In the fourth episode of Fears to Fathom, you play as Jack Nelson, a 24-year-old fire lookout who transferred to a new outpost. As he settled into his new home, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, little did he know what was transpiring down in Ironbark State Park.[1]
Plot
May 12, 2002
In 2002, 24-year-old Jack Nelson is hired as a summertime fire lookout in Ironbark State Park. He is assigned to Tower 11 and heads there in his RV while texting his sister Kayla. She suggests he eats at a diner in the small town of Roseburg, which he does upon arrival. He learns of several mysterious disappearances from town locals - including from his waitress, Barbara - that occurred within the state park and is advised to be very careful. He departs for Ironbark in his RV immediately afterwards.
Jack reaches the park at 8:02 PM and meets Billy, the park ranger, who had confused Jack with 'one of them.' He informs Billy he was hired to work for the park and is then handed the keys to Tower 11. Before saying goodbye, Billy warns him not to go too far north. Jack arrives at his tower at 11:32 PM. Once he gets inside, he gains access to the computer then watching Employee Training video and flash drive media for another video before being interrupted by the radio on his desk. A man greets Jack, calling him 'New Guy', and introduces himself as Connor Hawkins, the fire lookout in Tower 12. Connor suggests that Jack start a fire in the wood stove to keep himself warm for the night. After doing so Connor confirms that smoke is emanating from Jack's chimney, then Jack plays Plague before heading to bed.
On 3:26 AM, Jack wakes up only to find the radio still online. Then he calls Connor via radio before he has to pee. He pees over the tower railing because he cannot make it to the portable toilet. After he pees, he uses binoculars and see someone patrolling near Tower 11. After he sees the person, he goes back to sleep.
May 13, 2002
On the evening of Day 2, Jack is standing on the outside of his lookout, sipping coffee and enjoying the view. He takes some photos then goes back inside. The radio blares and Connor informs Jack of illegal campfire smoke in the north of Tower 11. Because it's nearest to his location, Jack must go and put it out, but he hears the scream of an adult male while heading there on the trail. Upon arrival, Jack discovers a tent, along with several other items including a radio, machete, grill, jerrycan, and lantern. Calling out into the woods results in no response, and Jack's paranoia begins to increase. Upon returning to his tower at 9:07 PM, he is unable to calm his paranoia. Jack reports the abandoned campsite and scream to Connor, who initially attributes it to a red fox until Jack informs him that it was the scream of a male. Connor mentions the rumors of a possible creature(s) in the woods along with the disappearances but reassures him that the rumors are false. Jack completes his tasks and gets a photo from his sister, which contains a casserole recipe. Jack makes the casserole, eats half of it, lights the wood stove, closes the window boards, and then heads to bed.
May 14, 2002
Jack wakes up suddenly at 2:27 AM. A shadow is visible on the wall, and someone can be seen through the window, but when Jack rises and looks outside, the figure moves out of sight. Jack opens the door to find an animal skull and candles with ominous symbols. Jack radios Connor, who is displeased about being awoken and dismisses the skull and candles as kids playing pranks. Jack, with a sense of unease and his door locked shut, heads to bed cautiously. Waking up the next day, Jack cannot discern if the night before was a dream, and suspects something more sinister is slowly unfolding day by day.
Upon seeing a flare being shot into the sky from the woods, Jack returns to his radio and connects with a lost hiker. The hiker frantically asks for Jack's help, to which Jack then views the park map and attempts to direct the hiker to his vehicle. The hiker initially expresses relief after hearing whistling and spotting someone behind some nearby trees, believing to have found Jack, but Jack denies that is him. Before the hiker can respond, Jack hears a knock at his door and the radio connection cuts. Jack opens the door to Billy, who came up to his tower to drop off supplies. Jack reheats the casserole from the previous night, eats it, completes his remaining tasks, then goes downstairs to get more firewood. However, his return is interrupted by a man named Silas who claims he was doing routine maintenance on the nearby radio tower. Silas speaks with ominous word usage and tone, telling Jack that, "Curiosity can lead to places where you would rather not go," before departing. After Jack goes back into his tower, he is called again by Connor, who asks what took him so long, before Jack tells him about Silas. Confused, Connor inquires further, revealing that Silas isn't a park staff member. This is confirmed when Connor informs Jack that the radio tower Silas claimed to be working on had been out of service for years. Jack then goes to bed.
May 16, 2002
Two nights later at 9:18 PM during a heavy storm, Connor tells Jack that the computers have gotten a system update. Jack updates the computer, which completed in time before the power cutting out. After starting the generator up again, Jack uses the port-a-potty, then goes back inside the tower.
May 23, 2002
A week later, Jack is woken up in the night by Connor who informs him of more campfire smoke he needs to investigate. Zooming in using binoculars, it is revealed to be cult members standing around a burning altar. Jack takes a photo of the cult for evidence, but his camera flash alerts them to his position. Jack gasps and sees one of the cult members quickly sprinting towards his tower, so he runs inside and hides under the bed. After the cult member leaves, Jack makes a run downstairs, but is once again spotted and pursued by the cultist. Jack hides in the port-a-potty and waits for the cult member to leave, then runs to the park entrance. He exits the park, only to look back to see the cultist pursuing him and sprinting quickly. Jack then makes it to his RV just in time to floor it in order to drive to the nearest ranger cabin to spend the rest of the night there.
Jack informs HQ of the incident, however his manager, Mitch Scott, dismisses these feelings and attributes them to Jack's loneliness. Authorities ran an investigation of the area the following morning, yet claimed to have not found any signs of misconduct. Despite having obtained photographic evidence and telling his family about the incident, nobody believes the cult to be real and dismisses Jack's story. In the end, Jack vows never to set foot in Ironbark State Park ever again and warns anyone who plans to go camping to be safe.
Near the beginning of the game, Silas can be seen at the Twin River diner with a suspicious-looking cloth (which actually his cultist cloak) and a shovel right next to him. You can't interact with him, and he leaves while you are eating so you can't do anything with him besides watch him. When going to your RV Silas will not be in the restaurant and the bathroom door will be locked implying he is hiding inside. Later in the game, when you talk with Billy, you can see him in the back window walking past (which confirmed via. modding the game) and moved about with his flashlight on. If you try to take a look at him during the latter, he will leave before you can take a good look at him.
After you exit the port-a-potty, if you wait for the cultist to go inside of the shack, you can take a secret route near the shack that will take you to the same place the normal path would take you.
If you choose to take the route that leads to the campsite, you will be ambushed by the rest of the cult and you will be killed.
Miscellaneous
The game is rated an 8.4/10 on IGN.
There are actually 3 paths you can take at the end of the game:
The normal path,
A path near the shack that leads to the same place as the normal path
The path to the campsite which leads to you getting ambushed by the entire cult.
Silas cannot be the white robed cultist because we see him with a black cultist robe inside of the Twin Rivers Diner.
When the Ironbark Cult is stalking their victims, they whistle to either alert the other cultists or to lure their victim to them.
There are 5 important areas in the Ironbark State Park;
