hugs you all
Hehe, Shadow has a surprise for the Charlie fans...
Also, I would like to add that I am not a supporter of suicide. This story started as something of an emotional piece a week ago when my small community lost a valuable member to suicide, and i eventually turned it into a plot and a story. In no way do I support suicide.
Midnight Dove - Teehee, thank you so much! I can't imagine any amount of talent making up for the absense of Charlie... lol! Thanky for your review!
KatSuyA - Aww, don't cry! Cliffies are evil, yes... but neccesary. Teehee, thanky for your review!
jwmathias - I hope I can present Don in a less-dull manner than you have percieved him ; Hope you will still read, and thank you for your review!
Roses - Why, why why... unfortunately, my whole plot is about the 'why' Have fun! Lol, teehee, thanky for your review!
anonymous - Thank you so much for the compliments! Teehee, read to find out why! Thanky for your review!
Kat - 'I don't understand why this keeps getting glorified' If you're referring to my writing, I don't really have anything to say... If you're reffering to suicide in general, then I tell you now that I in no way mean to glorify suicide. I apologize if that was how you took it. Thank you for your review!
Sabrina - Teehee, read and find out! Lol, confusing summaries are always fun... teehee, thanky for your review!
ladc - I'm glad you like the start... and hopefully, you will keep reading Because, you know... who could kill off Charlie? hinthint Lol, anyway, thanky for your review!
SharpShooter626 - Read on to find out why! And no... I don't think it is quite possible to kill off Charlie... lol, teehee, thanky for the review!
Phaze - I'm so glad to have you as a reader! It's an incredible show... CBS, Friday nights. I'm glad you like it so far! Thanky for your review!
Pellawethiel - Thank you so much for your compliments I try to achieve emotion without overdoing it... so your review made my day! Thank you for your review!
theamazingtechnocoloredringwraith - Firstly, I like the name! Secondly, no, you can't kill Charlie! Lol, thanky for your review!
LeoDiabla - I'm glad you know you found it 'powerful'! Why? You'll have to keep reading Thanky for your review!
CCG - Why? Once again, you must read on! Interesting theory! And don't worry, I LOVE long reviews! Glad to know you're interested! Thank you for your review!
Honestly, your reviews make my day. Thank you all so much! I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1
"Why?"
Don had been asking himself the same question for three days. Three days, he had racked his brain, and everytime he came to a conclusion, it was not what he wanted to believe. Everytime, it wound down to a conversation between him and Charlie... and for a brief moment, he would decide to blame himself. Then, the grief would become too much, and he would search for something else to explain.
"Why, Charlie? Why didn't you talk to us?"
But, of course, Charlie couldn't answer. Charlie was in a coma.
The doctors had said Charlie would not make it through the night, and if he did, he would certainly die the second night. For some reason, though, Don had held on, refusing to pull the plug on his little brother... and by some miracle, Charlie held on as well.
"I don't know why he's fighting so hard to live," a nurse said, appearing next to Don and startling him from his thoughts. "People in comas from car accidents, yes, I've seen them fight this hard... but not someone who tried to kill themselves. It's strange that he clings to life when ending it was what got him here in the first place."
"Will he make it, though?"
Don stared at his brother, seeming so small on his hospital bed, surrounded by IVs and monitors. It was an odd thought, but everytime he looked at his brother, he was reminded of an angel. Charlie was always smiling, always happy, always there to brighten their day... even now, as he lay barely clinging to life, he looked so beautiful. His dark curls looked boyish and innocent, as if he could sit up at any moment and blurt out something so utterly profound that the entire room would burst into laughter.
Or maybe that was just how Don remembered him.
"Such a morbid child," the nurse said sadly, shaking her head. "I could not tell you whether or not he'll make it through the night. Normal suiciders, no... but he's different. Maybe under all that depression, there is a will to live."
"Depression..." Don repeated, turning back to his brother. Was Charlie really depressed? He had to have been... "...so why do you fight so hard?"
Though he did not know it, his words did not fall on deaf ears. Below him, trapped under the dark fog of impending death, was a brave yet fragile soul. More than anything, Charlie wanted to open his mouth and speak, but he could not. He could console himself only in promises that Don would never hear.
'I fight because I have to,' he thought sadly to himself. 'I fight because you have to know the truth.'
Two weeks earlier, it had been a normal day. Special Agent Eppes was called and he called Charlie as well, knowing his genius brother would probably be needed anyway. Don watched with a strange fondness and protectiveness as his brother approached the scene. Charlie showed no outward emotion, but if one lookd into his eyes, they could see how disturbing the crime scene was the the mathmatecian. Don put a hand on Charlie's shoulder, smiling at him in hopes of comforting the younger brother.
Charlie, on the other hand, could not help being struck everytime there was a death. In losing his mother, he had learned how deeply death hurt. He would look at the corpse on the ground and see people crying... parents, children, family, friends... Everyone had a story. Everyone had companions. There would never be a death where no one was affected. No matter what, someone was going to grieve.
