Haunted in the Night

Chapter Nineteen- Part One

Chapter Nineteen.
The door swung open from Bob’s force, all of them prepared for what might come inside, but nothing did, no one was in sight, only a small box on the doorstep.
Slowly Chad’s grip on Claire loosened, Bob looked out the door both ways, scanning the darkness for a sighting of anyone out there, when he saw nothing he leaned down and snatched up the box, slamming the door shut and relocked it before turning towards them.
“It’s addressed to Claire" he said as he gazed down at the little brown box in his hands, then both him and Chad turned to look at her, awaiting answers, as if she had any.
“I’m not expecting anything" she said, nervousness and surprise in her voice and Bob placed the box down on the table for her.
Slowly she descended upon it, looking down at the rough scratchy cardboard, gulping at the lump of nerves that had formed in her throat before she reached out and opened the box, nothing could have prepared her for what she found inside.
At first she just stood there gaping at it, before crying out, pain, heartache, horror, it all hit her at once and she would have collapsed if Chad hadn’t caught her mid fall, slowly he guided her down onto her knees as she gripped onto his arm, still crying out, tears streaming down her face.
“What the fuck is it?” Chad yelled to Bob who was watching the event unfold before him, quickly he swooped in, grabbing the box and looked down at its contents.
“Oh god" was the only words that came out of his mouth, his eyes widening in horror themselves.
“What? What is it?” Chad asked again, his love of his life crying hysterically in his arms, gripping onto him as if it were the only thing that could save her from falling into an endless abyss of grief and sorrow.
“It’s her parents wedding rings" Bob finally said, looking down at the gold band that had once been worn by her father and the silver band that had made its forever home on her mother’s ring finger.
Bob remembered the day that they had married, he had been Claire’s father’s best man, her mother had been a nervous wreck but the day had gone by wonderfully and they often said it was the best day of their lives, until of course the birth of their beautiful little girl Claire.
Even though Claire had only been young when they went missing she still remembered what their rings looked like, she had always admired them, even when she was just a child, imaging one day to have one just like her mother’s and to give her true love one just like her father’s but now here they were, in front of her once again and not upon the hands of her parents, just stuffed into a little scrappy box.
“I need to call Officer Lewis, get him to dust these and put them in evidence" he said as he went to grab his phone.
“No, no please not my parents rings, they don’t belong in an evidence box, they belong with my parents" Claire sobbed, reaching out for the box in Bob’s hand, Chad continuing to hold her, she couldn’t stand the thought of those rings not being with the people they belonged, it broke her heart.
“I know dear Claire, I’m sorry but we have to, I promise I’ll give them back to you when we solve this case and find your parents okay?” Bob asked her, hoping that would be enough, he could see the pain glistening in her eyes, her tear filled eyes.
She whimpered before closing her eyes and nodding, burrowing her face into Chad’s chest as he held her, rubbing her back to try and sooth her, it was all he could do.
Bob called up Officer Lewis who met Bob out the front of the cabin while Chad and Claire stayed inside, she couldn’t bare to see her parents rings get put into an evidence bag, not after the last time that had happened with some of the things from their house.
Claire had stood outside, wrapped in a blanket when the police had taken her back to the house to look for her parents and evidence, she couldn’t step one foot inside at the time, instead she had stayed outside while Helena drove over to get her, to see if she was alright and find out what had happened.
Instead Claire watched as some of her parents belongings were coming out of the house in evidence bags, it was a horrific sight to her eyes, her house made a crime scene, she couldn’t bare it and now those feelings bubbled through her once more, only this time Helena was not around to comfort her, for she had been taken too, all her loved ones being snatched away from her.
She wished now that she had kept in contact with her godmother, that she had spent more time with her but then it would have hurt more and that was what Claire had been trying to protect herself from, only now that no longer seemed possible.
Chad had moved her from the floor up to the couch, however he still held her hands in his as she gripped onto them as if for dear life, she wouldn’t look at him, she only peered into the fire, as if it were the only thing from stopping her slipping into madness.
“We should all get some sleep, it’s been a long night and we’ve got a big trip ahead of us tomorrow" Bob said as he walked back into the cabin, locking the door and checking the windows.
“Are you sure Claire is up to going?” Chad asked worriedly, they both saw how she reacted to the sight of her parents rings, what if they found her parents corpses up there in those mountains? Then how would she react?
“I need to do it, I need to know" Claire said, not tearing her eyes from the flames that flickered.
“I’ll leave you two be, good night" Bob said as he rushed off to the bedroom, he knew Chad was worried enough before but now he didn’t want Claire going at all.
“Claire please just think about this, Bob will tell you if they find anything up there, I just don’t see the point in you going too, especially if it puts you at risk of being kidnapped yourself or having an emotional break down at what you find" Chad tried to reason with her, to get her to understand where he was coming from and although so did she would not let it change her decision .
“Chad what if it were your mother? Or your father? Would you sit behind and wait in agony to hear the news? Or would you go and see it for yourself in hope that you might just get some answers and closure?” she asked him, finally looking away from the fire as she glanced up at him with sad, tired eyes.
He couldn’t argue with that, and she knew it, it frustrated him more, because he knew that if it were him he would be doing exactly what she is and he didn’t want that to be the answer.
“Please Chad, I need you right now, I don’t want tonight to end with us fighting, I just want to curl up in your arms and go to sleep, we won’t see each other for a few days and I’d like to make the most of the time we have together tonight" she pleaded, her face pale and sleepy, she had been through a lot and Chad’s heart bled for her, it pained him to see her like this.
She looked so small and fragile, like a porcelain doll, and he didn’t want her to break, at least anymore than she already had so he got to his feet and reached out his hand for her to take.
She watched him with curious eyes, not sure on what he would do but when he reached out for her she sighed, she had been worried he was just going to walk out and leave her to sleep alone.
Slowly she placed her hand in his and stood up, he led her over to the mattress and they both laid down, she snuggled up to his chest as he pulled the blankets over them, the fire turning to coals, dimming the room of light.
Claire breathed in his sweet scent, body wash and Chad, his warmth spreading around her as he wrapped her up in his arms, their legs entangled, he placed a sweet kiss on the top of her head.
“Good night babe" he mumbled to her, he had wanted to stay awake, make the most of holding her but he was too tired and was already drifting off to sleep.
“Good night Chad" she replied, her herself slipping into unconsciousness.

