After the FBI agent sent an urgent request to the police to rush their way towards Alice's location, they went back to their investigation. They discerned that the note given by Rodrigo Lopez was questionable and that maybe he meant that the killer was around that time, just like what Alice said. Yet, they still tried to find other motive for the killing to be sure. They already interviewed the warden and asked whether Rodrigo had a fight with someone before the incident. The warden said Rodrigo wasn't the type to get involved in a fight. He never showed aggression towards his inmates. None of his cellmates had an issue with him before he died. It was just after they ate in the cafeteria for lunch that he started choking to death.
It obviously wasn't food poisoning from the cafeteria just by the mere fact that everyone in prison eats the same food so dying alone by poison was absurd. It was intended.
It was then they looked at Alice's side of the story. Alice said that Jack Kinley killed Lopez specifically to avoid telling them about him since he predicted that they would come back to ask him again about the note Lopez gave.
Consequently, they reviewed the visiting list within the day of Jorge and Alice's visit to confirm if Joe was there.
Joe's name appeared in the day of Jorge and Alice's visit and the day of Rodrigo Lopez's death. It was almost the same as to what happened to Jorge in prison. There was a pattern.
The agent said "Motherf---"
He called his colleague from the team of agents who were investigating in Alice's previous apartment to report but the agent from the other line talked before he even said a word.
"It was Joe Schmidt. Jorge was not lying!"
Then they both connected everything in their minds as they simultaneously said "It was all him."
The agent in prison tried to call Alice but her line was unattended. He was supposed to tell her to stay indoors and let the police do their work. They had no idea that she went her way to save Morrie.
They called the police again to follow-up the case because lives are in danger. The police said they're making every possible way to send someone in her area but they were scarce at the moment. Even so, a police officer was already assigned and should be expected once done within his current area of mission.
The drive towards the place was long. As soon as they passed by the diner, Alice looked at the people dining happily on their tables. It was the contrast of the moment that made her feel sentimental. She might never feel that way again after the night, she thought. The road towards the house was bone-chilling. It was dark and they know they were heading towards a dead end at some point. They were too far from civilization now. The house was located in a very secluded spot, probably 5 kilometers away from the main road.
After several minutes which felt like hours, they arrived at an area near a house. It must be it because it was the only house around the place. It was already sketchy from the outside. They parked far from the place so their arrival would go unnoticed by someone inside the house.
While they were inside the car, she looked at Paul and he looked different. He had the look she couldn't explain. A look of someone trying to hide the terror within. He was sweating a lot and his hands were shaking. She felt exactly the same.
Paul said "Are you sure this is where the basement is?"
"This has to be the place." ,she replied.
"Alice, whatever happens, we must stay together, okay?"
"Yes, we must!"
They stepped out of the car, bringing weapons. Paul had a retractable telescopic stick and Alice had a stun gun. It wasn't the most excellent choice of weapon if Joe had an actual gun.
Paul said "If I didn't make it, I want you to know that you've been a good friend."
Alice wanted to stay positive so she said "Shush! We are going to make it."
He nodded fiercely. They faced the front yard and walked their way towards it. The house was big enough for a one story setting. It looked like it could go from 190 to 200 square meters. It was built by old woods. The exterior appeared like the house is going to collapse anytime. The construction looked weak but adequate to be a shelter. The house was intentionally dark. All the lights were turned off. They wanted to shout and look for Morrie but that wouldn't be the smartest idea because they don't have enough weapons to defend themselves if Joe attacks all of a sudden and without them knowing. They tried to find some way of getting in without having to go round the front and thus the risk of being spotted. They walked around the house and found another door from the back. They decided to stick together and go inside the house through the back door as quiet as possible to secrete their entry.
The door was unlocked. They didn't know if it was their luck or the opposite because it meant that Joe was expecting them, thus, leaving the door unlocked. It took them a huge amount of determination to save Morrie and their office clerk before they finally had the courage to enter.
BGM:
They entered the house at the same time. It was pitch black around them. It was too dark to see anything. They set their phone to airplane mode to avoid unexpected calls and vibrations that would indicate their presence. They used their phone's flashlight to see the way. They were extremely nervous. Joe could be anywhere inside, ready to kill.
They walked side by side with each other, each of them hearing their own loud breathing. Their stomp was making a sound because of the wooden floor.
They saw a dining table with a plate of unfinished food on top of it and the chair slightly dodged to the side as if the one who ate went somewhere in a hurry.
It made them more cautious because he could be near where they are. Paul extended his telescopic stick with him; preparing his weapon for defense. The way he pulled the stick made a metal scraping sound which was followed by a loud smashing sound behind them. It sounded like a door just smashed closed.
