Where is Marie?

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. As she lay Charlie down in his crib, she turned on the koala mobile and watched for a moment as the twinkle lights lit up the green vines that started slowly spinning. With one last tummy rub, she turned and crawled into bed. This will be the last night she spends with him, she thought as her vision blurred. She got back up and carefully picked up Charlie before getting back into bed. She nestled him under her arm and she began quietly sobbing.

Marie awoke to glass shattering. Startled, she shot up from her bed then remained still. Frozen in place. Frozen in a memory she thought she had repressed. Fear coursed through her body, a feeling not unfamiliar and images from a past life invaded her mind. Listening closely, she waited for another fumble. However, the person that broke the glass had seemed to refine their skills; silence filled the house.

She reached under her mattress and carefully pulled the tape securing the gun to her bed frame. After checking the clip, she pulled the handmade quilt to free her legs from the comfortable warmth it provided and crept to the door frame, pressing her back against the wall. Marie kept the windows covered at all times to secure her privacy but now it just blinded her from whoever was inside. She held her breath and waited.

A soft creak echoed through the hallway. Shaking, she cocked the gun and held it in front of her chest. Ears perked and heart pounding, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then peered around the door frame. The night lights she kept plugged in down the hall lit up her surroundings and saw nothing other than the usual shadows so she retreated back into the room. She heard owls hooting, louder than normal. She lived on an animal sanctuary and was designated to the owl barns. She was happy to take it when she had first arrived because she could never sleep at night anyhow, though in the recent months she had started to self-medicate her insomnia and her naps had become more frequent. Her nearest neighbour was close to a kilometer away and even though she lived deep into the property, late at night, the security of her location was not guaranteed.

Marie heard rustling downstairs and began to execute her escape plan. She carefully closed the door until it was only open a crack. She had always liked how creaky her wood floors were. She could hear exactly where anyone was like an audible GPS. Eventually she would hear the subtle alarm system sound as they made their way through the house. She then tied the door knob to the door knob of the closet. At this angle, the door could not be opened fully, but still allowed her to hear anything from beyond the entryway. She snuck over to the window and pulled up back the curtains. Once she had the window open, she surveyed the yard and spotted her motorcycle parked behind the shed; away from direct view from the driveway. Slipping into her black, ripped overall jeans she had left on the floor earlier that night, and grabbing her warmest cardigan and jacket, she stepped out onto the ledge directly below her window frame. She moved her hands to the handles she had fastened to the outside of the window and closed the it once more before counting to three and leaping down off the ledge.

Running through the bushes, she made her way to the bike. She stepped into the shed and grabbed her helmet before carefully searching the trunk for the backpack she had stashed there when she first moved here. Marie swung the bag around her shoulders and made her way to her bike. She put it in neutral and started pushing it down the path through the spruce, birch, and pine trees that engulfed the acreage behind the shed. She looked back and saw figures in the window. They were very clearly looking for something, though they would have no luck. As she made her way to the main path, she noticed the intruders pointing out the window and frantically evacuating the room. Shit.

Swinging her leg around the bike, she sat down, put on her helmet, and started the engine. No point in being quiet now. She drove through the sanctuary, passing the foxhole, the reindeer, and the donkeys. By the time she reached the far side of the sanctuary, just before the bear den, headlights flooded the path behind her. Marie sped up, spitting rocks at the car behind her. She made her way through gates as the car started catching up, panicked she sped up and made her way around the bend. Knowing she wasn't going to be able to outrun them, she turned onto a side road and parked the bike in the bushes. As she ducked for cover, the car sped by down the street. The road was straight for a kilometer and a half, so she wouldn't have much time before they realized that she wasn't on the main road anymore. She climbed up a tree and tied the bag to a high branch before she jumped back down. As she found the ground again, she saw the headlights coming back her way. She began running through the trees away from her backpack, almost tripping over every root she came across. She stopped to catch her breath and listen to where they might be. Hands trembling and lungs burning, she peered around the trunk of the tree. There were at least four of them, maybe six; it was hard to tell the difference between the trees and the villains. She turned, catching her breath, frozen in fright. In front of her stood a man that towered over her, nearly six and a half feet tall. "Surprise!" he stated as calm as the forest that surrounded them before reaching towards her and silencing her scream before it had a chance to leave her mouth. Then it went black.

