Meg remembers when she first met Nea.
She remembers it as clear as day.
The short-haired, brazen, skittish survivor crept up to their campfire, eyes darting around filled with determination not to be caught, yet mind filled to the brim with curiosity.
Meg was peeking out from her tent, curious to see if anyone was awake or sitting around the campfire for right now, and that's when she saw the blue-haired urban evader peeking out from behind a tree.
Not daring to make a move, Meg stared at this new person with just as much curiosity as the stranger was looking at the campfire, so Meg let her do her thing and come out at the right time.
Like a beast hunting its prey, Meg stayed glued to the spot, observing the strange way the newcomer crept around virtually silent; leaves falling to the ground were louder than her footsteps. If Meg wasn't awake and didn't see the stranger, she never would have guessed someone was walking around their campfire mere feet from where Meg stayed in her tent.
The way her shoes connected with the ground was flawless as though she was connected with nature itself. Meg was mesmerized how someone could be so quiet. She could learn a thing or two from her.
Multiple times she wanted to call out but she hesitated, waiting for the right time.
When it was clear that this new mysterious girl wasn't going away or coming forward anytime soon, Meg took the initiative and called out to her.
"Hey!"
The girl stopped, her eyes wide, a deer caught in headlights. Her whole body stiffened resembling a scared cat posed to run.
"I'm not going to hurt you!" Meg called out, slowly getting out and up from her tent, "I just want to talk."
"What the fuck do you want? Where the fuck am I?" the girl snapped at Meg.
Though her words were laced with venom, Meg didn't mind. She understood the confusion this girl must be feeling; it wasn't too long ago she was feeling the same thing.
Meg just hoped that this is another survivor and not some trick played by the Entity because who knows what it was capable of?
"I'm Meg. I'm a survivor. Welcome to our campfire."
—-
"I can't believe it's you!" Nea screams, her voice full of delight, as she smacks Meg's shoulder sending waves of shock through her whole body that mirror the frantic thoughts that go through her head. She melts into Nea's touch and closes her eyes tight, listening to the next part of her sentence. "We were looking everywhere to see if anyone else was here!"
A laugh escapes Meg's lips as she smacks Nea back and draws her in for another hug. "Yeah, it sure looks that way," she jokes, glancing briefly between the bar and a swaying David beside them.
"Hey, don't look at me. This big guy wanted to go in, and what was I supposed to do? Stay at the hotel with mama Claudette?"
"Wait, Claudette is here too?" Meg asks. Her voice is full of hope and familiarity for the first time in what seems like forever.
"Yup. She doesn't condone our adventures out here, so she stayed back to keep an eye on the place."
"Yeah, but where the fuck you been?" David interjects as though he didn't catch any of the previous conversation. Despite that, Meg can hardly contain herself as she looks between her friends, a huge smile plastered on her face.
David looks the same, his face is hard and ruthless, but his eyes are kind when he looks at her. Nea stands there, her eyes wide and mouth open as her fingers grip tightly around Meg's wrist. She looks like she is seeing a ghost, and if she lets go, Meg will disappear into thin air. Despite Meg's hand tingling from the circulation being cut off by Nea's vice-like grip, she hardly notices as she smiles and gives her friends another huge hug. She takes Nea's hand in her own, both in an attempt to regain her circulation, and to simply be close to her best friend again.
"I've been here," Meg gestures vaguely around her with her free hand, the words practically spilling out of her mouth before changing the subject, "I didn't know anyone else got out!"
She catches herself for a moment noticing that she didn't mention Evan, but in her mind that is a conversation for another time.
"Where have you been? Have you been out since our last trial?" She continues, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Yeah, we snuck into a hotel," David mumbles as he attempts to lean his body nonchalantly on a lamppost. "It's not too crowded, no one has caught us yet. Called some shit like Escape at Eastside. Ironic, right?" He sways slightly, trying to catch his balance before standing upright once more.
Meg pretends not to notice, but all she can do is smile at the absurdity of it all.
"And where'd you get the money for the booze?" Meg asks as she tries her best to shoot him a disapproving look.
"Well, ya see, love, ya don't gotta pay when you get kicked out before you can," David declares, brandishing a white smile as he sends a wink Meg's way.
"You did not…"
Nea rolls her eyes as her head snaps towards David.
"Yeah, and this isn't the first time he has used that plan. Before long, we won't be welcomed anywhere if he keeps this up."
"Yeah, I sure see you complainin' as you're downin' your drinks."
Nea stares at him intently for a second, before her face relaxes as she mutters, "Well you got me there."
"You know you could just…" Meg pauses for emphasis, "leave without paying? Sneak on out. You two have plenty of experience sneaking out of situations."
Silence follows for just a moment until David's laugh breaks into the air.
"My god, we're dumb," Nea mumbles smacking her face and groaning.
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that? I know what I'm doing here, sweetheart," David chimes in, cracking his knuckles. "It's about time I get into a good fight or two."
Nea hits David on the arm and starts yelling at him for not telling her that sooner, and they could have been so much smarter, but all Meg can do is smile and laugh along with David trying to defend himself.
She honestly can hardly believe this is real.
They are out and her friends are here.
This is everything she ever wanted for so long. She knows she should be happy, and to an extent she is, she is overjoyed, but why can't she stop her chest tightening and her stomach from flipping when she looks at them?
They begin to walk together down the street in order to get away from the bar door, laughing and carrying on, as they always did, but to Meg, it feels like there is an invisible wall, an impervious force that she feels she can't cross to get to her friends.
The laughter and the way Nea squeezes Meg's hand so tight should feel like a security blanket, a safe haven, but there is something inside her that is keeping her from enjoying this completely.
Is it Evan?
She knows she didn't necessarily lie to her friends earlier by not telling them the whole truth, but it still gnaws at her, a voice inside her to just tell them.
While being at the campfire, and having to rely on each other one hundred percent through trials, they all had to build up an unusual trust. They couldn't hide anything, and to her knowledge, no one did. While they were scavenging, they always told someone where they were going and what they found. They always talked about their own experiences within the trials and why they made the choices they did, and overall, they always knew they could rely on one another.
It was the only way they knew they would be able to get out of a trial alive, or to get out of the Entity's realm altogether. If they kept things inside and weren't a hundred percent transparent, a seed of doubt would plant between them that would threaten to grow separating them in their time of need.
This revelation, or ease of teamwork, didn't come naturally to them. When it was just the four survivors, Meg, Jake, Claudette, and Dwight, they wanted alone time.
