Midnight Shadows

Chapter 0.3

*** Chapter 29 of King of Beasts

"Look at me." It was a soft demand, just brushing past the boundaries of her mad, mad mind. "Look at me, come on, just look at me Charlotte."

It was dark in her mind. Dark and shadowed and confusing. It seemed like there was nothing there yet she could feel it, feel the madness, feel her every thought and her every memory pressing down on her, and pushing, pushing, pushing until it seemed like she was about to be crushed.

It was very dark in her mind indeed.

"Charlotte, look at me!" A desperate plea now, sharper than before. It was a velvet voice wafting through this dark river Charlotte floated upon, caressed her body, made her want, for just a second, to stop drifting upon the endless sea of her mind and-- and what? What else was there besides this darkness?

"Come back to me baby, come back. Look at me!" she jolted, felt the words like raw power. But a dark mind has dark strength and it sucked Charlotte deeper, stronger, across the current of her insanity.

Not yet, Charlotte. A new voice whispered. This one different, familiar, like it was in her mind with her, beside her on this dark river. Hold out a bit longer baby girl, you can do it. You're strong, Charlie, show them all how strong you are.

Grandpa. The memory of him, his smile, the laugh lines around his never ageing face, his tuft of hair atop his head and the freckle on the tips of his nose burst through the darkness and pierced Charlotte.

The darkness carried on down it's own river but Charlotte, grounded once more, stayed behind. Stayed behind and blinked and saw a face, a beautiful, beautiful face staring at her with a canoy of trees and a few laughing stars behind him.

"Hey." he said, fingers running over her face, down her cheek, across her jaw like he was trying to keep her grounded. "Hey Charlotte, that's it, that's it baby stay right here. Stay here with me, alright?"

"Gabe." she sighed, felt moss and leaves against her back, a tree root digging into her shoulder. Her ankle seared with pain, her hand throbbing to her heartbeat. He was covered in dirt and blood yet she saw no wounds on him, just shallow cuts that were healing even as she watched. "Oh Gabe." Too many things were resting right at the tip of her tongue, too many things to say. How much she loved him, how it was so consuming it nearly hurt. How she felt as though he had taken a piece of her soul all for himself and she couldn't imagine anything better than that. But the words caught in her throat, too many things to say, no way to make them sound important.

He nodded his head, dipping low to press his face into the crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply, body shuddering. "I know, I know." His hand smoothed down the tangled greasy mess of her hair. He pulled back, lips centimeters above her own so they were breathing the same cool night air. "I feel it too."

He kissed her slow and sweet, and she coudl feel it, he could feel it, they both felt it. This was a different power, this was a different energy. His lips were hot on hers, her lips cool on his. There was no hope, really, not for either of them but if this was as close as their souls could ever feel, if this moment was the moment they'd remember until everything else ended, it'd be good enough. It'd always be good neough.

"You can't leave me." Gabe said against her lips, softly so his breath fanned her cheeks. "You can't, Charlotte, you can't leave me behind."

She closed her eyes tight, shuddered in his hold. "Never." she forced herself to say. "I'll never leave you." A hand pressed to his chest so she could feel his beating heart beneath ehr palm.

She stared up at him, he stared down at her. They both knew neither had a choice. Charlotte would go, and she'd leave Gabe behind.

"You're the king of beasts." she said into the thin night air. "Nothing can take you down. Please don't let me the wfrist to do so."