WHAT LIES IN THE WOODS- unedited- Akua Tuta

I was trying to hold off on posting this story until I could go through and give it a good editing, but I can't wait anymore. I want to share it with ya'll! I'm going to clean up all the mistakes and doll it up a bit, then send it off to publishers and try to get it published, along with my other stories, Loralee's Lake, Within Striking Distance, and Graduation Day. You can view these stories and the rest of my writings on my page http://www.akuatuta.freeservers.com. But I want to hear what you guys think of this story?? I know it has alot of mistakes, like I said I haven't been able to get in and revise it yet, when I finally get around to it, I will post it.

WHAT LIES IN THE WOODS

Garret fumbled with his car keys, gripping his books tightly to his chest, as wind ripped unmercifully at his body. Blinking his eyes furiously, he attempted to clear the rain from his vision so he could focus on the icy ring of keys in his hand. Finding the right key, he grasp it firmly with his numb fingers and quickly unlocked the drivers door of his late model Honda Accord. Sliding, into the comfort of it’s worn interior, he slammed the door, shutting out the fierce storm. Peering through the rain pelted windshield, he shook his head in wonder. It was late October and instead of the weather getting cooler, the intense weather had turned into a wicked Indian summer. All week, Garret had felt as though he were baking alive sitting day after day in the stifling confines of Arthur Washington high school classroom’s. Then, during lunch earlier that afternoon, Garret had noticed a darkening the heat-saturated blue sky. A few hours later, while he sat in Chemistry, the thunder’s booming voice had begun to reverberate, repeatedly verbalizing it’s displeasure and the sky began dancing with immense streaks of lightening as the storm released it’s untamed fury across the heavens.

By the time school was over, the late summer storm had turned into a mini hurricane. The parched earth drank up the rain like mothers milk and the smell of the electricity was still thick in the desert air. The heat that had earlier saturated every pore of his body had been replaced by the chilly fingers of the cold pelting rain as he had headed towards the parking lot. Now sitting in his car he continued to watch the storm torn world through the blurred windshield. The little car shook with the sudden bursts of wind. When his fascination with the storm began to tire, he began to wonder where his sister and James were. At lunch that day Garret, James, and Cally, Garret’s little sister, had agreed to meet their friend Adam at their favorite after school hangout at four o’clock, Garret glanced at his watch and found it to be a quarter after. Knowing that either James nor Cally were ever on time, Garret had stalled within the school for a half an hour, taking his time to complete a homework assignment in the library.

Garret caught his reflection in the rear view mirror and found that he had been soaked to the bone by the rain during the short run to the car . His dirty blond hair was plastered to his skull. Rain droplets clung to his narrow face and strong jaw. He rubbed the water from his faded green eyes and switched the radio on. After a few moments of searching the bands for a station and a small, amused smile played upon his lips. He knew the search for a decent radio station was futile. He lived in a very remote portion of the Oregon high desert and the only radio stations available in the area were country, talk, and religious. Promptly, he gave up the search and popped cassette of No Doubt.

Garret turned the sound up and laid back into the tattered but comfortable bucket seat. He began to doze his mind wandering. With sleep fuzzing the edges of reality, he began to dream of that night. That fateful stormy night that Garret wanted to wipe from his mind forever.

