Bedgebury Forest, Kent

9th July, 2000

6:31 AM

They rushed up the stairs as fast as they could to reach the room from where the scream came from. Their heart throbbing with fear of what had happened for someone let out such painful cry. And when they reached the door of the said room they found their friend Lisa passed out on the floor by the door. The room was not dark, it was lit by the sunlight and it created very dangerous atmosphere from where they could see it.

Molly and Cathy rushed to Lisa's side who must have had a bad fall because there was a purple bruise on her forehead. The boys quickly entered the room to know reason of their friend's sudden state and were frozen on their spot.

"Conner, what's the matter?" Molly was the first one to speak among them, "Come help get Lisa to somewhere comfortable. And where is Karim?" Conner didn't answered instead he turned his face towards her with a blank gaze that send a shivering feeling to both Molly and Cathy.

Molly and Cathy shared a look and stood up from the floor. They both slowly entered the room only to find the lifeless body of their friend hanging from the selling with rope tied around his neck. His hands were tied behind him, his eyes were closed but his mouth was open for the last moment of agony and his tongue was fully out of his mouth and a page on his shirt pocket.

Cathy who was the strongest person Molly had known left the room hastily and they soon heard the sound of vomiting. Molly was too stunned to help any of her disheveled friends due to the shock. Her body was not moving and her mind was not moving but she could hear everything that was going around her.

Eli once attempted to touch the body but Conner stopped him saying that it was the police's job to do so and not them. Billy silently left the room and Nick who was always brave and mischief had pushed himself on the wall of the opposite side of the room and was wailing like a child.


6:52 AM

The tea cup was put down on the table quietly. The room was pin drop silent. They were subtly glancing at the stairs where the body of their friend was still hanging. Outside no birds or animal were calling as if they also knew what had happened inside the house and were scared come near here.

"We should call the police now." Eli said, the tea had calmed his nerve down enough.

"We can't." Billy answered looking down on the table. "There is no phone line here. The phone network doesn't reach here. We have to go to the nearest village to call the police and the village five miles away."

"Are kidding me?" Eli stood up, chair he was seating fell on the wood floor "You tricked us to come here. You never told us there was no way of communicating. How are we supposed to call the authority and inform them that someone had committed a suicide?"

"What are you talking about? Karim has not killed himself, he was murdered." Lisa shouted as well.

"Yes…His hands were tied behind him and there was no tool and high object on floor around the body to help his hung himself on the selling. Someone hung him there." Molly added.

"Let's go!" Conner cut in. they all looked at him only to find him wearing coat and hat, "If we go now we might reach the village by the noon and police will be able to come here by tomorrow morning."

They nodded and quickly gathered their needed things and left the house talking one last glance at the stairs of that room.


7:00 AM

Molly was not a superstitious person by nature but right now she wanted know whose face she had seen first when she had woken up, so she could beat the person for giving her such bad luck.

Currently the group was standing in front of the pull bridge they had crossed yesterday morning. That time the bridge was still intact but right now it was cut down from the other side. They had no way of going to the other side of the river where their car was parked.

Lisa was hysteric while a wide eyes Nick was kicking a tree nearby frantically. He was cursing everything and everyone he could find in his mind. Conner who was pacing on the ground once burked at him o shut up but it was in vain. Suddenly Nick stopped kicking at turned towards his friend with look that scared them.

"That's it!" he cried out. "I'm not staying anymore. I'll go there and I'll find a way to go back home." he pointed vaguely at somewhere and ran off. His friend kept calling him and Conner and Eli ran after him but once entering the forest they lost sight of him and came back.

"Huh! He calls himself a prank stare and yet he ran off like coward." Billy snorted. Conner quickly pulled his and glared at him but knew it was true.


2:39 PM

"That's it!" Eli stood up, "I'm going to find Nick. It has been a long time, he could be lost and wrost of all he could be killed by the murderer."

"Eli it's not safe to go outside alone." Cathy replied, "You said for yourself that there is murderer looming around."

"It doesn't matter." Eli said and took out a torch, "If I don't come back in two hours don't start looking for me." And he left.

Conner watched the whole scene from the stairs. He was also worried about Nick but he was not that brave to go after him like Eli. Suddenly in his peripheral vision he saw Billy coming inside the house from the back door. Wired, he thought Billy was in his room so when did he go out. He was just about ask Billy that he was interrupted again by the cry of Lisa, again.

The four remaining house member rushed to the kitchen from where the cry came and found the poor soul laying it the floor clutching her thought and gagging herself. She was struggling to breathe and her lips were blue and an unfamiliar tea cup broken beside her.

Molly and Cathy tried hold her but her body was shaking tremendously and soon it became life less.


4:00 PM

Cathy and Molly kept looking at the door expecting Eli to come back any moment now. Billy and Conner were pacing on the floor. After they had found Lisa's body, they both had asked the girls by any chance if Eli was the murderer because he had left just right before Lisa was killed. The girls denied it since he was long gone when the Lisa died.

"Perhaps he had poisoned the tea before he went out and left before Lisa had drank the tea." The boys had said. That was the end of the conversation.

"We are out of woods for fire." Billy informed them broodingly, "I'll get some. I saw few broken brunch near the bridge I hope they will burn."

"You stay, I'll go." Cathy stood up she turned to them, "What? Don't look at me like that. In America I used to go the camps where I was thought how to find the fire woods."


4:30 PM

Billy, Molly and Conner were again running down the same road witch lead to the bridge. Few minutes ago they had heard Cathy cry for help from there and were following the source.

They reached the bridge. Molly for the first time today cried after seeing the site in front of them.

Both Cathy and Nick were hanging from the bridge's rope. Their body was sprouted on the air and like Karim a rope was tied around their neck.

"It was Eli! I'm telling you it was Eli!" Billy said those wards like mantra and kept running towards the house Canner and Molly in his tow.


10th July, 2000

5:30 AM

They hadn't eaten all day nor had they slept last night. All they had done was waiting for the perpetrator to show up and take them to their death bed. But neither the killer nor Eli had showed up. Once Molly had thought that maybe he was also killed however Conner and Billy didn't believe that.

The sound of siren startled them. They stood up and quickly dashed to the front porch and for the first time sighed in relief to find a large group of police coming towards them by foot.


A/N: Sorry for updating so late. I was busy with the festivals then the exams that I had no time to update. I know the chapter might be too short but I think dragging it would have ruined the real plot.

Though I've a question for the readers, who do you think the real killer is between Billy and Eli?

Live review and follow and add to favorite if you like the story.

AND CAN SOMEONE PLESE FIND ME A BETA!