They panicked so they ran to hide on a room but unfortunately, they didn't enter the same one. They were now separated.
Alice thought "Shit!"
She was now alone in a dark room. She remained silent to hear whatever is happening outside so in case Paul was being attacked, she will not hesitate to come out. She heard nothing and she knows for sure that Paul was doing the same thing. She walked around where she was to find another way of exit. There was a little light coming from the wall. It was an open gap between the window itself and the curtain covering it. The idea of a window was enough to make her feel euphoric that there was a chance of survival.
She walked closer to open it as their emergency exit later on. On her way towards the window, the floor beneath her cracked and collapsed. She fell down to the basement.
(loud crashes)
She was startled by how much noise she made. She stood up to check her limbs if they were bent or extended from what it used to. She was fine but with just a few scratches.
She took her phone that was still emitting light from the corner. It was surprisingly undamaged after it fell with her.
The smell was awful from down there. Forcing herself to breath it in and suck it up was better than covering her nose and mouth then suffocate down there.
She tried to walk but some parts of the floor was squeaking. She was making a sound. Everything inside the house was receptive to sounds. She killed the beam and sighed. She walked slowly and carefully as she was afraid that even her quiet shuffles were too conspicuous in the stillness.
Her eyes got used to the lack of light enabling herself to navigate around. At first, she worked by feel without the light, but soon almost screamed aloud as her fingers closed around something soft and gooey. She dropped it like a hot coal and whatever it was hit the floor. Trembling, she turned on her phone's flashlight and flashed the light down at it. It was a human skin.
She gasped loudly. She looked back at her hand. There was blood on it. She didn't know whose blood was it but she wouldn't dare to see whose skin was it or where it came from. Her whole body was shaking and her hands and feet went cold.
To her regret, she needed some light instantly. It was dark as a tomb and twice as forbidding. It all seemed so different in the dark from what she had remembered. No amount of light could enter the basement. She wished she hadn't come. She fiddled her phone to turn on her flashlight then quickly flashed the beam around.
From then on, she just had to take the risk of working with a flashlight on. She reckoned beams were preferable than screams. She continued to walk.
The basement area was a lot wider than the house seemed from above. It was cold but she was surrounded by thin air. She knew the measure of this place had a purpose. She knew it within her guts that she might have entered his torture chamber. And right after the thought crossed her mind, her left foot dug into what she thought was a decayed piece of thatch and she almost lost balance. Looking down, she saw to her disgust that she had dislodged the rotting carcass of a rat with the creepy-crawlies. That explained the smell.
She ventured around the basement. There were a lot of things inside, making the place crowded. It was like a maze inside and the walls were made up of things you can find in a garage sale, only but they're old and dusty. It was perhaps his collection of memorabilia.
Upon looking around, she was spooked to see a bookcase with jars full of formalin, preserving what's inside them that seemed to be parts of a human body. There was a finger, a vulva from a vagina, a male face's skin and more grisly parts she couldn't bear to look at. She was sure the jars sat on the bookcase long time ago because they're all covered with dust. Some are not in jars, but wrapped in plastic and they were hair of different colors sorted per individual. She inferred it was from the 10 people he killed years ago. He kept it like his trophies. She felt sick in the stomach, like a dry panic attack. Her body shut her voice down before she could even say anything. She stayed very quiet.
Beside the section of jars was a stack of papers. She walked closer to it and saw Jorge's background. He had files about the orphanage, his medical records, the school he went to and his career background. Underneath all of it, was a ton of her photos. She felt the hair from the back of her neck raising. It was probably than 30, if she was to count it. There are pictures of her back in college, in the office, in restaurants, in her house with Mary, her whereabouts, even her moments with Jorge. He captured everywhere they went to, including the intimate details from their sex from Alice's bed room, hence, the sending of note afterwards.
She was appalled to know that he was stalking her the entire time. She never knew someone was watching her every move and even photographed it.
She moved around and heard a breath. It was more like a gust of air from someone else's nose. Her heart felt like breaking out from her ribcage when she knew she was not alone in the basement. She thought everything was about to get real at this point. She panned the light around and saw Morrie standing up with her mouth covered with a piece of clothing and her hands tied up from the ceiling. She had her feet tiptoed on the floor. Her body looked deflated. Very skinny now. As soon as she shone the light to their direction, Morrie cried out loud.
Behind her was Joe covering her mouth while pointing an axe in her stomach like he told her not to make a sound or else she will get axed. They were hiding in the dark all along.
