King of Beasts

Chapter 24

She waited on the back porch for him, standing by the railing with her fingers pulling at the hem of her shirt.

           

And she waited.

           

And waited.

           

The moon grew tall in the sky, the stars multiplied and dispersed, and Charlotte waited.  Inside, something was clawing to the surface, made her skin itch.  She wanted to run off the porch, run into the woods, find Gabe and tell him-- tell him what?

           

You couldn't see by looking at her, not with her face set in such a strict mask and her back as straight as it was, but Charlotte was tearing apart inside.  She was forgetting everything at the same rate her mind was making things up.  She couldn't remember where her house was in this town, yet somehow she'd sworn she spent hours this afternoon with Gabe despite the fact he physically couldn't enter the town during the day.

           

Yet it was as though her mind had forgotten something incredibly important, so important it had left a carbon copy behind so that as she stood on the porch waiting for her beast to come back to her, she fought her own mental decay to remember.  Runes.  She remembered runes, but her grandma had been using runes to help her all day long.

           

But there was something else.  Something more.  Without knowing it, Charlotte raised her hand and rubbed her scar where it ached straight down to the organ beating beneath her chest.  Where the hell was Gabe?

           

Like a bullet, an image of her on the ground, aching and losing her mind in a prison of runes blinded her.  She stumbled to the side, catching herself on the porch when it felt like her legs would give out.  God, oh god, oh god.  She straightened herself, suddenly begging for Gabe to arrive more than ever.  Her grandma was killing her.  Her god damn grandma was god damn killing her.

           

Heaving, trying to catch a breath, Charlotte took a step as though to run when the sound of the back door had her pausing.

           

And just like that, like the breeze her memories represented inside her fragile mind, the thought of her grandma killing her blew away.  The woman stepping out onto the porch with her was not a murderer, but a friend, a second mother, someone Charlotte loved dearly.

           

She offered a smile and relaxed, wondering when she had gotten so tense.  "Grandma." she greeted.  "What are you still doing up?"

           

Her grandma came to her side and then passed her, dropping into the chair by the back porch corner.  "I don't sleep much anymore sweetheart." she admitted, peeking up at the sky.  "Where's your beast tonight Charlie?"

           

Reminded of her purpose out here, so late, so desperate, came back like a sobering punch.  "I don't know." she shrugged, and turned back to face the forest off her grandmas porch just in case Gabe decided to show up at that moment.  "Grandma why--" Charlotte winced, feeling foolish for being unable to ask a simple question.

           

"Why didn't I tell you about the beasts?  About us?" her grandma supplied for her, saving Charlotte from her moment of weakness.