It was before midnight dawned on them that they knew trouble had been bestowed upon them. The girl lying at their feet, with bloodied hands, legs, and head was not in any way or form twitching or making any sudden movements of fright. It was cold blood that she had been slaughtered in, only because she was different and naive. It was hard not to betray her trust and violate her person. The perpetrators, therefore, felt no guilt or pain at what they had accomplished. Even though her blood stained their hands fully, they didn't recoil with sin. The Devil was upon them already, because he was their savior and God. No other great being could sit on his throne and command minions such as the murderers that were now nudging the girl with their feet. One of them, the elder brother, placed his hand on the sibling's shoulder, whispered something in his ear, and walked off. The latter sibling just stayed with his feet planted firmly on the ground, only squatting to get a good look at the girl that he had helped murder. Before he even complied with his brother's wishes to touch her, he had found a great beauty in her eyes; one that illuminated the dark woods. They were of an oceanic color, shy and meticulous. The way her hair flowed gracefully all down her back gave the impression of her being something other than human, something other than a frigid body surrounded by a pool of blood. But the remorse that any other human being would have been in control of was lost in this young sibling; no amount of pity stained his soul.

"Throw the body in the Lake," came the first sibling's voice. It was calm and calculating. He was a ways from the body and brother, caressing the tree he hid behind to support himself. The younger sibling, not thinking twice, clamped the girl's arm with his hand and pulled her carelessly to the Lake. Its water rippled continously, due to the fact that other people were hurling rocks into the Lake, whooping and cackling madly when the rocks passionately kissed the surface of the Lake. Under the moonlight, the Lake's water glimmered and shone brilliantly; the light danced, not unlike a graceful woman performing a near perfect waltz with her partner. It was unstained and without sin. However, when the boy pulled the girl to the lapping of the water on the shore, then stood behind her feet and pushed, the Lake met sin for the first time. As the girl slowly sank, the water gently cradled her to the bottom, where she lay on the sand, wanting to feel the sting of the algae that brushed against her skin, but couldn't.

When midnight finally arrived, an unwelcomed visitor at the doorstep of Death, all jumped into their vehicles and drove off. There wasn't a sound that could be heard. The Lake had gone perfectly still, not daring to ripple or make small waves due to the docile wind that had started, but then died down. Hours passed slowly before the sweet chatter of awakening robins filled the air, disturbing the peace of the Lake. They rustled themselves awake, cleaning themselves thoroughly before flying gallantly over the Lake and stopping to nest on the trees located at the edge of it. If anybody had come by the Lake that beautiful morning when the sun was just lazily rising over the horizon, and had tainted the landscape with an orange glow, they would have noticed that a hand had ripped apart the surface of the Lake and broke free. The hand was then followed by a slender arm, and then eventually a whole body emerged from the water.

Jennifer took her first breaths the very moment her head appeared at the surface. They were ragged and very shallow at first, but then they became regular. Color had viciously attacked her face and she was once again alive. The whites of her eyes were sallow, and her normally bright irises of green were dim and dull. Still there where she had victoriously triumphed over deep water and pressure, she looked everywhere, turning her body 360 degrees in order to capture everything with her dying eyes. Trees that held leaves, trees that were bare, ragged bushes, strewn branches on the ground, buzzing bees, flying blue-birds overhead, and a rabbit that had hopped eagerly from its sleeping hole had caught her attention. Jennifer placed a hand to her throat and very slowly massaged it, as a dull but bothering pain started to build in it. Her stomach growled, whining for the food that she had missed while she held her breath under water, waiting for her assailants to leave. Looking towards the shore of the Lake, Jennifer paddled slowly like a dog towards the shore, breathing heavily and wheezing loudly as she made a slow thump on the ground and lay there motionless, only twitching every minute or so. It was after thirty minutes that she pushed her upper body by her arms and looked up when she heard a noise, a cracking noise, that could have been made by a boot breaking a twig. Her heart beat faster and faster as she kept hearing crackling and loud pops, but then it settled when she noticed it was just the same rabbit that had escaped from his hole.

Jennifer then got on her knees and eventually managed to support herself on her rubber legs. As she tried walking, they collapsed under her, causing her to fall to the ground, only to catch herself by the hands. Her strength, though, returned after the same thing happened three more times, and she was able to walk towards the road that was a bit far from the Lake. The path she traveled was worn and reeked of feces, but she trod on, even though her bare feet stepped on some feces as she made her way. This didn't stop the anger that was building up inside her as she stepped, right foot then left foot. Her fists clenched tightly everytime she thought about those two men that had grabbed her and thrown her into the trunk of their car, had their way with her, and then cut her arms, legs, and the sides of her neck with knives that could puncture steel. She bled heavily, but somehow she managed to survive the blood loss, and played possum as they were prodding her and after they pushed her into the Lake. Jennifer, however, did not know the faces or names of the men. She only knew they were men because as they raped her, both proceeded to plant their seed in her. She had felt it squirt in her, and then some dripped out and stained her thigh.

The wronged girl stopped and looked down at her thigh. The jeans she wore (or what was left of them) were caked with dirt and dry blood. Some of the fabric trailed behind her, snagging on a branch along her trek and ripping off. As she neared the road, the roar of cars violated her ears, but she smiled. It was a welcome sound. Maybe she would find someone that would help her along the way. Maybe she could get a ride to the Police Station, explain the situation even though she knew nothing of the assailants. Then she would go to the hospital and they would treat her for any sexually transmitted disease or even pregnancy. After all, her seventeen year old body could not handle a baby. She had always believed she had inherited her dead mother's knack for dying when giving birth, because it was her fault her mother had died on the hospital bed, bleeding so heavily that when a blood transfusion was given, it was too late. Besides, a child at this moment would cause her more grief than she had already been through.