Garret’s heart ached with anguish, as soon as the memory began to replay. The cops had said there was nothing that they could of done, but that didn’t erase the screams that had echoed within Garret’s head every night since. The horrible memories flooded into his mind and he became lost within them, reliving every second of the encounter all over again. It had been a chilly evening in November of the year before that, Garret, Cally, and James’s had decided after school to drive to the city of Bend, 40 miles north of their little desert town. Later that night after eating and catching a movie at the mall, they had headed back during the heart of a thunderstorm that had been brewing the entire day before. Garret had slowed, his white knuckles gripping the steering wheel tightly. His senses were heightened as he drove. The storm raged savagely throwing debris and tumble weeds into the path of Garret’s car. The windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with the pelting rain and Garret peered through the blurred windshield struggling to see the road before him. The road they were on was like a kinked snake, filled with wicked winding curves. Suddenly after Garret negotiated an especially sharp corner, he was blinded, by blazing headlights in his lane. He jerked the wheel towards the ditch to the side of the road, opting to crash into the ditch instead of the incoming car. Time slowed to a crawl as the events unraveled. Screeching metal and screaming tires filled the air. There was a tremendous jolt to the back driver’s side of the car and Garret’s car was spun around 180 degrees. Garret realized that the other car had smacked into the back driver’s side of the car and had put it into a spin. Garret could hear James cussing and Cally shrieking as he struggled to regain control of the car as it spun down the middle of the road way. The world whirled merrily as the car reeled. Then as suddenly as it had started the world stopped it’s spinning as the car slammed into the ditch he’d already tried to hit. Garret’s face and chest slammed hard into the steering wheel.

Chaos was suddenly replaced by a deafening silence and all Garret was aware of was the intense pain blossoming in his face and chest. He felt a warm, sticky liquid covering coating his throbbing face, disorientated he raised a hand to his nose and his fingers came back scarlet. With his entire body trembling with the spent adrenaline, he turned his eyes to the passenger’s seat. Unmoving, James was slumped over his head resting on the dashboard. Garret gingerly reached out and pushed James’s long hair out of his face. He groaned and flopped back into the seat his head lolling. After a few moments of muttering, he opened his eyes wide and met Garret’s dazed gaze. They looked at each other for a long moment. The hot engine ticked as the rain pelted the roof of the car. Suddenly panicked, Garret then spun in his seat and looked to the backseat. Cally was sitting behind James in the back passenger seat. Her eyes were wide with shock as she gasp for air like a fish out of water. Choking on blood from his busted nose, Garret cleared his throat, “Is everyone all right?” “What the heck happened, Garret?” Cally asked in a trembling voice. Garret shook his head, “I don’t know, I think there was a car in our lane and it hit us.” That was the first moment Garret had thought of the other car since the beginning of the accident. Without saying a word, Garret flung open his car door and had emerged from the battered body of his car. Peering around in the darkness, Garret tried to locate the other car which had hit them. Suddenly, flames erupted from a late model luxury car located 100 ft down the highway. The car was perched precariously on it’s side and it’s battered body was quickly being engulfed by the ravenous fire. The blood in Garret’s heart suddenly turned to ice when he heard the unthinkable. Screams. From the fiery depths of the car, he could faintly hear people shrieking. A wretched sob burst from his lips and he began sprinting down the middle of the roadway towards the rapidly burning car. He could hear James behind him, also running towards the wreck when suddenly the world exploded. Eerily, Garret felt himself picked up and flung backwards as though he were nothing more than a tinker toy. Slamming back to the wet asphalt 15 feet from where he originated, he felt pain course through his nerve endings. Serenaded by the ringing in his ears, Garret rested upon the roadway and allowed the rain to trickle off his body like the tears pouring from his eyes. With dread in his heart, he begrudgingly realized that the car’s gas tank had just exploded and whoever had been trapped within the car was now beyond help. Later that night, while he lay upon a stark hospital bed, a police officer informed him that there had been a mother and two children within the car. Garret was plagued by nightmares and despair, their memory had haunted him throughout the past year and he had privately struggled with dealing with the horrible tragedy.

