That almost makes it worse, doesn't it? I asked for your help, not realizing I'd put you into the story without asking if that was alright. If you didn't want to be involved, I didn't give you a choice. [ Typical Alan Wake, being a selfish asshole again. Maybe she doesn't think that, but what if she does? ]

You might have been told to come here, but that doesn't mean you wanted to be a part of this, does it? Hell, I don't even want to be a part of it, but I can't back out now. You could, because it's not your problem. Saving Alice is something I have to do, but you don't have to.

[ Alan may have heard this all from Barry already, but he listens to Jesse explain like it's the first time he's hearing it. Maybe it's just that writer's instinct in him, that part of him that's used to doing research for his books; this is obviously different from that, but he knows there's no harm in getting different perspectives on the same topic. ]

So, if it's always been weird, maybe it's always just drawn in events like this... people like- well, like us. And Zane, too. [ Alan's expression turns thoughtful as he mulls this over. Jesse has experiences with the otherworldly, even if she didn't ask for them either. Zane was a poet. Alan's a writer. ]

What if this place draws in people who've seen the other things out there in the world, and draws in artists too? [ It draws us in, jerks us around, and doesn't give us any choice but to keep digging. Maybe Zane had the same problem. All I know is, I don't want to see anyone drown in the lake, or drown in whatever the hell the story is doing. Not Alice, not Jesse... Not me. I think. ]

Great. I won the lottery no one wanted to enter. [ He huffs out a dry laugh. ] Bird Leg Cabin, I think it was called.