forum I summon thee @Young-Dusty

Started May 08, 2019 by @amber_is_in_a_loop

tune

Rick watched her with concern for a minute, then busied himself putting away his book and rearranging the things in his backpack. He didn't want to seem nosy about the letter, whatever it contained.

Charlotte slowly, carefully opened the letter, and read through the familiar yet hated scrawl.
As she read, a cold fear rose up and washed over her, chilling her to the bone more effectively than the rain every could. Only when she'd been holding the finished message for a solid minute did she register what was happening. Her eyes had welled up, she felt it, but she pushed it away and furiously rubbed the humidity in her eyes away.
Crumpling the letter and shoving it into her pocket, she whirled on Rick.
"Face me," she hissed, praying her eyes would dry.

He straightened up quickly, all at once a bit wary himself. "Ma'am?"

"Do you know Axel?" she asked slowly, clearly. Her eyes weren't drying– if anything the tears were persisting. "Do you?" Her voice came out breathy and weak and she hated it.

He saw how upset she was and held up his hands in an attempt to calm her. "I do not know the man personally," he replied cautiously. "He did me a little favor a few weeks ago so I did him a favor in return. I had no idea what was in the letter, and I still don't. I guess it….wasn't anything pleasant." He winced, not sure if he was being tactful or if he was making things worse.

Charlotte's hands dropped to her side. "No. Not pleasant."
She shook her head and, bending over, viciously rubbed her face.
She straightened up with a darkly resolute expression. "What did he do for you?"

"Nothin' much, just gave me a place to stay and work to do for a couple days. Helped me restock on supplies, stuff like that." He shrugged, still a bit nervous. "Is there something I should know about this guy? You seem awfully upset…."

She let out a bitter laugh, taking the letter back out and waving it in Rick's face. "He has my kids," she spat. "We left one peaceful terms and now this!"
Shaking with fear and rage she sank into a chair, breathing unsteadily.

At that, Rick's expression became much more serious. "He what?" He caught himself and hesitated, wondering if he should really get involved, then decided he might as well since he'd been the one to deliver the letter. "Ma'am, I know it's none of my business, but I do not like the sound of that. If you want me to, I'd be more than willing to help you, however I can. What exactly is all this about?"

Charlotte shook harder, hiding her head in her hands. Don't lose it just yet. Think rationally.
She leaned back in her chair, face taut in an effort to seem collected. "He blames me," she managed. "Almost more than he blames himself."

Rick was still confused, but could easily see how upset she was. "Blames you for what?" he asked gently.

She looked up at him blankly. "Sit." She nodded to the chair beside her own.
"First of all, know these aren't our biological children. But they might as well be."

(ahhh yes, so exciting! See you tomorrow!! XD)
Rick nodded, sitting down as she'd asked him to. "Okay. And this Axel guy….I take it you're not, uh, in any kinda relationship with him."

Charlotte placed a harrowed glare on Rick. "Never imply that again," she commanded

Rick ducked his head meekly. "Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am. Do carry on, I'll stop interruptin'."

"Right. We were both highly ranked in the army. During the war. So much so that they chose us for a project, one that didn't finish before the war ended," she started, her voice slowly gaining in stability. "We were both assigned two toddlers, one boy and one girl. Our job was to raise them to, simply put, be stronger fighters than the animals that… people used, so the government would stop torturing those creatures."
She paused to breathe and glanced up at Rick. She was really going to tell him everything, as much as it terrified her. Someone needed to know and Rick had, for some reason, seemed to Axel like a trustworthy person.
"Are you following?"

Rick nodded. "I follow you. Sounds to me like an idea that works well in theory, but not at all in practice, is that right?"

Charlotte considered him. Maybe not as dumb as he looks. "Indeed. Axel's girl, Jessie, broke under the pressure following an exercise she'd done with my boy, Will. Axel… well, he blamed me with the argument that I'd let Will lose control, but equally blames himself for coming up with the idea for said exercise. The guilt was too much for him, and he ran off. His boy Tomas had been doing better than the others and was released early," she finished grimly. The retelling was stirring up old wounds, but she silently battled through the memories. Truth be told, she hadn't stopped since the end of the war.

Rick listened with a furrowed brow. The whole situation sounded terrible to him, and it saddened him to think of anyone–let alone children–having to go through something like that. "I'm real sorry to hear that, Miss Charlotte. And your kids….what happened to them after that?"

She was dreading that question. "Tomas was killed fighting," she started closing her eyes again. "From what I know Jessie is still with them, but I guess Axel has her now."

Rick's jaw tightened. "And you're worried he's gonna take out his anger on the kid, is that right?"

She nodded slowly, eyes still shut against the fear she'd managed for so long to keep at bay. It would fuel her now, she figured. That and the simple promise she'd made to protect them.
"I don't even know what happened to Will. They blocked news," she admitted on a whisper.

He dipped his head. "I'm sorry." After a minute he came to a decision and looked back up. "I'd like to help you get your kid back if you'll allow me, ma'am. I know we're total strangers to each other, but it bothers me to think of leaving you to face this problem all by yourself. If you'd rather I left tomorrow, I understand, but I thought I'd offer."

She leaped to her feet. "No, I don't need help," she countered, half tripping over her own feet. Even as she almost fell over herself before catching herself on the counter behind her, her fierce gaze never left Rick's face.
How could you help me? she silently thought, the letter gripped in her hand.