I was staring at my phone screen, flabbergasted. What the hell was that?! Was the only thought that could form in my mind.

It was dark, both outside and inside my living room. The flickering light of my phone was spreading weakly, bringing to life the shadows of the furnitures. I straightened up on my couch, my eyes still fixing my now empty screen in the hope to see the words that were there before appear again.

"Joanna, I will find you".

Was it real? Or maybe it was just a mirage of the strongest hope I dreamed for so long?

The video was old. It dated, with no doubt, from that fateful night. Thinking about it, I felt the bite of anger gnawing at my throat. Alan knew, and he didn't warn me. He let me doubt, he let me hope, he let me grieve, and he never told me what he knew, despite the numerous conversations we had after that moment.

It wasn't a surprise, though. The policeman had been pretty busy. He got everything he needed to get from me to close Hannah's case, and then, vanished in the air... Just like everyone else in Duskwood.

Weeks had passed, and none of them never answered my calls or messages. I left tons of voicemail, but it was like talking to a wall. Hard. Cold. Heartless. The remains of the conversation I tried to have with Lilly were the perfect witness of my desperation. I had opened this conversation instinctively to warn Jake's sister that he had just contacted me, when my phone buzzed. It was Violette worrying about Eric.

The perfect distraction.

The perfect excuse not to contact my former friends and face the fact they moved on.

So, I opened the groupchat, shaking my head to chase the memory of Jake.

Violette: Adam is offline again. Did anyone talk to him?

Violette: Eric? Eric did you talk to him?

Ash: I don't think he did, Violette.

Violette: Why not ?

Ash: Because if he did, we'd already know. Eric went into that cave, it's the only think I can think of.

Violette: But this is too dangerous, what if something happens to him? We need to help him.

Ash: We don't know yet if anything happened. What we need to do is cool down before making wrong decisions.

Charlie: I'm going to that cave.

Ash: Did you read what I just wrote ?

Charlie : Yes. But the longer we wait, the more we risk that something happens to Eric or Adam.

Charlie: I'm already in my car, anyway.

Joanna: Charlie you can't go!

Charlie: Why not, Jo?

Joanna: Because Adam called me...

Charlie: What?!

Joanna: And he wasn't alone. I didn't see who he was with, but there's one thing I have no doubt about : it's too dangerous for now to go.

Charlie: No. One thing I have no doubt about, is that if we stay here, sitting on on our hands, Adam and Eric are gonna be in real danger.

Violette: Oh no 😔

Charlie: I'm going.

Joanna: No! I told you, this is too dangerous. We don't know who this person is, if they have weapons or anything. You don't even know where this cave is.

Charlie: I'll find it.

Joanna: And what if something happens to you too? Who's gonna be next? Ash? Violette?

Ash: She's right Charlie...

Charlie: So what are we supposed to do?

Joanna: I'm working on it.

This last message was obviously a lie. I had no idea what to do and I felt like the history was repeating itself. I bit my nails with anxiety and stood up, before starting to pace my room back and forth.

It was too early to call the police, they didn't seem to take this case seriously, anyway. I couldn't let Charlie or any of them go, it was too dangerous and thinking about this brought back bad memories to my mind. Last time someone went in a cave, it ended wrong.

The only thing we could do was to wait for a sign from Eric or Adam. This time, I didn't have a hacker to help. I brushed away the tears that started to form in my eyes and breathed. I had to focus, I could only rely on myself for now. I sat at my desk and opened the maps on my laptop. I tried to spot where this cave might be, but the forest were too dense and all I could see were green blurry pixels on my screen.

My phone rang again which makes me sighed deeply. I was tired and didn't want to deal with the others anxiety while I was barely controlling mine. I rubbed my face trying to pull myself together and took my phone. My stomach churned. It wasn't someone from the group.

Unknown: I told you to hide earlier. But, you didn't listen, and it seems that Eric came right into the lion's den.

Joanna: Eric is with you?

Unknown: He is.

Joanna: And Adam?

Unknown: Where else could he be?

Joanna: Let my friends go!

Unknown: Your friends, you say? I don't think they deserved it.

Joanna: Deserved it?  What do you mean? They're innocent!

Unknown: How could you know? You don't even know your so-called friends. What a hypocrite you are. I have to admit that you disappoint me.

Joanna: It's not as if I'm upset to disappoint a mad man. Plus, I'm not sure you know any better than me about friendship anyway.

Unknown: Touché.

Unknown: Let me tell you a story, Joanna. If we had this conversation, not that long ago, I would have answered that, yes, I do know about friendship and trust. But you know, bad things happen in life, and they are there to remind you that you cannot trust anyone. Even your loved ones. 

Joanna: How sad. Your state of mind are not my most concerning problem, as you can guess. I've already faced mad men like you, and I'm not afraid. You're just a pathetic human behind this mask of yours. So now, leave my friends alone!

Unknown: Calm down, Joanna. I'm not the mad man you think I am. We can have a deal, if you like to, and your friends will be free.

