Burn My Paranoia One Last Time

39. Arachnophobia

"I'm so sorry, Carmen..." Shelby held her friend as she sobbed in the backseat of Amber's car. The windshield wipers squeaked as they furiously swiped away bombardments of rapid raindrops.

"I can't... I just can't accept it," Carmen bawled. "My dad would never do something like that!"

"Your dad wouldn't, and I believe you, but drugs can change a person drastically," Amber said as she drove to the hospital. The time read 3:30 AM. Eleven hours left to identify Rain's murderer.

"I'm sure it was a freak accident, your dad would never hurt her on purpose," Shelby tried to assure her.

"I know," Carmen sniffed. "If he really is the one... whether it was an accident or... It explains why he started taking stronger drugs. Maybe.. that was the only way to cope with what he'd done."

"For what it's worth, I never wanted it to be your dad," Amber said while shaking her head in disbelief and holding back tears for her friends' sakes.

Carmen nodded, giving a dejected "I know."

When they finally arrived at the hospital, the girls rushed out and sprinted to Hayden's room.

"Hayden!" Amber cried out, running ahead of everyone else and nearly crashing into medical equipment. She held his hand and cupped his cheek with the other, hoping to stir him awake from his sleep. "Hayden, I'm here. I'm here."

Shelby and Carmen watched from the doorway, holding back their breaths to wait for what would happen.

"Hayden, please, it's time to wake up," Amber begged, clutching his hand tighter. "Hayden! Cant you hear me? Please, come on now, Hayden. Don't be an idiot. HAYDEN! WAKE UP, PLEASE JUST WAKE UP!"

Amber clutched him by the elbows and shook him harshly with growing desperation until Shelby pulled her off.

"NO! NO!" Amber screeched. No one had ever seen her in such a state.

Shelby turned her around and pressed her head into her shoulder, stifling her panicked yells so she wouldn't draw in the staff. "Shh.. shh..."

Amber sobbed into Shelby's shoulder and held her friend tight to keep herself from sinking into the ground. "Why? Why isn't he awake?"

"I don't know, but we can't lose hope yet! He's still alive, and we still have eleven hours to save him. We have time," Shelby said.

"Carmen! I thought you said you FOUND OUT who the killer was in your visions!" Amber blamed her.

Carmen stood still, unsure of what to say. On one hand, she was horrified that Hayden's life was still on the line. On the other, she felt guilty for being relieved the killer wasn't her father.

"I— I thought it was. In all honesty, my visions have been getting weaker. Moments are starting to blur together, happen out of order, and I'm almost certain some are straight delusions... I'm sorry Amber," Carmen said while hugging herself. "I thought I saw his figure, and heard his voice as I watched him..." Carmen covered her mouth, urging the vile back down her throat. "Hang her up."

"What are we going to do now?" Amber cried out. "If— we don't find the murderer in time then he's going— What are— where are we going to go now? What are we supposed to do? I don't know what," she gasped between sobs, "HE'S GOING TO DIE!"

"No, no he won't," Shelby affirmed.

"I don't understand," Amber said, wiping away hot tears of frustration. "It should've worked. We conducted the ritual at the graveyard, and the EMF meter even detected high levels of spiritual energy. Rain DIED there. Whoever killed her hung her up on THAT tree. We were right next to it, so why didn't the visions work?"