The "Well District" (01/01, 11:00 pm)

[Hollis Brown]

It is another clear, cold night. The "Well District" is quiet and nearly desolate. The sign that had been placed by the well is gone now, and there is crime scene investigation around the well as usual. No one is outside right now, except for the man wearing the tall cowboy hat.

The man is wearing a long brown coat, dark denim jeans, and steal toe leather boots. The smoke from his cigarette drifts slowly upward. He holds the cigarette between the fingers of his left hand and looks at the watch on his right hand.

[Cameron Johnson]

Cameron slows his pace as he approaches the well district. He seemed to do this subconsciously out of reverence for the victims or for fear for his own safety. He had been getting back into his healthier ways as of late. Even though Cameron had been in Stakeford for sometime now he had still failed to adapt to a healthier lifestyle. He was getting Porker's to go nearly every day and when that wasn't an option he had resorted to TV dinners or just eating frozen corn. A week or so prior, while Cameron was working at his newly found position at Frank's Construction, Excavation, Cleaning or Whatever The Fuck You Need(the name was often shortened to just Frank's Construction to avoid offending people and the name is honestly a bit of a mouthful anyway) he realized he was gaining weight and he wanted to get back to his physique that he had when he was in high school so he had begun to run more often and lift weights. On this evening, he had chosen to go on a run. He was wearing grey Under Armour sweatpants and a dark purple Nike hoodie. His shoes were a dark purple as well with zebra accents. As he slowed down at the well he noticed the man. Curiosity got the best of Cameron and he jogged over to the man. Still a bit out of breath he said, "Hey there! I'm a fairly new resident to this area but you don't look to familiar. Have you heard what's been happening at this well? Have you been in town long? Where are my manners, sorry for all the questions fella, I'm Cameron."

[Hollis Brown]

The man wearing the tall cowboy hat looks at Cameron and says nothing. After a few seconds, he takes the cigarette away from his mouth and turns his face slightly, blowing the smoke away from Cameron’s face. He flicks the cigarette and watches the little ash drift on the snow-dusted ground.

He looks back at Cameron. “You sure like to talk,” he says. He has a slow voice that likes to savor the pauses between certain letters and syllables (such that it sounds almost like he said, “You-uh sure-uh lie-K to-uh tah-halK,” but subtly and not in an obnoxious way). He ends his comment with a hard “k” sound, but it is not necessarily angry or indicative of any other strong emotion. He looks back at his cigarette, flicks it again, and brings it to his lips.

After another smoke, he says, “I’m just passing through.” He tips his hat slightly, with his right hand. “I know about the well. Name’s Hollis Brown. I’m a hunter.”

[Cameron Johnson]

"Hunter eh? That sounds interesting. What are you hunting if you don't mind me askin? It doesnt strike me as a hunting area, Stakeford I mean. If you're just passing through how'd you hear about the well? Granted, I dont get out much so it's possible that this little ol' well is getting some media attention in other areas. I guess it's hard for me to say. Did you know there are e-cigarettes now? You can load them with as much or as little nicotine as you want. So if you smoke a lot that could be advantageous to you. Jesus, I guess I do talk a lot." Cameron runs in place to warm himself up. The sweat from his run is making him cold.

[Hollis Brown]

Hollis takes another puff of his cigarette and continues watching Cameron. He looks over the young man from head to toe, saying nothing; perhaps he is trying to decide what part of Cameron's ramble he wants to respond to. Then, after either deliberation or taking time to make sure Cameron was not going to burst in with more to say, Hollis lets out a loud sigh.

"Someone is supposed to meet me here," he says. "And you're not him, so I suggest you leave before you get dragged into this any further." Hollis turns slightly and throws the cigarette butt into the well. He looks back at Cameron and says, "Now, leave me alone."

[Cliff Alset]

Just short of a mile from the old brick well, parked along the side of the road, Cliff's VW Bug "stares" at its driver walking away in a slumber pace. Cliff is in heavy thought as he makes his way to the well district. He looks up and gazes forward. It is still very cold, but the snow has let up. Save for a couple of street lamps up ahead, it is a challenge to see this late at night. Cliff doesn't care. His heart is darker than the night.

He sees two men at the well some two hundred feet away. He lowers his head again and continues walking. The two men seem preoccupied in each their own thoughts. As Cliff approaches the brick well, he turns slightly to the left to avoid getting too close to them. It's Cameron and Hollis. Hollis is staring in the well like he's frozen. Cameron is now watching Cliff step up to well on the other side.