Joanna: I'm all ears

Unknown: Oh, I'm sure you can guess what deal this is. You've been here before.

Joanna: Stop talking in riddles

Unknown: You don't like riddles? I'm surprised.

Unknown: It's simple, you against them. Don't repeat your mistakes. Come to the cave, and your friends will be free.

After these words, he sent me the cave coordinates and disconnected. I stared at my screen, speechless and frightened. Like he said, I've been there before. Guilt rose in my chest. Flashes of Ricky's phone call, of Jake's texts came back as if it has just happened. I couldn't let this occur again. With shaking hands I grabbed my car keys. This man was right, this time, I couldn't let anyone else get hurt because of my choices.

-

I parked my car next to Eric's vehicle, and rushed outside. I picked up my phone and followed the coordinates the unknown man sent to me. I didn't warn the others. I was sure they would dissuade me to go, like the first time, and I didn't want to risk it.

It was tedious to walk into the woods. It had rained and my shoes were soon damped and muddy, but I kept on walking. I wouldn't do the same mistake twice, I wouldn't chicken out and let people be in danger instead of me.

It took me half an hour to reach the position of the fence. I crouched before it and took cutting pliers from my purse. I created, with difficulty, a whole big enough for me and then, slipped through it.

It started raining again and I felt my feet sink in the earth. It slowed my pace, but I finally I arrived at the top of a hill. The slope was slippery and I had to clung to the trees not to fall. I stumbled a couple of time before reaching the bottom. My nails were dirty with mud and humus, the air was heavy and the rain started to sneak under my clothes mixing with my sweat, making me shiver. Why did I go there? Why didn't I call the police and stayed safe at home?

Something drew my attention a few feet from me. I frowned and got closer to the carpet of moss that spread before me. Blood, the red color of hemoglobin contrasted with the green of nature. My throat turned dry and the air seemed to burn my lungs. I was sure it was Eric's. He lied when he said he was okay.

I turned around, slowly following the crimson path my friend let. I soon arrived in front of the cave. I leaned my hand against its walls, giving me the time to recover before entering the place. I felt the moisture of the stone under my fingers, and I could hear droplets falling to the ground ahead of me. It looks creepier than in pictures.

After a few more seconds, I entered the cave. I walked slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. I turned the light of my phone toward the soil and squinted to try to adapt to the darkness. My hand, still on the wall, guided me along the way.

I couldn't here a thing. The sound of the outside had vanished as I went deeper under the ground. My flashlight could barely lit one feet from myself and the scent of mold had invided my nose and mouth. The only senses that kept me stuck to reality was my fingers on the rocks, and my instinct.

I couldn't say how long I walked in silence, waiting for anything to happen, but at some point, something changed. I first thought it was a trick of my mind, that my eyes were imagining things to keep me going. I stopped in my tracks to focus on the light that appeared at the other end of a tunnel. I wasn't sure it was a good idea to go that way, but walking in the dark was no longer an option. I quietly approached the light and reached a room.

There were a desk with several monitors on it. Batteries laid on the floor and wires ran along the the walls. Someone was sitting, their back to me, in front of the screens and I held my breath when I spotted Eric and Adam on one of them. They were tied but awake and seemed fine. Eric was indeed injured, a thread of dry blood started from his forehead to his chin, but at least, they were alive.

I felt the warm embrace of relief covering my shoulders. I had found them and I could get them back. But first, I had to get rid of the man before me. Strangely, he still hadn't noticed me, so I looked around to find something that could help.

On my right a crowbar rested against the wall. I grabbed it carefully and tightened the cold iron under my fingers. I took a few steps toward the man. I looked up to check the screen one last time before attacking, and this is when I saw it, at the top, Nymos eyes. It caught me off guard and made me lose my grip around the crowbar. It fell to the ground with a loud thud that echoed in the room.

The next second felt like time had frozen. None of us moved, none of us breathed. Then, as if he was in slow motion, the man turned to face me. I was suddenly very cold, a bucket of ice water seemed to have fallen on me, from my shoulders to my chest. I gasped in shock. It couldn't be real. There, before me, the unknown man was staring at me behind a Guy Fawkes mask.

As the man stood I raised my hand to my mouth and muttered quietly, "J-Jake?".

The man stopped and glared at me, his head slightly bent to the side, "You used to call me by this name, yes."

It was the first time I heard his real voice. I imagined it hundreds times. Warm, cheering and even charming. And yet, it was cold, low, emotionless, almost ominous.

My eyes swang between the screens and the man's face, my brain still trying to acknowledge what was happening. I stammered, confused "I don't understand- I thought that you- why didn't you-? " and when I started to realise what it really meant, anger took over me and I shout while tears flowed down my cheeks, "I trusted you!"

The man didn't even flinch. He kept on looking at me, calmly. Still without moving, he started talking, his mask, which hid his lips, muffled his voice and left the strange impression that it came from everywhere, like an old recording.

"Trust. I'm glad you're talking about it, Joanna. Do you know what it feels to go into a mine to protect the person you trust the most? Do you know what it feels to be abandonned in the flames? Alone..."