They wanted to keep things to themselves.
They wanted to be able to keep that part of independence and self-control, but it only caused issues, and instead of feeding into the angst that loomed around them like tar, they figured out that they just need to be honest.
Open.
Why not just tell them about Evan? They'd understand, Meg repeats to herself like a mantra.
But as she looks between her friends from one life, she realizes that just for a little bit, she might want to keep Evan a secret.
She's not sure why; whether it be due to her own guilt about the situation in which her and Evan parted ways, or fear of how Nea and David would react to her not absolutely hating him now, she has no idea what option would be worse.
And as much as she wants to hate Evan, wants to kick and scream and forget him forever, she still finds herself wondering if he looked at the papers, or if he shut that part out of his life once more. She wonders if he knew about it all already.
She wants to know what he knows.
She wants to talk to him.
"Fuck, David, don't wander off, oh my god…" Nea's voice interrupts Meg's thoughts so fast, she has whiplash. She looks around wondering what is going on as she notices David walking, or rather stumbling, across the street towards a nearby cafe with empty chairs and tables.
"I'm lookin for a seat, lady, let me be," he slurs, flapping his hand in the direction of Nea, who follows after him muttering like a disgruntled mother.
"I shouldn't have to look after you every time we drink!"
"Well keep up with me on the drinking and you wouldn't have to!"
There was no traffic that Meg could see, and there was hardly anyone around them in the shops other than an occasional bystander. She briefly wonders what time it is, it can't be late, lunch time maybe. Her stomach growls softly, and she clears her throat realizing that she has yet to eat today.
Though she knows that she can't be too upset at anyone but herself… Evan did have food preparing at home.
She wonders what it would have been like if she stayed, if she just listened to him.
She could have gone into the study at another time with him, or at least him knowing. She tries not to think about that realization, even though it hits her like a ton of bricks every single time it comes into her mind. Shaking her head almost as a way to physically get those thoughts out of her buzzing mind, she thinks about the deer that she could be having.
Who knows if it would have been good…it could have been awful, she tries to rationalize it to herself. That is until she remembers the rabbit from last night, and her stomach growls again, angry at herself for leaving before getting anything more to eat.
But then again...
She glances over at David who already, very roughly, jumped the small fence of the cafe just to get to the tables. If she stayed with Evan, who knows when she would have found her friends again, if ever, so she swallows those intrusive thoughts about Evan, and walks behind Nea to the cafe.
When they reach David, he plops down in a chair, letting out an audible groan before leaning back and spreading his legs. One arm raises up and rests on his head while the other drapes down his leg.
Nea stares at David as she opens up the small door in the fence that he could have used.
"You really had to jump over that, didn't ya?" Nea says, holding the door open for Meg to come in behind her.
"Well, yeah. I don't have time to try and find the door. I wanted to sit," David mutters, not opening his eyes or lifting his head to look at them as they walk over to the table he chose.
Nea takes a seat next to David, but not before giving his chair a quick kick causing him to scramble in surprise.
"Aye! Watch it," David warns before returning to his original position, eyes closed and resting once more.
"You'll be fine, ya big baby. Just don't fall asleep, you won't wake up. Don't think I won't leave you here overnight."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm awake," David mutters, although he makes no effort to hide that he is very much attempting to try to sleep.
Meg settles down into a chair across from David thinking about all the times he said he used to drink a lot. She always found humor in his dumb stories and retellings of things he did when he was wasted, even though most of them ended with him being thrown in the drunk tank for the night. That always seemed to deter her away from drinking should she ever get out, but then Evan came along.
She tries not to think about drinking with Evan last night, even though now that time seems so far away. Almost blurting out that she finally tried whiskey, she bites her tongue knowing that they'll only wonder where she got it from.
Leaning forward on her elbows, Meg rests her head in her hands
"Yeah, David, you can't fall asleep because I need details!" she says excitedly, trying to find out more about them so she can push Evan from her mind and stop feeling so damn guilty about keeping her last few days to herself. "The hotel, Claudette, and uh…if you two have forgotten…we are out! I think there's a lot to catch up on."
"I'm just sad that we got out before I could teach the Entity who was truly in charge there," David laments, opening his eyes and leaning forward on his arms on the table, mirroring Meg.
Nea and Meg exchange a quick glance before bursting out laughing at the thought of David standing in front of whatever the Entity is, a ball of mist with spider legs for all they know, and trying to fight it, just like he always says he would.
"What? Oh fine, you two wouldn't get it," David mutters, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms like a sad toddler. "I went along with it all, but I could fight it!" He truly makes his point by balling up his fists and giving the air around them a few nice punches.
"Uh huh, of course. We all know how much of a big strong man you are," Meg says, reaching over the table and giving his hands a pat. "Don't need to show us."
"We aren't interested in seeing you fight anyway," Nea teases, leaning back in her chair and balancing it on its hind legs, "You'd just bore us to death before the Entity could have killed us itself."
David puts down his hands and lets out an exaggerated huff of disappointment. "Out of all the nice survivors, I would get out of that damn place with you two…constantly burstin' my bubble," he says pointing a finger at the two laughing girls on either side of him, "You're lucky I don't fight ladies."
"Oh definitely, you couldn't be more right," Meg answers, holding in another laugh and giving him an over-exaggerated nod.
"Yeah cuz we all know we'd kick your ass," Nea finishes her sentence.
David just frowns and leans back in his chair, not wanting to bury himself a deeper hole.
Silence settles around them nicely as they take a moment to simply bask in the sun, the laughter from earlier dancing around them.
Meg doesn't know the last time that she has laughed, truly laughed like this while being able to not worry about a trial, or the campfire, or flashlights or medkits or toolboxes…or killers.
As she looks between Nea and David, she sits back in her chair, mirroring their comfortable attitudes, her lips pulled into what seems like a permanent smile that hasn't left her face since seeing them.
At the campfire, every time they had any sort of reprieve, there was always that dread of another trial hanging above them like a guillotine, threatening to come down on them at any moment. It was hard to truly enjoy the time they had while thinking about the pain that would inevitably come again.
But here…
Here they can just be.
Despite knowing that, Meg still can't get her nerves to calm down, so she sits, breathing in an out, and concentrating on the relaxing nature of the three of them together.
"So," Nea starts, rolling her head to the side and looking at Meg. "You really tried to skirt around the question of where you've been these last two days."
And just like that, the carpet beneath Meg's feel is pulled out and she takes a deep breath, still not knowing if she should tell them.
