Talk to Bernice You never got to know Orson beyond mere acquaintances, so you’ll need someone who can provide you with details. Bernice, Orson’s partner, is the best place to begin. She undoubtedly knows the most about Orson and can hopefully provide some motive as to why someone would want to kill him. After asking around camp, you find Bernice sitting alone on the ground next to her and Orson’s trailer. Her back leans against the vehicle but her head is slumped forward. "Bernice?" you ask. She doesn’t respond. You kneel down next to her and ask again, "Bernice?" "What?..." Bernice’s quiet voice says. She turns her eyes to you. They are puffy. "How are you holding up?" you ask, putting a hand on her shoulder. "How am I holding up? Who are you!?" she snaps. "I’m John. I was picked up a few weeks back..." "Oh right, you came with Abbey. I don’t see you around that often…" she halfheartedly explains. "No, don’t worry, it’s fine. I just wanted to see how you were doing and maybe ask you a few questions about Orson." "Why?" she asks. "Because we’re going to find out who did this to him, Bernice." "Why?" she asks. "Why?..." "Yes John, why? What’s the point? Does it even matter anymore? What are you going to do, have a trial? A jury? Are you going to lock him up in the backseat of a car for life? It’s ridiculous." Bernice’s tone surprises you. You would have thought that if anyone would want to find out who is responsible for this, it would be her. "I’m sorry," you say to her, "I was just trying to help." You get up to leave when she grabs your hand. "No… no, please. Sit down. It’s just… this all just happened. I’ll try to answer your questions," Bernice says, trying to reason with herself. For the next thirty minutes you uncomfortably bombard Bernice with questions about Orson. Like many others, including Bernice, Orson believed the zombie threat would eventually be dealt with and life would return to normal. Even after they escaped the refugee camps of New Hilstead after The Fall, Orson thought someone or something would intervene to set the world right. Orson was always the optimist. Since arriving in Holcomb’s camp, Bernice could swear his attitude on life never changed. He remained happy and upbeat. Orson truly loved Bernice, but they never married. For one reason or another, they never got around to it. After The Fall, it wasn’t really an option. Bernice explains that after the last camp migration, Orson just disappeared. Bernice woke up the next morning to find Orson was gone, which was quite uncommon because he was always there to wake her. She spent the day asking around to see if anyone had seen him. Bernice never expected that he would be dead. "I answered all of your questions," Bernice says to you, "Now please, let me be alone." |