Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[September the 1st, 2010 / 4th day]

[Los Angeles, California]

[POV: Nicholas Clark]

Waking up in the middle of the day as the afternoon sun hit him in the face, Nick was still feeling the effects of last night's ‘party'. Upon opening his eyes everything was blurry, and his head was killing him; as he blinked the haze away, he noticed that he was still at the church. Looking around, he saw the state of the room he was sleeping in; it wasn’t the worst place he spent the night in these past couple of months.

The brilliant light of the sun was mostly blocked out by the old and dirty stained glass. Looking at the windows, Nick could only guess that they depicted saints and angels; he was not all that religious, after all. Still, he could easily guess that all the graffiti tags, grime, needles, and trash littering the floor could be counted as blasphemy of some sort.

After the last few days living here, he could see that the church itself was a husk, no longer the house of God. The pews were toppled, broken, or shoved together for makeshift beds, but they were just as uncomfortable as sleeping on the ground. Empty beer bottles rolled on the floor with the gentle wind that managed to penetrate the old wooden and most likely rotten doors. A Bible lay not far, its pages warped, wet, and unreadable; some of the pages were even ripped out for snorting something, he wasn’t sure what.

Looking over the walls, he saw the graffiti covering them, some of them even his own, layered and decades old, some older than him. A variety of names, slurs, symbols, and crude attempts at murals overlap one another in a chaotic fight for dominance. Still, it all didn’t matter, as the paint was starting to peel everywhere, the walls themselves breaking apart from old age. With nobody to maintain the place, it was slowly falling apart with him inside.

Turning his gaze up, he saw the black ceiling above him, filled with holes and blackened due to age and water damage. On the few rainy days since making this his new home, they had to watch as water leaked into the building, making things only worse for them. Gloria told him that they should move and find another spot to hang out in, but he ignored her worries.

Ever since his dad died and his rehab failed, he’s been living on the streets, doing questionable things to get the money for drugs. They helped him not to think about stuff, but after a while he became stuck in his state of being, too afraid to face his family or ask for help and too angry to just give up.

“... Gloria?” Nick said, turning to his left as he tried to grab his girlfriend but found nobody there.

His voice traveled across the church, the echo reverberating throughout the building, but nobody answered as the words got swallowed by emptiness.

Nobody answered; that was new.

Rubbing his arms, Nick felt the cold air hit his chest, his clothes sticking to his skin with sweat. He felt awful; his head was foggy, his chest felt tight, he had multiple bruises, and his left arm felt numb.

Slowly standing up, he adjusted his clothes as he slowly walked towards the railing overlooking the church. It was unusually silent for L.A.; he could still hear the distant sounds of the city, cars driving, dogs barking, and sirens blaring, but even there it was less than usual. Another reason this silence was weird was because around this time when everyone woke up, his ‘friends’ weren’t known for being quiet and would usually wake him up around this time.

Just as he was about to look down and see what was up with them, he heard a loud banging sound to his left, finally a sign of life. Stumbling towards the source of the noise, Nick walked down the stairs carefully, his steps uneven and shaky from last night's drug bender.

“Gloria!” Nick yelled out; he wasn’t in the right state of mind to panic about the eerie silence or the foreboding atmosphere; he just wanted to get his girl and get out of there.

Getting a level lower, he began searching the area; she had to be here somewhere. Gloria wouldn’t leave him, or so he told himself. Walking into one particularly dark room, Nick held onto the frame of the doors, looking inside and not seeing much. The red curtains were blocking out most of the light, making it impossible to see, but he still squinted his eyes and tried.

“Hello?” Nick asked, trying to see if anyone was hiding in the dark room, but nothing came of his efforts.

Just as he turned around and began walking away from the room, he heard someone scream, followed by another metallic bang. It was faint and far away, but he managed to pick up on it, which only made his fears bigger. 

“No, no.” Nick said, slapping the palm of his hand against his forehead. “Nothing’s going on; I just have to get Gloria.”

Making his way back and down the stairs, Nick held onto the railing as if his life depended on it and made his way down. As he neared the bottom, he saw the piano that was sitting on the stairs was covered in an unhealthy amount of blood; now that got him panicking.

