"In other news, two convicted kidnappers have fled from their respective prisons. The married couple who kept their alleged daughter tied to a bed in the basement of their residence was sentenced to life in prison after it was also revealed that the girl wasn't their daughter at all. The girl's name kept anonymous by the authorities, was catatonic when she was found and brought to Calvert Hospital. After two months with no signs of life, she was transferred to Pennhurst Asylum in Kerley County one state over in Indiana. Now, she too has escaped from the hospital. It is unknown how any of the three escaped, but Illinois and Indiana authorities are looking for them now. A truly puzzling turn of events to a horrific crime. We will keep you updated as this story progresses. Back to you, Charles."
Carmen's hands grabbed the coffee mug in front of her tighter. The warmth of her drink felt good on her palms after days of wandering around in the cold.
Her heart began to race as the news switched over to the weather. Her parents were out of prison. She was still being followed. She didn't know where to go now. There was no one to take care of her and no way for her to be safe without leaving the state. Maybe even the country.
The mug suddenly slipped out of her grip and fell onto the table with a loud clang. A few patrons of the diner and the waitress behind the counter looked at her before resuming their conversations and work respectively.
"We're expecting a strong rainstorm tonight, so make sure to stay inside, and if you cannot, pack up a strong umbrella and raincoat..."
Carmen flinched, sighing as she looked out the window to see a flash of lightning. Sure enough, raindrops began hitting the large windows of the Diner. At first only a few, but not even five minutes later it was coming down fast and hard.
"Shit," she cursed under her breath.
She needed to figure out where to stay for the night. She had no idea where to go at all.
"Excuse me!"
Carmen gasped softly, turning her head to face the waitress standing next to her. Her face was impatient, which clued Carmen into the fact that she'd been trying to get her attention for a while.
"Yes?" her voice was timid, she was afraid of what was coming next.
"Anything else I can get you?" the waitress nodded at the coffee on the table. Carmen shook her head no, her brown curls gently swaying from side to side. "Just the check, then?"
Carmen hesitated. The check. She had no money on her. The clothes on her back weren't even hers, and she knew that it showed.
Apparently so did the waitress, because she suddenly had a look of soft annoyance on her face. "You don't have any money, do you?"
Carmen shook her head in response. "I'm sorry."
The waitress sized her up. Her name tag read 'Sabrina'. Her green eyes looked tired. Her light brown hair had grease in it and was falling out of her hair tie at the sides. Her white, slightly dirty apron was tied neatly around a dark green uniform which flattered her skin tone. Carmen didn't need to know much about the real world to know that Sabrina was most likely a broke college student, trying to pay her bills and yearning for some sleep. She felt bad for giving her a hassle.
Originally, Carmen only walked into Donnie's Diner to sit for a little bit and charge up her battery, but Sabrina had come by before Carmen even managed to slide into the booth to ask her what she was ordering.
"You run away from home or something?" Sabrina asked. Her voice was soft, there was an understanding tone underneath the question.
Carmen hesitated again. She never was a good liar. "Kind of."
"You steal those clothes?" Sabrina asked, nodding at Carmen's oversized sweatshirt. Like Carmen, Sabrina had an accent - it was Southern, while Carmen's was Spanish - which made the young woman wonder if the waitress had moved here recently or never dropped her accent.
"Are you going to call the police?"
Sabrina could hear the fear in Carmen's crackling voice. She sighed, throwing her head back into her neck somewhat dramatically. Two double shifts in a row had taken a toll on her and she wasn't looking forward to causing a commotion ten minutes before she could go home.
"Wait for me," she finally said. "And don't even think about walking out of here."
She walked behind the counter and into the kitchen. Carmen's heart started thrumming as she waited for Sabrina's return. She knew she should consider running. Realistically, Sabrina would go in the back and call the cops on her. But there was a kindness in her eyes, an understanding that felt comforting to Carmen.
So she stayed seated as the minutes ticked by and the rain started falling down angrier. Another wave of thunder sounded out into the darkening sky. Patrons of the diner began to file out and rushed to their vehicles.
Carmen wrung her hands as she waited for Sabrina to return. The cops were coming, she just knew it. She was screwed.
But then Sabrina sauntered out of the kitchen, a plate with a burger in one hand and a glass of coke in the other.
The waitress walked over to Carmen's table and swiftly sat the food down. She pulled a napkin from her apron and handed it over to the younger girl. "Sorry, had to wait until things quieted down."
Carmen looked at the burger, then back at Sabrina. "I cannot pay for this," she repeated. She didn't understand Sabrina's angle. Was she trying to make her feel comfortable before having her picked up? "I could work it off."
Sabrina laughed. "It's on me."
Carmen shook her head adamantly. "No, I cannot ask you to do that. I don't want to take money out of your pocket."
"It's not going out of mine, don't worry," she said. When Carmen shot her a confused glance, Sabrina continued. "If Donnie can grab waitresses' asses and go on vacation five times a year, despite not having worked a day, then I can give out some free food. Brady - our cook - is fine with it. Just eat up, so we can all get out of here before the storm sweeps us away."