"Well, it's a long story," Meg says in the best nonchalant voice she could muster, "it's a good one for another time."
Nea lifts her head up and shifts in her chair so she's sitting more upright and facing Meg, ignoring the soft snores that begin to come from David.
"You've been ignoring the question, and, Meg, we don't care what you've done to survive for two days," she says, gesturing over to the sleeping David as though he is still in the conversation, "we've done things we aren't proud of either. But we gotta survive, ya know? We always have."
She's right, and goddammit, Meg always hated how much Nea could get under her skin.
When Nea first came to the campfire, she was rude and belligerent, and all around cold towards everyone except Meg. They never talked about it after they began to grow close, but there was a certain amount of sadness, or loneliness, that seemed to draw them together. They instantly seemed to bond, becoming like sisters, though they would never admit that to each other. They had other ways of showing their love for one another like finding resources and offerings and always splitting it with the other person, or being the first one to save or help the other in trials, or just being attached at the hip whenever they were both out of a trial together.
Meg never questioned it, as it happened as naturally as anything, but she loved Nea, which also came with the negatives of having someone that close to her.
Nea could always tell when something was wrong, and with her not being the typical motherly type of person, she always called Meg out on her bullshit and didn't let her go until she had the information she wanted.
Not that she could complain much, Meg was often the same towards her. They pushed each other, and Meg was always thankful for that.
So now that they are finally here, face-to-face, in the real world, in daylight, Meg hates that she just came seem to spit out that she had been staying with Evan - no -
The Trapper.
To them, that's all they'll see him as, and Meg doesn't know how to explain to them that he isn't just someone who has murdered and killed them for years.
While yes, that is true, she has seen a side of him that even she doesn't quite understand.
The very thought of him still brings up the true terror she felt in the trials and makes her very being vibrate with nerves, but she has also seen that there is a weird kindness within him that she can't place.
But he has hurt her and her friends for too long.
That can't be forgotten.
She has to remind herself that she can't forget that.
So if she can't forget it, how could Nea?
"Meg?" Nea asks, leaning forwards towards Meg, resting her elbows on her knees. "Is it that bad?"
Meg shakes her head, "It's not…bad…but I just don't know where to even begin."
"Just say it, and then I'll sit here as you ramble and try to explain it like you always do," Nea says, resting her head on her hands.
Before Meg can say anything, Nea's face changes and her eyes squint in suspicion of…something. She doesn't look at Meg, but past her, just over her shoulder.
"Nea?"
Nea smacks David's knee, hard, causing him to thrash for a second before realizing where he is.
"Oi, what's that for?"
"David," Nea says, her voice low and calm, but she doesn't take her eyes off of whatever is behind Meg. "You need to wake up."
"What is it?" Meg starts to turn to see what is making Nea so uneasy, but she is met with a slap on her knee from Nea, a clear sign to get her not to look.
But Meg never listened, and her heart sinks as she lets out a groan.
Evan stands on the other side of the street away from Meg, Nea, and David, just standing there, still as a statue. He changed his clothes from this morning, where he was wearing overalls and a coat, hunting gear, and now he is back in a black shirt, black pants, and suspenders.
"He's been standing there for awhile, and I don't like this. We gotta go," Nea hisses, not taking her eyes off him like a hawk.
"Fucker, I'll take care of him," David hisses, cracking his knuckles one at a time as he stands up.
Nea doesn't stop him as he begins whispering threats under his breath.
"Guys, wait," Meg speaks up, placing a hand on Nea's shoulder, keeping her from standing up. She can't reach David, but she's silently thankful that he has had too much to drink to actually walk properly.
"Do you know him?" Nea glances over at her for a moment, a flash of confusion in her eyes, before she looks back at Evan.
Meg remains silent for a moment, trying to gauge how they'll react, even though she knows she needs to tell them. Now.
At the same time, it takes everything in her not to go up and smack Evan himself for being so damn dramatic about this.
He's the one who kicked her out, bloody knife in hand, threatening her to leave, and yet here he is, once again, corralling her back, if that's what he's trying to do. A brief thought flashes through her mind telling her that he isn't here to get her back, but he's here to kill her. It disappears just as quickly the more she looks at him. She doesn't see a knife, or weapon of any sort hanging from his bare hands, so she safely assumes that he isn't here to cause permanent damage, hopefully.
"Guys," Meg whispers, hesitantly, "I haven't told you where I've been staying because I've been staying with him-" but before Meg can say who he is, Nea interjects.
"You've been staying with him? Do you even know this guy? What if he's dangerous? He looks dangerous-"
"He looks like an asshole, is what he looks like," David interrupts, already cracking his neck, ready to fight.
"No, I mean, yes, but okay…"Meg hesitates, it better come out now, "It's the Trapper. From the trials. I've been staying with the Trapper."
Silence fills the air, and it's not the pleasant, warm silence from earlier. This silence makes Meg's ears buzz as she begins to feel crushed by the weight of it.
"I know it sounds crazy-"
"That's one word for it," David says, "Fuckin' insane is what it is!"
Nea doesn't say anything for a moment, but she puts a hand on Meg's forearm.
"You probably had your reasons, but Meg, the Trapper? Fuckin' really?"
"What happened to not judging where I've been staying?" Meg yanks her arm away, suddenly aware of the hypocrisy coming from her friends. "Look, I know it's crazy, this was why I didn't want to tell you."
They look at each other, all of them seeming to forget that ten yards away, Evan still stands, watching the three argue.
Nea takes in a deep breath and lets it all out in a quick sigh, "You're right. But…Meg…him?"
Meg stands there, speechless.
Suddenly everything they shared, the night by the fire drinking, him taking her out in the woods and teaching her the placement of traps so she could help, or him making her food, all seem almost too personal, too intimate, and she doesn't feel right saying those things out loud to her friends.
That was a time that her and Evan shared, and for some reason, it feels wrong to just blurt it out into the open, no matter how she feels about it.
"He really isn't as bad of a guy as he could be," Meg reassures Nea, "he isn't the best, and I still don't know if I fully trust him, but, I'm still here! He didn't hurt me, at least. "
"So why were you out here? You looked pretty lost when you ran into us," Nea retorts, crossing her arms as though to prove a point.
"Well, he kicked me out," Meg admits, rolling her head to the side as she flashes her friends a pained grin, hoping it would lessen the blow.
"He kicked you out?" David interjects. "I don't care who he is, you don't kick out a lady onto the streets. Aye!" David ends his shocked sentence by calling across the street towards Evan.
