So this started out as just an idea and somewhat of a writing exercise. I wanted to see if I could strip away all previous history and take only the characters to develop a story. If you are looking for M. adventures, this won't be the story for you. If you are looking for intrigue and character development in all the characters you love from the series, this might fulfill some of those, enjoy
The night sky was dark with a hollowed sense of nothingness as the rain splashed down on the roof of the truck and on its windscreen. Blane slowed and pulled up at the bus shelter. Stood under it was Melissa, huddled under it to keep out of the near torrential downpour and complete shrouded in darkness. Blane lent over and opened the passenger down. Melissa scampered through the rain and climbed in. As she shut the door Blane flicked on the inside light above their heads, now with this small beacon of light he would see the state she was in. Wrapped in a large, heavy coat, she was drenched from head to toe, the rain had covered her. The rain had hit her so badly he found it hard to see where the rain water stopped and the tears began. Upon her soaked face sat a swollen and reddened lip along with developing bruise that engulfed her light eye. They stared at each other with blank expression, unsure of what to say, and in a split moment Melissa broke down, crying again with more tears running down her face than the droplets on the windscreen. She continued to sob but turned away from Blane and starred out into the abyss.
"I'm so sorry Sheriff." She said with difficulty, in her state she was finding it hard to say anything.
"It's ok," Blane rested his hand on her shoulder "It's not your fault. It never was." She turned back to him. "You did the right thing calling."
"Thank you," she smiled and tried to wipe away the tears with no avail, "for coming on such short notice and in the middle of the night."
"I always told you, you can call me day or night." There was a brief silence, "When did it start back up?"
"A few weeks ago," She wiped her nose on the coat sleeve, "It never really stopped if I'm honest. He got better for a while but only slightly better though."
"Have you got somewhere you can stay? Somewhere that's not here?" Blane inquired softly. She nodded
"My sister, Judy, she lives over in Lexington."
"Well then that's where we're going."
"That's hours away." She stated in shock, "I can't expect you to drive me all the way there."
"Melissa, it's my job to keep the people safe, I just left you to make your own way there I wouldn't be doing my duty. Have you got a phone you can call her on?" Blane explained. She shook her in sombrely.
"I left pretty much everything at the house."
"That's fine." Blane lent over again, opened up his glove compartment and fished out his phone. "Call her now and explain to her you'll be there within the next few hours." He placed it in her hand and with shaky hands she dialled her sister and lifted to her ear. Blane sat quietly and observed her, listening and only hearing Melissa's side of the conversation.
"Hi Judy, it's me….no I know it's late….No….It's Roly, I just couldn't take it anymore….I've left everything behind….I'm still in the town….that's actually why I'm calling, could I stay with you for a while?...No you don't need to drive up, I'm actually coming down to you," Melissa paused for a moment and glanced over at me "A friend is driving me down." I smiled, "We'll be there in the next few hours. We'll meet you in the old parking lot….Ok, bye….Love you too." She hung up and placed the phone on the dashboard.
"Right we'll get going." Blane began. "But you need to get some sleep."
Blane helped Melissa get to sleep, folding up his own jacket and propping it up against the truck door for her to use as a pillow. She was soon fast asleep; the experience had clearly left her exhausted, and Blane began to backtrack to avoid her home encase they got spotted. They drove continuously for hours down the highway; the road kept coming at them, almost stretching beyond the human imagination. The street lights that gave the highway an amber tinge wiped across the truck in streaks as they drove under them. They eventually made it to Lexington but Melissa was still asleep and Blane couldn't bring himself to wake her, she looked at peace, something she had seemed far from as of late. Blane park up in the main street and took a look around, she had stated they'd meet at the old parking lot; Blane rode around town looking for clues where it could be. After a few minutes he found it, it was a wide gravel plain that was deserted except for one car parked in middle with a figure sat upon its bonnet, presumably Judy. Blane up and turned his highlights on. He got out and made his way to Judy who got off the hood and met Blane halfway.
"Judy Allbright." She said extending her hand, Blane shook it.
"Blane Whittaker, St Hopes' Sheriff." He responded.
"Aren't you a little young to be a Sheriff?"
"That's what I kept telling them." Blane chuckled, "Melissa's still asleep in the car." He gestured to the passenger side.
"Thank you for bringing her all the way down."
