Disclaimer: I do not own Haven or its characters.
Amnesiac
Chapter 3
Nathan had taken his own truck and promised to meet them up at Alexa's apartment. The other two agreed and left together in Duke's Land Rover. Alexa was silent on the ride back to The Gull. She was still confused at the turn of events and the easy acceptance by the two males.
Duke was quiet at first but then began to talk. He explained that The Troubles happened every 27 years and while they were active, the town of Haven suffered. All that was needed was a stressful incident. Enough of a trauma could activate your Trouble and then, well… People disappeared, were injured, maimed and even killed until the cycle ended.
"Some are fairly harmless but most are horrible, even deadly. Jordan is a good example of this." He glanced at her but kept his eyes on the road. "Her touch shocks people. She once called herself a human Taser. That's why she keeps her skin covered. One touch and people are down for the count. Audrey once told me that she accidentally put someone in a coma before he died."
Alexa was shocked. "Is that why she was so emotional when I hugged her?"
"Yes. The last person she could touch without hurting was Nate." Duke pulled into the parking lot of The Gull but let the engine idle. "She went through a traumatic experience and the next thing she knows is that she can't touch anyone without them feeling pain."
"So why aren't I affected?" Alexa wondered.
Duke tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "You are immune to The Troubles, Alexa. They can't affect you directly but the side effects like smoke inhalation van still hurt you."
"Oh. " She thought that over for a moment. She was curious. "Why Nathan?"
Duke turned the engine off. "Because Nathan can't feel anything. He can hear, see, smell and taste but he can't feel sensations."
Alexa was speechless. Duke exited the car then took the crate out of the back. They walked up the stairs together and saw Nathan sitting in her deck chair. She was struck by how similar he looked to the first time she had seen him here. She remembered the words he had spoken to her. How can you forget me?" He whispered. "I've missed you so much, Audrey." He was suffering just like all the other's here in town. Like all of The Troubled.
"Sorry, we got held up." Duke was telling Nathan as dropped himself in the other chair. "I was telling her some background on The Troubles. Like Jordan's."
Nathan nodded. "She's dangerous."
"But that's not her fault!" Alexa protested.
Nathan was serious. "I know but not everyone knows about Jordan's Trouble. We had a case where someone accidentally brushed up against her and got himself shocked. No one can be in control one hundred percent of the time and Jordan's Trouble doesn't have a switch to turn in off. It's one of the reasons she's so desperate for a cure."
"The group we were telling you about earlier is called The Guard." Duke continued. "They are a group of troubled people who look out for others that are troubled. They try to keep people safe when The Troubles are active and keep the lore alive when they cease so that they will be prepared once they activate again. You've already met their leader, Vince."
Alexa was shocked. "One of the old dudes that run the newspaper? The tall one?"
"The one that looks like an overweight Richard Simmons? Yeah, that's him." Duke confirmed.
Nathan looked at her seriously. "He's the one running things for now. He seems to be losing control over his people though. They seem to feel that he isn't doing enough to end The Troubles. And since it's my fault that The Troubles haven't stopped they want to kill me. So Duke came up with a plan to buy us some time until Audrey comes back or we find another way for this to end."
"And?" Alexa was seriously wondering if Nathan had a death wish.
"There are only two foolproof methods that we know of for sure." Duke told her. "The temporary one is that Audrey would be forced to sacrifice herself in order for the town to have 27 years of peace."
Nathan stared at her face again then looked away. "And the second way ended The Troubles forever. The price is steep. She would have to kill the person she loved most."
"She couldn't do it." Duke told her. "She couldn't kill Nathan. So she gave herself up so that Haven could have peace. However, Nathan couldn't abide by her decision and tried to follow her. There was a shooting. Nathan shot the man who would have taken Audrey away, Jordan shot Nathan and I shot Jordan. Only Agent Howard died."
"But Audrey was gone." Nathan's eyes were full of anguish. "Duke followed her."
"By his request." Duke jabbed his finger at Nathan. "The next thing I remember is regaining consciousness in an aquarium six months later."
"We're still looking for her." Nathan finished.
His eyes were intense as they stared into her. It was almost like he was trying to dive into her psyche to search for the answers to burning questions but only he knew the questions. She didn't know what he was looking for but eventually, he turned to stare out at the ocean.
"Anything else you'd like to tell me?" Alexa was already emotionally exhausted. "Any more earth shattering revelations?"
