Welcome to the DUG Community Spotlight

This will be home to some of the best content members of the DUG community create. Community spotlight content will be our favorite new content on our Community Subreddit, so get out and start creating!

Community Story

This community spotlight is a story titled “The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth…” By Justin Monroe of The Overlook. It can be viewed by members here or enjoyed by all below! For our newer players, be sure to join our Discord Follow us on Twitter and Apply to our Whitelist  so you can keep up to date with all the happenings regarding our server and community.

The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth…

Justin, sitting down against a tree in the middle of the forest, picks up the Field Transceiver he borrowed from a good friend. After a click of the dial and a deep sigh, he presses down on the transmission button and begins to speak over 89.5 FM:

“Hello Chernarus. This is Justin Monroe, of the Overlook. Some of you may know me, many of you probably don’t. But believe me when I tell you, the story I’m about to tell affects all of you. And it is long overdue…”

It all started when Samaritan died…

We didn’t even know he was killed until a couple of days after it happened. Everlike was on a run, I believe somewhere out West, when he was ambushed by DAMN. They showed him an ear, and a piece of human meat, and told him it was the Samaritan. Everlike knew Samaritan for so long, he was positive that it was in fact his body parts… Our leader was dead…

Later that day, after learning the news from Everlike, we had some strange visitors show up in Staroye. Two men, dressed in white, named Ben and Miles. They were a bit odd, they spoke about another friend named Shepard, but weren’t sure where he was, and weren’t being very clear about him… that’s when we noticed another man sitting on top of the car outside the brick PA building, across from the well. He was dressed in mostly black, sitting in a weird position, completely still and silent, and would not answer us. We asked Ben and Miles if this was their friend, and they said they “weren’t sure”. We checked the town because we were all feeling a bit suspicious, but we didn’t find anything. After a few minutes that felt like hours, the man on the car finally stands up, and we can now see that he is wearing priest robes. He says nothing, but just points and stares at the Medical clinic. As we look back and forth between the man in robes and the clinic, suddenly another man opens the clinic door and walks out, wearing a black robe and a bag over his head. Then he stops and points back at the first man. They both then walk towards each other, then away, then turn, all in complete unison. It was like a choreographed dance, almost like a ritual of some kind. Charlie from TW showed up in the middle of it, just as confused as we were. Ben and Miles still couldn’t confirm whether or not they knew these people, but were still hovering around, talking about “religion”. Time now seemed to be speeding up, I was unable to process what was happening fast enough, and only more questions were flooding my mind, with no answers in sight. Things were getting very tense, very quickly.

The men in robes walked over to the Church, where they sat inside and prayed to “Papa”. They said his children would rain suffering upon our town. They somehow picked up a black Robe off of a dead zombie priest. Then before they left, they spoke of the Samaritan’s death, and said they could bring him back. That part stuck with Calista for a long time…

After a while, everyone took Samaritan’s death really hard. People started leaving one by one, until eventually I was the only Provider left. I did not ask to lead the Overlook, but the responsibility was thrown onto me. Everyone left to deal with their grief, meanwhile I had to bury mine deep inside. I tried my best to keep things going. The days blended into weeks, then months. But I kept growing tomatoes, feeding freshies, and doing what I could to keep the vision of the Overlook alive.

I was alone to deal with the Cult coming back to Staroye many times, questioning and threatening me, in their search for Calista. I was alone when TW came by to harass me daily, to press me and threaten me to try to get me to join them. I was alone when I would sit in the piano building, crying tears of anger and sadness, wondering how it came to all of this… I was all alone….

