December 9 2021

Arc 1: Cold Snap

It was night time as snow began to fall into the woods and darkness was surrounding the entire area. However a beam of light moved through the darkness as it was Jim driving towards his cabin while thinking about everything that has happened back at Matt's house.

He was thinking about what Bill said to him about the accident but Jim ignored those thoughts and continued driving until he made it to his cabin.

He stepped out of the truck and was about to walk forward until Lindsay noticed the lights of the cabin were opened as he was confused and began wondering if he left the lights opened before he went to work.

However he was wrong, Jim saw a shadow walking around the cabin and his eyes were widen in shock.

He began making his way towards the back door of the cabin as Jim also grabbed an hatchet and continued making his way towards the back door.

Lindsay slowly opened the back door, making sure not to make any sound as he entered the cabin and began slowly moving forward while holding the hatchet in his hand.

He saw someone looking through the drawers and had a feeling that it was the same hoodie man that he saw back at the Tavern.

The mysterious man continued looking through the drawers as Jim was annoyed and said something to him.

Jim: What the hell are you doing?

The mysterious man turned around and Jim saw his face as the man stared at Lindsay before the mysterious man said something to him.

???:. . . . . . . Are you Alex Winters?

Jim was staring at him in confusion and continued staring at him until the mysterious man said something to him.

????: It's me, your son, Harrison Winters.

Jim's eyes were widen in shock and disbelief when he heard that. His eyes slowly became teary seeing his son again. He wanted to walk towards his son and hug him until. . . . .

???: YOU CAN'T, ALEX!

???: YOU CAN'T! EVERYONE CLOSE TO YOU DIES! THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE!

Jim stared at his sister before he looked at Harrison who was waiting for a response from him until Lindsay said something to him.

Jim: I don't know who you're talking about.

After hearing this, Harrison was shocked and looked at Jim as he couldn't believe what he heard and said something to him.

Harrison:. . . . . But. . . . But. . . You. . . . look just like I remember. . . . .

Jim: Just have one of those faces, I guess.

Harrison was in disbelief when he heard as he looked at Jim until Winters got angry and said something to Lindsay.

Harrison: If you don't want me, then say it. . . . .

Jim felt his heart hurting and saw the sadness in Harrison's eyes as he wanted to tell the truth to him but Lindsay's sister said something to him.

????: Doakes. . . . . . LaGuerta. . . . . Rita. . . . . .

His sister pulled out a bullet out of her stomach and Jim stared at the bullet until she said something to him.

???: Me. . . . . . Everyone close to you suffers and dies. . . .

Jim looked at Harrison who was staring at him until Lindsay sighed to himself and said something.

Jim: Sorry I'm not the guy you're looking for. . . . . . . But if you want to maybe try the town shelter, it's right on Main Street. I know the owner, Desiree. . . . . Just tell her Jim Lindsay sent you and she'll take you in.

Harrison stared at Jim as he was sad and looked down on the ground as Lindsay continued speaking to him.

Jim: Whatever you decide, I'm not gonna report you or anything.

Lindsay pulled out his wallet and gave some money to Harrison as he stared at him until Jim said something to him.

Jim: The next bus out of town is tomorrow night. It's. . . . . I hope you find whoever you're looking for.

Harrison took the money and looked at Jim one last time before he silently walked away without saying anything and left the cabin.

Jim was staring at the ground and was thinking about everything that has happened until he walked towards the window and saw Harrison walking away as he felt guilty lying to him.

He took a deep breath and looked at the window until his sister said something.

???: You did the right thing. He'll be safer with Hannah.

Jim looked at the drawers and opened it as he pulled out a small box. He opened the box and saw a picture of Him carrying Harrison when he was four years old.

This picture was taken on Harrison's birthday and he can never forget that day. He continued staring at the picture until Lindsay sighed to himself and walked outside while holding the picture in his hand.

He stood by the fireplace and continued looking at the picture before he threw the picture on the fireplace and watched the flames burn the memory away.

Jim began walking back to his cabin as he sat down on the chair and stared at the ground. He was remembering everything that has happened as he sighed to himself and put his hands on his face.

Jim was standing outside his cabin as the sun was rising and he decided to go the icehouse and saw the chains in the ice hole were moving.

Lindsay began moving the chains back up as he wanted to see what the trap has caught from the ice hole.

As he continued pulling, his sister emerged from the ice hole which shocked him as she grabbed his hand and screamed at him as Lindsay was terrified and shocked.

Suddenly a monster grabbed his sister and pulled her back down the ice hole as Jim fell down and was breathing heavily until. . . . . .

Jim opened his eyes and saw he was asleep on his bed as he realised it was a nightmare. He was holding his head and was breathing heavily until his sister hugged him and began rubbing his shoulder as she said something to him.

????: It's okay. I'm glad I went first, Alex. I hate to see you like this.

Small tears fell from his eyes as his sister wiped the tears off his face and continued speaking to him.