Suddenly, the passenger side door was flung open and his cocoon of peace was rudely shattered. James’s dripping, grinning face appeared “Waiting Long?” He inquired mischievously as he slid into the seat next to Garret. After adjusting his long legs he turned to Garret with a angelic look upon his Native American features. Water droplets clung to his long black hair and streamed down his high cheekbones. His dark eyes gleamed with amusement as a small smile hinted at the corner of his mouth. Garret rolled his eyes and smiled, “Naw man, what’s your excuse this time?” James straitened mockingly, placing his hand on his chin “ Hmmm lemme think....There were these aliens and they wanted to study me, you know cause I’m such a fine specimen.” Smirking, Garret rose an eyebrow in his direction. James chuckled, “No really, Coach Williams wanted to talk to me my free throw’s, I’ve had a lousy average lately.” James peered out the passenger window intently studying something and then quickly locked the car door. Garret studied him quizzically, wondering what James was up to. Suddenly a fist began to pound the window and a voice cut through the howling wind. “Dang you James, let me in!” Garret could see the blurred shape of a angry, rain soaked Cally through the foggy windows. He smacked James lightly in the shoulder and said, “C’mon James, let my lil sis in before she blows away.” James flung open the door and leaned forward, letting Cally to get into the back seat. The furious wind ripped through the car and tore at Garret as Cally squeezed past James. After slamming the door and restoring the peace, a grinning James turned in the seat and flicked water at the younger girl. Adjusting the rear view mirror, Garret could see Cally glaring at James. “That was not funny, I was freezing out there!” Cally informed James. James snorted with laughter,”Aw come on, I was just messing with you” Garret watched as the scowl melted from Cally’s face. The anger left her hazel eyes as she swept back her rain soaked earth colored hair. With a smirk upon her features she remarked to James ,“I owe you one” and calmly turned her eyes to meet Garret’s in the rear view mirror. “Sorry I was late Garret, we were putting some finishing touches on the paper layout before we sent it off to the press.” Garret nodded, Cally was the assistant editor for the school paper. Garret admired his little sister for her excellent writing ability. Although she was only sixteen, her writing awoke the imagination and set it afire. “No problem Cally, I know you and James well enough to know that your never on time and I stalled for a while after school” Garret said with a grin as he started the car. “But think about Adam, we were supposed to meet him a half an hour ago at the Pizza Palace.” As Garret put the car into gear and began to exit the school parking lot, James squirmed in his seat and whined in a girly voice, “Oh no, poor Adam, stuck chowing down an entire pizza by himself in a nice cozy booth.” Garret chuckled quietly as he headed towards the pizza joint. The driving conditions were terrible, rain pounded it’s angry fists upon the windshield, making visibility poor, while wind tore at the car and debris littered the road. At the Pizza Palace, they found Adam with his mouth crammed full and a greasy pepperoni pizza, less four pieces, sitting in front of him. James nudged Cally and grinned, “See, I told you. Do I know him or what?” When Adam saw them he hurriedly swallowed and took a quick sip off his soda, “What took you guys so long?” He paused for moment, “Oh never mind, I know you James.” Adam smiled quietly up at the three of them. Garrett noticed that Adam had a hint of purple bruising beneath his earth colored eyes, probably due to the fact that Adam suffered from chronic insomnia. Garrett had known James since Kindergarten but he’d only just met Adam during this past year. Garret had shared Chemisty with Adam and they had been paired together as lab partners. It hadn’t took them long at all to become friends. Adam was the quiet sort. Unfortunately, he had not had an easy life, his parents had died when he was an infant and his aunt had raised him until she had died from cancer the previous year. Following her death, he had come to live with his grandmother, which is when Garret first met him.

They made a bizarre group of friends, Garret was realistic and composed, Cally intelligent and lively, James an easy going, jokester and Adam although quiet, was a star athlete with his forte being football. He had a wicked throwing arm and was the best quarterback that Arthur Washington high school had seen in twenty years. Last year, he had led the team to victory in the championships and the student body loved him for it.

“So,” Adam said through a mouth full of pizza, “I was thinking, I love hiking but I haven’t gotten to do much lately. How ‘bout we all go on a camping trip this weekend?”

“Hey, right on! That’s sounds awesome, I love getting out for a good romp in the woods” James commented, wearing a smile.

“Ohhh” Cally’s eyes lit up, “Garret, can we? We haven’t been camping in ages!”

Garret shrugged, “ Hey, I don’t have any plans, sounds good to me. How bout we hike up to Angel falls, spend the night there, and then head back home the next day?”