Evan's steel eyes snap from Meg onto David as he stands still, a looming presence. Beads of sweat start to form on Meg's forehead as she stares at him looking more like the Trapper than she has seen him without his mask on.
She has to remind herself that they aren't in a trial.
They are fine.
It's Evan.
Evan hasn't hurt her.
Not yet anyway.
David jumps the small white fence once more with a little difficulty, the unsteadiness and slurring of his voice still there. Meg almost doesn't want to watch what is about to unfold as David trudges across the street.
Evan looks down at David who, though taller than Meg, still stands a solid foot shorter than Evan and isn't nearly as wide as he is. Evan could put him down in just a few seconds, yet he doesn't move. He watches David with indifference, like a bear would with an ant, as the drunken man marches up to him.
"You kicked her out?" David yells as he gets closer. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Evan ignores him and looks over to Meg, who stands as still just as still across the street, facing him.
The two don't dare to move, captured in a time of their own, as they try to ignore the imminent situation at hand.
Meg replays the situation she left mere hours ago, the feelings of dread, of terror, of guilt rush to her head and make her dizzy. What Evan is feeling or what drove him here, Meg couldn't even begin to guess as he stands there as hard to read as ever.
"Oi, you listening you me?" David shouts as he reaches Evan. David raises his arms up and gives Evan a rough shove on his chest. Despite the pure anger and force behind David's shove, it hardly makes Evan move as David stumbles back slightly.
"Do. not. touch. me," Evan hisses, being shaken awake by the shove from David, each syllable he speaks accented with a pause, "This is none of your concern."
"This is all of my concern, mate," David rebukes, once more invading the very large personal bubble Evan keeps.
"You need to step away. We may not be in those trials but I can kill you just as easily," Evan threatens through clenched teeth. He twists his neck, popping it with ease before looking down at David, then back at Meg who still stands frozen across the street.
The look on Evan's face reminds her of the first day they realized they were out. His eyes spit anger, fury, and almost seemed to change color completely as he stares at David, who doesn't do the smart thing and back away.
Nea rushes behind David, now getting the confidence to go across the street towards the danger, rather than stay behind with Meg.
"David, come back," Nea calls, trying to get him to back away.
A fist draws behind the drunk man, and as fast as he could manage, tries to come in contact with Evan's jaw. Due to the sheer size and sober advantage, Evan stops David in his tracks, grabbing his hand, encompassing it completely in his own.
Meg took this strange opportunity to rush across the street to intervene, finally getting her frozen legs to work properly after the fear that this could get physical.
They're out, she can't let anything happen to David now…
"David!" She ushers, "I really appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's okay!"
David growls, not breaking the intense eye contact he has with Evan.
"It's not just the fact that he kicked you out…" he grunts. His arm muscles bulge, shaking and pulsating from pressing against the unmoving force that is Evan MacMillan. "But this fucker needs to pay for what he's done. For all of it."
David doesn't say anything more as he flings his other fist towards Evan, and as though Evan could predict the sudden movement, he catches his fist with his other hand, grasping it firmly.
"If you don't want your friend to get hurt, I suggest getting him to calm down," Evan spits towards Meg, who keeps grasping at both Evan and David momentarily, not sure who to help first.
"Look, David," Meg shouts above the anger and rage that fills the air between the three of them, "It's okay! I swear, it's okay. Just…we can talk about this, you don't need to hurt Evan, at least not right now."
As Meg finishes her sentence, her muscles calm down and she almost can collapse out of relief as David lowers his hands and looks at Meg. She takes a step between the men trying to distance them because she can only imagine what could happen if a fight between them broke out in the streets.
As soon as David speaks, she realizes the mistake she just made.
"Evan?" David scoffs, "Who the fuck is Evan?"
Meg swallows her heart that seems to make its way into her throat as she looks between the drunken angry David and the solemn stoic Evan.
Meg could laugh, not out of humor, but at the true irony of this situation…defending the Trapper out of all people.
"It's him, the Trapper. This is Evan MacMillan," Meg informs David, gesturing to the man who stands behind her. Before she knows it, she feels Evan's fingers rest on the back of her shoulder, so gently. She can feel him standing a lot closer to her now, can practically feel his breath on her neck, and she almost wants to smack his hand away before she realizes it couldn't have been him who stepped closer.
Meg was in between the two men, but with every breath she unknowingly shuffled slightly backwards towards Evan, who now grips her shoulder tighter with each passing moment until he's holding her with the force of a hurricane. She doesn't know why she began to take steps back. It could have been because she felt the need to defend Evan, although she knows firsthand he could handle himself, or maybe the pure fury that reflected in David's eyes pushed her back, wanting distance. She wasn't sure, but either way, she didn't know which was scarier in this moment.
Evan makes no move to pull his hand away or take a step back in order to give them more room. He only rests his hand on her as they stare at her fellow survivors. Before she can think to pull away from his hand, her mind is pulled from her thoughts by David, who finally looks away and makes a sound out of frustration, defeat, anger.
"Evan…you're calling this fuckin' monster Evan now," David hisses.
Meg doesn't have anything to say back because he's right. She can't even possibly know where to begin and if the situation were reversed, she has no idea how she would react either.
She isn't sure how she feels feeling Evan's callused fingers bruise her shoulder as she stands there in front of him. She doesn't want to think how or when she has gotten this far, but then she feels Nea's slim fingers wrap around her wrist once more, pulling her from her trance.
Finally taking a step away from Evan, his fingers leave her shoulder. His face shows no emotion as though it never happened as she steps more towards the middle of the two men and Nea.
"David," Nea starts, "You don't know him," she spits out the word 'him' like it's poison, "But we know Meg, and shouldn't we listen to her before we draw conclusions?"
David huffs, his shoulders rapidly moving up and down, refusing to listen to reason, but after a couple of minutes of silence, Meg and Nea looking at each other, silently communicating, David decides he is outnumbered before continuing.
"It's not right for him to kick her out, you know that, and she should know that too," David mumbles. "It's not right after everything he's done to us."
A small smile pulls against Nea's lips as she agrees, "I know, but it's Meg. If she says it's okay, it has to be. She wouldn't lie to us, I hope. Cuz she knows we would call her out on it, right?"
Meg smiles at that, relieved at the chance to have Nea on her side.
Evan doesn't move as they talk. He remains behind Meg with his arms to his side and his eyes glued to her every movement.
