[b]Apartment Complex[/b] [b]Lost Haven, Maine[/b] [b]2 Months Ago[/b] Tiny cracks all over the walls...the voices of others from above the aged ceiling and below the creaky floor...the occasional tinging of pipes within the walls.... Yup. This was life in the city--and Charlotte was gonna have to get used to it. And it wasn't even the decent part of the city, either; it was some slum on the outskirts of town. This crappy little hole in the middle of nowhere was, unfortunately, the best place Charlotte could afford. Being a high-school graduate with no college education and no parents to provide financial support would do that to a person. At the very least, she still had [i]some[/i] of her inheritance from her late father, and with it she could keep a roof over her head, even if said roof was barely holding itself together. So she had money for the apartment...but not much else. She could either keep the roof over her head for a week and be able to buy food, or she could pay for the rest of the month and try and find food...well, by other means. She shuddered at the thought of what "other means" entailed. Her father had always told her never to steal, and for all her life she'd followed that rule. And that was a rule she'd continue to follow, even if it meant only having a house over her head for one week. Charlotte stared out of the one window in her apartment room, gazing at the gloomy slums outside. But what she'd have to do after that one week was up.... Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden buzzing of the phone nearby. Good thing, too; she hated pondering the darker things in life. She hopped up from the seat by the window and headed over to the phone, picking it up once she reached it. [color=orange]"Hello?"[/color] she asked, looking back at the grayness beyond the window. "Hey, honey! It's Felicia," came a warm, familiar voice from the other end of the phone. [color=orange]"Oh, hey!"[/color] said Charlotte, her lips starting to form a faint smile. [color=orange]"How are things back in Kussatawnee?"[/color] "Everything's good back here," Felicia said. "I gotta say, with the Karks dead and gone, things are pretty easy going for us officers. Whoever took 'em out did the town quite a lot of favors, especially for the police force." [color=orange]"Yeah...they sure did...."[/color] Charlotte trailed off, a bit unnerved by the memory of the Karks being killed...the memory of [i]her[/i] killing them.... "And oh, how brutal it was, too!" continued Felicia, obviously unaware of Charlotte's lack of comfort on the subject. "I don't know what kind of glass they used to shank 'em with, but they really were effect-" [color=orange]"Okay, I get it!"[/color] Charlotte snapped, not wanting to be reminded of her handiwork. How exactly had Felicia not realized just what that "glass" was? She'd told her about her "ability" a long time ago, and while Felicia had kept that fact secret, she should have been able to recognize what those fragments at the crime scene really were. "Oh, I'm sorry honey, I forgot that you're still trying to get over the whole ordeal. I promise I won't bring it up again, okay?" Felicia apologized. "Yeah, just...let's just leave it in the past," Charlotte replied, still trying to block the memories from her head. And so the two of them talked. Felicia asked how Charlotte's first few days in the city had gone, and Charlotte told her. Charlotte asked a few questions in turn, about the town, the other officers, Felicia's two children and their schoolwork, and so on. Eventually, Felicia had to leave, and so the call ended. But for that brief time, during that one casual chat over the phone, Charlotte felt a sense of peace that she hadn't felt in a long time. Perhaps--just perhaps--life in Lost Haven would bring back that peace. So long as she didn't run out of food first. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [b]Slums[/b] [b]Lost Haven, Maine[/b] [b]6 Weeks Ago[/b] She ran out of food first. Well, first, she'd run out of [i]money[/i] for food. Charlotte still had one payment saved for the apartment, so there was that; but having an apartment to stay in wouldn't matter if she didn't have food. And what would you know, she ran out of food just three days after she ran out of money. Things weren't looking on the up-and-up. So she'd been reduced to the two basic options that most human beings have: get food, or die of starvation. But the only way to get food would be to steal it from somewhere.... As she walked down the street, Charlotte shook her head. She'd already thought this through, and made her decision; there was no turning back now, because turning back meant death. Up ahead was a small gas station. There were probably some snack foods in there that she could take home with her. Hey, if she was gonna steal something, it might as well be tasty. Stepping inside, she met the careless glance of a middle-aged