Chapter Text
The sound of a bell rang through the air. Darren opened the glass door with a jingle. He stepped through the doorway, watching the throng of people waiting in line. A lone clerk stood at the front desk, attending to the growing line of people waiting to book a room at the hostel.
For a moment, Darren peered down at his jacket and clothes, self-conscious about his appearance. He hated not having a change of clothes, and after finally scrounging up the money for a place to stay, desperately wanted to freshen himself up. A look of pure exhaustion formed on his face, as he awaited a luxury he had lone gone without—a warm bed to sleep in, a place where he could be alone with his thoughts.
To his relief, the check-in line moved faster than he expected. In a matter of minutes, Darren made his way to the front of the line.
“Can I help you, sir?” The receptionist asked.
“Yeah, I’d like a room, please.”
The receptionist radiated a warm smile. “Certainly, sir. How long will you be staying with us?”
“Just for the night, ma’am.”
After a long discussion, Darren opened his wallet and paid for his room. With key fob in hand, he made his way up an elevator. He stood in the elevator, alone with his thoughts. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes, and remembered all the fond times he had with Alex. Darren allowed his thoughts to drift elsewhere.
Alex…
The elevator came to a stop. A bell dinged, and the doors into the hall slid open. Darren stepped out of the elevator and made his way through the halls. Off into a corner, lined with plush black-and-white carpet, a lone room labeled “301” awaited him.
Darren held the key fob to the door, and heard the click of the lock releasing. He stepped inside the room, where beige carpet greeted him. A single bed sat in front of a television set, while a cable top box rested on the television alongside a remote. He sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh.
Although the bed felt comfortable to sit on, Darren’s heart ached in his chest. Loneliness washed over him. Now more than ever, he wished Alex were with him. He could not get her out of his mind; the harrowing events of their imprisonment together and subsequent separation too much for him to bear. Alone at last, and without anyone to watch or judge him, Darren reached into his jacket and pulled out Alex’s letter.
He held the crinkled envelope in his hand. By some powerful miracle, the envelope remained intact and in good condition. For a moment, he hesitated, staring at the latter like a last memento of the woman he loved, the woman now taken from him by a powerful spirit in a golden triangle. A part of him wanted to leave the letter alone, so he could remember Alex as she once was and not the Aberrant their captor turned her into.
His thoughts turned to the green-clad figure that had delivered this letter to him, the very soul that haunted the golden triangle. To this day, he knew not why that soul had chosen to deliver the letter to him. The words of that soul shook Darren to his very core.
“Do not despair. You will see Alex again, I promise. For now… this is goodbye.”
Oh God…
Darren felt his hands shake as he pulled the piece of paper out of the envelope. Slowly, he unfolded the piece of paper, until the full contents of the letter came into view. Dread filled his heart, while his stomach twisted itself into knots. Although terrified of what the letter contained, Darren took a deep breath and began to read.
Dear Darren,
By the time you read this letter, I will be dead. In the morning, Palmgate will conduct his ritual on me. The spirit of the triangle will kill me like it has all the others. I know in my heart that I am not worthy of the power that soul protects.
That madman told me that the triangle was a piece of a relic called the Triforce. He said it housed a powerful soul, and that he wanted to take that soul’s power for himself. I had no idea what that triangle was, or what it was capable of. I touched a thing nobody from our world was meant to have, and so many people have lost their lives because of it.
All of this is my fault. I must make amends for what I’ve done. I hope that with my death, the soul within the Triforce will at last be satisfied, and the meaningless slaughter of innocent people will finally stop. Before I go, there is something I want you to know.
Words cannot convey the love I feel for you, but I’m going to try anyway. All my life, I’ve always been called a timid mouse. I was too scared to say the things I wanted to say, to do the things I wanted to do, to be the person I always wanted to be. I always hid, afraid to be noticed and judged by everyone around me. Every day was stressful and agonizing.
Then you came into my life. We met one fateful day, when we bumped into each other in the cafeteria. One thing lead to another, and the rest is history. I was so embarrassed about the whole thing. I remember standing there, trying to wipe the entirety of my lunch and my dessert off your jersey. You remember that day, don’t you?
Darren let out a quiet laugh. The memory came rushing back to him as though it happened yesterday. He remembered discussing football practice with one of his friends. When he had turned around, his lunch went flying, and a shy red-haired girl’s lunch splattered all over his face and jacket. He tumbled to the floor, cafeteria tray in tow, while the girl cried out in dismay. She spent the next several minutes apologizing profusely as she wiped her lunch off his jacket. When he peered into Alex’s eyes for the first time that day, a spark lit up in Darren’s heart, and it blossomed into love at first lunch.
I had a wonderful time together with you. You always let me practice my jokes on you, and even when they didn’t land, you were always supportive of me. When I brought up how I wanted to be a stand-up comedian, you got me in touch with the guidance counselor so I could enroll in drama and theater. I’ll never forget the look on Mr. Landon’s face when I said I wanted to get into comedy. Priceless!
