Longest Novel: Fall of The Republic

by morgan kingsley

In 2020, a middle-aged author, living too deeply in the past, decides to write the story of what really happened to him and his friends when he was younger, and as it unfolds, a giant conspiracy starts to show itself. An AU of seasons 1-4 that take place in the United States. Crossover with several other series for one overall universe.

6. The Unearthed Materials

July 4, 2021

When T.K. was finished with Izzy's large story, he sent it once again to his publisher, feeling that by this point in time, he was finally seeing everything come together for once. And he was feeling proud of himself. For once in his life, he was actually feeling like he was doing what was right.

When he was done, he was feeling that due to the day that it was, he would take a one day break from the story. So he checked out of his current location once he was done gathering up, and he started to drive on towards the Robinson house, wondering if he would be able to convince them to let him tag along for one day, As fucking bizarre as he was aware it must have been.

When he was eventually there, he was wondering what his publisher was thinking about the project so far. He was wondering if they appreciated the time and effort that he had been placing into the project so far. He was even wondering how much they must have read, considering the lack of any response.

When he knocked on the door, Josiah had answered the door, and he was looking like he was just trying to decide what the hell to say. "So you're the guy that my older brothers talked with." After Josiah said that, Gabe was slowly nodding, feeling that he might as well own up to everything.

"Yeah, I was wanting to see if you guys were planning on doing anything for the fourth of July." T.K. said, well aware of how insane this must have sounded. As he was saying this, he was seeing that Josiah was just looking rather unsure of what to even say now.

"I barely know you is the issue. Besides, I am already hanging out with a couple of my friends." After Josiah was telling T.K. this, that was when T.K. was looking down, and was willing to accept what he was being told. After all, he did jump into this whole thing rather randomly.

"Yeah that is fine enough. Sorry for getting in your space." T.K. said, feeling like he needed to just excuse himself from everything that was happening. As he was heading off, Josiah was calling out to him, and T.K. stopped for a bit.

"I got an idea. I will be willing to let you come along and watch the fire works show with my friends. But on one condition. You need to tell me what you are doing here, and what my siblings have gotten into." After Josiah was telling T.K. this, he slowly nodded, feeling that was more than fair.

"That is more than fair. I will agree to these conditions." T.K. was saying, and then with that, the two of them were starting to get in the car, and T.K. was seeing that Todd Jr. was looking out, and just seeing that T.K. was starting to interact with Josiah as well.

As T.K. was driving along, to the destination Josiah gave him, the talk started. "So what are you doing here anyways? I heard both of my brothers talking about it, and they were both sounding like hearing your perspective was really enlightening them on this." After Josiah said that, T.K. nodded.

"So the truth is that earlier this year, I decided to stop holding back on telling the events of my story. And when I started, I saw a post on reddit, that I quickly was able to figure out was from your brother Gabe. I decided that if I had that information, I would try and reach out to him. But that seemed to not be working out too well." T.K. said, and then Josiah asked his next question.

"What type of post did he make?" After Josiah asked this, T.K. shrugged, not sure if what he was saying even fucking mattered, of if he was setting himself up for failure.

"Well, he was giving away what he had been able to figure out in the town so far. The missing girls, the time line. He seemed like he was really cracking it all down. I was feeling like there was a small chance that maybe I could have been able to help him out. But it seems like I might have been making a really big fucking mistake." T.K. said, feeling that telling Josiah this would be for the best.

"Why the fucking hell would he be so fucking insane to post that shit online? People are going to be able to find that stuff right away. I knew that he was never really the smartest person ever. But this is a whole new level of fucking stupidity." After Josiah said this, T.K. decided to just remain silent.

"I am just trying to do my best to help out. I mean, in all honesty, I feel like whatever the hell he is doing, I just needed to help out. I didn't realize that all of my contributions were only going to be making things worse." T.K. said, and he was feeling like he would remain silent now.

"But T.K., this is my fucking brother. I just wish that I was able to fucking help him. And I know that he would be using his age over me as a way to not listen to me, or a single word of what I was saying. As if being three years older than me is a huge deal. When with each year it matters less." Josiah said, and this conversation was reminding him a lot of what he himself said during these events in 1986.

Eventually, they were at the pier where the fireworks would be at. As they were there, they saw that one of Josiah's friends, Simon, had already been there waiting for him. Simon started to walk up to them. Gabe stood out, and he was taking out a cigarette, wondering what he was going to do.

"Hey Josiah, glad that you came on time. Who is this guy with you right now?" He asked, and pointed to T.K. Josiah was seeming unsure of what to say, since in all honesty, any response was going to come off as a lie. And besides, he has no idea what T.K. would be feeling.

"I feel like even if I don't say anything now, people will learn about me being here anyways. I'm T.K. Shioda. That one writer that you guys might have heard about once or twice." T.K. said, and then with that, Simon was looking like he was more worried than anything else.

"Are you seriously hanging out with that guy? He is going to be getting you in a lot of danger. I really don't think that this would even be worth it." After Simon was saying this, Josiah was shrugging, and decided to not be saying anything in argument at all.

"What is the worst that can come from getting to know this guy? I think we might as well take advantage of what we can get here." After Josiah said that, the way that he was wording it was making T.K. feel like he was just being used as a fucking prop more than anything else.

"I heard that everything that was happening here was still going on. And I decided that it would be best for me to come back, and try to fucking contribute to the fucking cause." After T.K. said that, this was when Simon was looking at him, with a slightly bitter look on his face.

"You are showing up now, when people could have been using your help earlier?" After Simon asked T.K. this, T.K. looked down at the ground, and he was thinking about what exactly Simon was saying. It was perfectly fair to be saying this.

"Look, you have every right to be upset at me. I mean, how in the world would you not be? I should have been helping out earlier, but in all honesty, I just thought that I would only be making things worse if I got too deep into this." T.K. said, and he was aware that what he was saying was pathetic.

"In all honesty, I have been having a hard time with the subject. A girl that I was seeing, Gwen, was one of the victims of this whole thing." After Josiah admitted this, that was when T.K. was sighing, feeling like he was needing to not make any excuses for this.

"Look, I will not make any excuses for what I did earlier. Or for my lack of action. You have every right to what I have been doing. But the truth is that I really am trying my best to help out now." T.K. said, and then Simon was looking ahead of him.

"Look, I am not going to make a deal here. I want to have a wonderful night. This is my favorite fucking holiday of the year. If you want to watch, fine. But if you are going to be making me think about what everybody has refused to do here, then I will be making your life hell." After Simon was saying this, that was when T.K. was nodding, feeling like what he was hearing was fair enough.

"I promise that I will do everything that I can. I have been looking around, and I have been writing the truth. And in my spare time, I have been looking at the other pieces of evidence that can be used. I will tell you everything when you are ready." T.K. said, and then Simon was looking like he was just kind of unsure of what to say now.

"Do you believe in him Josiah?" Simon asked, and then he was seeing that Josiah was kind of remaining silent for a few seconds. As if thinking that he needed to be as careful and as honest as possible with this answer. T.K. was silent for a few seconds, wondering what to even say now.

"I mean, I feel like there is a small chance that he could be right. I think that perhaps it would be wrong to not give him a chance at least." Josiah was saying, and then he was thinking a bit longer, trying to decide what he was going to say now.

"I mean, my two older brothers seem to be growing to trust him. And I trust them. So in that case, I guess that it is worth a fucking try." After Gabe was saying this, he was shrugging, feeling that there was no point in saying anything else. He was feeling that this was a fair enough statement.

"Okay…" After Simon was saying this, he was feeling like there was no point in arguing with this anymore. "After all, I feel like if Gwen was here, she would be telling us to can our arguments." After Simon was saying this, both Josiah and T.K. were thinking about what to even say from that at all.

As T.K. took out a cigarette, he was thinking about how detached from the modern group he was increasingly becoming. Something that he was feeling like was entirely his fault, and he was wondering how much people would hate him if they knew everything he was doing. If they realized he wasn't here to be friends, but to be putting justice to use.

As they were getting ready, they were seeing the limo that the president of Lazarus Corporation always drove in during these fourth of July celebrations. As they were seeing him show up, it was taking all their effort to not say anything. Especially when a large crowd of a few hundred were there.

When he got out of the car, he grabbed a microphone, and walked up to the podium that was placed there for people to present during the show. "Hello everybody. We have all made it through to another Fourth of July. I hope that every single one of you are excited for the celebration we are having."

"I hope that we can all be here to just enjoy the day that is ahead of us. We have all had a rough time with everything that has happened in the last year and a half. But with the pandemic behind us, and the national election long gone, we can all be happy to just put this mania behind us." The president said, and he was looking at the audience at large.

"I understand if you have been having a hard time with this whole thing. If you have no hope left for what is happening with our country. There have often been times where I have felt extremely let down because of the pandemic myself. But I can promise you that I will not let that bring down my resolve." After the president said that, silence continued.

"But for tonight, while we are here, we must understand that our feelings must be set aside, and we must be focused on what we currently have, and we must be looking at the future. Every year on the fourth of July, it is the moment to remember what we have all come through, and remember that our forefathers have fought the way that they did for our personal liberty, and their personal freedoms." After he was saying this, that was when everybody remained silent for a while longer.

"When I see you all here, and you all having the time of your lives, it reminds me and everybody that I know how much we have ahead of us. All of you have come so far, and have put so much ahead of you to be here. And I want to know that I am proud of all of you." He said, and then Simon was giving a snort at that, to show he didn't buy it.

"Have a wonderful evening, and enjoy the show." He said, raising his arms up, and he was finally feeling like he would let it go. As he did that, there were a few fireworks flying up at the sky, and for a moment, T.K. captured that innocence again.

When the show kept going forward, T.K. was feeling his anger, and his uncertainty, at least for one night, vanish away, as he was thinking that he knew he was doing the right thing for once in his life.

And as he was there, he had been thinking more and more of what he was going to do when he was seeing Catherine again. If she was going to forgive him for leaving this way. The way that he had been gone for over three months with barely a word to her about what he was doing. He knew that she had the right to hate him.

About ten minute in, T.K. got a email from Mimi. When he looked down at it, he saw what the message said: Everybody has been telling me that you have been working on your project. I hate this. But I hate the fact that people have gotten away with this even more. I will help you this time. When this is done, we need to talk though.

T.K. Reminded himself of the talk that he needed to have with Mimi, per her wishes, and decided that he would get to that as soon as he can. And especially when this event was over.

---

Episode 6: The Uncovered Material (Mimi's POV)

Scene 1: Two Girls Together

I was hanging out with my friend Candice, and by that point I had completely forgotten about Sora and everything else. Which was a good thing as it gave me a little bit more time of innocence, and a little bit more time to be in denial about all that was actually going on in this town.

"Do you think that you would be interested in getting to know what happened last night? Everybody is talking about it like crazy." Candice was telling me, and I looked at her, and I was thinking that she was insane for even bringing the idea up.

"God, I would never want to be going with that. In all honesty, I think that if I try and learn more about this, I would be going insane, and I would be thinking that I would probably be getting next in line." After I was saying this, I was feeling like this was not going to be saying to it.

"Are you not interested in getting to know about the assassination of that one man? I mean, I heard a lot about him, and I heard some of the rmors that were going on. I just think that it might be best to go on and see who is responsible for it all." After Candice said that, I was looking at her, as if she was fucking insane for even suggesting this.

"I would not want to be dragging myself in something that I am never going to be sure would not be putting me in danger. I mean, my fucking god. If I try and do something, I am going to be probably getting myself killed here." I was saying, really having no idea of what I was feeling here.

"I guess that you might be right. I mean, I am still wanting to know why it was done. But I guess that maybe that is not really something that I am needing to be dealing with." Candice said, and she was looking like she had wanted to go on and say more to me. But she was aware that she was probably going to lose the battle.

"Do you think that the way you would be going would be something that would keep you safe? You need to fucking find a way that you can do this, if you want, that would keep you safe." I tried to be voicing some reason into her. But I was feeling that something like that was not going to happen.

"Thanks for the effort. But I guess that something like that might not really matter. You are probably right. It might not be a good idea to be forcing myself into this all." After she was telling me this, I was then nodding, and then I was thinking that I would just leave it at that for the time being.

"Well, I thnk that there would be nothing wrong with the idea if you actually had a fucking method in making this work out. But I guess that something like this might not really even matter anyways." I was telling Candice, wondering if maybe saying something like this could be able to make her feel slightly better. The way that she was looking at me made me feel unsure.

"I just think that maybe if I was able to go on and find something for myself, I might be able to just find some clues that maybe none of the police or people would be too comfortable looking at." Candice was telling me, and then I was laughing at this, thinking that there was nothing she needed to be worried about here.

"Candice, what do you honestly think that you would be able to find if you looked around? I mean, no offense, but I think that you are wasting your fucking time with this." I said, and I was sighing, wondering what the hell I would be able to say to her. Candice was looking down at the ground, and then up at me.

"You want to know what the reason for me to be caring so much about this in the first place? I think the real reason why it fucking matters so much is because this finally shows us once and for all that there is something going on here. We are no longer going to be in a situation where we are pretending like nothing matters. I think that with the lack of bullshit in mind, we just need to fucking take it more seriously." After she was telling me this, I had no idea what the hell I was going to tell her.

"I guess that maybe that this is true. I can't fucking believe that we are having this discussion right now." I was saying, and then I was wondering why I was even pondering this idea in the first place. I was looking right at Candice, and I was thinking that if she was telling the truth, I needed to take this much more seriously here.

"Candice, I know that you want to be doing this, and I think that you have every right to do this. But to be honest, I think that if you want to be doing this, you need to be finding a actual support system. Something that is better than me." I said, and I was hoping that maybe saying that to her would make her feel a bit differently here.

"I think that nobody wants to be talking about these things. People just try and do what they need to do, and they are pretending that the news is right. But do you really think that the fucking news is actually right?" After she had asked me this, I was sighing, and in all honesty, I had no idea what the hell I could have even said.

"I wish that you were telling me these things. It is just fucking hard to be hearing these things, knowing that there is a good chance that they are all true." I was saying, and then I was shaking my head in anger, and I was wondering if maybe talking to Candice differently was all that mattered.

"The reality is that if we wait around, and do nothing, we are going to only be enabling more of these assassinations to happen. I want to know if Myron really deserved what he got, or if he was somebody who was going to genuinely try and oppose the system, and he was cut short because they were scared he would ruin everything." She was saying, and I was shrugging at this.

"I think that maybe you need to just leave it to other people who have been investigating these things the whole time. To be honest, I think that it would be a rather big mistake for us to be trying to act like we know what we are getting ourselves into." I said, and then I was looking at her, and I saw her looking like that statement did not settle in well.

"I think that this is going to be a rather big mistake to just be leaving here. But I think that maybe you already know this. I understand that you do not want to be involved. But I think that nobody is ever given the choice on what they have to be doing." Candice was telling me, and then I was thinking that I just needed to leave it all alone.

"Anyways, there is not much that we are going to be doing by just staying here, talking around like nothing else is happening. I think that there is something else that we could be doing." I said, and then I was seeing her looking a bit unsure of what to be saying. But she had looked like she was willing to give me a chance.

"What are you planning here?" She asked me, and then I was so happy to be telling her all of my plans. I was that this was going to be the only thing that would truly make her understand that I was actually fucking listening to her. At least in a different way from what she was expecting.

"I was thinking that maybe I could go to the labyrinth party. Maybe that doing this is going to help me out here. Just to give me a idea on where I am going." I said, and then I was wondering if she was actually going to like this at all. She was looking down at the ground, clearly unsure of what to tell me.

"I guess that maybe I could sort of see this. It might be better than going around and checking a assassination plot." After she was telling me this, I was smiling at her, and I was thinking that I might be able to discuss our plans over dinner. Or maybe at a aracade. Just something that made it feel and look more casual.

Scene 2: Party Invitation

I was thinking that I needed to try and reach out to some people in order to go to the next labyrinth party. In all honesty, even if I was thinking that the method that Candice was proposing was fucking insane in every way possible, the idea she was having about finding out about the man or woman who killed Myron was going to be worth it.

I was at her house once again, and the more that I was here, the more and more that I was unsure of what the hell I was even getting myself ready for. I was looking at the sky, and I was thinking that what I was doing was going to be a fucking waste of time here. But I guess that I was just going to be getting myself in a lot of trouble for this.

Eventually, that was when Candice was answering the door. She was looking so fucking happy to be seeing me that when I was looking at her, I was refusing to be making any real issue here. I was smiling at her, and I was thinking that maybe we just needed to hang out with each other more, and just see what we could both be feeling here.

"I think that we need to be going to the next labyrinth party. I do not really agree with the reasons or the idea of learning more about labyrinth. But I guess that maybe there is something that we can really get out of this." After I was telling her this, I was seeing her looking so fucking estatic to be hearing me tell her this.

"Thank you for at least listening to my fears and feelings. It makes me feel so much better to be hearing that you are taking what I said into consideration." After she was telling me this, I was thinking that we just needed to get right to work. "So Mimi, how do you think we are going to get into it?"

"Well, I did know that when the tree house was still here, we would just fucking be able to go right into the parties with no issue. But for fucks sake, that was over five years ago. "Who do you think usually throws the parties the most often?" I asked, feeling that by asking this, we could be able to actually get some fucking plans here. Candice was smiling at this, glad to be hearing me give her free reign.

"Usually the Wilson house was a good place at one point in time. But that is going to be long gone, now with Andrea gone. I think that another good place to be looking at is the school itself. I hate the idea of suggesting that the high school would be throwing parties. But it is our best bet." After she was telling me this, I was sighing, and I was feeling that maybe I was just needing to be telling her that nothing like this would ever fucking happen.

"Besides, I think that even if the Wilson house was still a good place to be going to, it would be a horrible idea to be trying to connect with them. Especially since it had seemed like you never connected with them." After I told her this, I was seeing her looking like she had wished to never be going further with this discussion now.

"I mean, I never hated them or anything. I think that maybe the reality is that they just think that maybe we had our lives a bit too easy. That they might be thinking that we are just taking advantage of things too much." After she was telling me this, I was thinking that I really did not need to be having Candice lecture me about the idea of us having privliege or anything like that.

"Look, it is not our fault that we have rich parents who are working with us on giving us what we need." After I was telling her this, I was feeling that maybe telling her this was going to be getting this subject to be dropping. She was looking down, and looked like she was rather shamed of the idea that we were having this discussion anyways.

"I guess that maybe you are right. Regardless, we just need to be looking around for a invitation. That is all that I think really fucking matters." After she was telling me this, I was standing up, and I was thinking that we just needed to be getting right to the fucking point now.

"I guess that one good place to be going to this is the new mall that is being built." Candice said, and then after she was telling me this, I was smiling at the idea of going to the new mall. It was going to be hard for us to avoid that place for long. So with that in mind, we just needed to be getting right to it.

"Let's fucking go!" I said, and then I was mentally wincing the moment that I was saying this. It sounded really fucking preppy the entire time that I had said this, and I was wishing that maybe if I said this again, I was going to need Candice to be keeping a fucking leash on me here.

"Okay, I know that you like going there, but I think that we just need to calm down a bit. We do not want to be making ourselves too fucking obvious before we even fucking start." After Candice said that to me, I was sighing, and I was ready for us to be going along, and just getting ready to be hanging out with each other.

With that, we headed along, and then I was thinking about what we were going to do. I was unsure of what the heck we were even going to do now. I was thinking that just going to the party right away was going to be fine enough. I was having no real fucking fear of anything that we had been getting ourselves into it.

As we were there, I was seeing Candice looking at me. She was looking like she was feeling a little bit better about all that we were getting ourselves into. "Thank you for being here for me Mimi. It makes me feel so much better to have a friend at my side." After she was telling me this, I was shrugging, and I was thinking that it was common sense.

"Candice, I think that if you are going to be trying to do something, it is important that I am at your side. It is important that I give you a chance to figure out what your plans are going to be." I was saying, and then after I was telling her this, she was looking at me like there was nothing at all to be worried about at all.

As we had been walking inside, and were just looking around, listening to people, I was looking at Candice, and I was really having nothing to say to her besides "I think that in all honesty, we are going to be getting nothin-" before another sound came up and hurt both our ears.

The grinding was going on for nearly ten minutes before it ended. I was looking at Candice, and was taking a long and deep breath. "Damn it. I guess that we better be getting our fucking answer tonight. What the fucking hell?" I asked, and I was shrugging, and I was having nothing else to be saying.

"Oh my god... I feel like they are just really trying to be throwing off our guards now more than anything. It seems like desperation more than anything." Candice said, and she was shaking her head. I was then looking around, trying to hear some conversations. Seeing if there was something that could fucking give me a clue what I was getting myself into.

As I was listening around, I was listening to some conversations that I knew was going to be the solution that we had needed. "Guys, I heard that the next labyrinth party was going to be held at the old location of the skate park. I heard that it was going to be torn down soon, and people wanted to use this place one final time." The comment was, and then I looked at Candice.

"I guess that if you want to know more about Myron, then you really have no choice but to be going." I said, and then I was seeing Candice looking like she had wanted to argue with me, and that she had wanted to be acting like she was the fucking winner of this argument. But I could see that she was clearly not happy with this at all.

"Damn it. You are right. But I guess that we just need to be going through with this. If you do not want to be going through with this, that is your choice. But I am going to do this, and that is all that there is going to be to it." After she was telling me this, I was then thinking about all that she had said.

"I will be coming with this. I do not like it. But I trust you enough to be following your lead on these parties. And if this is going on any further, I think that I will trust you more than anything else." I was saying, and I was hoping that telling her this was going to be making her feel at least a little bit better.

'Well, meet you tonight. I better be getting ready. And no matter what happens, we got to learn something. We got to force some information out of the others here." After she had said that to me, I was shrugging, and I was thinking that we needed to go on and make this all work.

"Yeah, see you. I will try and find a nice dress or something." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I was feeling like this was going to be a dangerous idea. The most dangerous idea. But at the same time, I was almost finding myself just not even fucking caring anymore. I just needed to go through with this.

I was walking my own way, and I was unable to believe that I was actually fucking getting myself into this. It disgusted me, and I was willing to openly admit this. But the party was going to be the only thing that would make this a whole lot better. I was hoping that whatever the hell the party was going to be like, maybe people would actually take it seriously.

And if I was going to have another chance, maybe I needed to listen to Sora more seriously this time. Maybe she was going to have something that she would tell me, and that I was the one who was wrong for getting myself into this all in the first place. And with that, I was thinking that my choice was official.

Scene 3: The Run In At The Grocery Store

I was at the grocery store, thinking that if I was going to heading to the labyrinth party that night, I might as well go on and try and buy some stuff to win over the favor of some people. In all honesty, it just felt the only way to truly win people over.

And to be honest, I was thinking that I could just use this as an excuse to go on and just fucking hang around with some people, and just see how they were all doing. I was kind of just scared of what was going to happen, and felt the need to fucking stay calm no matter what.

I was looking around the store, thinking that since people my age probably wanted basic things, I would go on and just grab some fucking soda and snacks. I only had like thirty five or so dollars. So I just needed to go on and grab as much as I could with that money. And with that in mind, I was just feeling kind of underwhelmbed.

I was looking around and I was thinking that if I could find a classmate of mine or something that I could just hang out with, then I might be feeling a bit unsure of what the hell I could have been accomplishing here. I was telling myself that the faster that I could establish a bond with somebody, the better I could be.

The neext few minutes were spent grabbing things, and just trying to lay low, and pretending like I was not scared out of my mind. I filled up a cart with relative easy, and I was on my way over to the check stand, and as I was walking along, I was seeing that there was another one of my classmates walking by.

He looked up at me, and he was looking a bit unsure of what to react by seeing me. "Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked, and he was clearly not trying to be making it sound harsh. But he was clearly unsure of what the hell I was going to do. I then sighed, and started to speak up clearly.

"I am grabbing some stuff for the labyrinth party tonight. I think that it might be smart for me to go on and grab some stuff honestly." I said, and then I was looking at him, wondering if Matt was going to be basically telling me off. He looked down, and clearly looked like he just had nothing to say.

