Chapter 1

Kaitlyn

She had waited for five seconds. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty.

Each second that went by felt like a century had passed, which only caused the knot in the pits of her stomach to grow tighter and tighter. She noticed that she was quickly tapping on the mattress of her bed with her index finger, something she would always do when she was getting nervous or impatient… and she could swear that she had probably never been this nervous in her entire life; she could feel her mouth becoming so dry that her tongue was sticking against the roof. But still, there was that one shred of hope. It was so small that the enormous wave that was the nervousness could easily drown it, but still, it was hope nonetheless. And as long as you had it, you had to hold onto it, she had learned that by now. At any second, any damn second that went by and increased that agonizing feeling that was slowly sinking to her feet and the drought in her mouth, she expected her to finally pick up the phone and tell her that everything was okay. Only then she could go to bed and actually get some proper sleep for the night. For once, she wouldn't have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning, with the thought of something that had happened to her being the first thing that would cross her mind as soon as she would open her slightly stinging eyes. She wouldn't have to check the answering machine with her rapidly beating heart up in her throat, hoping to see the red numbers displaying whatever amount of missed calls that were made while she was asleep. But every time she did, there was nothing. And she was pretty damn sure that she had given her the correct phone number. Hopefully she hadn't lost her cell phone. Or maybe it was broken, which was a pretty logical explanation if you'd ask her, but for some reason, it didn't ease her at all. Again, she had given her own phone number, she could've easily called her by payphone or something. The monotone, rhythmic beeps on the other side of the line filled up her entire head, but nobody picked up. Outside, the loud rumbling of thunder interrupted the sound of rain hitting the bedroom window.

And it was on that same rainy night in the summer of 1997 where Kaitlyn Bonin had once again failed to get in contact with her childhood friend AJ Lee.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Kaitlyn let out a frustrated sigh; knowing that AJ wasn't going to pick up made that last shred of hope fade away. She hung up and put the telephone back on the nightstand next to the bed. This had been the tenth (or twelfth?) time that she had attempted to call her friend during the past three days. The two-toned woman remembered not being that worried when she called AJ's number for the first three times and didn't get any response, she had thought that she hadn't been around at the moment to pick up. She had expected AJ to call back, of course she would see the amount of calls that she had missed. But as the days passed by and she still didn't hear anything from her friend, a knot began to develop in the pits of Kaitlyn's stomach. Something didn't feel right here and it was on her mind the entire time. It refused to leave her alone, not even while she was at work, while doing so would always distract her from whatever was troubling her. No, this couldn't be ignored, she knew that. In order to get rid of that feeling and to know what AJ had been up to, she began calling more and more, all in the hope of hearing something from her, no matter how small it would be. But each attempt had been proven futile.

'Where are you, AJ…?' she mumbled with a soft voice. The two-toned woman lied down and stared at the ceiling while that godawful feeling relentlessly ate her alive. She knew she could kiss another night of sleep goodbye. The option to hope that she could finally get in contact with her friend tomorrow was there, but then again, Kaitlyn didn't have much hope for that anymore, honestly. What chance was there if she wouldn't even pick up for three days straight? Little to none, but it was most likely that it would be the latter. Kaitlyn closed her eyes and listened to the rain outside. Even though listening to a rainstorm during the night had always soothed her to the point where she would fall asleep for as long as she could remember, it didn't work at all. No, this feeling just simply couldn't be ignored. Dear God, she couldn't take it anymore, it was too much. Something was going on here.

They had been so close before... she was the closest friend that she ever had.

The last time Kaitlyn had seen her before all of this began was four days ago. It was like she had never changed during the years. The two-toned woman remembered AJ's face expressing the same amount of surprise as she did, she had no idea that she would be in the mall of Greene City, the city where she was living, on that very same day. If she had hugged her any tighter, Kaitlyn would be sure she would've possibly cracked a rib or two. But even though AJ did genuinely look surprised when she saw the two-toned woman, she didn't exactly express excitement when she was speaking to her. It slightly felt… distant. But that didn't repress any of Kaitlyn's excitement, though. There was so much she wanted to talk about with her, it suddenly felt like the last time she had seen her was only yesterday instead of seventeen years ago. It just happened that Kaitlyn didn't have had lunch at that moment, so she saw the perfect opportunity to spend some time with her childhood friend; AJ had politely refused the lunch at first, but the two-toned woman managed to successfully convince her in the end. She happened to know the perfect place for a nice, calm lunch. They took a seat in a little restaurant next to a fashion store that sold expensive brands of clothing on the second floor. As the two young women continued to chit-chat, AJ's slightly distant behavior was on the verge of changing, until their food was brought to their table. Her childhood friend didn't say anything while she dug in, but after taking a bites from her salad, she said something that almost immediately send a chill down Kaitlyn's spine.