He said "All I wanted was for you to look at me." as if he's referring to the photos she just saw.
Joe's face was different. He looked like a deranged maniac when he gave her a very menacing smile.
Alice shouted. He was not the same Joe she knows from work. Her body was on flight mode but she couldn't leave Morrie behind. She pointed her stun gun at him and pressed the button but Joe was quick to swing his axe to her arm. Joe was partially hit by the stun gun so the impact of the axe in Alice's arm was not too strong to chop it.
There was a deep wound in her left bicep because her body was on defense mode when he attacked her, covering herself through her arm.
Joe was under the electric shock so he was temporarily down. She was not confident that she killed him because she knows she barely hit his chest for an instant cardiac arrest so she hurriedly unleashed Morrie and removed the cover in her mouth.
As soon as she was freed, Morrie hectically said "Our clerk is out there!"
Alice saw the clerk, lying on the floor, with a deskinned back. She figured that the skin she stepped on recently was his. She quickly assisted his weakened body from torture. Her arm bled more after flexing her muscles from carrying him so he could stand. She tried her best to help him without touching his back's exposed muscles.
It was a hair-raising moment. Wasting time was not in their vocabulary. They were all rushing to go out. Morrie pointed the exit and lead them to it. She had an idea about the way because she just escaped lately. Alice noticed Morrie was limping.
She asked, "What happened to your feet?"
"He burned my feet soles so I can't escape."
Alice felt horrified. She couldn't believe Joe could do such things, especially to their friend, Morrie. She could only imagine the excruciating pain they were suffering at the moment and forgetting the pain from her own wound. Morrie and the clerk tried to ignore the pain as they were in dire need of escaping the place.
They got to the exit, the clerk went up first then he assisted Morrie from above next. Because they were unable to carry their weight, the weak foundation of the stair causes it crash, leaving Alice trapped below. Morrie shouted "No! Alice!"
Alice said "Keep going!"
"No, we can't leave you!"
Alice screamed, "Ruuuuun!"
She was relieved after knowing that Morrie was finally safe at the moment but now she got herself into a major trouble. She opted to see if there was even the slenderest chance of escaping without suffering the death of torture.
Desperately, she looked for something to climb on while Joe is still down.
To her immense relief, she discovered an old ladder resting against the far end of the basement. She discovered that she had to pass Joe to reach it and although it was scary, it was now or never so she walked past through his body lying on the ground.
She succeeded to go back with the ladder but heard Joe groaning. She flashed the light to his direction and saw him already trying to get up.
She scrambled up the ladder with the speed of light and pulled herself into the opening. She clawed her way up, holding on the basement's roof in case the ladder collapsed again. After a great deal of heaving, she managed to get her stomach up on the sill, next, her whole body in the opening.
She ran towards the exit of the house, stumbling through things due to panic.
When she reached the outside, she could hear Joe cocked what sounded like a shotgun. She saw Paul with Morrie and they were running together with the clerk. She was glad Paul was safe after they separated ways.
Then Joe suddenly fired the gun from inside. It was so loud, it caused them all to run for their lives.
Morrie broke into a sloping run, exposed in the open field.
Alice saw Morrie running barefoot with Paul's phone's flashlight as Paul kept yelling for her to run faster. Morrie was crying in pain because she forced herself to run with burned skin on the heels of her feet but she was smart. She turned off the flashlight so Joe could not see where she's going as it was completely dark outside and Joe doesn't have a flashlight.
He quickly turned on the lights from his house's porch to illuminate the area and reveal wherever they are.
They ran to different directions and was now far enough from the house to be seen through the recently turned on light. They scattered in the woods. Paul and Alice hid together with far enough distance but near to have sight of each other. They hid behind a pile of logs. The logs weren't big enough so they had to lie down on their belly to hide themselves.
Alice knew she couldn't call 911 for a state of urgency because she would have to speak. The moment demanded silence. She just prayed silently in her head that he wouldn't find any of them. She sucked in her breath and just laid down, trying not to make a sound. They were all silent.
Joe screamed in frustration, "Raaahh! Morrie! You bitch!"
He knew Morrie taught them the escape route from his basement, thus, failing to trap Alice inside. He sounded so different. He was taunting.
Alice couldn't take it. She was so nervous. She covered her mouth so her breathing could become steady.
She saw another light shining in through the trees. She peeked a little to see the person. It was a man and he was holding a gun. He was wearing a police officer's uniform.
She was about to go out thinking they were now safe until the thought of what the FBI told her came to her.
The chief was also involved. It was Joe's father.
