answers

My mother always told me not to get in the car with strangers, especially if they have visible weapons, but The Artist was going to give me answers, and I needed to be with her to get them. I had no choice; I'd come this far, I wasn't going to give up NOW. So, we got in her car and started driving.

I began to ask her questions, and she actually did answer them in full honesty. Annie's father, whom I'd only met once, was named William, and he died in 2010. He began this society with Silence and Jars father, who's name wasn't diverged to me, but died in 2011. When they both died, the leadership of the society fell to their daughters, to carry on what they'd started. But...only one leader could be appointed, and the sisters were much more willing to take it, seeing as Annie had me.

The Artist continued to tell me that Jars wanted it more than anything, always having felt like 2nd best to her sister, and she came up with a plan to kill both of them. She had Annie killed in a seemingly apparent car accident, and Silence went into hiding, until discovering that Annie had known me, and that's when I became involved. Now it was down to the sisters, and each wanted leadership, and each were willing to kill eachother for it.

The Artist felt, though, that "Silence doesn't have it in her to kill her sister. Only something so drastic would force her to do it. You've always been a pawn to them, and I think Annie only loved you because you provided an out for her. She could easily have left the society, but Jars killed her before she had the chance."

There it was. Annie never even loved me.
All of this...I thought I was doing it to avenge her, but...she never even cared.
She was just as bad as these girls had been.

The Artist then took me somewhere. Another graveyard.

That was Annie's fathers grave. I was a little confused why they were buried so far apart, but The Artist told me it was because she went against her family by trying to find a way out with me as her scapegoat. Doing anything against the family is grounds for treason-murder or just trying to escape even-and that's why she's buried where she is. She'd not only failed to escape, but even been abandoned in death. And frankly...I didn't even feel bad about it. She got what she deserved.
Then she showed me Silence and Jars fathers grave.

A more important man with a more important family gets a more important headstone. I knew right then that I wanted nothing more than to make these people hurt the way they'd hurt me. I wanted to destroy their family, and their society. The Artist told me she had one more thing to show me, and to get back in the car.

Unfortunately, that thing was the end of her gun.

john

graverobbing

Back when I originally dug, I found some teeth.

I didn't know what to make of this at first, probably because at the time I was so frightened, angry and confused. But I had a hunch. The photo it came with was a photo of the jar that Jars sent. I figured that if Jars had had Annie killed, they might be Annie's teeth, in a way of mocking me. What kind of sick person rips the teeth out of a dead lady? God my poor Annie...

So I had Silence take me to the graveyard where Annie had been buried.

Shovel in hand, teeth in my pocket, we headed inside. Silence seemed nervy about the whole thing, but I didn't care. I HAD to do this. I knew it was illegal to rob a grave, but I didn't care. I needed to know if Jars had desecrated my Annie. So I headed to her headstone and got to work. Silence just waited.

After a good 2 hours, I dug her coffin up and almost threw up. I was no better than they were now, even if I WAS doing this for Annie's sake. I wanted to avenge her in some way, put her to rest. So I pulled the lid open and there she was...or what was left of her. And yes, her teeth were gone. At first I thought it might have just been decay, but teeth don't really decay, and Silence pointed out the way they had been tugged out of her skull that they had indeed been stolen.

I would've asked Silence why Jars would do such a thing, but I didn't get a chance. She told me she had to take care of something and to head to a woodsy area, to meet The Artist. The Artist would come up with a plan to get back at Jars. Not being one to question Silence at this point, I agreed, and so I headed to the woodsy destination. After a bit of hiking, I finally saw The Artist from a distance, waiting on a log.

The Artist was the one who didn't appear to be a part of this cult. The Artist appeared to be a middleman of some sort, which meant that they had answers I needed.

And I was going to get them.

john

hiding

Since Silence and I ran, it was a while until I felt safe. She assured me that as long as I stayed with her, nothing would happen, and that I would get answers. And despite all evidence contrary to what I should've done, I listened to Silence, even though Jars had not only told me she was a liar, but even gone so far as to follow me to meeting her and try to kill her.

But we were safe at least. We went off the grid. You'll notice I didn't update at all during the time I was gone. That was because I didn't want Jars or anyone else to follow, since I know she reads this blog. And on top of that, I promised to Silence I wouldn't blog at all anymore, but this blog is all I have to tell you I am safe. Silence doesn't know the URL, and it's safe to say Jars wouldn't give it to her, so I can still update for you guys, so you know what'll happen in case I ever disappear entirely.

We ended up in a very hidden area that Silence had been to before, and knew was safe. She moved around constantly, as she told me, because it was stupid to stay in one place. That's how people get caught. We went to a small store, bought some clothes for our stay and some food, and that was it. We were hidden until we could figure something out.

It was actually pretty hidden, for example, without giving too much away.

It doesn't look like it at first glance, but if you push away the brush, you can actually get much deeper into it and there's a small cave type spot. We didn't say too much to one another, but it was good. I needed time to think. But I realized something during the time I had to think to myself.

Those teeth I dug up. I knew a way to find out if they're Annies. Unfortunately...

it involved grave robbing.

john

r.i.p.

Sometimes we walk down some lonely paths. Seemingly unnoticed and unheard. I'm sorry that you felt that way. I wish things had turned out differently.

We don't usually know where we're going to end up in our lives, but nobody should have ended up where you did. I should've done things differently, and now I have to live with the regret. I hope you forgive me, one day.

And that in the end, things don't usually turn out the way we want them to. R.I.P.

This is only the beginning.