Yours Truly, Angel

Ropes and Ladders

The sheriff cleared his throat. "We've received an anonymous message that Chloe Grant is missing."

Kendall looked up at Colin in fear. "Me and my friends were going to go looking for her after prom. Amanda was going to come with us, but... It wasn't her. I think Sam and Bill did something to her. Drugged her maybe? Bill also seemed drugged and Sam seemed fine but I feel like he was drugged too."

The sherif nodded, thoughtfully. "Perhaps you're right. If you're right admit they in fact were drugged, we will have to take a sobriety test and keep them separately in the isolation rooms, until the drug wears off. Then we will question them. If could take up to several weeks, though."

Ms. Smith nodded, silently. "How about we conduct a search part for Chloe?"

The sheriff nodded. "We already did. We also found some of your friends; Jenny Humpfrey and a boy that was with Rose McClair."

"Thanks."

He nodded once before speaking into his walkie talkie. "Bring the kids in."

Two cops walked over to them with Rose, Jenny, and Louis. When they saw the blood on her dress they rushed forward.

"Kendall, what happened?"

"I'm not ready to talk about it, yet. It's not my blood. You'll never hear the end of it on the news tomorrow."

Louis' expression was unreadable but Kendall knew that he was overwhelmed. Rose slipped her arms around Kendall. Jenny did the same. She was overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude for her true friends. She melted into her best friend's arms, lost in emotion.

One of the officers that brought the three over, coughed impatiently. "We just got a report that Chloe Grant's cell phone was found in the woods behind her house and Bob Finstock's home."

Kendall's eyes widened. "Lets go there, then!"

The man shook his head. "Honey, I'm sorry, we can't let you come for safety reasons."

Colin stepped in front of the officer. "You may be twice my age, but you will listen to me. You are going to drive all of us to the woods. Chloe needs us. And we need to find her. We're going no matter what and you are going to bring us there."

The man smirked at Colin.

The sheriff stepped in. "Take them, John. I'm going to stay here and make sure that all the students and their parents get home safely."

John nodded. "Come on."

They were all escorted to a police car and John drive quickly to Chloe's house. They all hopped out, facing the scene in the woods. Police officers surrounded the area. Chloe's cell phone was in a plastic bag.

John sighed. "Find anything on the phone?"

The woman holding the the phone, shook her head. "The battery is dead."

Kendall's heart palpitated every second. They hurried into the woods, scanning every inch of the woods. It was only nine p.m. so they didn't need a flashlight but John used one anyway. Everyone stopped in their tracks when they saw it.

The flashlight that John held had fallen to the ground. Kendall heard the glass shatter when he dropped the flashlight. A blood curdling scream escaped her mouth. It was so terrifying that goosebumps formed on her arms. The screams echoed off of every tree. Eventually, Kendall stopped screaming because she couldn't breathe.

Tied to a tree branch was a rope. Chloe's neck was inside the rope. Her lifeless body swung back and forth slowly. Everyone turned the other way to avoid looking at Chloe. Everyone except Kendall because she couldn't tear her eyes away from what she had done. She could have woken up and answered the call. It was her fault.

The cops rushed over to her, looks of disappointment and sorrow in their eyes. The woman with Chloe's phone gasped in shock.

"Cut the rope!"

The police quickly let her down and surrounded the body, examining her slowly. The woman felt for a pulse and sighed dreadfully.

"She's dead. It looks like she's been dead for a few days."

Kendall covered her mouth in horror, sobbing into her mother's shoulder.

"You said it was over! This isn't over, mom!"

No one could ever forget her tortured screams but then again, how could you forget a night like this?