She thought this would be the end for her as the chief started walking towards her direction.
The chief said "This is the police. There's no need to hide! Show yourselves!"
The light moved a few inches from her head and he almost walked over her. She forgot to tell Paul about Joe's father but she was thankful that Paul was still thinking clearly at the moment and didn't show himself. He probably thought that if it was the police, how come they never heard the sound of his car arriving the place so needless to say, he came from the house. He was their enemy's ally.
But then she heard a branch break from where Paul was. She slowly moved her head and watched in horror as the man pointed the gun at Paul's head. He spotted him.
She kept quiet and knew that if something happened to Paul, she'd be the only one left to get help. She didn't know where Morrie and the clerk was at the moment. Joe was not around in the scene either. She liked to assume Joe was chasing Morrie far in the woods.
Paul was now kneeling on the ground as he begged, "Please don't hurt me!"
He had a weapon but it was useless against a gun. He was crying and shaking. Alice didn't know what to do. She didn't want to witness a friend die. It was nerve-racking. Once he killed Paul, he'll be coming after her.
She reflected on her whole life. She was so sure she will not survive the night. She felt electricity shot through her extremities. There was a wave of absolute terror, by far the most scared she had ever been.
She didn't want Paul to die especially by the reason of trying to help her. She didn't want to harm anyone else by the results of her own actions years ago. Paul was innocent and he doesn't deserve to die, she thought.
It was all or nothing so she decided to give it her all, at least for the last time. She stood up and said "I am Alice! I am who your son wants! Kill me instead and leave him out of the picture!"
The chief smiled and said "Look what a bravery you are trying to showcase here! I know who you are... I cannot forget who you are!"
"Please don't kill him. Just shoot me and let's get it over with."
"Oh... no. I won't be the one to kill you. My son had to do it."
Then Joe suddenly came out from the dark, grinning. He was laughing like a maniac. His laugh was getting louder.
He looked so out of himself, like a completely morphed monster.
Joe pointed his gun at her and said "Drop your weapon."
She obeyed him. Her stun gun was nothing compared to his shotgun anyway.
He tilted his head as he stared at her terrified face. He said "You didn't know what you did yet... we can't end it like this."
He was talking like a playful psycho. He was very scary and unpredictable.
He continued, "You knew! You knew that those fucking morons are going after me. Those bullies... And you did nothing. You didn't care. You didn't love me... You loathed me as your boyfriend! You threw me away like garbage when you thought I was dragging down your image, you narcissistic whore!"
"I'm sorry, Lawrence. Please forgive me."
"Oh no... I won't forgive you. Why would I forgive you when you didn't even bother to help me in the first place? Do you know what those fuckers did?! They beat me and chased me until I reached home! And they didn't stop there, no they didn't! They threw a bottle with gas and fire into my room and burned our house down! They killed my mother!"
Alice was so scared that she cried. She said "I didn't know they would do that. I don't control their minds! I didn't tell them to do all that. It wasn't my fault."
Her heart was pounding prominently that she could hardly think. She kept him talking. It was her only slender hope of survival.
"Yeah, but you told them where I usually go. They asked you altogether and you told them where to find the target! Don't be naive, Alice. You know what's up! You know they're going to hurt me and you allowed them to."
"I didn't know it would lead to burning your house down. I'm sorry... please, I'm sorry."
"Look around... look at the people you love. They were all hurt because of you. They suffered because of you! Because you... don't think about anybody else but yourself and your safety!"
"That's not true!"
"Oh really? Where's your boyfriend? He protected you and you did what? You sent him to jail."
"He killed people!"
"Ehh... Technically, you killed one too. Oh wait no, shall we make it two?" He pointed the gun to Paul.
Alice knelt down and said "Please don't kill him. He didn't do anything."
Paul was hyperventilating at the moment and he couldn't speak. It was a life and death situation. He knew he couldn't run away because that would increase the chances of him being shot.
Joe said "I'm thinking maybe just for fun... just to let you feel what it feels like losing a loved one."
"No, I'm begging you. Please don't kill him."
The chief said "Kill him, Lawrence!"
Joe walked closer to Paul and hit him on the head with the stock of his gun. She heard a soft mushing sound that came along with a crack. Alice shouted "No!"
She saw Paul lie down on the ground. A moment after, someone attacked the chief. Alice grabbed the moment to try and steal Joe's gun by attacking him as well but Joe hit her face with his shotgun's muzzle and she fell flat on her face. She almost broke her nose.