As his feet felt the cold wooden floor of the ground level, he was met with a frightful sight: a dark corridor with the light flickering over his head. It looked like a scene from a horror movie, but to Nick it was all too real, but still he had to find Gloria. Slowly wobbling towards the wide-open doors, he could feel the tensions rising, but as he finally got there, what he saw made him jump back in shock. There was a guy lying on the ground with his neck ripped open; he was pretty sure he knew the guy, but he couldn’t remember his name.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Nick muttered under his breath, this wasn’t the first time he saw blood, but never something like that. “What the fuck…”

Peeking once again into the room where the guy was, Nick saw the grizzly sight: the guy was lying in a pool of his own blood with bite marks all over his body and chunks of flesh missing. He was pretty sure that the man’s eye was popping out, but Nick couldn’t look anymore, so he simply moved past the room. He had to find his Gloria now and fast; whatever was happening was both fucked up and not their problem to deal with.

Moving into the main area of the church, Nick picked up a metal something to use for defense just in case he needed it. Looking around, there was nothing and nobody here, but he could hear a faint noise and the sound of crunching, not to mention the smell of blood in the air.

“Gloria?” Nick said in a hushed voice, not wanting to get the attention of whoever was killing folk around here.

Walking towards the source of the noise, he feels himself walk into something wet; looking down on the ground, he sees a pool of red liquid. It was blood, and there was no way he could pretend otherwise; that only made his fear and paranoia worse as the worst-case scenario came to his mind. His stomach twists at the thought, but he steels himself, pushing forwards with the hope that it is just in his mind and not the reality. 

Holding his weapon high, he felt ready to defend himself if need be, but the sounds became more creepy as he neared. They became more squelchy and resembled someone ripping a turkey apart with their bare hands; it unnerved him to the core, but he didn’t stop.

Every nerve in his body is on edge as he slowly and hesitantly moves forward. Just behind one of the pews he finally saw her; Gloria, his girlfriend, was hunched over someone, doing whatever. Because of his happiness clouding his mind, Nick didn’t even think about how it looked; he just moved towards her quickly.

“Gloria!” Nick said, getting real close to her. “Babe, we have to go!”

Just as he was about to touch her, the woman he spent the last few months with turned to face him. Sadly, what he saw caused him to back away a good couple of feet before tripping and falling to the ground. Falling on his ass, Nick finally got a better look at her, and it caused him to freeze from the sight alone. Gloria’s face was unrecognizable; her once bright blue eyes were now milky white and vacant, while her mouth was covered in blood with chunks of flesh sticking to her lips.

Lying on the ground below her was a young Black teen with nearly half of his mouth missing, most likely eaten by Gloria. Nick could only lie there on his back as he looked on with shock and fear as his now ex-girlfriend stood up. As she did, he noticed something was plunged in her side, and it looked a lot like a machete or some kind of big knife. Her grotesque form now standing up straight caused her to block the window above them, making it look like a halo formed around her body, while the rest of her was swallowed up by darkness.

He almost thought he was hallucinating, still on drugs and high as a kite, but the feeling of sharp glass digging into his wrist, which he was using to prop himself up, caused him to throw away that theory.

Seeing that she began approaching him and what happened to the last guy she got her hands on, Nick broke through his shock and began running away. Looking at her, he saw that her movements were awkward, slow, deliberate, and stiff, but most of all, they were very unnatural. The only thing he could compare them to was someone very high on drugs or someone just learning how to walk.

He could barely believe she was capable of doing sick shit like this; he thought she was too peace-loving for that. As he rounded the corner and saw the doors leading out of the church, without wasting any time, he bolted out of them and onto the overgrown sidewalk. Still being stuck behind a high and sharp fence, Nick began running towards the exit. The sound of the city and the bright sun caused him to nearly fall over, but he caught himself on the fence. Looking around, he saw the shady neighborhood that the church was sitting in, with no cars on the road nor any people in sight. It was mostly abandoned, one of those neighborhoods the city forgot and left to rot, a perfect place for the homeless, criminals, or both.

Still, he could hear her as she banged loudly on the doors of the church, causing him to jump up and resume running out of there. His feet hurt and his head was pounding, but he didn’t stop as he neared the opening in the fence. It was the only way in and out of the property; they used it hundreds of times, and now it was his salvation.