'I just want to let you know… tomorrow I will be heading back to Hope's Creek. I'm going to find that bastard, one way or another.'

Hope's Creek… oh dear God, not Hope's Creek.

That place, that goddamn place, was not only the hometown of Kaitlyn, but that of AJ as well. It had been ages since she had heard the name of that place come out of someone's mouth; she had hoped so dearly that AJ wouldn't have mentioned that place. And the two-toned woman knew exactly who 'that bastard' was; it was mainly that part that had send that chill down that spine with so much force, it was almost painful.

'W-Why?' she had asked. 'Don't you know, AJ? They had found him already not long after what ha-'

But Kaitlyn didn't get the chance to finish her sentence. AJ grabbed an unused napkin, retrieved a pen from her pocket and quickly wrote down a couple of numbers. A telephone number, the two-toned woman realized.

'Here. You can contact me if you feel like doing so.' her childhood friend said while handing over the napkin to her. Just then, a small smile could be seen on her face. 'But please… try not to worry too much, okay? I will be fine. See ya around, Kait. It… It was nice to see you again.' And just before Kaitlyn could say anything, AJ had already gotten up and there she went, out the door and out of her sight, leaving the two-toned woman alone at the table with an expression on her face that could only be described as a mix of confusion and worry.

'Believe me AJ… I have tried not to worry. I really did.' Kaitlyn mumbled while rolling on her side.

Another loud rumble of thunder rolled through the night as more rain began to pour down. God, this was driving her insane… There were just too many question through the two-toned woman's mind. Where the hell was she? Why didn't she pick up? She couldn't have simply vanished into thin air, right? Was she still in Hope's Creek? Had she even gone there yet? Why wouldn't she call by payphone if her cell phone was indeed broken? What if…

What if something had happened to her and she needed her help?

That sudden, terrifying thought made Kaitlyn instantly open her eyes, widening them in pure horror. The thought caused goose bumps to instantly appear on every part of her body and even though it was a pretty warm summer night despite the rain, she was freezing cold, like she had been buried in a huge layer of snow for hours. Something inside her head snapped. From the moment she sat up, a rock solid decision had been made.

That's it. She had enough of this. There was no way in hell she was just going to sit here and do nothing while AJ was out there, possibly helpless, alone and frightened beyond belief. She had been there for her in the past… and she was sure as hell willing to be there for her once more.

She was going to Hope's Creek, right now.

Kaitlyn stood up and knelt down to peek underneath the bed. Bits of dust could be spotted on the carpet here and there, but thanks to the light of the lamp on her nightstand that illuminated the bedroom, she could clearly see the outline of a large object. Kaitlyn reached out with her hand and retrieved a large, purple suitcase; the last time she had used that thing was probably the time where she had traveled to New York to visit her mother. After she brushed off some dust, she put the empty suitcase on her bed and opened it. She took a brief moment to wonder what she would take with her. How many shirts would she need, depending on her stay? How many jeans and pairs of underwear? And what about shoes? Then she realized that none of that mattered; she would take some stuff and she could buy the rest in Hope's Creek, simple as that. Hell, it was one of the last things she had to worry about.

But just as she was about to open her closet to grab some clothes, she could hear muffled footsteps downstairs, followed by the sound of an opening door and more footsteps that traveled up the stairs. A few seconds later, Bobby Roode, personal trainer, fitness model and Kaitlyn's boyfriend, stood in the doorway of their bedroom with a puzzled but sleepy look on his face. Looked like he had finally woken up from his nap on the couch, maybe the thunder had woke him up, the two toned woman thought he was going to spend the whole night there. But honestly… she wouldn't have been bothered by that at all.