She turned her face to the side and her sight was swirling. She saw the clerk wrestling with the chief. She couldn't help him because she felt really dizzy. She was not yet getting over the moment of her dizziness when Joe grabbed her hair and pulled her whole body up. Alice was screaming in pain and had to stand up by herself so it would hurt less.
Joe said "You thought you're going to go home safe huh?"
He pushed her body down and her face hit the ground again. He smiled grimly as he said "Shows how little you know. You weren't clever to go with armed forces and you brought Paul, who had nothing to do with this, with you."
He pulled her hair and slammed her head on the ground again. Her head was bleeding now and her face was beaten up.
She heard a gunshot and turned her head to the side again only to see a falling body of the clerk to the ground. She screamed "Nooooo! Please stop this! Please!"
Joe laughed and said "There's no escape now, Alice. It's goodbye, this time for good."
Alice thought she was the only one left so dying along with the others would be just fine. She closed her eyes just like slowly falling asleep and ready herself for the shot.
But not until she heard another gunshot and the chief knelt down on the floor. She took a look at who it was and saw Morrie beside a man holding a gun. It was her father, Mr. Patrick.
Mr. Patrick said, "Let's do it father to father."
(police sirens)
He looked at Joe who was alerted after hearing police cars approaching. He said "Surrender now, boy."
Joe ran away but Mr. Patrick shot him in the leg so he could not escape. Joe fired his shotgun to Mr. Patrick but he missed because his legs were uneven and he couldn't focus for the aim because of the pain.
Mr. Patrick was a former soldier. He fears no gun. He stole the gun from him by force and hit him with the rib of it. He wanted to kill him but he thought it would be better if he let the court and the public decide for his torment so he waited for the police to arrive and arrest his knocked out body on the floor.
After a minute, the police arrived and handcuffed Joe. He was sent inside the car and was ordered to stay there as they roam around the scene. They called the nearest hospital to send multiple ambulances after seeing the bloody people on the ground.
Alice cried more after seeing the police for rescue. She felt so bad, not only physically but emotionally. She had gone through a lot and seeing the killer finally caught was a huge relief.
It was finally over.
What happened will leave her scarred for life. The trauma will remain and the pain will get buried deep down in her heart forever. She struggled to get up and run her way to Paul. His head was bleeding. She kept on crying as she checked his pulse, hoping to feel a heartbeat.
She said "Please... Paul. Stay with me."
She didn't feel a heartbeat from his neck. Her heart was slowly breaking. She pressed onto his wrist a little longer to feel something. It felt like a ray of light had shown when she felt a weak beating.
It was weak but still beating. She had a reason to stay positive. She held his hand and said "Stay with me, please, Paul... Fight. They're coming soon. They'll be here soon. Just hang on, please."
He was not showing any signs of life except for the weak heartbeat. Alice was sobbing already as she kept on yelling to the police to make it faster and send an ambulance real quick. She was nearly losing him.
BGM:
The police said "They'll be here in 5 minutes."
The other officers were around the lying body of their clerk. Alice saw them cover his body with a cloth.
Her world stopped.
She knew what it meant. She felt more devastated to know that he didn't make it. It was just a while ago when she thought they were all going to survive. It was just lately when he fought the chief without any weapon and sacrificed himself. If it wasn't for his intentional diversion, she would have been in his position by now. She wailed even louder. She couldn't accept that someone died in her presence. It was traumatic.
She saw Morrie crying to her father. Her father remained tough as a rock and was hugging her. His face was screaming vengeance.
The moment felt like hours as she observed the aftermath of what happened. Minutes have passed, lots of ambulance arrived and they rushed towards them bringing their equipment and stretchers. Alice screamed for help, demanding Paul to be prioritized because he was dying. They followed their request and sent the ambulance where he's in to the hospital first.
The police saw all of Paul's car tires were slashed. She was glad they didn't go there altogether for everyone of them might be dead now if so. The police escorted her to the ambulance. They performed their first aid for the open wound in her bicep before going to the hospital for stitching.
She looked around, touching the bed to prove that she was not dreaming. There was a reflective tray laid down on the ambulance's car floor. She took it and used it as a mirror. It was the first time she had seen her image since all the horrors. If she was to describe herself, she looked about as appetizing as a punch-drunk boxer after a fifteen-round massacre. Her face looked terrible. It was ruined.
She wouldn't stop crying as the nurses asked her questions to detect PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms because of the traumatic events that happened.
The nurses were doing the same to Morrie as they provide medical assistance to her feet and scratched body.
Morrie told them what happened and where to find the evidence to present against Joe.
Before long, they were rushed to the nearest hospital for an immediate cure.