One day, a man named Slim came by the Overlook. He was friendly enough: we chatted, he ate some food, and went on his way…. a couple weeks after that, he came by again. It was getting dark, and I just grew some tomatoes, so he helped me gather some wood and we built a fire. We cooked food, ate, and chatted around the fire. Then eventually he told me his true reason for his visit. He was looking for Calista…

In the couple weeks since we first met, Slim was running in the woods alone, somewhere North of Guglovo, when suddenly a man in a black robe jumped out from a tree. This man held Slim up and threatened him, and told him must deliver a message to Calista of the Overlook, and to never deliver the message to anybody else. If he failed to deliver the message or told anyone else, they said they would kill him…. Slim had no idea who these men were, and after putting the obvious pieces together, I told him that it was most likely the Cult. After only a few minutes passed, we see the silhouette of two men appear through the shadows and into the light of the fire, both wearing black Robes…Speak of the Devil…

They asked if Slim delivered the message, but he obviously did not since Calista wasn’t there. They thought maybe he told me the message, and held a hatchet to his throat about to kill him. I told them that he didn’t tell me the actual message, and I begged them not to kill him. They finally put the hatchet down, saying that he was still useful to them, and that he still needed to deliver the message… As far as I know, Slim never delivered that message, and I never saw him again…

Evidence of the Cult was still all over. We would find their books placed in the church every other day. They even left a note once for Calista. It seemed they would not give up. But then one day, they just stopped coming around. Then the last storm came, and with it, new signs of hope. Calista, Alexander, and Everlike were back around. Novak was a new Provider that I met before that Storm; he seemed a bit strange at first, but truly seemed to care for the Overlook, and his talk of “Mother” resonated with me. Alexi and Barnaby joined us with plans to help rebuild the barn. Nathan returned after some time away. Things finally seemed like they would get better. After-all, Growth Is Hope.

Then, that horrible night…

Calista and I were at the barn, growing some crops. Two men came inside, they said their names were “Ben” and “Fucking Jack”. They seemed odd, but we didn’t think much of it. They asked some questions, ate some food, then left. Maybe 15 minutes later, they came back with a man named “Miles”. Now things went from strange, to terrifying. I recognized those names, and before I could even complete my thought, they dropped a bag on the ground containing a cult book, a DAMN trading card, Samaritan’s white hard hat, and a note:

“This foul soil will no longer feed the weak. Samaritan is with us. Abandon hope. No more worlds like this. HAIL PAPA”

Then they asked Calista to come with her out West, and said it was important; and to my surprise she was actually willing to go. She said she didn’t believe they had any power at all, and was willing to go with them to prove them wrong. She was always stubborn as hell, but this was just crazy. I was afraid of what might happen if they took her alone, so I had no other choice but to go with her to try to keep her safe. Before we knew it, it was dark and we were arriving at the Witch Circle in the West. They said they were ready to bring back Samaritan and they just needed a Vessel… they just needed me…

They grabbed me, and tried to force me into the circle. They said this was what Calista had wanted all along, and when I looked at her, she just stared at me with a blank stare. Was this all a set up? How could she do this? Stab me in the back, and sacrifice me to the Cult in an attempt to bring back Samaritan? As my mind and heart were racing frantically, Calista finally stood in front of me, and volunteered herself to go into the circle. I tried to convince her not to, that this was all insane. She said she didn’t even believe them, and she wanted to prove a point that this was all an act, just a scam. But I think she really did believe them, and she wanted them to bring Samaritan back somehow… I tried to step in so they could take me instead, but they Cultists just called me a coward, and they were right… Calista said it was her mess, and she needed to clean it up. I tried to convince her to just walk away with me, but she refused to leave the circle. I tried to just get us both out of there, but she screamed at me to leave. She seemed possessed. So, I made the biggest regret of my life, and I left… I left her there in the circle, with the Cult… I was escorted away by a Cultist, and 2 minutes later I heard her scream so loud, I can still hear echo in my mind to this day. I sprinted back towards the circle, but the Cultists were all gone and Calista was alone, and was badly injured. I ran up to her and threw her arm over my shoulder, and we got the hell out of there….

She told me that they beat her with her own sledgehammer, and injected her with something. They told her it was Samaritan’s spirit, but she was convinced it was just Saline. She said when she was beaten, she saw only darkness…

We made our way back to the barn, and she seemed alright, so we decided to get some rest. But first she made me swear to never tell anyone what happened. I told her I couldn’t keep a secret like this, but she told me not to betray her trust. I felt like I already betrayed her by leaving her alone at the circle, so I kept our secret, and told nobody, not even the other Providers…

Over the next few months, Calista would come and go, mainly acting normal, but occasionally I would notice something would be off. Now she was never one to bite her tongue, but her temper was even shorter than usual. Before that last storm, she even shot one of our new Overlook Providers in the face. His name was Law. He wasn’t even with us that long, but she just snapped and shot him. She said he had disrespected the Overlook armband, and that was a disrespect to the Samaritan. Over time, her change in attitude was only getting worse.

