Part 6: Here's Why Everyone's Dead
The winner today is the gas station, over back by where we started.
...but first, the solutions to last update's puzzles. This one was correctly solved by Toffile - and he even saved me the work of making a solution pic. Thanks for the helpful contribution!
Crunch. I like to think this is actually our character's bat form. Too bad we can't use mist form to get past locked doors.
This is my solution for the other puzzle we encountered. With that settled, let's head back to the beginning.
As you approach the gas station, you can see the rockslide that's been mentioned several times already. It's apparently only been there for a few days, but it's already ruined not one but two people's vacation plans. Maybe they've got a good thing going with this museum/desert town thing.
There's a gas pump sitting to the right of the door, and it looks like we can interact with it, but we don't have the right item yet.
I actually really like the music for this game when it is not being presented as a music video with terrible clue lyrics.
That being said, that's probably the only good thing about this gas station. Let's take a closer look.
Before venturing into the room further, we turn around and see this building's museum exhibit next to the door we just came through.
Well, that settles the question of, "Why is everyone in this town missing and/or dead?" They are Very Smart People.
"...emergency... uh... call 911. We don't have a tow truck."
While we're being creeped out by some poor schmuck's defiled remains, the paper crusader gives us another ring. The answering machine message seems to verify Wendy's suspicions that Richard is about as sharp as a bowling ball.
From: Sierra
To: Players
Fuck you.
Moving on, there looks to be something to the left of the couch.
That little hourglass symbol is one of the symbols we saw on the bahos altar, so you can bet this is a puzzle that leads us to that bahos.
If the clue itself weren't obvious enough, you find this
in the drawer below:
So we'll have to track down four chess pieces to make any progress on this one.
To the left of that....
TV.
Gum. (Ew.)
Uh...yeah.
Movin' on!
...On the one hand, the videos no longer hypnotize us. On the other, I just had the urge to go slip on a black hoodie and break curfew for a Tool concert. I'm not sure this is an improvement.
From our position near the TV, we can also get behind the desk. There's a lot back there, but let's start with "people being dicks."
"...You tell that boss of yours that I'm reporting him to the police! He thinks his hands are clean, hiding out in his market all the time, but I know he's behind it. You better tell the truth, or you'll go to jail too!"
Sounds like "Stewy" has more to worry about than his ladyfriends.
"...sticks me with twice the work... ha, ha, gum, stick -- get it? He'd never let me go up there anyway cause he says it's cursed. I don't blame William for leaving. I hate it here too. Gotta go..."
If I had family that made jokes like that, I'd run away, too.
"...Olivia? We can't leave till we find her. If I were you, I'd hurry up and get that black car of yours fixed before it's too late for you, too..."
Since Richard is even more of a Very Smart Person than the rest of these people, I'm sure he can decide on his own when it's time to leave.
"...gone, you get to run the gas station. Who would have suspected that you, a kid from Cyclone, would be responsible for a town's death? You know where sinners go? Well, it's not good enough for you!"
Yes, color me surprised that a kid from this hellhole of a town would want it wiped off the map. I can't imagine why.
That's it for the messages here.
The grease stains on the phone are a nice touch. As Lore of Serpents suggested, it's possible for us to call the satellite TV company, so let's give it a try.
It's time to leave another long recording of heavy breathing like any reasonable goon would. I'm sure the folks at the TV company will appreciate that.
I'm not sure why the church has a movie poster, nor why a supposedly functional adult would tape his 7th grade notebook drawings on top of it. I do recognize the girl in the poster, though. Now we can put a name to the face.
The top drawer seems stuck, so we'll have to figure out some way to open it. At least a stuck drawer is better than an empty one.
The calendar in the bottom drawer helps us pinpoint a rough timeline of things. If you compare it to the calendar found in our suitcase at the beginning, we're here roughly a week after the landslide.
That's it for what's behind the desk, so let's take a look at the garage area.
That sure is an engine on chains. Classy.
Turning to the left, we find a knob of some sort.
We can tilt it both ways, but it just resets itself to the center again and doesn't seem to do anything besides make a nails-on-chalkboard creaking noise.
There's a tank of some sort straight across from it that I'm guessing has something to do with it.
Flipping the switch on the right turns it on and it starts making a humming noise.
Once it's on, the dial on the left moves the arrow. Turning it clockwise moves the arrow up by 30, and counterclockwise moves it down by 20. If it gets up to the red zone, it resets itself and turns off.
I try getting it to exactly 260 and then fiddling with the knob from before, but nothing happens.
Moving farther into the garage, there's ... actually, I don't even know what that is. It looks kind of like robot legs. Clearly, Richard was secretly building Robocop. Everybody thinks he's slow, but that's just a facade.
I wonder who's car that is?
The rest of the garage is this building's "look but don't touch" area, so that's pretty much it for the gas station.
I fiddle with this a bit more, but still can't make it work. Maybe you folks can help me out.
I guess we'll just have to come back later.
Puzzles: None, unless you count the pressure gauge thing.
Notes:
Can't get anything from the vending machine.
"Check under the windowsill"
We might be able to find quarters at Phil's store.
The literal key to "the truth" is under Burt's trailer.
Who is Darkcloud?
Find something to use on the candle.
"Offer her a flower"
We have some kind of triangle code thing.
Find something to use on the gas pump.
Find four chess pieces.
Figure out what to do with the pressure gauge at the gas station.
Voting:
Momma said to choose the very best one.
Location list:
Bakery
Barber Shop
Burt's Trailer
Cemetery
Community Church
Max's Cave
Mine Entrance
Museum/Library
Phil's Market
Savings & Loan
Warehouse