But as he stood there, something came to his mind. The way she moved, her eyes, and everything about this looked off to him; she didn’t look right. It looked more like something had taken over her body and was puppeteering her, directing her every move. Hell, she might not even be alive; she certainly wasn't all there, and she did have that thing in her, but that might be the drugs; they did a lot yesterday.

Disclamer:

None of the main characters can die in the first episode. I know this information can seem immersion-breaking and like it's lowering the stakes, but it's been my plan, and I simply wanted for everyone to stop making the safe choices. This episode will simply shape the characters for the future and set them on a path of escaping California. I also wanted some wild choices to be made.

What will Nick do?

A) Abandon Gloria.

B) Try to get Gloria help.

C) Put Gloria out of her misery.

Chapter Text

[September 1st, 2010 / 4th day]

[Los Angeles, California]

[POV: Nicholas Clark]

Standing at the edge of the property, Nick looked around; there was nothing and nobody in the area, and he could just leave. His best choice, one that would guarantee his own safety and health, would be to just turn around and leave this place behind. Forget about the church, about Gloria, about all the things they did together, but as he looked back, he just couldn’t. Whatever happened to her was too much for him just to leave her behind; he couldn't allow her to cause more harm to herself or to others. Not for some delusional thoughts of being a hero, but because Gloria wouldn’t want to hurt anyone; she wouldn’t want whatever she became to go on and kill people.

So, maybe it was to honor her memory, or maybe to just put her out of her misery, but whatever the reason was, Nick turned around and began walking towards the abandoned church. Slowly approaching the building, he looked around and scanned the area, taking note of the silence. She was no longer slamming against the doors, which was a good thing; he wouldn’t have to look for a different entrance. Still, the metal thing he picked up for self-defense back at the church was no longer with him; he dropped it when he fell to the ground. Looking around, he searched for any weapon he could use and found a small, rusted, and falling-apart hatchet lying between the bushes. Picking it up, Nick almost thought that it would fall apart, but it was quite sturdy despite the way it looked.

Armed and ready, Nick slowly opened the doors, hoping to make as little noise as possible, but the hinges creaked loudly, causing him to cringe at the loud sound. Still, as he entered the building again, he didn’t see Gloria anywhere near the doorway. Walking into the dimly lit church, he kept the hatchet raised and his eyes peeled as he walked further into the building. The atmosphere was much more tense than before, as whatever she became could jump him at any time.

Making his way into the main hall of the church, he saw the debatably alive woman was back to munching on the corpse of the kid. Nick saw this as an opportunity to end it quickly, and without hesitation, he tried to stick the hatchet into her head. Sadly, he didn’t notice a piece of glass on the floor and stepped right into it, cutting up his foot pretty badly.

“SHIT! AAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Nick said before letting out a loud scream of pain. “FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!”

He just had to forget to wear his shoes, Nick thought as he clenched his bleeding foot, but the sudden growling noise caused him to look back at the woman. Seeing Gloria snarling at him was a weird experience, but worse was having to jump to the side with a fucked-up foot as she tried to tackle him.

Thankfully, she didn’t actually manage to get him, but he fell to the ground and landed on his shoulder, sending a piercing pain down his left arm. He could feel the adrenaline pumping as he looked around and saw Gloria landing headfirst into one of the pews. Standing up, she had a large gash running across her face; it was deep enough that he saw her skull poking out. Throwing that thought to the side, Nick stood up even though his stance was shaking and swung his hatchet at the thing.

His attack connected, and even though his weapon was rotten to hell, he managed to dig it halfway across her neck. As the blood poured out, he felt sick to the stomach for doing that, but the way she didn’t react to it set him on edge. Even though she sustained an injury that would kill any healthy human being, she still was approaching him, even if a little slower.

Just as he was about to swing again, she dove at him, but with his guard being up the whole time, he managed to dive out of the way. She fell onto the floor, face first into the ground, but Nick didn’t waste any time. He was sure that she wasn’t alive anymore; whatever she was, she was no longer human. Without missing a beat, he pounced on her, holding her down to the ground with his knee as he began slamming the hatchet into her head. He swung and swung, taking out his grief and guilt on the walking corpse as he turned her head into mush.

As the head of the hatchet finally came loose and flew across the room, he let go of the handle, breathing heavily and looking at his bloodied hands. He’s done it; he killed whatever she was. He managed to put Gloria out of her misery. Just as he was standing up, he heard the sound of the sirens just outside of the building. Someone must have heard what was going on here before he woke up, or maybe the kid called them before dying. Who knows? Still, he can’t be caught in such a compromising position; the last thing he wanted was to spend the rest of his life in prison.

