Adjusting her state of mind, Tina straightened up and lowered her bat from his head.
Inhale.
"Okay, thank you. I could've handled it myself, but… I'm grateful," she said to Just_Cooked, sliding the bat back into her inventory with a flick.
She scanned the garage cautiously.
"Please, can you explain what happened?"
"Well…" Just_Cooked began, recounting his encounter with the now-zombified man.
Tina, playing as May, furrowed her brow. "Remember that cutscene—when Kenny muttered 'Didn't I send someone to kill him?' This must be the guy."
"Did you ask him anything about Kenny and May?" she pressed, her curiosity sharpening like a blade.
"I did… but…" Just_Cooked rubbed the back of his head. "I went to eat in real life, so I wasn't really paying attention."
"You what?!" Tina's eye twitched. If he were a lower level, she might've socked him in the gut right then and there.
"Chill, chill…" he chuckled. "I recorded it. Playing on a laptop makes it easy."
She exhaled sharply, relief washing over her.
'Why couldn't he just start with that? Men—they'll test your patience, then flash a smile like it's a magic wand.'
"Alright, lemme play it." Just_Cooked took off his headphones, picked up his phone, tapped around, and finally hit play. He held the speaker up to his mic.
A voice crackled to life from the recording.
"Let's get something straight. You're a psychopath."
The words hit like a cold slap. Tina instinctively crouched, scribbling notes into the dusty floor with a screwdriver.
"May's mother was in love with your father. They never married, but their hearts were chained together. Your father was all you had—your mother died giving birth to you."
"May's mom? A nurse—devoted to her job. She'd drop May off at your place like baggage, trusting your father and you to care for her. Most nights, she came to collect her daughter at the dead of night."
"Your father was a mechanic, and May soaked in his passion like a sponge. She grew up craving the scent of oil and metal, dreaming of grease-stained overalls. You? You were... different. You didn't chase dreams. You clung to your father like a shadow at noon—desperate, voiceless, consuming."
The voice sharpened, thick with disdain.
"Maybe it was the absence of a mother, maybe it was something broken from birth—but your father became your god. You idolized him and practically worshipped him. You wanted to be at his deck and call."
Tina's grip on the screwdriver tightened.
"One day, like always, May was dropped off. But this time… her mother didn't return to pick her. It was like she vanished. No note. No trace. Your father, worried sick, left to search for her. Before leaving, he gave you a command: 'Protect May. From anything you consider a threat.'"
"He never came back."
A pause. Heavy and final, like the thud of a casket lid.
"For seven years, it was just you and her. Alone in a world that kept forgetting you existed. In those years, May got a degree. She rented a house. She fell in love—with two things."
"Her first love was easy to spot. She practically lived in your father's old garage, fixing the same car he did. Her prized possession, she called it. She worked tirelessly day and night to put it back in order. Maybe praying that it may miraculously bring him back, we will never know."
"You, meanwhile, drowned yourself in obsession. Your father's last command became your gospel. You erased every and anything you deemed a 'threat.' One by one, her friends vanished from her life. You took her privacy, her freedom, her breath."
The voice now slithered with venom.
"And when you needed hands to do the dirty work, you hired me."
Tina leaned in, heart hammering against her chest. She held her breath for fear that breathing would make her lose a crucial piece.
"The last job? Jacob—her best friend. You called him a threat. I took the job. I wanted the money—even though it was stolen from her, I didn't care."
The voice paused.
RING!
RING!
"Woops! Sorry," Just_Cooked muttered. "Forgot to put my phone on Do Not Disturb."
Tina rolled her eyes.
'Of course. I'm not even surprised at this point.'
He resumed the audio.
"The final job you gave me… was to take care of her second love. The one she adored above all. The one whose name filled her diary over fifty times."
"That person is—"
"Mark." Tina and the voice said in eerie unison.
She froze.
Her mind flickered back to the names at the back of May's diary. One name… one school.
Mark. Hilton Academy.
A slow smile crept across Tina's face like the rising sun after a long storm.
- - -
Meanwhile…
Vorden, playing as Mark, was exhausted.
He had invoked the title David for just a moment—to intimidate the students—but even that brief flash had drained him like a punctured vessel.
'This Title takes too much. I need to be cautious.'
"Please, take a seat and make yourselves at home. Food's there. Eat well—today won't be easy." He motioned to the tables.
No one resisted. Not after witnessing that show of power. Not like Taylor had.
They obeyed, quiet as sheep in a lion's den.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Vorden calmed his breathing.
'I need to piece everything together. Avoid mistakes. There's too much I don't remember.'
He clenched his fist.
'If only there was a way to remember every moment since Day One…'
**DING!**
*HOST IS LOOKING TO BUY AN ITEM FOR MEMORY*
*ITEM: [MNEMAVORIS FRUIT]*
*DESCRIPTION: REMEMBER EVERY DETAIL SINCE THE START OF THE GAME*
*TIME LIMIT: A DAY*
*PRICE: 140000RXP*
N.B:One-time use.