"I can explain," Meg begins, "I never thought we'd be out, any of us, and as soon as I walked out of those woods, Evan was the first person I saw, and I didn't even follow him right away. I couldn't."
"So what changed?" Nea asks, her voice stern and clipped.
"You said it yourself, we do things to survive. I can't survive on the streets, not again. I did it once before the Entity, and I don't know if I could handle that again."
Meg hears Evan take in a breath behind her.
"So you went with him..." Nea acknowledges slowly.
Meg nods, not sure what else to say until she can almost feel Evan bend down slightly behind her, his breath on her ear.
"Can we talk?" Evan asks Meg, his voice barely above a whisper, urgent and low, "Alone?"
Meg's immediate reaction, especially with Nea and David there is to scream no at him, let him know he's not welcomed here especially after he has treated her the last few days, but at the same time, the last few days is exactly why she doesn't say no.
He has been stubborn, insensitive, and rude.
And he has been considerate, kind, and protective in his own messed up way.
Nea looks at Evan, ready to strike along with David, who doesn't sway with the wind anymore, and he seems to be fully aware of what's going on, which gives Meg both comfort and anxiety in this situation. But going with Evan could give them a couple of minutes to process it. They weren't getting anywhere screaming at each other in the streets.
"I'll be okay," she reassures her friends as she turns, ready to follow Evan, "Just stay close." Although she knows almost one hundred percent that she is "safe" with him, there's always that buzzing in the back of her mind that screams at her that she needs to run. Needs to get away.
Years of working for the Entity can't just go away within a couple of days, and she doesn't know if Evan is going to snap, or if he has already. So, talking to Evan now seems a lot easier knowing that she has her friends waiting off to the side.
Evan grabs her arm, not roughly, but not in the comforting way Nea had earlier. He yanks her down the street and into an alley where she stumbles after him.
Once they enter the alleyway, she yanks her arm free with a yell, "What was that?'
"What?"
"You don't have to be so rough, you know. I agreed to come with you!"
Evan takes a step forward, effectively causing Meg to take a step back.
"You need to control your friends before I do," he threatens, scowling down at her.
"What does that mean?"
"They need to control their tongue before they speak to me. I may not be as nice the next time that oaf tries to touch me."
"Well I can't control how they react," Meg retorts, "This is the first time they've seen you outside of a trial. We still don't even get along and I've had more time to process it than they have." Meg tries to reason while gesturing her arms between the two of them, completely understanding her friends' worries.
Evan looks at her with a look she has never seen before. His body stands tall, taller than any man she has ever seen, as it seems he could almost apocalypse the sun if he stood any taller, and yet, his face doesn't meet the threat his body language is trying to convey.
She really gets a good look at him now in the daytime as she takes another step back, her back hitting the brick wall behind her with a soft thud.
He is bald, as he was in the trials underneath his mask, but it matches his face which is hard and structured with a strong jawline and cheekbones. She tries not to think of how he would look if his face wasn't covered in scars with one running down his cheek and onto his lip, and one on his right eye, and another gouged deep in his chin.
She does briefly wonder if these were scars from his past life or if the Entity had something to say about them.
The few times she was able to take off her hoodie while being away from the Entity's realm, she noticed that the white scar from the Legion's knife piercing her arm still blazed white and raw on her forearm, she had five points on her stomach where the Nightmare would pierce her stomach, and her ankles were decorated with white jagged lines from Evan's bear traps.
The bigger injuries running up her spine, shoulder, or stomach weren't there, but the smaller ones, it almost seemed like the Entity forgot to heal those.
Or maybe it didn't forget. It kept them there as a constant reminder of where they were. They had some control, but at the same time, none at all.
The illusion of having control was enough for some, it seemed, but it was never enough for Meg, or her few close survivor friends.
"So…why did you want to talk?" Meg asks, her tone wavering, "Or are you just going to stand there staring at me in silence?"
"I wanted to come find you to apologize," he mutters, his voice lacking the usual confidence he exudes.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, for how I reacted towards you," he continues. "I don't care about your friends, but I wanted to apologize to you…" There's a hint of something more that he wanted to add, but he doesn't. The words lost as he looks away. He takes a moment before continuing, "But I am not sorry for being upset. I specifically told you not to go in there, and yet you did…" he tapers off a second time gathering his thoughts before continuing, "I asked you one thing, and it wasn't the first time we have argued about the study, yet you couldn't resist going behind my back."
"It wasn't that I thought about going behind your back," Meg starts in an attempt to defend her actions that even she knew were wrong, "But as soon as I saw that there was something in there to do with the Entity…I couldn't stop. Don't you want to know what those mean?"
Evan stares at her, his eyes hardening by the second as he speaks, "You have known me two days. I shouldn't have to justify my behavior to you." His once patient, calm demeanor dissolves so quickly, Meg visibly sees the changes in his body.
His shoulders and neck tense, his chest inflates, and he gets even taller than Meg could have thought possible.
"Did you know those papers were in there?" Meg asks, her voice small.
Evan shakes his head, "Even if I did, it doesn't justify you breaking the one rule that is set in that house. Before the Entity, no one lived to tell the tale of how they crossed me. You need to learn to listen."
Instead of taking any steps back, she takes a step forward and looks at him. Her heart beats so rapidly in her chest, it's all she can hear, but she points a finger right at Evan, challenging him.
"We both know that's true, we do, but you don't scare me, Evan MacMillan," Meg swallows, hoping he doesn't catch the blatant lie coming from her mouth. He says nothing so she continues, "I've seen sides of you that I bet you haven't even thought of showing for years, decades even, and you can threaten me all you want, but I know you're not going to go through with it."
Evan remains silent, his chest heaving up and down like a bull ready to charge, yet he says nothing, so Meg continues, hoping he doesn't call her bluff.
"You had so many chances, yet you still continue to seek me out and help me. I think a part of you feels guilty. So you won't hurt me. And you don't scare me."
Meg slowly lets her finger fall as her arms hang limply to her sides. Their eyes meet as they both refuse to look away, almost challenging the other to let it go, to submit, and Meg knows this game well by now, so she doesn't give up.
A muscle in his jaw goes as he glowers down at Meg, who despite every muscle in her body wanting to shrink under his heated stare, stands her ground. She doesn't deflate. She doesn't sigh. She holds her breath and stares at him, standing tall.
They have had screaming matches before, almost too many in the span of them being out, but this is different.
He threatened to kill her at his house, kicked her out, and yet here he is, wanting to apologize, again, but Meg won't stand to be treated like how he treated her before, not when she has her friends with her, and not when she knows she truly has nothing to be scared of…
Hopefully.
