Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

Why couldn’t the cops just leave it the heck alone? No one even mentions Cole and Abby anymore. We’d all forgotten about them long ago and now they have to rise up from the dead like avenging angels to cause problems for everyone. There’s only one person who can keep everyone under control, and that’s me. The problem is right now anything can happen, and I can’t trust anyone. The phone calls started happening the moment the sheriff and her deputy left Marissa’s home. They at least stuck to the rules on getting a call and passing on the information to another, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that Marissa is close to breaking and that can’t be allowed to happen. From the call I received from Lily, Marissa had divulged or acknowledged the fact that all of us guys were with those girls that night. From what Lily had mentioned, Marissa had tried to cover up who we were by saying we were all wearing Halloween masks. This was true, but she shouldn’t have agreed that we were all there on that evening. How much longer will it be before she starts divulging more details?

Nervousness had come down the line when Lily spoke to me. As a very outgoing woman who deals with people all day as a hairstylist, I’ve rarely seen her upset with anyone and yet she was fuming when she called me. She figured that Marissa could have covered up our names by just saying it was a long time ago and she’d forgotten who was there, but no, she had to agree with the deputy when he read out a list of names. It’s obvious that Marissa is easily intimidated. Heck, when I was speaking to her out at the Old Mitcham Ranch, she was practically shaking in her boots. I could imagine Deputy Kane staring her down would have been enough to make her talk. This doesn’t mean that they have any evidence against us. Just saying we were there doesn’t make us guilty as there were many more people on the mountain that evening.

Things keep piling up against me and I need to take action to protect myself. Friendships might last a long time, but I can’t trust anyone right now. I noticed a newsflash on the TV at lunchtime saying that the medical examiner and the forensic anthropologist would be doing a media conference to discuss the bodies they found in the river. The broadcast mentioned that new clues had been uncovered. Right now, the group of us is in danger of being discovered, and Marissa is a loose cannon. As I stare out into the pouring rain, I slowly shake my head as I formulate a plan. Taking Marissa out is my only option of silencing her, but it will be a huge risk. I’ve kept my killing sprees out of Black Rock Falls since that night and settled into a life where people have no idea what I do for recreation. Living in a town renowned for hunting and coming back from a trip spattered in blood doesn’t raise an eyebrow, and oh boy, I’ve done that so many times now I’ve lost count.

That night in the mountains, I needed to kill so bad my hands were shaking, and then Abby and Cole headed my way. I didn’t choose them. The first person to walk by would have satisfied my need and doing two at once was an extra thrill, but hiding the bodies and explaining the blood to the others was a problem. Not for my folks. When I arrived home that night, I told my mom I had fake blood all over from a Halloween prank and she made it vanish without a trace. I still recall the expressions on the faces of Lily and Marissa as I walked back into the camp blood-splattered and excited. You see, it’s very difficult to come down from a kill. My heart pounds so fast and my muscles quiver. I need time to walk around and become normal again.

I gathered them all together and even managed to shed a tear or two to show how terribly upset I was. How I’ve done the most terrible thing and I needed their help. The lies had come easily. I told them I’d decided to go and see if anyone had had the guts to go up to the Whispering Caves, but when I got there I heard someone cry out, but the sound was muffled. I ran into the cave and found Cole standing over Abby with an ax. There was blood everywhere and I attacked Cole and got the ax away from him, but he pulled a knife on me. I said Abby was still alive, and she was because I killed her last. I told them I heard Abby moan, and Cole turned to stab her in the chest. At this point I faked sobbing and leaned heavily on Marissa for a time.

When they asked what had happened, I recall looking at them one at a time and asking them what they would have done. They all said that I should have stopped him. When I told them that as he turned his back, I hit him with the ax and figured I’d killed him. Instead of being horrified, they all nodded in agreement. It didn’t take too much to convince them to come back up the mountain with me and bury them in the cave. We used the ax and our hands to dig the hole. Once we had them buried, I threw the ax into the river, along with the knife and Abby’s phone. We all washed up and then cleaned our camp. We headed down a different trail and then returned as if we just arrived and joined the others alongside the river. That evening was the last time I’d had a single thought about Abby and Cole. As we were all in it together, I had no worries that anyone would run to the cops.

I now have a dilemma. I have too many skeletons in the closet for the law to look at me. If they even suspect me and get my DNA, it won’t just be Abby and Cole. They will tie me into all the others across the state. I can’t allow this to happen. If my friends become my enemies, then the Whispering Caves Axman will need to strike again.