????: If you had died first. I would have been lost in the world without you.

Jim fixed his hair and looked at the ground as she rubbed his shoulder and said something to him.

????: Your a changed man, Alex. Almost ten years without a kill and I'm proud of you.

His sister was gone as Jim laid down on his bed and looked at the ceiling as he was thinking about everything that has happened until he fell asleep.

December 10 2021 [The Next Day]

Jim was running through the woods while holding the rifle in the hand as he was looking for the white deer again. He continued moving forward until Lindsay found the deer.

Instead of aiming the rifle at the deer, Jim decided to slowly approach the deer. The deer noticed him, however it didn't run away and instead let him make his way there.

Jim was close to the deer as he got down on one knee and slowly put his hand on the deer.

Jim began patting the deer as Lindsay had a small on his face and began staring at the deer as it was staring at him.

Jim: Beautiful. . . . . .

However the moment didn't last long and the deer was shot as blood splattered on Jim's face and his eyes were widen in shock as the deer fell down and it was dead.

Jim was horrified and stared at the deer until he heard screams of excitement as it was Matt Caldwell holding the new rifle he brought yesterday as he slowly walked towards the deer while speaking to Lindsay.

Matt: Wooooo! Got me a white deer! You see that, man?! Holy crap, I almost tagged you, dude.

Jim slowly got up and was still horrified by what Matt did as he was examining the white deer and said something to Lindsay.

Matt: [Laughs] You see that, Jim.

Jim gritted his teeth in anger and smacked Caldwell in the face with the rifle as his eyes were widen and blood fell from his nose until Matt fell down and hit his head on the rock.

Jim looked at the deer and back at Matt who was unconscious as his eyes were filled with anger and darkness. He walked towards Caldwell and grabbed the knife from his pockets.

Jim raised the knife in the air and was shaking as he was breathing heavily until. . . . . . .
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[Okay. . . . . . If I'm gonna do this. I need to do it right.]

Jim got up as he began walking towards the deer and slightly cut it as the deer's blood began moving through the snow and covered up, Matt's blood on the ground.

[First rule of the code. Don't get caught.]

Few hours later [9:15 p.m]

Jim was at the shed as he was preparing to turn this shed into the kill room. First he enclosed the entire shed in plastic along with the floor so no evidence can be left behind then. Then, Lindsay carried an unconscious Matt, placed him on the table and began wrapping him around with duct tape and plastic.

Soon the kill room was ready and Jim was looking at an unconscious Matt as he was staring at him until Lindsay broke a piece of glass into two.

Soon Jim placed Matt's blood on the glass and closed it together to create a blood slide which is a trophy. Lindsay was staring at it until he noticed Caldwell moving his hands as he was awake and shocked to see Jim until he said something.

Jim: Sorry about the mess. I'm out of practice.

Matt: What the hell dude!?!?

Jim: You can't break free.

Matt: What are you doing!?!?

Jim: Let's talk about what you did.

Matt: [Chuckles] You mean the deer?

Jim: He didn't do anything wrong. . . . . He was perfect. . . . . He didn't deserve that. . . . But as bad as that was, that's not the worst thing you've done.

Matt: You're f****** crazy, man!

Jim: Arguably, but not the point.

Matt: Then what is!?

Jim: TELL ME WHAT YOU DID!

Matt was startled by the anger from Jim's voice as he was scared and began shivering from fear until Lindsay said something.

Jim: Own it. . . . . .

Matt:. . . . . . . Or what?

Jim had a sadistic smile on his face and had Matt's knife in his hands as he began swinging it around as Caldwell was scared and terrified until Lindsay said something.

Jim: Or I'll f****** kill you.

Matt: [Eyes widen]. . . . What, you're just gonna f****** kill me or some crap like that?

Jim: Wouldn't be the first time.

Matt: You think you can get away with that?!?

Jim: Again, not the first time.

Matt: [Eyes Widen in Shock and Horror]. . . . . . Wait, you. . . . .You're a serial killer?

Jim: [Chuckles]. . . . . . I was. But, you know what, you're right. Who are we kidding? It's not so much that I was. . . . . It's that I am.

Matt: Okay. . . . . Okay. . . . . This is about the boat, right? Hmm?

Jim:. . . . . . Yeah, the part where you were driving. The part where the other guy yielded. The part where you rammed him anyway. The part where five people died. Because of you!

Matt: ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! . . . . . I did everything you said on the boat, okay? It's true. I admit it. I was wrong. I was wrong! Just please. . . . . Just please. . . . . Don't-

Alex: YOU SHOT MY DEER! YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!

Matt: [Cries] I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I PROMISE I WILL NEVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN! I SWEAR TO YOU!

Alex:. . . . . . . I promised the same thing and look at me now.

Winters raised the knife in the air as he was gonna kill Caldwell until Matt screamed and cried until he said something to Alex.

Matt: [Cries] WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! You don't understand! It's not my fault It's not my fault!