"Do you want to just talk for a bit?" Matt asked, and then I was looking at him, and I was rather confused at this question. It made no fucking sense for him to want to hang out with me at all. In all honesty, I was convinced that he was trying to be setting me up for something.

"What about?" I asked, feeling that I just needed to get to break the ice. Matt looked down, and then he was sighing, as if thinking that he was going to not win any favors if he was going to be dancing around and acting all strange and everything.

"I was wanting to talk to you about the fucking town, and just see if there was something that you might know. I have a brother, and I just want to make sure that he is doing well." He was telling me, and I was shrugging, having no clear idea what I could have even said here.

"Really? All that I said was that I was just wanting to go to the party, and you are trying to drag me along like your fucking girlfriend?" I asked, and then I was already feeling horrible here. I sighed, and then looked at him, trying to be at least a little bit more respectful here.

"Sorry. You really do not deserve to hear that. I just sometimes feel like I am getting over some shit, and that is the only way that I can express my anger." I told him, and then he was looking like he had wanted to say more. Like he wanted to fucking fight so bad. But just left it alone.

"I know that sometimes people take it too far. I mean, I will be the first to admit that I am kind of doing this myself. But the thing is that I generally think that we need to be taking these parties more seriously than we ever have been." After he had told me this, I shrugged, and I was thinking that I was going to be leaving it all alone.

"My friend is getting into this obsession as well. She wants to be finding out what she can be doing to help out as well. And honestly, if everybody is already acting like this, and feeling the need to know more, I might we well just fucking go along with this." After I was telling him this, I was shrugging and had nothing else to say now.

"Well, one thing that we can agree on is that this is really not the fucking best place to be having these discussions." He told me, and then I was smiling at him, thinking that even if this conversation was already kind of making me feel a bit odd, and even wrong I would say, I just needed to go on and go with this.

"Yeah, I guess that maybe we should be thinking about that stuff more later. So let's just pay for our shit, and then be heading on out." I told him, and then after I said that to him, I was seeing Matt nod, and then I looked down at his stuff that he was grabbing. Seeing the medical supplies that he was buying made me rather fucking confused to be honest.

"I would really like you to tell me more about that to be honest." I said, and then I was seeing him looking kind of shocked to be hearing me so fucking interested in this. Then with that, we went to the check stand, and bought our stuff. And to be honest, the more that I was doing this, the more that I was getting totally unsure of what I was thinking.

Eventually, Matt was driving me with his car, and then he was looking at me, thinking about a way to break the conversation. "Do you know where the party is going to be held anyways?" He asked, and then I was thinking that maybe he was wanting to go more than he was wanting to admit.

"Yeah, it is going to be held at the old skating park. I think that maybe we should go there as fast as possible. And that you should not be bringing those supplies." I said, and then I was seeing Matt looking like he was kind of annoyed at this. But then I was thinking that maybe I should just remain silent.

"Honestly, I think that my brother would be really having a fucking field day with that. He is trying to get into that skating thing, and to be honest, I have no idea why he is doing this. But I have no fucking reason to be fighting with him here." He was saying, and then he shrugged at this. I was thinking about his brother, and the very little that I knew of him.

"What is your brother like anyways?" I asked, and then he looked at me, and he was clearly looking a bit uncomfortable with talking about this for the time being. I was thinking that maybe I just needed to earn his trust a bit better for him to be willing to open about this for the time being.

"He is a good guy, to be totally honest. That being said, he wants to be helping out his friends, and slowly is selling himself away bit by bit by doing this. In all honesty, it is kind of breaking my heart seeing him go to such great depths to be making something like this work out. But it is none of my fucking business." He said, and then sighed at this statement.

"Shit. I was not expecting you to say that at all. But to be honest, I guess that maybe I should have expected something like this. I mean, on the couple of times I heard about him, he always seemed like he would put other people before he would even consider himself." After I was telling him this, I saw Matt looking like he really was just unsure here.

We parked at the old skating park, and then Matt was staring out at it. "It all fucking stared because he wanted to fucking get into skating. That is seriously the only fucking reason. He wanted to skate, and he wanted to fucking show people that he was serious about this. And now he set himself up for this." He was shrugging, and clearly looked like he had no interest in going forward.

"How does him getting into skating lead to all of this stuff happening? That is so fucking random." I said, and then I was looking at him, and I was seeing him looking like he simply had no real idea of what to be telling me here. As if just kind of feeling bad for me.

"Honestly, I have no idea what he is meaning by all of this. I think that when he was there, he first met Tobias. And by meeting Tobias, he decided that he wanted to be going forward with just making sure his classmate has a fucking chance." After he was telling me this, I was shrugging, and felt like what he was saying was fucking insane.

"Well, I guess that in all honesty, it is none fo my business. He is going to be doing whatever he wants, and I think that to be honest, he just needs to be doing whatever he can." I said, and then I was wonering if I was going to be making Matt think differently at all about me or him.

"I mean, deep down, a small part of me knows that every word of what you are saying is true. But what the fucking hell would it say about me, his own fucking brother, if I just let things slide, and I do not do anything about it at all? That I just sit there, like a fucking idiot, doing nothing at all?" Matt said, and then he rubbed his eyes.

"After all, I am no fucking better than him. I am doing a lot of stuff that can be considered fucking stupid. I got myself involved with talking to dozens of people as a fucking confidant, to see what they might be able to tell me." After Matt said that, I was laughing at that a bit. The idea of Matt trying to be a social guy was fucking odd.

"I would like to know more about those fucking stories if you are willing to expand that to me. That sounds rather interesting to me honestly." I said, and then I was looking at him, and I was seeing Matt look like he was kind of scared to be discussing this any futher for some reason.

"Honestly, I think that if I try and talk to people about everything that I am doing, they would be telling me to shut the fuck up, and stop being a hypocrite. And to be honest, they would be totally fucking right about everything that they would say." He was telling me, and then he sounded totally exhausted by saying that.

"I would not be going that fucking far. I mean, how can I judge you if I hardly know what you are doing to begin with?" I asked, and I was mainly saying that to pretend to be fair. But to be honest, I was just really having no fucking idea on what I could have been accomplishing at all.

"Maybe after the party, I might tell you some stuff. But I have no fucking commitment to that so far." Matt said that to me, and then I was thinking nothing of it. I was just really having nothing that I could have said to him. I was then shaking my head, and I really had no idea why I was even caring at all anymore.

"If we even talk in the first place. The whole idea of us talking with each other in the first place is just rather odd." After I told him this, I was seeing him looking a bit unsure of what the hell I could have said to begin with. "But I guess that when you live in Wayside, stranger things can happen."

"You do have that fucking right. My god, not the worst place I ever lived at. Onett is much more insane. But this is for sure one of the strangest." Matt said, and then I was thinking that I would just let him be talking for a while longer, and that I would not be saying anything at all.

"Well, see you at the party tonight. Thank you very much for giving me a chance to fucking talk." I was saying, and then I was shrugging, and I was having nothing else that I could have even said in the first place.

"Everybody has their own way of getting into these investigations. I guess that you will be having yours as well. So I think that you will be doing better on your own. But I guess that you already fucking know that." Matt was saying, and decided to stop talking as he was saying that to me.

Scene 4: A Sour Party

I was getting ready to just go on and meet up with Candice that day, and I was thinking that the faster we went there, and just assemilated ourselves into this, the better that it was to be. I was feeling that making Candice feel better about the situation of the town was probably going to be the most important thing that I could have been doing.

I was eventually reaching her house, and I was wondering if Candice was going to take back what she would have said, and change her mind. I was thinking that if this was going to be the case, then maybe that was going to be the best thing that she could be able to actually agree with.

But I shook my head. I was well aware that there was going to fucking be nothing that we could be able to really get out of this. I was thinking that whatever the hell I was going to be telling Candice, she was going to be telling me that she was going to be on a fucking mission.

Eventually, I knocked on her door, and then I was seeing her answering it. After she was answering the door, she looked at me, and I was seeing that she was having sincere glee in her eyes for knowing that I was not taking it back. That I was going to fucking work with her here.

Despite everything that I had been thinking, and fearing with her, I knew that I was going to have to just give her all the comfort in the world. Or else she was going to be thinking that I never fucking cared for her, or whatever the hell. Eventually, she was starting to speak.

"Hey Mimi. I was wondering if you were going to be heading on to the party or not. I was starting to think that you were not." She said, and then I was sighing, and I was having no idea of what the hell I was going to be telling her. So with that, I was just nodding along, having nothing to say now.

"Sorry. I was considering retracting my earlier agreement. I will not lie about it. But the truth is that I feel like if I do not do this, then I guess that I might have been making a giant fucking mistake." I said, and then I was seeing her looking a bit better at this. Like she was not going crazy.

"Let's just get going now. You know, not keep people waiting. That is going to be something that will really set people off from talking to us." She said, and then I was nodding, thinking that I might as well go along with it. With that, we were starting to head off, and just think on what we were doing.

The longer that we were heading to the old skate park, I was seeing a look of seriousness that I had never seen Candice get before. As if she was just thinking that she was the only one who could have made a fucking difference at all. I was sighing, and I thought that maybe I just needed to be trying to speak to her, to make her think differently.

"Candice, I know that you are going to be annoyed at me asking this, but I think that I really have no fucking choice but to just do it. Are you sure that you are going to want to do this?" I asked, and then I was seeing her looking down, and I was seeing her looking like she was finally considering my question for once. As if thinking that she was wrong.

"I will see." Candice only said that, and decided to leave it alone. With that, I was then thinking that there was virtually nothing else that I could have told her here.

Eventually, we were at the skating park, and I was already seeing a hand ful of teenagers in there. I was unsure of what I was expecting, but I was indeed seeing one person there who could not have been over the age of twelve. It was rather strange to see somebody even younger than T.K. being there. But I was deciding to not comment here.

I was looking at Candice, and I was nodding at this, and I was thinking that I just needed to accept what she was wanting. What she was needing. And that I just needed to fucking go with it, and not argue with her, as if I was the only one who knew better here.

"Well, I think that maybe we just need to be focused on what we were coming here to do. Just talking around, seeing what people know about the grinding noise. And just fucking get this over with." I was saying, and I was feeling bad for being like this to Candice. But I was needing her to be serious about this.

"Yeah, you are right. We do not really have anything that we need to be doing here. Besides, I think that we are going to be gathering some attention if we just keep standing here like a bunch of idiots." I was telling her, and I was feeling like I might as well be nice about it at least. Or pretend to be nice about it. If such a thing were even possible.

So with that in mind, I was walking along, and I was looking for people that might be able to look like they were going to be good suspects to talk to. I was looking at Candice, and wondered what I was going to be saying now. "Hey, do you know anything about the most recent missing person?" I asked, and then the guy I asked looked at me like I was fucking strange.

"That is none of my fucking business. Besides, it just happened today. There is no way that I would be able to know something like that yet." He said, and he was clearly annoyed at me, and I was thinking that I just needed to fucking shut up, and not be saying anything that was going to piss him off further.

"Sorry for getting in the way." I said, even though I was not. I just needed to be saying something to him, to be making him look like he was not going to want to fucking slit my throat. As I was walking along, the guy looked like he was just still annoyed with me. But that he was willing to retract a little bit.

"Alright, never mind. The truth is that I really actually do not know. But if you want to talk to somebody who does, I would recommend going to that guy over there. He has been going to all these parties forever. If anybody knows, it's him." He pointed in a certain direction, and then after that, he had no interest in speaking to him.

"Thank you." I said, and then I was thinking that I might as well be nice with him at least. You know, just get the situation to be less annoying to him, and maybe Candice would be feeling better about something being said to us. As if we were at least getting something else done here.

With that, I was looking at Candice, and felt like I would just give her the new scoop. "Nothing so far. Guy over there told me to talk to him." I said, and then I was pointing to a guy who looked like he was probably fifteen or sixteen. He was talking with a girl who was clearly the same age as him.

"I guess that it is something to work with. I mean, it feels like when we bring these things up, it is like they are just utterly scared of talking at all. I mean, I kind of understand. But it is hard to tolerate." Candice said, and then I looked at her, as if feeling like I might be able to slightly mock her at this.

"You just started looking into this all fucking today. I think you are probably the last person to be telling me what is kind of annoying to you." After I said that, I was mainly just trying to be funny. But in all honesty, I was thinking that maybe just telling her the truth was going to be the only way to make her understand.

"Yeah, I fucking know Mimi. You do not need to be rubbing it in." After she had said that to me, we were wandering around, and I was just thinking of what else I could be saying to her. "So Candice, do you know a guy named Matt?" I asked, as we were walking to the two fifteen year olds. I just hoped that these people would give me a little bit more respect.

"I met him once or twice. Never really as the nicest person to me though. He was never a total asshole, but to be honest, I just think that he might not like me." Candice said, and I had nothing else to be telling her this time. I just felt kind of sad at her saying this to me.

Once we were with the fifteen year olds, I was seeing that both of them looked a bit unsure of what to tell us. They were clearly wanting to tell us some form of getting lost, but that they were just thinking of how to be saying it in a way that was not making them a total asshole. "Sorry for taking your time, but we were wanting to ask something?"

"I am talking to my girlfriend Tina right now. You need to put other people into consideration." He said, and then I was sighing, and I was wondering if he was going to be a total dick like this most of the time, or just give me a bit of a fucking break here. I sighed, and said nothing.

"Sorry, I will be quick. But I was told that you were the guy to go to if we had any interest in knowing more about the person who most recently went missing." I said, and I was seeing him looking at me, as if thinking that maybe I just needed to fucking slow down, and not be coming to him like this.

"Why the hell would I be coming to you to talk about this?" He asked, and I was seeing him clearly slightly annoyed at this question. I was sighing, and I was feeling that he had every right to be feeling this way. But I had no idea how to be telling him what I was feeling here.

"I think that it would be good for me to know everything. I mean, that could always be a friend of mine." Candice said, and then she was sitting down a bit further, and stared at the guy right in the eyes. She was never the scariest person around. But it was enough to be getting him to be taking her more seriously.

"Besides, don't you want to perhaps be the hero of the day, in case something were to happen?" After she had told the guy this, he was looking at Tina, and he was seeing her looking like this was not up for debate anymore.

"Bob, if you turn her down, there is a good chance that somebody goes missing that you could prevent. Just give her some of the basic shit." After she was telling Bob this, he was sighing, and he was looking like he wanted to make Tina happier than anything, no matter what that was going to fucking take.

"Alright, I guess that I can fucking talk." After he was saying this, he looked like he was just sort of regretting ever having those words leave his mouth. As if he was going to be setting himself up for a death sentence. "So if you want to know more about some of the stuff that is going on in town, I would suggest going to the summer camp. I heard Lazarus was working with another less known company in order to make a factory next to it." After he had said that to us, I saw him looking like he hated his life here.

"Thank you Bob. My friend and I will remember what you said." Candice said, and looked right at me, as if thinking that guys needed to fucking chill out when it was coming to talking to girls about what was going on with their time. But then I was shrugging, and decided not to say anything.

"Let him be doing his own thing. he answered the fucking question." I said, and this time, I was showing a relative amount of annoyance and anger at this. She was sighing, and decided not to be saying anything else for the time being. So with that, we were walking off, and I was considering what to say now.

"Do you think that you got all that you fucking need here? I mean, I feel like soon enough, everybody is going to be treating us like the fucking bad guys." I said, and then I was going to be willingly sounding selfish when I was telling her this, I was seeing that she was just kind of going to be letting it all slide.

"I guess that it will have to do. I mean, it might not be related to the missing girls, but if it is related to Lazarus, then I guess that it might be good enough." She was saying, and she was clearly just trying to be finding a way to be getting through this better for me. With that in mind though, I was feeling better with her at my side now.

I needed to get Candice to know that I was willing to be helping her out, and that I wanted to help her out. But that I just needed to be sure that she was doing this for the right reasons. Part of me was just unsure of that, and that was the thing that was scaring me the most. The thing that I was thinking that I just needed to be more careful of.

Scene 5: Father's First Lie

Five days had passed since the grinder incident happened again, and once again, I was sort of on my own, and not really caring much about what Candice was doing on her free time. She wanted to do something that I was too scared to do, and she was wanting to do something that I could have never done on my own.

I had almost forgotten about the conversations that I had that day. Almost. The two that always came back to me were the ones about the factory, and the attempt to get Matt to open up a bit. I needed to get a resolution to those two, if I was wanting to fucking have a chance of making sense out of this.

I was thinking that maybe that would be my first goal if I were to be going out again. Trying to speak to him, more openly, and more just in a way that would be getting him to be feeling slightly comfortable. I was thinking that by doing that, Matt would just tell me what the issues were.

But the other one was figuring out if the statements about the factory were true or not. I needed to just fucking see if the factory being built would give me any fucking clue on what those companies were trying to accomplish. And why it would be tied to missing people in the first place. Which confused me even more.

I was seeing that my father was working on his usual job. He looked up at me, and he was sighing, as if annoyed to talk right now. As if whatever was bothering me, he just needed to pretend to be interested in this, and just get the subject over with. "Hey Mimi, were you needing any help?" He asked, and I was unsure what to tell him.

"Just some rumors that have been hearing about, and they are kind of getting me a bit unsure of what to be thinking now." I said, and then I looked at him, and he was looking totally unsure of what the hell he would have wanted to tell me. But then I saw him looking like he was just getting ready for more random and annoying conversations.

"What rumors are you talking about?" He asked, and I was wondering why he even cared so fucking much about what I was hearing. People just made rumors and shit all the time. Surely he must have known this. But I was thinking that he would not take no for an answer.

"I hear rumors about a construction project going on near the summer camp. A factory that is going to be used to uncover material from down below. I have a feeling that I would want to know more about it. Plus, there are some people that I have been going to school with that I think would be good to get to know." I said, almost just cliff noting that shit.

"I am helping with that project. So it is true. It started about three weeks ago." He said, and then I nodded, doing the math, thinking that the project started roughly thirteen to sixteen days ago at the time of Bob telling me about it. "The material that we plan on getting is too dangerous for the general public to be using. It is for the best of the city that my group of men gather them."

"What the fucking hell are you talking about?" I asked, and I was seeing my father looking like he was wanting to tell me to behave myself, and watch my tone when I was talking to him. But then he was sighing, and I was seeing that no matter what he would want to say, that I was not going to be listening to him at all.

"My group had found something that had not been seen since several decades ago. We thought that this stuff had been destroyed entirely. It was the entire reason why the investigation in the Castle of Cagliostro began in the first place." He said, and then I looked at him, kind of really confused on why he was expecting me to know that.

"What is the Castle of Cagliostro?" I asked, thinking that maybe he would to least try and give me some insight if he was putting so much fucking point to it. He sighed, and I was just thinking that the history lesson he was going to give me was going to be vital to my understanding of Wayside.

"It is a place that was here several decades ago. It was located near a cave that was sealed off. It required two rings to enter through there. The rings were found, the cave was opened, and there was this matter that was so powerful that many people theorized that it was the closest thing to magic men and women would make." He said, and then I looked at him for a bit, just baffled at what he said.

"Are you seriously telling me that you bought that shit?" I asked, and I was seeing my father looking like he was rather angry with me just not taking something like this more seriously. Like I was actually down playing the most serious moment in Wayside history.

"I was there when it happened. I saw the news head lights. It was a horrible controversy that happened. And it led to the issues that happened in Wayside since. Such as the explosion at the mines that followed less than a year later." He said, and then I looked at him, utterly shocked at this statement.

"That was nearly fifty years ago dad. Have you been lying to me this whole time?" I asked him, and he looked down at the ground, and he was aware of the statements that I meant. His stories about meeting mom and falling in love with her in school. But if this was the truth, then that story was a fucking lie.

"It was for your own protection. It was to make sure that you never knew the truth of what I was doing. I am ashamed of most of the things that I had done back then, and I am just trying to be making them all right. But making sure that you are safe is something that I am willing to fucking accept." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and had nothing to say here.

"Are you telling me the truth?" I asked, and then I was looking up at him, and I was needing him to just cut me the fucking shit. As he was looking at me, I was seeing that despite what I was saying, and despite my feelings here, he was genuinely betrayed by the way that I had spoken to him just now.

"Yes, I am telling you the truth. I would have no reason to be lying to you about these things." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and I was sincerely wanting to buy everything that he had been telling me. But then I was just forcing myself to fucking focus on the discussion at hand. Maybe I could get through to him better this way.

"The factory is true. You might not understand or care about it, but what we are doing is for the right reasons. I would never be doing something otherwise. I would have hoped that by now, you would have understood this." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and told myself to fucking calm down, and not be angry at anything he was saying.

"I will believe you. I just hope that you are going to be ready for whatever is being thrown at you. If it turns out that something is happening that will prove your statements wrong, then I might not be able to really forgive you." I said, and then he was standing up, and I was seeing him looking rather angry at this statement.

"You do not know what it is like to sacrifice everything to take care of a child that you had. You do not know what it is like to make sure that your daughter gets everything that she needs, no matter what, and that you will have to do anything to make sure she survives the best life possible. I am doing everything that I can, and if you even try and deny that for a moment, then you need to look at everything that I have done for you before you even think of telling me off again." After he had said that to me, I was looking down, and I considered what he had said.

"Sorry. I am just thinking about everything that people told me. All the rumors about Lazarus, and everything taht they have been claimed to be doing to the girls." I said, and then I was wondering if my father knew or cared for the rumors. He looked at me, and I was seeing him soften up a little bit.

"That is fine to be unsure. But the truth is that I am not related to that fucking company. I am just having a tempomary alliance with them. In order to make sure that we have a common goal met. I have no idea what truth there is to the missing girls, and I think you need to make those choices for yourself. But until then, please know that I am not doing anything that I am unsure of." He said, and then looked around, trying to find something else to say.

"What if I make the wrong choice? I never know that stuff for sure, and that is what scares me." I said, and then I looked at him, and my father was looking at me, and he was looking like he was treading on some dangerous territory. He then shook his head for a second longer, having no idea what to say now.

"The only choice that can be wrong is the one that you do not make for yourself. I have done many things that I personally felt like were wrong. But at the time, with nothing else in mind, were the best ones that I could have done. I am sure that you will be doing much of the fucking same." After he was telling me this, I was smiling at him, and I was really fucking glad to be giving me that benefit of a doubt here.

"I will hope to keep what you said in mind for the future. I don't know if I agree, but I guess that it is better than nothing." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I was wondering why I was even trying so hard to be getting him to think that I was not some worthless piece of shit. It was none of my business what he thought of me.

"Just do not let those rumors decide everything that you think or feel. Make the choices by yourself. Make sure that no matter whta you feel, and what you decide, that those choices are your own. That is the only thing that fucking matters. Do you fucking get me?" He asked me, and then I was slowly nodding, and I was thinking that arguing with him was the last thing that I needed to be doing right now.

"I will consider what you tell me. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me at least." I said, sincerely meaning what I said, and I was just thinking that if he did not believe in me, then that was going to be a shame. But maybe that was something that I deserved at this rate. So with that, I was shrugging, and had nothing else to be saying now, leaving him alone, and not wanting to get him even more angry at me.

Scene 6: Thirteen Year Old Therapist

I was just trying to forget about the little spat that my dad and I had that previous night, and I was feeling that maybe he needed to just have some time to himself. Just to kind of be making peace with all that was going on. I was walking down the street again, and i was feeling that maybe talking to Matt once again was going to be a decent starting point now.

And in all honesty, I was unsure of if Matt was even going to want to talk to me. He was wanting me to probably just never speak to me again probably, and in all honesty, I guess that maybe I would not have blamed him. After all, I did force him into this discussion in a way, and that maybe that was what I needed to look at.

I was telling myself that once I would see him again, I would see more about what he was dealing with on his family. I was not a huge social person, so there was no way that I could help him with his family. But I could try and make him feel a bit better. But as I was walking along, that was when I was seeing a person that I was not considering before.

