All of the big things were predictable. She liked helping people. She was an orphan. She helped people. It was the little things that surprised him. She could keep a car for long periods of time and drove fairly well. She liked her coffee black. She didn't like pancakes.
It was a shock to him each time he discovered a new difference. He had just gotten used to the part of her that drove her car off a cliff when he first met her. It wasn't a surprise that he remembered she had used to like her coffee with milk and sugar; he had gotten her a cup nearly every day for more than half a year. And pancakes had been their meal since the start.
Deep down, she was really Audrey, though. It was in the way she talked, the way she looked at him. The way she helped people.
She pulled in next to him. He led her into the station. None of the officers had been there as long as him, but a couple, including Stan, recognized her and said nothing. He showed her into his office.
"So do you have any idea where she would've gone?" Nathan thought about the information he had been given on Alecia Naril. It sounded like a trouble to him, but he would wait before telling her about troubles. He didn't have any more evidence than she wouldn't have, other than his knowledge of Haven's secret.
"No, I can't think of anywhere." He tried not to stare at her because that would make things awkward, but now that she was back, he wanted to take in her image.
"Why did she come here? Are there any ties?" Maybe she hadn't been given all the information by Howard.
"She used to have family here. Her aunt and uncle lived in town. They were her first kills."
"Well, that's a start. Do you want to try the house today or wait till tomorrow?"
"Today." Nathan knew now that there weren't enough tomorrows to keep putting things off.
"How about I just drive you? That way one of us can't get stuck at a light. Besides, you don't know the way."
"You really have a problem with me driving, don't you?" she joked lightly with him. He gave a small smile. "Fine, you can drive. Just don't let me leave my car overnight." She climbed into his Bronco and he started the car. "Okay, seriously, how long have you had this thing? It looks about a million years old."
"Since I was seventeen." She gaped at him then tried to hide it.
"And I thought I was a responsible car owner," she muttered under her breath. He glanced at her.
"Well, Parker-"
"Parker?" Lyssa wasn't used to being confused for other people. She wondered who it was.
"Sorry, Terro."
"Who's Parker?" He looked at her again before replying.
"Just someone I used to know. It's not important." She didn't want to be intrusive, so she stopped prying. For the rest of the car ride, she stared out the window. They didn't say anything for the rest of the ride.
"We're here." She climbed out of the car after him. It just looked like any other house in this town. When she had first gotten this job, it had been hard for her to think of someone being murdered in such normal places. She was more used to it now.
"Well, let's check it out." She walked up the porch steps and to the door. It was locked. She turned back to Nathan.
"Is the door supposed to be locked?" She knocked and pulled out her gun.
"Open up," she called. A boy answered. His clothes were torn. He had messy brown hair and couldn't have been more than five.
"Hey, have you seen this woman?" She looked up and Nathan had already gone back to the car to get a picture from the case folder.
"What's your name?" she asked while they were waiting.
"Joshua." He had a quiet voice and didn't seem very happy about talking to a police officer, but there was also a certain calm element that you didn't usually come across in 5 year old boys.
"I'm Lyssa. It's nice to meet you." He tilted his head slightly as if wondering if she was telling the truth or just being polite. His hand was slightly burned. When he saw that she saw, he grabbed her arm, then quickly let go and ran into the house.
"Hey!" She ran in after him, drawing her gun again. He turned back and looked surprised to see her.
"You didn't get burned." He looked confused. She saw the criminal woman at the top of the stairs. The woman ran as Lyssa pointed her gun. Joshua grabbed her arm tightly, and she dropped her gun in surprise. There was the sound of gunshot as it fell to the floor. She looked to see Nathan's leg covered in blood.
As Duke piloted the boat back to Haven, he saw why silence had fallen over the town. The streets were entirely deserted. So were the boats and, as far as he could tell, the houses. They looked into windows and wandered the town, but it only confirmed their original theory. They were alone.
"Alright. How about we take a car and drive to Boston. That way we can see if it's just the people of Haven who disappeared." The others agreed with Duke's suggestion. They would wait until morning before setting off.
Duke had never liked quiet. It sounded like death. He doubted anyone would be in Boston, but it was worth a try, and the hope would make them feel better, even if only for a little while. Everything was where it had been. No one had taken their clothes from their dressers or their pictures off the wall or the food out of their fridges. They had just dropped their things and gone, and he doubted they had gone to Boston.
Duke's thoughts kept him awake. He decided he wanted to see the Gull, so he stole a car, which someone had conveniently left their keys in, and drove there. Nothing had changed. No one had taken his beer. No one had even taken Audrey's stuff. He wondered if any time had really passed at all.
He heard footsteps. He looked at the doorway just in time to see a boy, maybe 17, come running in.
"Oh, thank God! There's another person on this planet!" He paused for a second to catch his breath. "I'm Connor. Who are you?"
"Duke." Duke looked at Connor. He had brown hair and pale skin. He was tall for his age but a couple of inches shorter than Duke. He wore a nondescript, gray t-shirt with black sweats and sneakers. Duke wondered if he could trust him.
"So why isn't anyone else here?"
"I don't know. I just woke up one morning and everyone was gone."
"So it's not just in Haven?" Every answer brought more questions.
"No." Duke sighed a grabbed a bottle of wine. Going into a world with all the people missing seemed like a good enough reason for drinking to him. Every answer brought more questions, not that he wasn't used to that after living in Haven.
Duke poured himself a glass. It looked aged. It had fermented for more than a little while. Maybe everything had. He hid the realization from Connor, who he decided he would quiz.
"About how long ago did this happen?'
"I don't know. A couple months ago, I think." That wine had fermented for more than a couple months. Connor - if that was even his name - was lying. Duke tried to keep his expression nonchalant as he swung the wine bottle at Connor's head. Connor saw it coming and caught it in his fist. He slammed it into Duke's head.