Chương 23: 23-Return to Sunlight

[1524 HOURS: 01. 04. 2026] [VIDEO FEED SHOWS JOHN'S BEDROOM UNTOUCHED {while the light levels are decreasing}. DIGITAL PORTAL CLOSES BEHIND {me}] ELLIE: > ADJUSTS EYES TO SEE JOHN WAITING, CONCERNED JOHN: > DEEP SIGH gently El, if you need a minute, I can. ELLIE: > SHAKES HEAD Onarius said we needed to move. And, well, I don't want to ruin his sacrifice. JOHN: > SMILES BEFORE FADING UPON SEEING PC slowly I agree... > FRANTICALLY SCRAMBLES TO GET LUGGAGE ELLIE: > CONFUSED Uhh… John?

JOHN: > BRINGS OUT SUITCASES FROM CLOSET WHILE STUFFING THEM exasperated Clothes, emergency radio…, > FRANTICALLY SEARCHES FOR 9MM PISTOL AND CHECKS AMMUNITION exasperated Self-defense… > PUTS PISTOL IN CONCEALED HOLSTER ELLIE: > STEPS AWAY, STARING AT THE PISTOL John? What is that thing for- JOHN: > EYES WIDEN panicked SHIT! The present! > SEARCHES DESK QUICKLY FOR {I'm not saying what it is, it's a present after all} mumbling There it is...!

> BREATHES A SIGH OF RELIEF AND STUFFS IT IN HIS POCKET > QUICKLY TURNS TO {me} AND HANDS {me} A SUITCASE Take this downstairs and- ELLIE: > DIGITIZES SUITCASE JOHN: > JAW DROPS You haven't lost your abilities to-? ELLIE: > SHAKES HEAD boisterous Nope! > EMBARASSED I'm kind of surprised as you are. > CLEARS THROAT awkwardly If you would, do you mind if I-? JOHN: > NODS Not at all…

ELLIE: > DIGITIZES ALL ITEMS OF IMPORTANCE {except for the gun; John insists upon it} JOHN: > LAYS ON THE BED, EXHAUSTED weakly You should have joined Ur-Lug with that. ELLIE: > CONFUSED What's Ur-Lug? JOHN: > SLAPS FOREHEAD IN EMBARRASSMENT softly I forgot you were there for 25 years. > SITS UP It's a moving service. ELLIE: > EMBARASSED awkwardly Oh… JOHN: > SLOWLY NODS AND DEEPLY SIGHS mumbling 30 minutes of packing turned into just a few seconds… > TURNS TO {me} slowly Ellie, we need to leave, now.

> SITS UP AND OPENS THE DOOR TO THE BEDROOM Come. ELLIE: > DOES AS TOLD [VIDEO FEED SHOWS JOHN AND {me} RUNNING TOWARDS THE KITCHEN TO GRAB SOME GRUB] ELLIE: {It's a very nice house-I think. We are in a bit of a rush; I can't really properly describe it other than it feels "modern". Though it's all "hardwood" flooring? No, something looks off with it…} JOHN: > FIXES UP SANDWICHES AND HANDS ONE TO {me} Eat. It's going to be a very long drive.

ELLIE: > EATS FOOD {I forgot how physical food tastes} stuffling How long? JOHN: > GLARES Don't talk with your mouth full. ELLIE: > NODS AND SWALLOWS excitedly It's good though! JOHN: > NODS AND SMILES Thanks. ELLIE: > RAISES EYEBROW How long is the drive to [REDACTED]? JOHN: > SMILE FADES slowly A few hours… > TAKES OUT CELL PHONE The car is in the garage, though I need to let [REDACTED] know we're coming. I want you to wait. ELLIE: > CONCERNED John, that smartphone is a digital device. JOHN: > NODS I know…

I have an insurance policy... > PULLS OUT GUN Now get in the car. The cell phone is going to be trashed once I'm done. I'm not letting that bastard get any opportunities to find us. ELLIE: > SUSPICIOUS Don't most cars nowadays have digital systems? JOHN: > PROFUSELY SHAKES HEAD Not that one. It's an old 2000 Uoza Hiker. > EMBARASSED I honestly was not a fan of all the screens; too many distractions. Not to mention, there was that thing from 15 years ago. > "CLEARS" THROAT I bought that from a dealer.