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson awoke in a cold sweat, breathing hard as he sat bolt upbright in bed. He felt like he had been asleep for years, but it had only been a few minutes, having gone to bed after getting tired of watching a late show. It was rare he awoke this way, but when he did, he was thoroughly chilled to the bone. No amount of NZSAS training could have prepared him for the horrors he saw and responded to in Stakeford. This was, even despite the many brutal classified ops he had been on.

He slipped on his tennis shoes, sweatpants, and a sweatshirt. He figured if he could go for a run, it might set him straight again. It usually did, but an aching feeling told him it might be otherwise. He left his apartment, the images of his dream (or rather nightmare) was still painfully fresh, as well as the death of Martha Ackermann. He took off in a dead sprint, running straight for the well, hitting himself over the head with his balled up fists, "I COULD HAVE SAVED HER!!!" He bellowed loudly. He didn't know or care which way he was running, but after several minutes of hard running, he collapsed into the side of a snowbank and broke down in a heavy sob. He looked up from the snowbank, and through snowmelt and tear stained eyes, he saw the well, a stranger, and Cameron. He then saw Cliff. Jackson scrambled to his feet, dried his face with his sleeves, and walked slowly towards the well.

[Cameron Johnson]

"Hey Cliff, hey Jackson." Cameron says in a friendly manner. "I know it's kind of hypocritical of me to be saying so seeing as I'm out here as well, but, what brings you two fellas out tonight?" "Excuse me if I'm asking too many questions but don't you work tomorrow Jackson? You look kinda worse for the wear, is everything alright?" "Cliff, I thought you were a morning person, what brings you out and about so late?" Cameron was careful to avoid sounding accusatory. He was certain that both of these men were innocent of the horrible murders that had taken place at the well. Since the accident that killed nearly all of his loved ones, Cameron was taking the time to make sure the people he knew in Stakeford, no matter how little or how much, were okay. He didn't want anyone to experience what he had. He felt as if caring about everyone was a duty he owed to himself. He especially wanted to take care of Ellie but nobody knew that aside from himself.

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff is gripping the edge of the well, staring intensely into the depths. "I am a mourning person. Why is this happening? Who is this ghost that stalks unknown right before us? This monster has butchered four women and we have no idea who it is! No FUCKING idea!" Cliff begins to weep profusely as he holds his head over the ledge of the well. "Why? Why? Oh dear God Why?"

[Jackson_Lee]

"The dream, Cameron... that dream messed me up." He said with ragged breath. "I haven't felt this way since my wife was taken from me..." Jackson shuddered visibly, but not due to the cold. Jackson looked to Cliff, giving a sigh as he moved to his right side, standing five feet from him and peered into the well. "We'll get this bastard, mate." Jackson then turned and looked to the stranger, and asked angrily. "Who're you?"

[Hollis Brown]

The man in the tall cowboy hat watches as Cliff and then Jackson approach the well, one after the other. His face is neutral until Jackson mentions a dream. His eyes lock on Jackson, who in short time turns toward him and angrily asks for his identity.

“I am Hollis Brown,” he says. He turns his face toward Cliff and makes a slight gesture toward him with his right hand. “This one knows me. We made contact.” He slowly looks toward Cameron. “But, in truth, I tried to contact each of you. He was just the only one to respond.” Hollis Brown crosses his arms. “I’m not the killer. I’m hunting him.”

He turns his face again toward Jackson. “You mentioned a dream. Tell me: Did you receive either a blue or red die when you woke up?” He glances toward the other two. “Did any of you? And if so… Do you have it with you?” There is a tremor of excitement in his voice. “I was given a note that I would meet the dreamer here,” he quickly explains. “But I suspected it would only be Cliff. Have all three of you experienced a dream the night of the murders? I need to see those dice… Now.”

[Cliff Alset]

Pulling a napkin from his coat pocket, Cliff wipes the tears from his face. He takes a deep breath, then looks over at Hollis Brown. The face of the man under the tall cowboy hat is hidden by darkness. Cliff grips the napkin in his right hand, and shakes his head. "I have heard voices. They come from the trees sometimes. They come in my dreams. They're...the voices are like, windy. The wind is cold. So dark. There is a red light sometimes." Cliff tilts his head downward and looks into the well. "I can't describe what I feel. I just don't underSTAND!"