The sun had made it high in the sky when Jennifer got to the edge of the road. She winced when she saw a possum that had been run over, wheel marks decorating its back. The way she looked, it would be hard to catch a ride. The Good People would think she was a murderer, intent on murdering whomever she entered a car with, stealing their valuables and running off. No sir. They would never allow her in a car the way she looked. But, since there were no beauty parlors or clothes store in the Woods near the Lake, she couldn't have very well gone shopping and had her nails done. A car though, on it's way to a gas station a few miles off, had stopped.

"Where are you headed, young lady?" The woman that asked looked Jennifer up and down with a worried expression on her plump face. She looked to be about ready to burst, what with the stomach she had on her. However, her eyes were kind and gentle. She leaned over as far as she could and held the door open for Jennifer. Hesitantly, Jennifer entered the car, and on the whole ride she just sat with her head down and her fingers interlacing.

"What's your name?"

"Jennifer, ma'am."

"Call me Julia. I never liked that. Ma'am. It makes me feel old." Julia chuckled in a friendly way. It seemed to Jennifer that she was a mother, due to the fact that there were pictures of children dangling from the middle mirror, along with a small, stuffed teddy bear holding a star in its arms. It was apparent the woman did not want to discuss Jennifer's appearance, but she eventually had to bring it up since the Police Station was only a mile away.

"Did you see the men's faces?" Julia asked after Jennifer had recounted the story.

"No, ma'...I mean, Julia. I never saw their faces. It was extremely dark when they did this to me. All I remember is sharp pain from the knives and a wetness that wasn't normal. I..."

Tears started building up in Jennifer's eyes, and then they fell sparingly down her cheek. She wiped them clean and looked out the window. At the stop light, she felt Julia place her hand on her shoulder. Jennifer smiled weakly and sighed. "I'm sorry, Julia. You shouldn't be doing this for me."

"It's no problem, dear. You see, I believe justice should be brought upon those that are unjust and sinful. Unfortunately, mostly all the people I've come across except you have been those type of people. It saddens me to see youth be so rebellious and Satan worshippers. It's just not right."

At the Police Station, Jennifer recounted the story once again. It was hard, however, for the Police to bring justice down upon the men responsible.

"I'm sorry, Jennifer."

"It's alright. But what I'm really worried about is if they do the same thing again and I couldn't stop it."

"It wouldn't be your fault, Jennifer. We'll hear it in the news if they strike again, because around here it's hard to escape the media after a heinous crime."

"Yeah," smirked Mira, the secretary at the station. "Crime around here is rampant, and fortunately so is the media."

The day wore on and Jennifer could not believe she was living in a town so bent on destroying other lives. As the day progressed and sun became moon, Jennifer was invited to stay over at Julia's house. There she met Julia's two children, Abigail and Lilly. Abigail was born premature, but had grown to be very healthy and happy, especially when she's near Lilly. Both are educated preteens who work hard at school and aspire to be great. Jennifer also met Julia's husband, a very kind man whom lost a leg while surfing and was attacked by a shark.

It was during the third week of her stay that Jennifer finally knew her assailant's names and faces.

Both were brothers and both were the sons of a Clergyman. A very high and mighty one, with his head always in the right places. Everybody thought it was a mistake. They couldn't have been the ones that had hurt that girl and left her for dead. No. They were too respected for that. Their father was a very important man, and managed to sustain them himself after their mother had passed away in the tragic boating accident. It wasn't intended to go up in flames as soon as she left port. Some inhabitants of the town wondered if the boys were the ones that had initiated the attack and gone through with it. It was a known fact that they did not like their mother, after she had tortured them mentally about women and sex throughout their childhood. It wouldn't surprise anyone at all. Their father wouldn't hear of this treachery.

"My sons committing such atrocious crimes? Preposterous! If anyone is committing crimes, it's you liars!"

Jennifer had watched the news intently, since they were on it every day at six and nine without mistake. They had done the same things that were done to her to other women, yet those weren't as lucky as Jennifer had been. Gruesome pictures were shown on the screen, making everybody in the household cringe. They were of women with slits all along the sides of their necks, all around their legs and arms and moisture dripping from between their legs. Their bodies had been found at the Lake, where it was popular for the well respected boys to hide their catches of the day.

"If there father weren't such a high and mighty authority those boys would have already been hung!" Julia shrieked, shooting up from her seat. Her husband tried miserably to calm her down. Abigail and Lilly were sent to their rooms during the news hours, so that they wouldn't be exposed to such debauchery.

"What do you expect, Julia? Robert will protect his boys till the death. But I don't think he has more life left in him."

"What do you mean?" inquired Jennifer.

"What I mean is, Robert is sickly. At only 47 he has been the holder of the record for most heart attacks: 5 in the last month. He has been sickeningly lucky to have escaped without death those past five times."

"What if God is keeping him alive? To protect his boys and vindicate those that have strayed from the path, such as myself?" Julia grabbed at her head by the sides and sat down hard on the seat, her head almost as far between her knees as her round stomach would let her.

"Quick speaking like if you're the murderer, Julia. This is not God wanting to pass judgement on you, these are two boys who need to be caught and tried."