Angel falls was an hour from Walsh and could only be reached by hiking in. The winding fifteen mile trail that led into the scenic falls, wound through some gorgeous landscape and it was a relatively smooth hike.

All heads at the table, eagerly nodded in agreement.

“All right then, sounds great,” Adam burped and sat back grinning, “I’ve never been up there, it sounds awesome though from what I’ve heard. So, we’ll leave Saturday morning, bright and early?”



The morning dew still hung heavily to the earth as Garrett locked up his car and the group headed out on their long hike Saturday. James energetically led the group with Adam closely behind him, their voices echoed loudly through the stillness of the pines as they chatted easily. Cally hung back about 15 feet, keeping an even pace and keenly studying her surroundings with interest, and Garrett was last, trailing behind, merely enjoying the nature that thrived around him. Soon, the sun began filtering through the trees, warming the chilly autumn air and filling the murkiness around them, with an assortment of rich earthy tones.

It wasn’t long before the sun had rose to the sky above them and early afternoon arrived. Stopping for lunch their mood was light. James and Adam playfully wrestled, rolling around on the decaying pine needles that littered the ground while Garrett and Cally watched, smiling. After the guys ran off in search of forest cooties, Garrett chewed his sandwich and thoughtfully studied Cally.

“So hey, what’s up, why so quiet?” He asked casually.

“Eh, it’s nothin” she said quietly, raising her downcast eyes to Garrett.

“Ah, now I know your lying to me, I know something’s up, your quiet, but never THIS quiet, what’s buggin’ you?”he persisted with a grin.

“Oh Garrett, That’s the problem.” She said worriedly, “ I don’t know what’s up either, I know this is gonna sound weird, but I got this really bad feeling like somthings wrong, I thought I was just trippin, but it just keeps getting worse.”

Garrett frowned for a moment, then smiled, “Oh Cally, you probably just forgot to feed yer cat or something minor like that, don’t stress over it”

Cally nodded, “Yeah, but I know that, but it’s like I can’t not stress on it, it’s driving me nuts.”

Garrett’s frown returned, “So, is it that bad, do you think we should head back or something?”

Shaking her head she sighed, “No, that’d be stupid. I dunno, it’s just odd, I feel like I’m in the path of a freight train but I can’t see it coming, perhaps I’m just having a weird anxiety attack.”

Garrett nodded slowly and chuckled, “Mmkay, but it is weird, perhaps it was that Double Shot Mocha Latte, you had this morning?”

Smiling she nodded, “Yeah, it’s probably something like that, thanks for not thinking I’m a nut.”

Grinning he answered, “Well, Now, I didn’t say that you weren’t nuts....”

Laughing she punched him playfully in the arm and they finished up their lunch joking easily.

Later that night, as the sun was kissing the tree tops as it dove beneath the horizon, the unlikely foursome, finally reached Angel Falls.

High above them, a sharp cliff face rose 500ft into the air, a torrent of water cascaded down the weather beaten rocks like a flowing veil. The sunset lit the waterfall with an glowing hue and made it glisten like liquid gold.

When the cool mist met their hot sweaty skin, it blissfully enveloped their tired bodies in a cooling blanket. Adam and James immediately ripped their shirts off and jumped into the crystal clear water, screaming girlishly at it’s bone chilling temperature.

Garrett wet his hair down, relishing the feeling as the droplets to run their chilly fingers down his sunburned neck. Settling next to the water’s edge, Cassy joined him and took her shoes off, dipping her pale feet into the river. James and Adman catcalled and teased them for not joining them in their dip, but it wasn’t long before they joined Garret and Cassy, shivering on the sun warmed rocks beneath them.

After a short rest, they began setting up camp next to the river’s edge, trying tried to beat the impending darkness. Garrett unpacked the gear and prepared to cook a dinner of Ravoli’s , Cassy worked on building a fire while Adam and James crashed through the woods laughing and joking while they searched for firewood.

