Post by Charlotte Jacobs on Nov 29, 2011 3:48:33 GMT -8
Time: Day 5, after breakfast with Julian and Cheshire
Weather: ALL THE RAIN
Warnings: A heartbreaking discovery
Characters: Charlotte Jacobs [CLOSED]
Charlotte retraced her steps back up to her room, a platter full of bacon, eggs and pancakes in one hand. Breakfast in bed with David sounded thoroughly delightful. She had never gotten around to actually getting that bit of breakfast. Staying in is definitely the order of the day, she decided, listening to the sound of the rain pounding at the roof. Not that staying in would necessarily keep the Shadows away, but she could see them; as long as one of them could that’s all that mattered.
For today at least, they could pretend like everything was normal. She was just a girl, and he was just a guy, and they were just a run-of-the-mill normal couple spending the day together. Tomorrow. Tomorrow they could continue piecing together the puzzle.
She unlocked the door to her hotel room, nudging it open with her hip.
“I come bearing breakfast,” she called, setting the tray down on the desk. “Hope you’re hungry.” Silence was her only answer. Still sleeping. Smiling, she padded into the bedroom...
And froze.
He was gone.
He was GONE.
Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t breathe. The bed looked exactly as it had when she got up to get them breakfast. Except he wasn’t there. There was no sign he had even BEEN there.
Save for his tie, still draped over the lamp where she had tossed it the night before.
Her knees buckled and she sagged against the doorjamb, sinking to the ground numbly. What had happened? He wouldn’t... wouldn’t just leave. Not after... everything. She believed that with all her heart. It was unlikely that anyone else would, though. Tears trickled unnoticed down her cheeks.
Where is he? What happened? She was trying desperately to focus, to come up with an explanation, a plan of action. But she couldn’t THINK.
WAIT.
There was something on the bed. Forcing her trembling limbs to work, Charlotte made her way over to the bed.
Blood.
And icy chill coiled around her spine, sinking barbed thorns into her very soul. That had not been there when she left. And David hadn’t been injured, so there was no reason for him to be bleeding on her bed. Which meant one thing.
Someone... SomeTHING had taken him.
This is my fault. Charlotte didn’t remember crumpling to the floor, one trembling hand pressed to her mouth, but she had. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she sobbed quietly. She shouldn’t have left. She should have stayed in bed beside him. And if she hadn’t involved him, hadn’t told him the truth... If she hadn’t gotten close to him... had protected him better. Maybe he would still be here.
She pressed shaking hands to the floor. She should call someone. Report him missing. But how the hell could she explain it? She would sound certifiable. Besides... this didn’t strike her as the Shadows’ style. No, this was someone else’s handywork. And she knew where she would start looking.
Taking a deep breath, and then another (trying to calm herself although she knew it was an impossible task) she closed her eyes and buried her head in her hands. She would take a moment to cry, to worry. And then she would go hunting.
Weather: ALL THE RAIN
Warnings: A heartbreaking discovery
Characters: Charlotte Jacobs [CLOSED]
Charlotte retraced her steps back up to her room, a platter full of bacon, eggs and pancakes in one hand. Breakfast in bed with David sounded thoroughly delightful. She had never gotten around to actually getting that bit of breakfast. Staying in is definitely the order of the day, she decided, listening to the sound of the rain pounding at the roof. Not that staying in would necessarily keep the Shadows away, but she could see them; as long as one of them could that’s all that mattered.
For today at least, they could pretend like everything was normal. She was just a girl, and he was just a guy, and they were just a run-of-the-mill normal couple spending the day together. Tomorrow. Tomorrow they could continue piecing together the puzzle.
She unlocked the door to her hotel room, nudging it open with her hip.
“I come bearing breakfast,” she called, setting the tray down on the desk. “Hope you’re hungry.” Silence was her only answer. Still sleeping. Smiling, she padded into the bedroom...
And froze.
He was gone.
He was GONE.
Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t breathe. The bed looked exactly as it had when she got up to get them breakfast. Except he wasn’t there. There was no sign he had even BEEN there.
Save for his tie, still draped over the lamp where she had tossed it the night before.
Her knees buckled and she sagged against the doorjamb, sinking to the ground numbly. What had happened? He wouldn’t... wouldn’t just leave. Not after... everything. She believed that with all her heart. It was unlikely that anyone else would, though. Tears trickled unnoticed down her cheeks.
Where is he? What happened? She was trying desperately to focus, to come up with an explanation, a plan of action. But she couldn’t THINK.
WAIT.
There was something on the bed. Forcing her trembling limbs to work, Charlotte made her way over to the bed.
Blood.
And icy chill coiled around her spine, sinking barbed thorns into her very soul. That had not been there when she left. And David hadn’t been injured, so there was no reason for him to be bleeding on her bed. Which meant one thing.
Someone... SomeTHING had taken him.
This is my fault. Charlotte didn’t remember crumpling to the floor, one trembling hand pressed to her mouth, but she had. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she sobbed quietly. She shouldn’t have left. She should have stayed in bed beside him. And if she hadn’t involved him, hadn’t told him the truth... If she hadn’t gotten close to him... had protected him better. Maybe he would still be here.
She pressed shaking hands to the floor. She should call someone. Report him missing. But how the hell could she explain it? She would sound certifiable. Besides... this didn’t strike her as the Shadows’ style. No, this was someone else’s handywork. And she knew where she would start looking.
Taking a deep breath, and then another (trying to calm herself although she knew it was an impossible task) she closed her eyes and buried her head in her hands. She would take a moment to cry, to worry. And then she would go hunting.