The two men shared a glance and Alexa threw up her hands. "For God's sake. What else? Are aliens real too? Have I been abducted before this point? Is Santa going to be making a surprise visit to my house later? Or maybe I'll be stalked by a sparkly vampire."
"Easy there." Duke tried to soothe her. "We don't want to dump too much information on you at once. Don't need you ending up in the Freddie."
"What the hell is the Freddie?" Alexa was starting to lose her temper.
"Never mind." Nathan told her. "The point is that Audrey never told us that she had a sister. In fact, Audrey told us that she has no living relatives."
"Dude." Duke rolled his eyes. "Invest in some diplomacy. But he's right. Open the crate."
"What?" Alexa looked at them disbelievingly.
But Duke just pointed at the crate and reluctantly, she opened it. Inside were pictures and little treasures. She lifted out a stack of pictures and gasped when she saw the first one. It was of a short blonde woman with kind blue eyes and a big smile standing in front of the Haven Police Department. She wore a boring blue shirt and a pair of slacks.
"Audrey?" She looked up to see Nathan and Duke's expressions. Both made it clear that this was indeed the missing Audrey.
There were pictures of Audrey, Duke and Nathan sitting on her deck, drinking beer and having a good time outside of her department. Poker on a boat of some kind, most likely The Cape Rouge. Audrey eating a cupcake with frosting all over her face and Duke laughing in the background. Nathan and Audrey drinking coffee at a cute little coffee shop with whipped cream mustaches. Another of a beach scene with the ocean in the background where Audrey was shoveling sand into a little boy's bucket to Nathan's obvious amusement. A lighthouse with all three of them lined up in front of it, beaming. Another of a newborn baby swaddled warmly.
The pictures made it clear that there was both heat and attraction in various degrees for all the concerned parties. Nathan's gaze seemed to frozen forever smoldering with romantic intensity as he looked at Audrey. Duke seemed to be enigmatic but there was wistfulness on his face but his eyes held the same amount of feeling. Audrey's photos made it clear that she also felt love and attraction for the two men as well. It was clear all three of them were close but Audrey was always standing or sitting a little closer to Nathan. And most of the time, Audrey stood between the two of them, like a sun exerting a gravitational pull on its two captive planets.
"So why are you showing me this?" Alexa asked as she put the pictures back into the box.
She sifted through the mementos. There were two business cards inside the box, one for FBI Agent Audrey Parker and the other for Detective Parker, HPD. There was also a sea shell, a little glass vial filled with sand that said Haven on it, a plastic cupcake topper that said: Rosemary's, a menu for The Gull, a book, a few discarded beer tops, some playing cards and other items.
Nathan silently held up his phone that had a picture of herself from earlier today. She looked pissed off in the photo but Alexa took a look at her photo and compared it to Audrey's. They looked exactly the same. Same face shape, eyes, nose, lips and body type.
"My God. We look like twins." Alexa thought out loud.
"Audrey didn't have a sister." Nathan repeated.
Duke took a deep breath then let it out. "We don't think you are her sister. We think that you are Audrey Parker."
Alexa had even more questions than before. But Nathan had to go back to the station to fill out paperwork. He had already delayed longer than he normally would have to help Duke explain the situation. Alexa was still too lost in her own thoughts to give him more than a distracted goodbye. Duke asked if she wanted to take tonight off so she can have some time to process. Alexa thanked him but ultimately she knew that she needed to work.
Duke asked that she bring back the crate to The Cape Rouge when she was done. She promised that she just wanted to make copies and then she was more than happy to bring it back. Duke looked relieved then excused himself downstairs to check in on Mark.
She put the lid back on the crate and brought it inside. She left it on the couch and then went downstairs herself. The bar was already packed so she got into the swing of things pretty quick. She poured drinks, chatted with customers and flirted a little, cleaned and took away empties. She rang up orders, put up tickets for the chefs, distributed food and bused tables. Everyone wanted to know a little more about the mysterious new resident that looked just like one of the previous police officers that protected their town.
She told them the story that Vince had already started circulating. Alexa had lost her memory and had wandered back into Haven. Until she regained her memory, she would be working part time at The Gull. Nathan would be taking her on a few police rides to see if she would regain her memory. Some of them felt sorry for her and tipped her a little more than normal but the rest seemed to take it in stride. After all it's Haven and things happen.
Duke gave last call and everyone crowded around for one last drink before heading home. She and the other bartender, Nora, confiscated keys for those who were too drunk to drive and called rides for them. Alexa learned that there were no taxis here in town, surprise, surprise. They shut the door after the last patron left and cleaned up. The kitchen had closed at midnight so the kitchen was already clean and ready for tomorrow's service. Duke locked up and Nora went home. It was a little before 2am, standing outside of her door.
