In The Dark. We Pray

Chapter 6

Dennison Bridge, Dunham Township

“They met Hunter here, walked the Burgess path north into Clowe Valley State Forest, and then Alyssa said at a large boulder, there was another man. Who she wanted to believe was Garrett.”

Molly drove through Dennison Bridge, pulled into the berm, and slowly crept his Crown Victorian alongside the overgrowth, searching for an opening in the weeds.

“How do you mistake a fully grown man for a 13-year-old boy.”

June had a point, and Chris couldn’t deny that.
“Alyssa said he was also wearing a mask, but the Garrett imposter’s mask was high quality. Unlike Hunter’s mask, who’s was just a black ski-mask, Garret’s was a Hawk.”

June let out a repulsive groan, “These guys are weird as hell, but the fancy mask still doesn’t explain the confusion. Unless we’re dealing with child abducting dwarves.”

Detective Molly got eyes on the gap he was looking for and put on the brake. He holstered the Glock to his belt, pulled out a flashlight from the glove box, and stepped through onto the trail.

“June, I found it. How far out are the blues?”

“Let me check… Not sure, there’s only two officers in your area, and dispatch has one responding to a domestic. The other is about 8 minutes behind you.”

Molly sighed, reaching in his pocket and checked the roughly penned map Alyssa drew on his note pad.

“Have dispatch let the officer know that once he enters the trailhead, to turn right at the fork and keep following it until he finds me.”

June hesitated, “Maybe you should wait, didn’t you learn anything from what happened with Greg?”

Molly came to the fork, double-checked the map, and turned right.

“It’s not going to be like that, Demmer was goin’ through some shit.”

June understood the tone of a detective that didn’t want talked out of a hard decision, and she grasped it completely, tomorrow the Feds would be in town, and most likely, Molly would be out. Which is why she was helping fill Greg’s shoes as best she could.

“Well while you’re out having a nice time hiking, I’ll be in with Doctor Isaac, going over Sissy Clarey’s remains. I’ll let you know if we find out anything interesting.”

A loud beep shouted in Molly’s ear. He glanced at his phone.

The signal bars in the top right corner of the screen were slashed through with a small ex, signifying that Christian’s contact with the rest of the world was no longer an option while in this forest.

‘I hope June’s on her way to see Isaac.’

The trail was initially wide and properly graveled when Molly first stepped onto the main trail head, but shortly after turning right, the large public path receded. Leaving nothing more than a dirt streak. A footpath likely carved into the earth be teenagers over the last few generations.

Christian fell into an old memory with every step in the darkness. One of him and his ex-wife navigating their way through a similar path during a camping trip. The bickering turned laughter, as the couple accepted the were lost and posted up their tent.

Molly caught himself feeling a bit of nostalgia. But flashes of darker memories started to rip through the good, as they always do… like a pile of film being torn apart in an old projector.

‘Holding my wife in the tent that night, watching the stars through the net topper.’
’RIP.’

’Shanda lying on the bathroom floor with her bottle of pain killers….’