Screaming in the Dark

She froze a little as the woman mentioned a he, “He?” she whispered, eyeing her curiously. “You know who is doing this?” she asked, before she nodded a couple of times, realising that they needed to get away and get somewhere safe. Somewhere where she could try and piece together what was happening, try in time to try and stop whatever this was. She scanned the area to see where would be safest, she indicated to the nearest building, the shop closed and bordered up. She didn’t blame them. “Here, we can hide in here.”

Carly faltered, unsure of how to describe the man, if it could even be called that. After she’d woken up, she’d done her research into the legends, trying to figure out just what she’d seen. Of course, it was of little help; no one really knew what they were talking about either. But at least the books had give him a name. “The legends call him the Sandman. That’s my best guess right now. I’ll explain later.” She turned on her heel to face the building the woman had pointed out. It was boarded up, but it would be easy enough to knock out one of the window panes, she decided with a nod. “Yeah sounds good,” she agreed, jogging over to examine it better. 

The wood was new, having only been put up within the last few weeks, if she could guess. Made it difficult to find a weak spot, but Carly had kicked down enough doors she thought she could handle some plywood. “All right stand back a second,” she instructed, before taking a running start and throwing her shoulder at the corner of the wood board.

She was shaking by the time the blonde’s figure emerged through the hallucination of the boy, and frantic hazel hues desperately scanned her features as she was told that what she was seeing wasn’t real. Her breathing coming in short, raspy gasps she looked back over the woman’s shoulder to find that the boy was gone, though the screams were still ever present, mingled in with that of the people of Braddock around her. 

She tried to access the more rational part of her brain, the part that screamed to get going, get herself to the safe points to help those that would eventually need help and she slowly began to pull herself upright and nodded firmly. “Do you know what it is?” she asked urgently, wondering if there was a way they could stop it, or someone they could contact to work on it whilst she attended to the wounded that would inevitably occur. 

As Carly kept her imploring gaze on the woman’s wild eyes, the hair on the back of her neck was standing straight on end; there was something in the air that was familiar-- and not in a good way. She was grateful when the other woman snapped back to reality, unsure what she would have done otherwise. It was against her nature to leave someone in danger, but every instinct in her body was screaming at her to move. Now. Her shoulders slumped a bit in relief as the brunette pulled herself together, and Carly dropped her hand from her arm.

At the question, Carly shrugged, the gesture almost flippant despite the circumstances. “Your guess is as good as mine.” Her face was grim. “If I had to guess though, I think He’s back.” She could feel it in her chest, though the words froze her blood cold. And people having dreamworld hallucinations? That held all the hallmarks of Him. “Whatever it is I don’t think we want to be out in the open, we have to find cover.”

The thirst was almost unbearable. Juliet hadn’t had a drink of human blood in months but tonight, she was on edge. Any animal blood that she had been drinking lately wasn’t taking the edge off and she was feeling more anxious and thirsty than normal. She always tried to abstain from drinking human blood, but she was at her breaking point and at this point she needed it. 

Juliet left her apartment late at night. She knew that if Sebastian was there, he’d understand. He may have even came with her. But he wasn’t there and she was alone. She didn’t mind, she’d do what she had to to feel better. Her senses were starting to diminish and her mind was fuzzy. She needed blood and she needed it soon.

Juliet made her way to the Continuum bar, knowing that she’d find an unknowing prey quick. She walked into the bar and stole a drink from a table, not caring if anyone noticed or not. She chugged the drink and sat the glass cup onto the bar as she took a seat at the bar. She turned around to survey the room. Normally, she’d do some research to see if anyone around town deserved to be fed from. Maybe they were bad people, or maybe they were horrible to other people, but tonight, Juliet was doing her own thing and not caring about what it might look. 

She finally laid her eyes on a small, petite girl that was dancing on the dance floor, flirting with every girl, and guy, that walked by. She was it. That’s who Juliet wanted. She would be easy for Juliet to snatch and hold while she fed on her. She wouldn’t put up much of a fight and that’s what Juliet needed. She was too weak to overpower anyone with strength. 