A small voice in the back of her reminds her that he was a murderer before the Entity, but he hasn't hurt her, not yet, and she's really beginning to convince herself that he won't.
With everything she has seen from him, he is an unpredictable force of nature, and that scared her - still scares her, but she knows there has to be some decency in him.
He didn't even end up defending himself against David, even though he could have easily stopped him in his tracks.
So instead, she stares at him, refusing to back down, as his eyes search hers for something, though she doesn't know what.
Although his face is hard as stone, for the first time as she looks up at him, really looks into his eyes, there is something there that she can't place.
This close, she can see the flecks of gold in his irises. She can see the faint scars she didn't notice before, one beside his left eye, one on his temple. Wounds of war, she could think once, but now, it wasn't war.
It was terror.
"You're not going to hurt me," she whispers, a victory. Her mouth turns upwards in disbelief, in suspicion, in defiance as he didn't say anything to call her bluff.
"Why are you so goddamn stubborn?" Evan asks quietly. He exhales slowly as though he was holding in a breath.
"I suppose years with the Entity made me that way," Meg replies, no humor in her voice as she lets out the breath she was holding along with him. The tension seems to fade away ever so slowly into something that makes Meg uncomfortable.
He doesn't grab her shoulder like he did before, but she can almost feel him wanting to reach up, to touch her again, as though some sort of electricity was going off between them, frantic and unpredictable until he speaks, lessening the intensity, and making it easier for Meg to hear herself think again.
"Regardless," Evan starts, pausing. Meg notices how he said nothing in the contrary to him hurting her. Relief floods over her like a dam breaking as Evan continues, "I'm done arguing with you. Think what you want about me, it makes no difference. Just…" he pauses as he brings a hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose out of annoyance as he finally breaks the intimate eye contact with her, "You need to respect living in my house. This isn't an option. I don't appreciate you sneaking around where you do not belong."
Meg flares her nostrils and lets out an exasperated sigh.
"I know but look, there are clues in that house that can tell us-"
"I am aware but we don't need them. Not right now. Or at least, we can look together so you're not going through every single piece of my family history. It is a bit invasive, don't you agree?"
"I guess, but what if there is something you don't want to look at? Another piece you forbid me from finding?"
Evan looks at her and doesn't look away. He doesn't seem to blink as his gaze focuses purely on Meg once more, who does her best to ignore the scrutiny of his stare.
"What is it exactly that you hope to find in my home?" He asks, his voice low, almost like a growl.
Meg thinks for a moment, because she honestly doesn't know. She feels foolish making this big deal out of this without any end goal in sight.
"I just want to know more about the Entity. Your house was clearly a hot spot for it, and I think it is a good place to start. Don't you want to know?"
Evan finally peels his eyes from her and looks away.
"I'm not sure I want to. I came in contact with the Entity enough to last a lifetime, or rather multiple lifetimes."
"But don't you want to know why?" Meg stresses 'why' trying to drive in the fact that they could find out something, or anything, about this situation.
And maybe they won't get caught in the same nightmare twice, but she wants to make sure - no - she needs to make sure.
She doesn't know if she can survive a second time.
Meg sighs and crosses her arms across her chest.
"Look, I'm sorry for going into the study, I really am," she apologizes, suddenly feeling self-conscious that she didn't apologize sooner, so she looks at the ground just past Evan's feet. "It was invasive, and again, I'm sorry, but I just can't stand by and wonder if the last ten years of my life were absolute agony for nothing. If I can get some answers…on anything…"
Meg flounders slightly as her apology falls apart the more she rambles.
Evan takes a small step towards Meg, reminiscent of the times he had crossed the personal circle between them, but instead of just standing there intimidatingly like so many times before, he raises a huge hand and sets it on Meg's shoulder, only this time, it isn't on the outside of her shoulder, it is closer to her face. He grasps tight, his thumb resting on the base of her neck, and she knows he has to be able to feel her swallowing her fear as her breath quickens. If he noticed, he doesn't mention it as he looks at her.
"It wasn't for nothing. You were put in a situation with the Entity you clearly did not deserve, and for that I'm sorry," he says, barely above a whisper.
Meg is speechless as Evan finishes his sentence. She looks at him, and she can almost picture an old school miner and business man that he claimed to be. The way he carries himself was assured and strong, stronger than any man she's ever seen, though she'd never tell this to David who is convinced he can beat anyone and anything in his way. He is intimidating, to say the least, but he has this quiet charisma that seems to calm Meg at that moment.
It's no wonder he got his workers to follow him blindly.
Evan stands there like a man with a purpose. Everything he does has a reason, everything he says is concise and to the point, and he says a lot in the pauses between his words.
As much as she knows she messed up, she feels like he's giving her a second chance. A chance at what? She isn't sure. She isn't sure if she even wants a second chance.
When she found Nea and David, she wondered if that was the second chance she was looking for when she first realized she was out.
Not with Evan…
"You're welcome to come back to the Estate should you choose," Evan says, giving her such a minuscule squeeze on her shoulder, she barely felt it before he took his hand back to rest at his side once more.
Should she go back? All Evan did was make her feel unwelcome and unsure of being there.
But that's not true, Meg thinks. He was sure to try and make her feel comfortable…
She was the one who pushed him, kept interrogating him in his house.
But it was completely necessary, Meg thought, or at least a little bit.
Meg can hardly keep up with her mind fighting within itself as she tries to rationalize the huge part of her that wants to go back.
She ran away with the intention of never seeing him again, but hearing his apology, she knows she was wrong, no matter how much she doesn't want to admit it, and maybe they can work together.
There can be a different perspective other than just hers and her other survivors.
And it isn't like her friends are going to disappear. Meg can see them and work with them too, all figuring things out together.
Or so she hopes.
They can make sure they never have to encounter the same torture they all went through ever again, and maybe keep other people from experiencing it too.
From the years of training her hearing to pick up even the smallest of sounds, Meg focuses on the sounds around her as she hears Nea's familiar light step come up behind her around the corner before she hears her speak.
"Meg?" Nea calls out from the street not too far from Meg and Evan.
Meg hesitates for just a moment, though it seems like an eternity to her.
Evan looks at her with no judgement, his mouth turned downward slightly, but his eyes spring to life, exuding emotions Meg doesn't have the time recognize.
It causes something to stir within Meg that either she doesn't recognize or doesn't want to admit, so she clears her throat and turns towards Nea.
