projects with it. That both Julian and Rob helpd her on some." He was shrugging, as if thinking that maybe he should have expected that. But for some reason, did not.
"For some reason, Rob is a hard cookie to open. Was Julian any easier?" I asked, feeling that maybe if I was more into the Andrea specifics, then he was going to get it in his head that I was not going to be totally making this seem hard on him. He looked at me, and then was shrugging for a second.
"Honestly, for a while, I was amazed he was talking to me at all. Since it had seemed like he always had a stick up his ass when it came to me. But it seems that when we have one thing in common, which was Andrea, then we can be able to work out decently well. We were able to put some things together." Ocho said, and then I was thinking that I needed to see if I should let him be telling me these things or not.
"What did you learn?" I asked, feeling that maybe there was something that I could extract from him. I was not thinking that Ocho was dumb or anuthing. But was aware that some times he was the man who would over look certain things that were relatively obvious. Or at least in my mind was obvious.
"The most recent thing that I learned was that she was going to a person named Misty's place. And that they would hang out for a while at a time." He said, and then I was nodding, feeling that I might as well just see if my assumptions were correct. Because I was certainly havng some.
"Do you think that she meant the person in her grade?" I asked, and while at first I was thinking it was insane Ocho never considered this, I had to remember that they were a couple of years younger than us, and that Ocho only hung out with her, Julian and Rob.
Ocho was considering telling me that I was insane, and no such person existed. But then he was remembering, and then he was nodding, as if keeping this in mind. Then with that, he was slowly nodding along, as if thinking it might be worth a check..
"I guess that maybe that is something possible. God damn, I never thought of that though." He said, and then I was nodding, and while I was considering this, I was wondering what Ocho and I were going to try and do with that idea going forward. I was then seeing him light the cigarette up, and I took one as well.
"I think we should go there. And after we meet with her, as much as I fucking hate to say it, I think maybe we do need to go on and see my brother, and see what he might be willing to tell us." I said, and then I was shaking my head, disgusted at throwing T.K. into this. I wished we never had to at all.
"I know that you hate the idea of it. And I have a feeling that if I were you, I would as well. But the truth is that as long as T.K. is in the equation, he has a piece of the puzzle we do not have. And I think that we got to just see what he might have in store for us." After Ocho was saying this, I was sighing, and I was wishing I could pretend that he was wrong. But he was not, and I knew it.
"Well, Misty first." I said, and then with that, we were getting out of the room, after we were done with our cigarettes, and then we walked around, pretending like we did not drive any suspicion on what we were doing. I was feeling that if his mother knew what we were doing, and if she was going to talk to me after the fight I had with Ocho, things would not be pretty
I got in the car, and I was feeling that I was just needing to be making things work out better. Not just from a Andrea or investigation level, but on a actual social level as well. "So, when this settles down a bit, do you want to talk to Sora for a while. You know, just get to know her. I think that maybe that might be good. Just let us all have a moment where we can just relax." I said, wondering if he was going to buy into it at all.
"Yeah, I guess that it might be worth a try. I just hope that she is willing to give me a chance. You know, since she was never really fond of me. But I guess that if she was willing to talk to me, and see what I was feeling here, then I will totally be down with it." After Ocho said that to me, I was wonering if he was just saying this to be making me feel better or not.
"I will convince her. I mean, I think that she will surely understand that there is literally no reason to be holding back here. I think that at first, she might be finding it off if I insist here. But I think she will be fine eventually. Besides, she always looks like she is willing to have things prove her wrong." I said, and I was wondering if that might make her feel better.
"Well, I appreciate you trying. But do not force it if you feel like that is not how it is needing to be." After Ocho said that to me, I was feeling that he was still not one hundred percent sure on the whole friendship again thing. And I was wishing that he would just give that shit a fucking rest right now.
