Into the Woods

Chapter 11

Jim rubs Charlene's back. "Take your time, Babe. Remember to take deep breaths."

"Someone needs to call 911!" she cries. Jim nods to Chad.

"What happened to Julie?" Dom speaks quietly. 

Chad walks away to call 911.

"She, she, was murdered. She stayed behind to pee, and we lost her. We backtracked our steps to the creek where we left her, and she was gone."

Her eyes are wild, and her voice is void of any emotions.

"Deanna went to get help. Did she find you? Is that why you're here? Suellen twisted her ankle when we ran away after finding Julie's body hanging from a tree. I couldn't carry Suellen out. I couldn't do it. I tried. I did try." Charlene looks over at me with an apologetic look. "I hid her in the bushes and ran like hell until I heard you all calling for us."

Chad stops dead in his tracks and turns back towards Charlene, totally ignoring the 911 operator on the other end of the line.

"Are you sure Deanna left to go to the truck?" He asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. How did you know to come here if Deanna didn't find you?"

We all look at each other. Shit!

"Charlene, Deanna's truck is still by the road," Chad says before returning to the 911 call. He informs them of our location and lets them know that one is possibly dead, one is injured, and one is missing. They tell him to stay on the line until help arrives. We're all freaking out!

"I have to get in there and get Suellen out," I exclaim. My friends look at me knowingly.

"I'm going with you!" Dom says through his tears.

Jim gently brushes a stray lock of hair behind Charlene's ear and lifts her face to meet his. "Can you take us back there, Babe?"

She violently nods her head. "NO! I can't. I can't go back in there. Please don't make me!"

"I got you, Babe. You can do this!" Jim kisses his wife's forehead.

"Okay," she whispers.

I turn towards Chad. "You return to the truck in case Deanna or emergency vehicles arrive."

"Got it!" he agrees and runs off in the direction where we found his truck.

Jim takes Charlene's hand, and with renewed strength, she quickly walks back in the same direction she ran from only moments ago. The terrain was not too rugged, so it didn't take long to get where Charlene was leading us. When we get there, Charlene runs towards a thickly grown-up area.

"Suellen! The guys are here! You can come out now! Suellen?" I watch as Charlene gets on her knees to look under the brush. I come alongside her, kneel, and look where she's looking.

"Are you sure that this is where you left her?" I ask Charlene.

"Yes, I'm positive." She looks at me with fear in her eyes. "I knew that I shouldn't have left her. I knew it! I begged her to let me stay. She insisted that I go for help. Help for Julie!"

My heart sinks.

"Where's Julie?" Dom is trying his best to stay calm, but I can tell that he's about to lose his shit.

"This way." Charlene gets up off her knees and starts walking into the creek. She never stops; she walks right through the knee-deep water. We all follow her without question.

The sun is starting its descent, letting us know that our daylight is limited. Charlene keeps walking like she's on autopilot and stops suddenly looking at Jim.