This is a work of fanfiction based on the Universe of Stardew Valley. All characters and settings within this story are property of Concerned Ape. This work is not authorized, endorsed, or affiliated with ConcernedApe or Stardew Valley in any way. The author acknowledges the original creator's ownership and claims no rights over the characters or settings. This fanfic is created solely for entertainment purposes and no profit is being made from it.
I plan on releasing chapters weekly on Saturdays. There will be romance but it's a slow burn and might not start for a couple chapters as I need to set the story up.
Chapter 1
The constant clacking of keyboards was the norm for Norah, although right now, the only sound was that of her fingers vigorously typing away. She sat at her desk, trying to stay awake. Her team was currently working on an application for Joja Corporation. They were adamant that it needed to be completed by the end of the day. Everyone else had left for the night. It was Friday, and Norah had insisted she could finish it herself. It's not like she had anyone waiting for her.
She finished around 8. Too exhausted to drive home, she decided to sleep at her desk. Just as she was nodding off, she saw a figure walking briskly through the office.
"Hey! You can't be in here," she yelled. He ignored her and kept walking. She got up to follow him. As he neared the server room, he pulled out what looked like a company badge. Maybe he does work here, she thought. Just as he was about to badge in, he turned around swiftly. She had no time to react as he grabbed her and pulled her under a table, covering her mouth with his hand.
He held her tight. She bit his hand, but he was wearing gloves and barely flinched. She squirmed, trying to see his face, but all she could make out were his eyes. He wore a black hat and mask. His eyes were a dark blue—so dark they appeared almost black in the dim light beneath the table.
The door to the server room opened, snapping her back to attention. Two men walked out, discussing something in hushed tones. Instinctively, she leaned forward, trying to hear. To her surprise, the masked man let her go and leaned in with her.
"How is the acquisition of the property in Pelican Town going?" one of the men asked.
"We're having some difficulty. We think the old man knows," the other replied.
"Then take care of him," the first man said, as if it were obvious, then added, "Discreetly."
Norah gasped, realizing they were probably talking about killing someone. Instantly, the masked man clamped his hand over her mouth again and pulled her further under the table. Unfortunately, the table wasn't very large, and their feet were visible to anyone looking down.
Both Norah and the masked man held their breath, hoping the men hadn't heard her gasp. But their hopes were dashed as the men turned to look directly at them.
"Well, what do we have here?" one of them said in a playful voice laced with menace.
"She's one of our programmers. No idea who the guy is, but judging by his attire, he doesn't belong here," the other man said. Now that she was looking at him closely, Norah recognized him— Robert. He often checked with her manager on the progress of the app she was developing.
"Very interesting. Why don't you both come out from under the table so we can have a little chat?" the man said, crouching slightly.
Norah glanced at the masked man, who gave her a subtle nod. They slowly inched out from under the table.
"Very good," the man said. "Now—" He didn't get the chance to finish. The masked man suddenly grabbed Norah's wrist and bolted down the hallway, pulling her along. At about 5 feet tall, Norah struggled to keep up with him; his 6-foot frame gave him a much longer stride. As they sprinted, she glanced back and saw the two men were close behind them.
The masked man stopped abruptly in front of the elevator, scanning his surroundings.
There was no time for them to be waiting around. Without hesitation, Norah grabbed his wrist and darted down a side hallway. She immediately veered right and slammed open the door to the stairwell. They took the steps two at a time, and Norah was certain she was going to trip.
They made it to the bottom and burst through the door into the parking lot. Norah realized with a sinking feeling that she didn't have her car—she'd taken the bus that morning.
The masked man was already running toward his motorcycle, leaving her behind.
Her lungs burned from all the running but she pushed herself to chase after him. "Wait!" she called, but her voice was lost in the wind. "PLEASE WAIT!" she screamed, her voice cracking.
The man stopped at his bike and turned toward her. She stumbled to a stop, gasping for breath. "My car isn't here. Please, give me a ride," she begged.
He sighed, clearly irritated. He had only one helmet. He picked it up and looked at her. Rolling his eyes, he shoved it against her chest, nearly knocking her over.
She didn't have time to ask questions. She slipped the helmet on—it was far too big—and tried to climb onto the bike. The seat was too high for her to reach comfortably. The man shot her a glare, his frustration evident.
With surprising ease, he grabbed her waist and lifted her onto the bike as though she were light as a feather. Then he climbed on, reached back, and pulled her arms around him.
As the bike roared to life, Norah wondered if he could even speak—he hadn't said a word since she met him.
The two men chasing them had jumped into a car and were closing in fast. But the masked man expertly maneuvered the bike, swerving into a narrow alleyway. The car was too large to follow. Moments later, they merged onto the highway, putting plenty of distance between them and their pursuers.
Norah exhaled in relief, resting her head against the masked man's back. She was too exhausted to think, let alone worry about where this strange man was taking her.
His helmet smelled like the woods, a scent that reminded her of her grandpa's house, where she'd spent her summers. Well, that was of course until she had turned 8. Her father had a huge disagreement with her grandfather and from then on she only got to see him once a year on Christmas. Now she hadn't seen her grandpa in years, too consumed by work to visit the farm. Guilt washed over her, and she silently vowed to visit him soon.