[Cameron Johnson]

"Jackson.....Cliff.... You guys had dreams too? And they meant something? You mean I could have saved her? OH GOD!" "I HAD NO IDEA!" "I just brushed it off. I thought it was just because I took too much Nyquil. I use it to help me sleep and since I had a cold at the time I took a bit more than usual." Hollis, what did you say about a die? I have a blue one in my cupholder. When I woke up from that dream I had it in my hand. I kept it because I thought it was one of the knicknacks my mom made. She made extra money on the side by making personalized items and sold them at various craft fairs.She gave me one every year but I left all of them back home before I moved here. I always kept it with me so I could be reminded of her but I guess it wasn't from my mom at all." "Would it be helpful if I got it for you?" Cameron turns to Jackson and Cliff. "Fellas, I didn't know. I didn't fucking know." Cameron's cheeks were quickly flooded by tears. He stood next to the other two men in a fragile mental state. It seemed this was something they all had in common.

[Jackson_Lee]

"I found a red die... four dots on the sides. I found it in my hands when I woke up." Jackson stated astutely, his anger slowly subsiding as Hollis explained who he was. "Mr. Brown, if you need help hunting this unholy bastard, I've got enough guns and ammo to make the United States Marine Corp crap their pants," Jackson stated in charged excitement, rummaging clumsily through his sweater pockets until he found the dice, and presented it to Hollis.

Though Jackson's anger was subsiding, he felt a vigor. An excitement he had not felt in a few years since he left the New Zealand Special Air Service. It was a primal feeling, the hunt was on. Jackson hoped deep down that Hollis Brown would include him on the hunt for the town's killer. Jackson needed this. In its sick twist of fate, it was in that moment that Jackson felt he needed to kill this killer; and that need was much greater than the need to save lives, in order to save lives. Jackson wanted to become the hunter, rather than continue to watch innocent lives be taken. "Be the sheep dog." Jackson could hear his half Maori father's voice reverberating in his head. "Be not the wolf, nor the sheep, but the sheep dog. Obedient only to your Shepard, Jesus Christ, and protect His flock, son," Jackson's father's voice spoke clearly in his mind. Jackson's father had become a Catholic priest after the death of his mother. Jackson's father spoke those words the day Jackson left for basic training.

Jackson's thoughts were interrupted by Cameron and Cliff, however, in there respective and emotionally charged fits of confusion, frustration, sadness, and anger. "BOYS!!" Jackson shouted loudly. Jackson looked with steely conviction into Cameron's eyes before looking to Cliff, and reached out to pull Cliff from the well. "As sad, and fucked up all of this is... we can finally end the reign of terror on this town. We can find this murdering lunatic and stop him! With Hollis Brown's help, we can end this madness. I'm going to help Mr. Brown. Will the two of you help me?" Jackson said, practically begging and pleading for their help. "The dream. It... it messed me up on a level I thought I was prepared to have messed up, but I wasn't prepared. The death... the death of my wife didn't even affect me like the dream did." Jackson's voice only gave a hint of cracking.

[Hollis Brown]

Hollis Brown chooses to address Jackson first. "You were more accurate than you think when you used the word 'unholy' to describe the killer," he says. "Guns won't help us, at least not right away. We have to catch him first, and that is by no means a straightforward task. Don't misunderstand me: I believe we are dealing with someone outside of time."

At this point, Hollis reaches into the pocket inside of his coat and pulls out a small, white piece of paper. It looks like something that might come out of a fortune cookie. The text is a deep, slightly smudged black, reminiscent of what a typewriter would produce. He also pulls out a lighter out from another pocket in his coat, and under the light of the small flame, he reads, "3 out of time. 3 with influence. 3 who perceive. The killer is the first type, and you are the second."

Hollis clears his throat and looks at each of the others. "I had a dream the night of September 30th, a dream very similar to yours. In my dream, I watched as a copy of myself murdered my family. Shot them all. The copy and my wife talked in a cryptic way that I had a hard time following. I was asked to give the name of someone who was going to die, but I had no idea whose name to say-- so I said my own name. When I woke up, I found a blue die in my left hand, with two dots on every side. In my other hand, I found a small knife."

Hollis puts the scrap of paper back in his pocket and pulls out a boning knife. It is illuminated by the lighter's flame. "I used this knife to cut open the die," Hollis continues, "And that was the message I found. I went to check if my family was alright, and they all were safe and fine. I would have figured I'd been drinking too much or something, if it hadn't been for the knife, the die, and that message. In the days, weeks, and months that followed, I began to be aware of powers I suddenly had. I won't go into all that now, but Cliff-- you've seen what I am referring to."

He looks at Cliff. "When you saw me at Porker's, that was not me in my physical form. That was a projection. I was in my home in South Dakota. You were interacting with a messenger I had sent. That is why I believe I am one of the three with influence that the messenger referred to, and I believe you three are the three with perception. You three could perceive the dreams. Cliff was the only one who could perceive my messenger, because I think I happened to send my messenger to him around the time his powers were developing."

