TWO
Prue opened her eyes and looked around. Everything seemed
normal. Except the warlock was nowhere to be seen. She found this
odd. Why hadn't he killed her and stolen her powers while she was
unconscious?
With the warlock gone, there was nothing to do but go home. She
turned and walked to her car. Except that her car was also gone.
Apparently stolen while she had battled the warlock. This was just
great. Her cell phone was in the car. She decided to walk home and
call the police to report her car stolen from there.
Ten minutes later she stood in front of the manor. The house
looked ready to collapse. Most of the windows were broken out or
boarded over. The roof had collapsed at one part. Most of the paint
had peeled away and the yard was completely overgrown with weeds.
This was impossible. She looked at her watch. She had only
been gone a little over ninety minutes. What could have happened in
those ninety minutes to so completely demolish the manor like this?
The inside of the manor was in worse shape than the outside.
Most of the furniture was gone. What still remained in the house
appeared old and rotten. Dust covered everything. It appeared that
the manor hadn't been occupied for a very long time.
Cautiously she made her way to the attic. She wasn't surprised
at what she found. Or rather didn't find. The Book of Shadows was
nowhere to be seen. Not even a faint impression in the dust where it
had once lain could be found. This house had been abandoned for many
years.
"Leo," she called into the air.
Whatever happened, Leo was still her White Lighter. He would
come when she called for him. He always did. But nothing happened.
She called him again, and still he didn't appear.
Prue reached out with her telekinetic power to a chair that
still sat in the attic. The chair slid across the room to the other
side. Well, she still had her powers. Which also meant that nothing
had happened to either Piper or Phoebe.
So where were they? Why didn't Leo answer her call? Where was
the Book of Shadows? And why did the manor look like it was
condemned? She didn't have any of these answers.
But she knew one person who might. Darryl might know what was
going on. Moreover, he knew their secret that meant fewer
explanations. At this point, she could think of no other options open
to her.
The cab to the police station took nearly all of what little
money she had on her. As she walked into the police station,
something seemed odd. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it
was, but she knew something didn't look right.
She looked around and found the desk sergeant. She didn't know
him, but then, she didn't know most of the cops. She walked up to the
desk sergeant.
"Excuse me," she said, "can you tell me if Inspector Morris is
in right now? I need to speak with him right away. It's extremely
important."
"Who?" asked the desk sergeant.
"Inspector Darryl Morris," repeated Prue.
"I'm sorry, miss," said the sergeant, "we don't have an
Inspector Morris at this precinct. Maybe he's with another precinct."
"No," said Prue, "he works homicide out of this precinct. I
visited him here just the other day."
"Wait a minute," said the sergeant. "Darryl Morris. You don't
mean Captain Morris, do you?"
"Captain Morris?" questioned Prue.
"Yes," said the sergeant. "As a matter of fact, Captain Morris
is here right now. He's in with some detectives right now, but he
should be out in a few minutes. If you'd care to wait, I'll let him
know you're here."
"Fine," said Prue. "I'll be over on the bench over there."
Prue sat in the precinct for several minutes waiting for Darryl.
Police officers passed through the lobby with their prisoners. Prue
waited impatiently, wishing Darryl would hurry up.
"You wanted to see me?" said an elderly man coming up to Prue.
Prue looked up at him. He appeared to be in his mid-sixties.
He was almost totally bald and what hair he did have was stark white.
He was wearing glasses and deep lines crossed his face. Even
considering all the changes, Prue instantly recognized Darryl. She
was so stunned at his appearance she couldn't speak.
"Prue Halliwell?" questioned Darryl. "My God, it is you."
"Darryl, what happened to you?" asked Prue.
"I got old," said Darryl. "Just like everyone does. Everyone
except you, apparently."
"Darryl, we need to talk," said Prue, glancing around.
"Privately."
"This way," said Darryl.
He led her to an empty office. He closed the door behind them.
"What's going on?" asked Prue. "I go out for a ride and when I
get back, everything has changed."
"Some ride," said Darryl. "You never came back. Your car was
found abandoned a few blocks from the manor. No trace of you was ever
found."
"That's ridiculous," said Prue. "I was gone less than two
hours. I got into a fight with a warlock and was only away from my
car for a few minutes. How could it be considered abandoned in just a
few minutes?"
"Your car sat in an alley for over a week before it was towed,"
said Darryl. "We searched everywhere for you. You just seemed to
have vanished off the face of the earth."
"This isn't making any sense," said Prue. She looked at her
watch. "About three hours ago, Piper and I had an argument. I
decided to take a ride to cool off. When I got back, everything seems
to have changed."
"Three hours?" questioned Darryl. He picked up a newspaper from
the desk and handed it to Prue. "Prue, you've been gone more than
three hours. You vanished without a trace twenty-eight years ago."
Prue read the date on the paper in almost total disbelief. The
date on the paper read November 29, 2028.
