Quarrel, parting, and invitation

There were too many deaths in one day for a family to handle. Ben sent you Leonard's words before he asked you to leave. The mayor and his wife stayed behind to help, while George, Grace, Fran, and you left the mansion at around 10 a.m. and returned to the town. You parted with George and Grace and went back to the hotel with Fran.

For the rest of the day, you just stayed in the room with Fran quietly. You have been lying in bed, thinking, with Fran sitting beside you, reading books. You didn't want to say anything, and neither did she.

Deep down you knew that nothing could be changed by doing nothing, but you just didn't know what else you could do. You originally thought that Shannon was the pure werewolf that attacked you, that she was the key to solving all the problems, but she wasn't. And she was put down before you could get anything useful from her. You felt lost.

But something about Fran made you feel more imminent. You got up in bed and looked at her.

"Fran..." You whispered.

"What is it?" She didn't turn around to look at you when she asked. She didn't even put down the book. You felt a sense of anger in her tone and her words.

"I..." You hesitated for a moment to argue about whether you should tell her. But eventually you decided to be honest. "I went to Grace's room last night and... slept with her... I'm sorry." You said quietly with your head down.

"I know. I was wondering when you're going to tell me." Fran sighed, closed the book, and put it on the bedside table, but still she sat with her back to you. "When I saw how she looked at you when having dinner, how she touched your face when you just fought the beast, and how she patted your shoulder when Donna died, I couldn't lie to myself anymore. There was something between the two of you."

"She was immune, so I..." You wanted to explain, but you didn't know how you could convince her. You couldn't even fully convince yourself.

{if game}{if game:F2R1_FranScenesConfess == True}"I thought we've talked about it, when you told me you had sex with her in the book shop. And I told you I would be at your side, and you could ask for my help. I was just sleeping beside you, but you went to her room instead." {elseif game:F2R1_FranScenesConfess == False}"I assumed that this was not the first time you had sex with her, right? And I thought it was okay, as long as you didn't do it again. But I was wrong. I was just sleeping beside you, but you went to her room instead." {endif}{else}"I would've helped you if you had asked. I was just sleeping beside you, but you went to her room instead." {endif}Fran finally turned around and stared into your eyes. "Does my love for you mean so little to you that you didn't trust me at all? Do I even mean anything to you after what we've been through together?" You didn't feel any anger in her eyes. There was only hopelessness.

"Fran, I'm sorry. I just... I didn't want you to get hurt!" You felt ashamed as you tried to justify yourself.

"That's funny, because you think you're not hurting me right now." Fran replied calmly with a sad smile on her face. When tears began to roll in her eyes, she stood up and went to pack her stuff.

"What are you doing?" You looked shocked and got out of the bed.

"I can't stay here... I need some time alone to figure this out. Maybe we both do. I'll just go get another room." When Fran saw the book you read together in bed that night, she sighed helplessly. "How did we come to this, James? I thought we loved each other. I want to believe that I still do, but I'm not so sure about you anymore." She threw the book into the trash can.

You couldn't say anything but just watch her do what she wanted. You knew that you were in no position to stop her.

Fran pulled the suitcase and headed to the door. Before she went out, she paused for a moment. "Thank you for telling me about it, James. I don't know what I would do if you keep hiding it from me." She shut the door behind her and left.

You were all by yourself in the room now. You were fighting with a malevolent supernatural force, and you had to keep your reason, to lean upon logic. That was your feeble argument, and this was your reward.

You went to the restaurant at around 5:30 p.m. and had dinner alone. You hadn't had anything the whole day, but you still didn't want to eat much. You kept thinking about Fran, and it was slowly consuming you.

When you came back from the restaurant, you were surprised to see that someone was waiting outside your room. It was Grace.

"Hey, Grace. I didn't know you were coming." You stepped up to greet her.

"Hi, James... Well, May, my sister-in-law, wants to meet you now. In the bookshop. In private." Grace said with a sweet smile.

Grace looked very uncomfortable, but you couldn't tell why. And why does George's wife want to meet me? We haven't met... Wait, we have, right? According to Fran, She and I went to the bookshop and had dinner with them the day before yesterday. You frowned with suspicion. You'd always doubted the real reason behind your mysterious memory loss, and this was a chance to find out why.

"Okay." You looked at Grace firmly.

You followed Grace to the bookshop at around 7 p.m.. The sun had set and the shop was closed. You didn't see George, and you had a strange feeling when you stepped inside with Grace. It was like you were walking into a trap. But there was no going back now.

Grace guided you to the reading room. The room was surrounded by bookshelves. You felt familiar with this place. You must have been here before. There were several sets of tables and chairs, and even a sofa, in the room, where a lady in a black dress was sitting and reading a book. She was also wearing a black fleece scarf, even though the room was warm. And that must be May, you thought to yourself.

"May, James is here." Grace said quietly beside you.

The lady raised her head and looked at you. She was an Asian, with slightly paler skin and soft dark hair. Her deep black eyes with a mole under the left one, her rosy lips, and her elegant smile almost sucked your soul out of your body. You didn't want to say anything or step further, fearing that you would lose this opportunity to admire her beauty.

"Thanks, Grace." May put the book down onto the table in front of her, "Please have a seat, Mr. Wilson." She pointed at the chair opposite her.

You were happy to do so as you quickly walked toward the chair and sat down. Grace remained silent as she turned around and was ready to leave.

"You could stay, Grace. This is important to you, too." May looked at her husband's sister and said.

Grace paused for a moment, and then she returned and sat in the chair next to you. The tension in the room was weird. You felt a mild sense of danger, but you didn't know where it was coming from. It made you extremely uncomfortable.

"Do you have something to ask before we talk, Mr. Wilson?" May leaned against the back of the sofa and crossed her legs, while she stared into your eyes with a gentle smile.

You remained in thought for a few seconds. "Who are you?" You asked. Yes, she was May Clark, Grace's sister-in-law. But something about her told you that she wasn't just a regular lady who liked to read books. Why did she want to meet you? And more importantly, why now?

"It's very close, Mr. Wilson, but it's not the right question." She just looked at you calmly.

Her eyes turned red in two seconds. All the cells in your body were trembling, your blood pumping, and your mind screaming. You wanted to immediately run away, but you couldn't move your arms and legs anymore.

She's a...

"It should start with a 'What'." May parted her lips when she spoke, and you saw a pair of half-an-inch long fangs where her upper canines used to be.