[ « Barbara? Jagger. The Scratching Hag, right? That local legend... and the Diver must be Thomas Zane. Alan had contact with them at the Lake.

Wait. »

A sound?

« He must mean YOU. Doesn't he? You reached out to him to help him. To stop the Dark Presence from getting in. Stopping this story. »

Jesse's hands curl slightly in the blankets. ]

That's her--my friend. That sound you heard. That was Polaris.

[ Alice drowned. Allegedly. Her gaze darts to the side once more in thought. Her lips press into a line.

« So... she's either really here, trapped in the Lake. Or, she's back home in their apartment in New York City? Something tells me we can't just call and see. We need to get back tl the Lake. If thr story lets us.

Did he write us into thr story because we were here already? Or, did you know he was going to, so you brought me here for that? Do the details really matter? You helped us shut off the Slide Projector. Now, you're helping Alan. » ]

You did write the story. Just how Jagger wanted you to. [ A nod. ] Which means we have to keep going with how the story goes... until some point.