“THIS IS THE L.A.P.D.!” The words were loud and most likely coming from a police cruiser. “WE HAVE THE PLACE SURROUNDED!"

As he tried to stand up, his injured foot nearly caused him to fall to the ground, but he managed to catch himself on one of the pews. The sharp pain shooting through his leg caused his head to spin and vision to blur; sadly, he couldn’t recover fast enough. He could hear the police ramming through the big front doors of the church, and as he looked up, he saw them walking through. They had guns in their hands and were decked out with some heavy gear; there were at least twelve of them from what he could see.

“Hands in the air and where I can see them.” Said one of the leading officers as they all pointed their weapons at him, but the man leading them was the first to notice all the blood. “What the…”

“This is not what it looks li-” Nick tried to say, throwing his hand in the air as he let go of the pew, but after taking a small step back, he slipped.

As he fell backwards, Nick could see the world turning upside down before suddenly, with a sharp pain going through his skull, everything turned dark.

[September the 1st, 2010 / 4th day]

[Clark Household, Los Angeles]

[POV: Travis Manawa]

Travis couldn’t complain about his life; he hadn’t had it easy by any means, not with the divorce, the death of his parents, and the following financial issues. But after meeting Madison, everything seemed like it was getting better. He finally found stability and someone he could spend the rest of his life with to build a new home.

As for the topic of a new home, right now he was doing some repairs on said home, fixing a leak in the sink. He had his tools next to him and enough knowledge and determination to get the job done. Madison tried to convince him to call the plumber, but he was handy enough to take care of it on his own. 

“Babe, you ready?” He could hear Madison asking from the other side of the house; he’d answer, but he knew she wouldn’t hear him. “Alicia?”

“Come on, we got to go. Got to go. Got to go.” Madison says, they had around two hours to get to school for their jobs if the traffic wasn't so bad. “You got five minutes.”

“Did I say come in? Jesus, Mom.” Alicia said with annoyance in her voice before slamming the bathroom doors.

“Don't slam the door.” Madison said as she picked something up.

“Come on.” Travis said, pushing the wrench harder as he tried to tighten the pipes.

“Should have got your ass out of bed 30 minutes ago.” Madison said as he heard her getting closer.

“Come on, you son of a bitch.” Travis said, punching the wrench as it finally clicked into place. “Aw.”

“How's that working out, babe?” Madison asked, walking past him with a bundle of clothes.

“Ye of little faith.” Travis said, shaking his head, while a smirk appeared on his face.

“Ye of no faith.” Madison said with a chuckle. “You know the plumber's card's on the fridge.”

“Yeah, I know.” Travis said as he began putting in the final touches on his work.

“That guy the Poirers use.” Madison said, though he mostly ignored her as he attached the final piece.

“Yeah.” Travis said with a small nod that almost caused him to slam his forehead into one of the pipes. “She ready yet?”

“Alicia, come on!” Madison yelled as she took out bread.

“You know she won't eat that.” Travis said, seeing what kind she took out.

“It's gluten-fricking-free.” Madison said with some frustration as Travis came out from under the sink.

“I think I just saved us 300 bucks.” Travis said as he let the water flow and saw his handy work. “Leak fixed.”

“I don't believe it.” Madison said, shaking her head a little.

“Oh, yeah.” Travis said, hugging her from behind. “Mmm.”

“Really?” Madison said as she turned around to embrace him.

“Good morning.” Travis said with a smile on his face.

“You fixed it?” Madison asked.

“Mm-hmm.” Travis said with a nod.

“So hot.” Madison said as they kissed each other, but the tender moment was broken by the sound of the house phone ringing.

“Get it.” Madison said with a sigh, someone calling this early, it couldn’t be anything good.

“Okay.” Travis said with a nod as he walked over to the phone.

They were all well aware of what this call was most likely about; every time it rang this early, it was only about one thing. Nick, while already an adult, was the reason for many early calls and headaches, but despite it all Travis genuinely cares for the boy. Seeing Alicia enter with a concerned look on her face, he picks up the phone.

“Hello.” Travis says, hoping that this time it would be someone else.

