Escape {COMPLETE}

~Chapter Eight~

Hannah's P.O.V.

"Don't touch anything." I murmured. "You'll taint the crime scene."

"Oh my god...if she did what I think she could've done....." Nick murmured. "No." I said, my voice hard and strong, sounding much more convincing than I felt. I grabbed both of their arms and dragged them away, never wanting to see that sight again.

"Hannah, where are we going?" Patrick asked slowly, as if he were just as scared as us. "Hmm..." I mulled the question in my mind. "Good question."

Keep walking. That was the only thing I remember running through my mind. Usually, it races a mile a minute, but only one thought struck me. Keep walking. I trusted my feet to carry me....somewhere. Anywhere. As long as it was far away from there. Slowly, we made progress, trailing up and down the sidewalk towards God knows where.

The boys followed me, thankfully. Otherwise I would've just been walking by myself. Then I realized; we should go to the police station now! So, in that direction we went. I still had my watter bottle.

We began to chat after what felt like fifteen straight minutes of sullen looks and silent footsteps. But, the first word out of anyone's mouth was still about the situation. "Hannah, where are we going?" Nick asked calmly. "Well," I responded. "I thought maybe the police would like to hear this new information." I responded with a slight sarcastic tone. "Oh, great idea! What are we doing waisting our time walking? Let's get a move on!" Nick cried out, breaking into a run. The police station was nearby, and Nick knew it. Patrick and I sprinted after him. He's so determined!

The bell above the door rang and echoed through out the tiled floors of the station. At the desk, there was a redheaded woman wearing a black suit. "Miss?" Nick ran up to the front desk. Patrick immediately followed, and I was directly behind them, panting. Patrick looked at me like I was stupid. "So what?! I'm not a runner!" I blushed, defending myself. "Ma'am, do you know of any reports of a missing child? Her name is Erin." Nick addressed the officer behind the desk and asked in a flurry of words.

"Er...yes, we do have that report in from at least half an hour ago. Why do you ask?" She seemed quite interested. "Well, we have a little bit of new information...." I murmured. "What kind of information?" She asked, somewhat suspiciously. "A possible crime scene." Nick growled. "Oh, goodness," She covered her mouth with a hand. "I'll call a dispatch!" She pressed a few buttons on her computer.

A tall, brown-haired man in the usual navy blue police uniform walked out to the front room. The door he came from was what I assumed to be the Headquarters. I love police movies; this was like a dream come true! If only we weren't here for the reason that we were....Erin......

I gulped down the knot in my throat. "You need to come with us, quick. Follow us!" I nearly shouted to the officer; Randy, according to his name tag. "Please!" I desperately pleaded. Somehow, I hadn't given up hope that, maybe, just maybe...she was still alive somewhere. We just had to find her!!!

"Whoa, there, little girl," He put up his hands, like a sturdy brick wall, and walked over to me. "You're gonna have to explain just what's goin' on first." He had a slight southern drawl, but his deep voice still instilled authority over us Freshmen. After a detailed explanation from the three of us, he nodded his head thoughtfully, his brown moustache and goatee slightly rustling as he huffed from his nose, similar to a bull. He scratched his chin, deep in thought. "Alright, kids, show me what you got."

He offered to drive us in his squad car, Nick guiding him back to Wellington. The officer's tall, muscular frame was built for walking, so he had no trouble navigating the track nor the walk to the small woodland. We showed him the iPod, and the blood. He immediately pressed his radio attached to the shoulder and called in a dispatch, forensics, the whole shebang. The three of us just clustered behind him, for he told us not to step anywhere near it again, and that he'd need our shoes to distinguish our footprints from anyone else's.

We awaited anxiously for the next squad car, Patrick, Nick and I eventually sitting upon the grass. We whispered nervously from one another to the officer towering in front of us. He looked down at us with a silent stare, his blue eyes chips of ice. He was staring a hole into us with what I was positive to be suspicoun lurking behind that misty gaze. I didn't know what to think of him, and I didn't know what he thought of us. Hell, if I were him, I'd be suspicious, too!

Nick's favorite vertical tricolor blue jacket was zipped all the way when we first came out here, but now it was completely unzipped. The walk to the police station had warmed up all of us. His dark blue jeans ruffled around his Nike vans, and he stared blankly off into the distance. Patrick was fiddling with the grass, pulling some blades and simply pushing others. He was just as anxious as we were; though, he hadn't known about Erin's past...

I laid my head on Patrick's shoulder in a calm yet flirtatious manor. He instantly shuffled his arm around my waist and gently pulled me closer. This roused a chuckle from Randy, and I instantly blushed. Patrick grinned at me and I leaned into him. I closed my eyes wistfully and sighed.

The distant sound of sirens became apparent to me after a few seconds, and I twisted my head around to face the road. A large white van-much like Sean's-and a couple police cars pulled into the area's parking lot. They shut off the sirens as they parked, and cops popped out. They made their way over to the makeshift 'crime scene'. They immediately got to work, and told us to go home, promising they'd let us know what they found. If you even find anything... I thought skeptically. I'm no detective, but the amount of blood in the grass looked nowhere near enough to be fatal. I could just tell that she wasn't dead.

Not yet.

Blaze's P.O.V.

I had been talking to this girl for what felt like a century, yet each moment passed as if sped up tenfold. It was so confusing, this feeling I had...I wasn't exactly sure what it was. Even though I had just met her, I could tell she was a really good person....who honestly didn't deserve the life she was given.

But now,she has me. And now, I have her.

"You know, all this excitement has really gotten me worn out...." Erin murmured, yawning. I smiled at her droopy eyelids and her thin smile. She looked worn out, anyhow. "You rest," I told her as gently as I could. "Where? On the damn couch?" She grinned. I laughed, "No, silly! There's a bed in here, too," I smiled knowingly. Her confused stare followed me as I stood up from the couch, and I pulled a book from the shelf. A bed sprang out from an empty part in the wall, close to the fireplace. Her jaw dropped and I laughed again. She really was funny! "How did you...?!" She began to ask. "Let's just say, I've been in here much longer than you..." I trailed off. I didn't want her to know about-

"Well, thank God someone knows what to do in here....." She walked over and curled up in the satin sheets. This room is so comfortable, for a kidnapping... I thought to myself. She was instantly asleep within the fold of the bed. Her even breathing let me know. I gently stroked her arm, and walked away. Stepping over to the couch, I sat and stared into the fireplace. I decided I should get some sleep, too.

I would need it for what was to come.

Sighing heavily and shoving the thought of that near future out of my mind, I closed my eyes and let the black wave of sleep crash over my tired body.