Chapter 4

## Story

Chapter 3 begins with the player waking up in their room in the Scarlet Estate and receives a text from Kaneeka wondering if they've heard from Stella who has gone missing. The player has a choice to take a shower, check on the doll in the closet which has moved, and check in on Dustin and Dustin Mom in the drawers (Talk to Animals). The player then meets up with Tabitha in the kitchen and tells them about the strike. After Tabitha leaves, the player can make a PB&J before heading out, and if the Dustins were talked too, the player can investigate the green house in the garden for them. The player will discover a goat and if they have the Street Smart trait, they can open the lock and enter the green house and further discuss with Goat. Goat reveals that they were taken from a farm and brought here by a blonde person and refuses to leave, claiming the greenhouse is now its house and has plenty of food to eat. If the player still has their boiled peanuts, they can offer them too and eaten by Goat. If Avery had been invited ghost hunting in the previous chapter, they will appear walking towards the estate to meet up with the player and the two will continue to town to meet up with Kaneeka to search for Stella.

From there, there are several locations the group can visit, with certain variables slightly affecting what happens:

* Stella's House: The group will find Stella's house to be unlocked and appear to be in a slight mess as if there was a hurry to leave. If Stella's room is visited, there is an option to check her computer for clues, and having either the Book Smart or Street Smart trait can uncover a "boring tax stuff" folder to reveal pictures of Stella and Tabitha and a map of the mines.
* Police Department: This location has a variety of outcomes, but mostly entail the Calloways wanting the police department to investigate their missing pumpkin Big Betty and claim Julius Tremaine had stolen it. Duke Calloway's presence is dependent on his survival in Chapter 1. If the strike manages to be strong, Tabitha will have Sheriff Huggby and Deputy Derekson supervising the strike, leaving Deputy Franklin manning the station alone. If all three are present, they will brush aside Stella's absence, however, Deputy Franklin will allow the group to fill out a missing person's sheet. If Avery is present, they will note that they noticed that Julius has not been in the diner since Tuesday and his possible absence at home maybe be of concern.
* Visit Oscar: Both routes will end with the group and Oscar brainstorming on whats happening in Scarlet Hollow.
	+ At the Annex: Oscar, Rosalina, and Alexis can be found at the Annex if the player chose to go after Becka and Alexis in the mines in Chapter 2 or managed to save everyone with the Keen Eye trait. If Rosalina was injured, she will be resting in the living room with Dr. Kelly checking her condition. If the player chose to give up years of their lives, Dr. Kelly makes an offer to give the player a check up, creating one way to sneak into the clinic. If all the teens were saved unharmed, Rosalina and Alexis will be hanging out in her room, and the player has the option to explore the basement again with Oscar and Avery. Before leaving, the player has a chance to have a private moment with Oscar and activating his romance route.
		- If the player has the Talk to Animals trait, they can visit the Mayors office where Mayor Jimmy can be found in discussion with the dog militia led by Daisy and Scraps. The help of the dog militia can be enlisted to help find Stella and Gretchen.
	+ Old Maxwell Place: Before reaching the Maxwell Place, Pixel can be found in an ally approached by a ditchling, but before the group can do anything to save him, the dog militia led by Scraps and Daisy come in to tear apart the ditchlings. The player can speak to them further with the Talk to Animals trait and discover Pixel had escaped the library, and had volunteered as a scout to help the dog militia. Pixel will be taken back to the Gutierrez's by the group. Oscar and Rosalina can be found in the Maxwell place if the library becomes consumed by Charlie and Tabitha offers them the place. (Edit note: Still need to explore if Becka/Alexis survive, but the library gets consumed combo)
* Diner: This location has a few outcomes, but mostly entails Zachs trying to convince Harrison into the strike and the player has the option to weigh in. If Avery did not join the group earlier in the morning, they can be found working in the diner. The strike will appear weak if Tabitha was brought along to the mines and saved the teens. If the strike is weak, the only miners that can be seen are Zachs, Harrison, Baker, and Isaacs. Harrison seems reluctant to join the strike due to her situation. Baker also seems hesitant to join, as he is concerned there aren't enough people joined together and Tabitha has been deemed the "town hero" for saving the teens from the mines. If the strike is strong, many unnamed miners will be at the diner, and Harrison seems more open to joining the strike. The miners reactions to the player, as well as Kaneeka and Avery's willingness to defend the player, are dependent on how they have been interacted with.
* Mines: This location has a few outcomes, most hidden by whether the player made certain choices or not. In all outcomes, a strike is happening, and the player also has ability to visit Tabitha if either the miner Davis trusts you or sneak in if they saw the map of the mines in Stella's computer. If the strike is weak, only Davis, Smith, and an unnamed miner will appear, and can be discussed with. If the strike is strong, Johnson, Tate, and a couple of unnamed miners can be seen, as well Sheriff Huggby and Deputy Derekson. If Alexis and Becka are left in the mines and the player makes it past the strike, they have the option to explore the site, and are confronted by Nancy who demands Tabitha be brought out immediately. Becka's dad can be seen working to get them out, as well as Alexis's parents watching at the side. If the player chooses to visit Tabitha, they will find her and Rodriguez in her office. If the player chooses to enter immediately without knocking, they will walk into Rodriguez telling her to fire Davis. If Tabitha's relationship with the player is poor, she will act aggressive towards them, before calming down and allowing the player to talk with them. Upon leaving, the Player has the chance to rat out Rodriguez to the striking miners.
* The Church: After arriving, Pastor Daniel will ask to have a private moment with the player, as the rest of the group go off to ask Janey about Stella's whereabouts. Daniel's intentions is to ask the player whether or not he comes off as creepy. After discussing for a bit, Tulip shows up out of the woods and is told by the pastor to go help her mom. Daniel will let the player know that she has been playing near the dumps in the woods and mentions her talking to "imaginary friends." However, if the player has the Talk to Animals trait and revealed it to the pastor, they will discuss about their gift and talk more in depth about Tulip's situation, as she has been allegedly talking to "rats" in the church which have been spewing hateful talk towards the pastor. If the player chose to give up years of their life, they can only visit up to 4 locations (5 if the player has the Powerful Build trait) before passing out and awakening to having tea with Sybil. If the player hasn't, Kaneeka will either suddenly feel too weak to continue or the player will remember their appointment with Sybil. At this point, slight variations of this scene and onward will play differently depending on if the player had Sybil's tea previously and when the player chooses to have tea time with Sybil.

