Apprehensive Wait

The drive was not welcoming with the eerie feeling settling in considering that she had about an hour to mull it over. The lights from the lanterns on the highway flickered through the car windows, and she tapped her fingers nervously on the steering wheel, driving faster than she normally would in search of Vincent.

She didn't get any other phone calls, and she stared back at the black screen that she tossed in the passenger seat that was on the verge of falling to the bottom of the car which would in turn add more to the headache.

Her eyes cast to the rearview mirror to see that the car that was high tailing her had finally switched to the other lane to bypass her. She was getting worried that the car would be of vigilante rule and was hunting her down.

A fast car that was clearly speeding down the road was a relief rather than an annoyance considering that everyone was at their throats at the moment. She turned on the radio on a whim to listen to whatever music was on to try and calm her nerves.

It did work with the smooth jazz filling the air, and she leaned her head back on the headrest as the bluesy trumpets did their work of turning the dull silence into a somewhat electrifying moment that she knew would linger in her mind for days to come.

At this rate, she would end up with some kind of heart attack rather than die of old age considering all the recent events that she had to go through with Vincent.

Maybe in another life, she would get to return to her old life, but there was another part of her that knew that she could never do that no matter how much she wished it to be so.

Charlotte slammed on the brakes when the road that was taking her to the outer ring was blocked, and she confusingly turned back around to try and get off on another exit. She didn't remember that road being blocked when she and Vincent first came into the city.

The walls that were barricaded were obviously those that didn't mean construction work but rather a crime scene despite there being no red or blue lights shining around at all. Another quick scan, and she was able to see that there were no police cars at all which was odd.

There didn't seem to be an accident either considering that there were broken vehicles, but who knew? It may have gotten towed by now. She wanted to linger around to try and see what was happening, but her other task was trying to get out of the traffic jam that it caused.

She honked her horn when the car beside her changed lanes and squeezed a little too tightly in front of her, and Charlotte ran a hand through her hair frustratingly. She wasn't a patient person per se, but now she was on edge.

The lines were slow, but Charlotte had eventually gotten around to get to the exit that she needed to go on to make it the out to the outer ring. Most of the cars were filtered out by the end considering that most were only headed home.

The drive was lonely with the darkness surrounding her as she closed into what was considered the outer circle of the city where all the lights beamed brightly had disappeared. It was eerie going back to the place that practically started it all.

Breathing in sharply, she didn't know what to do anymore since Vincent still hadn't sent her any directions on where to go. She didn't want to go in too deep into the outer ring by herself, but there was also a part of her that knew that she was going to have to.

The streets were dark with no signs of life considering there were no lights on inside of any buildings, and her headlights seemed to only catch the dirt that resided on the cobblestone streets that were in desperate need of a deep sweep.

Charlotte was just about to stop the car and decide to turn back since she couldn't be led astray only to be bait for who knows was out there when there was finally a sign. In her mind, she thought to go to a nearby hotel and recoup and wait for Vincent to get back to her.

Vincent was in constant danger already, and she was sure that he would be able to fend for himself especially if he wasn't alone. If she laid low, she should be able to get by. Hopefully.

Only when her phone finally illuminated with a text message. It disappeared after a few moments since her brain short-circuited for a moment since she had been waiting in apprehension for a while now. Charlotte snatched the phone from the seat and brought it to her face while gnawing on her lips.

Unknown: Come to the address below.

Unknown: Link...

Charlotte: I'll be there in ten.