[Saturday, August 14, 2004] [It's late. Very late. We're talking one in the morning late. Actually, shouldn't that make it Sunday, August 15? Happy birthday to the GM! Anyway...] ( Happy birthday GM! Pleasedontkillme ) [We find ourselves at Wendy's! Actually, we find ourselves right outside the Wendy's, because the door's opening right about now. Yes. And Charlotte is stepping out, because the poor teenager had to deal with late night Wendy's drive thru. Woo hoo, that must've been a blast, what with all the stoners coming in and asking for eight biggie fries and a frosty to go.] [Then her supervisor told her to clean out the vat of grease- er, deep fryer- twice. Great fun. Anyway, she's finally FLEEING THE AREA. Go, Charlotte! Flee!] [Intro Session Start.] * Charlotte flees the area! Or rather, walks. Flees by walking! She looks tired. [That particular Wendy's looks like all other Wendy's, though the parking lot needs work. Also, the lights above it... aren't. There are puddles here and there thanks to the rain earlier that day.] * Charlotte walks at a decent pace in spite of her tiredness; she wants to get home. She's a fairly average girl, roughly average height. She does have a pretty face, however. Her hair is a nice shade of red, combed straight and falling a bit past her shoulders. * Charlotte is still wearing the black T-shirt and slacks that Wendy's workers wear, but she did have the good sense to change out of the trademark reddish- purple shirt before she started home, carrying it in a duffel bag over her shoulder. * Charlotte makes sure not to step in any puddles. [Charlotte pays careful attention to where she's stepping as she walks home. It's a generally humid and nasty night, and she can hear sirens from a distance off.] * Charlotte ignores them. [The sirens are no doubt offended, but they don't mug Charlotte. As she walks, the area gets noticeably slummier. Is that even a word? It is now. The buildings start looking more and more run down, the sidewalk gets in more disrepair and she has more puddles to avoid... there are even bars over some windows.] [There are a few other people on the street at this time of night, though they generally have the sense to travel in pairs or more. Across the street, she can see a group of guys getting in a fight. One's waving what's probably a knife, but it could be a gun.] * Charlotte especially ignores that. She does walk a bit quicker, however. [The noise from the group escalates, some curse words particularly loud, but Charlotte walks right on by. Someone from that way screams not too long after she passes, but it's quickly cut off.] * Charlotte stops, briefly. She glances back hesitantly, then continues at an even quicker pace. [Charlotte glances back; she sees some of the guys running, and the others backing away. One of them being held from behind by the other. All she has to go by is the moonlight, but she could swear the one holding the man looks wrong somehow. He's smiling and saying something, and she gets the feeling that smile's not human, but dead.] * Charlotte runs the other way quickly! [She runs a block or two before she starts to feel tired enough to slow down, because man. Running. Yeah. She stepped in a few puddles as she went, too, getting water over her shoes and shins.] * Charlotte doesn't care about that so much. She leans against a wall to catch her breath and glances back down the street. [Nobody followed her, as far as she can tell.] * Charlotte takes a bit longer to catch her breath and starts walking again. She glances behind herself every so often. [Yup, just another night. There goes those sirens again. Man. And was that a gunshot in the distance? Well, who's counting. In any case, someone falls into step alongside her. "Hey, you okay?"] * Charlotte whirls her head towards him. [It's actually a she, and she holds up her hands. She has black hair and dark eyes and is in her late twenties and dressed... if you want to call it dressed. She's reasonably pretty, her make up's kinda heavy, and she smells like cigarettes (maybe because she's holding one). "You just look spooked," she says in her own defense.] * Charlotte relaxes a bit at that. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine." She stays on her toes, though. In this neighborhood, who knows? [She nods, taking a drag of her cigarette. "All right. Want me to walk with you? For our protection." She grins. "I'm just goin' to work."] * Charlotte nods. "Okay..." She still keeps a fair distance from the woman, not trusting her yet. But still, at least she's human. [She sure looks human! And she walks along with Charlotte.] * Charlotte walks, keeping one eye on her. [The women walk in silence for a bit before she taps at her cigarette, sending some ash to the concrete. "What's your name?"] Charlotte. [She smiles. It's a decent smile. "Nice name. I'm Janet. You go to school?"] * Charlotte nods. "Yeah." ["Good to hear. Keep going."] * Charlotte keeps going! As in walking. "Do you?" [She laughs. "No. I kinda wish I stayed. Maybe I'd be a lawyer or somethin'."] Oh. ["It's not that bad," she says, picking up Charlotte's maybe disappointment. "But I could be making more out of my life than I am now."] * Charlotte nods. "What do you do now?" [Janet feels fairly calm and a bit curious concerning Charlotte, but it's nothing particularly overbearing. After Charlotte asks that question, she senses a twinge of shame and disgust. "I service people," Janet says plainly. "Sleep with guys for cash, y'know?"] Oh. [She shrugs, shoving the shame and disgust away; her feelings go back to the calm/curious mix they were. "It's a living."] I guess so. [She nods. "So, where are you going?"] * Charlotte points down the street. "This way." [Janet laughs. "I figured that out."] * Charlotte nods. I'm meeting with someone. ["Yeah? Boyfriend?"] * Charlotte shakes her head. ["Aww." And Janet tosses her cigarette to the ground, grinding it out with a step. She doesn't pull out another one.] Disappointed? ["Not really, but it was my first guess."] * Charlotte nods. [She looks to Charlotte. "So, who?" There are more people as they walk, though no fights are imminent. People are hanging out on corners and the like.] Just a friend. [Janet nods with a smile, looking ahead. Another woman dressed much like Janet, but a bit shorter and plainer, is waving at them. "Speaking of friends, I think this is where I leave ya. Good luck with school."] * Charlotte nods. "Thanks for walking with me." [She grins. "Sure. A girl can't be on the streets alone at night, right?" And Janet waves, heading off to cross the intersection and meet with her.] * Charlotte waves to Janet before continuing on her way. [As Charlotte waves, she gets a good look at the woman Janet's heading off to meet. The lady's eyes flash gold, and her teeth become sharper, and her face looks wrong somehow. She seems dead, a lot like the guy she caught a glimpse of earlier.] [Janet, for her part, doesn't seem to notice; she's just starting to cross the street now.] * Charlotte suddenly reaches out and grabs Janet's wrist. "W-wait." [Janet blinks and is pulled back onto the sidewalk. She looks at Charlotte. "What?"] * Charlotte almost whispers, "Don't go. She's dangerous." Her eyes flicker across the street at the other woman, briefly. [The woman across the street seems mildly peeved, folding her arms. Janet just looks at Charlotte strangely. "Tracy? I've known her for years."] * Charlotte shakes her head. "That's not Tracy. Not anymore. Please, don't go." [Janet looks across the street, then back at Charlotte. "She looks okay to me." And then she presses a hand against Charlotte's forehead. "Are you okay? You feel sick?"] * Charlotte takes Janet's hand from her head gently, in both hands. "I'm fine. Please, you've got to believe me." ["Janet, you coming?" Tracy yells from across the street. Janet looks back, and Tracy's waving her over. "Um... look," Janet says, "I know she looks like trash, but she *is* my friend, and she's not gonna hurt me."] * Charlotte shakes her head. "She will! You've got to listen to me! Whoever she was... she's not anymore. Please, listen to me!" ["Uh." She gets a good look at Charlotte's face, seems to consider a moment, then swallows and nods. She looks up at Tracy. "I'm takin' a day off!" she yells to the other woman. Tracy scowls, but then a guy walks up to her, and she's back to smiling as she strikes up a conversation with him.] * Charlotte sighs in relief. "Thanks for listening. We better go." ["Yeah, sure. Got any place in mind?" Janet asks, trying to cover her worry up with curiosity. She starts walking in the direction Charlotte was heading.] * Charlotte shakes her head as she pulls Janet away. "Anywhere but here." [Janet gets a good look at Charlotte's face. "What's wrong?" So much for hiding the worry.] * Charlotte points back. "She..." She takes a deep breath. "She... your friend... isn't human anymore." [Pause. "She looked human to me."] She did. But she