Morning came all too quickly, as the light peered in through the thinly curtains, Claire was the first to stir, opening her eyes slowly and she sighed.
Today was the day that her, Bob and the rangers were going on a hike to the mountains, she didn’t know exactly how long it would take to get there, it would depend on the conditions, however that didn’t bother her all that much, what did bother her though is what they might find, what might be waiting for them in those dreaded mountains.
“Your beautiful" Chad pulled her from her dark thoughts and she looked up at him to see him watching her and she blushed.
“I don’t want to leave this bed" she said nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck, placing small, sweet kisses on it.
“So don’t" he breathed out, running his hands down her body, squeezing her ass, enticing a gasp from her.
“You know I have to" she said as she looked him in the eyes, hoping he understood.
“I know" he said as he reached up and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’d better go shower" she said before kissing him softly.
“Yes, no showers out in the wilderness” he said as she untangled herself from him, stood up and walked into the bathroom with the clothes she is going to wear.
The warm water helped her to relax a bit, she was tense as she didn’t know what to expect out in the woods but she tried to make the most of her shower before she dried and dressed, she wore long pants, not jeans, warm ones but still suitable for hiking, and a singlet under a plain white long sleeve top, she put her knitted jumper again under her jacket, she knew it was going to be cold so she packed her warmest clothes she had, she also made sure her hiking boots were in good condition before pulling them on over her two layers of socks.
“Good morning Claire, I’m just heading for a shower and then we’ll head out" Bob said as Claire walked into the kitchen where pancakes were waiting for her, Bob had already eaten his.
“Are you warm enough?” Chad asked worriedly as she sat down next to him and began to eat.
“Yes, thank you" she replied, she could see the uncertainty in his eyes and it only made the knot in her stomach tighten with nerves.
“I don’t care how far out there you are, if anything happens, you come straight back" he demanded, he hadn’t meant for it to sound so dominating, it had meant to be more caring but he couldn’t help it, he knew she wouldn’t listen otherwise, so he had to get it across to her.
“I will" she spoke unsure, would she come back if anything happened out there? Would she be able to just turn around and come back after getting so close to some possible answers? She didn’t know, she didn’t think so.
Bob came out of the shower just as Claire had finished eating, he was all dressed up warm too.
“Can I just clean the dishes before we go? I don’t want to leave them dirty for so long" she said as she placed her bowl in the sink.
“You two go on, I’ll do the dishes babe" Chad told her as he stood up, walking over to her.
“Are you sure?” she asked, she hated leaving it for him to do.
“Yeah, you two need to get a head start, you can only travel in the daylight" he said, reminding her of how they have to bunker down during the night, otherwise they could end up getting lost.
“Alright, thank you" she said, leaning up and kissing him lovingly.
“I love you" she murmured to him, deep down she had a heartbreaking fear that she might never see him again, if something were to happen.
“I love you too" he replied, hugging her tightly before letting him go, he wouldn’t let her know it but he also held the same dreadful feeling.
Slowly Claire and Bob left the house, putting their backpacks in the boot of his police cruiser before climbing in the front.
Claire watched with sad eyes as the cabin drifted out of sight as they drove away, sighing heavily.
“You’ll see him again, I promise" Bob said, reading her like a book and she offered him a small smile, but it was filled with uncertainty, she wanted to believe that Bob could hold that promise but something unpleasant twisted in her gut, it was doubt.
Claire tried to swallow the lump that formed in her throat when they pulled up at the trail, the rangers already there and ready to go.
“Miss Claire, nice to see you again" Ranger Tony said to her once they grabbed out their packs, slung them onto their backs and walked up to them.
She remembered Tony, he was the head of the rangers, the other two she hadn’t met.
“I’m Jared, nice to meet you" said a younger lad with short blond hair, he looked to be in his late twenties, he had small brown eyes with big eyebrows.