man with quite the mustachio'd face. She took care to keep her head hidden underneath the hoodie she had on, just so the station worker wouldn't remember the face of his thief. He went back to looking at something on his cell phone; Charlotte figured years of working in a store of any kind would lead to that kind of boredom. Over to her left, she saw small packs of food: Pop-Tarts, Pringles, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, and so on. She began to browse amongst them to see which ones would best suit her tastes. Behind her, she heard the door open as a third person entered the building. Placing two bags of Jelly Beans in her left pocket, she scowled; she didn't need any witnesses around. [i]Witnesses? You're already thinking like a criminal,[/i] Charlotte thought. It was strange; the voice felt more akin to that of her dad than her own regular thoughts. Maybe it was the ghost of her father trying to disguise itself as her conscience, or some other crap like that. If it were a cricket, she hoped it would show itself soon so she could step on it. Suddenly, she heard a swift noise of motion over by the counter. Her eyes were involuntarily drawn to the sound, and when they glanced back at the counter she saw that the third person in the room had just pulled a gun on the man at the counter. "Be quiet and give me all the cash in that register! Don't make me pull the trigger!" said the man, his hands on the gun trembling slightly. Charlotte froze. Had the man not seen her? Or did he simply not care that there was another person in the room? Either way, that cashier was about to be done in if he didn't move soon. On impulse, Charlotte held her hand forward and thought of punching the man. Instantly, a golden, crystal-like ball of solid light materialized in her hand, and she threw it at the gunman. Before the gunman could even realize that someone else was in the gas station, the ball hit the man square on the side of his head, knocking him onto the floor. Charlotte ran forward and took the gun out of the man's limp hand, then, after making sure the safety was off, tossed it across the room. She then turned back and check the man's pulse; he was alive, merely unconscious from the blow. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stood back up, only to realize that the cashier was still there. He'd seen her materialize that ball; he knew her power. [color=orange]"Mister...uh...there's a good reason for what just happened...."[/color] she said, holding her hands forward as if he were approaching her. "My goodness, you just saved my [i]life![/i]" he cried, both exasperated and grateful. "I don't know how you did that, but frankly I don't care. Is that man alright?" "Yeah, I checked...uh...he's just out cold," she said, still wary of the cashier but a little calmer now. "Bless you, woman! God [i]bless[/i] you!" the cashier continued. "Listen, if there's anything you need from me, anything at all--" [color=orange]"Don't tell anyone about what I just did,"[/color] she said quickly, seizing the opportunity to keep the cashier quiet. "Absolutely," he replied, still showing signs of exasperation. Charlotte turned to look back down at the man, who was still unconscious. He'd come into the store with the same intentions as Charlotte, yet here they both were, one knocked out and the other being praised. She suddenly felt that twinge of guilt not unlike the guilt she'd felt about the takedown of the Karks...and then she remembered the food in her pockets. [color=orange]"Um...before I go...would it be alright if I just...took some food with me?"[/color] she asked. [color=orange]"I can leave it here, if you really need it--"[/color] "Lady, for as long as I'm in charge of this place, you can come by and grab whatever you want. I'm in your debt, and I will do whatever I can to see it paid," the cashier assured her, wheezing a little. [color=orange]"Oh, thank you so much!"[/color] she said, beaming. Free food and gas whenever she needed it? That sounded like a good deal to her. She briefly went back over to the food aisle and grabbed a couple of other packages before turning and leaving. Behind her, she could hear the cashier continue to thank her again and again; but all the while, she still sensed a bad feeling in the pit of her gut, simply because she knew that she fully intended to do the same thing as that gunman had, just without the gun. Regardless, the outcome of her attempted robbery was far better than she'd expected. Once again, maybe things were finally looking up for her in this desolate city. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [b]Apartment Complex[/b] [b]Lost Haven, Maine[/b] [b]6 Weeks Ago[/b] Charlotte had just finished placing the newly-acquired food into the pantry when a buzzing came from the phone. Walking over to it, she picked it up and said, [color=orange]"Hello? Who is it?"