What Remains of You

The Message

A sharp bang shot through the clearing, shocking Rebecca with its force. Not much could have prepared her for what she saw. The man had brought the hammer down on the now dead man's car and had started smashing it in. Huge indents splattered the front and side of it and he then began to hit his own car. He didn't use as much force on his own compared to the other, and the whole time he kept whispering a name who she suspected was his daughter.

"For Marie," he began. The name got louder and Rebecca didn't have to strain her ears as much. The name was kept in time with the hits on the car.

"Marie," bang. "Marie," bang. "Marie!" A final bang echoed and Rebecca just sat there, shocked and mortified. That was when she almost gagged. The man took out a pocket knife from his jeans and started to cut and bruise the dead man she had never heard the name of. Bile rose up in her throat as he took the knife to his own face and cut the bare skin. Blood seeped from his forehead and stomach as he stung the blade across his skin, a faraway look in his eyes. He even punched himself hard a few times. As much as she wanted to turn her head away and run from this horror, her eyes were glued to the scene in front of her. His hands had started to tremble immensely, barely able to hold the phone as he brought it to his ear. That was when Rebecca decided it was time to run.

She stood up almost forgetting her bag and took a few big steps backward, trying her best to get hidden in the trees. Then she started sprinting. She had been in a dazed state while watching, not really processing what was happening until he took out his phone and called 911. Her car was still on the street beside and she ran through the trees trying not to make noise and attract this crazy man's attention towards her. She did not want to be caught anywhere near this crime scene and continued to push her legs harder against the struggle in her mind. She also remembered that she didn't have her full license yet which was another crime. The first one was that she would not report this to the police.

The plate of both the cars rang in her mind and she knew she wouldn't forget them, but she had to figure out why he was doing this. She would figure out as much as she could about this man and who Marie was, but before that she would have to get home without being seen near this road.

She sprinted mercilessly through the trees, welcoming the sting in her legs and only focusing on the slight pain rather than the horrifying thing behind her. She continued to push her legs forward until her hand was on her car door and her whole body rested inside. Her breathing was ragged and shallow, gulping down air as if it would disappear. Her bag had opened in her mad dash through the trees and she hoped that nothing had fallen out, leaving behind evidence of her there. She started the car, still breathing deeply and began the trip home barely even realizing she was driving.

*****

She shoved her back against the wall, sliding down it and rested her head on her knees hyperventilating. Her hands struck her head in a continuous motion, but she couldn't stop. Her brother had probably gone through a similar thing. Her dad maybe worse. She couldn't save Dennis in time and she probably couldn't even save herself. Her family was dying and it was all her fault for not noticing sooner. She stopped hitting herself.

Anger coursed through her body, almost making it tingle in fury. She would find that man and force him to tell her why he did it. Why he killed that innocent person and yelled that he was doing it for his daughter. She would figure it out. She stood up and began the search for the man.

A small hum surrounded her room and did nothing to fill the empty space in her thoughts as she scoured the internet for the man. All she had was his license plate number and a very clear description of his face burning into her mind. It would have to do.

One thing after another showed up on her screen and her eyes started to sting from staring at the screen for so long. It wasn't important though, for she was so close to figuring who this man was. She typed in more continuous information about him into the search bar and used what small leads she found to continue the search. Finally, a man's name showed up on the screen.

Jonathan Rosewell.

You, she thought menacingly. Her fingers clenched into tight fists and she resisted the urge to punch her laptop when she saw it. That would do her no good. All that was left was to find a way to talk to him. She searched up his name and thankfully a Facebook page popped up with him and a younger girl as one of the top posts. It was for her funeral.

For Marie.

Her heart sped up again after seemingly stopping. Fingers flew over her keyboard sending a satisfying clicking noise that filled her ears, surrounding her with the tranquillity of assuredness. A smile rested on her face as she decided what to say to the man who killed the person and set it up for a car crash in front of her. She opened up the messenger with a new account that she just made with a fake name and began her note.

Kristen: I know what you did today.

An icon showed telling her that he had read the message but no dots appeared that he was typing until after a few long seconds had passed.

Jonathan: I do not know what you are talking about.

Kristen: You know exactly what I am talking about, and I want you to tell me why you did it.

Jonathan: No. i don't have to tell you anything.

Kristen: Unless you want the police at your door arresting you for murder, I think it is in your best interest to tell me everything. Why you did it, and where you went with the man after you took him in your car.

Jonathan: How did you know about that?

Kristen: I have my ways. Now tell me, or else your wife will lose more than her daughter.

The man paused for a bit and then the dots came, signalling that he was writing. It was a long message for it took him quite a while and the dots would disappear and then show again as he retyped something. His heart was pounding and a million questions burned through his mind as he wondered how this person knew what he did. It wasn't worth it to risk not telling them and getting arrested. At least if he told them they might not call the police. So for that reason, he decided to tell this person everything.

Jonathan: My daughter died and I knew I would do anything to get her back. I found out about this thing that could bring your dead back to life. They had some conditions which included murdering someone. I was not able to complete all the requirements for as much as i love Marie, my sanity is more important. I had already killed the man and was going to bring him to the warehouse with those things but I chickened out and the only thing I could think of was to blame it as a car crash for his car was already broken and they would be able to find my fingerprints on it. I didn't even know what I was doing, it just happened. I'm sorry.

Rebecca's heart stuttered to a stop, making her head grow fuzzy. Her fingers had stopped typing and one thought blazed through her mind like a fire burning in a forest of dry leaves. I could bring Dennis back.