"I'm just making sure everything's okay? This shithead hasn't killed you yet?" Nea calls out, looking past Meg, clearly attacking Evan.
The calmness Evan was beginning to project disappeared quickly, Meg could practically feel him tense up behind her.
"I'm okay, we were just coming back."
Nea waits at the corner for Meg, clearly not wanting to leave them alone again as she stands there, her arms crossed and a foot tapping the ground.
Meg doesn't look back at Evan as she walks towards her friend, taking a deep breath and sending her a small smile.
"You can stay here. I want to talk to her," Nea spits at Evan before taking Meg's hand, grasping her fingers between her own. Evan's eyes flicker down at their interlocked hands and back to Meg, then to Nea, as he says nothing. After a moment, he nods and leans against the side of the building, a clear sign that he would wait there for Meg's answer to whether or not she would go back with him.
Nea drags Meg a little ways away, not as far as Evan dragged her, before she brings her close and narrows her eyes.
"Sooo, when were you gonna tell us you were shacking up with the Trapper for the last few days?" Nea says, her voice light, but the look on her face betrays any sense of ease she might try to exude.
"I wanted to tell you!" Meg starts, "As I said, it was a long story…"
"You could say that again…"
Nea leads her over to David, who sits on the curb of the street, leaning back on his hands placed out behind him, fingers sprawled out on the concrete.
"So, what're you thinking?" Nea says, pulling Meg down to sit on the curb with the two of them. She lands with a harsh thud that sends waves of dull pain up her spine.
The shock does nothing to lessen her nerves or choices she has to make right now.
Before it would be so simple, of course she'd go with her friends, but now…
Now she knows there are answers that lie within the MacMillan Estate, answers that she wants to know and she doesn't know if she can find anywhere else.
She doesn't know if she can just abandon that so easily.
But she also knows that she could be making the biggest mistake of her life.
"I…" Meg hesitates, "I think I'm going to go back with him. Just for now!" she adds the last part in such a rush, it comes out like a jumble of words. "I just need to figure out what is going on, and I think he is a key part of it all."
"What's going on is that we are out," David mutters without opening his eyes, "We are out, love, and I don't care why or how, but we are here and we should enjoy it."
Meg frowns. "Yeah, but I don't think I'm contented with just knowing we are out. Giving it some meaning at least could help, right? Can you just live knowing we've been through hell and back for no reason?"
David opens one eye and peeks at her for a moment before shaking his head and closing his eyes once more, "Nah. I'm here now, why would I worry about the 'why'?"
Meg takes a deep breath trying to suppress all the words that threaten to come bursting out of her mouth.
"Well I'm glad that you are content in being in this world and drinking your troubles away, but I actually want to know more about our lives for the last decade," Meg bursts out, annoyed that David doesn't even try to see that there could be something more to this...and it's not just David. But Nea and Evan both seem to be just fine not knowing, and Meg can't stand that she is the only one who seems to care.
"Hey, it could be worse, ya know," David responds, not concerned. "We could still be there. If you want to go live with the fuckin' monster and relive those times, you can. We ain't stoppin' you." He gestures over to Evan who stands against a building at the end of the street.
"David…"Meg mutters, reaching out to him, "Look you have your way of coping and I have mine, and maybe Nea wants to know what is going on too..."
"Oh, don't bring me into this," Nea says, throwing her hands out in front of her. "I will say that I really don't understand why you're going back to The Trapper…but that's on you."
"If your way of coping is to go play house with a killer, then go right ahead. It's your funeral." David stands up, sways slightly, and then stretches, raising his hands high above his head.
"It's not that I want to live with him," Meg starts by saying but then pauses, not sure how to convince her friends. She can feel their disapproval and hesitation so thick in the air, it's suffocating.
"If this means so much to you, we can figure things out together," Nea says, giving Meg a reassuring nod, "you don't need him to figure things out. We have mama Claud on our side, and you know how much she loves figuring mysteries out."
Meg takes in a deep breath, realizing the key point she hasn't even brought up. Wanting to smack herself, she settles on telling them the thing that she hopes can convince her friends the most.
"Look, I found documents there, and I think they could help find an explanation as to why we are here, or we were sent there in the first place. They were…weird, but they talked about the Entity and I feel like if I'm there, I can find out more." Meg gnaws at her lip, waiting for her friends' replies. "I know you don't want to know, but I do, and I think I should also be able to find that out without being interrogated by you two."
David and Nea exchange a quick glance as Nea stands up and holds out a hand for Meg. David crosses his arms, his eyes squint at Meg, clearly debating whether to fight it more or just let it go.
She shoots him a pleading glance as to tell him to just think about the possibilities. Before he can say anything, Nea speaks up. "Meg, it isn't safe, and especially being with him? He already kicked you out once."
"Yeah, and what makes you trust this bastard? What if he tries something and we aren't around to protect you?"
Meg lets out a small laugh before getting serious once more.
"I don't trust him, but I really don't think he would try anything though. He had plenty of chances to kill me or hurt me…and he didn't."
"But what's to say he won't in the future?"
"I can handle myself."
"We know that, but," Nea pauses, glancing over at Evan who stands looking at his hands, "he's a big dude, just as big as he was in the trials, and we all know how strong he was there."
David scoffs at that, peeling his eyes away from Meg as he now examines Evan.
"I could still take him," David boasts.
"Of course you could, tough guy," Meg says, smiling sadly at him. "Okay okay, what if I found a way to get a phone or something? Something so we can keep in touch at all times?"
"And how would you get one?" Nea asks sarcastically. "It isn't like they're just throwing them at people."
"That's for me to figure out, but what if I got one, would that make it better?"
"I still don't like it…but I guess," Nea trials off not quite giving the go ahead that Meg receives in her mind.
"I'll find a way and I'll let you know. Give me your address and I'll tell you directions to where we are staying."
Nea mumbles to herself as she listens to Meg tell her the directions from where they stand as they get to the Estate, and Meg even has to pause, not realizing how accustomed to walking to and from the Estate she has become.
"I'll figure out a way to get some phones, or something for us to keep in touch, okay?" Meg says to Nea as she gives her one more hug, trying to reassure both her friends and herself. Glancing over at Evan, he is now leaning against the building, one leg crossed over the other, gazing at the bystanders with more malice than indifference.
"You're really going with him…" Nea mutters as they all look over at the brooding man, "He really doesn't look any different than he did before."