[/color] "Hey, honey, it's Felicia!" came that familiar warm voice from the other end of the phone. [color=orange]"Oh gosh, hi!"[/color] said Charlotte, now even more cheerful that a good friend had called to talk. "How's everything going up in Maine?" Felicia asked. [color=orange]"Oh, well, I just had the wildest day today...I think you're gonna like this story,"[/color] said Charlotte, smirking a bit. And so she went ahead and told her what had happened just an hour or so ago in the gas station. Everything...well, excluding the part where she intended to rob the store owner. Aside from that, however, she didn't hold back on the details. "Oh my goodness! That's quite the adventure you had today!" said Felicia; from the sound of it, she was probably holding back a giggle of some sort. "And so you can just go in there and get anything you need from now on? Gas and food and all that stuff?" [color=orange]"Apparently so,"[/color] Charlotte replied, still smirking. "Wow," Felicia sighed, evidently exasperated from the story. "I guess it's good that after two weeks in that city, only one other person knows about what you can do." [color=orange]"You don't think I could keep my abilites to myself? I've been doing that for quite a while now, you know that as well as I do!"[/color] Charlotte replied. "Oh, hush," said Felicia. [color=orange]"But anyways,"[/color] said Charlotte, [color=orange]"how are things holding up back home?"[/color] "Oh, honey, you wouldn't believe how busy things were today," said Felicia. "The whole police force is in an uproar, because someone in the bureaucratic divisions apparently miscounted the bodies found at the scene where the Karks were killed. Apparently there were only four bodies, not five." Charlotte froze. Did she hear what she just thought she heard? Returning to reality, she struggled to find something meaningful to say back to Felicia. However, all she could muster was a single [color=orange]"What?"[/color] "Yeah, everyone's been in a fuss. We know that all five of them were there at the scene because there's all sorts of forensic markings that indicate the five of them were there, as well as the killer themselves. So people are saying that the killer must have taken one of the bodies, or perhaps it was crushed under all that debris, or something along the lines of that," Felicia went on, seemingly unfazed by what she was talking about. [color=orange]"Just...just four bodies?"[/color] Charlotte said, her heart beginning to beat faster and faster. She had killed all five of them, [i]she knew she did[/i]. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I forgot that you didn't want me talking about the Karks. I'll drop the issue, don't worry. Besides, if it's any comfort, there's really not much more to go off of than that. The body's probably just buried in the rubble somewhere," Felicia assured her, still apparently not worried at the slightest by the recent revelation. Charlotte wanted to say something, but Felicia spoke up again. "Hey, my doorbell just rang. I think it's the neighbours, they said they were gonna come over to eat tonight. I'll call you back after dinner is over, alright?" Charlotte stood there, still stunned by what she'd just been told, and then said, [color=orange]"...uh-huh."[/color] "Alright honey, I'll talk to you later! Bye!" Felicia said, hanging up without giving Charlotte a chance to answer. For a minute, she stood there, with the phone still in her hand. Then it all hit her: a body was missing. Could that mean that one of those monsters was still out there, somewhere...? [i]No, don't think about that. Felicia is probably right, one of the bodies has to be buried under the rubble is all,[/i] she thought. This time, the voice she heard in her mind was her own, not her father's. She continued to tell herself that in her head, over and over and over again, until she realized that she was too tired to stay standing up. Moving over to one of the other chairs, she slumped down and kept thinking that same reassuring thought to herself, over and over and over again, until the comfort of the chair eased her into a deep slumber. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [b]Felicia's House[/b] [b]Kussatawnee, New Hampshire[/b] [b]6 Weeks Ago[/b] Felicia placed the phone back down on it's little stand, then turned to get the door. She'd been baking a nice cake for desert once the neighbours arrived, and it would only take about 10 minutes or so to be finished. Hopefully, the neighbours could wait just a second. Before she opened the door, she said to the knocker, "You're free to come in, Mr. and Mrs. Winston, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the cake!" When she opened the door, however, she discovered that it wasn't her neighbours knocking on the door at all. [color=brown]"I want you to tell me everything you know,"[/color] came the man's ragged voice, [color=brown]"about Charlotte Gilligan."[/color]