In all cases, Kaneeka will be talked into resting for the rest of the night by Sybil, and Avery will depart for work if they had joined. The player also has the option to skip out on tea time with Sybil. If the player didn't drink Sybil's tea, they will notice how Sybil's words seem to be able to control Kaneeka, but if the tea was drunk, the player can comment how well Sybil looks out for Kaneeka. If tea time is chosen or awoken too, the player can discuss about what Sybil knows Vivian and Pearlanne. When the tea is finished, the player will always receive a reading of: every warning that can fit in the bottom of a cup. Cross, kettle, and hourglass, all which mean death, misery, and difficulty, with the hourglass tying it up with definite urgency. Sibyl also mentions a figure central to this impending doom, which she calls "a cat." The player may choose one character they have met and ask Sibyl if she thinks they might be the cat, including Sibyl herself. After tea time, the player can talk to Miles and check in on Kaneeka, who will be unable to join the rest of the investigation; however, if Kaneeka's relationship is high enough the player can unlock her romance route and talk to her in her room. If she and the player try to leave to the clinic, Sybil will appear in the hallway and immediately stop Kaneeka from going.

The player then makes their way to the clinic and can have a variety of ways of breaking into the clinic:

* Being told by Sybil that the 2nd floor can be reached by the hill and that it is always unlocked.
* Coming in for the checkup with Dr. Kelly if the player chose to give up years.
* Climbing to the 2nd floor (Hot).
* Walk straight through the front door (Street Smart, Mystical).
* Consult a nearby raccoon on how they would break in (Talk to Animals).

With the exception of the checkup, all variations quickly arrive in the morgue where Reese is found laying on the table. With the Mystical trait, the player can open up Pearlanne's case and view her corpse. The player will immediately be compelled to reach the other side of the wall of the morgue, and Reese will suggest to break down the wall with a fire axe, but needs to convince his mom to get out of the house to give them time. While searching in Dr. Kelly's office, a Scarlet family autopsy file can be found, and having the Book Smart trait allows the player to view through the files quickly or if the player has the Street Smart trait they can grab the file to view later. If the player read through the files and didn't have the Book Smart trait, Dr. Kelly will come back and the player will hide in the closet and either allow Reese to join or tell him to find a different hiding spot. The two will move onto the medical supply room, quickly find the keys to the fire axe and move back to the morgue to find the stone carving. If the player did not take time to read through the autopsy file or read it with the Book Smart trait, the two will be able to have a chance to investigate the castor beans on the table or discover Dr. Kelly's journal. If either are discovered, Reese will take one of the two to research. Upon returning to the morgue, either Reese or the player will use the axe to take down the morgue wall and discover a hidden corridor leading to the carving showing three dogs running in an endless loop around a furious goat, bound in a ring of flame. The player will receive a vision of Enoch and Theodore Scarlet who is injured in the clinic.