Meg does her best not to think of what Nea just said as she gathers up her friends and waves Evan over. Meg has come to see him a little differently, she thinks, or maybe it's her own mind trying to come to terms with being in the same proximity as him. Either way, she decides she is going to separate him from The Trapper.
He is Evan.
Evan MacMillan.
This is the only way this will work.
Both David and Nea stare at him as he walks over, neither of them making any attempt to forgive or forget.
"Look, remember where we will be. Ask anyone, they'll know the hotel. Please get back to us by tomorrow or I swear Meg, we will come find you and kill anyone in our way," Nea says, grabbing Meg's hand one last time and giving it a tight squeeze.
Meg smiles and nods at Nea's tone, always protecting her, though it sounded more like a threat than anything.
Although her friends aren't as furious as they were before, Meg can't help but feel absolutely awful at the idea that she chose Evan over them as they part ways; she never thought it would come to this.
Still unable to quite hold his balance, Nea hoists her arms under David's shoulders as they walk going off in the opposite direction. Meg shoots her friends one last reassuring glance before turning and walking with Evan back to the one place she should be wanting to run away from, not go back to.
She knows how much she should hate the Estate, want to get away from it kicking and screaming, but as she told her friends, there's something there, and she's not wasting time looking for it.
Silently praying to a god she gave up on long ago, she hopes she is making the right choice.
Meg looks up at Evan as they begin to walk, side-by-side, different from any other time that they've walked this familiar route.
"You know, you aren't allowed to kick me out again, and if you do, I won't leave," Meg threatens, looking from Evan to the road in front of them.
"I won't. To be fair, I was surprised you left the first time. I almost expected you to refuse."
"Why? You were so adamant," she pauses before adding, "You were so mad…" Meg shivers remembering the look on his face when he came into the study.
"And I've been mad before, yet you fought me then."
"You had a knife in your hand…you threatened me, what else was I going to do?" Meg almost yells at him, debating whether to turn around and run back towards Nea and David. They couldn't be too far away now…
"I was just preparing dinner and then you did what you did…old habits are hard to break," Evan responds, floundering just slightly over his words. If Meg hadn't talked to him as much as she has now, she wouldn't have noticed the hesitation. "Would it help if I told you I wasn't holding it to hurt you?"
"Not really," Meg mutters remembering all the times that he killed her with his own bloody cleaver.
Evan balls his hands into a fist at his side while talking, "Although my mind doesn't miss the trials, my hand misses the feeling of a weapon in it. I don't know how else to explain it."
Meg nods as a way of understanding, although she really doesn't understand it at all.
After a few beats of silence, Evan speaks up again. "Did you really think I was going to hurt you?"
"Well, yeah. I messed up, and I can't say we have the cleanest of histories here," Meg replies, confused about where this conversation is going. "You did do that very thing for over a decade."
"I see."
"But look," Meg hesitates before responding, "I am really sorry...about going into the study. I know I said it before, but I messed up, and I'm sorry. I should have apologized sooner than I did..."
"Well," Evan pauses, his voice dropping low as he glances down at Meg out of the corner of his eye, " I will admit that it is nice to hear you say you were in the wrong for a change." The corner of his mouth pulls up into a smirk and that's when Meg realizes he is trying to lighten the mood even if it is at her own expense.
Meg looks at him, knowing she deserves his…teasing? and she wonders if she should go along with it or not.
A game of cat and mouse, as it has always been, and it is certainly a game she doesn't need anymore. It feels weird coming from him of all people, but it reminds her of how he was last night, whiskey in hand, smirking at her from across the room.
"Have you been drinking?" Meg blurts out, the question coming from her before she could convince herself not to ask.
"No," Evan responds, an eyebrow quirked. "Why?"
"You're just…chatty."
"Chatty." Evan repeats, a hint of humor in his voice
Meg takes a deep breath, wondering if he was going to say more or simply leave it at that.
Once the silence drags on a little more, and it was clear he wasn't going to say anything more, Meg can't help but ask the one last thing that burns in her mind before they go back, "I just don't know why you came and found me again, or why you'd want me to come back after what I did."
Evan looks down at her then back up, the slight smile from earlier fading from his face as they continue their journey without a word. Meg realizes the silence said more than he could have said himself, and that was the only answer she needed.
He is just as confused as she is.
So she remains quiet as they walk about a block before she speaks again, trying to regain her voice.
"Just…please don't kick me out again."
"Don't do anything to warrant getting kicked out."
Meg squints up at him, prepared fight, but instead she sighs.
She hates that he's right.
"Okay, deal."
Evan doesn't respond which Meg takes as a hopeful 'deal' since anything he seems to disagree with he vocalizes adamantly. Meg pauses, taking a deep breath, simply reassuring herself of where she's going, as though if she makes this choice, it is life or death, and the weight of her choices will come down on her like a hundred pounds no matter what she chooses.
Evan places a hand on the small of her back to usher her to continue walking, nothing urgent, but it was almost comforting…if it didn't come from him.
It is just enough to send a jolt of electricity up her spine, coaxing Meg back into reality, walking once more. Her hand twitches, simultaneously wanting to both push his hand away and let him keep it there, but before she can decide, his hand stays for just a moment until it falls back to his side of its own volition.
She begins to follow him, but pauses briefly in the doorway of the bar from earlier, the doors still propped wide open, tuned into the news channel.
"Evan, wait," Meg calls to him, looking at the TV, a blaring white and red headline running its way across the bottom of the screen that makes Meg's heart stop.
String of recent killings in Jefferson County. 4 Dead, 4 missing.
—
"There have been multiple sightings of a clown terrorizing neighborhoods within the last two days, as well as a number of cases of missing people across the Puget Sound in Chimacum, Port Townsend, and Port Hadlock."
"We have with us an eye witness. Mr. Jed Olsen claims he has seen this man, described as being six and a half feet tall, three hundred pounds, and warns all residents to stay indoors at this time. Mr. Olsen, what do you think about the situation? Can you tell us anything about what you saw?"
"Thanks, doll. You see, I was near the old barns down Egg&I in Chimacum, and that's when I saw him, a huge clown. To be frank, I thought he was covered in what looked like blood, but when I called the police to go investigate, everything was normal. No clown in sight. Now, you see, I don't like being wrong. I know the poor missing people and the clown sightings are connected. It seems like there might be a killer clown on the loose and I just want to keep living, as I expect many people do, too. I think it is a good thing to inform the public, my fellow survivors, to stay indoors. Don't go out looking for trouble, or it might find you."