CHARLIE'S POV

Eyes wide open and a headache the size of mother earth crossing over my path, I felt like throwing up; taking a knife to my wrists and just ending it all - right here right now. None of this made sense. Why did someone want my family gone? Why had they post marked to the date? Why had they gone to all this trouble? What were we worth? What was the point? Why us? Why not another generic port royal kind of family?

“Miss… are you, all right?”

I snapped my head up to see a fireman standing above me, looking down with a sense of disappointment yet relief -perhaps he was the only person one the planet who was happy I was still alive. A small simple smile spreading across his lips made me return the gesture with my own although at this point, I couldn’t quite tell if it was forced or genuine. Nodding like a preschooler and twiddling my thumbs as I drooped my hands into my lap and sighed.

“Charlie, c’mon.. let’s get you hom—.. outta here”, Chloe suggested, a weak look in her eyes as she crouched down in front of me as I was sitting on the back of a firetruck, blocking my view of well - nothing. The family home had burnt down to a crisp in an apparent matter of minutes and it was sheer luck that I wasn’t inside. Locked behind my bedroom door, trapped like a rabbit in headlights. That’s what they would have wanted though. That’s the only reason they’d gone to this extremity.

“I don’t want to leave.”
“Charlie, c’mon you..”
“CHLOE I’M NOT FUCKING LEAVING!”

The quick change in my demeanour was enough to send her speechless and step back. I wasn’t trying to be difficult, believe me - that was the last thing I needed to behave like, but I needed answers, I needed a sign to tell me that everything was going to be all right. Noticing a flicker of paper resting in the rubble of what was once home, I reached down to grab it, noticing a fine photograph printed on the back. A polaroid shot of my mother screaming in what looked to be our bathroom. It wasn’t a clean shot but it was enough to spook me. Great, just..

My head fell into my hands as I began crying. What for, I wasn’t sure, I just needed the release. As tears swept and trickled down my cheeks like Hiroshima Falls, the world around me seemed to just stop and begin spinning the other way. The tender touch of an arm wrapping around my waist and a kiss planted on my forehead the tears just decided to keep on coming. There was no holding back, no safety release, no trigger for insanity. I clutched at whoever was next to me, taking in their scent completely over the smell of burnt concrete sheet and wood as I crept in closer, burying myself beside them.

“I’m so sorry sugar..”

Sugar? I hadn’t heard that one before. A clean sweep of a palm clutching over my mouth and in seconds, literally - my eyes had fallen shut.

---

“You can’t expect me to hang around for this, I have better things to do.”
“You Miss, are staying here until I saw its time for us to leave.”
“You’re a fucking freak.”
“This gives us our chance to have a second life. The Flemings out of the picture, all beneficiary titles revoke to me.”

Swollen eyes and lips cut up like a bad horror movie scene, I felt the hard mattress underneath me as words were exchanged outside and wondered where the hell I was. Sun in the sky towards the east meant it was still early in the day. I don’t know how on earth I remembered the fact, but I guess - it made me a little comfortable. The sounds of grinding and sharpening outside led my heartbeat to race like a horse in a steeple chase. My surroundings led me to believe I was in the barn Harry had shown me earlier in the week and well, all that equipment we thought he’d been exaggerating about was indeed - here. Looking about, I noticed a crowbar on the ground and pulled it over, ever so slightly towards the space I laid; with the intentions of using it against someone else rather than having it come down towards me.
Hearing footsteps creep closer, I shut my eyes - pretending for once to be asleep and heard the barn door swing open with a kick to the hinges like we’d always had to. The steadiness of breathing and heavy steps rocking like a hurricane of displeasure.

“Charlie.. you awake?”

I didn’t bother replying and kept my act up.

“Charlie..”

The cold touch of bruised and callused fingers moving my head in any which direction.

“I wonder if you’ll scream the same way your mother and sister did.”