Upon waking up, the player will find themselves in Reese's room who had carried the player back despite their constitution. Reese will explain that the doctor is on a "war rampage" because he refused to take his medicine and blocked his door. Reese will also have researched either the castor beans or Dr. Kelly's journal if taken and come to the conclusion that the doctor has indeed been poisoning him, and in order to get out, the two will have to wait until she falls asleep. If not, he will start remembering bad memories that lead him into thinking that Dr. Kelly isn't a good person. From here, the player can either choose to pass time with Reese by either watching *Shi no Chi: Death Blood* together or allow the Reese to draw the player, try to leave, or try to knock out Reese (Powerful Build). All events will eventually lead to Wayne knocking on Reese's window and warning the player to leave. This along with Reese's new founded feelings towards the doctor cause him to transform and make his paintings come to life. The player also has the option to call Tabitha before and after the transformation. From here, the player has the option to go upstairs and investigate or wait in the basement. Upon leaving the basement, the player will encounter Dr. Kelly who shoots Reese with a tranquilizer, proving one to be ineffective. However, Wayne also appears in the house, which prompts Reese to try to run away from him and also giving a chance for Dr. Kelly to run to the safe room. The player has the option to follow Dr. Kelly, go to a nearby room, or grab the fire axe if the player has the Powerful Build trait, but all will result in Dr. Kelly using an intercom system to direct the Player to grab more elephant tranquilizers and meet her at the safe room. Reese will appear to try to convince the player not to help Dr. Kelly, but is stopped by Wayne, giving the player the chance to grab the tranquilizers and run to the safe room. When the two meet up, Dr. Kelly and the player have the option to discuss everything before Reese reaches the room. Depending on certain previous interactions, Dr. Kelly will reveal Sybil told her to start giving ricin to Reese, however this line of dialogue can be entirely blocked out if the player drank Sybil's tea.

The ending of this event has a variety of endings:

* The player chooses to wait in the basement, Reese will devour Dr. Kelly, talk a bit with the player, and then run away when Wayne appears.
* As Dr. Kelly opens the door, the player chooses to give Dr. Kelly the tranquilizers and Reese will be shot enough to be dragged into the safe room where he will be locked and supervised by the doctor.
* The player chooses not to give Dr. Kelly the tranquilizers or didn't grab them, Reese will rip the doctor apart and devour her. The player can choose whether or not to view this.
* The player has the Hot trait and convinces Reese not to kill Dr. Kelly, causing Reese to run away and the doctor to be spared.
* If Tabitha is called, she will shoot Reese with a rifle as he is approaching the corner:
	+ The player can stop Tabitha and allow the doctor to tranquilize her son and drag him into the safe room
	+ The player allows Tabitha to continue shooting Reese, and the group drags Reese's body into the woods and burn him before he can regenerate.

After the prompts where Reese is locked up or escapes into the woods, Dr. Kelly will immediately try to push you out the door, or if she was flirted with and the player built a good relationship with her, she will be more open to the player.

If the player created a means of being able to find Stella, either by being with Tabitha and letting her know beforehand that Stella was missing, finding Gretchen and letting her lead you to her, or previously enlisted the help of the dog militia to find her (Talk to Animals), the player can find her at the road where her parents died. If the player built a good relationship with Stella, she will open up to the player about what happened to her parents, and if Tabitha is brought along, the player can convince Tabitha to go talk to her and the two reconcile and walk each other home. If a good relationship is also built with Tabitha, she will let the player join the talk. If the player pursues Stella's romance route, the player can walk Stella back home and stay at her place for the night. While Stella is taking a shower, Wayne will appear at the front porch to talk to the player.

If the player has to return home by themselves, Wayne will appear to escort them back to the estate. If the player returns home with Tabitha and didn't prompt to find Stella, Wayne will appear in the player's room to discuss what was said if he had escorted the player back. If the player built a good relationship with Tabitha and return home together, they will have icecream together.

## Appearing Characters

* Tabitha Scarlet
* Dustin
* Dustin Mom
* Frou-Frou
* Janey
* Pastor Daniel
* Tulip
* Stella Richmond
* Gretchen
* Duke Calloway
* Bo Calloway
* Avery Belle
* Winnie
* Wayne
* Sybil Forsyth
* Kaneeka Forsyth
* Reese Kelly
* Joan Kelly
* Mayor Jimmy
* Oscar Gutierrez
* Pixel
* Rosalina Gutierrez
* Alexis
* Nancy
* Becka's Dad
* Zane
* Miles Forsyth
* Davis
* Harrison
* Zachs
* Isaacs
* Smith
* Tate
* Johnson
* Baker
* Mike Franklin
* Earl Huggby
* Dennis Derekson
* Charles Shaw Junior

### Appeared

* Ditchlings
* Unnamed Miners at the diner and strike
* Sal
* Pearlanne Scarlet

### Mentioned

* Julius Tremaine
* Vivian Scarlet
* Enoch Scarlet
* Theodore Scarlet