Hidden in the Immortals (Book #1)

Chapter 10

Chad and I made an anonymous phone call to the police Sunday night telling them where we found Andres. I didn't want to explain to my family why Chad and I were miles into that woods and dug up a body. I didn't want them to get suspicious about it all and we decided that was the best course of action. The hard part was trying to act like I hadn't just found my cousin dead, and managing to keep myself from crying every five seconds. But it was the hardest thing that I've ever done and probably will ever do. After going a month with him just missing was bad enough. But he was dead. He had been dead this whole time. Now I was having constant images flashing in my mind of his body. His pale face covered in dirt. His cold hands. The sinister, look of nothing in his eyes; death. This was the most pain I had ever felt. Every part of me ached and there was nothing I could do to make it stop. But the weirdest part of all of this is that Andres had been an Immortal. I needed to find out how that happened and what had been going on with him.

Chad dropped me back off at home at about ten that night. We talked lightly a bit about what happened, but we were also silent a lot of the night too.

It was Tuesday morning. A little before six. Andres's body still hadn't been found which wasn't very surprising considering how far out his body had been buried. I had been awake for about an hour. My dreams since Sunday night were horrifying and I didn't want to fall asleep. I could hear my parents upstairs talking lightly as they walked around their room.

And that's when the phone rang. I sat up abruptly in my bed. It wasn't even six in the morning. There were very few reasons that someone would be calling this early; and I had a hunch what this reason was. I heard my dad murmur that he would get it to my mother, followed by his heavy footsteps down the hall and then down the stairs. I flew up out of bed and rushed to the door. I pressed my ear up against it and listened as close I could.

"Hello?" My dad's voice sounded firm and slightly annoyed.

"Jay." It was Uncle Romeo. I could hear in his voice that Andres's body had been found. He didn't add anything more to that. He didn't have to.

"No." There was so much devastation in that one word my dad spoke. There was a long pause, then he took in a shaky inhale. "When? Where?"

"Yesterday afternoon. We didn't want to tell you guys until we were absolutely sure. His body was dug up in a forest a few miles from the college." He told him. There was another long pause. "He was murdered, Jay."

Another pause. Dad cleared his throat. "Are they doing an autopsy?" I knew dad figured that Andres had been dead this whole time. We all knew what kind of person Andres was. There was no way he would just run away; and my dad was well aware of that.

"Yes."

"When are you going to get the results?"

"Well since he was murdered we'll get them tomorrow or the next day." I heard my mom leave their room and start to make her way to the top of the stairs. I closed my door all the way before she walked down and into the kitchen. "It might be harder because his body has been buried for almost a month."

"Did you see his body?" My dad asked. I heard my mom gasp when he asked his question.

"Just his face." He paused. "To recognize him."

Nobody said anything for a moment. "Do you have an idea of when you want to have the funeral?" Dad asked.

"Danielle and I were talking about it and if we get the results tomorrow, we want to have the funeral as soon as possible," Uncle Romeo's voice was soft and sad. "Because we want to have an open casket, and his body..."