This will be the last chapter with Jason's few days of worrying where Joy had been. Next one will be what happened to Joy the few days she had been missing.
Jason didn't sleep well that night as every time he closed his eyes he saw Joy's face now covered in cuts and bruises. It scared him as he sat up and tried to not disturb his younger brothers. It had only been one day since he had left his house with her. But to Jason it felt like it had been a lifetime. He tossed and turned in his bed hearing the volunteers screaming out her name hoping that they would find her. But soon the volunteers' voices died away as it grew to late in the evening to be searching. He could hear his parents talking downstairs trying to keep their voices soft to not wake him or his siblings. He could hear John Boy trying to distract himself by him writing but had since went to sleep.
If only I had gone in with her; he thought as he tried to fall asleep by turning to his left. She wouldn't have been alone. She would be home with family in safety.
His mind kept screaming with 'ifs' and 'thens' making Jason roll on to his right. His heart stopped when he saw the picture she had given him at the dance on Friday. His heart began to squeeze in his chest as he wanted to know for sure she was alright. But as he forced his eyes closed all he could see was her screaming for him.
He let out a groan and sat up knowing he wouldn't be getting any sleep by the stress and questions that were running in his head. He glanced over at Ben and Jim Bob knowing that they were worried but had allowed themselves to sleep. Jason couldn't blame them, he knew they both cared and they needed their sleep.
Jason slowly stood up careful not to run into any of the two beds and walked out his bedroom door. He tiptoed to the girls' room and froze his hand on the handle. What would he say if one of them woke up? What was he wanting to do in there? He was shocked when the door handle turned and slowly pulled open.
Elizabeth, who had awoken, looked shocked and confused at her brother standing in her doorway. "Jason?" She asked rubbing her tired eyes and pulled her doll close to her. "What are you doing?"
"I was...uh..." Jason felt his mouth go dry as he looked at his sister trying to move past him. "Sorry Liz." he said stepping to the side and allowed his sister to walk into the bathroom and closed the door. Jason continued to stand there staring at the floor when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He jumped but held in his cry of surprise as he wasn't expecting anyone to be up, besides him, his parents and Elizabeth.
"Jason?" Emma's voice was soft and confused as she tried to calm him down. "Why are you up? You should be in bed."
"I can't sleep." He said looking down shamefully. "I thought I'd check to see if Joy appeared in her bed."
He looked and saw tears starting to sparkle Emma's eyes as she shook her head slowly. "Jason, you need to go back to sleep. It's nearly four in the morning and we have Sunday service today at nine."
"But I can't calm down." Jason said, he quickly rubbed his eyes as he felt something start to slide down his cheek. "I can't stop picturing her hurt."
Emma sighed and vanished inside her bedroom but returned just a few minutes with Joy's well used notebook. "I think these will help." Emma said with a soft smile.
Jason nodded and gently took the book from Emma's hands. "Thanks, Emma." He said giving her a small hug. He felt her trembling underneath his touch as if he was filled with electricity. But he guessed she had been holding back her fears as well, to appear strong for him. "Night."
"Night, Jason." Emma said as she disappeared back in her bedroom and Jason walked back to his room.
Very carefully Jason sat on the edge of his bed and pulled out a flashlight from the nightstand. Checking that his brothers were still asleep, Jason carefully opened the book and nearly dropped the flashlight as the first picture he saw was him back when Joy first moved to Walton's Mountain. He slowly began to flip through them and saw everything she had drawn. He smiled at the picture of Emma, Mary Ellen and Erin sitting in the flower field laughing and playing with flowers and wondered when that was drawn. He flipped until he reached the very end and felt his stomach flipping. It was a drawing of two people silhouetted by a body of water, one a girl and the other a boy. The boy had been kneeling one hand holding what looked like a small opened box.
She's wanting to be proposed by the pond too; Jason thought gently closing the covers and turning off his flashlight. "She will be proposed by the pond." He vowed looking out the window and laying down. He felt a new surge of hope as he slowly was lulled to sleep.