Good mileage needs to be checked every now and again in [REDACTED[, but it has really good acceleration. ELLIE: > FREEZES AS EYES WIDEN My folks had a car like that, actually… JOHN: > CURIOUS Interesting… You remember that? ELLIE: awkwardly Strangely… yes. JOHN: > SOFT SMILE WHILE GIVING {me} THE CAR KEYS {they look exactly like my parents' car keys} slowly Go start the car; it's in the garage to the door behind you and to the right. I'll be out in a few minutes. I'll be fine. ELLIE: > DOES AS TOLD [VIDEO FEED SHOWS ELLIE GOING TO THE INTERIOR OF A 2-CAR GARAGE WITH {… It is my parents' car… How did he-?}] ELLIE: > FREEZES AND INSPECTS CAR THOROUGHLY {and nostalgically} {I know I need to start it up, but… I can't believe this car is still around after 25 years. It even has that one stain from that ramen bowl I made by accident! … I'm surprised I remember that… … Actually, why didn't John clean it? Was he this blind? … You know, I should stop doing this as you already know this is live.} > OPENS GARAGE DOOR [VIDEO FEED SHOWS THE OUTSIDE. THE AREA APPEARS TO BE IN THE COUNTRY WITH NUMEROUS TREES, GRASS, AND HILLS. DWELLING APPEARS ISOLATED ON A LONG, GRAVEL ROAD] ELNA: > OBSERVES THE TREES AND GRASS whispering I forgot how beautiful the outside was… > SADDENED whispering All those years of my life in that place… and I've forgotten what the trees look like… > WALKS OUTSIDE AND OBSERVES SURROUNDINGS > SMILING WHILE TEARS DROOP whispering It's so beautiful… [VIDEO FEED SHOWS A MINUTE OF {me} OBSERVING THE OUTSIDE {including all the birds. I can't believe I forgot what birds looked like}] ELLIE: > EYES WIDEN {Shit! The car!} > RUNS AND TURNS ON CAR [AUDIO FEED PICKS UP CAR IDLING] ELLIE: > CONTENT SIGH > RELAXES AND OBSERVES THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE {Aside from the stain, it's very clean…} > STARES CURIOUSLY AT THE GLOVE BOX {What about the glove box? Maybe I did something stupid and put some shit in-?} > OPENS GLOVE BOX TO FIND PAPERS {and the interior pretty clean} > ROLLS EYES {Never mind…} [VIDEO FEED SHOWS NOTHING FOR A FEW MINUTES] ELLIE: > NERVOUSLY STARES AT GARAGE MAN DOOR {What's taking him so long…?} > PAUSES, {then I remember I can still access his smartphone} > FACEPALM {John's going to hate me for this} {ESTABLISHING REMOTE CONNECTION… DONE} {ACCESSING DEVICE_ID [REDACTED] SYSTEMS… DONE} [AUDIO FEED FROM CAMERA PICKS UP JOHN FRANTICALLY GETTING FOOD READY AND CHECKING AMMUNITION {again}… {and there's not much happening aside from that}] JOHN: whispering Got my papers… Old flip phone should still work in case of an emergency… > DIALING CELL PHONE TO [REDACTED] > PHONE RINGS > SIGHS DEEPLY whispering He's going to hate me for this... ELLIE: {LOWERING VOLUME… DONE} JOHN: > PHONE RINGS frantic whispering Come on… pick up [REDACTED] > [REDACTED] PICKS UP ELLIE: {SCRAMBLING CALLER MICROPHONE… DONE} {Yeah, I'm not giving Ned any chances} If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. JOHN: Hey [REDACTED], it's me. > PHONE CHATTER Yeah, I know it's weird calling you around this time, but I need to let you know that I'm- > PHONE CHATTER No, nothing happened; at least not yet. > PHONE CHATTER It's hard to explain, but you know that OP of the 5San thread? Well, I found her; her name's Ellie. > PHONE CHATTER > DEEP SIGH Turns out, she's still a kid. > PHONE CHATTER Yes, I know, but if you would listen to me for a sec- > PHONE CHATTER She disappeared because she was in some weird plane of existence for 25 years… > PHONE CHATTER No, I'm not joking. She literally told me all of this and even said she was forced into some malevolent being's servitude for 25 years. The kid has been forced to work for this jackass. > PHONE