It had finally all ended for Evelyn. As she and the others were finally getting their return to civilisation, she sat in a corner, simply staring at the wall, indulging in some self-introspection. She didn't know how to feel. The cruel game in which she had been trapped in for so long… It was all over now. It would take a while for her to readjust to her normal life again.
If she even could, anyway. She’d changed quite a bit herself, albeit mostly for the better. She’d made friends now, something she had never managed to accomplish before. She gave a glance towards the others, who were all preoccupied with other things, and Olivia, who was tied up in the back. Althea was sitting in a corner as well, with tears still rolling down her face but with her hopeful smile still intact.
Evelyn then gave a look towards the two robots in the driver's seat, formerly Eli and Nicos. They’d managed to save them from the facility, but at the same time they’d lost their own bodies and were slowly losing their humanity as well. It was unlikely they’d ever be the same. Still, Evelyn was grateful to the two for what they had done to them. As the van finally stopped, reaching its destination, she gave the two a small yet warm hug before departing with the others, as a sort of farewell. It was time to move on.
As she started to get to grips with her new surroundings, she felt a small presence by her side. Glancing to see what it was, she saw none other than Althea, meekly looking around her.
“Ah, Althie, is everything alright?” She asked concernedly.
Althea turned around, a little surprised. “Ah! Evy! Yes, ah, yes, everything’s fine! It’s just, well… this feels so strange, to be back here…”
“Ah, well.” Evelyn gave an understanding nod. “I suppose it will take quite a bit to get used to all of this once more… Ah!” She suddenly let out a gasp as she laid eyes on a figure in the distance. “Is that…”
“Is that who?” Althea scratched her head, a little perplexed. The figure in question appeared to be a slightly rotund man with a tired, gloomy expression on his face. His hair on his head as well as his chin was a somewhat familiar shade of red as well.
“It’s my father!” Evelyn let out excitedly. “Althie, you have to come with me! I need to introduce him to you!”
“Ah, well, um… I suppose, it couldn't hurt.” Althea reasoned before slowly accompanying her.
Evelyn, meanwhile, frantically jogged over to the man and called over to him. As he turned around to see her, the look on his face immediately changed to a mixture of shock, relief and joy and they both embraced each other lovingly. There was silence for some moments, with both of the two quietly sobbing into each other’s shoulders. Althea stood at the back rather awkwardly, not wanting to ruin the moment.
After a while, they both loosened the embrace slightly. The man looked down at Evelyn and patted her head gently. “Ah, mah girl”, he sighed. “I’ve missed ya for so long! I was dead frightened that I wouldn't even get ta see ye again… But ye’re ‘ere now! In the flesh, aye”, he said, letting out a slight chuckle.
“Oh, father”, Evelyn sniffled, “I-I thought I’d never get to see you either! Just thinking about you made me worried all this time…”
“Aye, well, ya don't have to worry anymore. Ye did good, m’girl”, the man replied proudly, “Without yer help, I doubt yer friends could’ve even made it out, aye!”
“O-oh, please…” Evelyn giggled softly despite herself. “I-it wasn't anything much at all, really! I don't think I could’ve done it all on my own. In fact… that reminds me!” She turned around. “Althie, come over here!” She went over to fetch the girl.
“Is, is this necessary?” Althea questioned nervously as Evelyn dragged her to her father. “I didn't want, well, I wouldn't want to get in the way of you two or anything-”
“Nonsense, it’s all quite fine!” She finally brought her over. “Now, Althea, meet my father! This is Carver Scythe, former head coroner of my district”, she proudly announced. Althea gave her a strange look, a little surprised that that was actually his name, but Evelyn continued. “Father, this is Dr. Althea Agnes-”
“Er, the ‘doctor’ part isn't necessary anymore”, Althea chimed in.