"I think at this point in time, I am so desperate to be getting us on track again, and getting us to work through all of this together, that I will just fucking do what I need here." I said, and then I was thinking that since Ocho needed us to be friends, I would just totally do it.
"Before we do anything, can we just fucking stop and think for a second? I mean, we have no idea where Misty even lives in the first place. I think that we should probably be investigating that before we can fucking do anything here." I said, and then I was shaking my head, feeling like a total fucking idiot for not thinking of that earlier.
"I mean, that is a good fucking point. I never thought about that." Ocho said, and he was laughing this time around, as if thinking about how stupid he was sounding when he had said that. But then as soon as he had said that, he was looking like something else was crossing hid mind again.
"With that all being said, I think that there is a good chance we will have to go to Andrea's house. And every time I go there, I just feel like it is something that I am intruding on. You know, it makes me feel like I am fucking making a huge mistake. Like it really is all my fault." Ocho said, and then he was shaking his head, as if trying to be pretending like it was nothing like this.
"I will be there for you. I will at least try and make it feel less bad. If that means anything." I said, and I was unsure if he was going to be buying a fucking word of what I had just said. He looked at me, and I was seeing him looking like he was going to be rolling with me. That he was wanting to keep it together.
"I guess it will. But those are the people I really feel that I need to earn the approval of. I mean, without them, then I really feel that everything I am doing is a waste of my time. Like everything I had done was for nothing." After Ocho said that to me, he shook his head, and I was geting closer to their house, where I felt we could have a real discusion there.
Eventually, I was parking, and then I was feeling a bit differently than ever this time. "Holy shit, it all feels different when there is somebody at my side. I have no idea if that is a good thing or not though." I said, and then I was shrugging, and then I was feeling that with that, we were needing to just continue all that we were doing. We were getting out of the car, and I was going to be at my friends side, and we would fix this.
I sat down at the side of my car, and I was feeling tired beyond comprehension. As I was sitting down, and thinking everything out once again, that was when I was feeling like it was just all a load of crock. I was seeing Ocho sitting down next to me, and he was looking like he had not believed in any of this either.
"Damn, I feel like the longer that I have been working on this all, the more and more fucking disjointed it all got. I have no idea how this ended up the way that it did. But I still feel like I am the only one who is actually accomplishing anything." Ocho said, and then was taking a deep and unsure breath as he was saying this all.
"I mean, as much as I might not like to admit it, I do understand that there is something about what you are doing that makes it a bit different. At least you are actually having a fucking plan." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I was feeling that whatever T.K. was planning on doing was going to be making it seem like we were a bunch of fucking idiots here.
"Matt, thanks for deciding to give me another chance. I mean, I was always feeling like we were some form of a solid bond that I did not want to ruin under any circumstances." He said, and then I was seeing him laugh at this idea. As if thinking the idea was fucking stupid to even be saying.
"When I made those comments, and I was seeing your reaction, I will admit that I was rather scared that you were never going to want to be friends with me again. But I just figured that maybe I would let things settle down for a while, and see how things were. You know, just fucking do what I can to make the damage control less bad." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I decided to be leaving it at that.
"I get it. I mean, I am still ticked as hell you made the comments you did. And I will never even pretend those didn't hurt. But the reality is that if I get too hung up on it, then nothing can be accomplished here." Ocho said, and then he looked at me, and I was seeing that he had looked like he was wanting to sleep.
"I will have to continue tomorrow. That is going to be a fucking challenge. Honestly, this whole thing just makes no fucking sense to me anymore." He said, and then he was closing his eyes, and I was looking out ahead of us as well. I felt that maybe he needed to just get something to help him rest.
Eventually, I was finally feeling that it was time to be trying to make Sora know that the worst part of this small war was over. The worst part of me feeling like I was no longer going to be there for her, either in a friend or romantic sense. I will admit for a small amount of time, I was wishing that I was with myself, and just breaking it off. I hate to admit it, but I wanted to briefly break it off.