I gulped, a little too hard for comfort and tried to keep my act up. The sound of a zipper opening and pants dropping and I already knew what was going to happen. Cars rolling up outside; this was a perfect remake of the night Ruby went walk about. A summers night, more friends than usually showing up, Ruby getting drunk and winding up in here while I was forced to wait outside and block my ears. Shaking my head, it was all too much to think and stupidly, I hoped whoever was in the room hadn’t seen my actions.

“She’s in here..”, the voice called out. I heard the barn door swing open again, more than a dozen footsteps cower in.
“The last of the Flemings.”

“Geez that Mara was a delight..”
“Wonder if she’ll be like her sister..”
“Serves Peter right for trying to back out of our deal.”
“Charlie isn’t it? Well aint she petite?”
“Whole family is just as hopeless as the rest of ‘em.”
“Club house cabin will be ours again.”
“Liam, go wait outside..”
“I still want my share of the cut! Damn Fleming turning us all in for…”

“Shhhh…”

I remained motionless, quiet - the sound of a final car rolling up down the drive. As the mens attentions turned towards the shenanigans outdoors, I peeled my eyes open just slightly - noticing a few broken pales in the sidewall across from my head I should have been able to squeeze out from.

Not knowing how much time I had, I pushed myself up onto my wrists, trying to not make any noise and bolted for the gap. Head and chest through, hips struggling to make it, I felt someone grab a hold of my upper body and pull me through. A gun shot taken place which evidently missed the two of us, I looked up to see what good samaritan had helped me out.

“Charlie you have to go..”
“Liam? Wh.. What are you..”
“Charlie just go”, he angrily whispered. His eyes had turned a perfect shade of stone which at this point wasn’t a surprise. What I needed to know was, what he was doing here.
“You have to come with me.. I don’t..”
“Just go..”, he hissed, pushing me in another direction, “I’ll lead them in another direction.. just.. GO!”

And as if I was in a mini series for dejavu, my feet were carrying me over roots and fallen trees, past lakes and hiding between moonlight and sanity as they had years ago. My breathing had paced up, I wasn’t planning on looking back - not ever looking back, not ever thinking that…

“Charlie!!”

The sound of my own name made me stop dead in my tracks. It was dark out, pitch black and shadows couldn’t be seen. How did anyone know where I’d run to?

“Charrrrlliieee..”

It was all a mind fuck, head game.. all I needed was to wake up and realise that this hadn’t happened. If Dad had never of gone on that hunting trip, a business deal wouldn’t of been had and he’d still be alive, if Ruby hadn’t gone with him that day and learnt of everything - she would have still been here, if my mother wasn’t such of the emotional type and could hold her wits about everything - I’d still have a relationship with her and if I, I just wasn’t who I was… perhaps life would have just been a little different.

The view of headlights cruising up a highway were enough to convince me that if dejavu existed - that direction would be my way out. Careful treading and quiet trembles, I followed the treeline up the road to where the phone box I’d hidden in had existed. The sight of another car rushing by, I waited until the coast was clear and then crept it. Hands all over the receiver and coins slipping from my pockets as I shivered dropping them through the slot, I rang the only number I knew that could help and that well.. I remembered.

“Sorry, your call could not be connected. Please check the number and try again.”

Fuck! Dad was still.. I panicked, redialling and dropped down to the ground, noticing my jacket from a while back still caught around the edges of the phone box and pulled it inside, weathered and soiled for some kind of sanity.

“Hello?”, a voice answered quietly. I couldn’t help but let out a half cry which choked me.
“Louis.. I need you, I. need you to come and get me.”
“Charlie?”, he asked a croak in his voice. “Where the fuck have you been?”
“I um.. I’m at the cabin. On the highway where.. where..”
“Just wait..”, was all I could make out.
“Hurry..”, I begged, silently sobbing
“Charlie, just..”
“Lou, there are people after me.”


The phone line went dead.


“Louis..?”

“Lou..”

“LOUIS!”


“LOUIS!!!”

Notes

Only a chapter left ;) mwahahaha!