It was my very first Duskwood fanfiction. I hope you'll like it.
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I open my eyes, it's still dark in the room. I can only hear the sound of the clock ticking. It feels so calm. Do you know that? This moment between sleep and awakening when your mind forgot the horrible things that happened? Well this is it, this tiny second out of time, when everything seems to be alright. Then it all comes back to me. The search for Hannah, the mines, Richy's confession, the fire...

It was weeks ago, though I can't take it anymore. I start crying, again. I can't stop the tears from falling out of my eyes. Mechanically I stretch an arm out of my blanket to grab my phone. I only have one message from Lilly, telling me that Hannah's going to be out of the hospital tomorrow and asking me to finally come to Duskwood.

As always, I just ignore Lilly's text. I haven't really heard from the others since Hannah has been found. Thomas and Cleo have focused on Hannah's well-being, Dan tried to reach me at first but eventually gave up on this. And then there's Jessy. I was the one who tried to talk to her. But she has never answered any of my calls. Lilly told me that Jessy has drowned in her grief. She's never accepted Richy's death. I can't blame her.

Sighing, I open the chat with Jake and read my last messages for the hundredth time.

MC : Jake I hope you're okay. I'm so worried!

MC : Jake it has been a week, tell me that you got out of the mine on time.

MC : If you ever see these messages please, answer me.

All of those messages remain unread. I had hope for a long time, but two weeks ago it all fell apart. Local information revealed that a body was found. And as Richy's body was already found and as there was no FBI agent officially reported missing, there was no place to doubt about this body identity. Lilly called me that day, and we shared the same thoughts. We truly believe this body belongs to Jake. Since that day I have never found the strength to talk to her anymore.

And now, she is texting me again! I furiously turn off my phone and go to the kitchen to make some coffee to clear my mind. My mug in my hand, I go to the window and open it. The cold air gently strokes my skin and I close my eyes, focusing on my breath and on the sound of the city that echoes beneath me.

I let my mind wander in a vain hope it gives me the peace I need. Thinking about anything but Duskwood. But as always, it doesn't work. Duskwood is haunting me, Hannah is haunting me, Jake... is haunting me. Suddenly I open my eyes.

I have to go to Duskwood.

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Two days later I'm finally driving to Duskwood. I figured out that walking the streets of this city and meeting my friends is the only way I can get some kind of closure. Once I made my decision, I called Lilly to tell her I'm coming. She was surprised at first, but it seemed to make her happy. She told me I could stay at the motel and booked a room there for me.

Now here I am, driving to a city I didn't even know it existed a few weeks ago. I'm approaching the forest near Duskwood, I should be there in less than 30 minutes. The sun begins to set as I enter the forest. The shadows of the pines are drawing strange shapes around my car, it seems like I'm trapped in a sepia photograph.

On a panel, by the side of the road, I can see that I'm in the right direction toward Duskwood's motel. But I don't follow the indication and turn right instead, taking a small path that leads me further in the woods. I intend to stop by a certain location before I reach my final destination. I need it.

I only have a 5 minutes drive before arriving at a small car park. I slowly get out of my car and take a deep breath before heading to Grimrock waterfalls. It's a simple and pleasant walk. I can even see a small picnic table standing near an overview of the area. I guess this place is mostly frequented by families during their Sunday's walks and by tourists on their holidays.

Soon I arrive. The place is quiet, almost peaceful. But, as I turn my head to scan my surroundings, I spot a yellow banner disfiguring the landscape a few feet away. I slowly walk closer to the banner. From here I can already see the damage of the fire that had spread beneath my feet. Everything around the mine entrance has been burnt. I stare at the place with horror trying not to think about my friends who died in this place.

My breath begins to become uneven and my vision blurs, I have to close my eyes to prevent my tears from falling on my cheeks. Here in the dark, I can only hear the sound of the birds and the waterfall. After a few breaths to calm me down, I open my eyes again. And, as I reach out to catch the yellow banner, a quiet voice interrupts me.

"I knew I would find you here."

I turn around to face the redhead girl who has just appeared in front of me.

"Jessy... How did you...?" I start.

"I also come here sometimes. This way... I feel closer to him."

Jessy approaches and stops right beside me. Her gaze focuses on the scenery that lay across the banner. From here, I can notice her pale skin and the dark circles under her eyes. She seems to be exhausted, her eyes have lost their glimmering. Shyly, I take her hand and squeeze it carefully into mine.

"How did you know I was here? In Duskwood, I mean." I ask her.

"Lilly told me. It has been days since I haven't talked to anyone. But when I saw Lilly's text, I thought it would be time to... move on. I guess that's why you're here after all. To try to move on."

"Yes, you're right." I sigh, "I thought that maybe, I'd feel a little better if I came to Duskwood."

She finally looks at me and I see the concern in her eyes. "How do you handle this?"

"Well, badly." Slowly I can feel the anger growing inside of me. The whole situation is ridiculous, and I'm angry because no matter what, there's nothing we can do to change a thing. I feel so helpless.

"MC... I can't imagine how difficult it is, not knowing what happened..."

"Do you know what's worse?" I cut her off. "The worst is I will never have the chance to know how Jake looks, how his voice sounds, how it feels to feel the warmth of his body, to experience walking hand in hand with him!"

"MC please, don't say that. We don't know for sure if it was Jake's body who was found in the mine" Jessy argues.

"Who could it be? For all that we know, there was only Richy and Jake in this mine!" My voice is shaking now. "I miss him! I miss him so much. This is ridiculous! How - how can I miss someone I've never met?!"

Jessy doesn't answer. She just stays here staring at me. Her eyes are scanning my face. What is she thinking about? I try to read her mind. I can see the pain, the sadness, but there is something else. Something that bothers me. Pity. I can see pity in her eyes. Why would she pity me?!