"Hey Charlie?"
He looked up, startled from his thoughts, his unique glimmer of innocence present in his questioning eyes.
"Would you like me to fill you in?" Don asked, a small grin playing his lips. For some reason, he still saw Charlie as a boy...
"Give me the data, I'll give you the equation," he responded with a heavy sigh, to which Don laughed.
"No, don't give me an equation... give me an answer. You can keep the equation," he chuckled. Charlie crossed his arms in mock-offense, sticking his nose in the air and turning instead to the officers in the area.
"Alright, where's someone who knows something? Ah, Officer Jennings!"
"We have a string of murders in the area, all of which are being traced to the same killer. He's wanted for as many as seven murders, two of which occured in the past week," Officer Jennings informed him, pulling out a notepad and scanning the page. "It says his name is Mike Curzon."
"Mike Curzon?" Charlie asked suddenly, eyes widening in shock. Officer Jennings and Don instantly turned to him, confusion in their expressions.
"Is something wrong?" Officer Jennings asked, raising an eyebrow. For a moment, Charlie seemed to fumble with his speech. Then, he shook his head of curls and smiled at the two.
"Nah, nothing. So how do we know the murders are connected?"
Charlie could see the curiousity in his brother's eyes, but he tried his best to ignore it. He knew it had not been the subtlest change of topics, but he hoped his brother would forget about it in time.
"Well... Mr. Curzon has left us distinct markings," Officer Jennings said with a groan. "You know... the class-A jerk that likes to taunt us? Take a look at this."
Officer Jennings handed him a photograph. Instantly, Charlie felt his stomach twist in disgust, making him regret the sandwhich he'd had for lunch, but he forced himself to keep a straight face. The picture was of a girl... or rather, the corpse of a girl... and carved into her skin were bands of numbers.
"They're equations," Charlie said instantly, causing Officer Jennings and Don to exchange glances. "I think it's clues. He's leaving us answers that he knows we won't understand until it's too late."
"Charlie, how can you know that from one photograph?" Don asked, eyes narrowed in puzzlement and his tone skeptical. Charlie sighed, but did not look up from the picture.
"Just trust me."
"Seven suspects and the name of the guy. Do you really need my help on this one?" Charlie asked, fidgeting slightly, trying to keep his tone calm. Don stopped to give Charlie a quizzical stare, then resumed tearing the map from the printer and tacking it to the board.
"What do you mean, Charlie?"
"Well look," the genius said, bounding up to the board and tapping the yellow zone, otherwise known as the "hot spot". "You know how to do this stuff without me. I just don't think you need my help on this one."
He knew immedietly that Don suspected something.
"Charlie, you used to beg me to help. Why is it you want to bail out on this one?" the older Eppes inquired, crossing his arms and bowing his head to show Charlie that he could not dodge the question. Charlie immediatley began fidgeting, looking as if he wanted to pace somewhere but could not decide which direction to go in, then halted abruptly and began itching his head furiously.
Don tried his best not to laugh.
"Just, I don't know... well... I mean..." Charlie clearly could not find the words to fit what he was thinking, resulting in more head-itches. Unable to contain it any longer, Don burst into laughter before patting his younger brother on the back and turning him towards the board.
"Look, Charlie," he said with a chuckle. "This is how that one case worked with the L.A. rapist. This case, on the other hand, is very different. This time, it is completely random... it is mathematically random."
Charlie sighed in defeat, knowing he had no way out.
"You said you were able to decipher messages from the equations left on the corpses," Don continued, watching in slight guilt as Charlie's head drooped even farther.
"Yeah..." was his only reply, his mind clearly elsewhere.
"Look, Charlie. Innocent people are being murdered and this guy is taunting us. Human lives are not worth that. That's why we need you," Don said with a smile, hoping to catch his brother's gaze. To his dissapointment, Charlie merely shrugged before turning and heading for the door.
Charlie scribbled furiously across the blackboard, moving back and forth with an unusual nervousness, even for him. Then, his hand began to slow, sickening defeat evident in his eyes as he reluctantly wrote out the answer... the same answer he had gotten every time. Sadly, he circled the answer, then drew a line to the answer of his other equation.
There was no mistaking it. It was an equation with an answer that wound down to a single variable... and then, compiled with similar equations, each equalling a different variable, and lastly, the equation that compiled them in the correct order.
His childhood nightmare had come back to haunt him. The taunting word, whispered to him in the hallway before he was beat up or hissed at him during a speech in hopes of making him mess-up. The one, single word of challenge that struck him with fear even to write it on the board.
"Epic," he said out loud, and instantly, he could feel his throat closing up. A kindergarden taunt, taken from his last name of 'Eppes', living to haunt him. Only those who truly hated him had ever called him 'Epic' in the latter years of high school.
And no one had hated him quite so much as Mike Curzon.
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A/N: Woot... Charlie lives! C'mon, did you really think I could kill him off in the first chapter? Heh...
Once again, your reviews make my day! Thank you all for reading!
