legacy [james conrad] 2

Chapter 3

Japan- the next day

"This is the apartment building?" Charlotte questions as she looks at what seems like a torn down building with a scowl.

"It seems so" James sighs out, looking at the piece of paper and double checking the address before scanning the empty street.

"You sure this guy isn't just crazy?" Charlotte asks, confused about the whole manner as she turns to look at James.

During the flight to Japan, James had explained to her all the things she needed to know. Everything from meeting Joe, to the bank account money, to the strange anomalies that Joe had detected.

At first Charlotte had been quiet, her mind processing. But soon enough, her mind had been full of unanswered questions, just like James had been.

And still, during the three hour flight, neither of them had talked about the two years that they had been apart.

"And he is in there? Right now?" She asks again, turning back to look at him, her eyebrows scrunched together.

"Why are you asking so many questions?" James finally snaps, his head turning from the building to Charlotte.

Charlotte crosses her arms over her chest, one of her eyebrows rising at him.

"Oh. I'm sorry for making sure we aren't walking into an apartment with a serial killer. I'll just ask them later, when we're both dead" She snarks back before looking at the apartment building once again, huffing out a breath of anger.

James shakes his head, looking both sides of the sidewalk and then finally walking into the complex, Charlotte trailing close behind him, mumbling things like "you're crazy" or "I can't believe I agreed to do this"

The both of them walk up the stairs, the wooden planks creaking as they walk up, making Charlotte wince.

Charlotte sighs, thinking about the times where she was oblivious to all these problems.

To the time where she didn't know that creatures like Kong existed and that being in the army and having fun with Tyler was her only concern.

She halts for a second, a shiver running down her spine. Tyler. It had been a while since she had last thought of him. 

She tried to remember a time when all that mattered was that she was doing what she dreamed. But her mind came out blank. Nothing. She had been doing what everyone else wanted for so long that she had forgotten what she wanted to do. 

Now that every thing had changed, happiness was at the back of her mind, completely forgotten. Instead, her mind had been ridden with anxiety and paranoia. Everywhere she looked Monarch was watching, waiting for her to make a mistake.

"It's this floor" James turns to tell Charlotte suddenly, not realising that she's halfway up the second stairway.

"Charlotte" he calls out to her after a moment. Charlotte stops and turns around to look at him.

"Huh?" She asks, confusion lacing her tone as she turns to look at him with a distraught look.

James points back to the hall in front of him.

"It's this way" he repeats. Charlotte looks at him with a blank expression for a moment before realising what they're talking about.

"Right" She mutters, turning to walk towards him. 

They trail down the hall slowly, Charlotte examining the chipped walls, looking at the passing apartment doors with a frown.

James halts to a stop, looking at the door in front of him.