Juliet waited for what seemed like hours until the girl finally left. She sauntered out of the bar, obviously drunk. Juliet couldn’t help but smile as she watched her. Juliet followed her, in the shadows, and her mouth salivated the closer she got to her. Juliet’s lips pulled up into an even wider smile as the girl entered an alleyway. The perfect area to jump her.

“Excuse me… Are you all right?”

Juliet’s body tensed and she clenched her jaw. “Fuck.” She hissed and turned to see who was behind her. If she were stronger and more aware, she would have noticed someone following her. That’s when Juliet smelled her. It. This girl definitely wasn’t human, nor was she a vampire. Most likely a werewolf.  “I’m perfectly fine. Mind your own damn business.” Juliet glared at her. 

She didn’t know what she expected after calling out to the woman in the alley, but it certainly hadn’t been outright hostility. Carly’s step faltered when she felt more than saw the heat of the other woman’s glare. It took half a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darker spot, but as the dark haired woman’s face shifted into view it became clear that her features were twisted into anger. That was enough to stop her in her tracks. What had begun as an attempt to help someone drunk or injured had suddenly morphed into a potentially hostile situation. It was enough to make her want to throw up her hands and leave; obviously the woman didn’t need her help. However now she had the opposite problem: the vehemence with which the woman wanted to be alone hinted at illegal activity, so she couldn’t just back down now. 

If this was New York, she might have assumed the woman was a prostitute, what from the alleyway and the nearness to Continuum, but that was unlikely in Braddock. It could still be drugs... She shook her head, as if to say she wasn’t just going to walk away. “What are you--” she began, but at that moment, the wind shifted and suddenly she could smell the other woman. Not her perfume, or something in her hair-- no, Carly could smell her very species. And then she knew what the girl was. Worse than a prostitute: Vampire. 

Instantly Carly recoiled, falling back a few steps, and the hair on her neck stood straight up. Vampire. She was in a darkened alleyway, feet away from a pissed off vampire. All things considered, not her best decision. A sudden noise over the brunette’s shoulder pulled Carly from her racing thoughts, and she glanced beyond the vampire to see a second woman, further down the alley. This one was clearly drunk, and it didn’t take more than a second for her to put the pieces together as to what was really going on. Not that she could up and accuse the brunette of anything. Her only hope was that the vampire hadn’t realized her own species yet, as she squared her shoulders and fixed her with a firmer stare.

“What are you doing?” she finished the question, hoping her voice sounded bolder than she felt. 

“There are a variety of things I could use. First and foremost a talisman or magical herb that will make you go away.” she sighed. Carmen knew she was in no position to be snarky considering she was the one actually breaking the law. But her aversion to police officers had started when she was young and hadn’t let up since arriving in Braddock. Breaking out of prison would make anyone paranoid and mean but being in a small town made things much worse. From the moment she’d arrived Carmen could feel herself under Carly’s microscope and it unnerved her. 

“Maintaining order is just as important as catching a murder? I think you’ve got your priorities mixed up Officer Simmons and in case you haven’t noticed, there is no order.” she yelled louder than she meant to. “People are still riding the high from the disease going away. They’re placating themselves with anything that feels good at the moment but its fleeting.” Her grip on the door handle tightened as she tried her best to control her anger. “The second everyone succumbs to their fears again you all will be just as useless as you were during the plague.” Carmen let go of the door and walked towards Carly. “Maybe when the mob starts up again they’ll pick you all off one by one instead of people too weak to defend themselves.” she said her face only a few inches from Carly’s. “You’re not going to arrest me.” she said in a low voice, the anger clear on her face. “But you’re welcome to try.” 