By the time they’d completed their chores, night had fallen upon them, engulfing them hole within it’s dark maw. The black water of the Angel river, shimmered with the awakening stars as a nearly full moon rose above the trees and painted landscape with an ethereal pale haze.

They spent the evening talking and laughing, hugged close to the roaring fire Cally had skillfully built. James told a few corny ghost stories, Cally read the latest story she’d written, Adam told some comical football stories, but Garret felt just content to listen. Soon, a comfortable silence fell upon them.

“AHHHH,” James roared breaking the peaceful atmosphere, “Enough silence, it’s getting way too boring out here. Hey Garret, how bout a late night swim?”

Garret shook his head, “Heck no, you think I’m crazy?”

With an evil glint in his eye, James looked over to Adam, “Hey man, what do you think, Garret’s getting kinda stinky, don’t ya think he needs to take a dip?”

In a blink of an eye they were on Garret laughing like lunatics, each grabbed an arm and a leg and began running towards the water. Garrett screamed a string of curses at them in a voice laced with fear as Cassy laughed hysterically at the scene. Garrett’s struggle ended when he hit the icy water but he made sure that as the two boys completed there swing to throw him in, he grabbed on tightly to their arms and brought them with him. They all surfaced gasping in the frigid water, Garrett laughed slyly gazing in the direction of Cally’s hysterical laughter, looking back to Adam and James they all yelled in agreement and burst from the water after Cally. Screaming she took off running, but she was no match for them and soon was over her head in Angel River’s dark waters.

A few minutes later they were back huddled next to the fire shivering in the chilly night air. James piled wood onto the dying embers and soon their clothes were steaming from the roaring flames. Adam boiled some water, making cocoa for them to warm their stomachs as they talked late into the night.

Garret was literally seeing double by the time they decided to crash at 1am, he couldn’t believe how tired he was. Laying out their sleeping bags in a loose circle around the dying fire, they settled down on the uneven ground for the night. Garret slipped into the cocoon of his sleeping bag and almost immediately fell into an intensely deep, dreamless sleep.

The next morning, he groggily drifted back from the abyss of sleep. Curled inside his sleeping bag, he could hear birds calling sweetly to eachother, the soft roar of the river and waterfall serenaded him. Hearing no sound of human activity, he poked his head out into the blinding whiteness of the overcast day and found it to be later than he thought. Rubbing the blurriness from his eyes, he studied his watch and he found it to be 10 am. He was amazed he’d slept so late, since usually he woke at sunrise regardless of how late he’d stayed up the night before. Beside him, James’s sleeping bag still emitted soft snores as did Adam’s, but Cally’s was empty. She must have woken and gone off exploring letting them sleep in.

After relieving himself and rinsing his hands and face in the invigorating river water, he built a fire and went about making coffee. Just as Garret was removing the percolating kettle, he heard “I smell cofffeeeee” croak from James’s sleeping bag, poking his head out, he squinted at Garret.

“Morning man, pass a cup of that java this way, eh? He garbled in a rough voice.

Garret poured some of the steaming black liquid into a cup and handed it to James. Within a few minutes, Adam began stirring and Garret was ready with a cup of coffee as soon as he emerged from his sleeping bag’s confines.

Adam sat up, stretching like a cat and accepted the coffee with a gracious smile.

By the time James had downed his coffee, he finally noticed Cally’s absence. “Hey Garret, Where’s your little sis?”

Garret glanced up suddenly, realizing he’d been awake for nearly an hourand hadn’t seen her yet. “I dunno. She was gone when I woke up, I figured she was just out enjoying the morning with a short hike while our lazy butts slept in.”

Worry began creeping into his thoughts, it wasn’t like Cally to run off for so long, she would know he’d worry about her. Glancing to James, Garret saw concern etching his features as well.

“Hey, maybe we should go looking for her, she could have fallen and gotten hurt or something” James commented, standing up and pulling his pants on over his boxers.

Garret nodded, his eyes suddenly shining with fear as a dark feeling started overshadowing his thoughts. The conversation he’d had with her the day before about her bad feeling suddenly popped into his mind and he hastily laced up his boots.

