Karen looked at the clock. Judging by the speed at which the hands were moving, they only had a few more hours before it reached its zenith.

“We need to get out of here. I need to find my sister,” she said.

“Of course, my sweetie-darling-pie-pooh. This is precisely why I am here! I know exactly where Isabelle is! In fact, she is waiting for you in my mansion on Entry Island. I can take you out of here – I have prepared a boat for you, right outside.”

“Really?” she asked.

She was shocked. It was just too convenient: a strange man appearing out of nowhere, with seemingly all the answers, playing Deus Ex Machina. Entry Island was relatively far, and it would certainly be perilous to reach it.

“Don’t trust him,” Matt said. He kept staring at the Jester. “I’ve been warned about you. You’re dangerous, crazy. A manipulative psychopath.”

“Oh, Matty, you wound me,” he replied. “I have my flaws, but I’m also a beautiful, delicate flower. You refuse to form your own opinions of me simply because she doesn’t like me? And I thought you pride yourself on being tolerant and accepting. I am so hurt. Outrageous!”

“You’re insane!” was the only comeback Matt could muster.

“Perhaps,” the Jester continued, an evil grin forming on his face. “But don’t worry, though. You don’t have to come with. Her puppets are not welcome in my maison.”

Matt turned towards Karen, agitated. “You’re not really thinking about going, are you?”

She took a moment to consider her answer. Not to make her choice - it had already been made. But on how to break the news to her friend.

“Matthew,” she said in a gentle voice. “I have to. On the off-chance that Isabelle really is there, I have to risk it. I need to find her. She’s… she’s a special child. She needs me. Besides, we have looked everywhere, and we can’t find her. It’s not impossible that he’d have her.”

“But he’s a psycho! He’ll kill you! Don’t go, it’s too risky!” he pleaded.

“If he’s that dangerous, then it’s even more of a reason for me to go. I can’t leave Isabelle with him.” She turned and walked towards the strange little man. “Jester! I will go, but I want you to get Matt to safety.”

“Consider it done,” he said without breaking the smile he had held for the last minute.

There would be no emotional farewells. She would not let him argue with her, perhaps because somewhere within her, she knew it was a bad idea and he would succeed in convincing her to not go. He had been right in everything he had said; even coming here to Cape Grindstone had potentially helped her find a clue about her sister. She had been wrong to get mad at him earlier. Like he had predicted, she had lost control and hurt him. And while she would never admit it, even if he was still a bit of a loser, she came to care for him, he who helped her when he didn’t have to. No, she wouldn’t endanger him further by dragging him into her quest any longer, she thought. He was a good person, and he deserved better.

After ensuring that the Jester had delivered on his promise to lead her friend out of the dreaded zone, she chose to leave her supplies to Matt. She didn’t need them any less than he did, but it was her decision to break their duo. It was only fair.

She took one last look at her former partner, then walked back into the haunted town. Behind the cinema, a small boat – a pinnace, people called it – was waiting for her. It was aground on the small beach, noticeably worn out from months of being unused and abandoned. The top layer of green paint was a shoddy job, likely done hastily; she could see traces of the original white color underneath it. The name, in yellow, was almost entirely faded, but could still partially be read as “Pelican.”

Fortunately for her, she had learned how to operate such a motorboat during her stay in a temporary foster family. She wasn’t an expert by any means, but she remembered how to start it up. The gas tank was almost full; that was one thing she wouldn’t have to worry about. She hurried to the sea, wanting to take advantage of the daylight that would only last for an hour or two longer.

The trip was far from easy. Between the agitated waves, the dying daylight and the mutated sea creatures, the experience was a challenge she’d rather never take again. Besides, unlike the people who were born on the archipelago, she never fully took to the ocean. Some people were able to live on ships, but she was much more comfortable on the ground. Still, it was all worth it if it meant a chance to reunite with her beloved little sister.

As she arrived on the island several hours later, she noticed a sinister building made of stone atop a mountain. It was dark, but the moonlight allowed her to see clearly. It was a welcome change from the clouds in Cape Grindstone.

When she had made her way into his house a little later, the voice of the Jester squealed. “I am sorry. I am so very, very sorry.” He hadn’t precisely said what had happened, but his apologetic tone of voice made her fear that the worst had come to pass. She refused to believe it at first. “No, no – you’re lying, you’re trying to trick me!” she said. But it was no treachery, he promised. She had arrived too late: Matt’s friends had come into his house and had done the unthinkable.

He kept apologizing again and again, so very sorry that he had failed to protect her, how he wished things had turned out differently. She screamed louder than she ever had, her heart full of resentment towards those who separated them into different foster families, preventing them from being together; resentment towards the Jester, who brought her here, only so she’d learn she had lost the only person she had ever truly cared about; and resentment towards those who had snuffed out the life of a precious, innocent child.

At her request, she was taken to the body of her little sister. The corpse was still warm; it had occurred less than an hour ago. If only she had been faster… maybe – no, certainly, she would have been able to prevent this.

Warm tears flowed along her cheeks. Her heart was twisting in on itself, broken. Her pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Nothing mattered anymore. This wretched world took the only family she had. She hugged Isabelle’s body tightly. “This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening,” she kept repeating.

It took almost two hours before reality began to set in. Isabelle would get a burial at sea; unlike her big sister, she had taken a liking to the Magdalen Islands. Karen remembered the previous year, when the two of them had gone on a beach in Amherst. Isabelle had run straight into the ocean fully clothed, laughing like it was the best thing in the world, and stayed there for a good hour until she got cold and Karen had to go get her. They wrapped themselves together in a towel they had brought, shaking, frozen to the bone. Yet there was this smile on the little lady’s face, a grin of pure happiness. And that’s what Karen would remember of her, now that it was gone.

Just like before, they were both in the ocean; this time, however, Karen wouldn’t pick her sister up to bring her back to the land.

She held her afloat for a few more moments and kissed her forehead. “Be free, now, kiddo,” she said before letting her go. The waves quickly took the body away. Karen cried again. She felt alone.

As she climbed back on the quay, despair slowly subsided, little by little. She didn’t know yet how the Jester had come to have Isabelle in his creepy house, nor what his intentions were. But she would get answers from him. She would know why she had lost her sister, and she would have her revenge. And if Matt’s friends were indeed responsible… Well, she knew exactly where to wait for them.