Haunted by the Past (Original)

Chapter 37

After Triple-6 ended the call we just stared speechlessly at the black screen, trying to make sense of what happened, until eventually Dani's phone slipped through her very fingers, landing on the carpet with a thump. I tossed my mask aside then leant over to pick the phone back up and laid down safely on the table next to the bed. It appeared to be undamaged from the fall, but I would check it later. At that very moment, I had greater concerns. Dani remained motionless, staring aimlessly into the space in front of her while the last of her tears fell. I knew that look. I had seen it once before – she was shutting out the world around her and retreating into her mind.

**

"Heather?" Vic was the first to speak. "What is this? W-why aren't you-?"

"Fuck," Wayne said so eloquently. He was probably the first to realize that Heather wouldn't be blinking again any time soon. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Frozen within in my own shock, I was unable to look away at Heather's glassy eyes staring back at us. It wasn't until Vic started shrieking that I could even break the trance. Dani though was motionless as if Death had its grasp on her as well.

"We need to get out of here!" I exclaimed.

"No, shit, Sherlock!" Wayne mocked as he desperately tried to pull Vic back outside the cabin. Her shriek was seemingly endless. "You get Dani, I'll handle Vic!"

I nodded and turned back to Dani, "Dani, it's... it's too late. Come on, we have to go."

"I promised her...," she mumbled.

Even though she was expressionless, Dani's pain emanated from her in overwhelming waves. My bottom lip trembled as I struggled to keep it together for her. She was falling apart before my very eyes and there was nothing I could do.

Reaching around her, I grabbed her left shoulder and urged her to turn away from the scene, "Come on, Dani. Let the police handle this."

"I failed her...," she muttered in response.

Those words cut straight through me. We were led to this cabin by my own sister's cell phone signal. If her phone led us to Heather, then where the fuck was Meredith? Was there any chance left that she'd still be alive? Or was she somewhere else, still waiting to be found and until then rotting into the earth? Fuck, after all these days, did we even get anywhere in our investigation!? No, he was messing with us this entire time! This right here was the ultimate slap in the face. We never stood a chance against him. Not us, not the police, no one! Meredith was as good as dead! It was the truth I didn't want to accept but it was so very evident now.

"I'm sorry, Dani," the words threatened to get caught in my throat as I spoke them. "I should've... I should've..."

Done what? What could I have possibly done differently that would've changed this outcome? I didn't even know! I didn't know where we went wrong! I didn't know what we needed! Whatever it was, it was clear I didn't have it! Weak! Pathetic! Useless! All those computer skills and you couldn't even reveal who was behind these murders!

Wayne's voice calling out to us from outside snapped my attention back to the present. I found that I had been subconsciously digging my nails into Dani's skin, but thankfully not enough to draw blood. I pulled away immediately, though Dani didn't even so much as flinch. Waving my hand in front of her face, I got no reaction out of her. The ambitious, determined girl I knew was gone and all that was left was a broken shell.

Gently I wrapped an arm around Dani's shoulders and ushered her back through the front door of the cabin. Vic was on the ground just outside, hugging her knees tight and rocking back and forth while humming to herself. Meanwhile Wayne paced up and down the yard, giving the emergency operator directions to the cabin over the phone, becoming more and more frustrated that the operator didn't know the forest as well as we did.