A few months ago, the Bridge came by to interview us, asking about our time in Staroye, our move to the barn, and about some of our struggles, including with the Cult. I told them what I knew, but obviously didn’t mention that night at the witches circle. They wanted to speak with Calista, as her name had come up when they were asking around about the Cult, but they were never able to get a hold of her. They asked me to mention to her that they wanted to meet. When I saw her next and told her, she yelled at me that it’s none of their business, and told me to mind my own business and keep my mouth shut….

A couple weeks later, Calista stormed out of the barn one night saying how she wanted to destroy one of Tulga’s leather shelters and their outpost, not out of anger, but because she wanted leather pants. I pleaded with her not to, but she just ignored me and walked out… the next day, I run into her at the barn and she’s wearing leather pants. I asked her where she got them, and she casually admitted to destroying the shelters and stealing the leather, and that she didn’t feel bad about it. Then she told me not to tell anyone about it….

I told her that was enough already, and that I can’t just keep all these secrets about her, and that she needs to get her shit together. She countered by throwing back in my face that I didn’t step into the circle, and that she stepped in, so that I have no right to tell her what to do… so what else could I do but keep her secret, again. I looked into her eyes, and saw nothing but cold, darkness looking back at me… and that was the last time I ever saw her…

Maybe she’s right, maybe I should have just stepped in the circle myself… I should have protected her one way or the other. And now she’s gone… she left us a note, saying that she left the Overlook to join the Cult.

I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping her secret, and I’ve put others’ lives at risk in the process. I thought by telling people I would betray her trust, but instead I betrayed the trust of everyone else that I care about, the very people who counted on me. I didn’t even tell my own people for months, and by the time I did, there were other victims all over the land that the Cult had abducted and tortured. And I am so sorry. Everyone, please take this warning seriously: the Cult is still out there, and they will stop at nothing to destroy us all. They feed on pain and suffering, and are defeated only by Hope. We must work together to defeat them. It’s time to finally make things right. I have carried the heavy weight of this burden for 6 months, and it’s time to move forward. Now I can only hope that the truth, will set me free…”

Words from Justin

Would you cite any other community members writing/work as an inspiration of yours?

I wouldn’t point out any one person as inspiration for my writing, because the whole DUG community is full of so many creative and talented content creators. I’ve mostly been creating video content showcasing my time on the server, but after seeing so many incredible written posts, I wanted to give it a shot myself. I’m still finding my writing style, I want the material to be engaging but with a flow that reads easily. I hope to keep building on my writing skills to match the high caliber stories that the rest of the community puts out.

Are there any others that helped with the writing process, proofreading, giving feedback on grammar/word choice etc that you would like to acknowledge?

Nobody helped with the writing itself, but I would like to say a huge thank you to Calista for really being the focal point of this story. It was a slow burn, but we kept the flame alive for a long time. We kept this secret from our group IC the entire time, with only a few even knowing OOC. This whole story has been emotionally taxing but also very fulfilling to be a part of.

Is there anything you would like to say to the DUG community as a whole?

It’s really hard to pinpoint when the actual start of this whole series of events began (my first time experiencing any Cult related activity was in Fall 2020), but this specific night at the circle happened in November 2021, so this story was a long time in the making; it’s led to so many in game situations/interactions between so many groups and individuals, and still has yet to be concluded. None of this was ever planned or forced, and it’s created what I think is an amazing organic experience that sums up just how amazing and unique this server is.

The End

We hope you enjoyed reading this story by Justin Submitted to our subreddit, here’s to more excellent content from them! Be sure to keep an eye out for more from our community as we shine this spotlight on our favorites in weeks to come! Until next time…