Wild Ride - The Alternative Version (Book 2)

Chapter 10~Pale As Death

Suddenly, sickened and frightened by the thought of there being a body laying down there, I turned to Brian, put my hands on his shoulders and ordered, "Get help, now! Go!!" 

Brian, suddenly looking startled at my outburst, nodded rapidly and took off back down the bridge in the direction we came. Both of our phones were left in the car, and I imagined that was where he was going so he could call the police. 

I stood there, staring down at the body just lying so still on those rocks. Unless it was a guy with really long hair, it appeared to be a woman with dark brown hair, lying on her stomach. I couldn't see all that well, and since she was lying on her stomach, I couldn't make out anymore distinct features about her. 

I got restless, just standing here and waiting. I began pacing, shifting my weight from one foot to the other and looking around frantically as cars passed, their drivers totally oblivious to what was lying below the bridge they were driving across.

Brian never returned, but I heard the sirens coming, getting closer and closer with every second. I didn't know if Brian would tell the others or not, they were supposed to be searching for Jasmine, and I don't know that some random body we found would distract them from that. It's not like it's anybody that we know, so why would they really care?

Even so, the police were taking to long according to me, because without thinking, I dashed to the end of the bridge and practically slid my way down the bank to the river that flowed out into the ocean not far from here. Something was drawing me down here, almost like an energy, maybe an act of gravity. But I couldn't stop myself from climbing over the rocks, getting closer to the body that belonged to I don't know whom. 

The rock the body was laying on was big enough for both of us to be on, despite that it looked smaller than it really was when you were staring down from the bridge. It was, in fact, a woman's body on this rock. I crouched down, studying the back side of her before I slowly started to reach out to her. 

I could hear the police cars skidding to a stop above me, car doors slamming and the sounds of footsteps at a running pace, I could hear instructions being shouted, but none of it mattered to me at the moment. My hand gently rested on the woman's shoulder, and as carefully as I could, I turned her over onto her back. I felt my heart crash down into my stomach as I looked at her face.

The body belonged to Jasmine. 

"Oh Jesus, no..." I whispered out, suddenly feeling shaky as my insides wrenched, my stomach churning. There was blood on her face, dried, that had come from her nose. Even though I already knew, I placed my fingers at her neck for a pulse. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. What have I done?

I looked at her, feeling unexplainably cold inside. Her skin was morbidly white, all color drained from it. She herself was cold, there was no body heating radiating off of her. Her eyes had never shut. They were lifeless, staring up at the sky except they weren't staring at all. They didn't have the ability to stare anymore. The essence of life had left her heart. And her death, was my fault. 

"Wake up, Jasmine, wake up!" I shook her a little as I cradled her body in my arms. "You weren't supposed to die! You were just supposed to be angry for a little while, and then move on... but not like this! Wake up!!" I shook her again, like it'd do any good. She wasn't sleeping, she couldn't wake up. She's dead, no one can sleep with their eyes open like that, there's no pulse, her body's cold. She's gone.

Even though I knew that she was gone for a fact, I didn't accept it. I went into a daze, a shocked state, as a police officer forced me to let go of Jasmine. He dragged me back across the rocks to the mainland, but I never really took notice. I kept looking over my shoulder as they led me away from her, looking back at her body until I was back up to the street level, where the guys and girls were. The police must've notified Jessica if Brian didn't get them, with them being notified of a missing sister, they might've suspected it was her body we found. If that's the case, they suspected correctly.