The Forest's Secrets

Chapter Nine: Trees

Fate couldn't tell if the officer was worried or angry, maybe even both. Eli looked at him, her hair partially hung into her face, making her expression seem darker.

"Leave me be", she hissed at the officer.

"You'll tell me here and now, and might get to go home, or we'll have to get you to talk and you'll stay here for a bit", the man replied harshly.

Eli's gaze wandered around the room for a bit. She looked at the cop next to her, who was still pointing her gun at the kid. She seemed uncertain but ready to shoot. Then the girls eyes fell onto Fate, who was still standing in the doorway. But she didn't seem to take note of her, the girls gaze now pointed at her family. The two blackheads seemed worried and scared.

She nodded slowely, as her eyes fell onto Brooks again. She seemed to be looking through him, but the officer didn't seem bothered by that.

"What do you want to know?"

"Did you kill Ashly?"

"No."

"What just happened?"

"I stumbled and fell. Hit my head, felt hurt, got scared."

"What happened with the other teenagers?"

"I won't let anyone bully my sister."

"Did you get into a fight with them before?"

"They never noticed me."

"What happened to Fate?"

"Looked like someone cut her up badly."

"Did you do that?"

"No."

The exchange of words happened quickly. It was hard to follow the conversation, but Brooks seemed satisfied for the moment. He nodded at the other officer, who in turn let go of the girl.

"You'll still have to come in a few times, especially when we find the fingerprints to be fitting. You better have a good explanation in that case", he explained coldly. Then his gaze started to wander through the room, and he said:"Everyone here may leave now, but be ready to get called here at any time."

As he finished, Eli had already left the room. "Elisa wait!", her father called. The man sounded worried and scared. As him and Sally stepped into the hall, the white haired girl seemed to have vanished.

With dawn starting to break, a few officers got stuck in the woods. Someone had called and told them, that they were jogging through the forest, when they heard screams from a funny looking cabin.

It was, to no one's surprise, the cabin Ashly's body had been discovered in. And so they decided to lock down the area and put it under surveillance, in case the person who had murdered the girl decided to show up again.

At first glance, the cabin's inside was under bad condition. There was blood that had soaked into the dirty and dusty flooring, the wallpapers were peeling off. The kitchen seemed unusable, it was dirty and all the plates and other dishes, used or unused, seemed to be covered in dust. There was a table that stood on shaky feet, nearly broken chairs and a dusty sofa.

Yet, it seemed someone came here regularly. As the officers now started to open various cupboards, cabinets and even a big closet, the cabin seemed as if someone lived here. Not just one person, but two. There were cabinets filled with clean dishes, food, a few books and even one or two card games. In the closet, there were clothes both for boys and girls. As three policemen looked through the contents of the cabin, four more were outside, guarding the area.

"Hello?", a girl asked one of the officers. She seemed and sounded very shy.

"And what are you doing here out so late?", the man asked carefully. He couldn't see her face or hair, she wore a hood and looked at the ground. Her boots were dirty, as well as the hem of the blue dress she was wearing. The fabric on the upper part of the dress seemed to be dirty too, but the man couldn't make out what she had there, the light was too bad.

"Taking in some fresh air, the night just started. What is going on here?", she replied.

"Police Investigation Ma'am. I'll have to ask you to leave", was the reply the man gave her.

She sighed and turned around. The girl didn't take the road, but stepped between the trees. The policeman shook his head, but just as he saw her disappear into the woods, he could have sworn to have seen white hair.

The man shook it off as his imagination. There was no way someone this young had white hair.

As the minutes slowely past, the nights forest seemed to grow more active. There were sticks snapping and leaves rustling.

The darker it got, the more the trees seemed to move. The shadows seemed to have dark and gruesome faces. Then the girl showed up again.

"Good evening!", she said loudly, pulling all attention towards her. Even the men inside the cabin came outside.

"Miss this is-", one of the officers started, but she cut him off:"Yes I know, official investigation. What are you doing here tho, the girl is dead."

It was dead silent for a few moments. The girl still hid her face behind the hood she was wearing. Then an officer said:"We have never given this information open for the public. Who are you?"

A hand full of guns clicked and were pointed at the girl. She looked up, which made the hood slip off.

"I was at the station today", Eli said surprised," how come you don't recognize me?"

Brooks looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing here? How did you know Ashly got killed here?", he asked.

Eli sighed and replied:"I told you I go out at night. Also when it says in the news, that a body has been found in the woods and then there's a bunch of cops at one spot, it's pretty obvious."

Jamie nodded and took a step towards her. This time, Eli just smiled at him without moving a muscle. As the officer stood right in front of her, he declared coldly:"You're under arrest for hindering police investigation. You'll come back to the station with us."

The girl didn't even flinch, as he took handcuffs out. But as soon as he tried to cuff her, she took a quick step back.