As I had seen him, I walked up to the guy, and I was thinking that maybe he was going to be rather annoyed with me starting to speak to him. "Hey, I was wanting to ask you some questions about your brother." I said, and then he was looking up at me, and I was seeing that he was not buying a fucking word of me.

He looked like he was just trying to hide his annoyance as well as possible, which I guess was fair enough considering everything else. "What were you wanting to talk about with Matt?" He asked, and then I was recalling the name that Matt had given me earlier. I was seeing him looking like he had not slept in a fucking week. Which I would find out was partially true.

"I was wanting to see if he was avalible any time soon. I think that I am going to need to be talking to him soon, and just see what he can tell me." After I was telling him this, I was seeing that T.K. looked rather confused at me asking him this. He probably felt that he deserved a fucking reason to this all.

"He is already in a relationship. If that is what you are trying to do. And he is rather fucking loyal to that woman." T.K. said, and I was looking right at him, and I was thinking that maybe what he was saying was a valid enough statement, despute how embarassed that I was about talking to him about this.

"That is not what I want to talk to him about. I hear that he might have some information relating to Wayside, and that he has some things he wants to tell me about Lazarus." After I was telling him this, he looked at me, and I was seeing him looking like he was not buying a single fucking word of what he was hearing.

"I have a hard time buying that you are not going to be in it for that. I know that everybody loves him. And I highly doubt that he has anything related to Lazarus that I would not be able to tell you already." After T.K. was telling me this, I was sighing, and I was thinking that maybe he was being fair enough here.

"Fair enough. I just think that maybe I need to see what we can talk about here." I was saying, and I was sighing in annoyance, and i was really not wanting to have T.K. be the guy that I was having the conversation with. After all, I heard all about his temperment, and it was a pain in the ass just hearing about it.

T.K. looked like he was the happiest person ever when I was telling him this though. As if he was glad to be seeing that at least one person was willing to give him a chance, and not be throwing away every single thing that he had been told earlier. "Talk with me at the park for a bit." After he was saying that to me, I was sighing, and decided not to really argue with him here.

Eventually, we were getting closer to the park, and I was thinking that maybe this was a terrible idea the more and more that I was wrapping my mind around this. I was thinking that maybe if I was going to be speaking to T.K., and I could get him to trust me, then maybe that would force Matt to talk to me as well.

I was thinking that if I would be able to get his trust that way, it would be a slap in the face to his time and his patience. But at the same time, I wondered if Matt was going to not really appreciate me talking to his brother anyways. Which I guess was going to be a fair enough sentiment, depending on how deep it had gone.

Once we were at a bench, T.K. was looking like he was just confused on what to be saying right now. He was almost looking like the entire thing that he had wanted to be speaking to me about was just going to be thrown away. "Look, are you sure that you are going to want to talk about what you asked me for?"

I looked at him, and I was unsure of what to be telling him. In all honesty, I was thinking that if he was going to be trying to talk to me like I was a random fucking person to talk down upon, then I was not going to be down for this at all. But I was sighing, and told myself not to be a asshole.

"I think that I just need to talk to people about all of the things that are actually scaring me about Wayside. I mean, I wanted to have my friend Candice not be looking into this shit. But at the same time, I think that maybe she might be right. Maybe she really is onto something." I said, and then T.K. was just looking totally lost.

"What is your friend talking about?" He asked, and then I was nodding, thinking that maybe I just needed to be talking to him in a more casual starting point. I was thinking that it might be fucking insane that I was talking to him about any of this in the first place. But I decided to just remain silent.

"She just thinks that with the assassination recently, that maybe we need to be taking this whole thing more seriously. Finding out why the fucking man had died. And just seeing if it was the right thing to happen this way." I said, and then I was seeing T.K. slowly nodding, as if just pretending to understand here.

"I wanted to know about that as well. I think that you just need to accept that maybe she is probably right on this. After all, if something really is going on, then you are going to have to just hear the evidence out." After he was telling me this, I was shrugging, and I had no idea what to say.

"Maybe I just do not want to be the fucking hero. In all honesty, being a hero is something that is going to be totally out of my fucking realm of reason. After all, I think that the assassination in town is just something that I need to let the police take care of." I was saying, and I was aware that the police were not to be trusted.

"You seem like too smart of a person to be buying the idea that the police are actually going to be giving a single shit what is happening with that man. Anything that this man was doing, and anything that might be investigated, is just the sign that the police are scared, and that they are trying to cover something up." T.K. said, and I was wanting to believe in him so badly.

"I just feel like there is nobody in this town that I can trust if I do not go around and trust the police. They are going to be acting like I am the worst person who had ever fucking lived." I said to him, and then I was seeing him look around, clearly just tryingto decide if he was even wanting to deal with something like this in the first place.

"What made you get that fucking angry at everybody at the town? I mean, surely there are probably some people in town that you probably trust." After he was telling me this, I was shrugging, and I was thinking that I could tell him about my father. In all honesty, I had no real reason to though.

"I just feel that way after I found out that my father is a fucking liar, who went around and has been going around and just caring about himself all the time. I thought that he was better than this." I said, and then I was seeing T.K. looking like he had no idea of what the hell to be telling me here.

"Honestly, you should have expected something like this. Everybody who is getting involved in these businesses is a fucking liar, and I think that you should probably have figured that out." T.K. said that to me, and then I was looking at him, thinking that he just needed to have a better grasp on what I was thinking.

"I thought that he would have never been keeping his stuff secret from me. He told me that no matter what was happening, he was going to make sure that he was doing the right thing. But keeping me as a fucking laughing stock is not going to accomplish this." After I said that to him, I was seeing T.K. try and look different here.

"Do you think that maybe he is the one behind some of the missing people?" He asked, and then I was looking at him, I was shaking my head, and I was thinking that he needed to just not go that far with his questions. But I was remaining silent for the time being.

"I would never say that about my father. I mean, I would never think that he would be doing something so awful. But if he was behind this, or even just enabling him, then I fucking hate him!" I wanted to scream, and then he was placing his hand on my shoulder, trying to be making me feel differently.

"You do not know anything yet. You got to give him a chance. And you got to put what Candice says into considertion. I think that she might be telling the truth here, and that this is what you need to be looking at here." He was telling me, and then I was looking at T.K., and I was thinking that maybe it was as easy as he was telling me here. Maybe I just needed to fucking get this done with.

"I guess that I will see what she might have to say. She might actually be the only thing keeping me safer. Maybe she and I could be going on and seeing what the factory that is being built near the summer camp is like." I said, and then I was looking at T.K. and I was seeing him looking a bit more interested at this. But he was looking around to make sure nobody caught us.

"What is that going to be?" After T.K. asked me this, I was shrugging, having no fucking answer for him, and I was acting like I had no idea what the hell I was even going to be telling him at all. But then T.K. was just continuing to look at me as if there was no choice on the matter.

"Just something related to the missing girls. My father insists that it is small business dealing here. But to be honest, I do not believe in a fucking word of what he says. That is why I am getting so fucking angry at him." After I was telling him this, I was seeing T.K. looking like he had wanted to just get more out of this now.

"Anything that is related to their cases is all needed to go forward. I need to know more..." T.K. said, and then I was looking at him, and I was thinking that he just needed to fucking chill the fucking hell out over something so fucking small in the first place. But I just decided not to say anything.

"I don't know. In all honesty, I heard it at a labyrinth party. But the stuff I was told was that it was a project to unearth things. And to be honest, I just think that it is not really all that important to the main things that are really bothering me about Wayside." After I was telling him this, I saw T.K. smile at this, as if glad to be hearing me open up more.

"What else is bothering you about Wayside? I mean, there are a lot of things that I can understand hating here, but I think that you just need to be starting to get more specific here." After he was telling me this, I was seeing him looking like he was starting to lose a minor amount of patience here.

"A lot of stuff is bothering me here. But the main things I guess are the facts that it seems like every time that I do hear about something, and it seems like it is something that connects to the town's issues, it is taken away from the history of the town." I was shrugging, and then I was seeing him looking like he was just confused. So I decided to continue.

"Like it seems like everything in a certain time slot is gone. Everything about the summer of 1963 is pretty much taken away from history aside from the fact that a guy was nearly beaten to death. But even that information seems to be rather loose, and with virtually nothing else to go." I was telling him, knowing that what I said would lead nowhere.

"It is obvious that these things are just used to be pretending like nothing is happening here. People are scared of admitting the truth that Wayside is a fucked up town. Everything that can be used, is thrown away. I think that some people got really close to learning the truth here." T.K. said, and I was thinking about that one gas station guy from near the edge of town.

"Sheldon Lee. I have no idea about what he is doing though. He is a fucking crazy guy, so I want him to not really be dragged into this all." After I was telling him this, I was seeing T.K. looking like he was having nothing else that he wanted to speak much of here.

"I am not going to be going further on that guy. I mean, I think that he is some messed up person to be honest." T.K. was saying, and he was looking kind of tired here, and I saw him looking like he wanted to talk more. But that he was gettig angry at this very discussion.

"I just feel like that everything that I have been feeling about growing up, and the hopes that I had in people are going to be fucking wasted. I think that I am just going to be the one who is going to be a fucking monster here. Just lying to myself so fucking much here." After I said that to him, I was seeing that T.K. was looking kind of confused on why I was even saying anything like this in the first place.

"I know what you mean. And I am not just saying that. I really do. Everybody that I grew up with had been lying to me, and I had to deal with something like this. I had to deal with the fact that all politics in the town were just used to be covering up everybody elses fuck ups here." He was shrugging, and then he was nodding. "So I get why you are upset."

"I feel like everybody in this town is just selfish. Nobody fights for what is right. I know that I will never do anything good here. But why can't other people just fucking grow up, and just make things better for this town? Why are teenagers the only ones who actually want to do something that the shitty adults refuse to do?" I asked, and then T.K. was sighing.

"I have no idea what to tell you. I think that adults are just taught to follow what they are told, and that is it. What the fucking hell else can you expect from that?" He asked, and then he thought that what he was saying was making a decent amount of sense. I was thinking that the way he was talking to me was fucking insane.

"But when it comes to their own fucking daughters, or their own sisters, I think that the situation goes beyond what people are needing with money. Is money really more important than personal happiness? Is money more important than family?" I asked, and I was actually feeling like I was against the world now.

"I have no idea what to tell you here. I think that maybe that is something we will only get when we are older. But I am going to just leave it alone." T.K. said, and then he was shaking his head, as if thinking that if he was going to even try to say something there, it was only going to be inevitably proven false with years.

"I guess that maybe I should have expected that. But who cares anymore? I mean, I have no idea why I am talking to you about all of this to begin with. I have no idea if you are going to be able to answer it all." I said, and then T.K. looked silent, and he was looking like he was needing to challenge me.

"Just try and find somebody that ruins this fucking idea. Maybe by talking to people, and just seeing what they think, might be a good enough statement for you." After he was telling me this, I was just seeing that he was losing most interest that he was having in this subject, which I did not blame him on.

"I don't know if that is possible. But I guess that I need to fucking try. You are right. There is no reason to not give it a chance." After I told him this, I was seeing T.K. looking a bit happier to be seeing me like this. Happier to be seeing me admitting that there is more that I can get out of this in the first place.

"Thanks for talking to me. I will try and reach out to Matt eventually. But I guess that is not possible, then this will be fine enough." After I said that to him, I was shrugging, and I had nothing else to be saying at all. Nothing else fucking mattered at all anymore, and I was going to just keep it all alone.

Scene 7: Respondence

I sat down in my room, and I was thinking of what I was going to do. I decided to look at the computer, and figured that I would check the email that I had made a year ago. I checked it every night before bed, but I only got replies that mattered once every two weeks or so. So I never needed to spend more than maybe ten minutes per night.

As I was checking it, I was seeing that the email message was from a person who I had literally never heard of before. "A level of help with your issues." I was confused what the fucking point of the message was going to be. But deep down, I was having a feeling that there was something he was meaning.

Eventually, I clicked the email, and I was just thinking of what I was going to do now. "Hey Mimi, I was hearing about you and your interest in the town, and I was hoping to go on and clear some fucking things up for you." After the email started that, I was confused, and decided to just think of something.

"My name is Izzy. I am a couple of years younger than you. That is why you do not know who I am. I just have been into this subject for a couple of weeks longer than you, and had a head start on figuring out what the hell is going on here. But I will try and help you out here.

I guess that maybe a way to help you figure this out is just giving you a story. Not mine per se, but it is one that is going to fucking get you started on seeing where people are just hiding these fucking issues on a much deeper level.

So the story that I will tell you is of a man named Justin Ryder. From what I understand, he is the first person who really started to try and do something about the missing people. Or the first one that actually fucking had any progress on figuring out where to go here.

It started off in 1951, when the school year had started to come to a end. Justin at the time was thirteen years old, and he was trying to get ready for the neighbors that had moved into Wayside. His parents were going to be gone for a hand ful of days. From what I remember, he had the first weekend plus Friday of every month to himself. Business deals with his parents I guess.

He was hanging around, and staring outside, waiting for the truck to be showing up. He was the happiest man in the world, as if thinking that with the person who was moving here, he might be able to go on and be best friends with her. A hour or so after his parents had left, that as when the truck had come up, and then Justin decided to see who this person was.

Then with that, Justin ran out of the house, and he started to look around, and see that the two parents of the child were already getting ready to just get this all done with. Justin was feeling like destiny was calling him. As if this was everything that his entire life had been building up to.

'Hey, how are you enjoying the sights so far?' Justin asked, and he was thinking that by asking some questions, he might get these people to start to like him a bit better, and that they might actually think that he was a decent kid so far. They looked at him, as if kind of pissed that he was wasting their time.

'We have to move here because of business. We have no time to really be looking around, and seeing the area.' After the mother was saying this to Justin, that was when they were heading on back. Justin was thinking that maybe he would have to just be on his own here.

As Justin was heading on back to the house, thinking that it was clear that these people wanted nothing to do with Justin, that was when a slightly younger male voice called out to him. Then with that, Justin turned around and saw a boy who looked like he was roughly eleven years old.

'Hey, are you going to be living next to us?' He asked, with all the joy in the world. Seeing this made Justin feel so much fucking better, and made him feel like he was going to have a fucking chance on finally having at least one friend out of this small group.

'Yeah, I am going to be living next to you. My name is Justin Ryder.' Justin said, just hoping that maybe by just getting right to the point, and not wasting any further time, then the kid would be happier.

'Cool. My name is Shaun Reichenbach.' He said, and Justin was shocked at this. He knew that the guy was going to eventually reveal that secret sooner or later anyways. And the fact that the last name sounded slightly familiar in his mind. Maybe something related to a strange company in the area. Not that it was any of his business."

After he had heard all of this, that was when I was standing up for a second. I was looking around the area, and that was when I was feeling that I needed to take a moment to really fucking think about it all. This was the story about the first man who had been fighting against Labyrinth. If it is real.

But now I had a name. If I was wanting to fucking help Candice, which I wanted to do more than anything else in the fucking world, I needed to fucking find out how the hell I could learn more about Justin. And I was going to need to learn how I was going to be able to talk to Shaun Reichenbach about this. If he was willing to talk to me anyways.

I was then thinking that I just needed to fucking focus on the main issue at hand. I needed to see if I could get Izzy to tell me more. "So you are saying that basically if I learn more about Justin Ryder, then I might be able to learn more about what is happening in this fucking town?"

After I sent that email, I decided that I would continue to read the short version of the story that Izzy had given me. "Justin was wanting to get to be friends with Shaun really badly, and as a result, did not really care too much on questioning anything else related to the name itself.

'So Shaun, do you think that living in Wayside is going to be a whole lot of fun?' Justin said, thinking that if for nothing else, even if he was not wanting to hang out with Shaun more, he would be able to use this as a chance to get to know more about the business that his parents were talking about.

'I think that it is going to be fun to see the town that my parents grew up in.' Shaun said, looking at Justin, and then Justin decided that he was going to just remain silent. As the reality was that his own personal issues in town and his enjoyment of certain things was not really going to be enough to fully judge the place.

'It will be alright. You need to be making your choices on your own. I doubt that your parents would make you do something that you are not going to be to ready for.' Justin said, and then he was looking at Shaun, as if thinking that what he was saying was making a lot of sense. Justin looked down, nodding at this.

'It seemed like they were forced into this. So I guess that maybe we just need to not be too worried about this.' After Shaun was saying this, Justin was just thinking about wanting to talk more on it. But Justin was thinking that there was a good chance that everything that Shaun wanted to ask would come later.

'So Justin, do you want to go around town, and just show me the sights?' Shaun asked, and this was when Justin was thinking about the friends he had wanted to hang out with. He wanted that more than anything in the world. But when he was thinking about it, he was certain the parents were going to be horrible enemies if the situation created it.

'I guess that we can do that.' Justin said, thinking that he would just leave it at that. He was walking along, and he was thinking that whatever the hell Shaun wanted to do, Justin was going to just have to be playing along for a while. Justin and Shaun were walking down the streets, as Justin was just picturing the whole thing in his mind.

As Justin and Shaun were walking along, Justin had been thinking about how much he would rather be hanging with his friends that day, and not be forced into this. But at the same time, he was reminding himself that he did want this originally. 'So Justin, I was wanting to ask you a question.'

'What did you want to know?' Justin asked, sort of interested, and wanted to know what the main issue was. Shaun was looking down, and he was clearly looking like he was embarrassed by even asking anything like this in the first place. But Justin was just remaining silent for a bit.

'Are the rumors true? You know, about the missing girls, and the grinding sounds?' Shaun asked, and then Justin looked at Shaun, as if really feeling like he was just needing to know something. Shaun was looking like he was wondering if he had perhaps made a giant mistake saying that.

'Are you saying that where you grew up with, that this does not happen often?' Justin asked, as in the first thirteen years of his life, he has sincerely thought that these things were regular and all around town. He was thinking that if this was not the normal thing that people had to deal with at Wayside, the he would have to question his reality.

'I did not. I would probably be scared if it did. It sounds scary.' Shaun said, and then Justin was thinking that the most scary thing about this whole thing was him learning the fact that this was not a regular thing in town. The fact that he had felt like he had been lied to this whole time.

'Thanks for letting me know.' Justin said, and he was honestly furious at this. Not furious at the noises themselves, but furious about the lies that his parents had told him. He had been told that this was normal and that he needed to just get used to this. He had been lied to by his parents, and that just disgusted him so badly.

Shaun looked like he had no fucking reaction to this. He looked like he was just thinking about what Justin might have been thinking a bit too deeply about this. But then again, Shaun was not the one who had basically been going through a small life crisis to his own extent.

'Forget I said anything.' Shaun said, and then Justin was just looking around town, and he had been considering everything once again. As if he was a blind person learning about colors. And with that in mind, he was thinking that there was nothing else to his life. With that in mind, Justin decided to just look more into certain things when he had time."

I was closing the email after this. I was thinking that if I wanted to know more, and if I needed to know more, I would just fucking go on and read it later. I was thinking that maybe I would talk to my father or mother about Justin Ryder, and I was thinking that by asking them about him again, and this time in a more casual town, maybe my parents would understand talking to me about these things more. But I was thinking that first, I needed to do my own investigation. And to do so, I needed to get friends, like Matt.

Scene 8: A More Welcome Meeting

I was coming along, and I was seeing Matt again, and now when I was looking at him, I saw him looking slightly more willing to be talking to me. The place that I had seen him this time was near the central town, and it had looked like he was listening to some form of a speech.

I was looking at him, and then sighed, and I was thinking that I needed to just try and establish a bit of a better connection with him.
"Hey Matt, sorry for being a pain in the ass the other day. I should have been trying to see what you have felt first." I said, and then I was looking right at him. Matt looked at me, and he was looking shocked to be seeing my consideration.

"Oh don't worry about it. I just was scared of what people were going to be thinking if they actually heard me talking to you about these things. To be honest, I was just trying to make sure that my brother was not going to be a target coming up." Matt was telling me, and then I looked right at him, and I was just trying to find something to be telling him.

"You seem to care a lot on making sre that he is going to be safe. I wish that I had a sibling that I was able to care about so much. I think that maybe that would help me really think differently about everything." After I had said that to him, I was seeing Matt looking like he was relatively unsure of what to be telling me.

"It might help with your personality, but it is something that really fucking makes you question your motives on everything. And to be honest, that shit can get fucking exhausting. But I guess that I do not need to be telling you any of that." After Matt was telling me this, I was shrugging, and I was having nothing else to be telling him.

"Do you think that maybe we could find something that we can be able to talk about? You know, to just make this whole situation less awkward for you?" I asked, and then Matt was then shaking his head. I was surprised to be seeing him turn down the offer so resoundingly. But I was seeing him looking tired.

"Honestly, I think that such a thing does not fucking work. We both know that we are only really in this for the fucking town. We know that labyrinth is the only thing that makes the town actually give us any answers." After he was telling me this, I was shrugging, and I was thinking that Matt was just wanting to drop the subject.

"Yeah, I know that deep down, you are right. But to be honest, I think that just trying to find something here might be able to make things slightly less annoying for us." After I was telling him this, I was shrugging, and I was having nothing to even say now.

"To be honest though, I just think that if I try to be looking any further on this, then I am going to be losing a small amount of my hope in Wayside. I think that I really just do not want to be doing anything that is going to be getting Wayside to be totally fucking ruined here." I said, and Matt sighed.

"I think I got it. But to be honest, I think that if something like that is a issue, then you need to ask yourself something else. Do you really think that you are willing to be taking the risks, and to be doing something that matters, if this is going to be the way that you are going at this all?" After Matt asked me this, I was looking down, and I was really having nothing to say here.

"Do you really think that you want to know the truth of this town? I understand if you do not, and I would not judge you if that is the truth. But be honest with yourself." After Matt was telling me this, I was thinking about what he had said. I was trying to find a proper answer.

"Why would you want to be learning the truth? If that is the argument that you are making, then I just really need to understand what your feelings here are." I said, and then I was seeing Matt looking like he was finding this question to be something that would make him think a bit harder.

"I don't know what I want. I guess that I want to be making my brother feel safe. I want him to be feeling like he is able to have somebody there to make him feel like he is being listened to. I guess that this is what I would want." Matt said, but I just refused to really say anything at all.

"What I really want is just the knowledge of knowing that what my dad is doing is the right thing. I want to be aware that he is doing something that is going to be helping Wayside. But I think that something like this is just going to be fucking impossible. The other thing that I want is just to be doing whatever I can to keep Candice away from danger." After I was telling him this, I was shrugging, and thought that I was sounding stupid.

"This Candice girl means a lot to you. Do you think that she is the most important person that you know?" He asked me, and then I was shrugging, and I was thinking that the way that he had asked me this was just a small attack. I was then thinking that either way, me not answering would somehow make me the bad guy.

"She is my best friend. She told me that she had a rough family that she wanted to be moving away from. That she would not associate with. But to be honest, I have no idea what to do to help her with that. So I just try and make her feel like she is having somebody at her side." I said, and then I was seeing Matt just looking out of it.

"What family do you think she has?" Matt asked, and then I looked at him, and I was looking right at him, and I was kind of annoyed with him asking such random fucking questions. But I decided not to be saying anything, and I was just thinking of what we were going to do.

"I think that she admitted that she was related to a politician, according to her stories? She tells me that her father was a powerful man, but that she does not talk with him at all." I was sighing, and I was thinking that maybe I would just leave it at that. I knew nothing about this person at all. In all honesty, I think that it was none of my business.

"If she was related to a politician, I think that she would have a really easy to find connection. You would probably be able to find her family if you looked them up in the library or something." Matt was saying, and then I was looking at him. I wondered why he would have cared over this. It was no real deal.

"I think that she would not want that though. And to be honest, the last thing that I would want to do is just hurt my connection with her. She deserves better than what I might be doing." I said, and then I was seeing Matt looking like he was disagreeing with that idea. But that he was just thinking of a way to say it properly.