Head pounding and joints aching, Marie began waking up feeling disoriented. She half expected to wake up in her bed at the barn before she noticed the white paneling of her surroundings. Before she could understand what that meant, she rolled over threw up.

"Look who's awake" said a deep voice, followed by a mocking chuckle. Marie rolled away from the vomit and squinted toward the voice, barely making out the figure in front of her. As her eyes adjusted, the first she noticed was they were wearing any masks; never a good sign. They were three of them, all clean-looking, handsome, and perfectly normal looking men, not people that would set off any alarms when you passed them on the street. She didn't recognize two of them, but she knew every pore of the man on the far left; Richard.

"Long time, no see, Ally-Cat", he said, with a huge smile on his face. "Or should I saw, Marie." The smile quickly dropping from his face. Pulling her up by her hair, Marie grappled at his hands as she yelled out in pain. "Now, tell me," he growled in her ear, enunciating every word, "where is my boy?" She didn't speak, just focused on getting away from the man she once used to hold so close. He threw her down and her wrist snapped as she broke her fall and she screamed out. He jumped on top of her and pinned her down, demanding more answers. "It has been two years! You tell me where he is, you bitch!" He struck her, followed by another hit and then another. She could feel herself slipping back into unconsciousness with every strike. A few more and she was out.

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Charlie walked toward the private investigators office, when he heard glass shattering. In that moment, he was reminded of one of the few memories he could remember.

As the glass fell to the floor, he froze in fright. Ally shot up fom the couch, instantly infuriated. If that kid broke another dish, she thought, I'm going to fucking kill 'em.

"Aiden? Everything okay?" Mary yelled from her bed. Only silence responded. "Aiden?" She tried again, getting of bed and making her way to the kitchen. She entered the kitchen as Aiden was wiping up the milk that had splashed onto the floor with a towel he must have grabbed from the oven door handle. She sighed, exasperated, pinching the bridge of her nose. Aiden sobbed quietly, continuing to drown the chipmunks embroidered on the rag, now dripping with milk. Seeing his panic, she immediately regretted the frustration and knelt down to help him clean it up. The glass was threatening injury and Aiden seemed to be willing to sacrifice himself for the cause.

Gently grabbing his wrist, she pulled it back and tried to make eye contact. Refusing to meet her eye, he froze still, allowing the milk to drip back into the pool on the floor. "Go clean yourself up. I got this." she said, rubbing his back, trying to ignore the flinch it initated.

He sobbed a little harder now, no longer able to project his fear into the linoleum. "You're alright. Just go get some dry clothes and I'll get the glass." Pulling up on his arm, he got up, shaking, and slowly made his way out of the kitchen towards the bathroom. Ally threw the towel into the sink and got the mop and broom. After she cleaned everything up, she went to the back of her closet and collected one the glasses from her stash and replaced the one that had broke. She placed it in the cupboard in the missing spot and closed the door. Like it never happened.

The muffled apologies became clearer when he felt a hand on his shoulder, jolting him out of his own head. "Sir, are you okay?" He turned his head to see who was speaking before looking around. He noticed a glass being cleaned up on the patio of the restaurant. Turning back to the person on his right, he nodded, smiling for reassurance.

"I'm alright, I'm alright, thanks. Just taking a beat." The samaritan walked away and he continued into the P.I.'s office. He was about to find out what events lead to his mothers death. She dropped him off at a friends house and was never seen again; it always bugged him. He didn't understand why she left, but from what he could remember, she wouldn't have left with no good reason. She never used any of her safe drops and he needed to know why.

He opened the door and sat down in the very chair he has sat in five times now. Usually leading to disappointment, but today felt different. Mr. Filmore sat across from him at his desk.

"Good news, Charlie. I found her."

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