The Hunger

Grim Tales: The Hunger is the fifteenth installment in the Grim Tales series by Elephant Games.

Jackie Gray has been murdered. Her death might be connected to an unsolved crime 17 years ago. Jackie's father Alexander turns to Anna for help. Can Aunt Gray save her favourite niece this time, or will she be a victim of a mysterious serial killer?

Plot
"Dear Anna, I'm writing to you with a heavy heart. Our family is in trouble. Your niece Jackie was murdered, and you are the only one who can catch the killer. I'll be waiting for you at the police department. Please help us. Alexander" After receiving Alexander's letter, Anna goes to the police station. Alexander thinks Jackie's murder is connected to a case that he and his partner, Chris Lewis, couldn't solve 17 years ago. Back then, 17 girls were murdered and their hair seemed to turn gray for no clear reason; the real killer was never caught. He asks Anna to use her ability to find out the truth.

Using the case file in the archive, Anna goes back to the crime scene of the final murder 17 years ago. She searches the snack bar where the victim, Deborah, worked; she learns that Chris, Alexander's partner, was so interested in Deborah that he kept following her. Several colleagues, including Alexander, started to suspect him. Anna decides to go to Chris's house for further investigation. She searches his house and finds a bloody blouse; someone tried to frame him so he had to hide it from everyone, including Alexander. Chris later quit his job and disappeared. Anna is about to go back to the present when a spirit of man in a hat appears. He threatens her before pushing her out of the memory.

Since this new evidence indicates that Chris was not the killer, Alexander suggests that Anna go to Chris's new house to interview him; Alexander has tried repeatedly to contact his former partner, but Chris never responds. Anna goes to the house and meets Chris, who is extremely ill, and as a result of the illness his memory is faulty. He is able to tell her that when he started his investigation, he managed to follow the killer's trail; when the killer realized that Chris was onto him, he planted the bloody blouse in Chris's home to try and frame him. Anna reads Chris's diary and learns that he suspected supernatural forces were involved in the murders. A curse causes the souls of 17 girls to be consumed every 17 years. This investigation led him to a roadside motel, but the diary offers no further clues. Using a photo of the motel, Anna is able to travel into Chris's memories.

At the motel, Anna learns that Chris found a special gold coin at the crime scene, which led him to the excavations during the gold rush in the 19th century. Alexander also followed Chris here. He found a gold watch with the engraving 'Martin Velcoro' at one of the crime scenes, but he couldn't find any information about this man - as if he didn't exist. Alexander wanted to show Chris the clue. Before Anna can do anything with this new information, Martin Velcoro appears. He pushes Anna out of the motel memory and stabs Alexander, killing him.

Now faced with the need to save Alexander as well as Jackie, Anna decides to go back to the first crime scene to prevent all the deaths. The first murder took place at a Mardi Gras celebration, where Martin lured a girl to his house and killed her. Anna travels to the festival before the murder takes place, then goes to Martin's house and learns about an artifact he uncovered during the excavations. The sphere of eternal life gives him immortality, but every 17 years, he must turn into a dark spirit and consume the souls of young women for 17 consecutive days. Anna puts together a potion with which to destroy the sphere; this kills Martin and prevents all of the murders. In the present day, Jackie is alive and well, and Alexander and Chris are still working together.

Bonus Chapter
Alexander returns home to find his house ransacked and his pregnant wife Natalya missing. Lily, the local fortune teller, comes to see him with some information. Natalya was having nightmares about miscarriage, so she asked Lily to tell her of her children's futures. Lily saw that Natalya would have twins - a daughter who was kind and pure, but also a son who would have dark magical powers. She was so disturbed by the vision that she didn't tell Natalya what she saw - but Lily's husband Russell found out about it. It was Russell who kidnapped Natalya, because he wants the boy's dark power for himself.

Alexander is able to use Lily's information to go to where Russell has Natalya imprisoned. He frees her, but before they can escape, Russell appears. He fights with Alexander, who defeats him. The game then skips ahead to after Natalya has given birth. Baby Jackie remains with her parents, but Jackie's twin brother Jared is seen being left on the doorstep of an unknown woman. Why he is left is not explained.

Characters

 * Anna Gray: a private detective and Jackie's aunt who has time travel ability.
 * Alexander Gray: a state police and Jackie's father. He asks Anna to help him find his daughter's killer.
 * Jackie Gray: Alexander's daughter and Anna's niece. She was murdered by a serial killer.
 * Richard Gray: Anna's 'skull' father and helping hands.
 * Chris Lewis: Alexander's former partner. He left the job 17 years ago and disappeared.
 * Martin Velcoro: a dark spirit who was cursed to consume young girls' souls to survive every 17 years.
 * Deborah: the seventeenth and the last victim of a serial killer 17 years ago.
 * Hannah: The first and foremost victim of a serial killer.
 * Mrs. Brown: an officer in the police station who works as Alexander's replacement.
 * Natalya Gray (bonus chapter): Alexander's wife. She's currently pregnant with twins.
 * Lily (bonus chapter): a local fortune teller who foresees the fate of Natalya's unborn children.
 * Russell (bonus chapter): Lily's husband who's keen on dark magic.
 * Jared Gray (bonus chapter): Jackie's twin brother who is destined to possess rare powers.

Trivia

 * Natalya's name was spelled as 'Natalia' in Threads of Destiny.
 * Jackie is repeatedly stated to be Anna's niece, but it's never stated whether Alexander is Anna's brother.