"You were the one who was telling me that you wanted to find some people who could help you out. And that is going to be the way to accomplish this. So I would suggest that you just put aside your personal feelings, and you just go on and fucking look." After he was telling me this, I was then just fucking confused on what the hell we were talking about here.

"Why the hell are we bringing my fucking friend into this whole thing. To be honest, I was just bringing her up because I wanted her to be feeling better. I think that if we are going to be having this discussion, then we might be making a big mistake here." I was telling him, and then Matt was just taking a second to consider what I said.

"Sorry. I should be thinking of what you are feeling a bit more. I know that I might be a bit rude. But to be honest, I guess that maybe I am just trying to be helping you out here. Even if you do not think this way at all. But I guess that I am just having a hard time showing it all." He was saying, and I was able to appreciate him admitting his faults.

"I know that you want to do what is best for some people. I guess that what I am trying to say is that something like that is going to be fucking impossible to be doing depending on who we are talking with. Honestly, I think that you are going to have to accept that everybody has different perspectives on what will make them better." I said, and Matt was considering what I had said here.

"That doesn't mean that I can't just try and see what I might be able to find. People have been scared about me, and I do not fucking blame them to be honest. I just am trying to find out what my brother knows, and then perhaps force him to talk to me when he finally grows to realize that I know what I am talking about." Matt was saying, and I looked at him, as if thinking that this statement was going to be fucking insane.

"Do you seriously think that knowing a lot of shit is going to be forcing your brother to finally open up with you? I think that you just need to understand that he is never going to be doing that. Just being honest with you." I was telling him, and he was looking at me, as if rather annoyed that I had been saying that.

"You think that I do not know that. I know what my fucking brother is like. I know how fucking stubborn he can be. And that is the thing that scares me the most about that man." Matt was telling me, and then he rolled his eyes, and then he was shrugging, as if thinking that there was nothing else to be telling me.

"Yeah, I guess that maybe that might be making some sense. Sorry, I do sometimes find myself getting carried away when I am trying to help out and making the situation a bit better." After I was telling Matt this, I was seeing him looking like he was having virtually nothing that he had to say here. I was aware that he was just finding this all a bit much.

"Don't worry. Deep down I know that your heart is in the right place. But to be honest, I think that he does not realize that I am going to be making him talk. I am not going to be asking him to talk. I want him to have no fucking choice at all." After Matt was telling me this, I was looking down, and I was thinking that his way of looking at it was rather fucking dangerous.

"Well, just do not be too forceful about this all. If you do not want to be getting him angry at you, and you want him to actually feel like he will trust you, then you will be on your own." I was wondering if I was really helping Matt out by saying all of this shit to begin with. Even though deep down, I knew that I was now.

"Mimi, do you ever just want to hang out with people, and just see what they are like? I know that these days, with all the stress about missing people, it might be fucking impossible." After Matt was telling me this, I was looking at him, and I really had no idea what I was going to be telling him.

"I think that maybe you might be onto something with it being really hard. But impossible? I would be thinking that something like this is something that we can all do. After all, I have been doing this most of my childhood. And technically, we have been doing this all fucking day." After I was telling him this, I was seeing Matt looking like he was just trying to be finding a way to make the conversation a little bit different for us.

Matt was looking like he could not really wrap his mind around all of what I was saying. As if thinking that I might have been insane. "Honestly, I want to be able to open up, and just talk about various things that I know that I will be enjoying doing. Not things related to my fucking brother, and all of the fucking shit that he is doing."

"Do you have any hobbies that you are interested in?" I asked, thinking that I just needed to give him a fucking chance to just open up the way that he might have been doing. Matt was considering this, and then he was starting to shake his head before he was finding himself forcing to open up with me.

"Honestly, I have some stuff that I enjoy doing. But nothing that I would want to be going around to admit. For instance, I like to go on and drive around a bit. Driving makes me just take my mind off of things." After he had said that to me, I felt that maybe he was going on a good idea here.

"Do you think that you might enjoy being a tow truck driver? You know, delivering shipments to gas stations and stuff?" I asked, and then I was seeing Matt looking like that was a horrible idea. But one he was considering nonetheless.

"In all honesty, I guess that maybe something like that might not be too bad. It is something that I would certainly not want to actually do though. In the long run, it does sound like a horrible fucking idea." Matt was telling me, and then I was smiling at him, and I was thinking that by having him telling me this, I was starting to get to know him more.

"I never really found myself getting into driving. It is hard for me to enjoy it when I am always scared of having a crash or something." I admitted, and then I was seeing Matt looking like this was a funny statement. I saw him looking like he was willing to challenge me on something.

"Before I talk any further about the driving, I was wanting to ask you something else that might sound a bit silly. But did you talk with my brother T.K. a few days ago?" He asked, and I was thinking that I might as well just be honest about it. There was no reason to be taking this so seriously.

"Yeah, I did talk to him. But we were getting nothing out of it honestly. We just ended up talking about random shit that honestly did not really do much to be helping me out." I said, and then I was looking at him, and I was feeling that by just telling him this, he might be able to take things easier though.

"I think that he might be hiding some things, and I think that just talking to people who actually are getting to fucking know him is the best way to be accomplishing this." Matt was telling me, and I was seeing him looking like he was just wanting to scream out loud at how his brother was fucking doing. I was unable to blame him, to some extent.

"Do you seriously think that he would actually know anything about this town? I honestly think that he might not know nearly as much as we might be thinking here. "I mean, I honestly think that he really only knows some of the basic stuff. And if he is really aware of some of the deeper stuff, and he is not telling you, then I think that this is a good sign that this is none of my business." I was shrugging, and I was seeing Matt looking deeply unsatisifed.

"I guess that maybe he is just trying to leech information out of everybody else." After I was telling him this, I was seeing Matt looking like he was rather annoyed at this whole thing. I was laughing at this statement. I was then thinking of a way to be making him just think that I was treating him slightly better.

"I mean, maybe that is true. But that is something that most people are doing anyways. So can we really be to upset about it all." After I was telling him this, I was seeing Matt looking like he was just wanting to fight more, but refusing to say anything else.

"Honestly Matt, I would be far more worried of your girlfriend then I am of Matt. In all honesty, I think that Sora is just a bit too far into this whole thing. Just look at her next time you are considering this all." After I was telling him this, I was shrugging for a small moment. As if he was losing all will to fucking argue.

Scene 9: Getting Shot Down

I was making another plan in my mind. In all honesty, it was a dumb idea, and I was thinking that I just needed to fucking be more careful on what I was doing. But if I was wanting to help people out, and try and be making a fucking difference, I needed to be branching out and just see what I could get.

I was heading to the Wilson house, and I was thinking that I would just force Rachel to talk with me. If Rachel was not wanting to talk to me, and if she was going to be angry at me for trying to speak to her, I guess that I would be able to see what she was feeling. I think that it would be a valid enough feeling. But the fact was that I just needed to get her to explain to me what T.K. might have been doing.

In all honesty, I was thinking that the other people who had been talking with him might be getting far more respect from him than us. As much as I was not wanting to admit this to Matt, I was think that T.K. might have been having some angry feelings at Matt, or feelings of distrust, and that is why he is not making a difference here.

Once I knocked on the door, that was when the butler answered. At this point, I was seeing that even he was probably having his patience be tested by having all of us here. I was thinking that maybe by speaking to him, and just getting him to possibly think that I was different from the others, then he might be feeling better.

"Sorry for taking up some of your time. But I was wondering if you were able to introduce me to the Wilson parents. There are some things that I would want to talk to them about." I said, and then I was looking at him, and he was now looking like he was slightly more interested in this all.

"They are very busy and only talk to those who have certain business with them. It is neccasary in order for them to have time in order to do all of their jobs." After the butler was telling me this, I was then thinking about what I was going to be telling him. I was thinking that he would be more than willing to listen to this next piece.

"My father works with Shaun Reichenbach. They are working on a factory that is at the summer camp." I said, and then after I had said that to him, he was looking like he was much more interested in this. As if this was the thing that I should have told him to begin with.

"Alright, I will give you a chance to speak to them." After the butler said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was rather unsure of what the hell I was going to be saying. In all honesty, I was thinking that talking to these parents was more important than Rachel. But Rachel needed to be giving me some answers here.

As I was inside of the mansion, I was wondering if the reason the butler was forcing all of this on me was so that nobod could be bothered by all of this so badly. I was looking around, and then I was seeing that he was just looking along, trying to find something else to say. But that he was not going to be rude in order to make the situation a bit better for us.

I was looking around all of the rooms, and I was looking for the one that said Rachel on it. Once I knocked on it, I was then thinking about how fucking insane this must have probably looked to Rachel. The fact that some random person who she had never gone to school with was going to trying to have a conversation with her in the first place.

Eventually, that was when that was Rachel answered the door. As she had answered this, I was seeing that she was clearly not looking like she was wanting to be having this conversation at all. As if thinking that I was going to be rather fucking rude by just trying to be speaking to her.

"How many people are going to be trying to force me to have these conversations with me? I mean, it is fucking insane, and it is starting to fucking piss me off honestly." After she was telling me this, I was then thinking of a way that I could be going at this, and not be making it seem like I was too flusttered at this whole thing

"Did something happen the last time that somebody was trying to be doing this?" I asked, and then I was seeing Rachel looking like she had been rather saddened by this. As if this was her talking about the idea of her friends dying or something.

"Yeah. A lot of things happen. People try to make some friends with me, and they think that they are being the fucking hero, and that they would be doing no fucking wrong. And then they are getting a rude ass awakening with the people around them being total fucking assholes. The fact is that many people in Wayside are monsters. Full stop. We do not need to be building any fucking suspense here." After Rachel was telling me this, I was just trying to be finding a different way out of this discussion.

"But even if the destination is the same, don't you think that the journey is more important? I think that you are just making a rather big fucking mistake by getting so angry at this that you are suddenly just forcing these discussions somewhere else." I was saying, and I was seeing Rachel looking like she was rather tired at this. Rachel was looking like she was not even going to be having this idea entertained at all.

"That is not so fucking easy to be saying. Trust me when I say that this whole fucking thing is just really tiring. I want to be having people be doing their own things, and not be getting angry at me. But to be honest, I think that nobody is going to fucking care at all." Rachel was looking like she was wanting to say more, but had no idea where to go here.

"I want people to stop pretending like they care for everything that is happening to me. They do not care, and they keep acting like this is a huge fucking deal. But I guess that everybody is going to be going around, and pretending like they are super devastated with what happened to my fucking cousin." Rachel said, and then I was wondering what to say.

"What happened to your cousin is a big deal. I think that most people in town are aware of this, and just trying to fucking help you. But you are to worried about this whole thing." I was telling her, and I was seeing that Rachel was looking like she was in no mood to be going through this all. I was then looking around.

"You do not really understand what it is all like. I am just thinking that I am going to have to stop going around, and stop fucking listening to all of this stuff? I am just feeling like I have to start to turning down people on my own right." After he was telling me this, I was feeling like I just needed to take this whole thing more seriously.

"Rachel, if people are trying to fucking listen to you here, then you just need to fucking stop playing around. You need to be giving people a chance. But if you are refusing this, and you are going to be turning away from everybody, then I think that you are making a really bad fucking mistake." I said to her, and I was wondering if she had any idea on what we were doing.

"Sorry, but I have already made my fucking mind up here. I am not going to be playing around anymore. And if you do not agree with me, then I think that it doesn't matter." Rachel said, and then I was starting to walk off, and I was thinking that I needed to just be remembering that Rachel had made up her mind, and that was not of my concern.

I did not even waste my time trying to talk to the butler as I was walking along. I wanted to just be alone. But to be honest, I was thinking that he was going to be treating me like a fucking shit head. I was thinking that if he did not like me for whatever reason, that was not going to be my business.

I was going to be speaking to my parents about this later. Maybe when they were going to be seeing me again, they might be feeling a little bit better about this. They might be feeling that since I was at least trying to be making this whole thing better for people was going to be able to just change their mind about all of this.

I was getting closer to my house, and I was wondering if maybe Rachel was right about all that she was saying. After all, she was just scared, and I was thinking that her fear was getting to her a bit more than I was wanting to be talking about. So with that in mind, maybe I was going to just have to try and prove myself to here.

Once I was at my house, I was smiling, and I was starting to be looking around. I was thinking that my father was probably just too busy to be caring about most of the things that were going on. I was thinking that by speaking to him once more, and just trying to see what his fears were going to be, I would just try be making it clear to him that I really was fucking sorry.

I was looking around, and I was thinking that if my father was going to be talking to me about what hs job was, and if he was willing to be receptive of me, and not be just pretending like I was just a waste of space, then everything would have been all fine. I was shaking my head, and I knew that he was noy going to be doing this, and walked inside.

I just went to my room, and I was thinking that my father was going to be talking to me, and he was going to be basically telling me to fuck myself. I was thinking that when my father and I would talk again, I would just have to give off a piss poor apology to get him to not be angry at me.

Scene 10: A Mutual Apology

I was walking along, and I was wondering if there was somebody that needed to just talk to, in order to try and make it all better for them. I was thinking that I needed to try and apologize to Sora for the way that I had been treating her earlier. And in all honesty, I was thinking that she deserved to be angry at me with the way that I had been earlier.

I was thinking that if I could talk to Sora, and get her to see that it was never my intention to be making her feel bad, and that it was making me feel bad that she had been dealing with all of this. I was thinking that if I could talk to her, and see what she was feeling, then maybe we could actually start to get along a whole lot better.

I walked along for ten or fifteen minutes, thinking about just reaching the centeral park, where she was earlier, and the moment that I was there, I just sat down, and I was rubbing my eyes. I was thinking that maybe when I was done with this, I would go on and speak to Candice for a while. Just see what she would have been feeling.

The more that I had been thinking of Sora, the more that I was thinking that maybe she was just naturally fucking stressed on her own right. I guess that I would not be blaming her for feeling this way. I was thinking that if this was to get much worse, she was never going to be forgiving me. She was going to be acting like I was fucking satan or some shit.

I waited for about five minutes, and was eventually telling myself to just drop the subject, and that it was not that fucking important what Sora was thinking of me, and with that, I was starting to just walk along, and then I ended up finding her. And when I saw her casually walking by, I considered what I was getting myself into now.

With that, I ended up just walking, up to her, thinking that even if she was over it, and even if this did not matter, I needed to just do it and see what she would have been feeling. So with that, I told myself to just apologize for being rude, and then she would probably be willing to forgive me.

"Hey Sora, I was wanting to talk for a bit." I said when I was only about ten feet away her. Sora looked at me, and she was looking rather annoyed to be seeing me. As if I was the one person that she had never wanted to deal with again. I looked down, and I was thinking about how that was going to hurt.

"What about?" She asked, and while she was seeming to be mostly neutral, I was almost finding that to be even worse than if she was angry at me. At least if she was angry with me, then I would be aware that she was giving me some fucking emotion. So with that, I nodded, and told myself to just go along with it.

"I was wanting to tell you that I was sorry for the way that I had fucking treated you earlier. I thought that it was not that big of a deal. I just had no idea what your interest in all of that stuff was anyways, and to be honest, it kind of just annoyed me that you had approached me." I said, and then I was seeing Sora looking like she was just not too sure what to say.

"How do I know if you are telling the truth?" She asked me, and then I was looking right down, and I was feeling that the way that she was asking me was going to be the exact opposite of the way that I had wanted to be discussing this all. "I mean, the way that you were acting was rather fucking rude."

But before I was able to say anything, she was starting to speak, and she looked like she was willing to speak to me a bit better. "Look, I guess that maybe I had made some mistakes along the way as well. I was kind of rude to you as well. Well, not rude per se. But I was a bit sudden and random with that question, and I should have really considered that first." After she was saying that to me, I smiled at her telling me this. Glad she took my thoughts in consideration.

"I mean, I guess that you mentioning that to me did get me to be somewhat interested in the subject. Much more than I would want to admit. I mean, for fucks sake, my friend Candice has not been able to shut up about the assassination ever since it happened. If I did not know better, I would be thinking that she would want to die." I said, and then I was shaking my head at this.

"I guess that I would not blame her to some extent. After everything that is happening in Wayside, maybe that would be best." After she had said that to me, I was looking at her, and I was shocked at the way that she was telling me this. But I decided to not really be anything, to not anger her.

"I would not exactly say that fucking dying of all things if the best way out of this. But I guess that maybe when you are so fucking sad, and desperate to be getting out of this, I would not be too sure. But at the same time, I think that maybe we just need to fucking acknowledge that something is going on. Even if we do not know, or care, what it is?" After I was saying it, I was seeing Sora looking like she had no idea what to say.

"I don't think that anybody denies that something is happening. But at the same time, I think we all know that getting ourselves killed is not going to fucking be worth it at all. But I think that you probably know this." After she had said that to me, I was thinking that if Sora was going to be like this, then I would be feeling a bit better now.

"I just think that my friends are getting obsessed with this shit. And that I am starting to get scared for all of their sakes. I mean, Tai of all people is just acting like he is the fucking hero, and I do not want him to be taking this thing way too far." She was saying, and then I was wondering what she meant by 'taking this thing way too far.'

"I mean, his initial intentions of helping Kari were great. But in all honesty, I think that if Kari was wanting this so fucking badly, then she would understand that her older brother was getting far too deep into this, and that she was making things worse for him." After she said that to me, I was trying to be making her think differently on this all.

"Who the fucking hell is Kari?" I asked, barely even aware of who Tai was. So I was thinking that she just needed to get me up tp speed. Sora looked at me, and she was looking rather surprised for a second, and then after that, she had sighed, and then remembered that maybe I was not the one who was up to date on all of these things, like she was.

"His younger sister. Eleven years old. I think she is getting scared because she herself is getting rather fucking close to the fucking age where would be considered a good target." After Sora was telling me this, I was nodding, and I was starting to feel a bit bad for her, and I was thinking that befriending Kari would be for the best.

"I guess that maybe just wants to be making things decent for her. As if trying to be her fucking hero or whatever." After I had said that, I was shrugging, and I was having nothing else that I could have said at all. I wanted to find something to tell Sora. But at the same time, I was thinking that it was not really my fucking business to be telling her anything, or making her feel better at all.

"Do you think that I would be able to get along with Tai?" I asked, and then I was looking at Sora, and I was seeing her looking utterly shocked to be hearing me ask this question. I was seeing that she wanted to give a answer, but had no real way of telling me anything at all.

"I mean, if you tried hard enoygh, I think that it could work out fine enough. But why would you want to be going on and doing that, when you don't even know who he is?" She asked me, and then I was thinking of something that I could have said that would be able to make her feel slightly better about what I was trying to ask.

"I think that maybe if I want to be seeing if he is too far gone, unlike my friend, then mabe I can try and speak to him. I think that there is still a small chance that I can be able to go on and talk to Candice, and get her to be talked down. But to be honest, I have no idea if something like this would even be worth it." I said, and then shook my head.

"I think that the issue is that when he tries to do something, he gets a crazy amount of courage in his mind. He becomes a different person. He thinks that he is the only one who can do something different. He is unable to be talked down." After Sora was telling me this, she was shrugging, and had nothing to say now.

"Do you really think that him having courage is all that bad of a thing? Maybe him trying to be doing things differently is going to be what people need. I mean, I think that my main issue is hat I know that I am living in a fucking lie. And I think that this is at least partly my fault." I was saying, and Sora looked around for a bit, trying to think of what to say.

"Do you think that you will have to be talking to somebody about it?" She asked me, and then I looked down for a second, and then I was wondering if maybe I could just speak out to her, and I needed to see if I could be able to make her feel at least slightly different on this all.

"Yeah, I think that talking to somebody would be all that I really need. In all honesty, this kind of just scares me. I thnk that maybe speaking to somebody else who doesn't know me might be the only way out of this." I was saying, and then we were walking away from the park, and I was seeing that Sora was clearly looking like she had no desire to be doing this at all.

"So what is it that you are thinking you need to hide from people?" She asked, and then I was wondering if maybe I was just being a fucking idiot or not. I was shrugging, and then felt like I just needed to go on and tell her. I would rather be saying it than to be a fucking liar.

"I found out a bit of what my father is doing. And in all honesty, it pisses me off. It makes me feel like he is a fucking liar, and that I have been so fucking duped on everything that he had been doing." After I had said that to her, I was seeing Sora looking like she had wanted me to just be more specific about this.

"He is working on building a giant factory near the summer camp. If he does this, people are never going to be able to have their regular summers again. As if taking away a large part of the freedom that matters." After I had said that to her, I saw her looking a bit shocked at the way that I was acting.

"Is that it? I mean, sure it might suck for the kids, but to be honest, that is not the worst thing that people could be doing at this town." After Sora was telling me this, I was thinking about what I needed to do, and what I could be able to tell her, to be making her feel at least a bit different.

"How are we getting the funds to work on such a project in the first place? Why would they build one? I mean, it seems like there is no reason to do it. Other than gathering materials that they claimed they have discovered." After I had said that to her, I was seeing her looking like she was just trying to act like she as shocked at this all, but could not reall force it in herself. Which might make some sense.

"I mean, there are some theories that I have. But I would really not think that telling anybody these theories would be smart in public. But it is related to the missing girls." After Sora had said that to me, I lookd right at her, and I was seeing her looking unsure what to tell me.

"I kind of had a feeling you were going to say that. And with the wording you are giving, as much as I hate to admit it, I think that maybe I know what you are talking about." I said, and then I was seeingher looking like she was wishing that she had never even brought this up before.

"Where do you think we should be going to be talking about this?" I asked, and then I was seeing Sora looking like she was actually considering the fact that I had been asking her this in the first place. She almost looked like she was regretting this question, but decided to just talk to me for a bit.

"Maybe my house would be a good spot to be discussing fucking theories." After she had said that to me, I was nodding, and then I was thinking that maybe I was just needing to play along with what Sora was saying. I could not believe that she was giving me a chance in the first place.

"Thanks for giving me a chance to be talking about this. It makes me feel better knowing that people are actually fucking listening to me though." After he was telling me this, I was then thinking of what I was going to accomplish. As we were walking along, I was thinking about Candice.

"Do you think it would be fine if I talk to Candice about this when we are done? After all, she was the one that wanted to be looking into this all before I did." I said, and then I was seeing her looking like she was unsure of what to say. But then she nodded, and figured that she would allow this.

"Yeah, I think that something like this might be a good idea. Just make sure that no matter what happens, you are going to make sure that she does not tell anybody who would be leaking this information public." Sora said, and despite not wanting to say it, I was unsure if Candice would do that.

Sora and I were at her house and in that moment, it was feeling so much better to be hearing her giving me a fucking chance. I was feeling like I just needed to be making her feel like she was willing to trust me a little bit better. "So Sora, what rumors are you planning on telling me about?" I asked, and then I looked at her, and she had looked scared now.

"Well, I heard a rumor about people being sold off when they would be going missing." After she had told me this, I was nodding at her, and I was thinking that maybe something like this might actually be making some sense. As much as I was thinking about it, and hating to say so.

"Well, I mean, I guess that something like this might actually be fucking true. I mean, you might have to fucking admit that there is some good evidence behind it all." I said, and then I was shrugging, and then I was thinking of it. "But that being said, do you think there is any clues on where to head?"

"Honestly, I think that some of the main clues that lead to it is just all of the fucking money supplies that are going on in town. I mean, they are not the most damning evidence in the world. But it is something that needs to be looking at." After Sora said that, before I would tell her that there was more that I needed to go off of, she was indeed willing to tell me.

"I think that there is simply much more to it than that though. The fact is that people have been claiming that no matter how hard they have tried, and no matter how hard they have looked, there is literally no fucking place for anybody to be. It is like they literally just vanished along." Sora said, and I was thinking about it for a second.

"Sora, are you sure that you would wanting to be talking about something like this in the first place. I mean, I can see from the look on your face that this subject makes you uncomfortable." I said, and then I was trying to just make her feel better about the idea of people going missing, and that it was fucking nothing.