Without saying a word, Adam promptly got dressed and within a few minutes they were making plans to where each of them would search.

“Okay,” Adam said, taking charge, “Garret, you search the area around the camp and up and down the river. James, perhaps she decided to take the higher trail to hike to the top of the falls, I thought you could search there and I will continue on along the trail we were on in case she decided to see what was ahead.” looking from either of them he asked, “So, what do you guys think?”

Garret couldn’t find his voice so he merely nodded. Panic gnawed at the edges of his mind, he adored his sister, he couldn’t bear the thought of her being hurt in anyway.

“Sounds like a plan man, lets go and we’ll meet back here, let’s say in an hour, okay?” James said eagerly. Placing a hand on Garret’s shoulder, he smiled reassuringly, “Hey Garret, don’t freak, she’s probably out picking flowers or doing something girly, you know them females.”

Garret forced a smile, “Yeah, we’re probably getting all worried over nothing” He said as he walked away. But his own words did nothing to ease the feeling of dread that was stalking him mercifully.

Adam called back over his shoulder, “Yeah don’t worry man, we’ll find her safe and sound, I’m sure of it.”

For an hour, Garret called Cally’s name as he searched frantically along the river banks and surrounding woods. On the way back to camp, his feeling of dread has blossomed into a raging monster and he’d prayed that she’d be there waiting, with a sheepish look upon her features. His heart fell like a bird shot from the sky when he found only Adam sitting on a log, next to the skeleton of the previous night’s fire.

“No luck,” he asked Adam as he approached.

Adam’s face was red from exertion and sweat dripped from his brow. Casting his eyes downward, he shook his head grimly, “No, not a thing. I jogged to the end of the trail, 4 miles ahead, not a sign of her.”

Garret sat down on a log suddenly feeling weak. What on earth was going on? He doubted Cally would have headed back to the car in the night and if she’d gotten sick or something she would have definitely woken him up.

Adam looked at Garret sadly, “I’m really sorry this is happening, Dude. If we can’t find her in the next few hours, one of us could head back and alert the authorities”

An apprehensive silence fell upon them as they sat pondering on what to do next. Soon, Garret began to wonder what had happened to James. “Adam, where’s James at? It’s been well over an hour, he has a watch right?”

Adam nodded, “Yeah he does. Hey maybe he found her on the upper trail that leads to the top of the falls. Let’s head in that direction and see what’s up.”

Garret stood up, eager to do anything that might lead to Cally’s where abouts. Adam took the lead, setting a brisk pace up the steep grade. After a few minutes of climbing the rough trail, Garret was winded and with his heart pounding in his ears he soon lost sight of Adam, “Hey man wait up!” He called but apparently Adam was out of hearing distance. Shrugging he figured he’d eventually catch up and slowed to a pace that wasn’t going to kill him. He began calling Cally and James’s name in a breathless voice as his eyes scanned the forest around him.

Hearing a noise behind him, Garret didn’t have time to turn and look when suddenly he heard a loud thud and a massive wave of pain blossomed within his skull. Crying out, he helplessly fell into the black oblivion of unconsciousness.

The next thing Garret became aware of was that he hurt all over. A haze of confusion clouded this thoughts. Opening his eyes, he found himself roughly propped up against a sharp rock, staring at a severely beaten James propped next to him. Not believing his eyes, Garret gasp, James’s long black hair was stringy, soaked with his own blood, his face was lumpy with swelling, distorting his features grotesquely. Slipping in and out of unconscious, his breathing sounded labored as his numerous wounds still oozed scarlet.