CHATTER > SIGHS You know all those videos we did together? > PHONE CHATTER Turns out they're all connected to that guy, and of course the Warden. Ellie apparently gave the Warden self-awareness. > PHONE CHATTER slowly Yeah, it is hard to explain… > PHONE CHATTER Shit, you knew some guy that went to school with her? > PHONE CHATTER exasperated So you knew about her disappearance then? Did he say anything about that? > PHONE CHATTER I'm actually glad that people do remember her… > PHONE CHATTER AND JOHN SIGHS So, you're telling me there was an investigation for 25 years regarding her disappearance and the murder of her parents… > PHONE CHATTER slowly No, she was not responsible for their deaths… > PHONE CHATTER Essentially, she was forced into this guy's servitude at the expense of her own parents. > PHONE CHATTER Yeah, they will be curious… > PHONE CHATTER frantically Babe, I need you to listen to me carefully. I need you to not post anything online about this, okay? I'm coming to your place because that guy I was talking about is after us. I need to know if you have an additional bedroom available because Ellie is going to be staying with us for a while. > PHONE CHATTER Yeah, I have a detective I know on speed dial. He'll want to know about Ellie's return. > PHONE CHATTER Look, I understand it's difficult, but he is targeting us. > PHONE CHATTER Yes. Technically, this guy is a "hater", but one who can warp reality to his very will.. > PHONE CHATTER … Babe, it's kind of hard to explain when- > PHONE CHATTER > SIGHS panicked [REDACTED], I need you to calm down! We're okay! > PHONE CHATTER AND JOHN CALMS … The cops won't understand, but I'm going to call my attorney after we talk to the detective. > PHONE CHATTER slowly … Yeah, I got evidence… He'll be very interested. > PHONE CHATTER slowly Though the phone is going to be destroyed after this. > PHONE CHATTER That guy uses digital devices to find people. I'm going to shoot it and get out once this call ends. > PHONE CHATTER Well… thank God it's the country. People are used to these sounds. > PHONE Yeah… I'll be safe; Ellie too… Though, I would keep your handgun loaded in case something happens. > PHONE CHATTER > CONTENTLY SIGHS *softly*… Love you too [REDACTED] ELLIE: {TERMINATING REMOTE CONNECTION… DONE} > PRETENDING TO PATIENTLY WAIT FOR JOHN TO ARRIVE [AUDIBLE GUNSHOTS ARE HEARD {give me a warning next time, dude}] JOHN: > FRANTICALLY ENTERS GARAGE WITH COOLERS, PANTING exasperated That should keep us on the road… The smartphone in a hidden cabinet I don't think Ned will search… I think we should-! > GRIMACES AT {me} Ellie, did you access the phone remotely? ELLIE: > GUILTY NOD WHILE TAKING A SANDWICH AND EATING IT JOHN: > DISAPPOINTED SIGH slowly We're going to work on your social interactions a bit once we get you a place to stay. > GETS IN DRIVER'S SEAT AND GOES TO GRAVEL ROAD {the garage door closed behind us} > CAR PICKS UP SPEED WHILE JOHN'S BREATHING INCREASES ELLIE: > QUICKLY SHAKES JOHN'S SHOULDER gently John… I don't think Ned will- JOHN: > HE HUSHES {me} WHILE GENTLY PUSHING {me} AWAY Not taking any chances… > MAKES A RIGHT TURN ON A HILLY, CONCRETE ROAD > MAKES LEFT ON HEAVILY FORESTED ROAD > RELAXES AND SIGHS softly Alright, we should be good… > NOTICES {I've} DEVOURED THE SANDWICH exasperated Jesus Christ, kid… > GRABS SANDWICH FROM COOLER AND HANDS IT TO {me} ELLIE: > BEGINS EATING IT JOHN: Slowly. > SMIRKS There are, of course, car manners. ELLIE: > OBSERVES SCENERY WHILE DRIVING BY stuffling So many- JOHN: > ANNOYED SIGH panicked Don't talk with your mouth full! ELLIE: > SWALLOWS AND CLEARS THROAT softly So many trees… > INSPECTS EACH TREE softly … They're all imperfect, but so