"Honestly, I think that if it were making me comfortable, and if I was wanting to talk about this, then I think that this would be saying much more about me than anything else." After she had said that to me, I was then thinking about the way that she had reacted, and I was thinking that it was making me feel so much better.

"Fair enough. But I mean, if they were being sold, key word being a huge fucking if, what do you think that the town would be getting out of them? Drugs? But I hear nothing on it at all." I said, thinking that the idea of drugs being the solution was just really fucking hard to imagine.

"Fair enough. I think that drugs is going to be the last thing that we need to look at. But maybe there is some form of trafficking. It would at least help explain all of the fucking money that would be coming along to this town. So I think that we just need to consider that going forward." After she was telling me this, I was then thinking of it all.

"I think the issue is not exactly what the answer itself is, as much as the fucking fact that nobody in this town fucking knows anything about it at all. I think that the reality is that since nobody knows about it, either the people who are behind it are the smartest people ever, or everybody is playing with us." I said, and that was giving a look of fear on Sora.

"And both of those options are fucking scary as hell. I would not want to be thinking of what would be happening if either of those two things are going down." She said, and then I was standing up, thinking of what I had just fucking said, and I was shaking my head in both fear and uncertainty.

"I guess that somethng like this would explain my fucking father. Always going around, and trying to act like he is innocent on it, but then revealing that everything that he had been telling me was a fucking lie." I said, and as I was telling her this, Sora was looking like she was just kind of surprised that I was bringing that up in the first place.

"Why are you bringing your fucking dad into this whole thing? He has nothing to do with anything at all." After she had said that to me, I nodded, and I started to laugh, and I was so angry at the way that I was talking to her about any of this. The fact that I was resorting to a woman who had treated me so horribly just before.

"Just a conversation that we had been having before. He had revealed to me that there was a lot of things that was going on, and that things were basically revealed as all one big fucking lie." I said, and then I was then seeing that Sora had looked like there was virtually nothing that she would have wanted to say her.

"I mean, do you think that you are going to want to review his fucking notes? If you have the chance to be able to do something like this, then I think that maybe you should just try and see what you might be able to take advantage of." Sora suggested, and then I was looking right at her, totally unsure of what I wanted to say.

"I mean, I never thought of it. I think that I would want to never do that. I want the truth. But I don't think that I would want to be sacrificing the way that I have been thinking of him my entire fucking life." I said, and then I was seeing that Sora had looked like this was a bit of a shame.

"Do you think that maybe thoughts like these are what is able to cause things to happen in the town? The fact that there is family sentiment, and that people are far too scared for this?" She was asking, and then I was looking at her, and I was wondering what the hell the issue was, and her goals had been.

"Are you saying that I should be the one of all people who should be going on and trying to talk to my father, and see what he might be seeing? I think that as horrible as that is, maybe that is just a bit true." I said, and then I was feeling like her telling me all of this was going to be a fucking betryal.

"I am saying that you should consider it at least. But I am not going to stop you if do not. I think that it is something that I am having no fucking spot to be telling you. And I need to remember that it is probably a bit much for you." She said, and she seemed to be sincere about what she was saying at that moment.

Scene 11: A Different Friend

I was thinking that maybe talking to Sora any further was going to be a waste of time, and that nothing was going to be coming out of it. So with that in mind, I was thinking that I would just head on, and try to find somebody else to go on and talk to. See if they had any new perspectives that they would be fine with giving me.

I was feeling that the best way to be getting the information that I had needed though was to go on and try and find somebody who was new to this whole ordeal. A person who I know for a fact nobody ever told me about. I just think that talking to friends of mine, and seeing what they might have been personally feeling on it, might make me feel better.

In a way, I was wondering how much differently I would think of my friends if they ended up having a deeply held belief about this town that I never knew they were capable of. For all I knew if I tried to talk to many of them, and see what they had been thinking, then I was going to be having a whole different perception of the reality here.

I was walking along, and I was thinking of just meeting up with a friend of mine or something, for some basic hang out stuff, at least on the service, and then slowly reveal what my real intentions were. As I was going by, I was hearing a call coming from the phone. Shocked and confused, I was walking to it, and picked it up.

"Hello." I said, slightly worried that I was going to be pranked or something. There was a slight second of silence for a moment before a female voice had come up. One that I had heard a couple of times before.

"Hey Mimi, I found your number looking around. I know that I was telling you that I wanted to not talk about the subject of my cousin at all. Well, I found something that I figured I would tell you." Rachel said, and then I was both pissed that she had done tht behind my back, but also interested in her find.

"So my friend Julian had told me about the fact that he went into Andrea's locker with a couple of people. He had given me the names, and he was telling me that he would be willing to talk to you about their contents if you were interested." Rachel said, and then I was thinking that for better or for worse, that this was teh best lead I would have.

"Where can I find him?" I asked, and she told me the exact area that Julian was willing to meet me. After she was done with that, I thanked her for her time, and was shocked to be hearing her giving me any information at all, that I was willing to just be happy with what she had just given me. "Thank you for the time."

As I was hanging up on her, I knew that I needed to just fucking do it. I needed her suggestion to be put to use, and I was scared that Julian was going to be leading me to a fucking trap or something. But to be honest, in a way, I was finding myself not even fucking caring anymore. I just wanted to be doing what I was thinking was right.

I was walking along, and I figured that I would start with some basic questions, like what he was up to, and what his issues were with telling Rachel about what he had found. I was wondering if he was going to reveal that maybe this whole thing was set up from the start, and that he did not want Rachel to know this.

And besides, even if something was happening, and even if it was something that I needed to worry about, I was sure that Julian was going to be just letting me know anyways. After all, he was the one that was suggesting that we had this meet up in the first place. And I was wanting it to be on the grounds of fucking respect.

The only thing taht was really scaring me about Julian was the idea that I was never going to be one hundred percent sure what his motives were going to be. I had no idea if he was sincerely wanting to helping me out. Or if he was just doing something for his own personal gain. Either way, I was going to just keep myself at a observation distance.

Before I even knew it, and before I could make any ideas on what to be doing, that was when I was already at the area that Julian was telling me that he had wanted to meet up at. So with that, I just sat down, and figured that whatever needed to be coming up, he would be here at any moment.

I was looking around, and I was trying to find a way to see where Julian was, and if he was wanting to talk to me about what his friends had even done there in the first place. That was the main thing that I was interested in. Why the hell they decided to break into the high school to begin with.

I looked up at the sky, and I was thinking that there was a good chance that I just simply needed to hide these things from Candice, since in all honesty, I was never really going to be too sure if she would have ever been ready for this on her own right. I was thinking that she was not going to be nearly as ready for any of this as she was planning.

Eventually, I was hearing avoice behind me. I looked up, and started standing. "Hey, I am glad that you decided to go on and speak to me. I was worried that you were going to turn me down or something." Once he was done, I was then thinking that if it was somehow possible, Julian was even more strange than T.K. At least he had the excuse of only being thirteen, so haad no idea how to discourse with a seventeen year old.

"Honestly, you are willing to give me something. And that is all that I need to be willing to give you a chance." After I said that to him, I shrugged, and I was hoping that telling him that was not going to be something that I would regret telling him. He sighed, and sat down next to me, as if unsure of what to be thinking or saying.

"So you are trying to get a contract out of me?" He asked, and then I looked right at him, and I was seeing that he was just trying to get a fucking response out of me. I was shrugging, and I was thinking that there was nothing else to be telling him.

"I never really thought of it like that. But the reality is that I want to help a friend of mine, and I want to make sure that she is able to do something that I am sure she could actually survive. I am worried for her safety, and I just do not want to see her dead." I said, and then I was wondering if Julian was going to have any opinions on that.

"So Rachel must have already told you the type of information that I am willing to discuss with you." After he had said that to me, I was shrugging, thinking that I would be honest, and say that she had given me a very loose version of what had been going on.

"I know the literal basics. You went to the locker room, got stuff out, and that you want to tell me what you found. That is literally all that I fucking know." I said, and then Julian was smiling as he had heard that. He stood up, and took out a cigarette, and looked right at me, as if thinking that he would blow me away or something.

"I guess that if this is all that you know, I might as well get you up to speed on more of the stuff that is happening." After he had said that to me, he was continuing his smoke, and I was unsure if I wanted to try one or not. I didn't, but when it was being smoked right in front of me, I was finding it alluring in its own way.

"Truth is, I think that something might have been planned from the start, and that we are going to be making a giant fucking mistake by over looking everything. And I think it would be in my interest to tell you what." Julian said, as I looked at him, both interested, and fucking terrified.

"I should have expected you to be telling me this. I mean, that would explain why you were so fucking set on only having me talk with you about this." I said, and then I was looking at him, wondering if he was going to be telling me more, or if he as just going to be leavng it at this. In all honesty, either answer was going to fucking scare me.

"Yeah, I never wanted Rachel or Tobias to know this unless if they end up finding it out on their own. Which I hope that for both of their sakes, that they do not." After he had said that to me, I was then wondering what the hell he was going to be saying to me now.

"I think that there is a good chance that she might have been taken away." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and I was well aware of the fact that he was probably fucking going to be saying that to me. And as soon as he had said that, I was having so many fucking things running through my mind.

"Taken away by somebody, or perhaps even something else entirely?" I asked, and I was looking right at him. I was seeing that Julian was looking like he was unsure of which answer to give me. He might have been looking for the one that might have bothered me the least or something.

"Somebody I would hope. Well, I hope that it was neither. But if I had to choose one that I would prefer it to be." Julian, and he was clearly looking like he was basically disgusted at the fact that he was choosing which way he would have preferred his friend to die. I was looking down, and I was feeling a bit worse when I out it that way.

"Sorry. I should have known that this was a dumb question. But honestly dude, please don't take it that way. Anyways, if this is something that you think is going on, I think that it is reasonable to say that many people are going to actually want proof of this." I said, and then Julian nodded at this. As if thinking that having it any other way would have been wrong.

"Well, I would be thinking that a good starting point would be looking at the activities that she was up to when she was always out with her boyfriend Ocho." After he had said that, I was not even going to give him the chance to speak further unless if he was going to be giving me this answer right here and right now.

"Are you saying that you think Ocho might have had a fucking hand in this?" I asked, and looked at him for a moment. As I looked at him further, I was seeing him calming down, and then he shook his head. As if thinking that at least that could be able to be said for the guy he was never super fond of.

"No, I was never a big fan of the guy, and he and I had many disagreements of the past. But I would never be thinking that he would have been the one who would do that to Anrea. He simply would have no reason to be doing such a thing." After Julain said that to me, I was then thinking of the couple of times I had indeed seen him.

"If you do not think that he is responsible for her going missing, then why are you bringing him up to this conversation. The whole thing seems to be counter acting what you had just told me." After I had said that to him, he was shrugging, clearly not too certain on what he would have told me now.

"She spent so much time with him that last year that I think that it is almost vital to be looking at everything that they had been doing. That if we do not do such a thing, then perhaps we are going to be losing out on what we have been looking for. I think that we need to be taking everything that he did, and then use that as a general starting point." Julian said, and then I was sighing, and I was thinking that maybe there was a small amount of logic here.

"Alright, you make a fair enough case. I will at least look at what you are looking for." I said, and then I was thinking that everything he had been saying had better be worth it. Because if we were going to be dragging Ocho into this, and we were going to learn that he had nothing to do with it, then I would be disgusted at the general behavior here.

"Where do you think that you would be able to find him?" I asked, clearly thinking that I might as well just get his opinion on this now. Julian was shaking his head, stomping out his cigarette, and looked right at me once again, as if thinking that we were going to never have to have that discussion again.

"I think we will have to be looking for where he is, and not him in general. It is fucking impossible to be finding him these days. I hate to admit it though. I think that maybe he is taking the idea that everybody might be looking for him way too seriously, and if just lurking in the shadows and looking for his own answers." Julian said, and I was thinking about that for a second.

"I know he had a journal he kept on top of. I think that after Andrea went missing, he might have given it on over to Rachel. That seems to be a bit familiar." After he had said that to me, I was smiling, and I was thinking that we might have to use that as our starting point.

"Well, I guess that if you want to find something else that might be able to help, then you need to fucking go and reach Rachel's place again. I think that she might not want to talk to me much though. Although she was the only reason we even met up with each other right now." I said, and then I was shrugging at this, thinking that I would leave it up to him now.

"I will talk to her then. I will just try and scout out some information, and see if she might be able to hand it to me. Then with that, if you really want to know more, you can read it. I doubt Ocho even remembers what it is anymore." He told me, and then I looked at him, and I was wondering why he was takeing that statement so seriously. As if he was just hoping that Ocho would be gone.

"It seems like you really want nothing to do with him. Can you be willing to tell me what that issue is?" I asked, and then I looked at him, and I was seeing that he was looking like he had not been proud of what he was thiking. As if he was being a total fucking embarassment for even having the thought in his head.

"It is something stupid and silly. I just wished that she would understand that I wanted to do what was best for her. But I think she was just so fucking entrhealled with the guy that she refused to be giving Rob or I a chance to really hang out with her anymore. As if we were just secondary concerns in her mind." Julian said, and then I was shrugging, and I had no idea what to be telling him at that. If there was anything to say.

"Look, I know that something like this might hurt for you. But the thing is that sometimes people choose things or others that you are not a fan of. That is a thing in life that we have to accept. I am not the best when it comes to love and advice. But maybe there was something about that guy that you just do not see. And that as a result, you have pushed the truth to the side for far too long." I said, and then I saw him looking at me, as if he wanted to blow my brains out.

"I mean, I guess that maybe that is true. But he just came waltzing in, and I hardly even knew who he was, and then suddenly she acts like he is the only thing or person that matters. It just feels so fucked to be honest." After Julain said this, he was then shrugging. "Not much to do about it now. She made her choice. And complaining about it is only going to make me bitter at her, and I do not want to hate my friend."

"Let's just go to Rachel's house. I will be hanging around, waiting for results." I said, and then I was looking at him, as if thinking that he better go through with it. if he did not, and I was going to trn out to just waste all of my time on this, then I was not going to be very happy with him at all. In fact, I would just want to probably never speak to him.

"Trust me, I think that she would probably want to at least hear out my arguments. So I think that at least for now, we are going to be good." After Rob had said that to me, I was shrugging, and I was thinking that if this was false, and that she was going to be bitter at us, then mabe I was going to have to take over for him.

We were walking along, and to be honest, I was wondering how this Julian guy was going to be the fucking answer to anything. He was such a brash fucking guy, that I was thinking he was going to be the biggest issue to any progress at all. But maybe it was just something that I needed to give him more credit for, once I would actually see what he was like.

"So Julain, what do you think Rob would be doing right now. I mean, I hardly even know the guy, so I have no idea how he is going to operate." I said, and then Rob was shrugging, and he was clearly looking like he was not too sure what to be saying to this. As if I was going to just be wasting time by saying all of this now.

"I think that Rob probably is just grieving over this all. I mean, I get where he is coming from. But he has hardly given me the time of day, and that is the issue that I am getting worried about. The idea that he is supposed to be helping us all out, and he is just trying to just make friends instead. It makes me wonder if he ever really was liking her." Julian said, and I was thinking that the assessement that maybe he did not like Andrea at all was a bit much.

"I mean, I might consider that a bit harsh. But I guess that this is your choice, and I do not have any right to be telling you how to feel." I said, wishing to just drop the subject right there, before I made it any fucking worse for both of us.

Scene 12: The Journal Location

I was hanging out, and sitting down on the bench near the mansion, taking things slowly, and feeling that I needed to give Julian a chance to be taking care of things. For lack of a better way of saying it, I was having more trust in his abilities than I was in mine. And I was thinking that with the way that Rachel reacted to me, it was clear that we were going nowhere.

"Just take it easy." I told him, as he was heading inside, and once he was inside of the building, I was taking a moment to consider everything that we were going through. I was thinking about what Julian would be saying depending on certain situations. And I was wondering if I needed to go on and help him.

Once he was gone, that was when I was thinking about what Julian was going to do if the news was really turning out like his theory. That she had been taken. In all honesty, despite not knowing Andrea in the slightest, and thinking nothing of it, I was feeling slightly bad and worried about her. I was wishing that maybe I had a better way of describing it.

In all honsty, I was thinking that I needed to just follow Julian's lead more than I was wanting to admit. At least he was seeming to have some fucking idea on where to be heading with this, and in that sense, I was thinking that he was much different from everybody else that I had known.

Eventually, that was when I was seeing the skater guy coming by, with the eye patch. As he was seeing me, he was looking like he had no idea what to be saying to me. As if I was going to be a giant fucking issue getting in the way. I was looking down, and I was feeling slightly ashamed of the way that he had given me that look.

"I thought that Rachel was basically sayig that she did not want to be talking to new people about this." Rob said, and while I was seeing that he was at least pretending to be be cordial about it, there was a part of him thatw as wanting to scream at me to get away from him and Rachel.

I was sighing, and tried to be thinking of a way to be reaching out to him in a way that was going to make him feel better about it. "Look, I understand that Rachel is going through a lot. I wish that I was not doing this. It makes me feel horrible to be making her go through this all. Trust me, it really fucking does."

"But your pal Julian was telling me something that I think we both need to consider, and for that reason, we are just checking everything out. I hope that you do not get too angry at us." I said, and then I was seeing Rob shrug, as if having nothing to really explain on the matter further.

"Oh shit. I was wondering when he was going to be coming along again, and trying to help. I honestly was wondering if he had any plans to be doing so after all." After Rob was saying this, he was sitting down, looking like he was just tired, and wanted this to all be done with now.

"The reality is that I think that Rachel is scared of the sincerity of most of these people coming along, and trying to help. I think she is scared that people want to just pretend that they are here to help just because it would be making them look better." After Rob said that, I was thinking of what he said.

I was thinking that it was imperative that I at least showed that I was acknowledging where he was coming from. For better or for worse. "I think that maybe some fear like that does make some sense. In all honesty, I will admit that at least some of my interest was starting off like that." I said, and looked at Rob, hoping he would be fine with this.

"The truth is though, I heard a theory that goes beyond just trying to help my friend. If this theory that I heard is true, then nothing else matters. I need to be making sure that I do whatever I can to help out." I said, and then looked at him, wondering if he was seeing that I was trying to be a team player.

"What rumors were you hearing?" Rob asked, as if thinking that he would at least try and see if he would be able to dispel what I was saying. I was then looking at him, and I was considering the fact that maybe he did not really know the truth of what was going on. And if that was the case, then was it really my place to be telling him?

"I was hearing that some of the people who went missing were being sold off to trafficers. I really do not know if such a thing is true, but I would be willing to admit that it does seem like there is a small chance that it could be the case." I said, and then I was sighing, and I wondered if saying that was a bad idea. If telling him that his best friend might be just gone was what I needed to do to earn his loyalty.

"I was not really wanting to hear that. But at the same time, given everything that this town has in store, and all of the lies, I guess that maybe something like that could be true. But I would rather not be thinking of such a thing for the time being." Rob said, and I was seeing that he was just thinking of what it was like if the theory was true. I was looking down, wishing that I bit my tounge just a little bit longer before saying that.

"Do you think that the town is just trying to cover up one big operation? I mean, as silly as it sounds, if even half the theories are true, then I suppose that we have to look at that idea." I said, and then I was seeing Rob looking like he had wished that I would have never said such a thing. As if I was just being a pain in the ass.

"Is it really silly if it feels like there is more and more validity to the subject every fucking day? The truth is that in all honesty, I have a feeling that people are just trying to find their own place in this town. I mean, in all honesty, the police being a bunch of incompotent buffons could explain not finding some. But every one?" Rob said, and then shook his head.

"Let's stop talking about it, and talk more about Julian again. In all honesty, I have a feeling that his goals are mostly sincere. And that is the thing that I am unsure of. He seems like he really does want what is best for us. But I just do not agree with the way that he is trying to accomplish the goals. I think his way of going at them is a bit wrong." Rob said, and theen he was looking at me, as if wishing that I could consider his ideas.

"He seems like a okay guy to me. Maybe a bit rude. But he does not seem like he is acting with any bad will. I do not know what happened with you and him that made you feel this way." I said, and then I was looking right at him, wondering if Rob was going to give more details or not.

"I guess that maybe I worded my feelings wrong. Sometimes I do that when I have a hard time really expressing it all. But I guess that it is not that important anymore. I just wish that I knew what he was going to try and do with Rachel right now. I wonder if they are catching up, or if he is just doing this for mission purposes..." After Rob said that, he was shrugging, and had nothing to even say there.

"He said that he was going to try and grab Ocho's journal, or something like that. I didn't really think anything of it, and if it helps him find out more of what he is looking for, then I am all for it." I said, and then I was looking at Rob, wondering what he was going to be saying to this.

"I don't even think that journal is in the house anymore. I think Rachel just straight up gave that to somebody else. Because she just simply did not want to deal with it in the house anymore." Rob said, and then shrugged, as if thinking that there was no need to be going any further with it at all.

"Shit. If that is the case, then we are literally doing this for no fucking reason at all. What a fucking waste of time!" I yelled, and i was feeling a relative amount of annoyance at this, and I was looking right at Rob, and I was feeling that maybe I was just getting slightly carried away with this.

"Chill. I mean, I do sort of get what you are saying. After all, in all honesty, it might be a bit annoying to go out of your way and do something that looks like it does not matter. But the truth is that even if you do not get any information, there is a chance that Rachel and Julian are going to be catching up on things. And that is what I think is going to be getting more mileage here." After Rob said that to me, I was then sighing, and had no idea what to be saying.

"I guess that what you are saying is slightly true. I guess that I feel like if we are making a whole lot of progress on these types of things, then we just need to be more careful on where we are doing. But I guess that maybe it is just the analytical person in me speaking out when I say stuff like that." I said, and then I was shrugging, and decided to be taking things more respectfully here.

"Mimi, do you think that your friend would even want you to be doin any of these things? I mean, for all you know, she might be thinkingthat looking into these all might be a really bad idea." He was saying, and then I was sighing at this statement. It was not his fault for saying it. But the reality was that it was something that had crossed my mind.

"If that is the way that she is feeling, then in all honesty, she should have never brought any of this stuff up to begin with. She should have never tried to be playing hero when she was going around. She wanted to know about one thing, and now she is letting thet become a fucking rabbit hole." I said, and then I looked at Rob, not even caring if I was putting him off by saying all of this stuff.

"Sorry for sayng anything like that. I sometimes have a hard time remembering that sometimes it is none of my busness to be looking at any of this stuff anyways. It just makes me feel like we are having so much to be looking at, and then we are just looking at tiny things, and accusing everybody else around us. I mean, if people want to know more, then shouldn't trust be the main thing that we try and gravitate towards?" He asked, and I was thinking about what he said, and I was thinking it was a decent point.

"Well, if you think that trust is the main thing that needs to be kept among us, then would you be willing to tell me some of the things that have happened so far among you?" I asked, and I was thinking that I was going to have to really force him to be holding up to his word. He looked at me, and then he was nodding, as if thinking that he could take this statement, and run with it.

"So much of this all happened because of a friend of Tobias. I think his name is T.K. or something." He said, and then I nodded, knowing a bit more about that kid than I ever thought that I might need to in my entire life. But I was remaining silent at that. Not wanting to be too rude.

"Well, when T.K. was talking to Tobias for a bit, he was able to slowly convince Tobias to try and give him a chance to be able to help out. They basically started to just look around everywhere, and act like they were the main detectives in the issue. Which I guess that to some extent, they might have been." Rob said, shrugging, and decided not to be saying any more on the matter.

"What did they find out?" I asked, and I was looking right at him, and I was feeling that I just needed him to be spilling the truth when he was telling me this. He looked at me, and then shrugged, as if thinking that it was best to just not be phased by the way that I was going at it.

"I guess that everybody has a small amount of time. Sorry for kind of losing sight of that. So anyways, the thing is that once T.K. and Tobias tried to learn more, they sent a couple of their own friends to try and talk to me. These friends were basically just telling me that it was okay to be unsure, and thatthey just wanted to help out. It all seemed mostly harmless to be honest, and I was thinking that in all honesty, if it was the way to be helping them out, then I would tell them what I knew." Rob said, not speaking further for a bit.

