[Story] Delta – S01 E24

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 24

♣ Josh ♣

My first thought was one of panic: What had happened to Charlie?

I had turned off the glasses and iPhone without thinking, but now I was beginning to wish that I hadn’t. True, it was dangerous and could jeopardize the whole assignment, but I was willing to bet that Astrid had kept hers on. Still, I began to climb down the tree I was in, knowing that we had to get away from the manor as rapidly as possible.

I didn’t want to leave Charlie there, nor did I want to leave Astrid, seeing as she wasn’t about to leave Charlie. But I had no alternative. If we entered the manor, we probably wouldn’t be coming out, and I preferred to keep my health level where it was.

And that was why I turned the glasses off, albeit reluctantly. I left the communicating device in my mouth, though, and was debating whether to turn the glasses on again when a voice issued in my ear.

“Hello…beautiful.”

And I fell out of the tree in shock. Fortunately I had been only five feet above the ground, and my fall was cushioned by the duffel bag slung across my back. Still, my breath was knocked out of me, and I simply lay there for a second to regain it. My rifle dug into my back, and I struggled to my feet, groaning and cursing myself for losing my grip like a three-year-old.

But that voice…I knew it from somewhere.

I stood like an idiot in the middle of the trees, clutching my rifle and wondering what on earth was going on. I heard Astrid telling Pierre to disable his glasses, Pierre’s confusion, and then that voice again warning them to keep their glasses on. I breathed a sigh of relief that I had disabled mine, or I would be in the same predicament as them.

“What do you want, Jay?” came Astrid’s voice, and I groaned aloud.

Of course. How could I be so stupid? It was Jay, naturally, it had always been Jay. He was the one who was turning Astrid’s life upside down again; he was the reason why she was acting so strangely lately. Jay…how had I not seen it before?

Now it all made sense – all of Astrid’s worry and the way she’d been acting…Charlie must’ve known. That was the reason why he hadn’t wanted to talk to me about Astrid. But when had he found out? And when had she first seen him? Back when we were at Charlie’s mom’s house?

Pierre didn’t know who he was, hence the confusion he was now expressing. And now it seemed like Jay was showing them something, Astrid exclaiming about the condition of Charlie. Now more than ever I wanted to turn the iPhone on, but I knew that I couldn’t. I had to get away from there – call Alan Young and Delta – go to the police – just anything…