~DSCWIN~
Sunday was warm and bright and the birds outside sang as they played on the ground near the Walton's home. Jason rolled out of bed not feeling like going to Sunday service as he didn't want to leave the comfort of his bed.
Jim Bob and Ben quietly sat up and looked over at Jason who both could see that their older brother had tried to sleep but it most likely wasn't long.
"Jason?" Ben gently asked as Jim Bob quietly began to dress in his Sunday best.
"Yes, Ben?" Jason answered rolling onto his other side and looking at his younger brother.
"H-How did you sleep?" He asked, afraid to upset him.
"Alright," Jason said before letting out a small cough, "once I got to sleep."
Ben nodded slowly but could see his brother turn his attention back to sleep as he laid there and closed his eyes.
"You should get ready for Sunday Service, Ben." Jason said as he felt his brother's eyes on him. "Would you let Momma know I'm not going?"
Ben looked over at Jim Bob, who had nearly finished getting himself ready. "Sure thing, Jason." Ben said before quickly and quietly gotten dressed himself.
~DSCWIN~
Jason rolled himself out of his bed around eleven and walked into the bathroom. As he washed his hands after refreshing himself he stared at his face in the mirror. He could see the beginnings of stubble starting to poke through his skin making his cheeks and chin itch. As the stubble was not yet long enough to warrant a shave, Jason simply rinsed his face with some cold water and walked out of his bathroom.
He slowly made it downstairs and found his father, Sheriff Bridges and Grandpa Zeb sitting around the table drinking coffee and talking softly. Grandpa Zeb looked up and gave a warm smile at his grandson.
"Look who finally is up." Grandpa Zeb said his voice laced with a joke.
John and Sheriff Bridges looked and watched Jason slowly sink down on the table where John gently patted his back, letting him know the nineteen year old was not in trouble for staying home.
"How are you, Jason?" Sheriff Bridges asked as the last time he had seen the young man he was suffering through a head injury.
"Alright." Jason sighed. "Having a hard time getting sleep at night."
Sheriff Bridges nodded slowly and cleared his throat. "Jason, we need to discuss something." The Sheriff's voice was low and hesitant. "There is a chance we might not find Joy alive..." he watched as the young man's shoulders grew tense under his shirt. "And we want to tell you, that no matter the outcome she will be brought home."
Jason didn't know what to say. He knew there was that possibility that she wouldn't be coming back but he made a promise to propose to her by the pond. He couldn't break that promise. That promise was what allowed him to get some sleep.
"Jason, we have to have a real possibility that we won't be able to bring her home." John said hating to be a voice of reason. "But we're not giving up. You can join the search tonight if you wish."
Jason's eyes brightened as he quickly stood up. "Can we start now?"
John looked at Sheriff Bridges and Grandpa Zeb before nodding. "We'll start once everyone comes back from Sunday services."
"Can I start now without you?" Jason asked his body anxious to begin right then.
John sighed heavily and nodded.
Jason smiled and quickly left the house quickly walking down the hill to start at where it all began at the bus Station. He would walk all day if it was to find Joy.
~DSCWIN~
Jason leaned up against a tree to catch his breath. He had sweat slowly falling from his face as he had been searching for any kind of clue for the last few hours. The sun was hot and high in the sky making the young man quickly seek out shelter from underneath some shade to cool off. In his haste to search for any kind of clue he didn't grab anything to eat or drink and he was starting to feel it. He also knew he didn't eat anything for breakfast and his stomach was growling in protest.
"Joy!" He screamed fighting back the hunger pain. His eyes scanning for anything that might help him or give him something to go on. "Joy!" He cupped his hands hoping his voice would travel father as he slowly made his way back towards his house. He had covered a lot of ground around the bus station as the trees were thick and could easily hide vital clues.
A twig snapping behind him made him tense up and quickly jump behind a tree nearby. Heavy footsteps slowly walked closer towards him. Jason slowly bent down to pick up a large stick for a weapon to defend himself if whomever was walking near him was hostile.
"Jason?" John's voice called into the woods and Jason shook his head dropping the stick to the ground. "Jason are you around here?"
"I'm right here, Daddy." Jason said walking around the tree. He looked ashamed to have been hiding.