“Hello, is this the Clark residence?” The woman on the other side says, and his hopes are already flushed down the drain. “This is about Nicholas Clark-”

[September the 1st, 2010 / 4th day]

[Los Angeles, California]

[POV: Nicholas Clark]

It’s been a wild run; he’s been put in police custody, taken to the hospital for his injuries, and now was about to be let go since there was no actual evidence that he was the killer. That was a nice turn of events, even if he’s been half shitting his pants throughout the ordeal. Still, they did warn him not to leave the country or the state because he was on the list of suspects or something like that.

He was currently lying on the hospital bed, looking as the nurses rolled in a half-dead-looking old guy. Nick stared at the man and saw the calm look on his face; he almost felt jealous of a man nearing his end.

“Nick, buddy. You with me?” Said one of the officers trying to interrogate him as he was broken out of his thoughts by a whistling sound. “Nick.”

“I was just exploring the place.” Nick said, trying his hardest not to show on his face how much he was lying.

“Barefoot?” The other officer asked with raised eyebrows.

“Lost my shoes.” Nick said with a smirk.

“Uh-huh.” The officer said with a nod, looking unconvinced. “What about all that blood then, huh?”

“You’ve seen the place, officer.” Nick said, he recognized the man as the same officer who led the others back at the church. “I slipped.”

“Sure you did.” The officer said, still not believing a word that was coming out of Nick’s mouth. “You know that you’re a suspect in a homicide, kid.”

“Got any proof?” Nick said, he was getting tired of them asking the same questions.

“We got fingerprints on the murder weapon-” The other cop said, thinking he was so smart.

“Really?!” Nick asked with mocking excitement. “Let’s see them then.”

“We can’t show them to you-” The other cop said, looking like he got caught in a lie.

“Cause they ain’t mine.” Nick said with confidence, if they truly thought it was him, he’d be in jail already.

“The ones on the ax are yours.” The first cop pointed out.

“Is that the murder weapon?” Nick asked; he truly didn’t know what they thought the murder weapon was.

“We can’t disclose that.” The other cop added, which brought a quick smile to Nick’s face.

“Are you gonna charge me with anything or not?” Nick finally asked; maybe that would get them to back off.

“Look, kid. The killer is most likely still out there.” The first cop started, but Nick barely listened to the man. “Tell us where you scored. It could be a lead. Think about it, Nick, we clean that place out, and you come out a hero.”

“Ahahahahaha.” The only reaction to that last part that Nick could muster was a dry laugh, and that was enough to tell the officer what he thought of that idea.

“Nick, you could have died.” The first officer said, Nick knew what the man was asking of him, but he wouldn’t get it.

“Yeah, coulda, woulda, shoulda.” Nick said, looking back to the old guy as the nurses closed the blinds around him.

“Listen, kid, you’re on thin ice as is-” The other officer started but was cut off by new arrivals.

“Is my son under arrest?” Said a familiar voice.

Looking towards the entrance to the room, he saw his mom, sister, and Travis enter; they looked a little winded. He frowned when he saw Travis walk behind his mother. Nick knew the man wasn’t bad or anything; he just hated that he was trying to replace his father. He’d maybe like him more if he didn’t try so hard, but who knows at this point? It was way past thinking about.

“No, ma'am.” Said the first cop, backing up a few steps to give her some room.

“Then get out.” Madison said, taking no shit from them. “Thank you. Leave.”

“We could charge him.” The other cop said, still trying to play tough, but that had no effect on his mom.

“Well, charge him when he's healed.” Madison said without giving the cop any more time or thought. “For now, go away.”

“She do all the talking?” The first cop asked Travis.

“Get the–” Madison said, almost cursing the guy out before remembering that he’s a cop and correcting herself. “Get out.”

“I'm not as eloquent.” Travis said as he took a card from the officer.

“What happened?” Madison asked, looking Nick straight in the eyes.

“Just… wrong place at the wrong time, Mom.” Nick said, not giving any more details, he knew he couldn’t lie to her. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Nick?” Madison asked, clearly wanting more than that, but she didn’t doubt him.

“What?” Nick asked, feigning ignorance, which was the only thing that would save him from having to answer her. “I’m telling you the truth; it was just an accident.”

“Why the restraints?” Madison asked, looking at his cuffed hands. 

“I don't know.” Nick said truthfully, he wasn’t awake when they put them on him. “Ask the lab coat.”