“Keeping order is essential to making sure more homicides don’t happen,” Carly argued with a shake of her head, though she didn’t expect Carmen to understand. The hot-headed girl seemed intent on making her point about how little the police were doing. The frustrated part of Carly wanted to fire back with what it was that police could really do, when it was clear they were up against something supernatural. But those weren’t conversations to start here. When Carmen brought up her own usefulness during the plague, it was like a slap in the face, and she was sure her surprise was visible. The wave of guilt washed over her again, because Carmen was right; she should have been there to help. The sudden rush of shame caused Carly not to react initially while Carmen started yelling threats, nor did she stop the other girl’s rapid approach.

When Carmen stood toe to toe with her however, Carly was no longer able to take any chances. Automatically her right hand went to the small of her back, pulling free the handcuffs from where they rested against her spine. With her left, she caught Carmen by the upper forearm, holding her steady long enough to click the metal cuffs around the wrist. The element of surprise lost, Carly worked quickly, twisting the cuffed arm behind Carmen's back as she sidestepped the younger woman, planting her other hand on the girl's shoulder. "Don't struggle, you gave me no choice," she instructed, trying to get the other wrist cuffed. Finally with the click of metal, Carmen was cuffed, and Carly gripped her by the forearm once more. What to do with her now was a separate question. She supposed that was something Jason would be best to consult with. "Come on, we're going to the station," she sighed, starting to lead her back towards the car.

She tugged the collar of her jacket up around her neck, both to combat the winter chill that still clung to the early March air, and as a pseudo-gesture of protection. Carly had never been afraid of the dark before, but then that had been before her living nightmare. Now every movement in the shadows was the wolf, and although she told herself she was awake, that she was here, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was still all just a dream. Not to mention the fact that there now were plenty of creatures in town that went bump in the night... All together it was enough to make the seasoned cop a little bit jumpy. 

As she walked along the streets, heading from downtown towards her own home in the historic district, nothing in particular seemed out of the ordinary; the streets were neither empty nor full, with plenty of people still out enjoying the night. The sky was clear, something that Carly would have enjoyed, had it not been for the tear in the sky that still caused her stomach to flip flop. Instead, she kept her eyes fixed firmly ahead of her, and that is how she saw the woman. 

She’d all but emerged from the shadows themselves, slipping down another alley before Carly had even registered her being there; had she not been looking in the right direction surely she would have missed her. Something about the way the figure was moving struck Carly as off. Against her better judgement, she turned down the alley to follow, calling out to the woman in front of her as she stepped into the shadowed lane.  

“Excuse me... Are you all right?”

        With her mouth slightly ajar and her eyes wide, Abbie was momentarily horrified into being speechless. That was unmistakably an official badge - she had seen both real and fake ones enough to know which she was looking at. Oops was an understatement. She had done a lot these last couple of years, and gotten away with far more than she had ever been busted for, but somehow she had the gut feeling that “kicking a cop” fell distinctly into the realm of ‘not getting away with.’ It also seemed like the kind of thing that got you a real record, not a juvie one. Abbie retreated slightly, clinging to the door and trying to look contrite.         “Adam’s not here,” her autopilot response. No one in authority was ever looking to talk to her, not even when it was about her, so she figured she’d head off the question before it came up. “He said he’d be back before ten.” She idled on that note, fiddling nervously with the lock on the doorknob. She tried to make herself avoid eye contact, but ended up staring expectantly at the woman while biting the inside of her cheek hard. She felt, somehow, like she knew who this cop was, but couldn’t think why. More than likely, it was someone who’d dragged her back to the home after busting her in one of those abandoned places.         “Did someone like … do something?” Translated: which kid was caught on a security camera, and are you going to take them from us? No one ever cared what any of them did until it was disruptive - she hadn’t even really considered calling the cops. They would probably say she was making a prank call. She wasn’t expecting any kind of help from anyone over the age of eighteen.

She watched the emotions play out across the younger girl’s face, able to read the look of panic at the revelation of who Carly was. It was clear that police were not the expected presence at the door, which made sense considering the reason for her visit in the first place was following up on a burglary. It softened her initial annoyance at the attack, and though it did little to stop the pain in her leg, Carly knew it would be a bruise at most. She’d certainly had worse. 

