The Next Reminder

XVIIII || "Who the hell are you?"

*Carlton's POV*

I unlock the front door. It's weird, because dad always leaves the house unlocked in the day time. I begin to wonder if he's even home, but then I hear the yelling. The others must hear it too, because I hear Jessica sigh in the back, and John whispers something to her. Charlie is just off to the side, zoning out.

"My daughter is DEAD, Clay!" Henry yells, a southern accent popping out. I walk up the stairs making sure to be quiet. I signal to the others to do so as well, and they follow me to just outside the room.

"Then why the hell did I see her standing at my doorstep? Why did you give her that plushie you made for the REAL Charlie?" My dad yells back, "Then who the fuck is that?!"

"I don't know, but I don't want her to stay here long enough to figure out. I can only ask so many times, make her leave." Henry begs of my father, John, Jessica, and I look at each other, confused.

"Why doesn't he think I'm me..?" Charlie sighs, touching her face to make sure she was real.

"Maybe because he's demented, everyone knows that he's crazy." John whispers, and Jessica takes off her sunhat, wacking him on the side of his face.

John whips around to look at Jessica, offended. She just shrugs, "We know you're you, Charlie. You just have to convince him that you are."

"Please.. I can't even imagine the thought of her being in this house anymore. Make her leave." Henry says inbetween sobs, his voice muffled from the other side of the door.

"Where else is she going to stay, Henry? I can't exactly kick her out onto the streets, she's only 17. Also, do you know how upset my son and his friends would be? They'd never forgive me!"

Henry groans, and we hear the creaking of the floorboards. "Fine! Then I'll go!" He raises his voice, and my father must stop him from leaving because Henry gasps.

"Back to Louisiana?" Clay asks. I peek into the keyhole to see what's going on. Henry tries to pull away from my dad, but from the looks of it, my dad has a tight grip on Henry's wrist. "Well, are you really shocked? You're speakin' like this right now!" Clay mocks Henry's southern accent, and Henry tries to pull away from him.

"I wanted to forget that life. You know, college on the west coast was a new start for me, but if you're goin' to mention it every day now..." Henry sighs, slipping back into his 'normal' accent. "I'm leaving. You can't keep me here, Clay." Henry blankly stares at my dad, no emotion in his eyes.

"You're going to die without me." My dad raises his voice, and Henry smiles.

"I'm immortal, you idiot! Also, it would be for the better." Henry finally pulls away from Clay, and then Clay starts backing him into a wall. I watch, my stomach twisting into a knot. "The only thing we have in common is getting revenge on William. This was never meant to be. You know that. We both know that."

"If that's how you want to be." My dad says, and then he knocks Henry out cold, letting Henry slide down the wall and onto the floor. I put a hand over my mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping.

"What happened , Carlton?" Jessica whispers, and I recreate the act. Jessica puts a hand over her mouth.

I turn to Charlie, and her face has gone pale. "I need to go in there." Charlie whispers, and we all whisper, telling her not to go, but she insists. Eventually after a little arguing, we agree. John, Jessica, and I all move out of the way, not to he seen. Charlie walks into the room, balling up her fists as she sees my dad.

"I saw what you did to my father." Charlie speaks, and my dad turns around, shock on his face.

"It's not what you think, Charlie.. he just had low iron!" He chuckles, but Charlie's face goes blank. Charlie goes blurry, and it's almost nauseating to look at.

"Oh, really?" Charlie stands in a red dress now, metal showing on her skin. I gasp. "You're sick." She says, balling up her fists until her knuckles turn white.

"That's not Charlie..that's Elizabeth!" I whisper, shocked. I watch as Elizabeth walks up to my father, peeling metal off of her skin, slicing my father's face with it. She throws the metal across the room, throwing a punch at my dad. He ducks, about to loose his footing. My dad throws another punch back, but Elizabeth ducks, and she goes blurry again, transforming into something else.

Henry stands in the place of Elizabeth, but the real Henry is still on the ground behind my dad. "You wouldn't hurt him again. I saw the regret in your face as soon as you punched him." Elizabeth smiles wickedly, making Henry look pure evil. "Hit me, Clay. Or are you afraid?" The southern accent comes out, and my father looks even more terrified.

*Clay's POV*

"Who the hell are you? And why are you pretending to be so many people?" I ask warily, and the Henry in front of me shrugs.

"Because I can! If you had the ability to shapeshift, wouldn't you?"

"Stay away from me, I'll shoot you!" I reach for my gun, but it's not there. I curse under my breath.

Henry walks closer, and I can't get my legs to work. He raises a fist, hitting me right in the jaw. and I fall to the ground. He goes blurry again, reappearing as Fake Charlie. "and for the record, my name is Elizabeth." She's the last thing I see before she kicks me right in the chest with her heel, and I black out.

*Carlton's POV*

Elizabeth appears back out of the bedroom, and we all look at her, shocked. "I know what you're thinking..."

"We know you're Elizabeth, you don't need to hide it." Jessica says, "but fighting a policeman is brave, especially in front of his own son." I sigh.

"She had a valid reason. I don't blame you one bit, Elizabeth.." I say, and she smiles.

Elizabeth appears as normal Charlie again, turning around to look at us all. "Thank you.. Actually, I have something I have to confess."

We all go downstairs so Elizabeth can talk to us, and we sit down in the living room.

"William sent me on a mission to 'kill' Henry, since he has the remnant in his veins, he obviously won't die, but he wanted to test out how much the remnant would work for him. This would determine how many more doses he would need to make Henry completely immortal. Obviously, we all know Henry doesn't want that, and he's my dad, so I refuse to kill him. If I take too long..." Elizabeth gets up, stepping where Charlie's blood left a stain in the carpet. "He will come kill Henry himself."