I've been incredibly busy for the last few weeks, what with school projects, finals, EOC's blah blah blah blah... Anyway, here's chapter 20. Very short, sweet and to the point. It's also the last Charlie based chapter in the entire story. Enjoy it.

- Thumper

Chapter 20
64

It was only eight fifty-five in the morning and already Charlie felt like he was on top of the world. It had been four weeks- no, actually about four and a half weeks- since Charlie was able to focus on anything more than five minutes. A month since he didn't feel completely worn out constantly for no reason at all. Thirty-three days since his mind felt clear and open. And it was a wonderful feeling, like taking a breath of fresh air after being cooped up inside for months. It made him feel empowered. Invincible. As if nothing in the world could dampen his mood.

Charlie didn't know how exactly whatever had been oppressing him lifted. It just did. All of a sudden this morning, he just felt lighter. He still wasn't even sure what had caused it- virus, bacteria, state of mind- whatever it was, it was gone now, and Charlie actually felt… normal.

He had the morning off today and, since he was feeling so high, decided to take Larry's advice and try to make a difference for the better; track down Rolands once and or all. He was hesitant at starting on it at first, only mostly afraid that any correlation with that case would bring back the fog. But managed to push that thought aside and begin. He soon found that even with only half knowledge on the new case, he was able to take off pretty easily. Since then, Charlie had been lost in thought, somewhere he had wanted to be for the longest time. Today was definitely the best day he had had in a month.

A small noise raised him out of his own thoughts. Charlie glanced over to his left at the work he had already done. Something seemed out of place. He studied his equations for a minute before noticing that a number had changed. He was positive he wrote a thirty-four in the spot where a sixty-four was now residing. He must have put the wrong number down without realizing it. Quickly, Charlie erased the six with a single swipe of his finger and inserted a three. He didn't give it a second thought and continued where he left off.

It was a couple of minutes later when the sound came again. Charlie stopped completely this time and looked around to see where it was coming from. It sounded like chalk scraping on a chalkboard. Charlie shook his head. It was just his own work scraping along, he told himself. And then he saw the sixty-four again.

Charlie just stared at it for a moment. Hadn't he just changed that back to a thirty-four a minute ago? He shook his head to clear weird thoughts that were creeping up and replaced the six again, more slowly this time, to prove to him he changed it. Hesitantly, he went back to work as he tried to shake off the slight paranoia.

As soon as he started writing the sound came again. Instinct made Charlie glance at the thirty-four which, yes, changed again. He blinked twice and rubbed his eyes, but it was still there.

Charlie started to change it back for the third time, but stopped when he examined it a little closer. The six didn't even look like his own handwriting. That wasn't even possible. What the hell is going on? he thought.

There was a huge crash behind him and Charlie whirled around. "Hello?" he called nervously. There was no answer, but a box that had been sitting on a shelf was now on the floor, the contents spilled out around it. Crossing the garage, Charlie cleaned up the mess and placed the box back on the shelf where it had fallen. The shelf must have been tilted. He made a mental note to fix that later.

With a little more snooping about, it was clear that there was no one else there. Charlie returned to the chalkboard feeling more paranoid than ever. He took a glance at his work and came to a complete halt.

It was finished.

Completely finished.

Charlie had been close to finishing anyway, but he definitely hadn't finished and forgot about it. There was no way anyone could have done that in the time he had his back turned. And what would be the point? As if someone would sneak in to finish an algorithm. Right.

He cautiously approached the chalkboard and picked up the eraser to get rid of the mysteriously appearing ending, but stopped. It was correct.

Quickly, Charlie scanned the whole thing and stood back stupefied. The sixty-four that kept coming back fit in perfectly with the rest. It really wasn't a thirty-four he needed all along. And now he had the answer he had been searching for for the past six months: He knew where Parker Rolands was.

Charlie pulled out his cell and called Don, still dumbfounded with disbelief. So many conclusions to how everything happened swam in his head so much so that he didn't hear Don when he answered. On the third time his brother said his name, followed by an "Are you alright?" Charlie finally came back to reality. "Yeah, yeah, Don, I'm fine. I know where Rolands is."

There was a suspended stunned silence on the other end that asked so many questions. Finally Don said, "Are you sure?"

That made him pause. Was he sure? The answer was right there in the numbers, but he couldn't even remember writing it down. He wasn't even sure whether or not he was going crazy, how could he be sure of this? The only thing he was sure of is that he didn't want another ending like last time.

After a few moments of tense quiet, Charlie finally told him, "Yes. I'm sure."

Don didn't miss a heartbeat. "Where?"

Charlie quickly gave him the location and hung up. He turned back to the chalkboard, a newfound adrenaline running through his veins. Even with that, he almost stopped cold as he saw what was now scrawled on the board in neat handwriting, underlined twice.

Hurry.