I take one last deep breath and intend to walk back to my car before I lose my shit and yell at my friend. As I'm about to leave, Jessy gets closer to me and puts her arms around me.

At first, I don't move. But after a few seconds I let everything out. I cry, like I have never cried. My sobs are so intense that I struggle to breathe. I have to hold Jessy's shoulder to keep me from falling to the ground. Jessy's is still quiet and gently rubs my back in an attempt to calm me down.

When I stop crying it's already dark around us. I quickly wipe my tears away from my eyes and cheeks, as Jessy pulls her phone out of her pocket to turn the flashlight on. "It's late, we should get back to our cars" she says.

We walk in an awkward silence, each of us lost in our minds. Finally, we arrive at the car park. Jessy looks at me one last time before getting in her car "we're going to the Aurora tomorrow evening, you should come. Everyone would love to meet you."

A light smile appears on my face. "Yeah, I'll try to stop by the Aurora tomorrow, then."

She smiles back at me and after waving hands at each other, we go our separate ways.

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The next day I spend most of the time in my room, lazing in bed and watching TV. Jessy texted me in the morning to indicate that the group will be at the Aurora around 7.pm.

As the meeting time approaches I go to the bathroom to get myself ready. I put some makeup on and tie my hair in a ponytail. It's a ten minute walk to the Aurora so, for now, I'm still on time.

I finally get out of the room and I hold my coat close against my body to protect me against the cold winter air. A man comes out of the reception and walks right toward me.

It's a policeman. I have no doubt about this man's identity and my instinct tells me he also knows who I am.

As he stops right in front of me I greet him "Good evening, Alan."

He smiles "Good evening, MC. Mrs. Walter warned me that you were staying at her motel. I was losing hope of meeting you." As I remain silent, he continues. "I need your testimony on Hannah's case. Everyone has already given me their version of the story. I need yours to complete my report."

"Is this only about Hannah's case?" I ask suspiciously.

"As you know, I've only worked on Hannah's disappearance lately. Why would I ask you about anything else?" Alan answers innocently, though I could detect what he implied.

" I see... When should I come to the police station?"

"The sooner the better! What about tomorrow morning?" he states.

"Fine, I'll be there." I answer unsure of myself.

"Great! See you tomorrow, then" he says, turning his back on me and starting to leave.

"Alan!" I interrupt him. "The body that was found..."

Slowly the policeman goes back to me and puts a gentle hand on my shoulder. "MC, you don't have to worry about this body."

"What do you mean?" I ask, skeptical.

"Goodnight, MC" And with these words, Alan leaves.

I stay alone in the motel's car park, lost in my thoughts. What was that? What does it mean? Did Alan imply that this isn't Jake's body ? Is Jake alive? No, it can't be that. If he was safe, Jake would have told me. Maybe Alan told me not to worry about this body because Jake's dead. But, it wouldn't make sense. Maybe the FBI threated Alan not to talk about it. Maybe because Jake has been arrested, or maybe because he's still on the run looking for a shelter! Or maybe because...

The first raindrops start to fall and make me jump. I pull my phone out of my pocket. 7.12pm. Shit ! I'm late. I check the Duskwood map to see where the Aurora is and hurry to go there.

As I arrive at the corner of the street my phone buzzes.

Jessy : Where are you? We're waiting for you.

MC : I'm on my way!

A few minutes later, I open the door of the bar. I wince, it's crowded and the music is deafening! Jessy's the first who notice me and she waves at me.

I find my way to the table where my friends are. When suddenly, a blond girl hugs me tight. "Lilly!" I laugh.

"MC! I can't believe it! You're finally here!" She leads me to the others and Cleo gets up and smiles at me. "Nice to meet you, MC!"

I smile back at her. "It's nice to meet you too, Cleo. All of you!" I look at them and for the first time in weeks I don't fake my smile nor my happiness.

Thomas greets me with a shy smile. "Hey MC." a girl is standing right behind him. Hannah.

She puts her hands on my shoulder and looks deeply into my eyes. She has tears in her eyes, just like me. Finally she pulls me into a hug. "Thank you MC. For everything!"

I walk away from Hannah's embrace and from the corner of my eye I can see a man, staring at me. With an embarrassed smile I go to him. "Hey Dan!"

Dan folds his arm and glares at me. "You ignored every of my calls. So now, I ignore you!" Lilly nudges him. "Dan! This is childish!" she says.

I laugh a little at Dan's reaction. "Maybe I can buy you a drink to make it up to you?" Dan doesn't answer and looks away. "A whisky...?"

He looks again at me and after a few seconds, he answers. "Okay. Maybe a whisky would help me forgive you!"

I smile while I make my way to the counter and wave at the bartender to get his attention. "Hi Phil! You said there'd be a stool here for me if I ever came to Duskwood."

Phil's eyes widen "MC! You're even more beautiful than I imagined!" of course he's already flirting with me. "Tell me, what do you want to drink?"

"Two whiskey please." Phil nods and comes back with two glasses of whiskey. Then he looks right into my eyes and puts his hand above mine, which lies on the counter.

I stand here, frozen, watching at our hands. "So tell me MC, how long do you intend to stay in Duskwood?" he asks.

"I... I don't know, a few days, I guess."

"So, long enough to have a drink with me. I need to thank you for getting me out of jail." he smiles.

"oh! You know, It wasn't really me who got you out of jail." I blush.

Suddenly my phone buzzes in my pocket. I take this opportunity to pull out my hand from Phil's grip and take my phone.

I watch my screen in amazement. I can't hear Phil talking to me, I can't hear the music anymore. The world around me has just disappeared. I have longed for weeks for this moment. My heart is going crazy in my chest. And I read the words over and over again on my screen.

??? : Hello MC. :)

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