Duskwood Legends [English Version]

The clock is ticking.

I watch as Jake pulls the handle firmly to himself, thus opening the large iron door wide. As it is quite old, with completely rusted hinges, its opening causes a sinister high-pitched creaking sound. I gasp and shudder as soon as the noise echoes loudly, resonating along the entire width of the barn.

Perfect.
What can I say, a great style entrance.

At this moment, I would like to quote the words uttered not even an hour ago by Jake: " We must be as quiet as possible."

Mhm, that's exactly what happened. We moved like silent ninjas.

A nervous giggle escapes my lips as I' m overwhelmed by anxiety. If there really should be someone inside, it is certain that he heard us. Even Helen, in her distant home in Rinseln, I think has heard this deafening screech.

I shift my eyes to Jake; he remains with no words due to this unfortunate inconvenience. He is completely still and paralyzed, his muscles tense and his expression rather worried.

Well, the damage has already been done. As the wise Forrest Gump would say: "Shit happens, sometimes." And we certainly couldn't predict that.

We all stand waiting for Jake's next words, undecided about what to do; if we had never been so ready before, now I would say we have never been so unsure.

I see him clutching the door handle, expressing his visible restlessness; he has never let off his grip, though there is no risk of it closing on its own. "Keep your eyes open, weapons at hand..." The words choke in his throat. He swallows noisily and shifts his gaze to me; he is quite pale in the face as he turns a grim expression on me.

There he goes worrying about me again.

Please Jake, you need to keep your mind clear.

"Guys, I'm staying behind you, I'm unarmed..." I try to reassure him by placing myself in the center of the group, so that I'm sheltered among the others, who surround me forming a circle. I don't like to feel like the weak one to protect in case of an attack, but I have no choice: Jake is more intimidated by my safety than by the raid itself. Besides, I really have no weapons with me, zero. Nothing at all. I simply filled my backpack with the most disparate items for a first aid kit; but I didn't put anything inside it that would allow me to defend myself. I feel like a complete idiot but, it would still have been useless to carry even a knife. Especially, thinking back to how miserably I failed when I tried to stab Hanson in the Aurora apartment.

And let's face it, even a blind man would have nailed it.

However, positioning myself in the safest place in the formation succeeds in heartening Jake. I see him direct a barely recognizable smile at me before taking back the reins of command and abandoning his paranoia. "Let's get moving." He quickly pulls the beretta from his pocket, using his right hand. He holds it with the barrel pointing upward, while also placing his left hand on the grip. He moves quickly past the door, keeping close to the wall, watchful.

We follow him, holding our breath. Phil quickly moves to Jake's side, taking a switchblade dagger out of his pocket, then keeping it pointed straight ahead. Thomas is immediately behind them, in front of me, with a steel baton clutched between his fingers. It is one of those that, with a quick flick of the wrist, you can extend to its length; now so folded, however, it almost looks like a harmless stick. On my left is Jessy, with a teaser into her right hand; I think it's a good weapon for her, except that she has to be very close to the target to stun it. On my other side is Cleo: She is holding a gun, the one that was at the cabin, and we are still not sure whose it is, although I have an idea of the owner's identity. Her hands are shaking convulsively, so much so that she can barely hold it up in midair.