Please understand that what I was thinking at the time was horrible. I knew that it was. I should have probably been upfront with her about it as well, if that was what I was sincerely feeling. But maybe I was thinking that she was not going to be caring all that much if we had ended up leaving it off.
I ended up at her house, and then I was shaking my head. I was just telling myself to fucking do it, and be done with it. So with that, I got up, and then I walked over to her door, and then knocked on it, and then I was just telling myself that I wanted her from this point foward. I sincerely fucking wanted her.
Once she had answered it, and looked over at me, I was seeing her lookig relatively shocked to be seeing me here. "Hey Matt. How have you been doing?" She asked, looking excited to see me here. I was nodding along, having nothing else that I could have said to this.
"I was just wanting to make sure that everything was alright. I wanted to be able to talk for a bit longer. I wanted to apologize, and tell you that I will do everything I can to make sure that we can be together." I said, feeling that I just needed to be breaking the ice as much as possible.
"You already did that. Seriously. It's all fine Matt. You don't need to repeat this stuff." She said, and then she was looking a bit surprised at the way she was saying that. As if she was wondering what the hell was wrong or something. She shook her head, and then decided to remain silent.
"Sorry. I guess that I was just trying my best to be making it clear to you that I was not worried about it at all." After she had told me this, I was sighing, and had nothing else to say. I was just thinking that I needed to show my feelings in a more robust way.
With that said, I decided to grab her, and then I kissed her for several seconds. I will not lie when I tell you that being there for her, and just letting it all sink in. It felt really powerful, and like this was the only thing I really fucking needed. And when I let go, I feel like if it was possible to fall in love with a woman a second time, I did it right then and there.
I was driving down, and I was feeling that I just needed to try and find a way, a moment, to truly feel like I could fucking stop. In all honesty, I was feeling like there was nothing that I could have done to really get the break that I had needed.
What I knew that I needed to do was just park the fucking car, and get out, and think about life again. Which I did once I was getting near a random side of the street, and I was getting out of the car. Once I was out, I was sitting down, and then I was staring out into the water. A small pond that I had only seen a couple of times.
As I was looking at it for a while longer, I was sighing, and I was having no idea what to be doing. All that was crossing my mind was that offer that was made. It was coming to me once again. I needed to fucking resolve that offer, for my own sanity. I had known that if I did not find a way to put it behind me, I was going to be letting that get to me.
In all honesty, I had no idea what I was going to be doing. I was feeling that whatever the hell I would do was only going to be decided once I had made the call. I stared at the phone booth next to me for a bit. I was thinking for a few seconds, and I was just letting it kill me more and more and more.
I knew right then and there that I actually needed to just do it. So with that, I grabbed the phone, and then put in the number that I needed to call, and then I waited for several seconds. I was just waiting and waiting and waiting. Several seconds went by, and I was starting to think I typed in the wrong number.
But when the answer came, in all honesty, for a moment, I was just more happy to be seeing that she was going to be there for me at all. And then with that, I was just waiting for her to be responding. "Hey, it's Matt. You know, the guy who drove you around a few times." I said, feeling that I was now just needing to get my choice ready.
'Yeah. What were you needing to discuss?" She asked, and then I was feeling that I needed to bring back up the proposition, and I was just thinking about what was good for the investigation, or what was good for my character.
"I have thought long and hard about your proposition that you and your wife had made me." I said, and then she was silent at this. As if she had just needed to know. I needed to know as well. If I accepted, it would help me be a better person, and it would help my road to redemption. If I declined, I would be able to focus on the looking, and helping my brother. But then, at that moment, I knew what was important. "I accept. I will see you tomorrow." I said, knowing it was the right choice as I heard her thank me and I ended up hanging up.
...
Scene 20: Extinction (Third Person Brad's POV)
After the two blades clashed, Brad jumped back, as if to give himself a small chance to have a moment to consider what he was doing. Olive looked at him, as if more worried about the flowers than her own life. If her death helped protect this garden, she would do it. But she would try and save Brad and them first.
