Broken Chains

Part 10

Chapter 10

I moaned as the alarm of my bedside table beeped in an irritating tinny way and my hand began striking out virtually at random slapping the clock until it finally shut up. I rolled over and nuzzled back down into my cold pillow. A second later the alarm began to beep again. I rolled over with a snarl and grabbed the clock flinging it across the room where it hit the far wall and shattered. Carl chuckled from across the room.

"Honey why do you even bother setting that thing?" he asked smiling. I swung myself out of bed rubbing my head.

"Anything?" I asked vaguely knowing Carl would have been up clicking away for hours on that computer of his he always was. It had been six days since we had chased Derek to the borders of the next territory. We had since retreated safely back into the neutral territory and 'replenished' our money supplies. We were now just holed up in a hotel while Carl tried to monitor where those guys were. We knew that we couldn't set one foot into their territory without being the walking dead. I think the both us understood that we had lost them but we weren't going home yet. I had no doubt that we would go home what else was there to do but right now we were just holled up in this hotel pissing out money trying to convince ourselves that this wasn't over. But how many more days we could spend waiting here I didn't know but not much longer.

"I think so." Carl said "but it's hard to tell from here. it looks like they are still in their territory kicking up some hell." I sighed,

"Carl how much longer are we going to do this?"

"I don't know hon." He said looking around the non-descript room we were in which pretty much confirmed our last week. A non-descript existence in a non-descript room in a small non-descript hotel. Once we had been out and found a large collection of fields to shift in just so we could run, but it wasn't a nice area to have to run in. that compared to what we had at home just made me want to weep.

"We can't do anything as long as they stay where they are and even when they do leave if they ever do what then were always a step behind. What did he even do this time?" Carl hesitated "that bad huh?"

"It's not him it's them."

"Right." I said pulling on a white fluffy hotel bathrobe as there was a knock at the door. I picked up my gun and shoved it casually in the pocket, but one glance in the peephole told me that was unnecessary as our guest was just a porter but that did make me frown he must be at the wrong room. I opened the door with a nice polite fake smile. He held out a letter.

"Miss Jessica Armstrong."

"Yeah." I said baffled I took the envelope. "When was this left?" the guy shrugged indifferently "by who?" he shrugged again with a snort,

"Wouldn't that be written in the letter miss?"

"Congratulations you just lost your tip." I snapped retreating inside my room and slamming the door in his face.

"Shit." Carl snapped as he looked at the envelope in my hands he jumped up and slammed his laptop closed. "We have to go."

"Calm down." I said placidly but Carl ignored me and rushed around the room scurrying about picking up our various bits there wouldn't many of them we still had just one bag but everything in it was now scattered about the room.

I sighed and opened the letter easing out a single sheet of snow white paper the second I saw the neat slanted hand my heart fluttered it wasn't from Derek. My eyes slid down the script.

"Carl." I said nothing "Carl." I echoed louder "CARL" I Shouted he looked over vaguely, "it's not from Derek."

"Huh?" he said thickly and I held the letter out it was short but puzzling.