Alex looked at Matt as he was crying and scared until he said something to Winters.

Matt: [Cries] My mom died when I was eight! My dad, he was never around. He was always working. I had. . . . I had a crappy childhood, okay?!

Alex: You're blaming this on bad parenting?

Matt: It's true. It's not my fault, okay?
I didn't have anyone. I had. . . . I had nothing. . . . I had no compass. I was just lost. . . . .

Alex put the knife down as he stared at Caldwell before he took a deep breath and said something to Matt.

Alex: You know, I lost both my parents when I was young too. . . . I wouldn't have had any direction if it wasn't for Harry.

Matt:. . . . . . Who's Harry?

Alex: He adopted me.

Matt: Then you understand! You get it.

Both of them stared at each other as silence filled the room until Matt said something to him.

Matt:. . . . . So you're not gonna kill me?

Alex:. . . . . . . . We're past the point of no return on that one.

Matt was shocked when Winters said that as he was angry and glared at him until he said something to him.

Matt: You know what!? Screw you! My dad! He is gonna destroy you! He knows everybody in this town. They love him. They would do anything for him and when he finds out what you did to me. He is gonna find you and he is gonna rain down a world of pain on you, man! You have no idea what you're doing!

Alex had a sadistic smile on his face as he said something to him.

Alex: Like you said. Life is short dude.

Winters pulled out the knife and stabbed Matt in the chest as his eyes were widen and soon Caldwell was dead as Winters was breathing heavily and looked at the table before he looked at his reflection in the mirror until. . . .

[Tonight's the night. Hello, Alex Winters.]

Alex was staring at his reflection until he heard his phone ring and pulled his phone out as it was Katherine calling him and he answered the call.

Katherine: I thought you were coming to the Christmas Tree Festival.

Alex: Fox got in the henhouse. It's kind of a mess here.

Katherine: Oh. Sorry. We'll miss you. See you tomorrow?

Alex: You bet.

Katherine: Can't wait.

She disconnected the call as Alex looked at the blood slide in his hand and threw it on the table.

[I don't need trophies anymore. I may be a monster but I'm an evolving monster.]

Winters took out power saw from the table and put on a plastic face shield as he walked towards the table and activated the saw. Alex began dismembering Matt's body and after he was done, he placed them all inside a large bag and exited the shed.

As he was making his way towards the truck, his sister was standing in front of him as she was angry by what he did and said something.

????: What are you doing!?

Alex: Not listening to you.

He got inside the truck and started the vehicle before Winters began driving away from the cabin.

As Winters was driving through the town, he saw Katherine and Samantha having a snow ball fight while laughing. Anne and Sebastian were drinking some coffee while cracking some jokes and laughing before they hugged each other, Samara and Benjamin were looking around the festival while holding hands, Florence and Michael sitting by the bench as they were hugging each other, Jack and Jessica were dancing around the festival while smiling at each other.

Winters continued driving through the road as he was listening to the music happening from the festival.

[My life has always been truth adjacent. But starting now, there will be one less lie.]

Meanwhile Harrison was at the bus stop as he was waiting for the bus to show up until Alex began walking towards him and gave his jacket to him. Harrison noticed his father as he was shocked until Alex said something to him.

Alex: Here. Thought you might need it.

Harrison was silent and looked at Alex as he took the jacket and looked around the town. Winters sat down next to his son as both of them were silent until Alex said something to him.

Alex:. . . . . . . . You know, after Miami. . . . . . . You could never get used to this damn cold.

Harrison: I thought you said, you didn't know me.

Alex: Well. . . . . . You were right. I'm Alex Winters. I'm your father.

Harrison stared at his father as Alex told him to come back home and his son nodded. Soon both of them got in the truck and began driving back to the cabin.

Sometime later, they made it to the cabin as they exited the vehicle and began making their towards the cabin.

[My father protected me, Taught me, Kept me alive and that's exactly what I'm going to do for my son.]

Both of them went inside the cabin as they were gonna talk about everything that has happened but unknown to both of them.

There were multiple blood trails around Alex's cabin as snow continued to fall around the cabin.

End of Arc 1

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Coming up next

Alex: What could I possibly say to the son I have abandoned?

Both of them were sitting by the table as Harrison said something to him.

Harrison: Why are you in Iron Lake?
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Katherine: Matt Caldwell disappeared last night.

Anne: Nobody knows where he's at.

Benjamin: And his friends have no idea either.

Micheal: So we were hoping to set up a base camp here.

[I might get away with this after all]

Harrison: I'm Jim's son.

Katherine: Son?

Alex: Uh oh.

Alex: I need to be there for my son.

???: YOUR NOT LISTENING!

???: YOU CAN'T WAIT TO KILL AGAIN! YOU ARE A SERIAL KILLER!

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Alex: A storm is approaching and I'm the one that brought it here.

Darkly Dreaming Winters

A/N: Thanks For Reading And Stay Cool :)