Days to Insanity

Chapter Five

Charlie

I wake up to someone shaking me awake, and for a moment, I think it's my mother, but after letting my eyes adjust, I see that Nate has stood up, expectantly waiting for me to do the same. He looks a little irritated, but I can't say I blame him. Time loops aren't exactly too fun.

"Let's go," he says, motioning for me to follow him. He doesn't need to tell me twice - the bus gives me a strange feeling.

"Now, what exactly are we going to do after reaching your secret hideout place?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. He scoffs, but doesn't say anything, probably realizing that it's a good question. We have no idea what to do.

"I..." he pauses. "Well, you got me there, Charlotte."

"I hate the name Charlotte," I mumble under my breath. I think he heard me, because he's smirking now. I roll my eyes and clear my throat. "How far away is this motel? And how sketchy is it?"

"It's just over there," he points to a suspicious looking building, "and to answer your second question, I was killed here. Twice."

"Not exactly homey, then."

"Not quite."

Neither of us know what to say. I can't tell if it's because both of us don't want to be in this situation with each other, or because we have no idea why we're stuck in a time loop. My gut feeling tells me it's a little bit of both.

We both walk into the lobby. There's a woman chatting away on the phone, her legs resting on the table as she smokes a cigarette. There's a small, loud heater that sounds like it's about to explode any second. I look over to Nate and he takes the keys from the woman, barely fazed.

"She should not be putting her legs up like that if she's wearing a dress," I comment as we exit the lobby and walk up the stairs to go to his room. Nate snorts, and for a small moment, the air seems to have cleared.

We both walk up to the room, stopping in front of the door. Nate points to the wall beside the door frame. "Where I die," he says, putting the key in and opening the door. "Where do you die?"

"Just outside the precinct," I reply. "Rye was there. I wonder why the person didn't kill her."

"Maybe because you're the target," Nate says as he enters. I follow after him. I take in the room - it's mostly tidy; but it's quite small. There's a queen sized bed that actually looks quite comfortable.

I look over at Nate who's dropped his duffle bag on the floor, folding my arms. Then I put a hand to my stomach. He turns around, scratching his head, frowning at me as I finally say, "Are you hungry?"

Nate

We found a small diner near the motel - it didn't occur to me to eat, actually. I've barely eaten the past few days. But of course, the day has been reset two times now, and I've had no appetite. I still barely have an appetite.

"Here's your chicken burger and fries," the waitress says, setting it down in front of Charlie. "And here's your turkey wrap."

"Fries?" Charlie offers and I shake my head. The atmosphere is still so tense. She takes a bite into the burger. I take a bite into my wrap. We both immediately find ourselves reaching for our glasses of water - it's spicy, but it's certainly woken me up from this daze.

"We have to figure this shit out," I finally manage to get out after my tongue stops burning.

"Alright," she says after gulping down another sip of water. "Let's start with one thing. Why are you running away?"