Finding Charlotte

I have to make this fast, I don’t have a lot of time. Don’t have a lot of answers, either. Hopefully I’ll have more of both soon.

Wade, Marek and I tracked Charlotte’s scent all morning long. As her scent grew stronger, Cassian’s began to fade away, and I don’t have a damn clue why. We tore through the woods, tearing up underbrush and probably leaving a path of destruction behind us. Every step I took filled me with a deeper sense of dread. I ran through battles in my head, trying to figure out what the odds of three vampires, two of which had never seen combat, taking on somone of Cassian’s caliber and surviving. Images of my friends being torn apart before my eyes filled my head, followed by the imaginary echoes of Cassian’s laughter.

We followed the scent, scrambling through the mud and rocks up the side of the mountain. As we got closer to the peak, the scent got more intense, and I knew that whatever peril we were going to face was going to be waiting right at the summit.

Only it wasn’t.

The mountaintop was empty. Three vampires stared out at the horizon, seeing nothing but vast space.

Then we looked down.

No.

Looking no bigger than a child’s rag doll, Charlotte lay, crumpled and tangled, at the bottom of the ravine.

My heart would have stopped then and there if it still beat.

Wade, ever the extreme sports enthusiase helped us navigate our way down, and we ran to her. Her eyes were closed and her body was contorted in ways that a body should never be twisted; human -or- vampire. Fighting the sense of dread, I tried to straighten out her limbs, knowing that we possess amazing abilities to heal, but the bones have to be straight in order to set properly. As I watched Wade’s face fill with horror, I remembered that he’d probably never seen damage as badly as this, wheras in war, it was common place. He tenderly aligned her bones as best he could. I could tell how deeply this was affecting him.

Then, something wholly unexplanable happened.

As Marek’s hands touched her wounds, Charlotte’s bones began to mend. I don’t have any explanation for it. Vampires heal quickly, but they don’t heal THAT quickly. Maybe they do, but never that I’ve seen. Marek swears that he didn’t do anything, and I don’t see how he could have, either, but I know that I didn’t do it. Wade didn’t do it. Charlotte was barely conscious at the time. It had to be Marek. I’m going to have to give the kid an interrogation later to find out how the hell he managed to do that.

Now, we’re sitting in an abandoned cabin deep within the mountains. This is probably one of those places the rangers stay in during the summers, but there hasn’t been any humans in here for the longest time. Wade is out trying to secure us a car, and a meal for Charlotte. Her eyes are black as tar, and she’s weak with pain and malnourishment. All I can do is wait for Wade to return.

The Search for Charlotte, Day 1

Wade and I tracked Charlotte the better part of the day. It was hours before we were even able to get the faintest hint of her scent. It led us northward to the Iron Horse Trail and along the mountains.

One thought has been haunting me since she disappeared.

Charlotte is gifted. Don’t mean that in the high school kind of way. The girl has talent; she can make people do what she wants them to do. If she was taken by force, it meant she couldn’t use her gift.

There’s only one or two vampires I’ve ever heard about who could pull that off.

One of them has already has a taste of her and promised to come back for a second bite.

After catching his scent, I knew with certainty that he had. Cassian.

Cassian was the main recruiter for Dias in the Southern Covens. He was damn good at what he did, and under his command the Dias coven held most of the southern tip of Texas and stretched into Mexico.For decades he led the Dias troops in battle, squaring off against Maria Vasquez on multiple occasions. His training methods are relentless and ruthless; Dias held so large a territory because his soldiers were highly skilled. Cassian was known for killing his newborns for the smallest mistake; even the minute errors on the battlefield were unforgivable. He’d recruit throughout Texas, setting up training camps in every part of unclaimed wilderness and drawing from them when he needed replacements for his frontlines.

After a falling out with Dias, Cassian got tired of playing second fiddle and moved northward to recruit and gather only the most gifted vampires to return to Texas and take back the south for Cassian. That’s how I met him; I was forced into his service. Charlotte was as well. We escaped, and thought we had left that bastard behind.

I guess we were wrong.

I Broke My Promise…

I promised I’d keep my eye on her.