And with that, Sabrina left Carmen to her devices, heading back behind the counter and into the kitchen.
Carmen looked longingly at the burger for a few seconds, pondering whether she should actually eat or just run. Quickly, her hunger overtook her fear of the police. She grabbed the burger and took a big bite of it. Then another, and another. Before she knew it, the burger was gone.
After another rumble of thunder and a lightning strike nearby, Carmen decided it was time to go. She gulped down the glass of coke as quickly as possible, then grabbed the pen she had swiped from Sabrina's apron and wrote a short thank you for the waitress before sliding out of the booth and heading out of the door.
Sabrina walked out of the kitchen upon hearing the bell ringing over the door. She looked around for the girl dressed in an oversized pair of sweatpants and a sweater, her hair looking way too tousled for a face that pretty. But she was gone, leaving behind only her empty plate and glass.
The brunette sighed and walked over to the table to clear it. As she picked up the plate, the napkin she had left behind caught her eye. She chuckled, reading over the note the girl had left for her.
'Thanks for the food. Give Donnie hell and get some sleep. Sorry for taking your pen - signed, Goldie'
"Unbelievable."
The rain fell heavily onto her head. Her clothes were already soaked and she could feel the future cold coming on. Still, she had no clue where to go. The previous night's events had her rattled. Hawkins was not the quaint little town that it seemed to be. All Carmen wanted to do was get on a bus and go out of town, out of state. Start somewhere fresh.
She shrieked as another bolt of thunder rang out. A shadow in the distance made her retreat behind a big tree. A big man in a police uniform came weaving around the trees, two men behind him trying to keep up on the slippery ground.
"Alright, let's call it a night. We'll never get anywhere like this."
"It is pretty wet out, Chief."
"You don't say, Callahan."
The men walked off in another direction. The Chief stayed put for a few seconds, looking around the area.
Carmen's heart began to race as she clung to the tree for dear life. She knew they weren't there for her. They were there for the boy. But that didn't mean they couldn't bring her in if they found her out in the woods in the middle of a rainstorm.
She held her breath for what seemed like forever until the Chief finally turned and walked after his Deputies. Only then did she breathe out a sigh of relief.
She needed to get out of the rain. Just sleep somewhere dry and keep going once the storm had passed. So she kept running, doing her best to avoid stray branches and keeping from slipping on wet leaves on the ground. The rain almost spurred her on, propelling her faster ahead. She maneuvered through the trees with expert ease, despite barely being allowed to leave her house growing up.
Soon enough, there was a lone house ahead. Two beat-up cars in the driveway, the lights inside still on. Carmen knew that she couldn't just walk inside, not even if she snuck in. She started walking around the house to see if there was some kind of roof or shed where she could stay for the night.
Located behind the house was an old shed that stood creaking in the wind. It wouldn't be warm, but dry enough to stay there for the night. Carmen flattened her body against the wall of the house, trying not to be seen by anyone inside.
Like a cat, she began to sneak toward the shed, hoping to find shelter and get some time to think. Carmen had no idea where any of these skills came from. She had never been in any situation where she needed to run before the previous year's events. Part of her assumption was that it was just survival instincts she hadn't needed before kicking in. But somewhere in the back of her head, she believed that someone had passed the skills down to her. Someone she needed to find desperately.
Carmen reached the shed, relieved to have made it there without incident. As her hand wandered to the door, she was grabbed by the shoulders and pushed against the wall hastily. She gasped, looking up into brown, desperate-looking eyes.
"What are you doing? Who the hell are you?"
She was too stunned to answer. She had no idea where he had come from so fast. Her mouth opened and closed like she was struggling to breathe. "Uhm–"
"Uhm what? Who are you?"
"It's just…it's so cold outside. I just wanted to stay somewhere dry for the night."
His eyes softened. He thought she was trying to steal or mess with his family in their lowest moment, but she was just a scared girl. The prettiest girl he had ever seen. She shivered. Strands of wet hair clung to her face and she was soaked to the bone. He released his grip on her. She looked at him desperately.
He looked around for a second. At that point, both of them were drenched and he knew that he couldn't just leave her out in the storm. With a sigh, he nodded towards the door. "Come on. You can stay here for the night."
Carmen's eyes narrowed. "You don't have to do that. Just let me go, I'll find a place."
"It's fine. You're gonna catch your death out here," he said. He began walking back towards the front door, halting when he realized she wasn't following him. "Come on, the storm is only going to get worse."
She was torn. Either this guy was way too trusting for his own good, or he was a serial killer and she was way too trusting. She found herself not caring, part of her actually trusted him. It was cold and she was too tired to have any more doubts, so she walked up to him in quick strides.
"Just make sure to be quiet. My mom finally went to bed."
Carmen nodded. "Got it," she said, walking past him into the house on quiet soles.
He closed the door and herded her towards the hallway, then down into his room and closed the door softly. "I'm Jonathan, by the way."
There was a moment of silence as Carmen stared at a picture on Jonathan's old bureau nearby. It showed him and that boy. The same boy she had seen running in the woods the night before.