SOUL

he finds her

Leo wasn't sure what woke him up, his eyes flutter open and they adjust to the darkness. His mind still heavy with sleep. He instinctively reached out to the other side of the bed, expecting to find Mary, but his hand landed on cold, empty sheets. Confused, he sat up, rubbing his eyes, and scanned the room. Her coat was gone, and so were her boots. Panic surged through him, and he swung his legs over the side of the bed, his pulse quickening as he scanned the room.

"Mary?" he called out, his voice shaky. But there was no answer. He looked around, his heart sinking when he noticed something else missing—his gun, usually tucked safely in its holster on the nightstand, was gone.

A cold dread washed over him, and he grabbed his phone, dialing Harris with trembling fingers. It felt like an eternity before his partner picked up, his voice groggy and irritated.

"What the hell, Leo? It's barely—"

"She's gone, Harris," Leo cut him off, his voice cracking. "She took my gun. And my car."

There was a pause on the other end, and then Harris's tone shifted, suddenly alert. "What do you mean, she's gone? Where did she go?"

"I don't know!" Leo snapped, pacing the room. "I don't—she didn't say anything. I just woke up, and she was gone. You need to pick me up, now. We have to find her."

"Calm down, Leo. We'll find her. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?"

"No, I don't," Leo said, his voice barely a whisper. "But she must have had a reason. She... she had a vision, I think. And if she took my gun, she's planning on doing something. We need to get to her before she gets herself hurt."

Harris cursed under his breath. "Alright, I'm on my way. Stay put, I'll be there in five."

Leo barely heard him. He hung up and started pulling on his clothes, his mind racing, trying to make sense of what was happening. It wasn't like Mary to just disappear, especially not with his gun. Something was wrong—he could feel it in his gut.

When Harris pulled up outside, Leo was already standing on the curb, his hands clenched into fists, his face pale and tight with worry. He practically threw himself into the car, slamming the door behind him. "Drive," he said, his voice hoarse. "We need to hurry."

Harris didn't argue. He stepped on the gas, and the car sped down the street, the tires screeching as they rounded the corner. "I called it in," Harris said, glancing at Leo. "We're tracking your car. It's pinged out near a barn, on the outskirts of town."

Leo's heart stopped. "A barn?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Leo's mind flashed back to Mary's descriptions, the way she spoke about the visions that haunted her. The isolated farmhouse, the old buildings surrounded by empty fields. "She's going after him," he muttered, his voice barely audible. "Jerry Wade. She's going after Jerry."

Harris's eyes widened, and he pressed harder on the accelerator, the car lurching forward. "Shit, Leo. She's not armed enough to face him alone."

"fuck!" Leo shouted, his voice cracking with fear.

The road stretched out ahead of them, endless and bleak, as the sun began to rise. All Leo could think about was the look on Mary's face when she had those visions, the terror in her eyes, and he prayed—prayed harder than he ever had—that they weren't too late.

His mind replayed the worst-case scenarios over and over again, and no matter how hard he pushed them away, they kept creeping back.

They skidded to a stop in front of the old barn, the place where dispatch had said the car was last seen. Instantly he spots a young owmna, covereed in cuts and brusies running over to them. Harris reaches out and plcaes a hnad on her