'Kait, what are you doing?' he grumbled. 'Why is the light on here? I thought you were asleep already.' When he took notice of the suitcase on the bed, it looked like some of the sleepiness was replaced with alertness. 'What's with the suitcase?' he asked while pointing at it.

Even though she really didn't feel like talking to him right now, Kaitlyn felt like at least he deserved to know where she was going. 'Uh, Bobby…' she said. 'Remember when I told you about that childhood friend I met at the mall a couple of days ago? AJ Lee?'

'You mean that girl who used to live in the same town as you? Yeah, I remember.'

'She, uh… She told me that she was going to Hope's Creek for some… business. I have kept calling her during the past days, but she hadn't picked up once. I think something's wrong with her, Bobby. Really wrong. I think something happened to her and I need to know what. I'm going to Hope's Creek to look for her. I will let you know if-'

The two-toned woman was abruptly interrupted by the contemptuous sniggering of her boyfriend, as if she had been telling him a good joke this whole time. Bobby shook his head.

'Look, Kait…' he said with an unpleasant smile on his face. 'I think you should know that I don't believe a damn word what you're saying.'

'What do you mean?'

'You know what I think?' Bobby's face suddenly changed entirely. There was not a trace of sleepiness left in his eyes, which were now shooting daggers at his girlfriend. His mouth was now a flat line. 'I think you were about to run off to some other guy!'

'What? What are you talking about?!' Kaitlyn asked indignantly.

'Childhood friend, my ass. You have met up with some other dipshit at the mall and thought he was better than me. And you saw your chance to go to him while I was asleep, didn't you? Well, I've got some bad news for you, Kaitlyn. You aren't going anywhere. You'd better call that guy right now and tell him that he isn't going to have a piece of you tonight, because you are staying here! You got that?!'

Oh… this was just priceless. This is how he was going to play it. Despite the harsh words, the two-toned woman curled the left corner of her mouth into a smirk and chuckled. She couldn't have thought of a better moment to finally call him out on his bullshit.

'You don't think I'm fucking dumb, do you?' she asked.

'Huh?'

'I'm not the one here being a two-faced scumbag, Bob.' Kaitlyn replied calmly. 'You thought I didn't know? I have seen it plenty of times during this week. You just couldn't help it, could you? Oh yeah, you're a real man alright. A real fucking macho. Had to show off the body that helped you to win God knows how many competitions, being the sucker for attention that you are. Uh, don't talk, I'm not done! Did you really think I wasn't going to see what you were up to in the gym? Did you forget that we work out in the same gym together? Dumbass! You stupid dumbass! I heard you talking to that girl at the treadmill, and don't pretend like you were just coaching her! Complementing her plastic ass isn't part of being a personal trainer, you know! And then you thought you could kiss her without being caught while I was changing in the locker's room? Good thing I got out in time, or else I would've never find out how much of a big piece of shit you really are. It's over, Bobby. You've been caught, you dumb fuck! I've got to thank you though, because I couldn't have figured out a better opportunity to call you out on your shit. And you have the guts to accuse me of cheating… you're such a scumbag. Now if you'd excuse me, I'm going to get my stuff and leave. And when I come back, I expect you have already packed up and left. Got it?'

And without laying a single eye on her cheating boyfriend, the two-toned woman turned away, opened the closet and picked a few shirts, jeans and pairs of underwear. Judging by the silence in the bedroom (except for the rustling of the clothes), she was convinced that she had floored him with her revelation… which she actually was kind of proud of, but the pride wasn't enough to overwhelm the suffocating worry that she was feeling mostly. But then, when she was about to put in the third pair of jeans in her suitcase, a pair of hands that she knew so well grabbed the suitcase and flung it across the room, sending it crashing against a wall and leaving a huge dent in it. Pieces of clothing were flying everywhere and falling on the ground. Alerted, Kaitlyn looked up, only to stare straight at Bobby's seething face.

'You're not going anywhere, you bitch!' he furiously yelled at her.

'What the hell! Are you crazy?!' the two-toned woman yelled back at him.