"After all, I liked Andrea a lot, and I was just wanting to make sure that anything that could be done to save her would be. I just needed her to be come home. I honestly had the naive thought that once we started to look out more, we would eventually find her in a week or two. I did not think that it was going to be a fucking witch hunt that we would still be on several fucking weeks, almost an entire month later." Rob said, and I was seeing that he was clearly trying to make it seem like he was having hope. When it was obvious there was none.

"Do you think that maybe Julian is just letting his feelings for her get in the way of what Ocho is probably trying to do? It had seemed like from the time that I talked with him that almost anything related to Ocho was getting him rather annoyed. Like he was a fucking traitor or something." I said, and then I looked at Rob, wondering what he would say.

"Honestly, I try not to think of that. I think that maybe despite everything that was going on between them, I have a hard time thinking that there was any real hate between them. I think that maybe Julian realized deep down inside that maybe Andrea just really liked Ocho, and as much as it might have hurt to be able to look at that, he might have been able to see that there was nothing he would do to change it." Rob said, remaining silent.

"I just think that whatever is going on here, and whatever Julian might be thinking, it would be easily in the best interest of him and his feelings not to be letting what is going on get in the way. I think that if he lets his feelings towards Andrea blind the facts, then I think he might end up being a worse problem than anybody else." I said, and then I was thinking that just being honest about that would get Rob to take my seriously.

"I mean, I do not disagree with you. But I suppose that this is none of our businesses to be making any judgments on. After all, for all we have any idea on, it might turn out that his way of looking at things might be for the best, and that he is doing the right thing." After Rob said that, I was seeing that it was clearly in a 'cautiosuly optimistic' tone of voice.

"Yeah, I guess that what you are saying is fair enough. I just think that in all honesty, everything that is going on is going to be really hard to figure out. I am scared that you are simply never going to be finding your friends again. And that is something that I am just trying to accept." I said, wondering why I was taking such a thing so seriously. I hardly knew them, so it was not that big of a fucking deal.

"Why would you be scared of that? You hardly know me. I mean, for all that I would know, what we are dealing with might just simply be another obstacle for you to pretend like you want to help with." Rob said, and then he looked at me, and I was seeing that he was regretting saying that as soon as he had said that.

"Sorry. I should at least try and be more considerate of what you might be thinking. It is just fucking impossible sometimes. I always feel like everything that I am doing is just a fucking joke sometimes." Rob said, and then he shrugged, and decided to just leave it at that for the time being.

"I mean, I do know that it is possible that I will never see my friends again. I think that it is a thing that keeps many people in this town up at night. And that is a reality that needs to be looked at as much as possible. But the truth is that we are too far into this now. One way or another, even if it is true that she is not going to be found, I want to be the one who said that I fucking tried to be doing my best to make it all work." After Rob said that, I was then respecting the new resolve that he was attempting to show.

"I guess that maybe that is all that you can say that you did. And if that is something that you can walk away with, then I think that I need to do some same with my friend Candice. Even if my answers are fucking useless, and have no fucking way of giving her any difference, I think that by saying that I tried at least, will be make it all better." I said, and then I was wondering if hanging out with Candice regularly is going to be a way to make her think differently.

"Yeah, thank you for talking to me." Rob said, and then he was starting to get ready to skate off, and I was then shaking my head. I wondered what was wrong with me, and why I was just such a asshole sometimes. As that was happening, that was when Julian was coming along, with a address on a piece of paper.

"If you want to go on and find the journal, this is the lead that we need to be looking for." After Julian said that to me, I nodded, and I was happy to see him actually come out of that place with something. So that way I did not think that he was wasting my time by being in there for five million fucking years.

"You look bothered by something." Julian tried to push for more details, but I was shaking my head, and I was thinking that even if I wanted to talk more on it, I would just be wasting my time with it, and that I would not be getting anything done at all.

"Nothing really. Just thinking of everything that is going on. You know, trying to keep a sense on what my fucking goals are. Thank you for getting some details." I said, and then I was thinking that as long as we just worked together, then everything would be fine. With that, we walked along, just ready for the next step of the journey.

Scene 13: Roaming Around

Once I was home that day, I was thinking of a different way that I could be going along with this. I was thinking that whatever the hell I was going to get out of that small group of people was fucking done now. That there was just nothing left to get, and that in a way, I would just be wasting my time with it all.

I was thinking around, and there was a few things that I was wanting to take care of before I gave up for the night. Such as the fact that for some strange reason, I was wanting to go on and talk to one person who I was certain would give me some clues if I just simply asked him for it. So with that, I went to the house phone, and took a deep breath.

I was hoping that the guy would answer this time, and that I would not be sent straight to voice mail like the other times. After a few rings, I was thinking that I would just give up and let it go when this time there was a fucking answer. "This is Jim at the down town cafe house." After he had said that, I was sighing, and was just thankful he answered at all.

"Hey it's Mimi. You know, the person who did that school project on your place last year, and you said to call if there was anything else?" I asked, and then there was a half second of silence before the next answer had come up.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that. Were you needing help on another project?" Jim asked, trying to make it seem like he was not going to be slightly annoyed at the fact that I was contacting him at this time. From what I remembered, he was closing in an hour.

"No, not a project. But I had a friend who I think needs my help, and I think that it is time that I can try and give them some answers. They are trying to learn more about the mysteries of Wayside, and see if they can fucking help out." I said, and then I was sighing, wondering what Jim would say to this.

"Are you fucking serious? People are actually trying to figure that shit out still? Well, if you want to talk for a bit, come down tomorrow, and maybe my younger brother will also be able to give some pin pointers." After he had said that to me, I was sighing in relief, although I barely knew anything of his younger brother. Just that they were rather far apart in age. So much so that his brother was only a year, to year and a half, older than me.

"Thank you. I know that this is probably not the way that you want to be spending your time. But I think that there is really no other fucking choice when it comes to helping everybody out." I said, and then I was sighing, unsure of what I was going to accomplish by saying this all.

I went to bed that night, not even really thinking of what the story was going to be like now. I was just happy to be speaking to Jim and maybe even his brother. To be honest, Jim was a kind of good looking and nice guy. I would never want to date him or anything. But you can acknowledge somebody is good looking without wanting to date them.

Besides, he seemed like he was actually happy with his job and life. It was odd to be seeing a person enjoy something in Wayside. And know that this was their job, and their home so to say. But when I was seeing it on his face, that this was what he had wanted, I was thinking that maybe most people in Wayside needed to try and find that.

When I had woken up that day, I was walking along, and I was heading straight to the cafe. As I was heading out, my dad saw me again, and I was seeing that there was a disturbed look on his face. I was wondering what to say to him. But I was just thinking that I would remain quiet for the time being. "I was just wanting to apologize to you."

"I was really rude with you earlier, and you were just simply asking some questions. It was not what you deserved, and I am sorry for that. I wish that I was able to look at what I was doing and be a bit more polite about what I was doing. But sometimes I just have a hard time doing that." After he had said that to me, he shrugged for a bit.

"Just please don't look deeply into all of those things. It will be doing you no good. Trust me when I say that." After he had said that to me, he shrugged, and then left it at that. "But if you are just trying to hang out with your friends, and enjoy your life a bit, then by all means, fucking go for it." With that, I smiled and was really glad to be hearing that from him.

"I guess that I was a bit harsh on my side as well. I think that I was just trying to keep everything under control. I should have at least tried to look at it your way too. So for that, I am also willing to apologize." I said, and then I was walking to my door, and then after a few seconds, I was thinking of what to be saying now.

"Maybe at some point, when this is all settled down, we can talk. But I do not want to force anything. Just a suggestion." I said, and then I was sighing, and I was thinking that it would be best to just leave it at that. With that, I was heading off, and just decided to be leaving things alone for now.

Eventually, I was at the cafe, and I was thinking that I just needed to get right to the point. No fucking messing around, I needed to get this job done no matter what. Once I was inside, I was seeing that Jim was already helping a customer.

"I will help you with all of your questions once I have finished closing up shop. Until then, you need to speak to my brother Joe upstairs." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and I decided to just leave him alone. I was thinking that maybe he was worried about business if I was discussing missing girls and shit.

I guessed that this was fair enough, and I was walking up the stairs, and I was looking around, and saw that his brother was indeed there. The blue haired guy with glasses that I have interacted with all of like three fucking times in my life. "Hey, how are you today?" Joe asked, feeling that he might as well just try and make it feel better.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I guess that I am just a bit unsure. I wish that I had a good answer though." I said, and then I was shrugging, choosing to leave it at that. But despite everything else that I had been feeling, I was then wondering where to go with this.

"My brother told me that you wanted to know more about Wayside, and stuff about it. I will be honest with you when I say that I do not have all the information that you might want. But I guess that maybe for you, anything at all is going to be better than just sitting around and doing nothing." He said, and then I was shrugging for a second.

"I mean, I think that it might be best for me to help out my best friend. I am not doing this for myself though. I will be quite clear about that though." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I was thinking that maybe Joe deserved a bit more respect than what I was giving him. But at the moment, dealing with everything that I was having, I was honestly not even caring.

"Don't exactly blame you. I mean, there is a whole lot of stuff that I do not really fucking think is worth risking my fucking life over. But that is all just my opinion of course. You do not need to be going around and admitting that stuff to other people." After Joe said that to me, I was then just thinking on what else to accomplish.

"Well, I guess that if this is the way we are going at this, then we should at least try and find something to get us both interested in certain pieces of evidence. So Joe, are there things that you have been thinking are rather strange?" I asked, and then I was seeing Joe look like he was unsure of what to tell me, but seemed like he would do everything in his power to just not give up.

"Well, I guess that I always have been unsure and uncomfortable with how many of the stories do not fucking add up." After Joe said that to me, I was nodding, just glad that he was giving me something to work with at least. And that was all that I really fucking wanted here.

"So what do you mean, when you say that the stories do not add up?" I asked, feeling like if I could just push a bit harder, then he might be able to give me all that I had wanted. Joe looked at me, as if thinking that it was insane I even had to ask.

"Well, take people like Sheldon Lee. The gas station attendant who is always working, especially at nights. He always tells people various things, such as how his sister Riley had never been found." After Joe said that to me, I was shrugging, thinking nothing of it at the time.

"Why would that be a fucking issue? I mean, they looked around, and she never came up. Case closed in that regard." I said, and I was aware as I was saying it that there was probably more to it than this. Joe was standing up, and then he looked right at me, as if glad to be teaching me something I did not know.

"That is what the story says. But the truth is that I did some research on the topic since something seemed fishy about it. When I checked around, there was a story about how her partial remains were found on the highway in 1972. I was only four at the time, so obviously I had a bad memory of it, and I was thinking about how that might not have been what I remembred most. But when I did research on it, it was mostly how I remembered it being. So that means that he is either lying, or the news is lying." After Joe said that, I was then nodding, thinking a small bit about what he was saying here.

"But why would he be lying about such a thing? I mean, that makes no sense to me. He would really not need to do that." I said and then after I was saying that, I was thinking about how there might have been some fucking reasons, but nothing that seemed to be making any sense to me.

"I don't know. But I think it might be worth checking out, and seeing if there is a full story to it. After all, you never know is there is something going on, and we are just fucking missing it by a epic amount." After Joe said that to me, I was nodding, and I was thinking that there was going to be more to the story than he was letting on. And that was why I was wanting to go with it.

"I will be honest, and I think that there is no real point in doing any of this stuff. But at the same time, I want to make sure that we can both feel like we are able to work together. So for that reason, I will see what we can do here." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I was truly unable to believe that I was doing this.

With that, we headed out of the cafe. And as we did so, I was seeing Joe looking right at me, and I was seeing that he was looking like he had wanted to be saying something else to me right then and there. "So Mimi, I know that when you think of it, you probably have some stories about this town that you heard of that do not make any sense. Do you think that you would be willing to share?"

"I guess that if I really think about it, there are a couple. I will admit that I think some of the stuff that our teachers say might be a bit suspect. As if they are diverting the question entirely, for fear of what we might say if we were to find out the truth." I said, and then I shrugged, as if thinking that there was no need to be going any further with it.

"So you do understand that it isn't just me saying this stuff to be getting a reaction. I think that another thing that does not add up is all of the stories about the assassination." Joe said, and then I was sighing, thinking that it was going to be a bit annoying to hear everybody talk about that instead of anything else. But I choose to just simply not speak at all.

"What do you know about it?" I asked, genuinely thinking maybe Joe knew something different on it than I did. I was thinking that I for nothing else, I could learn more about the thing that got Candice into this whole fucking bullshit in the first place. Which I was thinking was going to be making it all work it in the end.

"I don't know a whole lot about it. But Jim was telling me that he had actually known Myron back in the past." Joe said, and then I was looking at him, totally shocked at that. Wondering if maybe that was going to be a lead in to more information. "He said that Myron was originally interested in the political scene, but that over time, he got entirely burned out and quit."

"He was simply saying that there was too much bullshit going on around Wayside, and too few people caring about any of it to make any difference. He was always saying that there might have been a good reason for this to. That he might have been wrong in his pursuits." He said, and then I was looking straight at him on this one.

"People can change their minds. In all honesty, I think that if you want to be trying to find something to get out of that, you might have to be looking into more of why he changed his mind." I said, and despite everything else I was thinking, I had been telling myself that if everybody was interested in this assassination, maybe I needed to be more serious with it myself.

"Even if that is true, the fact that he was taken down the moment he started to give speeches, just is a bit off. You hardly even know what he was feeling, or what he was doing. It makes it clear that he was viewed as a fucking threat to those around him. And that some people were just wishing that he was never even trying to do anything is odd." Joe said, and then he continued before I could speak.

"You would think that before something like that would happen to him, he would have a career first. Something to build off of. Something that people would know was a actual record. That is all that I am trying to say. People clearly knew him, and wanted him gone. He was a threat. I wat to know how and why." Joe said, and then I sighed, getting his fucking point.

"Okay. I think that I fucking got it. I never thought that you were going to be so in detail over it. Okay, so you think that you want to find out about his career and his pathway before he started to take politics more seriously?" I asked, thinking that I might as well just get down to the super basic gist of it all.

"Yes, that is precisely what I want. It is just something that I think would be a good starting point. And to be honest, I think that as long as we are just a bit more careful about what we are saying out loud, and who we are talking to, I think we are able to go on and get just that." Joe said, and then I was sighing at this, and I was thinking that maybe he might be right. But I was unsure of if it was worth it.

"Alright, I will give what you say a go. I mean, you might be right. As much as I hate to admit it." I said, and then with that, I was thinking of what else I was going to be saying now. I was thinking of what Joe and I were going to really be accomplishing now.

Before I could dare pursue the subject further, I was seeing the gas station. I sighed in uncertainty, and I decided to just go along with it, and we were both inside. As we were looking around, I was seeing Sheldon looking like he was smoking a cigarette once again. As he looked up, he looked like he was just trying to find a way to tell us off.

Once we were getting ready to talk, I was trying to think of a small ice breaker to the subject. "So, have you been keeping up with the news lately?" I asked, and Sheldon looked up at me, as if mentally telling me that I needed to get better at my bullshit lines to make my stuff sound more believable.

"Well, I heard about the big fourth of July event that happened a few days ago," Sheldon said, as if mentally wincing at how dumb he must have sounded. We clearly knew what he was meaning, and we were having to pretend like we had no fucking idea.

"In all honesty, the reality is that he probably picked the wrong time to be trying to fight back. Everybody is on edge this summer to begin with, and to be throwing all of that in there is just a combination of the wrong place at the wrong time." Sheldon said, and then he was looking like he did feel more sorry for the guy than he was letting on.

"Do you think that maybe he could have tried to make a difference if he had survived?" Joe asked, and Sheldon was shrugging, as if thinking that asking such a question almost did not even fucking matter at all. It was virtually pointless to be going into all of these what ifs, in his mind at least.

"Maybe. I mean, I should probably know better than almost anybody here that trying to take down a establishment all on your own, and trying to be the hero that people need you to be, is just not fucking happening in this town. Nobody cares nearly enough to be making a big move. I thought that some people I knew could do it. But they did not." Sheldon said, and then left it at that for the time being.

"Did you try to do something like that before?" I asked, thinking that by saying that, and by making it clear that I had heard what he had said, he was not going to be feeling like he was going to run away from the perfect walk in that I found.

"I sort of did when I was younger. I thought that by making people see that I was just trying to help, and that I was caring about everybody else here, that I could make things better. But the reality is that these things are a waste of time. Nobody who claims they care actually really do, and nobody who actually does care really says anything. I mean, that is why I am unsure of what Myron would accomplish if he had lived. I have a feeling it would have been a false message." Sheldon said, and did not pursue the way he was thinking any further.

"Sheldon, I was also coming to ask you about something else. Probably a story you do not like debating at all. And I do not blame you." Joe was saying, and then I was sighing, and I was really hoping that Joe's interest was not going to be biting us in the fucking ass. Which I had the fear that it was going to do just that.

"In all honesty, I was wondering the truth about the stories with your sister, and the partial remains. I remember you telling me that she was never found. And that you think she was probably dead. But that you wanted to give it a look." Joe said, looking Sheldon right in the eyes, and I was seeing the pain in the guys face.

I was considering just telling Joe to stop right then and there, and let Sheldon be able to keep that stuff to himself. But then before I could say anything, that was when Sheldon was slowly nodding a bit.

"I know that the story is a lie. Anybody who knows the truth of Wayside would know this. They are aware that I was spoon fed bullshit to get me to shut up. I bet many people would never know this, but after she went missing, I did see her one final time." Sheldon said, and then once he told us this, that was when both Joe and I looked at each other.

"Wait a second. Are you actually telling the truth? You found her?" Joe asked, now suddenly both a combination of extremely interested, and terrified of his fucking life. I think that in all honesty, despite not wanting to admit it, I was a bit of both myself. I looked at Sheldon, aware that we both needed a story.

"Yeah, I wanted to know the truth. I wanted to see if I could see her. When I was seventeen, she had been gone for nearly seven years. And with only my father around to raise me after our mothers death, I needed some answers. I had become obsessed with the labyrinth myth." Sheldon was saying, shaking his head at that.

"So you basically started to look around it all the time?" I asked, thinking that it was very easy to be concluding that statement. Sheldon was thinking about what to say before he nodded at this, as if thinking that maybe this was a trap.

"I was thinking that there was no other real choice on the matter. If there was something that connected it all, something that could just explain away the pain and the fear and the resentment, then I was going to be fine enough." So as he was saying this to us, I was thinking that this was the closest thing to a break that I would get. "But I think that when I found out what was really going on, and how well it as hidden, I was amazed by how much I could not have figured it out sooner."

"Can you tell us what it is?" I asked, both a combination of lost patience, and a interest in just knowing what the answer was, so we could be able to fucking work it all out. Sheldon was thinking about it for a second, as if trying to decide if he wanted to do this or not.

"I am getting all the evidence down in a video log. It is my way of helping the truth be told to the world. That is the least that I can fucking do. But I will be willing to give you one clue to help you out. Mainly to just shut you up." Sheldon said, and then he was taking out a cigarette, and by this point, any pretense of him being willing to just hang out was gone.

"Part of the answer is related to the old mines that no longer are being used. Some of them are just destroyed. But those are a good starting spot, if you find it in yourself that you can't leave it alone." Sheldon said, and then Joe looked at me as soon as Sheldon had said that, as if thinking on some things, and putting all his options into consideration.

"Shit. I think I heard about that stuff. I guess that it might have been dumb for me to just never consider that before." Joe said, and shook his head, and then he was thinking of a different way to be going at this. "Alright, if that is the case, then I think that we just need to be looking at next."

Joe looked at Sheldon, considering what he was going to be saying next. "Thanks dude for helping us." After he had said that, Sheldon was looking down on the counter, and he was looking like he was just trying to think of a way to get out of this now. I was seeing that with each passing second, he was getting more and more tired here.

"I just hope that I did not create your death warrant by saying that." Sheldon said, and then with that, the two of us were leaving, and I was wondering what I was going to be saying to Joe, and I was thinking that maybe I needed to be rather focused on the main picture.

"What do you think is happening now? Do you have any fucking plans on where to go?" I asked, and I was hoping that he was not giving me any fucking shit now. If I was going to keep following him, we needed a fucking solution, and something I could ride on.

"I will fucking go and just see what I could learn from the mines. I think that if we are going to have any solution here, then maybe learning that history is the only way that we are going to be patching up any of the loose ends that we have no idea on." Joe said, firmly convinced of what he was saying.

"Do you really think that many of those are still even able to be entered? I mean, I do see the appeal to checking it out. But the thing is that Sheldon seemed very against it all. And I think that we need to be keeping what he says into consideration going forward." After I said that to him, I was hoping that he was going to take me seriously.

"I mean, I do see what you are trying to say. But the fucking thing Mimi is that you wanted to have a clue, and you are finally getting it right here. I think we need to at least try and see if it matters at all. And if we look around and find nothing, then so be it. But what is the issue with at least just giving it a quick look?" Joe asked, and then I nodded at this solemnly.

"Fine, if you really think that this needs to be the way that it is, then I will fucking go with it. I do not like it. But I will survive." I said, and then I was shrugging at this statement, thinking that I just needed to be careful with all I tell him now.

"But at the very least grant me fucking this..." I said, and then I saw Joe looking like he was willing to hear out what I was saying. "If you are going to be doing this, at least just look around, and find out if there are any leads into where these could be located. As long as you can at least find a location, then I am willing to see what we can get out of this."

"Fair enough. I can do that. Probably would be wise to do so anyways. Not like I want to be searching for a fucking reason to die." Joe said, and he was looking like he was hoping that I might be able to appreciate his minor attempt of being funny while we were going at it. I sighed, and had nothing to say now.

"I think that a good starting point would be to go and get that journal you were trying to find earlier." Joe said, and then I was looking at him confused, wondering how he even knew of that in the first place. "I think that there is probably something that Ocho has on the events. So it is always going to be worth just looking at." After he had said that to me, I was shrugging, and decided that maybe I would see what he was saying a bit better.

"I hope that this Ocho guy knows what he is talking about. If he doesn't, then I think that maybe he is going to be setting aside so many people back wards that it would be insulting." After I said this to him, I was shrugging at this, and I was thinking that the honesty was all that mattered.

"Well, I think that no matter what he turns up, he is going to have more than either one of us. So let's just fucking go on and see what we might find." Joe was telling me, and then after that, we had decided that we would wrap it up for the night, after we went to the cafe for a bit.

Once at the cafe, I was seeing Joe grabbing another piece of paper, and writing down things related to the mines, and the fact that Sheldon had admitted to seeing Riley one more time between her missing case ad the modern day. After he had done that, he was just shaking his head at this all.

'It's progress at least. That is all that I am worried about. Fucking progress. Well, I think that tomorrow, one of us, if not both of us, should go on and grab that journal from T.K.'s house." Joe said, and then I was slowly nodding, thinking that this commitment was going to be a pain in the ass in the end.

"Yeah, I think that I might see what I can find. you can come with me if you want. And then after that, if you are still interested, we can look at all of the mines." I said, thinking that this was going to have to be good enough to go off of for the time being. I saw Joe looking like he was pleased to see my willing to commit.

Scene 14: The Journal Retrieving

I was thinking about how I was going to approach T.K. to express my interest in the journal. I was wondering if he was willing to actually work with me, or if he was going to just snub me away. In all honesty, if that was going to be the way that he would react to such a thing, then I was thinking that he was going to be kind of a asshole.

I eventually reached the house, and knocked on the door, wondering what I was going to be telling him. In all honesty, we hardly knew each other, and with that in mind, he might be finding me kind of annoying to deal with. But that was something that I was going to just have to deal with.

Besides, there was always the chance that Matt was going to be the one who would answer instead. For all I knew, he might be thinking about what he was going to do to try and be with Sora in a better light. After all, it had seemed like he was getting worried over the two and their commitment issues. Which was a shame.