beautiful. JOHN: > NODS We have 5 minutes of it before we get to the hills. Then, 8 minutes to the highway. > SMILING softly But yeah… it's beautiful… ELLIE: > EYES WIDEN The flip phone-? JOHN: > SHOWS PHONE Modified. It was given to me by a certain detective who allows me to call or text anonymously… Who I'm calling once we get to [REDACTED]'s house. ELLIE: > TERRIFIED Are you worried he'll find us? We have pissed off Ned. JOHN: > SHAKES HEAD boisterous Nah! > SMIRKS I managed to hide myself with the authorities' help from those close to my dad. I still know them; they checked on me on occasion. I'm pretty sure they'll help make sure we'll get away far from Ned's eyes. > STARES AT {my non-existent} SANDWICH > EYES WIDEN exasperated Did you seriously eat that whole thing already? ELLIE: > NODS meekly I'm kind of hungry though. JOHN: > SIGHS Okay then… ELLIE: > CONTENT SIGH Hey John? JOHN: Yeah? ELLIE: > SMILING gently Thanks for taking care of my parents' car all these years. JOHN: > BAFFLED Well, I bought it from a dealer that- ELLIE: > ROLLS EYES The stain. JOHN: > NOTICES STAIN UNDER {my} SEAT Oh yeah… > DISAPPOINTED SIGH That came with the car. Never could get it off. ELLIE: > EMBARASSED awkwardly Yeah, that's me spilling ramen all over it. JOHN: > EYES WIDEN exasperated Why the hell would you eat ramen in a car?! ELLIE: awkwardly I liked ramen a bit too much. JOHN: > SMIRKS AND LAUGHS I was kidding with you. The dealer told me about that and… > PAUSES AND SMILE FADES gently El… I'm really sorry about your folks; what happened to them was. ELLIE: It's fine… > SOFT SMILE softly I'm just glad something of theirs survived… [SILENCE WHILE ROAD TRANSITIONS TO THE HILLY ROAD] JOHN: > CHECKS ON {me}, CONCERNED El, if you need to talk about Onarius… ELLIE: > SHAKES HEAD trembling He wanted me to move on… > SHAKING trembling Though, it's going to be hard not to stop thinking about him… > SLIGHTLY CURLS *mumbling*… Even the stuff he did. JOHN: > SLOWLY NODS AND PATS ME ON THE SHOULDER I know… I know… ELLIE: > OBSERVES SEVERAL FARMS NEAR THE HILLS WITH CURIOSITY Are we in [REDACTED]? JOHN: > NODS AND SMIRKS Been here before? ELLIE: > SOFT SMILE Yeah, when we were heading to California for a 2 week vacation. > OBSERVES COWS I always wanted a pet cow, you know? JOHN: > SMILE FADES [REDACTED] will not allow it; he has a beef allergy-a pretty bad one. ELLIE: > DISAPPOINTED Oh… > OBSERVES FAINT LIGHTS OF THE HIGHWAY > SIGHS So… we're starting over then? JOHN: > SMILE FADES Yep… > SIGHS We'll get it straightened out. Big things are your education, identification papers, guardianship- > STARES AT {me} WITH A SMILE -Which I intend to be with me and [REDACTED] ELLIE: > GROANS I still have to go to school? JOHN: > SMILE FADES AND SHAKES HEAD Home school. Public education has gotten worse since you were last here. > SIGHS [REDACTED] though is pretty intense on teaching others, so… be warned. ELLIE: > EYES WIDEN I forgot to ask, what is [REDACTED] like? JOHN: {Censoring all physical descriptions as Ned will definitely be looking through all of this} ELLIE: Huh… > PUTS FINGERS TO LIPS TO THINK > SMILES softly He sounds nice, actually… JOHN: > NODS IN AGREEMENT He is. Best guy I ever met. ELLIE: > SMILE FADES How far away will we go? When you have to talk to the detective, where will we be going? JOHN: > CONCERNED mumbling Don't know… but far from here. It takes a while. > FREEZES AND TURNS TO {me} Turn on the radio to [REDACTED]. It's a local radio station. I want to know whether Ned is at my house or not. ELLIE: > DOES AS TOLD RADIO ANNOUNCER: static -Weather today is a relatively warm 62⁰ F. Skies are relatively clear with small wind-gusts at- > DISTANT SIRENS HEARD > SILENCE