Prue opened her eyes and looked around. Everything seemed
normal. Except the warlock was nowhere to be seen. She found this
odd. Why hadn't he killed her and stolen her powers while she was
unconscious?
With the warlock gone, there was nothing to do but go home. She
turned and walked to her car. Except that her car was also gone.
Apparently stolen while she had battled the warlock. This was just
great. Her cell phone was in the car. She decided to walk home and
call the police to report her car stolen from there.
Ten minutes later she stood in front of the manor. The house
looked ready to collapse. Most of the windows were broken out or
boarded over. The roof had collapsed at one part. Most of the paint
had peeled away and the yard was completely overgrown with weeds.
This was impossible. She looked at her watch. She had only
been gone a little over ninety minutes. What could have happened in
those ninety minutes to so completely demolish the manor like this?
The inside of the manor was in worse shape than the outside.
Most of the furniture was gone. What still remained in the house
appeared old and rotten. Dust covered everything. It appeared that
the manor hadn't been occupied for a very long time.
Cautiously she made her way to the attic. She wasn't surprised
at what she found. Or rather didn't find. The Book of Shadows was
nowhere to be seen. Not even a faint impression in the dust where it
had once lain could be found. This house had been abandoned for many
years.
"Leo," she called into the air.
Whatever happened, Leo was still her White Lighter. He would
come when she called for him. He always did. But nothing happened.
She called him again, and still he didn't appear.
Prue reached out with her telekinetic power to a chair that
still sat in the attic. The chair slid across the room to the other
side. Well, she still had her powers. Which also meant that nothing
had happened to either Piper or Phoebe.
So where were they? Why didn't Leo answer her call? Where was
the Book of Shadows? And why did the manor look like it was
condemned? She didn't have any of these answers.
But she knew one person who might. Darryl might know what was
going on. Moreover, he knew their secret that meant fewer
explanations. At this point, she could think of no other options open
to her.
The cab to the police station took nearly all of what little
money she had on her. As she walked into the police station,
something seemed odd. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it
was, but she knew something didn't look right.
She looked around and found the desk sergeant. She didn't know
him, but then, she didn't know most of the cops. She walked up to the
desk sergeant.
"Excuse me," she said, "can you tell me if Inspector Morris is
in right now? I need to speak with him right away. It's extremely
important."
"Who?" asked the desk sergeant.
"Inspector Darryl Morris," repeated Prue.
"I'm sorry, miss," said the sergeant, "we don't have an
Inspector Morris at this precinct. Maybe he's with another precinct."
"No," said Prue, "he works homicide out of this precinct. I
visited him here just the other day."
"Wait a minute," said the sergeant. "Darryl Morris. You don't
mean Captain Morris, do you?"
"Captain Morris?" questioned Prue.
"Yes," said the sergeant. "As a matter of fact, Captain Morris
is here right now. He's in with some detectives right now, but he
should be out in a few minutes. If you'd care to wait, I'll let him
know you're here."
"Fine," said Prue. "I'll be over on the bench over there."
Prue sat in the precinct for several minutes waiting for Darryl.
Police officers passed through the lobby with their prisoners. Prue
waited impatiently, wishing Darryl would hurry up.
"You wanted to see me?" said an elderly man coming up to Prue.
Prue looked up at him. He appeared to be in his mid-sixties.
He was almost totally bald and what hair he did have was stark white.
He was wearing glasses and deep lines crossed his face. Even
considering all the changes, Prue instantly recognized Darryl. She
was so stunned at his appearance she couldn't speak.
"Prue Halliwell?" questioned Darryl. "My God, it is you."
"Darryl, what happened to you?" asked Prue.
"I got old," said Darryl. "Just like everyone does. Everyone
except you, apparently."
"Darryl, we need to talk," said Prue, glancing around.
"Privately."
"This way," said Darryl.
He led her to an empty office. He closed the door behind them.
"What's going on?" asked Prue. "I go out for a ride and when I
get back, everything has changed."
"Some ride," said Darryl. "You never came back. Your car was
found abandoned a few blocks from the manor. No trace of you was ever
found."
"That's ridiculous," said Prue. "I was gone less than two
hours. I got into a fight with a warlock and was only away from my
car for a few minutes. How could it be considered abandoned in just a
few minutes?"
"Your car sat in an alley for over a week before it was towed,"
said Darryl. "We searched everywhere for you. You just seemed to
have vanished off the face of the earth."
"This isn't making any sense," said Prue. She looked at her
watch. "About three hours ago, Piper and I had an argument. I
decided to take a ride to cool off. When I got back, everything seems
to have changed."
"Three hours?" questioned Darryl. He picked up a newspaper from
the desk and handed it to Prue. "Prue, you've been gone more than
three hours. You vanished without a trace twenty-eight years ago."
Prue read the date on the paper in almost total disbelief. The
date on the paper read November 29, 2028.