365 Days Later...

One year ago today, my chief came into the office and handed me and my partner an assignment. We were to investigate a teenage disappearance in the forest off Point Hope, a sixteen-year-old girl that had up and left home in the middle of the night. No clues, no leads, nothing to go off of but the alcoholic mother's word. I figured it was a cut and dry case. I figured it would have been an easy solve.

One year later and look where I am now.

On the run, fearing for my life, both partners are dead, in hiding, being chased by something that by all logical accounts should not exist, the government cleaning up after him and putting me on the top of their list, all these kids running for their lives and coming to me and putting their fates in my hands.

Yeah, quite a bit has changed.

And yet this very morning, around midnight, I got a tip and a link to head into some chat. Why an online chat of all places, I don't know. I couldn't help but think it was another trick of Redlight's, him trying to convince me to take his offer, though it DID have that crazyman's name in it. Habit or whatever.

Well, I thought, can't hurt me over the internet. So I hopped in to see what he wanted and...

I still don't exactly know how to explain. There were over a hundred people in that chat, well over a hundred, and among them were Jeffrey, Evan, Noah, that doc fellow and the PTC guy. All of them, in there for those Hybrids, and yet here I was, put on the exact same pedestal.

I felt like I was being interrogated as questions were thrown at us, but what really got to me were when those side-messages came in from individual people, telling me not to give up, to keep on with my work, and that they were right behind me.

I can't wrap my head around it. All those people...were in there for us? For those of us that are running for our lives, being hunted by something illogical, being close to death time and again. I knew there were fans, but...Jesus.

And word to word with those kids was interesting. I've said it before, they've got the best chance out of any of us. Not a clear shot, but a shot nonetheless. And if shit gets messy, I think they know I'll help how I can. Maybe it's the cop in me. Maybe it's the adult in me. Maybe it's just the situation.

I was the last man out of that chat, not because I liked to keep a crowd or make a grand exit, but because I didn't want to leave the warmth that that chat and those people provided and go back into my cold, dark surroundings of the real world. I wanted to just feel their happiness, their awe, their feelings that had left me so many months ago, and let it be my blanket. A security that I longed for, to be among them, being the ones to maybe cheer the others on while I stayed safe, maybe in my real bed back in my real home with Lizzie right next to me.

But nothing good lasts forever and I did have to leave, but I let them know that I was staying with it. Whenever there's hopelessness, those people out there unite to root for us. Makes me remember that we, I, have something to fight for. And that's not to let them down.

And hopefully, come this time next year, I won't have to be running anymore.

Hybrids, Noah, Doc, and the rest- you guys keep fighting.

It's been one year to the day.

I'm really hoping I don't go to two.