"…Sorry, one more time?"
"Evelyn, I said. How many times do I need to repeat?"
Wah-wah-wah!
"…Bad, one more."
"Ethan, you're so annoying!"
Zoe keeps trying to tell me who "she" is, but Evelyn's screams drown it out. Finally, Zoe sighs, "Enough already?" with an exasperated look.
"Ethan, you deaf or something?"
"…Fine, I give up."
"What's that supposed to mean? Whatever, let's move on. You get our situation?"
"Yeah, the taint… That's why my limbs healed, right? Is there a cure?"
Zoe holds up a creepy mummified thing, looking smug. I'm kinda grossed out.
"With 'serum,' we can return to normal—if it's not too late. This is part of it."
"That thing…?"
"Totally gross!"
Evelyn snaps, and honestly, I agree. I wanna snap too—why can't I know the name of the mastermind behind this mess with Mia, Zoe, and me?
"Probably. We need something else, but I don't know what. Mom likely hid it in the guest house."
"That place from Mia's video?"
"Find it, make the serum, and you can save Mia. I don't know where she is, but I know how to make it. Guest house is by the swamp."
"Why does she know how to make it?"
Evelyn's comment raises a question, but I keep quiet. Doubting my only ally could ruin everything.
"Mom's probably in the guest house too. Didn't see her in the main house after 'dinner,' right?"
"Yeah. She's probably weaker than Jack, so I'll take her out."
"…You're really something, Ethan."
"Totally."
Zoe and Evelyn shoot me skeptical looks. What? Did I say something weird?
"Still, be careful. Everyone's looking for you."
"Got it. What about you?"
"I'll stay to prep the serum. Got bullets from Dad's stash—say the word if you need more."
Zoe opens a toolbox in the trailer's corner. Evelyn and I peek—handgun, shotgun, grenade launcher ammo, burner fuel, gunpowder, herbs, solid fuel, medkits, liquids. A treasure trove.
"Collected while hiding. Food's the hardest. Sometimes alligator carcasses float down the river, so we managed."
Zoe eyes a revolver magnum distantly. Eating bugs to survive? Brutal. How'd she stay sane for three years?
"That's a lifesaver. Jack had that much ammo?"
"Didn't mention—Dad's ex-Marine. You beat him, huh?"
"That explains the handgun ammo everywhere…"
"Self-proclaimed system engineer beating an ex-Marine with a weapon? Impressive, Ethan."
"Shut up. I'm not self-proclaimed, I'm active. I'm younger, so I should win."
"I'll grab some stuff. Thanks, Zoe. We'll escape together."
"Counting on you, Ethan!"
Zoe's smile sees us off. At the swamp, a covered dock leads to the guest house.
"Here we are."
"That sounded like a confession. Gonna tell Mia~"
"Shut it, kid."
"I am a kid!"
No tension in that exchange. We cross the dock, lined with creepy dolls on the fence. No escape here. Looks familiar—Mia's video. We reach the entrance.
"Ghosts or snakes, what's next?"
"Bugs and hags, duh."
"Ghosts and snakes sound better! Let's go!"
"Not a good feeling…"
I kick the door open. Splat. Something falls. A head-sized winged bug twitches.
"…I'm out!"
"I get it, but to save Mia, you gotta push forward."
"Got a match? I'll burn it down."
"You'll torch what we need."
"Evelyn, scout a bug-free path!"
"Nope."
"Go, Evelyn!"
"Not Pokémon! I hate bugs too, no scouting."
"Useless when it counts, huh!?"
We argue, but it's pointless. For Mia, I steel myself. I slice another bug off the wall with a knife. Don't wanna look.
"Ethan, something at your feet."
"Huh? What's this…"
Evelyn points to a paper. I pick it up. A crude sketch—B, U, R, N, E, R. Burner blueprint?
"It's here somewhere?"
"Seems so. Cooler than matches, but no arson, okay?"
"I know. No point coming here if I burn what we need."
Left side's a collapsed door, right side's normal.
"Left?"
"Why? Either's fine."
"Uh… Japanese manga… Cleaner Sparkle Theory?"
"You mean Kurapika Theory?"
"Yeah, that!"
"How'd you know? Lucas read it?"
"Something like that."
Through the left door, giant words cover the wall: [Don't go to the second floor. She's waiting.]
"'She' again? The mastermind?"
"Probably? Dunno."
"If you hadn't screamed, I'd know her name."
"Felt like screaming."
"Thanks to you, I got called deaf."
"That was funny…"
Evelyn turns, freezes. I look right. Freeze. A massive beehive-like bug nest sits in the room's center.
"'GYAAAAH!?'"
A swarm attacks. I sprint back, slam the door. Thought I'd die…
"Please, spare me! Bayla, Cassandra, Daniela—bugs are enough!"
"What's with the broken speech? Where'd Bayla, Cassandra, Daniela come from?"
"Bugs reminded me of them…"
"They're women, not bugs. They'd hate that."
"Maybe not."
Only one path left. Right door.
"What if there's a nest there?"
"I give up."
"Zoe'll kick your ass."
Joking, I take the right door. Turn back. Another nest.
"What kinda mind does that hag have…?"
"Same…"
Can't run. What now?