"You know that the way of what Shaun wants is not going to be the way that any man should wander." She said, and then Brad charged again, and she deflected the blow by rolling under him, and making a cut at his side chest. She looked at him, as if trying to think of what to say.
"He was the one that taught me the truth about what is wrong with Wayside." Brad said, holding his left hand in a fist motion, and then Olive was shaking her head, having no other way to be putting it.
"You will be needing much to learn." She said, and then was holding her left hand out, as if trying to create a force motion with it, and she was lowering her right hand, and the blade as well.
Brad walked up to her, and grabbed her neck. He was pushing it back. "I will not take whatever tricks you have. I understand you have the power of nature. But nature is dying as time passes." He says, and throws her on the ground.
He stood above her, and she blocked his blow with her blade, before he stomped on her feet, to hold her down. "Brad, you know that you are better than this." She said, and then with that, he swing the blade down, cutting her head off. As he was aware that the mission was done, he heard a voice.
"Brad, I understand the struggle you are feeling. I nderstand why you feel the way that you have. But the truth is that no matter where you go, and how much you do, there will always be a lihht at the end of the tunnel." She said to Brad, and he turned around, and saw that he was staring at Olive's ghost.
"How is this possible?" He asked, angry at what he had been experiencing. He had truly felt like he had witnessed something that was forbidden. Something that was going to be getting him killed. "How are you speaking to me?" He just wanted her gone, so he could move on his own.
"I devoted much of my time to learning the truths of the world. To learning the secrets to a form of immortality. My physical body is dead, but my spirit lives on. And I know that when you see that there is still good in you, that you can be much of the same way." She said, and then he was screaming at the spirit.
"He is going to ruin everything that I have ever tried to accomplish. Everything that I care about is going to be gone if I try to be following this way. I tried so hard to do what was best for those I loved. But that is never going to happen." Brad said, and then he was shaking his head. Hating the excuses he was making.
"Everybody gets tempted for the dark path. There is never true light in anybodys heart. I wanted to turn to the dark path many times. I was Shaun's friend. I wanted to help him. I understand where he was coming from when he turned. But I knew deep down inside that it was going to lead to more pain and suffering." She said, and then Brad was calming down.
"Are you trying to say that everybody has grey in them?" Brad asked, and he was aware that he was too far gone. But talking with this woman, somehow, despite it not supposed to be possible, was getting him interested. He needed to understand that she was thinking that she had all the right answers. And maybe in a large extent, she really did.
"Yes. I have seen your light. You were a smart kid." She said, and then Brad was tired of the answers not giving him what he had needed. He was wanting her to understand that he wanted to be aware of the truth. Not aware of what she was thinking she could give him with some fucking voodoo shit.
"You never knew me. You never met me before today." Brad said, and then he was looking at the sky, and he was looking at the garden, wondering if it was possible that they had known each other before, but had somehow totally had the event blocked from his memory. In a way, it was possible.
"I heard all the stories. People spoke highly of you. I was aware of your friend. He used to talk to me a bit about the things he had wanted to do to help Wayside. He was always including you in that list." She said, and Brad was always remembering when people brought this up, how deep that Sheldon and Brad had gotten along once. Which was killing him to have the memories coming back once again.
"I have already made my path. I already know which way I am going to be stuck on." He said, feeling that the story he said was all that he had needed to say, and then with that, he was looking down at Olive's body, and then walked over to her lightsaber, and put it in his pocket. Keep one memory of hers alive.
"No path is ever made up. Everybody can change their ways once. You of all people should know this." She said, and then after that, she did not speak to him again for a very long time. But Brad knew deep down inside that Olive was always watching him, until the day he passed on as well. As Brad was walking off, that was when there was a laugh he was all to familiar with cutting through to him. The laugh of Shaun, when he knew that he had gotten all that he had ever wanted.