“Did you try to hurt yourself?” Madison asked as concern flooded in, which made him feel bad for putting her through this.

“No, Mom.” Nick said, trying to dispel her worry without much success. “Come on, it was an accident. It was just an accident. Nothing to worry about.”

“All right.” Madison said, still looking a little unconvinced as she took out her phone. “I'm gonna call for a bed.”

Upon hearing those words, Nick wanted to stop her; he knew what this was all about, and getting him to stay here was just the beginning. After he was patched up and ready to go, she would try to convince him to get back to rehab. Which he would do, feeling like he owned her, but a small voice in the back of his head told him that it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as he made it out to be.

Disclamer:

None of the main characters can die in the first episode. I know this information can seem immersion-breaking and like it's lowering the stakes, but it's been my plan, and I simply wanted for everyone to stop making the safe choices. This episode will simply shape the characters for the future and set them on a path of escaping California. I also wanted some wild choices to be made.

Will Nick accept help?

A) Yes.

B) No.

Chapter Text

[September the 1st, 2010 / 4th day]

[Temple Community Hospital, Los Angeles]

[POV: Travis Manawa]

Travis didn’t show it on his face and kept his expression calm, but on the inside he was worried about Nick. This morning's phone call was one of the worst pieces of news about the boy that they ever received, and not even Madison was really sure what to think about it. She was always there to support him and help him through life, but to hear that he’s a suspect in a homicide was a lot to take. Travis, though, didn’t believe it one bit; he knew Nick could overdo it from time to time, but he had faith in him not to cross the line.

As they entered the hospital, they were greeted by a doctor or a nurse; he wasn’t all that sure. But the man led them through the building and towards where they were keeping Nick at. He just followed as Madison spoke with the man; looking back, he saw Alicia lagging behind. As they walked up a small flight of stairs, he gestured for her to hurry up, not wanting for her to get lost.

“He has a lacerated foot and a head injury.” The doctor said as they walked through the hospital. “Physically, your son is very lucky, but I'm more worried about-”

“Toxicology?” Madison asked, having done this more than enough times to get desensitized.

“There's that, yes, but-” The doctor tried to say something more but was cut off.

“Heroin's his drug of choice.” Madison said, silently hoping that her son didn’t take something worse than normal. “What did he take?”

“He's over 18, ma'am.” The doctor said, keeping a mask of professionalism throughout the conversation. “I can't tell you any more than I could tell the police.”

“They're here?” Madison asked; she hoped that they wouldn’t be here. She’s been doing a lot of hoping today. “You should have led with that.”

“Nick presented as delusional, Mrs. Clark.” The doctor explained as his expression turned troubled. “Along with the circumstances that they found him in…”

“He was high.” Madison said.

“He was ranting. We had to restrain him. I requested a psych consult.” The doctor said, and while Madison listened, she didn’t comment anymore, more focused on the police issue. “She's not listening.”

“She heard you.” Travis said as they all walked past the man.

Walking into the room, he saw Nick lying on the bed, his hands cuffed as if he were some sort of criminal. And to the cops that Madison was telling off, he most likely was. Travis listened to the conversation but didn’t try to join, knowing his big mouth would just get him in trouble; he never liked cops. As they finally got the message, Travis took a phone number from one of them, said a few words, and allowed Madison to talk with her son. Nick gave some pretty weak excuses, not answering her question and trying to get around it, until his mother finally had enough.

“All right.” Madison said with a look he recognized. “I'm gonna call for a bed.”

Travis knew that look; she would try to get Nick straight, which he would deny, and run away to get high, and after a few months it would be this again. He knew that it was harsh the way he was framing the situation, but as much as he cared about all of them, he couldn’t be blind to the cycle that was unfolding before him. Travis rubbed his forehead, ready to hear it all again, but this time he would try to support Madison in convincing him.

“Alright.” Nick said with a weak nod.

This shocked the trio; Madison was expecting her son to fight against this, while Alicia nearly dropped her phone, not expecting her brother to actually try and change. Travis was mostly happy to see that Nick would actually give it a shot, allowing them to help him get better. Who knows, maybe he’ll give therapy a try; wouldn't that be a miracle?