"I haven't abandoned you, Jake. I would never-"

"I went through hell for you, Joanna. And where were you when I was fighting for my life? You never reached out to me! You just whined to your friends, cared for them. But just like me, they left you on your own."

"How do you know?," I frowned  when I realized what his words implied, "this was you? You blocked their messages! But why?"

The man tilted his head and I could hear him smiling, "So you would be as alone as I am. You now know what it is to have no one to trust."

I felt my heart break into pieces. There was no use, he seemed to be out of control, changed, he wasn't the man I had met. My eyes wandered, looking for any clues that could help me getting out of this trap, and landed on the screen where I could still see Eric and Adam.

"I can get why you're mad at me. But why them? Why Eric? And Adam? Now that I'm here, let them go. You promised!"

"So you don't know? This is what I thought," he started to walk toward me, slowly, like a predator chasing his prey. As he was getting closer, I was stepping back, "Your friends, as you call them, aren't so innocents. Adam and Charlie are firemen and Adam was there the night of the arson. He saw me. He saw the explotion that blew up the tunnel next to me. He saw me when the flames surrounded me, when the smoked  started filling my lungs. And you know what he did? He fled. He let me on my own, running through this hell. I lost my soul in that place, when it should have been yours instead. If I hadn't been fool enough to trust you." He paused, breathless. I didn't know what to say, I blinked several times to chase tears behind my eyelids.

After unending seconds, he spoke again, his voice deeper than before "And Charlie, Charlie wasn't working that night, but Adam told him everything. He knows about the whole case and their entire team decided to cover Adam's mistake. This is why he knows you, this is why he knows who I am too. I chose to show the conversation he had with Ash, to give you clues about their true nature, but you haven't seen a thing. What did you think? That this chat opened thanks to a magic trick? "

"I thought it was thanks to Nymos," my back hit the cold wall behind me. Now he was inches from me, I was trapped.

"You're so naive. Nymos is only helping me to spy on you. But it's me, who gave you access to this conversation. Just like the good old time."

I decided to ignore his remark, I only wanted to know his motive, to be able to save you friends, "And Eric? Why don't you release him?"

"Eric? This idiot is jus a casualty. Wrong time, wrong place."

"So let him go," I try to sound confident but my voice was shaking.

"No," his face was now so close to me that I could see his pupils glaring at me. There were no sign of mercy in his eyes.

"Why?"

"I told you, Joanna. I will find you," he then lowered his head to the side of my head and whispered words that would echoed in my ears until the end, "and I will make you pay."

I closed my eyes. I could feel his foul breath falling on my face. I dreamed of meeting him so many times. I even told him this fantasy and I thought, for a moment, that it could happen. But I had to face the truth. The reality wasn't what I had hoped for, and the man that stand before me was dangerous.

I opened my eyes again and spotted the crowbar on the floor. I pushed him abruptly with all my strength, catching him off guard, and I rushed to the weapon. But he was faster and stronger than me. His hands encircled my waist and he threw me with full force. My head hit the wall, and everything went black.

-

The sound of my heart beating in my ears woke me up. My vision was blurred, and I felt a throbbing pain at the back of my head. I took a deep breath and waited to clear my mind. I looked around. I was sitting at the desk, in front of the screens, but they were off. My phone rested on the desk and I grabbed it. I wanted to try to call for help, but the screen was locked and a message was written in white letters:

I'm giving you a chance to save them. Hurry up. If you succeed, we'll be even.

A countdown was visible under the text. 8:47 minutes. I stood and ran toward the exit of the room. I still felt dizzy and I needed to help me with the wall to stand. I walked as fast as I could in the dark, I needed to find Adam and Eric before the end of the countdown or else, I preferred not to guess what could happen.

As I kept on walking I heard voices ahead of me, making me speed up my pace. The voices came to me cleared and louder. But, I soon became aware that something was odd. It was my friends begging for help.

First I smell it. This burning smell that invaded my nose. Then I felt it. Heat, unbearable heat. Finally, I saw it. The flames that rose from the floor to the ceiling. I stopped ready to step back, but the screams of Eric and Adam came from other side of this wall of fire. I turned around, seeking for another way to get to them. I had only two options: run for my life or try to save my friends. I couldn't let people die because of me. I had to make a choice. A single tear rolled down my cheek.

The man stood in the dark, at the entrance of the cave. He waited. He waited to discover what choice Joanna made. Slowly he could see clouds of smoke forming, darkening the stones of the place. Soon, a red light shimmered in the night. He saw the flames getting bigger and dancing to the music of the fire's crackle. He sighed. Whether she chose to save her friends or herself, she didn't succeed. The outcome was clear. He thought he would have been sad about it, but he wasn't. Only the strongest could survive in this world. There was no use being sad for the weak. After a last glance at the cave, his soulless eyes turned away. He took off the mask from his face and threw it in the fire. He had to hurry, he could already hear the sound of a helicopter approaching. The man walked and soon disappeared in the shadows of the trees. He let behind him, with no regret, his past now turned into ashes.