“… And you might have heard of her before”, Evelyn continued, “But she is a good friend of mine whom I met here. She was a great help to me through even the toughest of times and-”
“Of course I know ‘er!” Carver replied, unperturbed. “Seen ‘er in the videos and all! So yer my dear Evelyn’s best pal, are ya?”
“Of course! Um, sir”, Althea replied hastily.
“Well, thank ya muchly!” He shook her hand with a lot of force, a grateful look in his eyes. “I don't know what I coulda done if my darling girl was all alone ‘ere. I could tell you’re important to ‘er!”
“Ah, er, well…” Though the mask hid her face, it was apparent that Althea was beet red, but she slowly regained her composure and tried to look him in the eye. “Er, yes, thank you, very much! Sir. Sir! You, ah, you raised a truly wonderful daughter! Evy was a true friend to me through even the hardest of times! To be honest, even I’m not sure what I could have done without her. It was…” She suddenly paused, as if she realised something.
“Is something the matter?” Evelyn asked gently.
“No, no! It’s, it's just that, well…” Althea pointed slowly at the hair growing on Carver’s chin. “Your, er, goatee, sir… Well, it reminded me somewhat of, uh… Someone we met once?”
Evelyn appeared befuddled momentarily before quickly realising who it was that she was referring to and letting out a soft giggle. “Ah, yes, the wondrously mad genius himself! Yes, quite a pity that he’s no longer with us… Actually, that reminds me!” She turned to Carver once more. “Althea is a rather masterful comedian, father! Would you perhaps like to hear one of her jokes?”
Althea’s reaction to this suggestion was akin to a deer caught in the headlights. “Ah, Evy… Now might not be the best ti-”
“Of course I’d love to hear it!” He beamed. “What is it, lass? Don't keep me waitin’ here!”
“Uh… well…” Panicking somewhat, Althea’s eyes darted around the place… Till she noticed the door of a nearby house.
“Ah, door, right?” She began. “But what if I… Don'tor?”
There was an awkward silence between the three of them for a moment.
“Oh, I get it. Nice one, lass!” Carver let out a slight chuckle, though it felt more polite than genuine.
“Ah, well. A valiant effort, at least!” Evelyn replied, unsure of what else to add that wasn't too rude.
“I can't come up with these things on the spot!” Althea protested, her face somehow turning an even brighter shade of red. “My grandfather would be much better at this than I am”, she pouted.
“...Oh, yes, good point”, Evelyn suddenly replied, recalling something important. “Yes, we need to see your grandfather, Althie! I’m coming with you.”
“... Wait, really?” Althea seemed somewhat surprised by this. “Evy, you, you don't need to come-”
“Of course I will!” Evelyn declared. “What kind of friend would I be otherwise?” She briefly turned to Carver. “My apologies, father, but I need to get going. I need to give my friend some help. But I promise I’ll be back soon!” She added.
“…Well, if it’s so necessary, then go with it”, He replied in a surprisingly agreeable manner. “But ah expect you to be back for dinner, at least! We’ve got ourselves a lot to catch up on, me girl!” He gave a slight chuckle before giving her a small kiss on the forehead.
“Yes, of course!” Evelyn nodded. “Now, Althie, shall we?”
“Ah, of course!” She nodded back in return, this time with some more confidence. It was finally time for closure.
It was some hours later. Evelyn and Althea had finished their visit to the house of Althea’s grandfather and had parted ways, with Evelyn promising to keep in touch with her no matter what would happen. She returned back to her house, where her father was expectantly waiting. He welcomed her back with open arms.
As he prepared dinner for both of them, they both started to catch up with each other. Apparently the coroner department in her district had gone haywire without her presence and it was in a rather chaotic state at present, which made her rather worried. It seemed that they were more reliant on her than she even expected.
“My, my, how disconcerting… I need to visit there tomorrow, surely! Oh, how distraught everyone must have felt without my presence!” Evelyn bemoaned. “Ah, this game has ruined everyone’s lives, has it not, father?”
“Aye, sure ‘as”, he replied back. “It seems the media agrees with it too.”
