Blame: Book 2- Tick Tock (The Sequel to Book 1)

Reinforcements

     Ugh, sorry for the slow AF update...I've got a bunch of school stuff going on...not to mention a book collaboration with durbxnskies, on a book called "Bury Me in Red"...😅 (it would be great if you could go check out her profile for her books and give her a follow!)

     I'd really appreciate if you went and read "Bury Me in Red"! 💖

     Dan's POV

"You think she'll go to West Virginia?" Alicia asked as her fingers intertwined with her long locks, twisting them into a braid.

"I really have no clue," I threw my hands up in frustration.

     "We have to find her," Riki sternly looked at each of us. "And both of you will have to leave Detective Barnes here."

     "And what the fuck is he supposed to do if he gets discharged early?" I question the F. B. I. agent. "He can't just be left behind."

     "Then how are you supposed to go and keep your promise to the world? This is your case, your killer, and you can't just let friendship get in the way of it."

     "Do I look like I give a fuck about this right now?" I stood up and swung my backpack over one shoulder.

     "Dan..." Crystal worriedly looked at me.

     "Maybe if you knew how hard my life is, having to deal with your friends suffering every day, maybe...maybe you'd see why I need Charlie with us," I said, blinking back tears. "If you only knew what it's like to have an innocent friend in prison, and a friend who's bedridden from a gunshot to the chest...but you don't."

     "Dan...I-I didn't mean it like that..." Riki's eyes softened. "Please don't leave. Don't be the lone wolf who tried to be the hero. Trust me, I was once in your position..."

     "You were?" I stopped right as my foot triggered the hotel's sliding doors.

     "Yes," she gazed into my eyes. "I know exactly what it's like. Now sit down, and help us find this killer," she pleaded. "The world is counting on you."

     I bit my lip as I contemplated in my head whether to leave to see Charlie, or stay and keep brainstorming with the others. Horrid flashbacks played back in my mind as I tried to cloud them out with positive thoughts of catching Hannah. You'll never find me. Will's stuck in prison forever, and it's your fault. Woody has to go through the long road of recovery thanks to you. Over thirty people don't exist anymore...and it's all because of you. As I stood there, I ignored the stares of everyone else as I shut my eyes, trying to find a catch in the flashbacks that could give me some sort of clue or hint to which state Hannah planned to go to next. I felt a soft hand pull at mine, and once I opened my eyes again, I was no longer twenty-nine. I was nineteen.

     "Eric?" I gasped. Did my memories go back to this time? "You're alive!"

     "Huh?" he looked at me with a weird expression. "Of course I'm alive." Shit. "Never mind that," he smiled, shaking his head. "I got a girl for you to meet. We just had a date yesterday afternoon."

     "Okay?" I raised an eyebrow, not realizing that my best friend was now dragging me to the campus gardens.

     "And who's this girl exactly?" I asked.

     "She's a beauty," Eric grinned cheekily. "And she's so cool," he laughed as he pulled me along the grass. "Like, she's a fan of David Lynch." What?!