Garret then realized he wasn’t in the greatest shape himself, bringing his hand to his face he felt that it was pretty smashed up as well. Noticing that his shirt soaked with blood coming from his nose, Garret faintly realized he’d bee worked over as well, but nothing near as severe as James. When the cobwebs that obscured his mind finally began dissipating, fear began coursing through his veins like icewater. Studying his surroundings, he realized that he and James were sitting 15 feet from the edge of the cliff face that rose above the falls. Garret began struggling to a sitting position when a voice from behind him stopped him cold. “I wouldn’t move if I were you”

Garret slowly turned his head around to face his attacker and suddenly reality slipped out from under him. For a few moments, he could not breath or think with the shock of what his eyes were seeing. A shiny blade was held against the pale skin of Cally’s delicate neck, her soft lips were trembling as tears streamed down her dirty cheeks. Behind his terrified sister, wielding the blade threatening her life was their buddy Adam.

A madness shone in his dark eyes as he grinned mischievously at Garret. “You move, it’ll be the last thing your sister sees you do.”

Gaping slack-jawed, Garret couldn’t seem to find his voice. He felt like he’d fallen into the twilight zone, he just could not comprehend that Adam, their friend, as someone capable of creating the nightmare they were currently trapped in.

Garret then noticed James had awakened and had seen the precarious predicament they were in.

Clearing his throat, James croaked, “Dude, don’t hurt the kid, what the heck is wrong with you?”

Adam laughed harshly, “Lots of things are wrong with me man but I’m here to make things right. I bet your wondering, wondering what drive a nice guy like me want to watch you people die.” He pushed the blade into Cally’s neck and a thick droplet of crimson ran down her neck. Moaning, Cally’s entire body quaked with fear as Adam tightened his chokehold on her and then looked to Garret, a challenging glint in his eye. “Betcha me making Cally bleed makes you want to murder me, eh there Garret?”

Garret’s body shook with fury, “Yeah buddy, you have that right, I swear if you hurt her.....”

Adam smiled sadly, “All right then, you do understand my point. So my friends lemme tell you a story. There was this guy, nice kid, dad died when he was an infant but he had a wonderful mother and an awesome kid brother and sister. Beautiful children, little ray’s of sunshine and the mother, she was the kindest, nicest lady you’d ever meet. Life was good” His eyes turned dark and burned into Garret as he continued, “So, one day, when the mother was driving, she got stuck in a storm, then this idiot ran her off the road and just stood by while she and her children burned to death. Any of this sounding familiar to any of you yet?”

For a moment, the air was thick with a shocked silence that came with the understanding, Cally began sobbing, James hissed in a sharp breath between his teeth and Garret moaned.

“Oh my God, this can’t be happening” Garret gasp, “Adam, you have to know it was an accident. I’ve replayed that night in my mind constantly. It was storming so bad, but I had my eyes glued to the road and I could have sworn I was in my own lane. We came around that corner and suddenly there she was.” The rest of Garret’s sentence was lost as he fought back a sob.

“Adam, he’s right,” James spoke up, “Garret was in his own lane man, it was purely just an accident and we did try to help, as soon as we got our bearings we were running to the car when the world just exploded, there was nothing we could do. You know us Adam, you know we wouldn’t have just stood there”

Adam patiently listened to them, a flicker of doubt eclipsing his features before he shook his head. “No, see guys it’s not as easy as that. You ruined my life, you cannot fathom exactly what you took away from me.” his eyes shone with unshed tears, “Abby and Jason were great kids, smart, funny, they were my reason for living and my mom, she was such a doll, had a heart of gold. You stole that away from me. I couldn’t think for days after it happened, then I began to realize that you had to pay for what you’d done. It was so easy since I am really 21, I falsified documents and enrolled in your high school. None of you ever suspected a thing, I had you eating out of my hand day one.” Snorting with disgust he continued, “You make me sick, going on about your lives, always thinking about yourself, just going on with your life without a second thought to those precious souls you stole away. You reap what you sow and I am merely going to send you to hell so you can pay for what you’ve done”

“Adam please, I’m begging you, don’t hurt her” Garret pleaded as he started struggling to get to his feet.

Glaring at him, Adam growled, “Ya know, I bet little Abby and Jason were begging for you to help them.”

Wincing and crying out, Garret made it to an slumped upright position, legs trembling with the coursing pain.

