Shameful Acknowledgment

Charlotte waited nervously with the other folks that were still bounded together by the unfortunate fate that connected them all after unknowingly getting tangled in the silent fight between vampires and vigilantes.

She kept on the lookout in case there were any lingering vigilantes who were attempting to slip in another sneaky attack, but there was only very little that she could do. She stared up into the night sky where the plumes of smoke continued to make their trek up to the stars.

The vigilantes were quite risky with this as their latest move, and she cringed when she thought of the blood bath that the vigilantes prepared for her and Vincent. It was traumatizing, to say the least. Not an everyday normal sight. And certainly not one that was easily stomached.

Now, Vincent went up to find Stone and carry out the next orders that could put his life in danger. In the end, she was still as conflicted as she was in the beginning. She needed to stop being indecisive and do something about her life if she didn't want to only stand on the sidelines.

The sirens of the firetruck and police cars had finally made their arrival, and after that, it was all hands on deck on the firefighter's side to stop the fire from spreading and to rescue any survivors. She got pushed to the sidewalk since she was in the way of the firefighters who were making their way through the crowd to get their equipment stationed.

She crossed her hands under her arms and stared up to see the glass that the firefighters were pounding away to try and make an entryway inside. Soon the hoses were on, and water was sprayed to try and take care of the fire.

It wasn't the best time for self-reflection per se, but as the flames illuminated the nightlife, she was filled with the acknowledgment that she virtually had no power that could help Vincent at all. It was a shame, but it was the truth.

There was a scream of relief in the crowd when the firefighters were able to extract some young kids, who were still alive judging by their ragged coughing, and other individuals from inside the burning apartment building. It seemed that she would have to wait her turn to feel get some relief.

The firefighters worked hard to put out the fire with tons of water and eventually all that was left was a broken building with shattered hearts. The flames of the building had fizzled out, and people were now dispersing.

Charlotte frowned when she glanced down at her wrist, knowing that Vincent and Stone were taking longer than she expected. Then again, who was she to know how long extracting their information could take? It was the circle of questions that went around in her head with no end that was tiring as was trying to keep up with Vincent.

Was Vincent going to abandon her? He could not do that considering that she was his contractor. She walked back over to Vincent's car and rested her back against it. Pressing her hands to her cheeks, she shook her head to try and get a grip on herself. She was going to be fine.

Her phone buzzed, and she took it out in surprise since she hasn't gotten to use it often yet. It was tempting to call her parents, but she put off the desire, knowing that they had got a bad lie of cover that Vincent had relayed to them that she was on a project abroad which wasn't even feasible for a small company like hers, but her parents believed it so all was well.

It was an unknown caller, but Charlotte sighed and brought it up to her ear knowing that Vincent probably rigged the phone somehow that would only allow her to contact him. She was met with silence, and Charlotte waited for a word only to get irked that he wasn't saying anything.

"Hello?" she said.

There was a heavy breath. "Charlotte."

She craned her ear closer to the phone knowing that it was already on the max volume while still holding her privacy. "Yes?"

"Drive to the outer ring."

Charlotte didn't know if he was in pain or not, but he was struggling to speak. He had to have gotten hurt. Why else would he speak so brokenly? "Now?"

"Go."

"I don't have the keys."

"There's a spare in the front license plate."

The call ended with a click, and she turned back to stare at the dark screen incredulously only to force herself to get going with a sense of urgency. She knew that she did look highly suspicious poking around behind the license plate and hoped that she didn't catch anyone's attention.

Pulling the key out of the place where Vincent had hidden it, she ran over to the driver's door and yanked it open to start the car. Her mind was frazzled but stepped on the gas despite not even knowing where the final destination was. She would figure it out when she gets closer.