You saw something in me that other people didn’t. Even when other people wanted to give up on me, you were always there, cheering me on and inspiring me to keep trying. You believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. Because of you, I found courage I never knew I had.
I want you to know how much I love you, Darren Brokovich. No matter what happens, I will always love you. I want you to be happy… even if that’s not with me. That’s why I want you to go on with your life. I want you to find another person who will care for you, and I want you to love and care for her as you loved me. Whatever you choose to do, know that I am always with you and that you have my blessing.
Goodbye, Darren Brokovich. Goodbye my love, my heart. I’m sorry for the way this had to end. I pray that you can find it within yourself to forgive me.
—Alexandra Leslie Donovan
On reading the final words of her letter, Darren broke down into hysterical sobs. He dropped the letter onto the floor, and cried out in anguish.
Wind howled through the abandoned building. Blades of dead grass swayed in the breeze. Shards of broken glass lined the entrance, scattered along the pavement. Atop the thick leafy crown of the palm trees surrounding the building, crows took flight.
Thick wisps of black fog wafted in the air. Blobs of a thick, viscous liquid pooled all over the bridges and pathways outside, shimmering with a vile magenta light. Inside the shattered husk of a building where people once roamed, pig-like creatures loomed over the bodies of its former occupants, hunched over and in the midst of a feeding frenzy.
Grunts and snarls echoed from the creatures as they briefly looked around, admiring the destruction they left in their wake. Now they claimed this place as part of their territory, having long driven away the humans who once worked and served here. In service to their dark master, the monsters stood vigil over the building’s remains, eager to drive away anything or anyone that encroached on the premises.
Footsteps echoed through the air, tearing the monsters away from their meal. They raised their hog snouts and sniffed the air. The scent of a human spurred them to action. Each of the creatures grabbed onto whatever makeshift weapons they could find and ventured outside.
Without warning, an arrow pierced the head of a monster. It squealed in agony before falling to the ground and vanishing into a cloud of dark smoke. The rest of the monsters looked around, in search who—or what—was responsible. A shadow loomed over them, and when they turned around, the figure of Link appeared out of nowhere and brandished a hammer.
One after another, the monsters fell. As their numbers thinned, the monsters squealed in terror and fled the building, horrified by the power this being possessed. Link stared at the broken marina, peering at the countless upturned and sunken boats once moored to the pier. Recognition filled his eyes.
Bokoblins? Here?
Dread gripped Link’s heart. He knew these ravenous beasts all too well, having fought more of them than he could care to count. Their presence meant only one thing—their dark master had awakened in this world, and that his power had gained enough of a foothold for his demons to manifest. Afraid for the people here, Link ventured inside the broken building.
The shattered remains of a visitor lobby greeted Link’s eyes. Inside, he stared down at a broken sign that once hung from the ceiling. Knowledge not his own came to the surface as he read the alien words written on the sign: “Ernest C. Coe Visitor Center, Everglades National Park”.
Link lifted his gaze, where he spotted the bodies of several people lying among the ruins of the building. Their expressions remained frozen in terror, defenseless against the otherworldly demons that laid siege to this place. Sadness filled his heart as he approached one of the bodies.
He lifted hat from his head, and allowed the long strands of his hair to flow down his back. Closing his eyes, Link held his hat against his heart. He offered a silent prayer to the innocent souls that fell here. Deciding that he could not leave them to rot in this ruined place, Link walked outside, where he spotted a small plot of dirt, untouched by the tropical bushes and plants that littered the area.
Light snaked down his hand. A shovel manifested in his hand. For hours, Link dug into the soil, wiping away the sweat from his brow. Morning turned to day, and just as twilight fell on the ruined park center, Link at last completed several holes. One after another, he pulled the bodies out of the rubble, and buried them outside, stopping only to pilfer what food and drink still remained from the former gift shop nearby. He reached into his leftmost pouch, and left a small pile of rupees behind, hoping that whoever stumbled on this place would accept the money as apology.
When the final body at last rested beneath the earth, Link planted his shovel into the ground. Light surrounded the shovel, and seconds later, it vanished into thin air, the energy that once composed it weaving back into his fingers. Link searched around the marina and the surrounding area, and grabbed several rocks. He then planted the rocks at the head of each grave, hoping that someone out there would find this place and realize what had happened.
His task now complete, Link stepped out of the visitor center one last time. He surveyed the concrete road, and the strange abandoned vehicles that littered the parking lot. Turning to his left, he spotted a road, where he spotted city into the distance. He then stepped out onto the road, determined to find the one ultimately responsible for the tragedy that befell this place, and put an end to their reign of terror once and for all.
As he began to follow the road to places unknown, one name left his mouth:
“Ganondorf…”