Duskwood: Love's Beginning

32 - Jayna

I was beyond upset. How could he just log like that in the middle of a conversation? Everything was going to shit right now.

Nonetheless, I had to keep moving forward. I texted Alan and convinced him to go to the waterfall. Then all our hopes were dashed to pieces when he said there was nobody there. Meaning I'd had a fight with Jake to gain nothing.

It only got worse. I had made the stupid, stupid mistake of opening the maps app on Hannah's phone. It had asked for permissions, and I had simply agreed without checking with Jake first that it was safe. The MWAF threatened me through texts on Hannah's phone, and I may have sent a few less-than-polite responses. Probably not the best idea.

Jake had wanted to step in and take the blame, but I declined. The fault was in my hands. The group was gracious about my error, or at least Jessy was. As always, she had my back.

Against my wishes, they decided to stay and fight. It was admirable, but I still had a bad feeling about this.

Then, the MWAF attacked them at the house. I looked on in terror as he came after Jessy. Two shots rang out, and I saw the culprit recoil from the impact. Then, he fled!

It was chaos for a few minutes. But I felt relieved that all of my friends were alright. They took the rest of the night to recover, and I trudged into work half-asleep, as usual.

At midday, an anonymous person texted me. He called me by name. I sensed something familiar in him, and then he told me where Hannah and Richy were. Why he wanted me in return for them, I didn't know. But somehow, I was unsurprised by this turn of events. He had been using threats to the others to taunt me all along, so clearly he had some vendetta against me personally. Oddly enough, I believed him when he said nobody would get hurt if I came to the mine. Then he logged off, and I was left with my thoughts for a moment.

But only a moment. The group had a right to know. I thought about speaking with Jake first, but we hadn't really been in contact much since he'd logged off in the middle of our argument. Well, life would have to go on without him. Everyone was depending on me now.

As calmly as I could, I explained to my friends what the kidnapper wanted. Jessy and Dan were shocked. I could tell where Thomas' mind was, though. He wanted me to do it. He would trade me for Hannah, in a heartbeat. Even though he thought she had cheated and had heard that she was responsible for an innocent person's death, he still wanted her back and, if needed, was willing to step over my cold, dead body to get to her.

I wasn't surprised in the least. The others, at minimum, thought we couldn't trust the MWAF. Jessy of course said no, and even Dan openly defended me. I wasn't sure what that was all about, but I appreciated his support.

Cleo was more objective. She implied that I was his end goal, and this was his last-ditch attempt to get me. Maybe she was right. Ever the rationalist, she tried to brainstorm alternatives. I listened patiently, offering as little as possible. Holding back my own thoughts.

Yep, I was right. Thomas came out and said he wanted to throw me to the wolves. He had projected his moves all throughout this ordeal, and it was clear where his priorities were. I was hurt by his lack of care for my safety, but I also couldn't help but admire how he was willing to do whatever it took to save the woman he loved.

And even Lilly said it was too risky. That touched me more than anything, after everything she and I had gone through together. Thomas kept pummeling me, though. And then Jake swooped in. I couldn't stop the relief from flooding me that I'd get to talk to him before I left, even though I was still mad at him. It made me think that he was like my own personal Thomas.

Jake asked to speak with me privately, and of course, it was an argument. But not one of anger. This was all about fear. He tried to give me rational reasons not to go, But I felt, no, I knew that behind this, he was scared for me. I was afraid as well, but I wasn't sure if I were more afraid of taking action or not.

Because I couldn't live with myself if I let them down. Yes, the kidnapper could be lying. But what if he wasn't? If I let Hannah and Richy die without even trying to save them, the guilt would destroy me. Finally, my mind teetered to one side. If I were ever to be able to move forward in this life, I needed to do everything possible to save Hannah and Richy. Naturally, Jake didn't want me to go. I could feel his desperation, trying to convince me. He threw every logical argument he could at me, but this was about feelings. Tears ran down my face. If I didn't make it, my one regret would be not having more time with him.

I grieved what we could have had together. But how could I consider myself worthy of him if I let his sister die? How could I ever look my friends in the eyes if I let them down in such a way? This was our best, our only option.

I had to go to Duskwood. I told Lia I had an emergency and ran out to my car, voice-texting through my earbuds along the way so that I could keep up communication. I set my nav to Duskwood and started driving. It was four hours, but it was the middle of the day so maybe I could avoid traffic.