They took an exit off the freeway and stopped at a gas station. The masked man dismounted and studied her for a moment, as if searching for something. Norah had the odd feeling that he could see right through the dark-tinted helmet.
"Where am I taking you?" he asked, his voice deep.
Norah, still delirious from exhaustion, quipped, "Wow, he speaks." She couldn't see it but underneath the mask his lips twitched up into a slight smile but he said nothing.
"Right, well, I guess I should go home," she said.
"And that's where?" he asked flatly.
"Do you know the movie theater on Main Street? I live in the apartments above it," she replied.
"Yeah, I know where it is, but you should be careful. Your employer probably knows where you live. I wouldn't stay there too long," he warned.
"Shouldn't we go to the cops?" Norah asked, incredulous.
"The police are bought off. I wouldn't advise it," he said.
"Then what should I do?"
"There is no 'we.' I don't care what you do. Figure it out yourself," he said coldly and climbed back onto the bike.
They rode in silence the rest of the way.
When they reached the theater, Norah hopped off and handed him the helmet. "Can we at least talk about what happened? Do you know what those men were talking about?"
"The only thing that matters is you ruined my one chance to get into that server room. It took me weeks to set that up," he said, his voice tight.
"Are you kidding me?" Norah snapped. "How is this my fault? What were you even planning to do in there? For all I know, you're as bad as those guys."
"If you truly believe that, you have terrible intuition. And if you hadn't made a noise, they wouldn't have found us," he shot back.
Norah felt anger bubbling up. "If you hadn't shown up, none of this would've happened!"
"Oh, so you'd rather be oblivious and work for a corrupt organization? Ignorance really is bliss," he said sarcastically.
She was about to explode when he put on his helmet and revved the bike. "Remember, don't stay at your apartment too long. They might come looking for you."
"Like you even care," she muttered, flipping off the empty space where he'd just been. "What a dick," she grumbled as she made her way to her apartment.
Norah closed the door behind her, locked it, and plopped down on her bed fully clothed—shoes and all—instantly passing out. Around 7 a.m., a loud crash jolted her awake.
Fuck, it's happening. I should have left when I had the chance, Norah thought. She quietly got out of bed, reached into the closet, and grabbed the baseball bat she kept for situations just like this. Her only hope was to catch them by surprise—it was the only way she stood a chance.
"Yahhh!" she screamed, lunging into the living room and swinging the bat. All she saw was a flash of orange darting under the chair.
It took her only five seconds to figure out what had happened.
She leaned under the chair and saw her neighbor's cat. "Come here, Louie," she said, clicking her tongue. A large orange cat emerged from beneath the chair and crawled into her lap.
Louie had knocked over a lamp on his way in through the window, causing the crash. Norah couldn't believe she had left the fire escape window open. She was lucky it was Louie who had broke in and not someone else.
"You're the cutest little burglar," Norah said, nuzzling Louie's face. "But it's time for you to go home."
She placed Louie back on the fire escape and watched him crawl through his own window. Norah shut her window and slid to the floor, trying to process the events of the past 24 hours. She had barely begun to process when her phone started ringing.
The caller ID said it was her grandpa.
"Hey, Grandpa, what's up?" Norah answered.
"Hello, is this Norah?" an unfamiliar woman's voice asked.
Norah double-checked the caller ID. It was definitely her grandpa's number.
"Um, yes. Is my grandpa there?" Norah asked.
"I'm so sorry to tell you this. Your grandfather passed away last night. A lawyer will be arriving soon, and they need you here for the reading of the will. The town also wants to hold a funeral for him. Do you remember where he lives? I can give you the address," the woman said kindly.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand," Norah stammered. The last time she had spoken to her grandpa, he'd been in perfect health. There was no way he was dead. This has to be some kind of cruel prank, she thought.
"It's normal to need time to process. Hell were all processing the news over here," the woman said gently. "The lawyer will be at your grandpa's house tomorrow at noon." She paused, then added, "Your grandpa was a well-respected member of our community, and he spoke very highly of you. If you need anything, the whole town is behind you."
"Um, thanks. I'll be there," Norah mumbled, then quickly added, "I've got to go," before hanging up.
She sprawled out on the floor and started crying. It was all too much. Her father had abandoned her as soon as she turned eighteen, leaving for Paris to start a new family. For the past five years, her grandpa had been her only family—and she had neglected that relationship. Her cries turned into sobs as she realized she would never get to say goodbye or thank him for being the one constant bright spot in her life.
After an hour, her tears dried. Norah stood up and got a glass of water. No matter what she felt, she knew she had to get to Pelican Town.
She packed a bag with clothes, toiletries, and food. She figured it wouldn't hurt to stay there for a while since according to the masked man, she was a target.
She had some money saved, so she went to her computer and typed up a resignation letter. Even if she could return to her old job, she didn't want to—not after the incident yesterday.
Unfortunately, her car had been broken for a week. She had planned to have it towed to the mechanic today, but decided she would just deal with it when she got back - whenever that was. She made her way to the bus station and waited for the next bus to Pelican Town.
When the bus arrived it was empty—not surprising, given that Pelican Town wasn't a popular destination for city dwellers. Norah took a seat in the back and leaned her head against the window. The gentle movement of the bus rocked her to sleep as it brought her toward her new life.
To be continued...