“Nic-” Madison said, shock visible on her face, but a flicker of doubt flashed for a second. “Nick, you’re not… You’re not trying to pull wool over my eyes, are you? This isn’t some stunt to get us to back off?”

“No.” Nick answered, his voice raspy as he shook his head slightly.

“Then why are you doing this? Why now?” Madison asked, confusion permeating across her face, but he could see happiness in her eyes.

“Doesn’t matter why, I’m…” Nick said, his eyes not meeting them as he looked down. “I’m just doing this for you, mom.”

“I’m glad you’re doing this.” Madison said with a genuine smile. “Maybe now we can all finally move on.”

“It won’t change anything.” Nick said with a sigh, and all Travis did was shake his head slightly at this, just as things were going so good.

“Nick…” Madison said with a sigh as her smile dropped, seeing the look on her son’s face. “This is how we help you.”

“I’m doing this; I’m gonna try.” Nick said, looking like he was mostly trying to convince himself more than them before adding. “But… You can’t help me.”

“Maybe I should stay with you.” Madison said, she looked concerned, even more than normal.

“No, no, mom.” Nick said, shaking his head. “Don’t. I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” Madison asked; she wanted to stay and help him but didn’t want to force it on him. “You sure you don’t want me to stay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, mom.” Nick said, his voice gloomy. “Don’t wanna ruin your day… more than I already have.”

“Nick, you didn’t-” Madison started, saddened by the tonal shift in her son’s behavior.

“I know, I know.” Nick mumbled under his breath, his voice barely audible to them. “I think I’m slowly coming down from the high; don’t listen to me.”

“I’ll stay for a while longer.” Madison said, sitting down by his side. “Got a few minutes before I gotta get to work. We can talk.”

“I don’t want you to worry about me, mom.” Nick said, shaking his head. “Just go.”

“Nick, I’m not leaving.” Madison said, putting her hand on his, trying to comfort him.

“Just let me go.” Nick said, clearly the kid wanted some space to think and just as Travis was about to intervene, someone finally decided it was time to speak.

“There’s an idea.” Alicia said, her tone not appropriate for such a delicate situation.

“Alicia, not helpful.” Travis said, looking with disapproval at her.

“I’m not trying to help, Travis.” Alicia said, looking at him with some hostility.

“What did you say?” Madison said, turning to look at her daughter.

“It’s okay. She’s just-” Travis said, trying not to escalate things.

“It's none of his business anyway.” Alicia said with a sneer.

“You know what?” Madison said, she wasn’t happy with her daughter's tone.

“Please just leave me alone.” Nick said, his quiet voice falling on deaf ears.

“Go to the car.” Madison said, her tone harsh as she waved for Alicia to leave. “Go.”

“Everyone take a breath, huh?” Travis said, breaking through the rucks as they all quieted down. “Take a moment.”

Seeing Alicia leave, he was about to say something to Madison when suddenly his phone rang. His wife gave him an approving look as he checked who was calling, and it just happened to be his ex. Making it clear that he had to answer the phone, Madison gave him a nod before he left the room.

“Tell me what happened.” He could hear Madison say as he walked out. “It's just you and me.” 

“Glad you moved in?” Alicia said, making him stop in his tracks for a second.

Travis looked at the teen before shaking his head and walking away; he wasn’t about to entertain her rebellious attitude. He never regretted his decision, but he just might have overestimated the challenges he would face. Walking outside and onto a staircase, looking around, there was thankfully nobody around, only the L.A. skyline before him; he finally answered the phone.

“Liza.” Travis said, answering the phone.

“Did you find him?” Elizabeth asked just as he leaned against the railing.

“Yeah, wanted to let you guys know.” Travis said.

“He okay?” Elizabeth asked; he could hear that she was doing something around her house.

“Banged up, but he'll recover.” Travis said with a sigh.

“Hard part comes now.” Elizabeth said, her voice tired from work.

“Yeah.” Travis said with a nod.

“You gonna be okay for the weekend?” Elizabeth asked, throwing Travis for a loop.

“What do you mean?” Travis asked, confused, as if he was forgetting something.

“Can you still take Christopher?” Elizabeth asked, making him remember and feel guilty about forgetting what time it was.

“I don't want to go.” Travis heard his son on the phone; it broke his heart to hear that.

“Chris, it's Dad's weekend.” Elizabeth said, she was also unhappy about her son’s attitude. “He has a say.”