Rising to his feet, bringing Cally up along with him with the edge of the blade, he began dragging her towards the edge of the cliff, laugher mingled with madness erupted from Adam, “Hurting there a bit my friend? I was planning on tying you and James up but beating the heck out of you was more enjoyable and seemed to work just as well”

James glared at Adam through swollen slits, “You’re a real piece of work Adam, you sick son of a...”

With desperation chasing his frantic thoughts, Garret interrupted, “Adam, listen, it was me driving the car, it was my fault, the wreck knocked James out so he was in no shape to help. Why don’t you let James and Cally go and you can do whatever you want with me, your right, I don’t deserve to live after what I’ve done.”

“Oh nice try my friend, but I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. See, when I get back down the mountain, the story the cops are going to hear is that you three decided to climb up the fall’s rock face, even though I kept warning you it was a horrible idea and you fell Garret wiping out your sister and best friend on the way down. What a terrible tragedy it will be. But, I’m sure that if I let James and Cally go, the story they told the police would be much different and I don’t really fancy spending the rest of my life in prison.”

“So here’s what I’m gonna do Garret, I’m gonna make you watch the two people you care about most in the world die and then, your going to join them. Sound good to you?” Adam said, his eyes black with rage as he neared the edge of the cliff.

Cally began whimpering, her eyes pleading with Garret. Time began to slow, James began cussing and struggling to sit up. Garret’s aching body was overwhemed by a flush of adrenaline and all he could think of was getting to Cally.

With the quickness of a striking snake, Garret lunged toward them, startling Adam and causing him to step back wards. Suddenly, the ground on which Cally and Adam disintegrated beneath them as the edge of the cliff gave away. Adam let go of Cally in alarm and Cally flung herself forward, back onto solid ground. James had miraculously made it to his feet and quickly grabbed her in a tight hug.

Garret landed hard on the ground at the edge of the cliff and with pure luck he actually caught ahold and grasp Adam’s hand tightly. Stopping him from falling to his death with a tremendous jolt to his shoulder.

Staring past Adam’s frightened face at the 500ft drop, Garret’s breath caught in his throat, the height made him feel sick and dizzy. Suddenly, he felt himself begin to slip, digging the toes of his boots into the soft ground he desperately attempted to halt his sliding. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he felt hands on his ankles anchoring him and heard James say, “It’s alright man I got ya”

Looking down, Garret said, “Hold on Adam. Don’t worry, we’ll pull you up”

Adam’s eyes clouded with confusion and his face was an ocean of conflicting emotions as he looked up into Garret’s green eyes. “My God, What have I done” He whispered softly. Tears welled up in his clear blue eyes, “Garret, I am sorry man how I’ve hurt you and yours. Thank you, all of you, for being such good friends.”

Smiling, Garret said, “It’s okay man, it’ll all be okay, I promise.”

With trembling lips, Adam forced a sad smile, “Yeah, it will be okay. Goodbye my friend.”

Garret cried out when Adam then released his hold on his hand, kicking away from the cliff hard. Losing his grip, Garret watched as his friend soundlessly fell away from him and towards the jagged rocks that lay 500ft below. Closing his eyes, Garret heard Adam’s life end a few moments later with a bone shattering thud.

James pulled him back from the edge and he was met by a tight hug by a crying Cally. Shuddering with emotion, Garret buried his head into her soft hair and held her tight. After a few minutes of exhausted silence, Garret looked to James who was propped against a tree staring blankly into the distance. Sensing Garret’s gaze, James looked to him and gave him a quivering smile then bowed his head.

Looking out over the sea of evergreen that unfolded in front of him, Garret knew that for the rest of his days his dreams would be haunted by Adam and his family. But he was comforted knowing that no matter what life would throw his way next, he would always have James and Cally there by his side to get him through. Squeezing Cally tighter, Garret gently brushed the tears still standing on her cheeks and whispered, “It’s okay, We’re okay. We have eachother. We’re okay”

Show all stories by   Author:  12581 ( Click here )