Charlotte Gaspel: Demons and Ghosts

XIII: First Day

It was twelve minutes to the end of the day. The hospital was dark, the nurses were resting and the other children in the hospital were counting sheep, but in the bathroom you could hear the quiet voice of an infant singing: "Happy birthday, Charlotte Gaspel..., happy birthday to me."

What Charlotte was feeling at that moment could only be compared to the feeling of having just moved out and starting to unpack your possessions. It was a new beginning, a new life; but, people say you can't escape the past, and Charlotte not only couldn't, she didn't want to escape hers.

With a cool head it is easy to think. The loose ends are still loose, and the famous revenge was Charlotte's main goal. It was simple: Now that she was free, it was time to make those who made her life miserable pay. It's practically tradition to kill those who murdered your parents, but she wanted to go much further, as revenge was the only fly flying around in her head. She wanted to do it right, and for that she had to come up with a plan.

While she was quietly brushing her hair in front of the mirror, her brain was working frantically thinking of all the possible ways to make the mafia and the bastard Steven G. Ledger suffer.

The sun began to show itself and Charlotte was ready to leave the hospital. The nurses usually don't check the stretchers until nine o'clock, so she had three hours to complete her escape plan.

The most logical idea was to escape through the main entrance, but that required going down the stairs and not being seen by anyone. Luckily, no one looks twice inside a trash can. That's right, the classic trick of hiding in the rubbish, only this time you had to be careful, because apart from recyclable waste there was also the hazardous ones, which are common in hospitals. Fortunately, the containers were transported on wheels, so it was not going to be suspicious to feel a bit of extra weight.

Anyway, Charlotte had to wait 24 minutes surrounded by plastic bottles, cardboard cups and lots of wrappers until she made it to the car park. She took with her a plastic bag with Arthur's notebook, the plush monkey and a bottle of water. She got out of the dumpster, looked around and headed for the motel where her parents were staying before they died. It was not a problem for her, as she occasionally went to sleep there with them, so the owner was not going to stop her; however, words were exchanged.

"Little Charlie?" asked the owner from his registration desk.

"Yes. Do you like my new hair?" Charlotte replied very calmly.

"It's strange that you come alone."

"It's not; my parents called a taxi to pick me up from the hospital to bring them soup, as they are very ill and can't get out of bed." She shows the bag she was holding, pretending it was a bag of groceries. "I took the money they gave me and bought this wig."

"Okay, do you need the keys?"

"Yes, please."

After picking up the keys, she went upstairs to the room of his deceased representatives, opened the door and looked at the mess Steven had left with his spell. Papers littered the floor, no chair was left standing, and the atmosphere felt tense.

Charlotte had a few hours to reorganize, so she didn't waste any time. She gathered up her parents' important papers, organized the mess in the room, and had an apple for breakfast from the small fridge. As soon as she reached for her mother's wallet to take out the money she had left, she realized that Steven had stolen it. That was to be expected; he was only giving Charlotte more reasons to murder him; however, he had left a few coins behind to pay for a few bus rides.

It was then when Charlotte remembered something. The briefcase! In it was her parents' birthday present. She wasn't enthusiastic, but she clearly needed to empty that briefcase. After putting it on the bed, sitting down and taking a deep breath, she unlocked the latches and finally opened it. There was nothing in it. Charlotte became suspicious, and then realized that it took her no time at all to open the locks on the briefcase, even though she knew they were created to secure what was inside it. Damn it. Steven made sure there was nothing of sentimental value in that room, or at least he liked whatever was in that case. There was no other option, he had to forget about it and keep packing for the getaway.