He beckoned at the television screen nearby, which was broadcasting a news outlet related to the killing game. Apparently Alabaster had been heavily criticised for most of its decisions and several lawsuits had been filed against it in the past few hours, mainly by the families of those working in Project Eden and those who were involved in the killing game. They had been coerced to pay fines to the families as a result.
“Oh my, really?” Evelyn raised her eyebrow. “Alabaster is a rather large corporation… Does this mean we perhaps could receive compensation, father?” She asked rather hopefully.
“Perhaps”, he chuckled. “Let’s wait an’ see, eh? Maybe we could benefit from ‘is after all, though”, he murmured.
“Yes, quite…” Evelyn agreed. “It would only be fair.”
The next day, Evelyn had arrived at her district’s police station, the place at which she had worked for so much of her life. She stood at the entrance with butterflies in her stomach. Could she really make something of this situation? It had been a while, after all. Would she even be able to right things in her own department? But as hard as it was for her, she buried all her feelings deep within and slowly walked in. As she did, she noticed several pairs of eyes immediately flutter towards her, following a sudden congregation of those who had previously been her coworkers around her.
“Dr. Scythe! You’re back!” One exclaimed.
“Thank god! Are you alright?” Another enquired, appearing rather concerned.
“I’d heard you had been captured and held in that terrible killing game! Did you manage to make it out alright?”
The questions continued. Some were curious and others were asked out of genuine empathy. Evelyn wasn't used to this. She hadn't been expecting so much attention surrounding her, and the look of care in everyone’s eyes surprised her. Did… did she manage to make some friends here after all?
“A-ahem”, she nervously cleared her throat. “Yes, erm, thank you very much for asking. I do appreciate the concern, really! Thankfully, I happen to be rather fine. I managed to get off rather fine, considering… well, you know. I did miss all of you though, quite dearly. How have you all been without me?”
There was a sudden cacophony of voices as a response. From what she could tell, they were in a state of calamity. Far too many corpses were being reported and it was hard to keep up. Several of her coworkers even had to work overnight just to keep up. It was quite simply madness.
“Oh dear”, Evelyn sighed. “Well, I suppose there’s only one thing to do here, and that is to resume working here!”
“W-wait, really, boss?” One man asked. “Already? Are you sure? You haven't even had time to relax-”
“It’s all part of the job, Joseph!” Evelyn replied dismissively. “I’ve realised that I simply cannot stop my work here. It’s simply my duty to!”
A few others seemed to be worried for her, but they reluctantly obliged, guiding her to her old office.
“Well, this is a dusty old place, isn't it?” Evelyn remarked, brushing off some dust in a corner and seating the doll Annabella had given her there. “Who’s using this place nowadays, anyway?”
“Nobody in particular”, one of her coworkers replied sheepishly. “We should have had a temporary replacement for when you were gone, but there were some complications in appointing a new one-”
“Ah, how unfortunate! Lucky I’m here to rectify it!” Evelyn commented enthusiastically.
“Ma’am!” A voice cried out from outside. “We’ve just got a new body here!”
“…Well then.” Evelyn’s voice didn't let it on, but she was quite tense. It had been a while since she had performed an autopsy in normal circumstances. She wasn't even sure if she could really change much about the enormous workload her department was currently facing.
But she wasn't about to let it show. She’d learnt by now. She was going to keep her head up high no matter what. Her father had taught her to be a true coroner. Eli had taught her to be a true detective. And Althea… had taught her how to be a true friend. All of them had placed their trust in her at some point or another. And she wasn't going to let any of them down now.
She cracked her knuckles, an excited grin slowly appearing on her face. She put on her surgeon’s mask and took out her scalpel, as sharp as ever. Beckoning to her coworker, she started to leave to the operating room. This was it. This was a time to truly prove her worth, once and for all.
And as she left, one thought went through her mind, and one alone.
Let's do this.