Jon had managed to sneak out just before 4AM. He had to be quiet as Melissa was asleep on the couch. She must have fallen asleep in front of the TV. As it was not yet 4AM, he had to be quiet to avoid waking her.
He paused in front of the couch, looking at her. He could see years etched into her face, the tiny wrinkles...the unmistakable signs of nearly thirty years of life she hadn't had until recently. The same as Karyn, who was now nearly as old as Melissa was. Who did it benefit?
Ashleigh Shepherd had gained years of life and seemed to have embraced it. He hadn't encountered the new Meshida teen yet. But could that be what this was all about, stealing youth? No...because that didn't explain Zoe, or Sarah, or any of the others. Jon wasn't sure if there was any discernible pattern, and certainly the Doctor hadn't suggested one, nor did he suggest he was aware of one. Not that he was so sure he could trust him either, but he didn't exactly have many allies in trying to figure this out.
The last time he had seen his real mom had been on Sunday night when she had told him and Sarah that she was going away on a work trip for a few days. Something about working on a big case for the law firm that she worked for. His mother knew more about the law, despite not being a lawyer, than some of the lawyers who had been hired, advanced, and made partner at the firm during her tenure.
Jon was in the street trying to figure out where to go time froze. He had long since determined he would have trouble covering the entire town on foot with no idea of where to go. His attempts to figure out where to go using the stone had been stymied as well. He'd mapped out where the houses were he wanted to look for, and headed toward where he thought the most possibilities were.
On the other side of town, the mist parted to reveal two black trucks headed down the street. At the wheel of each was a seemingly identical driver, a male with a blank stare, a short cropped haircut, and a pair of blue coveralls. In the back of one was Bethany...formerly Black. In the other, Linda, formerly Madison. It was time for them to be seen.