Fighting the urge to bend down and rub the sore spot on her leg, she instead leveled the girl with a stare that was calmer. “You shouldn’t open the door at all if you’re worried about who might be outside. Kicking them isn’t going to stop someone who might be here to harm you.” Carly shifted the file in her hand, glancing down to make sure nothing had fallen free when she’d jumped backwards. It looked like everything was in order, aside from the fact that it seemed person she was looking for was not in. She opened the file again to take another name at the reporting person. Adam Nelson. “Mr. Nelson, correct? Do you know when he’ll be back?”

She snapped the file closed again, missing the look on the younger girl’s face as she asked the question. Carly furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment, before assuming she must have been talking about the burglary “No, we haven’t caught anyone yet, I’m just here following up on the case to make sure there hasn’t been anymore suspicious activity, or details Mr. Nelson can remember.”  

He exhaled softly, shrugging a little as a small smile briefly appeared on his lips before it faded quickly as he leant back in his booth. “Hectic, I have the uh, sorry for what my brother did  this time apology down pat.” he admitted, though Cole equally knew the exact same apology for anything Aaron did as well. It was Grant everyone should’ve felt sorry for, constantly chasing up after his sons and cleaning up their messes. He was relieved though, to hear that his conversation hadn’t revealed too much, he was desperate clinging to his cover as the charming bartender, he wasn’t ready to have people know too much about what his extracurriculars were. 

“Two years?” he echoed, exhaling softly as he looked at her, wondering how someone could handle this much crazy for so long. He was barely pushing six months and ready to flee the minute he could, despite the fact the werewolf population seemed to be bigger then ever and out of control. “How long were you away for?” the question left his lips before he could stop himself, and he shrugged again in response to her question. “About six months, still fairly new.”

The smile that formed on her face was tinged with sadness, but she smiled at his words nonetheless. “Sounds like a you’ve needed to have that speech a lot. I never had to practice one like that, but I’m sure my brother did. I think it comes with the territory of being eldest.” Carly had never liked talking about her brother since his death, and could count on one hand the people she’d mentioned his existence to since moving to Braddock. However the words seemed to pour from her lips automatically, as if after her recent brush with the dream world, where she’d watched him die over and over again, she’d suddenly found herself with less of a filter. Maybe it was some method of coping. 

Carly nodded at his exclamation. “It sounds strange even to me when you say it out loud,” she admitted. “It feels like just yesterday I put in my transfer papers and found myself here.” Two years ago she’d been desperate to run, little did she know she’d find herself in the middle of super-supernatural activity. Maybe she should have paid more attention to why the transfer papers had gone through so quickly... When he stated how long he’d been there, she couldn’t help the corner of her lips quirking up humorlessly. “Well that would be why then. I’ve been gone for about six months.”

Carmen sighed at the sound of the familiar voice. She wanted to kick herself for not only getting caught but for getting caught by an actual cop. “I’d prefer to think of it as an unscheduled visit during which I’d borrow some items from the store.” she said with sly smile. “I would’ve used the front door but Hexbound seems to be abandoned since Mercedes died of the horrible plague that swept over the town.” she said with a bit of venom in her voice. “And they do say that desperate times call for desperate measures.” she leaned against the door, her eyes never straying away from Carly. “Can you just let this one slide Officer Simmons? I mean shouldn’t you be investigating something more serious? The identities of those murders in the hunting parties for instance.” Carmen loosened her grip on the door incase she needed to defend herself. She hadn’t had many interactions with Carly but she knew the officer wasn’t one to be messed with. “Then again I hear most of you pigs plan on continuing to sit on your asses and do nothing while the town goes straight to hell.” 

