Dejected, we trudge through the dining room. Throwing the candle hurt. Self-sabotage, ugh.
"Ethan, something's there."
"Ignore it."
"But maybe—"
"Wanna stick your head in physically?"
"No way!"
"Exactly."
A shelf and ceiling nest swarm with tiny bugs. We ignore them, exiting to what seems like an outdoor dock.
"Why's gunpowder on the window frame…?"
"Who knows? Useful, though."
"Yup."
I grab the gunpowder, stuff it in the backpack, and cross the dock. Bugs spill from a mid-path nest. I ready the shotgun. Getting used to this, annoyingly.
"Enough, bugs!"
"Stop, you're killing Ethan's soul!"
Blasting endless bugs, I hit a dead end—a square hole in a pillar. Need a crank?
"Ethan, behind you!"
"Hrrgh!"
At Evelyn's shout, I swing the shotgun's grip, smashing a bug behind me. Don't put nests at dead ends!
"Yes!"
"Home run!"
Evelyn's wild cheering snaps me back. A shack's down a side path near the nest. Something's there, maybe. Nest's in the way, surrounded by swamp… but the dock's above it?
"Take this!"
"Whaaat!?"
I blast the nest's base with the shotgun, loosening it, then kick it hard with my right foot.
"Kii!?"
"Die."
I boot a startled bug away. The nest arcs into the swamp, sinking with bugs trapped in slimy water.
"Yes!"
"Not yes! Well, maybe!? But still…"
"Set up in a swamp, hag? Your fault."
"True. Kicking a nest isn't normal, though."
"It's kickable, but the ground's tricky."
"No one thinks that!"
Grumbling, we enter the shack. Herbs and… oh?
"Maybe…"
"Burner nozzle. With this…"
I combine the nozzle with the burner grip. Junk, but it's a buildable type. Good thing it's not more scattered.
"Burner, done."
"Got the dream burner!!"
A handmade flamethrower. Fuel's solid fuel and… liquid? I test the trigger—flames shoot. It works.
"Guess rushing to grab this was the plan."
"There's a plan?"
"Gah, they're back!?"
"Burn!"
Back in the dining room, bugs swarm again. I torch the ceiling nest. So satisfying.
"Rundown, but it doesn't catch fire. Fireproof coating? Should've coated the nests."
"Lucky for us."
Now we can hit unexplored spots. Back to the entrance's right—the living room, unsearched due to nests.
"Where's Margaret?"
"You said she's here, stop messing around."
Grumbling, we pass the candle-throwing guest room, back to the entrance, and open the living room door. A massive nest dominates. I ready the burner silently.
"Hell yeah, Ethan! Do it!"
"Filth must be purged!"
Spouting post-apocalyptic lines, I torch the bugs and nest. I pause as it burns, but it's still intact, so I burn more. More bugs swarm from deeper in—deeper?
"Evelyn, please."
"Nope."
I cautiously check behind the scorched nest. It's stuck to a fireplace. We lock eyes, nod.
"Enough already!"
I swap the burner's spent fuel with pre-crafted solid fuel and liquid, then torch it. The nest burns away, revealing a modified fireplace passage.
"Here…?"
"I'll scout ahead?"
"Please. Could be anything."
Evelyn floats through the wall to scout. Handy when bugs aren't around.
"Pretty big. Leads to a basement? No bugs, hags, or Molded."
Her voice echoes in my head despite the distance. Too useful. I crouch through the fireplace to a brightly lit passage with stairs and railings. A lie compared to the dim candlelight. Evelyn beckons from a deeper room.
"Think I found the spider shadow puzzle thing."
"Nice. This place feels… different."
"Yup."
In the basement, a dim, fenced-off room. Something odd on a desk. As I approach, a familiar voice.
"Ethan?"
"Mia!?"
"No way, here!?"
My wife, Mia Winters, emerges from a passage, rushing to the fence. I run too, but the fence blocks us.
"Ethan!"
"Wait, Mia! Step back, I'll kick this down!"
"Uh, okay…"
"Mia's stunned, lol."
As Mia steps back, I front-kick the fence. It doesn't budge. I back up, then dropkick it. The bolts snap, and it collapses.
"Ethan's strength is unreal?"
"Ethan! Finally, I found you!"
Evelyn gapes as Mia rushes into my arms. She's back—normal Mia, not the crazed one from the dump.
"Mia, what's going on? Talk."
"Can she even explain…?"
"I wanted to tell you everything, but I don't remember anything!"
"Yup, thought so."
Mia freaks out. Evelyn, you know something. Spill later, you.
"Calm down. You must remember something."
"I can't, no matter what!"
"Hold it, Ethan."
A man appears behind Mia, grabbing her hand and pressing a knife to her throat. Lucas Baker, this madhouse's eldest son.
"Lucas, you!"
"Whoa!"
"Even Jack's grinning."
I punch on instinct. Lucas, unprepared, dodges, releasing Mia. I pull her behind me, draw my pocketknife, and glare.
"Hey, husband, you're crazier than I thought. No mercy, even with your wife hostage? Scary."
"I won't lose Mia again. You heal like Jack, right? I'll carve you until you don't."
"Scary, Ethan."
"Sounds like a psychopath! Take this!"
Lucas thrusts his knife. I dodge, stab his arm. He ignores it, elbows me, knocking me back.
"You said I heal, idiot! Why're you standing there?"
"Shut up, filth must be purged!"
"What!?"
"This is bad."
He yanks my knife out, taunts me. Furious, I whip out the burner and torch him.
"Hot, hot, AAAH!?"
Lucas, a flaming mess, flees through a back door. I grab my knife, sheathe it, and pocket it.
"Who's the idiot now, bastard?"