I promised that she would be in good hands.

I couldn’t keep my promise.

Peter, I’m so sorry.

This is all that’s left:

Charlotte's Backpack

Charlotte's copy of Gone With The Wind

Charlotte's Locket

Charlotte's Cell Phone

I will find her.

I swear to you, I will find her.

If only I knew where to start looking.

Eye of the Storm

See, this is why I love Seattle. You never know quite what’s going to happen. In the past 2 days, I’ve surfed a windstorm, danced the night away, and shredded the backcountry snowboarding with my boy Wade. That’s more adventure than I’ve had in months.

 Have to say, though, this trip did not start off so well. When Charlotte texted me, I was in Death Valley with Marek. She said that she needed to talk to someone, but wouldn’t give me any details no matter how hard I tried to press them out of her. Cryptic messages about some fight with a friend were all she’d fire back with. I got concerned and sent a text message off to her husband, hoping for some answers. None were forthcoming. Frustrated, I asked if they wanted company. Asking was only a courtesy. I was going to show up whether they damn well wanted me to or not. 

 Our first night in Seattle was awkward, to say the least. I like to think that I know Char and Peter pretty well. They’re two of only a few nomads that I actually keep in contact with. (It’s Char’s fault that I have a damn Twitter page – she wouldn’t shut up about how easy it makes keeping in touch.) But from the moment that they came around the corner, I felt like I was looking at two strangers. Peter’s face looked cracked with greif and worry, though his lazy relaxed smile was plastered on. Charlotte’s always been fair, but her skin was unnaturally pale and her eyes were sunken in. They both looked like they had just weathered a storm.

 I knew better than to ask what had happened to them, but I picked pieces up along the way.  They had some kind of brawl with a longtime friend. Char later said that he was a VETA who’s now decided to turn on his friends who don’t agree with his lifestyle. I think she might have thrown the world cult into the mix, or maybe that was just my own internal commentary. Don’t know. Don’t care.  Marek and I did our best to just keep the conversation flowing; seemed like they just needed to lose themselves for a bit and find some distraction.

 They think they’re fooling us with those forcefully bright expressions. I’ll keep quiet and let them think they’re pulling something off here, but the fact is, these two are probably closer to the edge than I’ve ever seen them.  Peter can’t keep his hands off of her. They try to be subtle about it, but every time I look away, he’s reaching out to her or she’s reaching out to him. They’ve always been cute, but this is different. It looks like they’re both terrified of losing eachother, so they’re gripping on as tight as they can. When their eyes lock, it’s expressions of fear and worry that unite them, not the love that I used to see in their eyes.

 I don’t know what to think of this. I don’t know what to do or how to fix this. My gut instinct is to head to Forks and tear the bastard who did this limb from limb. Somehow, I don’t think that would help Charlotte or Peter in the slightest, so I’m keeping myself restrained. But the temptation to kick some ass is bubbling beneath the surface.

 I think probably my biggest indication that things are right on the edge of spinning out of control was that we headed out to Sangre and Peter was nowhere to be found. Peter and Char don’t separate. They just don’t. Then, I catch Charlotte slow dancing with Wade. Now, I know it was completely innocent, she’d never dream of cheating on Peter, especially in front of me. I wouldn’t let either one of them eff up what they have with eachother in such a ridiculous way.  But I could tell from the way they were talking so softly as they danced; there’s a connection between them. I ain’t happy that she’s not talking to me, trust me.  I don’t like being shut out. But I figure, at least she’s talking to someone, right? Well, that’s what I keep telling myself. I could be lying, who knows.

 I gotta jet, folks, we’re about to head back to the city.

Here we go…

Mama help me I’ve been cursed
Death is rolling in every verse
Candy paint on his brand new hearse
Can’t contain him he knows he works
Fuck this hurts, I won’t lie
Doesn’t matter how hard I try
Half the words don’t mean a thing
And I know that I wont be satisfied
So why try ignoring him
Make it a dirt dance floor again
Say your prayers and stomp it out
When they bring that chorus in

+Bleed It Out, LP+