The Forest

Chapter 42

    "Excuse me?" I ask her, hoping that I heard her correctly and I wasn't just imagining things again. 

    "I have him locked away in my basement...so he can't hurt anyone else" she explains

    "Why wouldn't you just call the police and get him sent to prison?" I ask her 

    "Why? So he can escape again? I'm not allowing that to happen. He can't be allowed another chance to go free. He needs to be punished for what he has down" she says sternly, with anger in her eyes 

    "Have you done anything to him?" I ask, wondering if there was more to the story. 

    "like I said...he needs to be punished for what he has done" she replies with openness of interpretation 

    "I searched to find them because I found out she was friends with Kimberly in an old picture I found of a newspaper article back when they first found her body. I felt like it wouldn't hurt to ask her if she remembered anything that we could use to help find William. The fact that she has him and that she is Elizabeth's mother...that was unplanned, but it sure as hell was helpful" Suzanne tells me and I collect all the information flowing through my mind. 

    "Take us to him" I say to Cassandra and she nods 

    "Gladly" she replies, and suddenly I hear police sirens. Sheriff had made the discovery that I was gone. We ran and hid in the darkness of the trees and watched as he frantically ran into his police car and soared down the street. 

    Cassandra continues, "Follow me", and we all close in after her as we make our way to her house. 

    We walked for what seemed like forever in the darkness. I payed close attention to Elizabeth. She hadn't said anything since I had first laid eyes on her. She simply paraded around in her innocence, probably not even close to understanding how much it meant to me that she was alive. I almost wanted to touch her to make sure that she was real. Was she real? I shook my head and tried to focus away from my distracting thoughts. 

    "Hey, where is your other daughter...?" I asked, remembering that there was two of them - I was most likely so blinded by Elizabeth's arrival, that I forgot about the blonde pig-tailed girl. 

    "She is with her father...they get along very well" she replies

    "What about him and Elizabeth?" I ask 

    "Elizabeth rather stay with me, she doesn't like being away from home" she answers me with a concerned look on her face and I left the subject alone. 

    We had to move through a small version of what seemed like a little meadow, sickened with darkness and sadness. The weeds passed against my legs, almost like a hand, sending a chill up my back. I presumed that we had made our destination when I saw a small house in front of us. Beside it was a large lake and the moon reflected itself inside it. It rippled as the waves moved with the wind. 

    The house appeared normal, despite its creepy secret on the inside. The house was secluded from others, so there was wide open space. So much space that there was possibly no one around to hear any sounds of struggle or screams. That excited and scared me all at the same time. 

    We watched Cassandra unlock the door and we followed her inside. The atmosphere was tense and it was very cold, much like my prison cell. I looked over at Suzanne and I never thought this out too far. The idea of completing this task always seemed impossible yet we agreed to do it. Now, I felt numb as I knew that we had to commit murder - something I never fathomed that we would actually have to do. 

    "I just want you to know...your secret will be safe with me" Cassandra says and she hands me a knife. My hands started shaking and I closed my eyes so the room would stop spinning. Elizabeth looked at me, with confusion in her eyes. 

    "She hasn't spoken since we found her...the doctors say she'll come around soon, but I'm not sure when. None of them truly understand what happened, not even me. We tried to get her an appointment with a psychologist named Caroline, but apparently she went missing" Cassandra says after she notes my glances toward Elizabeth. 

    "I don't think you'll be hearing from Caroline any time soon" Suzanne remarks and I swallow hard. 

    Cassandra remained silent. I assume Suzanne filled her in on only the important details of this adventure we have gone on, so little details she is unaware of. I thought that was good, she can at least keep a little reminder of her sanity. 

    "I think it's best if you two go upstairs and lock your door" I told them, sliding the knife between my fingers. "This needs to be done without error, my brother's life depends on it"

    "The key to unlock the basement door is hanging above the sink...Tell me when it's over" Cassandra says, and she takes Elizabeth away with her and I get a rush of sadness when she walks by a photo of her and Kimberly placed on her coffee table. 

    "Let's get this over with" Suzanne insisted and grabs the key. 

    We creep down the staircase to the basement. At the flicker of the light switch I hear a groaning sound and my body tensed up. I held the knife behind my back and tried to keep my composure. I breathed in slowly. In and out. In and out, and over again. He wanted to die, right? He's suffered this whole time. We're just putting him out of his misery. He would die and then all would be right again I told myself. It would be alright...

    I made eye contact with a shaken man who was tied by his arms and legs in ropes, with his body slumping forward in agony. He appeared beaten and tossed around by the looks of his injuries. He narrowed his eyebrows and yelled with a cough, "Who are you two?!" 

    "William, that's not important" Suzanne says

    "Let me out of here now you sinners! God will come down on you!" he shouted 

    "I'm afraid we're already in hell" I reply and his face becomes smaller 

    "I can't stop doing God's will - he has chosen his job for me. I must get rid of all who have done him wrong. Too many walk this Earth without living righteously" he says sort of in a mumble, like he was reassuring himself.

    "You are the solution to my problem...you see, Jasper wants you dead -" 

    "Excuse me?" He asks snapping out of his trance, "What are you talking about?"

    "If you allow me to finish this can be done with more efficiency, okay?" I continue, "Jasper has taken away my brother, Sammy. The only way I can get him back is if I kill you" 

    "Kill me? You can't do that! How dare you make us these lies?" he responds, anger building. 

    "There are no lies here...only things we don't want to hear" I say, walking closer toward him. 

    "You kill me then all the sinners will walk free - devil's spawn they are...they need to be executed!" he demands 

    I walk even closer toward him, so close that I can almost touch him. "You have no choice William, this is your fate" I tell him 

    "Or is it?" he asks and suddenly his hands were free of the ropes around his wrists and they made their way around my throat. This sent Suzanne into a frenzy, rushing to my rescue. That's when I knew that this pain induced event would not go by slowly. It would have to make me suffer first.