Author's Note: In case you want a visual of what Charlotte looks like, I am on Deviantart and I have drawings of Charlotte, other OCs and Burton stuff. If you'd like to see my Charlotte picture for a visual, visit my profile, scroll down to underneath the first line break, and the link's there.

Anyway, on to Chapter 3! Once again, thank you if you've reviewed and as always, reviews are welcomed.

Chapter 3

Charlotte giggled. Her laugh was just like the last time Victor had heard it. Her smile was the same too. In short, with the exception of physical appearance, she was exactly the same as she'd been when her heart was beating. So why did it feel like she was a stranger?

"That stunned look you have…" said Charlotte. "You'd think that we've never met."

"I…I didn't recognize you at first," was all Victor could say.

"Yes," replied Charlotte. "The process of decomposition makes people a little hard to recognize. You haven't changed all that much. You're just older and taller, but you're expression and the way you talk isn't very different. From what I've heard, you've spoken to a corpse before. That would explain why you haven't dashed off, screaming, yet. You do look quite anxious. Is there something else you want to say?"

Of course there were about a hundred things Victor wanted to tell her, but the surprise of seeing his deceased friend again still made it too hard for him to articulate his thoughts. All he could utter was one simple question:

"How exactly did you die?"

"That is a curious matter indeed," said Charlotte, nodding in recognition. "Dark and I suppose you could say tragic, but very curious indeed."

She paused for a moment, staring up at the moon, apparently deep in thought. Then, she turned back to Victor and said, "I assume you remember our last conversation, don't you?"

Victor nodded stiffly.

"Well, as you may have guessed," said Charlotte. "I snuck out around ten past twelve. It was dark, but there was enough moonlight for me to know where I was going and move swiftly. I reached that bridge in a matter of minutes."

She raised a skeletal finger and pointed at a nearby bridge, the one where Victor had fainted and woken up in the Land of the Dead.

"I was just about the cross the bridge when it happened," continued Charlotte. "I managed to whip around in time to find a person behind me. I couldn't make out their face. It was too dark, but I did see that they were holding something metallic that glinted in the moonlight. That was all I had time to see before the knife got me right here."

She gestured to the rip in her nightgown, slightly above her silent heart before going on.

"My murderer did not linger, however," she said. "I don't know why, but suddenly, they turned around and started running off towards something. I'm not sure what it was, but they did manage to push me into the river before leaving. The last thing I felt was the freezing water and the little trickle of blood down my nightgown. The last thing I saw was the blurred beams of moonlight shining through the water. It all happened in a matter of seconds, before I drowned."

She sighed and stared up at the moon again.

"It's a real shame that the authorities are right outside of this village," she said wistfully. "Maybe then I could have reached them in time if they had been closer, but there's no use speculating on what could have been. That's all a matter of the past, just like all my days as one of the living. Death is the present, and I'll focus on my current state."

At once, the pain from the day it had all happened returned to Victor. He couldn't subdue it; he couldn't keep that one thought that had sparked that agonizing feeling of culpability concerning Charlotte's death.

"I should have helped you then," he said. "I should have pulled you out of the river. I should…"

"Do you love blaming yourself?" interrupted Charlotte.

Victor didn't answer. They both knew that the answer was "no", but there were times when you had to blame yourself, weren't there?

"Then stop it," said Charlotte.

"I could have helped you though…" started Victor.

"No, you couldn't have," said Charlotte. "And here are a few reasons why. The first is that I was good as dead when the knife got me. Even if I hadn't fallen into the river, I wouldn't have been able to survive being cut like that."

"Maybe I could have gotten there sooner and stopped you from being stabbed in the first place," said Victor stubbornly. "I was out that night. I was just too slow…"

"And it's a blessing that you didn't get there in time," said Charlotte. "Unless you fancy dying at a young age and being trapped here for twelve years like me, that is. If you had been there with me when my murderer arrived, they would have killed you also. Don't say that you could have fought them off, because I know that you wouldn't have had a chance. You were one of the skinniest boys I'd ever seen. Whoever my murderer was, they would have killed you sooner than they killed me."

Victor knew that this was true. He didn't feel all that much better, but he decided to drop the subject. Charlotte relaxed a little.

"I've answered your question," said Charlotte. "Now I have some things to ask you. If you were out on the night that I died, did you see my murderer?"

"I saw a dark figure," said Victor. "That was all."

"Nothing more?"

"No."

"You didn't even get a glimpse of the face."

"No, I wasn't close enough."

Charlotte sighed again and said, "That's a shame."

All Victor could do was nod in assent. He sympathized with her the same way he had when he heard Emily's story, but yet, once again, he felt like there was nothing he could do for her. At least Emily was free, whereas Charlotte was obviously not. That was how Emily had come to visit him last night…

He was suddenly reminded of the warning and the arrival of his in-laws. In fact, the Everglots were probably waiting for him already. He wasn't sure; he didn't know what time it was.

"Charlotte," he said hastily. "I was told by Emily… er… your sister…"

"I'm glad that you finally got that straight," interrupted Charlotte. "Go on."

"She told me to come here to receive a warning," said Victor.

"Ah, yes, that," said Charlotte.

"You're the one who's supposed to tell me aren't you?" said Victor.

"Yes," said Charlotte. "Would you like me to give it to you now?"

"Yes," said Victor, although the answer was evident. He knew that she realized that. She just wanted to tease him, just like she had when they were children, playing together. Didn't she understand that he had responsibilities now? Didn't she understand that he didn't have time for this?

"Alright then," said Charlotte. "The upcoming calamity is a murder. It will happen in a matter of months. I'm not sure exactly how many. In the same way, I do not know the identity of the possible victim, nor the murderer. Things will be much more clear once the time for the murder draws nearer. The reason I'm telling you about it, is because if this murder occurs, it will have a drastic effect on your life."

Victor shuddered and listened intently.

"I believe that you can prevent it," said Charlotte. "No, I know that you can prevent it. It all depends on how you interpret the information I will give you as the time for the murder gets closer. I can't help you physically, but I can assist you that way."

Victor had grown paler than usual. He was running through the list of "possible victims" in his mind. True, maybe he could stop it all from happening, but with the information that he had at the moment, the odds of that happening seemed very bleak.

"Is…is there anything else?" he asked.

Charlotte shook her head.

"Not at the moment," she said. "There will be at our next meeting. My sister will probably pay you another visit soon to tell you when that will be. For now, I have nothing more to tell you. Is everything clear?"

"Yes," said Victor. "It was… very nice to see you again. Is… is… there anything I can do for you?"

"Don't worry about me," said Charlotte. "I'll be free to move on someday. Concentrate on one task at a time."

"Yes, well… I… I…really must get going now…" stuttered Victor, trying not to sound rude. "I…have relatives visiting and I...I… well…"

"Good-bye then, Victor," said Charlotte, grinning.

"Yes… farewell, Charlotte," said Victor.

With that, he slowly turned away from the river. He could tell that Charlotte was still watching him. He could feel those familiar eyes full of unfamiliar blackness on him. He headed up the path towards town until he was out of her sight before running the rest of the way home. He was already prepared to meet his mother-in-law's rage.