Carly found herself wracking her brain, trying to remember if any of the case summaries she’d read that morning had mentioned Carmen. Before her hospital stay, Carly had been trying to keep an eye on the girl, suspecting from her history that she was bad news waiting to happen. However she didn’t know whether or not the suspicious girl had had contact with the police while she was off the job. Was this a first offense or one of many, by now? “What could you possibly need from an occult shop desperately enough to steal it? You know what, never mind I don’t think I want to know,” she continued without leaving space for an answer, shaking her head. 

At the mention of the store owner’s fate, as well as the plague, Carly fell silent for a moment. After all, she had no right to comment on what had happened since she hadn’t experienced it. But the law was still the law, and it was needed in times of crisis more than ever. “What happened to Ms. Delgado is... incredibly sad. But that shop is the property of someone else now, its not just up for grabs. As for the murders, Homicide is on those cases, leaving the rest of us free to try and maintain order. With everything thats going on, thats just as important,” she countered, though she knew her words would fall on deaf ears. From the biting tone of her continued remarks, it was clear Carmen was not interested in hearing anything Carly had to say. “And you’re not helping your case of me not arresting you right here and now.” Carly finally crossed her arms in front of her chest, quickly growing tired of the girl’s tone. 

“Fuck,” he hissed under his breath as she informed him she had not seen him. “I…well,” Vincent paused to regain his composure and properly explain the fake situation. “I have kind of been more or less missing for a few weeks, but I got back a few days ago and she hasn’t returned and I don’t have my phone to contact her. So…kind of?” His thoughts faded as he stared in the face of a woman that looked so familiar. But what was it? Why did he recognize her face? “Hey, you’re that police officer that was in a coma, aren’t you?”

She listened to his explanation, debating whether or not this counted as a case of missing persons. “So you haven’t been able to contact her...Do you want to use my phone?” Slipping it out of her pocket, she offered it towards him, more of a symbolic gesture since he was currently out of her reach. However at his next words, Carly bit her lip. She looked down for a moment, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear subconsciously. “Uh...yeah...That...that was me,” she nodded, bobbing her head awkwardly as she looked up at him again. “But I’m...uh...back on the job, so I can try to help you find your sister.” 

He frowned briefly, before dropping his gaze to his phone, “Oh, he’s younger. Couple of years or so between us, thinks he knows better still.” a slight shrug was the only movement, before his frown increased slightly and realisation that she thought he was angry kicked in. Whoops. He relaxed his features and forced the easy smile to his lips, the one that usually got him off the hook with most things, usually trouble related. He didn’t recognise the woman in front of him from around town, wondering if she was new or if she kept an even lower profile then he did, he shifted forward to lean on the table and pay better attention to her. 

“It’s fine, I was having a conversation in public, it’s basically forfeiting any right to privacy.” he reminded her gently, an easy grin still on his lips as he tried to remember that little gem the next time he was talking about things he shouldn’t be in public - he didn’t need to risk unnecessary  exposure or unwanted attention because someone heard him talking about things that weren’t meant to exist. For now though, he was curious to learn more about the woman. “I’m sorry, but, are you new in town? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”

“Can’t imagine what that must be like,” she returned, smiling politely but not pushing further. Carly knew better than anyone that family matters could be touchy subjects, so she was careful not to reply with more than generalities. When he smiled and leaned towards her, she relaxed a little more. As long as she hadn’t come across as nosy... “Either way, I was lost in my own head, so you’re fine,” she assured him once more, giving him a smile in return. 

When he asked if she was new, however, Carly shifted a little uneasily. She was glad he had said it-- she definitely knew she didn’t recognize his face either,  but didn’t want to rudely ask who he was-- but she suddenly didn’t know how to answer his question. Most people in town recognized her from the papers, but what was she to say to someone who didn’t? ‘I was in a coma for six months’ wasn’t exactly prime smalltalk with a stranger. Not wanting to let too much time pass before answering, she shook her head once. “No, I moved here about two years ago. I’ve just been...away for a while.” Carly shrugged casually, as if that were a personally reasonable thing to have done. “I don’t think we’ve met before though, when did you move here?”