Duskwood Legends [English Version]

The power of fear.

Jake steps forward, leaning in front of her. "Hannah..." the words choke in his throat, overcome by the excitement of having her safely in front of him. He immediately regains lucidity; there is no room for sentimentality. He rests a hand on the armrest of the chair to his right. "Can you walk? We have to get out of here now." He becomes serious, restless.

On hearing his voice, Hannah gasps. She stands open-mouthed in amazement as she utters, "Jake..? Is that you?" She opens her eyes, holding them open to form two slits. She brings her palm over her forehead, shielding herself from the light and obscuring her view. She remains staring at Jake's face for a few seconds, in disbelief, probably not realizing how he, a person external to the group, is in the company of Thomas and Lilly.

I assure you, Hannah, a myriad of things have happened during your absence that you cannot even imagine. To say that we have moved heaven and earth to find you is an understatement.

Suddenly, she throws her torso forward, holding him in an embrace. She bursts into an uncontrolled cry, sinking her face into the hollow of Jake's shoulder. "H-how did you find me?" She babbles, then shifts her gaze to Lilly and Thomas. She loosens her grip on Jake to reach out her hands to them, who move closer to her in a second; she welcomes both into her arms, sobbing. She brings her eyes back to Jake. "It was you who alerted them of my disappearance, wasn't it?"

"Yes, as soon as the video call disconnected, I texted the group to alert them of the kidnapping." Jake smiles at her, wiping away his tears. "The police didn't help us, so we started the research to find you. But you don't have to thank just me, everyone did their part, especially..." He lets the sentence die there, shifting his gaze to me and pointing to me with his hand. " Her." He smiles at me, taking me by the hand to pull me closer. "She was the key to everything."

I cross my gaze with Hannah's.

Damn, she really has the same eyes as Jake. They are the identical blue, as intense as the sea. An ocean, unfortunately, disfigured by the redness of torture and suffering, surrounded by the pitch black of dark circles.

She looks at me confused, furrowing her brows for a few moments; she seems to be studying the features of my face, hesitant. "I really don't know how to thank you for helping them in the search, I am infinitely grateful." A shy smile appears on her lips. "Are you an investigator?" He asks, before adding: "Pleased to make your acquaintance, may I ask your name?"

Wait, WHAT!!!

I remain petrified, widening my eyes in astonishment. I feel my breath shorten, at the same rate as the strength in my legs, which are about to collapse at any moment. I run my gaze over the faces of Thomas, Lilly, and lastly Jake; they have the same expression printed on their faces as I do, the expression of disbelief.

Hannah doesn't know who I am?
What the hell does this all mean?!

I feel the world crashing down on me.

I can't believe it! And I don't even want to think about the hypothesis that I ended up in this whole cyclone of events by mere chance.

Am I just here because of a twist of fate?

I expected that she knew me at least by sight, something like: friends of friends. Or anyway, being the same age, that we had met in times past. I mean, for example: who remembers all the schoolmates you had? Having attended a fairly large institute, I was sure that we had crossed paths in that area. I always participated in extracurricular activities both for pleasure and for educational credit. I remember that several chat groups had been set up on those occasions, that maybe she got my number that way? Maybe she is still in shock and can't remember.