Just finished watching the first episode of the second season of Haven and wanted to celebrate by writing something. Since I've wanted to write a Julia/Duke story for awhile, I thought I'd give it a shot. I have another idea for a longer story but we'll see how this one goes before I make any promises. This story is to explain Julia's absence during the plagues and takes place afterwards. Thanks for reading and reviews are very much appreciated!
Two days had passed before anyone noticed that Julia Carr was missing.
At first there were plenty of ways to explain her absence, especially since her car was not sitting in front of the house she had inherited after Eleanor died. The garage only held Eleanor's car, which Julia had been planning on selling once she got the chance, and an empty space where her vehicle went when she actually parked it there.
Audrey, Nathan and Duke theorized that Julia had simply gone inland to get supplies and decided to stay the night. It was no secret that Haven wasn't exactly Julia's idea of paradise and no one would have blamed her for taking a few days off to get away from the craziness for a short time.
"But wouldn't she have told one of us?" Audrey had asked, quickly poking holes in their theory. "She didn't even leave a note on the door. What if someone needed medical attention or what if a body had turned up?"
Audrey was the one who appeared to be the most alarmed by her friend's vanishing act while Duke was surprisingly cavalier. Nathan stayed silent most of the time but his eyebrows became more furrowed and his frown more pronounced as Audrey's mouth got more pinched and her eyes brightened in fear the longer Julia was missing. The Second Audrey bounced around the station and the Grey Gull in full F.B.I agent mode, treating Julia's disappearance like a new case she was determined to solve. Duke just rolled his eyes at the obnoxious woman and made it a point to ignore her. He already had one annoying woman in his life that he was desperately trying to get rid of, he didn't need another. So instead of answering the Second Audrey's questions, he would turn to his and Nathan's Audrey and speak as though she was the one who had asked. He was also the one who came up with the name "the Second Audrey" along with "Audrey Number Two", "Copy-Cat Audrey", "Pseudo Audrey" and "the Mosquito".
By the beginning of day three, even Duke was starting to worry. He knew that something wasn't right with Julia and that the business with the tattoo was a part of that. Frankly, he wouldn't have been surprised if the tattoo could be found somewhere on Julia's body and that she had some hidden agenda that would lead to his death either by her own hand or someone else's. However, the longer she was gone the more his suspicion turned into fear. When someone disappeared in Haven, it usually did not end well.
By the end of day three, full blown panic was starting to settle over the three and when Julia's car was found wrapped around a tree in a wooded area where she had no business being, the lump that had started to form in Duke's throat had sunk to his chest and was now a constant weight that made it hard for him to take a deep breath. To make things even worse, Nathan, Audrey and the Second Audrey found other tire tracks in the mud that suggested that Julia was run off the road by a larger, heavier vehicle and her car practically shoved into the tree. There was also some blood around the driver's side area suggesting that she was injured. The tire tracks belonging to the unknown vehicle led back to Haven but once the rural dirt road turned into an asphalt one as they got closer to town, any clues as to where the vehicle went were gone.
Day four was the worst. They had no leads and no ideas where to even look. Audrey and Nathan were combing the streets looking for anything that might help find Julia and the Second Audrey had a phone permanently attached to her ear as she spoke to Julia's colleages and friends who were a part of Doctor's Without Borders. Duke could only brood and pace the Gull as he went over and over the last time he and Julia spoke in his mind. Evi came in to bug or manipulate him and quickly left once she saw the seriousness of his temper. She also made a mental note to check out this Julia Carr that seemed to get more of a rise out of her estranged husband than she did.
Once Duke was done growling and yelling at Evi, which kind of made him feel a little better, he grabbed his coat and stalked out of his restaurant. There was one place they hadn't looked yet and it seemed so obvious when he thought of it that he wanted to hit himself. Instead, he decided to wait and save the hitting for whoever hurt then took Julia. Even though she had declared herself no longer his friend, Duke was going to find her anyway and either kill or seriously injure whoever was responsible. Someone was definitely going to pay for this. He would make sure of that.
The bleeding had stopped but her head was still pounding, which was not good. Not good at all.
Julia pried her eyes open and looked around the dark, dank room she had spent the last few days tied up in. How many days, she had no idea. The head injury she received from the car accident made it difficult for her to stay focused and conscious for long and she knew the longer she went without medical attention, the more likely it was that she might not wake up the next time she fell asleep.
Julia slowly shifted into a more comfortable position on the thin, plain mattress she was tied up and lying on. Luckily, her hands were bound in front of her so her arms and wrists weren't in too much pain. Her ankles were also bound making movement very awkward and difficult. A bucket had been left in one of the corners of the room for her to do her business in and pre-packaged food and bottled water was stacked near the mattress so she could easily feed herself. The thought of food made her nauseous, however, so she concentrated on taking small, even breaths to keep herself from vomiting and focused on staying awake.
"You should really eat something," a muffled voice came from the far side of the room next to the heavy wooden door that was always locked tightly shut whenever Julia could gather the energy and drive to get up and check it.
She couldn't stop the small scream that burst out of her throat or the jerk of surprise her body made which caused her head to pound even harder.
"You only hurt yourself by going hungry," the voice continued. "Starving won't help you get out of here any faster, that's for sure."
"I'm not some child pulling a temper tantrum by not eating," Julia said, wincing in pain from the movement made by talking. "I have a head injury and am trying to keep from vomiting. I need to go to a hospital."
"Not possible," the voice seemed to echo around the room but the person attached to it stayed in the shadows, well out of Julia's view. "If you pray to make yourself humble and worthy, God will see fit to take your pain away."
Oh for the love of… "I disagree. God helps those who help themselves. That's why we have doctors and hospitals."
"You're a doctor," the voice announced. "You should be more than capable of helping yourself."
"In a dark room with no medical supplies while I try to take care of my own head injury? Do you think a dentist works on his own teeth or a hairdresser cuts their own hair?"
"Enough," the voice shouted, making Julia cringe and fold her body up in a tight ball. "You will only leave once you are worthy of the mark you've inherited."
Julia was left to ponder those words as the door to her prison slammed shut and silence blanketed the room once again. Her eyes started to droop and her head throbbed in a steady rhythm as she tried to stay present and awake. Her last thoughts before she lost consciousness were that the voice sounded familiar but she couldn't quite place it and she wondered if her body would ever be found or if she would just become another unsolved mystery, one of the many that seemed to fill the streets of Haven.