"Here," Hollis says, with a slight cough. He takes the blue die from Jackson, which has four dots on it. "Showing is better." Hollis carefully bends down and sets the lighter on the flat ground. He squats in front of the fire and holds the knife and blue die over the flame, so everyone can watch him. He makes an incision on one of the edges of the die and slowly rotates the die, so he can cut across the object. The knife cuts into it easily, like butter. When he has completed the diametric cut, he sets the knife on the ground, next to the lighter, and pulls the two halves of the die apart. They separate with a pop.

Inside is a small piece of paper coiled up. Hollis unravels it and reads it over the light of the flame: "Fourth dead: On the killer's heels, searching for secrets." Hollis Brown pauses for a moment, so that the others can sink in the message. He then hands the blue die and its message back to Jackson and puts the lighter and knife back in his coat pocket.

"Your message appears to be a clue to help us stop the next murder," Hollis says. He rubs his brow, and then looks hard at the three. "Cameron, Jackson... It sounds like you each have already had a dream. But before I make any assumptions, Cliff, have you had a dream like this yet? I had the second die, and Jackson had the fourth. We're missing the third and the first. Of course, you might have the first or third, and Cameron has the other... But if you have not had the dream yet, Cliff, I think you will experience it next, on the last day of this month... Meaning, you can stop the next murder."

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff is still gripping the rim of the well, but his head is tilted backward now. He gazes over at Hollis in a silent freeze. He then begins to blink several times. Without adjusting his stance, he says to Hollis, "I've been dreaming of dreams." Cliff takes a deep breath and continues, "Cold dreams along the river. Dreams of drowning alone. My wife drowning in... oh God." He now closes his eyes tightly. "Now you say I'll have a dream... that MEANS something! HOW could you know?"

[Cameron Johnson]

"This all sounds like it's coming out of a fucking science fiction novel and Hollis I don't know you from any of the people in Hong Kong but the notes you've been able to produce from the die and the way you talk has me thinkin' you know what you're talking about. Cliff, Jackson, I think this guy is right we should team up with him to try and catch this guy or gal or whatever the fuck it is that's taking the lives of the women of Stakeford. Maybe he could give you some idea of what to expect for your dream Cliff. Maybe he could help you interpret it.All he needs now is a coat of many colors and he'll be set! Jackson, I'm with you on trying to catch this guy. What do you say Cliff?" Cameron stood taller than he did before. He had taken the time to collect himself and stood with a vigor that hadn't been in him since he took off to be a drifter. He felt like he had a purpose and he intended to fill that role.

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff lowers his head and stares at Cameron. He does his best to smile. He blinks three times. "Yes. Yes of course I want to help pin this killer down." Cliff switches his view over to Jackson. Then he turns to Hollis. "Whatever I can do. I'll listen. I'll listen to the wind."

[Jackson_Lee]

"Its agreed then." Jackson stated, turning from the others, looking to Hollis. "You have our support. What do we need to do?" He asked, his tone hardened but full of conviction.

[Hollis Brown]

Hollis cracks the first smile since their conversation started. It is a small smile, hardly perceptible in the dark, and it did not last for long. "There are three 'out of time,' three 'with influence,' and three 'with perception.' We know we are the three with perception, that I am one with influence, and that the killer is one out of time. I think the key is to focus our efforts on identifying and tracking down the other two with influence and the other two out of time."

"Even if we do identify the killer first," Hollis continues, "We should seek out the identify of the other four. They are involved in this, and we should not confront this evil without knowing everything we can, about our enemy about the powers at work in this town."

"Cameron," Hollis starts suddenly. "Bring me that die in your vehicle. Cliff, I will also want to see your die as soon as possible. We'll exchange contact information and each keep a vigilant eye out for clues on the identity of the killer and these other four. We must also look for any clues that might indicate who the killer's next victim will be, and if we find anything, we share it with each other-- with Cliff first."

Hollis turns to Cliff. "When the dream happens, as I believe it will, try to remain calm and pay attention to every detail in the dream... There might be clues in there... Even if we guess the victim correctly, I doubt that will stop the killer from striking next month, and the month after. We have to act quickly, but we have to pay close attention to everything around us. So far, everything has gone back to this town. I believe our killer is in Stakeford, somewhere, walking among us. We might even be the only ones able to see him. I would have hunted him alone, but together, we can find him much faster. I appreciate your support. If all goes well, we will stop him in no time."

THE "WELL DISTRICT" IS NOW CLOSED

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