"I know you need some time." Duke told her. "You know where I am if you need me."
Alexa eyed him then teased. "You're welcome to bother me whenever, boss. Coffee tomorrow?"
'Sure. What time?" Duke answered.
"10 am?" Alexa asked.
"See you then." Duke waved then disappeared down the steps.
Alexa went inside then locked the door behind her. She showered and did her normal nightly routine. She got into bed, set her alarm and went to sleep. While she was asleep, she dreamed.
She was wandering around a mansion. The house had vintage furnishings and it gave off a creepy vibe. No matter how far she walked, she couldn't get over the feeling that someone was watching her. They met up with other people, Duke, Jordan, Nathan, a red haired woman dressed as a cheerleader and another man she had never met before wearing a fedora. Jordan, Nathan and Duke seemed to be threatening each other with guns. After calming down, they shot the mirrors and intercoms in the house while escaping the house. Outside, they were met with Dwight and the Teagues. She took the bomb Dwight was holding and threw it back into the house. The house exploded and she was thrown clear.
Now she was in an old fashioned country bar. She was behind the counter, pouring herself a stiff drink. She looked up to see a handsome, athletic man with brown hair in his late 30's. He had quite a playful grin on his face and blue eyes that seemed to twinkle in delight. She drank her scotch then put the glass down. She and the man found a hidden door. He encouraged her to open it so she did. The door opened to the most amazing sight. All she could see were clouds and what seemed to be lightning striking the clouds. He advised that she would have to take a leap of faith to get back to where she belonged. She refused to jump, she was too afraid.
He started to get irritated. "The Barn is dying. If you are here when its last moments come, then you will die as well. Do you want that?"
"No." Alexa told him then begged, hand held out. "Come with me. You'll die to if you don't come with me."
"If only I could. This is a journey you have to make on your own. It can only take you. " He took her hand and made to kiss it but he froze. "Where did you get this ring?"
Alexa shrugged. "Which one? I have a lot."
He pointed out the plainest one. "My memories say it's my mother's. But you already told me that I can't trust my memories. So, I don't know."
"With this, we don't need to wait for a rescue." He breathed. "We can walk right through the door and into The Void. We can find an easier way into your world."
"That's a good thing, right, William?" Alexa asked.
He kissed her ring then her hand. "Of course it is. I'll come with you."
Alexa held his hand tightly as they stood in front of the door. William squeezed her hand gently and on the count of 3, they both jumped into the clouds. She felt a small zap like static electricity and a sensation of falling for a few seconds. They both landed on the ground, lying stunned for a few moments. William started laughing and eventually Alexa did too. It petered off then William stood up. Alexa held out her hand and William pulled her up.
"Let's go." He smiled. "We've got a long walk ahead of us."
They walked for a long time but Alexa never seemed to get tired. Eventually they came to a greenish yellow gash in the air. William called it a portal or a thinny. He borrowed her ring and popped through it. He came back with food to eat but declared it too far away from their final destination.
"Where did it go to?" Alexa was curious.
"Canada." He answered. "Too far from Haven. Let's keep going."
She woke up to her phone alarm. She turned it off. She sat up in bed, thinking of her dream. The first was probably just a nightmare since it felt a little too much like the haunted house movie she had watched a few days ago. The last one was definitely a memory because she could remember the rest of it.
After five tries, Alexa and William had found one in Maine. They walked through the thinny and found themselves in front of a quiet house in a nice neighborhood. William gave her ring back and explained that she was on her own now. He gave her some cash and sent her on her way. Alexa didn't care. She had been on her own before and while hitching wasn't the safest mode of travel, it would get her where she needed to go. But first, she needed a decent coat and warmer clothes. She gave William a hug goodbye then went to the closest Goodwill. She got a few outfits and a backpack to store them in. After that she went to the closest bar that had help wanted on it and got the job. It was a crappy little bar but they paid under the table which is what she wanted. She found a cheap by the week apartment for rent, paid in cash for a month and started saving. In two weeks she had enough for a used laptop and paid outright for an 1994 blue Toyota Tercel that was more rust than body. Doing research, she found that Haven seemed to be a perfectly ordinary town, nothing special but it was a starting place. She put in her notice at work and that's when she got mugged then sent to the hospital before emerging with amnesia.
