Fates Intertwined

Chapter 20: Aftermath

The door opened slowly and Charlie let out a sob. She didn’t want to die. Not after all she had lost. This couldn’t be happening. 

    “Charlie, it’s alright. It’s me.”

    “I’m not stupid! I know you’re not Mike!”

    At this point, tears were blurring her vision. It was hard to see straight but whatever was actually there might have been Mike. but if it was, why was he here? 

    “Charlie please…”

    He reached a hand out to comfort her but pulled back. She was clearly in no state to be touched, let alone talked to. It concerned him given there wasn’t a lot to put together why. Other than Jen’s body...That was a serious point of discussion as those wounds were not natural.

    “Mike...Is that actually you?”

    “Yeah...Sam and Momo are here as well...they’re helping your aunt as best as possible...though...what happened?”

    The young girl sat for a moment. Neither said anything which was likely for the better as she still wasn’t fully sure of anything. It felt like only moments between Mike finding her and the attack but it couldn’t have been.

    “S-she opened the d-door a-and apparently s-something that looked like my father w-was out there…”

    The young boy’s face fell. That meant that his father’s creations had gotten loose. Things had just taken quite a turn for the worst for all of them. How could fate be so cruel? His father was a monster. His best friend’s father was dead, his brother was also dead, mother was gone and the only living relative was bleeding out… It felt like there was a sick joke to be had at their expense. 

    Charlie sat quietly, tears still falling down her face. She just wanted the nightmares to stop. Finally, be free from the horrid memory. Unsee her own father’s suicide. It haunted her even during the day sometimes if she wasn’t careful about it and it was starting to get worse now that there were those...things roaming around. When would it be over?

    She sat silently, simply lost in her thoughts since she wanted to get away from everything. It was easier for her to handle and likely better for everyone else since they would likely be dealing with her aunt’s wounds...and trying to keep her alive. No one checked on her for however long. It didn’t feel like a long time since Mike had left her alone but he finally came back and seemed slightly off.

    “Hey, Charlie? We...ah...Well, let’s just get out of here.”

    The two left the room. Neither spoke as they walked to the front of the house. What was there to say? One had seen what happened, the other could only speculate and neither wanted to discuss it. It felt...wrong to do so. Jen was alive but she could be ‘alive’ and still dead. 

    “There you are...I was worried…”

    Momo slowly walked over to the duo and studied them both. She had seen the state the woman had been in when they arrived and wanted to make sure that the two children were alright...well as alright as one could be after a close friend/relative was attacked. It was hard for her to say given neither seemed to really be there.

    “Hey...how...how about we go...actually let’s just get out of here…”

    Mike and Charlie only nodded. No one wanted to be here. It was as if someone had salted the earth and in a way, it had been. Jen’s blood had been spilled and now the house would be a prime target. It was best left alone for a long time.

    At last everyone made their way to the Nissan and got in. No one said anything as they left. No one looked back. They didn’t want to.