When T.K. answered, he was clearly just kind of confused to be seeing me here. As if he was thinking that I might be the one person who was going to be making his life utterly miserable. "Were you needing anything right now?" He asked me, and then I was thinking about it.

"I was needing to ask you some questions about a journal that a guy named Ocho had. I was hearing that you were the one who had it." I said, and then T.K. sighed, as if thinking that these things were none of his business to be talking about. But he was letting me in the house, much to my uncertainty.

"What were you needing the journal for? I mean, I feel like I need to be careful when talking about this stuff to other people." He said, and I was thinking that this was not the way that I was expecting the conversation to go. I was wondering if there was somebody out there who he was scared about.

"I heard about various locations, and in order to help my friend Candice, I think that I need to be checking around seriously. I am scared that we are letting things slip by really bad. I want to see if Ocho had any statements on the matter." I said, and then T.K. looked at me, and I was seeing that he was not looking sure of what to tell me.

"I have no idea to talk about that journal with. In all honesty, I hardly looked at it in my own time. I was too scared to be finding out more on it. As if it is just some fucking forbidden temptation." T.K. said to me, and then I was sighing, thinking that I needed to try and find some way out of this that could actually be able to appeal to him more.

"I know that you started this whole thing with your desire to help out a friend. I think that you would understand what I am trying to do here. I want to help a friend of mine out as well. And I think that the best way to be accomplishing this is to be looking at the journal." I said, and then I was looking at him, hoping that he was going to soften up a little bit.

T.K. looked at his room, and I was needing him to just fucking answer me for a bit. I was seeing that he was running all the ideas in his mind, and that he was trying to decide what was going to be best for everybody here. "I just have no idea if Ocho is going to want to see it again. He is a friend of my older brother. So in all honesty, if he ever wanted to, he could always just come by and pick it up."

As he had said that to me, I sighed, and I was wondering if T.K. was seriously going to be letting a what if situation get in the way. I was looking up at the sky, and I was really thinking about what we were going to be getting ourselves into. "T.K., I know that you might be worried about certain things, and that it is not the way that you want it to be. But I can't do anything about that."

"Damn it. I really do not want to be doing this. But I guess that a simple look would not be the worst thing in the world. I just think thta you need to be letting it remain with you though. And it does not leave my room. In case if he is to be coming back, I would want him to be able to easily access it." He was saying, and I was thinking that his refusal to let me be able to take it out of the room might be the only real issue here.

"Fine, I guess that if this is the way that things have to be, then I will just have to deal with it." I said, and then I was thinking that as long as I was appearing to be a team player who was willing to do things his way, then I think that he was going to be more forgiving on the whole thing. He slowly sighed, and nodded, and then let me inside.

"Thanks for at least understanding my point. If it was my property, I would be willing to debate it further. But since it is not my propert, and I am merely just holding it, I can't say anything that might be willing to make him lose any remote trust he might have in me." He said, and then left it at that. I nodded, just eager to finish this up.

"I mean, I just feel like I have no real position to argue. In all honesty, despite my annoyance at the subject, if somebody were to try and do this to my personal stuff, I would be kind of annoyed as well. So I will just go along with it." After I was saying this, I was looking around his room.

Despite being unsure what to say, I was thinking that I would just start with the basics. "Let me be straight with you, for a thirteen year old, your room is in great shape." After I said that to him, I was seeing T.K. looking like he was kind of happy to be seeing that at least somebody put some effort into noticing his time.

"I am so happy that people are willing to actually able to notice the work that I put into it. It just honestly gets to me when I do all of this, and everybody is either annoyed, or just doesn't even fucking notice what I am doing." After T.K. said that to me, he was shrugging, and decided to just leave it at that for the time being.

"I don't know why people would be annoyed over such a fucking thing. Do you have any idea?" I asked him, and then he was shrugging, but he was choosing not to be comment on it any further. "I guess that some people just wish that they could have been going at things a bit different." I then decided to just leave it at that.

"Honestly though, I am just keeping it clean and organized mainly because I want to fucking focus on making sure that all of the work that I am dealing with is going to be easily reach able. After all, I am just trying really fucking hard to be with my friends right now." After he was telling me this, he shrugged, and left it alone.

"Do you seriously think that all of this stuff is going to be making any difference? I mean, there is only so much that somebody is going to listen to a man of your age. They might just eventually brush off all that you say, and decide that you are being a waste of their time." After I said that to him, I was hoping that he was not going to be too angry at me.

"If they won't listen to me naturally, I will be finding somebody who will listen to me, or I will be posting it somewhere. That way, eventually, over time, there will be somebody who will come along and figure it out." T.K. told me as he went to one shelf on his drawer, and pulled it out, and then he was holding a small journal.

"Do you have any intention of actually going through your promise? Do you promise that you will only be telling people who you know you can fully trust with the information? I am not going to be working with a person who is going to throw everything away." T.K. said, and then I was looking down, wondering what his issue was.

"I mean, I think that I really have no choice. It is none of my concern what you are going to be doing. I just need to read the material, and then I promise that I will be dropping the subject after that forever." I said, and then T.K. was looking like he was clearly just not too sure what he was wanting to even fucking say anymore. But then he shook his head after that.

"Good to see that you are at least willing to pretend to be on the same page as me. I was not going to enjoy trying to force you to see a certain way." After he had said that to me, I was looking right at him, and I was wondering if he was telling the truth as he was saying that to me. But I was shaking my head.

I was looking at the journal, and I had seen how fucking intricate that all of the notes were. I was wondering if maybe I just needed to take my sweet time with it all. I had looked at T.K., who was just staring at me, and I was seeing that he was wondering what my next plans would be.

"T.K., how much of this have you read honestly?" I asked, and then I was seeing him shrugging, as if thinking nothing of it. I was wondering if he had been doing any research on this subject at all. Which would make his argument to keep it entirely pointless.

"Not much. I read a lot of it on my first couple of days, but as I was finding other pieces of information, and making it all work out, I was realizing that I was eventually losing too much time here." T.K. said, and then with that, he was looking out his door, wondering if there was going to be somebody in the area who might be hearing all of this stuff.

"Alright. I guess that maybe that might be for the best." After I said that, I was opening up to a couple of pages in. "Did you read anything about the mines? I think that this might be a good starting point." I said, and T.K. gave me a confused look, trying to just figure out what the hell I was trying to explain to him.

"What would the mines have to be doing with anything?" T.K. asked, trying to just decide what the point of any of this was going to be. I was glad to be seeing that at least on one tiny issue, I was going to be the one who would be able to help him understand what he was getting himself into.

"Well, I was hanging out with Joe yesterday, and he was telling me that we should go around. And then we went on and saw Sheldon, who explained that something about the mines was related to all of the missing people." After I said that to T.K., he was looking at me, and he was still looking like he was relatively unconvinced.

"I mean, do you really think that this is really going to be turning up any results? To be honest, it all seems like it is going to be a fucking waste of time to be looking in there." T.K. asked, and I was thinking that this was not really going to be up for debate at all.

"Look, we need to be giving it a chance. Even if you think there is nothing that you will be getting out of it, which I suppose is fair enough, we need to be giving it a try." After I said that to him, I was seeing T.K. looking like he was still looking like he was unsure of what I was even trying to accomplish here.

"Fine, you made your point. I guess there is nothing wrong with simply looking around." T.K. said, and then I was seeing that despite everything else, he was really trying hard to be remembering if there was a answer to the fucking mines that he had just not been unaware of.

"Yeah, I think that I might have found something about it earlier. I will be looking through my files. Go ahead and keep reading if you think you might be able to find something." T.K. said, and then he was looking around for a second, just trying to be getting right to the point of it all.

I was looking at a couple of points that were said in the journal: So when I was starting to get interested in looking around in the stories about the explosion at the mall, I was starting to realize that there was a lot of connections that this town has to explosions in town. As if every time something comes along, they just blow it all up to hide it.

From what I understand, once the explosion at the mall happened, many people were disturbed by various experiments that had been going on down there. To be honest, I have no idea what these experiments are for, and what the point in hiding the truth from it all really was. But I guess that the more that I think about it, the more that all of these things seem to be thoroughly connected.

So I figured that the first step to figuring it out was trying to reach out to a person that I had seen come up a lot. I was home that night, just trying to be thinking of a way to be explaining what I was doing with my parents. But my mom was already seeing that I was looking a bit unsure of what to be feeling here.

"Ocho, do you have something that you need to be talking to me about?" She asked me, and I was looking down on the table, and I was thinking that I might as well just ask her what was coming up on my mind. To see if she would have something to give me here.

"I was wondering if you can give me information about somebody in this town?" I asked, and then I looked at my mother, and she was placing her cloth down on the table. She looked like she was just more thoroughly confused than anything else mostly. I was smiling when I saw that.

"Are you working on a school project or something?" She asked me, and I was shaking my head, and I was thinking that the more that I was getting into this subject, the more that I was going to be just dragging the situation down a bit worse.

"I had heard about something that just really interested me. I think that I want to learn more about it." I said, and then I was just wondering if my mother was going to be playing along with any of this in the first place. "It is about a guy named Justin Ryder, and he is tied to one of the most interesting mysteries of this town." I said, and I was seeing her looking at me, as if thinking that what I was asking was making no sense at all.

"Why are you getting into that stuff? Are you friends trying to get you in trouble." After she had asked me this, I looked at her, and I was confused at this statement. I was wondering why she was feeling this way over something so fucking small. But I was not going to be letting it drop either.

"I just think that I really need to know something. It has been bothering me all fucking day, and I think that I just need to know. I was wondering if I might be able to go on and learn the true story from his perspective." I said, and then she was shaking her head, just clearly more confused at this whole thing than anything else by now.

"Is there just something about the town that you do not think really adds up or something? Are you just trying to be playing detective?" She asked me, and then I was thinking about it for a bit. I was unsure of what to be saying to her. If there was anything to be saying at all.

"I guess that you're probably right. I am trying to be making some friends, and I am starting to show some successes. I guess that maybe I am being a bit silly right now." I said, and then I looked at her, and I was wondering what she was going to be saying to this right now.

"Who are these friends that you are talking about?" She asked, now sounding a bit more excited. I looked at her, and I was thinking that I might as well just tell her since she was probably going to be getting in my business about it now.

"Just a girl that I met in school named Andrea. Beyond that, a couple of her friends, named Rob and Julian." I said, and then I was looking at her, and I was smiling at her, wondering if she was going to be happy with the fact that I was doing something with my time aside from town investigating.

"I could probably just go on and hang out with them instead of doing all of this. But I guess that since I do not know their schedule, I am not as worried about something like this yet." I said, and then I was looking at my mother, who was just sitting down, and looked at me in the eyes.

"Ocho, if you feel like trying to make friends is something that you would be wanting to do, I would be so happy for you. But I think you need to understand that in order for something like that to happen, you just need to be spending time with you. You got to be earning their trust, and you got to be making it clear that you are not just going to be there to be wasting time. I hope that you can understand that time is a finite source." She said, and then I was wondering what the hell to be telling her.

"You're seventeen years old already. There has to come a point in time when you need to stop looking at urban legends, and you got to stop looking at the myths that people say to scare children. You need to be doing what you can to make your life the best that it can be." She said, and then I was standing up, and I was feeling that there was nothing to be telling her.

"I will just try and see what I can do to help somebody. I guess that maybe I just sort of lose sight of the small things that actually matter." I said, and then I was thinking about Andrea. Just the look on her face was making me feel somewhat better. And not feel as bad about the fact that I was basically told to straighten up in the nicest way possible from my mom.

"See you in a bit. I will see what one of them might be thinking right now." I said, and then with that, I was walking out, and then I was leaving my mother just sitting there, wondering what to be telling me. I was hoping that she was not going to be saying anything at all. I just hoped that whatever my mother would tell me, if there was anything at all, she would be willing to wait on until a bit later.

Once I was out of the house, I was wondering if what I was doing was the exactly idea that my mother was having. She might have been wanting something else entirely. But for some reason, I was thinking that maybe once she grew to actually know who Andrea was, and she was starting to see what I had been meaning, then perhaps it would all start to be making more sense.

Eventually, I was getting close to her house, and I was thinking that maybe this was not the exact meaning that mother had here. But to be honest, I was not even caring. I wanted to make the time that I had worth it. And if Andrea wanted me to be doing investigations with Justin Ryder, than I was going to be taking care of it on my own.

I was not going to be dragging Andrea to it one way or another. If I did that, then she was going to be thinking that I had been just throwing everything out the fucking window. And to be honest, I was thinking that I just needed to just be changing my plans a bit, and that way no matter what was to be coming up, everything would just be taken care of one step at a time.

Once I was at her place, I was seeing Andrea was already outside. She was looking right up at me, and I was seeing that she was rather confused to be seeing me here. "What are you doing here? I was thinking that you were already home for the day?"

"I was, and then my mother was telling me something that I just want to be keeping in mind for the future. So for that reason, I am just going to go on and see what we might be able to get out of this all." I said, and then I was shrugging, pretending like everything was going to be fine by saying this all.

"Well, since you are here, I guess that we might hang out for a while." She said, and then with that, I was walking inside with her, and then I was thinking about what this was going to be like if it was a successful hang out. I was wanting her to just love the times that we had together, even if I had to earn that.

Scene 15: My Friends Plan

Candice was at my house once again, and when I was seeing her there, I was seeing her looking relatively unsure of what she was what she was wanting to tell me. "Hey, how have you been lately?" After she had asked me this, I was shrugging, and I was having no real idea on what I was going to tell her.

"I have been just trying to go around, and see what I might be able to find, to help you out. But to be honest, I have no idea if any of the stuff that I am checking around is going to be really of any fucking use." After I had said that to her, I was then shrugging for a second. "I think that you are going to have to be just trying to take care of this all on your own."

"In all honesty, I have just been thinking of how much I am going to need you to be helping me out with some of the stuff that I am planning. In all honesty, I think that it just scares the shit out of me what we are getting into." After she had told me this, I was then sighing, and figured that I would just fucking let her tell me what she was wanting to do.

"What do you mean? I think that I am going to have to just shot down every idea that you possibly have right now." I said, and then I was looking right at her, and I was seeing that she was clearly not going to be taking that for an answer. As if she was thinking that I was betraying her.

"Honestly Mimi, I am going to need you to be coming with me right now. I am planning on going to the summer camp right now. I have been hearing some rumors over there." She said, and then I was nodding at this, pretending to be fucking shocked at this statement. But I was thinking that she did not need to know that I already knew this.

"Have you been looking into things, and found out something about that camp?" I asked, and the more that I was hearing my voice, the more that I was looking down at the floor, thinking that I was being a fucking idiot for pretending like this whole thing was a fucking shock.

"Yeah, I have been hearing about some projects. And I know that you are not going to like what I am about to say. But that is why I refuse to say anything before you get there yourself." After she was telling me this, I was then starting to feel bad for real this time. The reality of the fact that people were able to easily find out what my father was doing.

"Shit. I guess that we have no reason to be going there." I said, and at this rate, I was thinking that I would just fucking drop the idea of playing along with this. I was sighing, and just looked right at her, thinking of what to say now. "How much do you know about the mines?"

"I heard that there might have been some stuff there, but to be honest, I have never really had any interest in looking around in this whole thing. It is none of my business what is going on here. But to be honest, I think that once I am done checking around the summer camp, I might want to be going around and checking this out." After she had told me this, I was slowly nodding, thinking that maybe that made some sense.

"Yeah, I think that as soon as you are done with your investigation at the camp, we need to give that a look. A friend of mine was telling me that he had somebody say that this was a clue. I don't know if it is true though." I said, and then I was shrugging, having nothing else that I was going to even say now.

"Mimi, do you think that the source is going to be good?" She asked me, and then I looked at her, and I knew that if she was going to be saying that stuff about me, then she was going to be needing to let me have the right to be saying that about her information with my own fucking father.

"I think that if you want to know what that guy who was murdered was trying to aspire to, then I think that maybe you need to be looking for something like this yourself." I said, and then I looked right at her, and then I was having having else to be saying now. I was then shrugging, and I had no further desire to go at it all.

"Yeah, I suppose that what you might be saying is true. I am just worried that if we do this, then we might be putting ourselves in a spot where we will never be able to dig out of. But maybe going to the summer camp might be able to already do that to begin with." After she was telling me this, I was nodding, and I was glad that she was willing to at least see that in herself.

"Do you have any idea on what you are going to be doing once you are actually there though? I think that you need to be looking at that before you end up doing anything else." I said, and then I looked right at her, and I was seeing her looking like she was just having nothing to be saying.

"What is that? I mean, I am planning on just going to the dig site, and I think that maybe by looking around for a while, I might be able to just find a way to make some sense out of this. And maybe I can see if some of the rumors that I have been hearing are fucking true or not." After she had told me this, I was wincing, and I hoped she would fucking stop.

"What have you been hearing of?" I asked, already aware of what she was going to say, and I was just thinking that as long as I was at least pretending to be surprised, the better that I was going to be feeling. Candice looked down, and she was just trying to find something to tell me, without breaking my heart or something.

"I think that your father might be involved in this. That he is just trying to use something about this town for his own companies gain. I mean, I do not have a whole lot to be showing this. But in all honesty, does something like that even really fucking matter." Candice was saying, and I was just sort of glad to be hearing her just get it out of the way, and not be pretending about anything else.

"I had a feeling that he might have been doing this. After all, everybody has been working on something suspicious here. There is nothing in this town that has actually been fucking normal. But I guess that maybe you are going to pretend like everything is all fine." I said, and then I was shrugging, ready to say more now.

"Do you honestly think that he is going to be the one that ties it all together? Or do you think that you will be able to spare me that shit at the very fucking least?" I asked, and I was feeling super fucking bad about the way that I was saying this stuff to her. She did not deserve it. But in that moment, I was not fucking caring at all.

"Obviously I would not be going that far. That being said, I think that it is best that we just go down there tonight, and we just see what we might be able to find. Do you think that you would rather go on and know what you might be able to find, and see that it is fine, and that he is not involved, then to be going around, and just acting like nothing is going on, and then he is continuing something wrong this whole time?" After she was telling me this, I was looking at her, unsure of what I was even going to be telling her in all honesty.

"In all honesty, I have no idea what I fucking want. This is my fucking father we are talking about. Please at least consider who we are talking about before you try and force me to be answering questions like this." I said, and then I was looking right at her, and I was wondering if Candice would take this into consideration.

"Alright, I guess that maybe I will consider what you are saying. I might not like to admit that it might be too much to be looking at. But I guess that you are right. If somebody was saying that about my father, I would be livid as well." After she was telling me this, we were remaining silent for a few seconds longer.

With that all said and done, with this, we were heading out of my room, and we were walking down the stairs, and I was super fucking glad that dad was not here to be possibly hearing the conversation. If he was, then he was probably going to be doing everything in his fucking power to make sure that I was not allowed to be able to speak to Candice again, which would be fucking annoying to hear.

As we were walking to the camp, I was feeling like maybe I needed to treat Candice with more respect than I had been lately. After all, she had been trying to be making a difference, and she had been wanting to help me out. And here I was, fucking ruining everything that I had been hearing. I was the one who was a issue here.

I just hoped that she had a real game plan when it was time. That she was not just fucking giving me shit. But I guess that something like this was going to be fucking impossible to be looking forward to. For better or for worse. But I was going to reserve judgment for the time being.

Scene 16: Materia

Candice and I were thinking about what we were going to be telling our father if he was going to be confronting us there. I was thinking that if he was going to be trying to speak to me here, and if he was going to try and explain that we were being a bunch of idiots for doing all of this. I just hoped that I would have the courage to be getting through this all.

"Mimi, do you think that you will be able to get through this all?" Candice asked, and I was looking at her, and to be honest, when I was looking at her, I was just trying to be taking it calmly and casually. I had no idea what the hell I was going to be feeling, and I was wishing that I had a better response for her.

"Honestly, I have no idea what I am feeling right now. At the moment, I just want to be seeing what we might be able to find, and get this whole thing over with." I said, and then I was hoping that just by saying that, she would drop the subject. I was seeing her looking like she was wishing to get more from me.

"If you say so. But I am not going to be saying anything anymore. I do not want to be pissing you off because of this." She was saying, and I was wondering why she was giving a fucking rats what I had been feeling at this moment. It was none of her business, and I was getting annoyed that she was wanting more from this.

"Candice, why are you worried about what I am thinking about the stuff that my fucking father is doing? If it really is true that he is behind all of this stuff, or even just some of it, of course I am going to fucking be angry. Of course I am goingto be really let down by him. But that is for me to take care of. Not you." I said, and then I was shaking my head, hoping that this would just be dropped.

"You're my friend. And if it is going to affect how you are going to perform our job, then I think that you need to fucking just understand that there are more people to this than just you." After she was telling me this, we were walking along, and we were getting close to the summer camp.

"I guess that I am just going through a whole lot of emotions right now. That is all that I am going to be saying right now. But I am not really wanting to go on any further with it besides just that." I said, and then I was shaking my head, thinking that by just dropping the subject for the time being, I would just be more ready for what was to come up.

Once we were near the camp, I was wondering what the hell our big issue was here. I was feeling that maybe letting Candice do all of this stuff was just going to be making things much worse for us all. And I was starting to feel really fucking bad for her.

Once we were there, I was starting to think more and more about what I would do if the information did indeed present itself as showing that my father was not only somewhat involved, but maybe even the main guy behind it all, then I would just deal with it one step at a fucking time. That was all that I could be able to do.

As we were in the camp, I was looking at Candice, and I was sighing, trying to think on what I was going to be doing now. "I suppose that there is nothing to do now besides just see what we might be able to find out if we look around hard enough." I said, and then I was seeing Candice looking like she was getting calmer at this. As if she was starting to think of it in my perspective a little bit more.

"Yeah, I think that we should just do that." Candice said, and then we were walking around, and I was seeing that there was a couple of people coming by with some boxes in their hands, as if they were just dragging some important files out. I was looking up, and I was seeing that the camp director house was a area where most of these things were taken away from.

I was then looking at Candice, wondeirng what she would have wanted to be saying now. "Do you have something that you want to say?" I asked, and then I was seeing her looking like she was just clearly unsure of what was going on in her head. As if she was just considering every option at once.

"I think that maybe one of the answers might be there if we look around. I guess that maybe we should be checking that out on our way back." After Candice was telling me this, I was looking right at her, and I was wondering what she was even wanting to be trying to get out of this. I sincerely had no fucking no idea at all.

"Do not waste your fucking time with that. It is not going to be a god use of our time." I said, and then I was seeing her looking like she was not wanting to take no for a fucking answer on this at all. But then I was placing my hand on her shoulder, ready to just get this over with.

"Candice, please just not this time. Just follow me." I said, and then I was seeing her looking like she was actually kind of pissed at the fact that I was acting like this. Like she deserved to have something here. But with that, we were walking along, and I was seeing Candice looking like she had wanted to fight me so fucking badly.

I was glad to be seeing that she was willing to understand that it was not the time to argue with me, and then we were looking around, and I was seeing the factory that I had been hearing about. It was not very far in development, but you were able to see those moving cars, and a lot of beams.

I was also seeing that there were some guys who had those large drills that you dug into the ground. I couldn't remember the names of those machines. And when I was seeing that, I was then wondering if the stuff that my father had told me about with this material was going to come back.

"I think maybe we should go on and just check this area out. My father was telling me about some of the stuff that they are trying to extract." I said, and then after I had told her this, we were walking down, and I was seeing Candice looking like she was also starting to get a bit more interested in this as well.

"What types of material do you think they would be trying to get out of here? I mean, it's right next to the summer camp." Candice was saying. "People loved this place, so people must have been having a damn good reason to be making this all work out."

As we had been looking around, I was looking for a hole that was not going to be empty for a while. "Mimi, are you sure that you are going to be in this for the right things?" After she had asked me this, I was looking right at her, and I was unsure of how the hell I was able to get her to see the way that I had been feeling.