She was still feeling tired and a low grade headache was just beginning to form. She got up, got dressed and decided today was going to be a low maintenance day which meant hair was going into a ponytail and she was only going to be performing half of her normal make up routine. She was sitting on her couch, pondering whether she had enough time for a short nap when somebody knocked on the door.
"Come in." Alexa called.
Duke opened the door and Jennifer skipped inside. "Hope you don't mind but this one was wondering if she could join us for coffee."
"Of course not." Alexa said. "The more, the merrier."
"How did you sleep?" Jennifer chirped.
Alexa winced. "Ok. Had a couple of weird dreams. One might be a memory."
Jennifer clapped her hands in excitement and Duke looked conflicted (happy, sad, afraid). Alexa recounted the memory of the bar scene as best she could while the coffee brewed. She poured coffee and set it in front of Jennifer and Duke. Jennifer added sugar then milk, Duke and Alexa both drank it black.
"But I mean it was a bar, not a barn." Alexa finished. I don't know why he called it that."
"Because on the outside, it is a barn." Duke said seriously. "But inside it can be whatever it wants. But this William was he a bald, black guy?"
"No." She shook her head. "White guy."
"The Barn is real." Jennifer chimed in. "That was my trouble. I could hear The Barn and whoever was inside. I could hear you and a man talking but I never caught his name. I just knew when you jumped out of The Barn and then when it died."
"We knew." Duke motioned to himself and Jennifer. "When you were outside but we didn't know how long it was going to take you to come back. Or even if you were going to come back to Haven."
"What about Nathan?" Alexa asked. "He didn't seem like the kind of person who would give up."
Duke looked grim. "Nathan was in a really bad place. The Guard was trying to kill him for screwing up the return to the barn and you were gone. When Jennifer broke me out of the hospital, we went to go find Nathan. We found him outside a bar letting people beat him up for money. He's coming out of it but there are things he can't let go of."
"Oh." Alexa said simply and took a sip of coffee.
That explained a lot, she thought to herself. Being unable to feel left him stunted emotionally with regards to his own feelings and being able to respond to others. Meeting someone like Audrey had been like offering a drink of water to someone suffering from dehydration. He couldn't get enough and the prospect of losing her had sent him into a tailspin. He had then made a series of bad decisions that led him into being hunted like a fugitive. And he still lost her only to find a stranger in her place with no memories of him. That was definitely a rough deal.
"Any other interesting dreams last night?" Jennifer tilted her head to the side and her hair swung against the side of her face.
"There was one more. It seemed more like a scene from a B movie." Alexa said slowly. "I was wandering a creepy old mansion with Duke, Nathan, Jordan and a couple of other people. It ended with an epic standoff where everyone was pointing guns at everyone else. We shot out all the mirrors and escaped outside. I blew up the house with a bomb the newspaper guys gave me."
Jennifer shivered. "That definitely sounds like a result of a horror movie marathon."
But Duke looked awestruck. "That really happened. He breathed then focused in on Jennifer and Alexa. "That was one of Audrey's memories."
Seeing their interest, he elaborated. "Audrey and I had gone to Vince and Dave's Halloween Party. A teenager stumbled in saying that her boyfriend was still in the Halloway House. Audrey, I, another detective named Tommy, Audrey's friend Claire and the girl went back to the house. It trapped us inside then lured Nathan and Jordan inside. Dwight and the Teague's were outside trying to bust a hole in the house so that it would let us out. Long story short, most of us got out."
"That's good, right?" Jennifer looked hopeful. "Your memories are coming back."
"Yeah." Alexa drank the last of her coffee. "But it's so frustrating that they are only coming back a piece at a time."
Duke got up for a refill. "Well the way you got out of The Barn was a good memory." He said practically. "It tells us that there is a way in and out for you just in case it does come back. Also the haunted house memory also shows you that Nathan, Jennifer and I aren't crazy for believing in The Troubles."
Alexa knew she looked a little guilty. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. It was a little much to take in all at once."
"It's ok." Jennifer reassured her. "I'm used to being thought of as crazy. It took me coming to Haven to realize I'm not. There are really crazy things here."
All three of them laughed but a knock at the door stopped them. Alexa got up and answered the door.
"Hello, Detective." She greeted Nathan.
"Alexa." He nodded hello to Duke and Jennifer. "Got a call. Dwight has asked for yours and Duke's help on a case. Need to hurry."
"Ok." Alexa unplugged the coffee pot. "Let's go."
"I'm coming too." Jennifer piped up as she followed everyone to Nathan's Bronco.