"Don't worry about it." Blane smiled, "I'll tell her we're here." Blane made his way back into the driver's side and lightly tapped Melissa on the shoulder. "Melissa," he whispered, "we're here." Her eyes faded open, "Judy is here to take you somewhere safe." Melissa didn't speak but simply gave a confirming nod. Blane helped her out of the truck and guided her over to her sister. "She left most of her things at the house, I'll see what I can get and give you a call in a couple of days." Blane explained to Judy as he handed her sister over.
"Thank you again." Judy said gratefully as she guided Melissa into the passenger seat of her car.
"Sheriff," Melissa called out, "When you get back please don't go after Roly. He just gets mad sometimes and can't control himself. It's not his fault. I just want the violence to end." Blane took a deep breath and agreed to her request. He agreed to it verbally but he certainly didn't agree with it morally or ethically but a promise was a promise. Blane stood and waved goodbye as they drove off into the distance. Blane continued to stand in the surrounding night and sighed, hoping this would be the end of Melissa Allright's troubles. Blane's brief moment of contemplation for Melissa's safety soon morphed into contemplation about his own life which was never good for Blane, getting lost in his own mind brought back the sounds, the bangs echoed in his ears. Blane clenched his fists and hurried back into the truck. As we drove home he cracked the radio all the way up to drown out everything.
The next morning Blane awake with a snort and a jolt as he found himself slouched in his living room armchair. As he sat up straight in the chair he noticed the bottle sat between his legs. He picked it up and rattled it to see if there was anything left in it, a question he already knew the answer to but decided to check just to be sure. He placed the empty bottle on the coffee table as he lifted himself from the chair leading to a roaring yawn and an expansive stretch to work out the kinks in his back from sleeping. Blane wondered to the curtains and whipped them open to have the white hot sun beam in and illuminate the room; Blane stared directly into the rays, torturing himself to wake him up. Once his eyes adjusted Blane took a shower to freshen up for the day ahead. Getting out he wiped the gathering steam from the mirror and glared at gruff, ragged excuse for a 26 year old. His physique was still toned; he had always maintained his fitness routine from the old days but with the cuts, scars and burns gathered over time it was a tough sight. He inspected his face; he ran his hand across his face, the prickly stubble brushed against his palm. He decided not to shave out of a cocktail of laziness and a lack of caring in the first place. He got dressed, throwing on some jeans and a red/black flannel shirt; finally putting on his gun belt and heading to the safe where he retrieved his Smith & Wesson .29 which he holstered, and his badge which he pinned to his shirt. Just before leaving he swung on his brown leather jacket and braced himself for the day ahead. Blane stepped out and was instantly met by the sunlight, despite the torturing and the shower Blane's head was still pounding. His headache rumbled as he rubbed his eyes and rummaged through his jacket to find his sunglasses which once on eased his throbbing pain.
The streets were quiet as Blane walked to the station trying to clear his head. The town was peaceful as the residents slept in a sense of security, as sense they felt because Blane was there, something Blane just couldn't comprehend. He kept walking through the morning air; the smell of a new day filled his nostrils. He finally made it the sheriff's office and strolled in, Davina the receptionist who manned the front desk wasn't in yet and probably wouldn't be in any time soon. Davina had a habit of spending too much time on how she looked, a habit to that was made extra peculiar by the fact that this was just an average, run of the mill country town, not Chicago or New York but in the end it didn't really matter, nothing major went on and the rest of the team would just answer the calls instead. As Blane ventured into the office he found his Deputy sat by his desk leaning back in his chair, his feet stretched out and propped on his table which his hat drooped down over his face.
"Morning Dan," Blane tapped on the desk, Dan jolted and sprang forward lifting his hat, "Any calls yet?"
"Nope," Dan lightly chuckled. Blane continued into his office where he hung up his jacket and put away his sunglasses. As he began rolling up his sleeves he heard Dan calling for him, as he made his way into the main office he saw Dan still sat in his chair hold up a large brown paper bag. "Almost forgot, one extra greasy cheese burger, extra bacon and one can of ice cold lemon soda."
"What?"
"As the good deputy that I am I got you your favourite food, knowing what state you'd be in this morning because we're just so close." Dan explained while making his way over with the bag, "Or maybe it's because you send me a message at 2am asking me to get you said snack." He and Blane began to laugh. Blane instantly began to gorge himself on the burger as he gazed out the window as the shops began to open one by one. "So what shall we do today Sheriff?"
"Same thing we do every day, serve and protect."
Hope you enjoyed. Obviously I'll be introducing the other characters from across the series as I go along. If you have any thoughts on this experiment and have any suggestions on what could happen next please feel free to review