wasn't. ["Uh... huh." Janet's looking skeptical.] I know it sounds crazy. But it's true. And... * Charlotte looks back over her shoulder at Tracy and the guy. "That guy will probably be dead tomorrow." [Janet glances over her shoulder, too. "You think she'll kill him?"] [Tracy's walking off with him now.] * Charlotte nods. ["Well, I guess it doesn't hurt for one night, but... uh, how do you know?"] * Charlotte bites her lip. "I... I'm not sure. I just ... do. I've been able to see things others can't recently. [Blink. "Oh, like ESP or something. My sister's convinced she has that."] Maybe she does. ["Yeah, maybe." She grins. "I always thought it was bull, but hey. If you're right and that was a ghost or something, it doesn't hurt. I'll say sorry later."] * Charlotte nods. "Okay, if you have to. Just... don't talk to her alone anymore. Or with less than three people." [She blinks. "Less than three people. Got it." Doesn't sound like she believes that one.] Preferably four or five. Or... just don't talk to her at all anymore. ["Uh, why don't we find out if she kills that guy first. And then, if my friend's a murderer, I can stay away from her. 'Cause that's what you do with murderers. Okay?"] * Charlotte nods. "Okay." [Charlotte's nearing her apartment!] * Charlotte notices. "This is where I stop." She smiles at Janet. "Thanks again for listening to me. Please be careful." [Janet grins. "I've always gotta be careful. You do the same, okay? Do good in school."] * Charlotte nods. "Thanks." [She waves, then goes back to walking. Probably to head home, but who really knows?] * Charlotte watches her go for a bit, then heads inside the building. [Charlotte heads into the building! Ah, home sweet home. The lighting's poor. There are staircases up and down, and they're both metal.] * Charlotte heads upstairs! [Charlotte goes up three flights of stairs, making quite a bit of noise just by doing so, but she can hear television sets and people arguing and everything through the thin walls of the building as she does so, so what's one more? She eventually reaches the door to her apartment.] [She can hear the TV through this door, too.] * Charlotte stops at the fourth floor and gets out her key, unlocking the door. She hears the TV and as she enters calls, "Sam? I'm home." ["Hey, Charlotte!" Sam looks up and over. He's sprawled on the couch watching some late night movie or another. His reddish-brown hair's an uncombed mess, and hazel eyes look her over real quick. He's got a bowl of microwave popcorn. "How was work?"] * Charlotte props drops her duffle bag on the table and wanders over. "Oh, it was okay," she lies, scooping a handful of popcorn. [He seems to catch that. "Okay, huh?" he asks, straightening so Charlotte can have a seat. "Wanna talk about it? Sounds like the bitch made you clean out the grease pit at least five times."] * Charlotte sits down next to him. "Just four." ["That sucks. Wanna stay up and finish off this movie with me, or are you too tired?"] * Charlotte chuckles. "I think I can pull through long enough to see the end of... what are you watching?" [Sam blinks, then he peers at the TV. Some car chase or another is going on. "Y'know, I'm not sure."] * Charlotte shrugs helplessly. "The end of this exciting future Oscar nominee." ["Eh, not as exciting as your triumphant return from the Fast Food Chain of Death," Sam says as he goes back to reclining on the couch. He has a handful of popcorn himself. All at once.] * Charlotte laughs. "I don't think it was that triumphant. I stepped right in a puddle on the way home." She smiles apologetically. "My shoes and pants are soaked. Sorry." ["Aww, what're you tryin' to do? Work me to death?"] * Charlotte shrugs helplessly, apologizing again. "Sorry! It was dark, and I didn't see it until SPLOOSH!" [He laughs. "All right. Just don't step in the same puddle again."] * Charlotte grins. "Don't worry. It'll be a different puddle next time." [Sam folds his arms, going back to watching the movie. "Knew it. You are tryin' to work me to death. It's a conspiracy."] * Charlotte turns her attention to the movie too. "Just keeping you on your toes." ["Yeah. They exist to make me stand on 'em 'cause of you."] * Charlotte grins. [Sam does his best to ignore the grin, eating popcorn and watching the movie. THE MOVIE. That he doesn't know the name of.] * Charlotte doesn't know either! But it's an excuse to steal more popcorn. [Woe, Sam's popcorn is stolen! And the intro session comes to an end!]