The evening was heavy with the ominous weight of the Dark Place's influence as Saga drove through the winding roads back to Bright Falls, the Clicker resting heavily in her pocket. Her thoughts churned with visions of Alan Wake in the Overlap, and the fight Mulligan and Thornton before they—or the Taken versions of them—succumbed to the consuming darkness, remaining inside the Huotari Well.

Meanwhile, in the Elderwood Lodge's dimly lit conference room, Agent Casey scrutinized Alan Wake with a mixture of frustration and curiosity. The walls were lined with hastily arranged crime scene photos, scribbled notes, and maps. Casey leaned over the table, his eyes locking onto Wake, who paced restlessly by the large windows that looked out toward the darkened waterfront.

"You're saying you wrote me?" Casey's voice dripped with disbelief. "You're claiming you just pulled an FBI agent, a detective in your mind, out of thin air and—what? Wrote a fucked up version of my life?"

Wake's expression was a tangle of guilt and exhaustion. "It's not that simple," he muttered. "The Dark Place… it's a prism, distorting reality. Everything I write, it's… it's given life, but not always as I intend."

Casey narrowed his eyes. "And your sudden reappearance after being missing for over a decade? Alone, mind you? That's just another byproduct of your creative process?"

Before Wake could answer, a flicker of movement outside caught his attention. The Cult of the Tree had gathered under the weak glow of the Oh Deer Diner's neon sign. Ilmo and Jaakko Koskela, their eyes glinting with fanatical resolve, gestured to the others. The group began their march down the waterfront, heading straight for the lodge.

Wake's pacing grew more frantic as he spotted the cult's approach. "It's coming," he whispered, more to himself than Casey. "It's starting."

Casey straightened, hand instinctively reaching for his holstered weapon. "Who's coming?"

The sound of breaking glass shattered the tension. Cult members swarmed the lodge, their shouts mingling with gunfire as Casey pulled his weapon and returned fire. Wake ducked behind the overturned conference table, his hands shaking.

"Casey, listen to me!" Wake shouted over the chaos. "Scratch is coming! He's… he's already here!"

Casey barely spared him a glance. "Scratch? Who the hell is Scratch?"

Wake hesitated. "I've been telling you and Agent Anderson this the whole time! He's a manifestation of the Dark Presence, haunting my wife the whole time I was in the Dark Place! You have to trust me!"

"Trust you?" Casey barked, firing another shot. "You're the architect of this whole nightmare! You have to be! How else could you have known so much about my life?"

The cult began fleeing into the woods as a guttural growl echoed through the lodge and the air grew colder. Scratch had arrived.

Wake blacked out as the entity took over, not realizing what was happening, and when he came to, the conference room was a scene of devastation. Bodies—both cult members and innocent victims—littered the floor. Casey was gone. Wake staggered to his feet, following the trail of destruction through the lodge's back door and into the darkened woods.

The Koskela twins led the cult deeper into the forest, their voices low as they argued.

"We need a Plan C," Jaakko hissed. "Plan B was supposed to work!"

Ilmo scowled. "Plan C? There's no Plan C! We were supposed to…" His words trailed off as a shadow passed overhead. Both froze, terror etched on their faces.

Scratch was hunting them.

As Wake stumbled through the woods, he spotted Casey. Wake approached cautiously, but before he could save the agent, a piercing scream drew his attention. Scratch was close. And attacked. Wake was plagued with visions of Scratch, and Casey was gone, disappearing into the undergrowth, unconscious, as the Koskelas ran over.

At the same time, Saga arrived at the forest's edge, her flashlight cutting through the gloom. She heard the commotion ahead and moved toward it, gun drawn. Before she could make sense of the unfolding scene, a convoy of FBC vehicles roared into the area, their blaring sirens cutting through the night.

Agent Estevez, flanked by heavily armed agents, stepped out. "This is now an FBC matter," Estevez announced, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Alan Wake, Ilmo Koskela, Jaakko Koskela, you're under arrest for paranatural crimes."

The twins tried to plead their case to Saga as they were cuffed. "We were trying to save the town!" Ilmo shouted. "The Dark Presence, the Taken… it's all real!"

But Saga was too overwhelmed to respond. Her mind raced—Casey was still missing, the FBC had taken over, and the Koskelas' cryptic warnings about the Dark Presence gnawed at her. As the FBC escorted Wake and the twins to the sheriff's station, Saga took a deep breath and made a decision. She was off the cult case now, but there were still answers to be found. If anyone could shed light on the Clicker and its significance, it would be Tor and Odin at the Valhalla Nursing Home.

With her flashlight in hand and resolve hardening, Saga headed toward the nursing home, determined to uncover the truth before the darkness consumed them all.