FOR SEVERAL SECONDS static whisper Is there a brush fire going on? >UNRECOGNIZABLE CHATTER > ANNOUNCER CLEARS THROAT static Wait … I'm hearing a lot of police sirens, uh… Wait, fire trucks. I'm not really sure what to make of this as there isn't much activity here usually. Uhh… > SCRAMBLES static Uh, Ryan? Can you take a look outside and see if it is a- > UNRECOGNIZABLE CHATTER static Uhh… Okay, that's… Jesus… > CLEARS THROAT static Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize in advance, but it appears one of the most frequent guests, John Bielik, well… It appears his house is engulfed in a large fire. > WORRIED SIGH static I'm… I'm not sure what to make of what is going on as this is a relatively peaceful community and we don't get a lot of trouble- > UNRECOGNIZABLE COMMANDING > FRANTIC SCRAMBLING frantic static I apologize in advance folks, we've been ordered to evacuate as I'm getting reports of gunfire and some sort of engagement with local authorities. We'll keep you posted on further updates; until then- JOHN: > TURNS OFF RADIO > SADDENED SIGH slowly Yep, he came for me, and the video you downloaded. ELLIE: > TERRIFIED panicked Won't Ned suspect-? JOHN: > SHAKES HEAD I don't think so. From what it sounds like, he's obsessed with destroying every last trace of me- > SMIRKS We probably died in the Grand Prison. Devoured by my deadbeat dad; caused a really bad stomachache to blow up. ELLIE: > BURSTS OUT LAUGHING > ABRUPTLY STOPS, AND CLEARS THROAT, SADDENLY STARING AT THE RADIO exasperated The people on the radio-? JOHN: > FOCUSES ON ROAD *softly*I know those people in the radio station; good people. They are pretty hardy and know how to take care of themselves. They'll be fine. ELLIE: > RELAXES Oh… [{I see the highway now. Looks depressing}] JOHN: > SPEEDS ONTO HIGHWAY > RELAXES It'll be awhile til we get to [REDACTED]'s house. The highway is pretty smooth, all things considered. They've improved it recently. I would probably rest… > TURNS TO {me} AND SMIRKS Unless you want to drive or do something digitally weird to-? ELLIE: > FRANTICALLY WAVES HANDS exasperated NO, THANK YOU! JOHN: > SMIRKS I thought so… > SIGHS slowly As for what you can, your digital powers, I want you to keep it to a minimum. You and I both know what Ned can do. ELLIE: > GROANS I know… > CALMS softly I remember that my parents took me on the highways a lot so I would sleep. Strangely, I have many dreams of driving these roads with them. > SOFTLY SMILES softly It kind of feels nice to be honest… JOHN: > NODS gently Yeah… you are pretty tired. > FOCUSES ON ROAD softly I'll wake you up when we get there. But it will be night out. ELLIE: > SLOWLY NODS WHILE {my eyes droop} tiredly Sounds nice… I want to see the stars again, what they look like. JOHN: Oh, you'll see plenty of them. Not much light pollution there. ELLIE: > YAWNS tiredly John, what about the video? The WeVid channel? JOHN: > SIGHS It'll be released… Though, my future is not that now- > TURNS TO {me}, SMILING *gently*-I have you to take care of now. ELLIE: > WEAKLY SMILES JOHN: > NODS SLOWLY gently Now, sleep. We'll be very busy for the next few days… ELLIE: > SLOWLY DOZES OFF, {though I swear I saw Onarius bowing before…} {… I'll miss you, old friend…} {SYSTEM MODE CHANGED TO "SLEEP"} {ENDING RECORDING… DONE} {END VIDEO} {CLOSING FILE… DONE} ELLIE: {Good night friends… I'm sorry I'm doing this, but I think this chapter of my life is over. It was fun to have some people read this. I don't know if I'll see you all again, but if I do, well, it'll be awhile…} {ACCESSING NON-ESSENTIAL PROGRAMS… DONE} {TERMINATING NON-ESSENTIAL PROGRAMS… DONE} {TERMINATING REMOTE CONNECTION… DONE} {REMOTE CONNECTION TERMINATED}