'You're not fucking leaving!' And with that, Bobby slapped her right across the face, causing her cheek to feel like it had caught fire. Just before Kaitlyn could respond, her boyfriend pushed her onto the bed; in what had to be two seconds, he was on top of her, pinning her down by tightly grabbing her wrists; he was clenching them so tightly that Kaitlyn thought they were going to snap if she wouldn't get out of here.

'You're mine, you hear me?!' Bobby bellowed, sending droplets of saliva flying in her face. 'No other man can have you! I will flirt with whoever the fuck I want, but you don't! You stay with me and shut the fuck up!'

Normally any woman would be paralyzed with fear if they would hear the man they loved so much say something like this… but to Kaitlyn, those words only enraged her more.

'Get off of me!' And then, with all the strength she had, Kaitlyn rammed her forehead against Bobby's nose. A loud crack could be heard in the bedroom, followed by the cheating boyfriend's howl of pain. As soon as he let go of her wrists to cradle his bloody, broken nose while emitting another slur of insults, Kaitlyn shoved him off of her, followed by a powerful kick to his groin. Bobby screamed in pain once more, now unsure which painful part of his body to cradle with his bloody hands. If he would grab her now, he would probably kill her, Kaitlyn knew that; and she sure wasn't planning on becoming the next unfortunate woman to appear in the news as a murder victim of an aggressive, piece of shit boyfriend. Then she noticed the lamp on her nightstand in the left corner of her eye. There was no time to be wasted. Caught in a rush of adrenaline and the will to get out of here as quick as possible, the two-toned woman grabbed the lamp and swung it against Bobby's head. The cord was yanked out of the plug next to the nightstand in the progress, causing the entire bedroom to go dark in the blink of an eye. Porcelain was shattered, along what was left of Bobby's enormous ego. He fell on the ground, instantly curling up in a fetus position while groaning in pain.

This was her chance. She had to go, now! Kaitlyn could barely feel her feet touching the floor when she rushed towards her suitcase and put in the clothes that happened to be lying near her. She closed the suitcase with only one of the two locks. A brief flash of lightning illuminated the bedroom for a split second as she ran past Bobby and out the door. As she ran down the stairs, she forgot to hold onto the railing, she wanted to get out that fast; only when she nearly slipped as a result of her hastiness, she held onto it until she made it to the bottom. In the hallway she grabbed her boots that where lying near the stairs and put them on, not even taking the time to tie the laces together; she swore to God that she had never put on her boots this fast in her entire life. Now where was that damn car key?! With her heart beating like crazy in her throat, the two-toned woman feverishly attempted to remember, which she thankfully managed to do; they were on the coffee table, she had left them there after she had come home from work. But just as she was about to run to the living room to retrieve the keys, she heard Bobby faintly groaning something in the bedroom.

'Come back… Come back here, you… stupid bitch…'

There was no way in hell she was going to do that, but at least this confirmed that Bobby was still lying in the bedroom with that shattered ego of his. Kaitlyn ran from the hallway into the dark living room, where upon laying eyes upon the coffee table, saw what she was looking for, revealed by a single flash of lightning; it was the car key, with her purse lying next to it. Thank God. The two-toned woman grabbed both of the items and then proceeded to run back to the hallway, where the front door would be waiting for her. For one brief, terrifying moment, Kaitlyn expected Bobby to fly down the stairs like an evil spirit straight out of a horror movie, bloody face and all, to grab her and bash her head into a bloody pulp, but thankfully this was only a figment of sinister imagination; there was nobody on the stairs, yet, if she didn't get the hell out. The doorknob of the front door was just within her reach, luckily.

Kaitlyn opened the door and ran outside, cold raindrops immediately soaking her bare arms as soon as she got out. The car, a black Chevrolet Lumina, had been parked on the driveway, completely wet because to the rainstorm. The two-toned woman opened it as fast as she could and almost dropped the key after she managed to open the car, but managed to catch it in time. She opened the trunk, threw her suitcase in it and closed it with a loud thud. Then she opened the driver's door and got in, making sure to close the car afterwards. She put in the key and twisted it; she never thought she would be so relieved to hear the roaring of a car's engine.

In less than three seconds, she drove off the driveway, turned right and headed down the road while another loud rumble of thunder overlapped the screeching of the tires.