James knocks on the door
James
C'mon Will, now's the time to decide whether or not you're in, or out.
Will
Huh?
What do you mean?
James
You wanted to join me and uncover Chuck and his whereabouts.
But I can't force you to join me.
This is your choice to make.
Will
What do you mean?
W-what choice is there to make?
(W-what's he saying?)
(Is he trying to get me to leave?)
(Does he not want me here?)
James–
The door opens up with an old man standing there
Old man
Hello?
Can I help y'all?
James
Good evening sir, my name is James Spectre, I'm a private eye from the city.
I've been called out here to investigate some suspicious behaviour
I believe there's a serial arsonist in the area and I'd like to investigate your property in case he's hiding nearby.
You have no problems with that I'm assuming.
Old man
Oh, not at all.
You can search the whole property if you want, nothing is out of bounds.
The name's Mitski, I'll help in any way I can!
James
Thanks mr. Mitski.
If it's alright with you, I'd like to come inside and ask you some questions
Mitski
I have no problem with that at all!
Come on in!
Mitski steps inside and James starts to follow before Will stops him
Will
James, are you really gonna follow some random guy into his house?
We know nothing about this guy, for all we know he could have a Manifesto he's not aware of
James
Well then, that's all the more reason to go in.
If we start questioning him, we'll be able to know for certain.
Will
So you're willing to walk into enemy territory just based on a guess?
James, there is only so far that you can push your luck.
Sooner or later, you're gonna end up in a situation you can't get yourself out of.
James glares at Will
James
Will…I told you if you wanted to leave, you could.
That is your choice to make.
This is my job. It is my responsibility to find and capture Chuck, if that means putting myself in danger, so be it.
But I don't wanna force you into doing anything, so I'll leave that decision up to you.
James walks into the house
Will
…
Will stands there in shock for a few seconds: unsure as to what to do next.
In the kitchen
Mitski
Is your friend not going to join us?
James
No, it doesn't seem like it.
Mitski
What a shame…
Would you like something to drink?
James
I'll take some coffee if you have any.
Mitski pours a cup for James and gives it to him
James
Thank you.
Now, if I may, I'd like to get started with my questions.
Mitski
Ask away sir.
I'll help in anyway I can
James
Thank you, first could you please state your full name and age?
Mitski
My name is Mitski Starr, I'm 67 years old.
James
Now mr. Starr, are you on friendly terms with your neighbours?
Mitski
Not that I can think of…
I've always gotten along well with my neighbours…
James
Thank you–
Mitski
But now that I think about it, my neighbours have been jealous lately.
I've been noticing them giving me side-eyes and dirty looks when I get visitors from the city.
James
May I ask who's coming out here to visit you?
Friends? Relatives?
Mitski
Not anymore…
Nowadays it's mostly businessmen or people who want to buy my produce.
James
?
You said not anymore, does that mean that you used to have family come up here to visit you?
Mitski
I did, my daughter would come out here with my grandson to visit me.
But, they haven't come back in a long time…
James
Do you know what happened to them?
Mitski
No, I'm sorry but I don't…
James
That's fine.
Anyways, that's besides the point.
Mr. Starr, my client reports seeing a fire on your property a few days ago…
…Do you know anything about that?
Mitski
A fire?
I don't think there's been a fire…
I mean, looking outside, I don't know where it would be…
James
He claims the fire came from your barn.
Mitski
The barn?
Sir, as you can see, the barn is still there.
Are you sure it was my property that was lit on fire?
James
Sorry mr. Starr, but I have to investigate all–
James looks over to the window
James
(Why am I feeling a warm breeze?)
(It's January, it should be freezing out there, not a pleasant summer evening.)
Mr. Starr, is your window open?
Mitski
Hm?
Oh, it seems it is.
Would you like me to close it?
James gets up and goes towards the window
James
No, no, it's fine.
James sticks his head out of the window
James
(He wasn't lying…)
(...this farm has great weather in winter…)
(Wait a minute!)
(Why is the sun still up?)
(How does that make sense?)
(The sun should've set by now!)
(So how is it still bright outside?)
James
Mr. Starr, would it be alright with you if I investigated the barn?
Mitski
…?
Sure, but can I ask why?
As you can see, the barn hasn't burnt down.
James
Yes, however I still need to investigate to see what's the situation.
If nothing happened, then I'll be on my way.
Mitski
Of course. The barn is always unlocked.
James
Thank you Mr. Starr.
James exits the house and begins walking out
Mitski glares at James
The clock in the kitchen shows the time as 6:50
The focus shifts over to Will
Will
Really?
"YoU cAn MaKe ThAt ChOiCe"
Yeah right.
Message heard loud and clear.
I get what you're trying to say.
I thought that if I joined up with this guy, he'd give me tons of first hand experiences with crime scenes that would cause my career to skyrocket.
But I guess all it turned out to be was a waste of time.
I don't even know why I decided to follow him all the way out here.
Man, why is this farm so big all of a sudden?
I could've sworn it was a straight shot from the road to here.
Wait…no…don't tell me…
Fuck!
I'm lost!
How could this happen?!
Sighs
Will
No choice about it, I guess I gotta just feel my way around in the dark and try to find a way out.
Wait!
Could I use Auriga to get out of here?
If it can see into the past, then it could show me how I got here!
Ok, now how did James tell me to use it again?
Have a clear goal.
Have confidence…
Auriga appears in front of Will
Will
(Woah! So this is what my Manifesto looks like?)
(Well, I guess I just tell it to get me out of here like before…)
Auriga, do whatever it is you do!
Auriga stands there as the world begins to eclipse, Will turns to see himself walking away from the area and follows his past self.
As Will walks away, he sees something out of the corner of his eye and decides to follow it
Will
What…is that?
It looks like…
A person?
But, why would someone be this far out on the farm in the middle of nowhere?
Uh, hello?!
Can I ask why you're out here?!
Wait, that's right these are just images moving, I can't actually interact with any of them.
But, how come he's out here on his own?
Will sees the man stumble out into the field, as a man approaches behind him
Man
So, you're the one who's been responsible for this farm's perfect weather.
I must say I'm impressed with your power, however I believe there are better uses for it.
May you rest in peace knowing you've performed a great service for the new world.
The camera switches over to Will's perspective to show his reaction
Will
He-he killed him!
I have to get James!
I need to find help!
James needs to know that there's a murderer hiding here!
Camera switches to James, as the farmer looms behind him