“Well, I get a say in this, and I don't want to go.” Chris said, spite in his voice.

“Let me talk to him.” Travis said, trying but failing to be heard.

“Well, maybe I don't want you here, Mr. Unpleasant.” Elizabeth said. “Maybe I have plans.”

“I'll stay at Dante's.” Chris said, looking for any alternative just to not spend time with him. “Look, I'm not gonna go to some hospital for the weekend.”

[September the 1st, 2010 / 4th day]

[Temple Community Hospital, Los Angeles]

[POV: Nicholas Clark]

After some time talking with his mother and explaining what went down at the church in more detail, he was finally left alone. He was starting to regret making that promise to his mom as the fear of failing her flooded his mind. Still, as he felt the side effects of the drugs kick in, he had to find something to take his mind off the oncoming headache. Looking around, there was nothing in sight that could be of use, and with their cuffs still on him, he couldn’t get far. Seeing an older-looking nurse enter the room, he felt hesitant but still decided to give it a try.

“Excuse me, Miss?” Nick says, a little uncertainty in his voice, as she gave the gramps to his left some meds through a syringe and into his IV.

“Huh?” The older woman says, looking around before her eyes land on him. “Oh, do you need anything, sonny?”

“You got anything to read?” Nick asks, hoping for at least some magazines to take his mind off of things. “Kinda losing my mind from boredom here.”

“No, sadly we don’t.” The old woman shakes her head before adding. “At least not anything you’d find interesting.”

“Come on.” Nick said with a forced smile, hoping this would convince her. “At this point I’d read instructions on a shampoo bottle.”

“Hmm, well.” The old nurse said after a minute of thinking. "I do have a romance book from when I was your age; it’s a little bit risque but a good read in my opinion."

“Ah, I see.” Nick said, a little unsure if he really wanted to read smut from a hundred years ago.

“Hahahaha.” The old woman chuckled at his expression, amused with the way he was reacting. “Still interested, sonny?”

“You know what, sure.” Nick said, he wasn’t one to back down. “Can’t be that bad.”

“It’ll be just a second, sonny.” The old nurse said, still giggling to herself as she left.

After a few minutes, which was faster than Nick expected for the old woman to get back, he was handed an average-looking book. It didn’t have anything on the cover or a title written; its cover was just pure black with some damage due to frequent use. Just as he was about to thank the woman, he saw that she was long gone and decided to just get into it. He read for a few hours and was confused at what she meant when saying ‘risqué,’ since the book was some old novel about a businessman in 1600s Europe. There was nothing risque about it; maybe it was the murder plotline, but it seemed tame and had no description of gore.

“What’d you get there, kid?” Said someone, breaking his focus on the book, and as Nick looked up, he saw a doctor walking up to him with some papers.

“An older nurse gave it to me.” Nick said, showing the man the inside of the book. “Needed something to occupy my mind. Nothing wrong with that?”

“No…” The doctor answered, looking confused for some reason. “You said older; how old are we talking about here?”

“60, maybe 70 years old.” Nick said, he didn’t get a good read on her, but he was sure that she was about that age. “Not sure, didn’t ask. She was short and had white hair; she looked pretty old.”

“I see…” The doctor looked like he was troubled.

“Anything wrong?” Nick asked; now he was getting confused.

“No… I mean, yes.” The doctor said, looking around as if searching for her. “We don’t have anyone that old on staff, not here anyway.”

“Really?” Nick asked, surprised.

“Yeah.” The doctor said, poking his head out of the room. “Did you see her doing anything?”

“Yeah, she was giving that guy some meds.” Nick said, pointing to the old guy to his left.

“Shit.” The doctor said quietly under his breath. “I’ll be right back.”

Nick looked at the doctor running away in panic; that was a strange thing that just happened. Looking back at the book in his hands, he gave it a once-over, checking if there wasn’t something wrong with it. After finding nothing, Nick simply shrugged and went back to reading the bizarre story.

None of the main characters can die in the first episode. I know this information can seem immersion-breaking and like it's lowering the stakes, but it's been my plan, and I simply wanted for everyone to stop making the safe choices. This episode will simply shape the characters for the future and set them on a path of escaping California. I also wanted some wild choices to be made.

What will Travis do?

A) Talk with his son calmly.

B) Try to convince his son.

C) Let him stay with his mom.