"I really have no idea why the hell I would be able to do this otherwise. I am just wanting to make sure that what my father is doing is good for us. That is all that I am worried about. I like my father, and I believe that he is a good man. But the other people who are part of his business, I am not so sure about. And they are why I am looking at this." I said, trying to make him feel better.

"I guess that this is all that I am going to be getting out of you for this time." After Candice was telling me this, I was seeing her looking a bit differently about it all. With that in mind, we had been walking along, just trying to be making the situation a little bit differently.

Eventually, we were at the hole, and then I was looking right at Candice, and I was seeing that we were both rather excited and interested in the stuff that we had found. I was starting to maybe see where my father had been coming from. At least on this debate.

"Candice, we should just go on and just see what we can fucking find." I said, and then I was seeing Candice looking like she was not wanting to do this, but that she was willing to do it if it was going to be a good lead on the case. I saw her looking like she was genuinely mulling over the fucking situation.

As I was sliding down the small hill, I was grabbing one of the fucking orbs that looked like they had fully been undug. As I was looking at the orb, I was seeing a red orb, with what was looking like a small flame on them. I was seeing Candice coming down as well, and she was looking more and more interested in what we were going to find now.

"Candice, I think that I will be grabbing this. If my father tries to deny any connection with this, then I would fucking show him this, and then he will really have no fucking choice but to be going through with telling me the truth." After I said that to her, I was seeing Candice looking like she was still not fully buying into it all.

"I still have no idea if he is really going to be going through with this fucking idea. I think that he is going to do whatever it takes to be getting out of this." After she was telling me this, I was shrugging for a second, really having no idea what I would have been able to say now.

"I don't care. I am going to just make him tell me if he is going to be fighting me on this issue." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I was thinking that there was virtually nothing else that I was going to be worried about at all. "Do you have any idea on what the hell we are actually going to do?"

"Do you think that we can use anything else for proof?" After she had asked me this, I looked at her, and I was feeling totally unsure of what I was going to be telling her. I was looking at everybody, and I was seeing that several people looked far too busy to be even paying attention to us.

"I think that talking to people is not really going to be helping us out. They will probably just be insisting that they are not allowed to talk at all." I said, and then I was slowly getting up. As I was finally standing in front of her again, I was looking right at her, and I was wondering what she was going to be saying to me now.

As I had been looking around, I was seeing that there were some people having a discussion. One guy was also walking around with a scanner, and he had looked like he had been bored out of his fucking mind the entire time that he had been scanning ideas. With that, Candice and I started to slowly head on over there.

"I think that hearing what that guy says is going to be the best bet that we will be having." After I was telling her this, Candice was looking right at me, and she was looking like she had wanted to say something else. But she was just remaining silent for the time being.

"I think that I found something." The guy with the scanner said, and then that was when the two people with the suits were looking up, and looked like they were just kind of glad that at least some fucking progress had been made here. So with that, they started to walk in that direction. And Candice and I were just remaining silent.

"We need to get moving. Shaun's orders were very clear. We are suppose to grab every single piece of materia that we can gather." After the guy with the cigar said that, he was continuing to smoke it for a while, and I was looking at Candice, and I was wondering if she was aware of anything related to materia. Since my knowledge on the subject was weak at best.

"How much about materia have you heard? I think that I might have heard about it once or twice." I said, and then that was when Candice was looking right at me, and she was looking like she was somewhat interested in the case. But she was not wanting to say anything, in fear of what I was going to be telling her now.

"I don't think I even have that. This is strange to me." After she had told me this, I was looking at her, and I was looking slightly disappointed. I was wishing for something better. I was wishing that she could have given me something. But I was just remaining silent, and had nothing to say.

We were getting closer, and we were just trying to not be making anybody know what we were doing. The man with teh scanner took out a spray bottle, and he started to spray a giant red X on the ground where he had gotten the reading. "I will send somebody down with a drill right away." The guy with the scanner said, and then with that, he was walking off, ready to do his next round of scanning after he was done with this.

"Candice, do you think that we should be sticking around any longer? I think that if we want to learn more about materia, we are going to have to try something else out." I said, mainly thinking about how maybe there was something at the summer camp. How there must have been something at the other small locations and facilities at the town. Surely at least one of them would be a place that would specialize in just this 'materia' matter.

"Yeah, I think that there are better ways we can be learning this stuff than just hanging around and waiting for a story." Candice was telling me, and looked at me, and I was seeing that she was still not looking too incredibly happy about this. But she was willing to work with this now that there was something that I did find.

As we were walking along, that was when I was looking at her. "Want to call it off for today, and then come back to this later, when we have more time to discuss what to do now. I think that maybe we should start by talking with the camp director." I said, and then I was seeing her looking relatively unsure on what to be telling me here.

"Yeah, I guess that it could be best to do this. Gives us another day to really think about what the hell we are getting into." After Candice said that to me, she looked at me, and I was seeing her looking like she was clearly not too sure on what she was even wanting to be doing here. As if she was thinking that I was walking on a mine trap.

"I will try one final time to see if I could get something out of my father. But even I fucking think it is going to be a lost hope." I said, thinking that this man had betrayed me in a way. It was stupid to be thinking that for a man who was working every day for hours on end, and was probably genuinely thinking he was doing what was best. But at the same time, I was feeling like what he had done was too much for me to really let slide.

So with that in mind, we decided to disband for the night. Before she was leaving though, Candice called out to me. I looked right at her, and I was seeing that she was feeling really bad for everything that was happening. "You don't really need to be having me go around and telling you how to feel. I know that your father is probably too busy. So maybe I should just be leaving it at this." After she had said that to me, I was thinking about thanking her for this.

"It does make me feel better to know that you are at least considering what you are saying. It just kind of feels like I need to be taking care of him on my own. You know, seeing what he might tell me. I love the man, but I need to see if he is honest with me." I said, and with that, I was shruggig, and decided to stop talking there.

"Well, good luck on that. Just stay safe. And make sure that no matter what happens, you will be able to meet me tomorrow." After she had said that to me, I was nodding, and I was walking back home, and I was starting to feel like we were making some progress at the very least.

Scene 16: Director Krennic

Before I left the house, I was thinking of talking to my father once again. I was seeing that he was heading on out to get ready for his fucking job. "Dad, I was wondering if you were willing to tell me something important." I said, and then he was looking right at me, and I was seeing that he had no real fucking desire to be speaking to me here.

"What were you wanting to know?" He asked, holding onto his files, as if he was just trying to make it seem like he was not having a huge issue here. I was aware that no matter how scared he was here, we were finally making it all come together a bit better.

"I was wanting to know how you were able to go on and process this materia that you find when working on building that factory? I saw a picture of it when it is just naturally dug up, and it looks like a really fucking huge ore. Was it the stuff that was being mined before the mines got destroyed?" I asked, and then my father was looking right at me, and I was seeing that he was almost aware that I was not turning this whole thing down at all.

"I don't think that the mines were giving off materia. After all, from what I understand, the materia had only been discovered relatively recently. But if that is not the truth, then it is not my fucking business to be looking along at." After my father was telling me this, he was sighing, and suddenly looked a whole lot less sure of himself now.

"How did you find out what it looks like naturally? Are you getting yourself involved in something that is none of your fucking business? If that is the case, then I have given up trying to convince you otherwise. Even if it bothers me really fucking deeply." Once he was done saying this, I was then thinking of a way to make him feel less bad here.

"I could not be able to leave the situation withe the camp alone. I wanted to so fucking badly, but I think that if I tried to be leavig it all behind me, I am remembering all the memories that are being ruined. Besides my friend Candice is insisting that I look into this all. I feel like i really have no fucking choice." I said, and then I was staring right at him.

"You are hanging around some bad fucking influcences. But to be honest, I think that even if I tried to be telling you off, then you would not even make a difference. After all, you're seventeen years old." He said, and shook his head, as if thinking that this whole thing was just a worthless fucking conversation. But he just sighed before heading out the door...

Later that day was when Candice and I were deciding that we were going to be going on and seeing what the camp director was wanting to accomplish here. I felt like maybe by speaking to him, he might be able to just give us some extra pieces of advice on what was going on at the town.

When I eventually was when I was near the camp house, that was when I was looking right at Candice, and I was thinking that I really had to try and get on his fucking good side. "Do you think that maybe the camp director might be involved with some fucking conspiracy here?" I asked, just trying to be making him feel better.

"I doubt that he is the one who is behind it all, but I do think that there is a good chance that he is at least aware of what everybody is dealing with. But in all honesty, I think that you just need to not be saying anything that he is going to possibly want to report to other people." After she was telling me this, I was shaking my head, and decided to just walk up the stairs.

"Honestly, I am starting to get to the point where I hardly even fucking care anymore. I am ready to just do something that I want to think is going to be making this whole thing work out." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I was thinking that I would just drop it all.

Once inside of the building, and I was looking around, and I was seeing that there was a older guy sitting down on a chair. Probably forties or so. As he was sitting down, he looked rather fucking bored, and looked like he honestly had no real intentions on making this whole thing work.

He was looking right up at us, and he looked like he was just kind of annoyed to be seeing people in his area at the moment. As he was staring at us, he had looked like he had just wanted to get this subject over with. "What are you trying to talk to me about here?" After he had asked me this question, I was looking right at Candice, and I was feeling like I was just needing to find something from here.

"I was wanting to ask you a couple of questions about the project that is going on at the factory? I was hoping that you would be able to tell me about materia." I said, and then looked right at him, and then I was seeing the guy looking like he was officially both interested, and really fucking confused as to what I was going to get out of this.

"Honestly, I have no reason to be telling you anything." After he had said that to me, I was shrugging, and I was seeing the director looking tired. I was then seeing Candice starting to speak up once again, as if she was trusting herself more with this subject.

"You might not have any strategic reason to be telling us all of this? But to be honest, do you really enjoy this project? Or do you feel like you are being forced into this. If you do not enjoy working here, and doing this, then you might be able to get some fucking revenge." After Candice was telling him this, that was when the guy was looking more interested here.

"Look, I hate what my bosses are doing here. I am not going to be lyng to you about this. But I know that if I try and fight this whole thing off, then my life is going to be on the line." After he said that to us, I was then sighing, thinking that I just needed to find something to be saying to him to make him feel differently.

"So you are willing to admit that something is fucking happening here?" I asked, and then after I asked him this, that was when the camp director was laughing, and took out a cigarette, and started to smoke it for a second.

"The entire town is in on it. The faster that you grow to understand this, the better that everything is going to be for uou. The faster that you grow to fucking understand that nothing is going your way, the more that you will actually have a chance of surviving this whole thing." After he told me this, I was then seeing him smoking another puff.

"Can you at least confirm or deny that the materia in this town is actually fucking material of magic? I hears my father telling me this, but he did not go any further with it." I said, and then the man was staring right at me, and I was seeing him looking like he was more willing to discuss something like this.

"Yeah, I guess that I might be able to tell you that is right. I heard about it once, and I was seeing that Shaun Reichenbach was sending the materia over to a guy named Kenta Kitagawa." After he was telling me this, I looked right at the director for a moment before he thought more on what to say.

"What is so special about Kenta getting the stuff? To be honest, that seems like it does not really fucking matter all that much." After Candice was telling the man this, that was when the director was laughing for a second, thinking that maybe Candice was just as dumb as he was finding me here.

"Wow, you do not know what that man is like. The man isn't called the doctor of death for no fucking reason. He is the one that is behind all of the science projects in Wayside. If you want to know more, he is the only person that you can fucking talk to who would be able to give you all of the fucking evidence." After he had said that to me, I was shrugging, thinking that I was not going to be going to letting this slide.

"If you want to help out, there is going to be a business deal that is happening later on tonght. You can listen to that conversation from the back side you could perhaps find out what you were needing." After he had said that to me, I was looking at Candice, and I was feeling that there was nothing else to say.

"Where is the meeting going to be?" I asked, and I was seeing Candice looking super fucking proud of the fact that we were actually talking to a fucking adult like this. It made her feel like we were going to be finally standing our ground here.

"It is under the bridge with all of the grafetti. You know, the one with the fucking shack." After he had said that to me, I saw him looking like he was unable to believe that he was finding himself in a situation where he was actually willing to work with some people like us if it had meant that he was going to take down his bosses.

"That is going to be the last thing that we are going to be discussing on the issue. Take it or leave it. But I have a camp to be getting back to." After the director was telling me this, I was seeing that the man was looking like he was just slightly more sad about this than he was wanting to admit.

With that, Candice and I walked on down, and I was thinking that maybe by finding a way to talk to Candice about this further, we could actually made a real plan here. I needed to find a way to get Candice to feel like we actually made the right choice. I looked at Candice, and she nodded.

"I am going to be hanging out in that area, and I am going to fucking find a way to see what the man is going to tell us. I need to know what that fucking business meeting is going to be like." After Candice said that to me, she shook her head, and she looked like she was feeling like she was really having no fucking choice on the issue here.

"Yeah, I will help you out. But I think that this is the last thing we are going to be getting out of it." After I told her this, I was shaking my head, and I was thinking that maybe if I could find Candice to be thinking of something else, that was all that I had needed.

"Thank you Mimi for this. I really fucking needed it." After she was telling me this, I was feeling fucking lost now. I was tired of having no fucking opinion on this, and I was thinking that I just needed to be finding a way to just increase the chances of Candice surviving, or we both fucking die here.

Scene 17: Deal Under The Bridge

Candice and I did not really waste our time with pleasantries today, and we were getting right to the main point of what we were wanting to do. Candice looked like she was really uncertain of what she was going to accomplish when she was going to be listening to this deal. But I honestly felt so much better knowing I was there with her.

We were near the bridge, and I was looking right at Candice once again, and I was feeling like maybe I just needed to try one final time to be getting her to be seeing the bigger picture. As if I was going to have a fucking chance to fucking get her to see things differently or something.

"There is no shame in turning back from this. if you think that this might have been a giant fucking mistake, then that is fine. I am going to be supporting your choice either way." After I told her this, I was seeing Candice looking like she was not going to be taking no for an answer, no matter how hard i would have wanted it.

"We are already here. I might as well at least stay and see what I might be able to learn out of it. No reason to be turning our backs now." She was saying to me, and then I was sighing, and I decided to just not say anything. Thinking that I was going to accomplish nothing by trying to tell her anything now anyways. Since she was already so fucking decided.

"Fine. You already made up your mind. I am not going to keep going with this, since it would clearly be a waste of time." I said, and then I was shrugging, and as I was saying this, I was seeing a truck pulling on up, and I was having no idea what I was going to even be telling her.

With this, I was thinking that if we were going to be doing this all, we just needed to get this done with. We just needed to see what these people were feeling. Maybe we could indeed learn something if we would just remain silent for the time being. I shook my head, hating my level of indecisiveness.

As we were expecting, the people coming out were naturally two men with black suits, and a brief case. The brief case was the one part that I had not expected at all, but I was thinking that it might have made some sense if we had the full context, so I remained silent for a bit.

I was looking at Candice as well, just trying to see how she had been feeling right now. I was just thinking that maybe if I could talk to her for a while, I would get her to fucking talk to me here. But she was looking around for a different car. "Do you know that somebody is coming up?"

"Well, the director mentioned a fucking deal. Of course somebody is going to be coming. Please actually think before you ask a question like that again." After she had told me this, I was sighing, and i was thinking that I just needed to remain quiet, since it was clear that I made a big mistake saying that.

"Yeah, I guess that I should have thought that one out before I fucking asked." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and decided to just not be saying anything else anymore. I was looking at her, and I was seeing that any form of a happy face was gone, and looked like she was full business.

I was wondering if we were going to be hearing some fucking context from their conversations a little bit. I had hoped that just hearing what they would be saying could have given me some idea on what was happenng. I was seeing that both of the men were looking at a stop watch, as if just waiting for something.

"Do you think that they are actually going to fucking listen to this? I think that maybe they might just try and get out of this at the last minute." After he had said that to the other guy, that was when the one with the brief case was just taking a moment of silence before he was going to respond.

"If they try and do that, then we are going to fucking force it out of them. They should have never agreed with this if they are going to be turning their back at the agreement." After he had said that, he was taking a second to put his stop watch back in his pocket. "Most people are at least a couple of minutes late."

"I hope that you are telling the truth." The unsure guy said, clearly thinking of the big picture of what things would have been like if he had failed in his guesses. With this, that was when both of them looked like they had wanted to just drop the subject for a little bit.

As we waited for a few seconds longer, that was when there was another car that was starting to drive up. I was smiling, thinking that whatever the hell we were needing to do would just fucking be wrapped up by just listening to this conversation. But to be honest, I was thinking that maybe listening to these people was what was going to explain it all.

That was when a married couple were getting out of the car, and I was trying to figure out where I must have seen these people from the past. It had looked like these people were really fucking familiar. But I was just thinking that I would need to be quiet for the time being.

"Do you have the money that we need?" The male of the married couple was looking at the brief case, and he was looking like he was just a bit sad at this discussion. I was aware that something was happening that this man had regretted. I was then just looking at Candice, thinking that maybe we never needed to speak to Ocho.

"Yes, we got the money that we promised we would give you. As you have already been made aware, you will be given ten percent of the total of all sales that come out from this transaction." The man with the brief case said, and I was wondering if this guy discussing this was using really bad terminology on purpose, in order to make people not relaly understand what the story was right away.

"How do we know that you are going to be going through with this deal? I have a feeling that many of you might be turning back on the promises you made." The man said, and then the woman was looking like she was more focused on something else. And Candice was just remaining as silent as possible, to be seeing where this would be heading.

"How much time do you think that we will be able to have here?" She asked, and then that was when the one without the brief case was smiling. Even though he was looking like he was starting to feel a bit sad. But he just remained calm and impartial here.

"Usually our bosses would give all of you a month to be getting things wrapped up after a transaction with us. But given the uniqe circumstances, and the pity that our boss is feeling, he is willing to extend that to you. He will actually be giving you two months instead of one." After he had said that, he was looking at his boss, wondering what the other guy was going to say.

"Thank you. We really appreciate that." The husband was saying, and then with that, the one with the brief case was handing the case over to the married couple. He smiled at this, as if thinking that this was the only thing to be making this whole thing at least a little bit different.

"See you again in two months from now. Thank you for undertsnaidng the bigger picture, and seeing what needed to be done." He said, and then with that, the two of them were getting under inside of the car. As they were startng to drive off, I was looking at Candice, and the married couple were looking at each other.

"I guess that there is nothing that we can do about it now." The wife was saying, and her husband was opening up the brief case and just looked at the large amount of money, and he was looking like he was just running through a mound of emotions.

"We both know that this is the right decision at the end of the day. It might be the worst choice, but in the big picture, we really had no fucking choice." After he was saying, and then he was closing up the brief case. He had looked like he was not at all convinced at what the statement he had just said was. But he was willig to fucking say that in order to make himself feel btter.

"Just take it one day at a time. Over time, everything will be better. We know what we are doing. We know what we were getting ourselves into as soon as we had made this transaction." The husband was saying, just calm for a second, just taking a moment to be pretending what what they had been doing was right.

"I guess that some of that makes some sense. As much as I fucking hate to admit it. And I have no right at all to be saying anything. I was involved with this myself." After the wife was saying this, she was nodding, and she was looking like she was finally willing to accept some level of responsibility.

The two of them hugged each other for several seconds before getting in the car. The more that I was watching this, the more that I was scared that this was something that we were going to be getting more and more involved with if we kept on looking into this.

With that, the two of them were getting in their own car, and then I was looking right at Candice, wondering what I was going to be saying to her in the moment. I was feeling that I just needed to be saying anything at all to be making this whole situation just feel slightly less fucking bad.

"I think that if we want to know more about what the town is trying to hide, we need to be looking around for that a bit more. Just try and get to know what that couple of getting into." I said, and then I was looking at Candice, and despite looking like she was a bit unsure of what she was going to do, she was nodding at this, thinking that there was really no choice.

"Damn it. I think that it is something related to fucking family. And that is scared. They were seeming to be putting a whole lot of stress and emphasis on the time line." Candice said, and then I was slowly noding, thinking that what she was saying was making a whole lot of sense.

"Should we just head on out? I mean, there really is no point in staying around if we pretty much got the size of it." I said, and then I was thinking that the better excuse to be making to get out of here was to say that I did not want to risk getting caught by anybody. Which was true enough. But I did not want to say that.

"Yeah, I guess that we are not going to be getting a whole lot of staying out here. I think that maybe we should remain around for a few extra minutes though. Just in case if something does come up, I would not want to lose my chance to go on and see what it might have been." After Candice said that, I was sighing, and figured that I would just remain silent, and let her go with it.

"Five minutes. If nothing shows up after that, we just go on and fucking leave." I said, thinking that it would be best to just go along with it, and maybe even go on and hope that she would not even want to have that long. But in all honesty, I was aware that something like this was just not going to happen.

"Mimi, do you think that your father might have something to bring this all together somehow?" She asked me, and then I was looking at her, wondering when she was going to be dropping the subject of my father. At this point in time, I honestly was starting to get really fucking pissed off at her constantly mentioning it.

"In all honesty, I think that he certainly has more clues than he wants to lead on. I will agree to that. And I think that it is something to be looking our for. But to be honest, I think that the truth is that he is refusing to let me be in on it. He probably does not want me to have a different view of him or something. Which I do appreciate the notion of." I said, looking at Candice, and I was wondering what she would have said to try and argue this.

"How about this as our deal: If I decide to look into what my family might be doing, and seeing if they have any fucking information on the matter, then you do the same. That way we both have to be putting our parents through the test." After she said that to me, I was looking right at her, and I was seriously wondering what the point of this all was going to be.

"I guess that if you are planning on making this mutual, and that all of us are going to have to be going through it, then I guess that I will play along with it." I said, and I was seriously questioning why would even agree to something like this. Maybe I was just having a silent joy in the idea of making her try and see for herself what was happening as well.

"Thank you Mimi. I just think that I need a excuse to be looking at all fronts, no matter how much they fucking hurt to be looking at. I hope that over time, all of us could be able to get over this, and we can see that we are being fucking stupid with this." Candice said, and I was shaking my head. I knew this would not fucking happen.

With that, roughly five minutes had pissed, and we were starting to head on out. As we were walking by, I was seeing a different car starting to pull up. As we were walking by, I wondered if we should stop and watch. But I was looking at Candice, mainly to see what she was going to say.

"Can we stay around for a few extra minutes, and see what that is about." After she had asked me this, I was sighing, and I was thinking that it would be best to just not argue with her, considering the fact that she had probably already made her mind up on this matter.

As we stood there several feet away, we were watching two other people get out of the car, and then they were carrying a person with a bag over their head. As I had seen this, I looked right at Candice, and I was hoping that she was going to be putting her fucking foot down on this, and just drop the issue entirely.

With that, I was just remaining silent as they forced the person down on their knees. I was unable to see who the person was, or what was going on. But I was thinking that everything we were seeing was going to be fucking vital to finding out the truth going forward.

One of them was holding this person down very firmly. As if they were just going to try and make this as painless as possible. As I was watching, I was getting more and more convinced of what we were going to be getting ourselves into. I looked away from Candice, feeling that just needed to remain silent this time.

Then the one who was not holding down took out a fucking gun, and then they were placing in a silencer, which I was thinking would have been a very smart move if they were not doing this in a public spot where people would have been able to witness what was happening in the first place anyways. With that, they held the gun down.

Candice started to hold my hand for a moment, and at any other moment, I might have objected to it, or told her that there must have been other things that she could have done to show what she was thinking. But in that moment, I was just glad to be aware that she was safe for the time being.

With that, they put the gun right at the neck of the person and held on for another couple of seconds before firing the gun, and then the person fell down on the ground, having no emotions, and nothing to indicate that they were even able to feel what had happened. I was shocked that the person did not show any resistance. They just took it silently. I was wondering if maybe they had known what was going to happen, and just decided that it was best to just not be showing any fucking resistance.