"Come on, we need to get you back home." Something in his father's voice made Jason empty stomach flip.
"Did they find her?" Jason asked as they walked quietly back to John's truck that was parked on the road.
"Sheriff Bridges got a phone call from the Sheriff in Charolettsville," Jason felt his stomach tighten with what he would hear next. "Jason they found...they found a young woman's body matching Joy's description."
Jason froze in mid step his eyes widened with anger and regret. I was too late; he thought the ground beneath him starting to spin from underneath him.
"Jason I'm sorry." John said and reached out to hold his son but Jason pushed away his father's hands.
"No..." Jason said shaking his head and backing up. "It's not her..." Tears were starting to fall as he tried to calm his breathing down. "Daddy, it can't be her!"
John shook his head slowly not sure what to tell his son. He pulled his son into a tight hug letting him know he was there and not alone. He wouldn't think less of him if his son screamed and cursed. He wouldn't tell his wife. Jason's world had just been shattered and John knew how painful this time was for him. "Let it out, son." John said feeling Jason's hands squeezing his father's shirt tight, causing his hands to turn white. "Let it out."
Jason collapsed on the ground pulling his father down with him. It was unlike anything he had experienced in his life. He felt as though someone had ripped out his heart and tore it to shreds. He felt the pain erupting from his body as he screamed and cursed while his father continued to hold him close. He wanted to punch something to feel more pain for he was afraid he would forget the pain he was experiencing at that moment and it didn't feel right. But Jason continued to scream. He had failed. That last shimmer of hope of finding her had vanished into the summer's heat. He had failed her.
~DSCWIN~
That night was hard for the Waltons as they all sat around mourning the loss of a family member while Jason locked himself in his room alone. The only form of comfort he had was Joy's notebook looking over all the pictures and stopping on the last picture that would never come to pass. Jason fought to keep his mourning quiet as he let the tears fall splattering the paper causing some of the lines to smear and fade away. It wasn't fair; he thought letting more tears fall. It's just not fair.
Jason continued to cry in his room on his bed when the sound of a rifle shot echoed in distance making him leap to his feet and rushed to his window. His blurry eyes from crying scanned the area wondering who could be firing at this late at night and why did it sound so close yet far away. A few minutes later another shot rang out and Jason rushed out of the room and down the steps to see his father gently ushering everyone back inside the house. Sheriff Bridges walking quickly to his car.
"Everyone stay here." John said grabbing hold of his own rifle for protection as a precaution. "Nobody is to leave until we come back. You understand?" Silent nods indicated that they understood as Jason walked and held his mother close to comfort her. They waved goodbye as John and Sheriff Bridges hoped into the police car and headed off into the night.
~DSCWIN~
It had been nearly an hour since John and Sheriff Bridges left the house to investigate the shooting. The Waltons had gathered around the table drinking juice or coffee when Reckless started barking when someone had pulled up. The sudden noise had called them to jump and John Boy to rush to the front door to see who had arrived. Sheriff Bridges and John walked in. John quietly set his rifle to the side and lead Sheriff Bridges back to the table.
Jason, who had been leaning up against the counter looked at his father with curiosity.
"Who was shooting, John?" Olivia asked as she held on to Elizabeth who had been trembling since her father had left.
"We don't know. But we do know it came from the Summers' place." John said and Jason paled. "When we got there...we found a man that had been shot twice. It seems he had been staying there for some time but he wasn't alone."
"What do you mean, Daddy?" Jason asked his heart starting to pound in his chest with anxiety.
"It seems Joy had been there for some time." John said making everyone turn to look at Jason.
Jason opened his mouth to say something but Reckless started to bark at something outside. Everyone raced to the front door but Jason managed to get outside. He could see a shadow limping towards the house with Reckless jumping and whining excitedly. Sheriff Bridges handed Jason a flashlight who quickly turned it on. His mouth dropped open.
The light shone illuminating Joy who was using a rifle as a walking stick as her left leg was coated with blood. Her overalls were torn and dirty. Her shirt was ripped at one of the sleeves. Her face smeared with blood, mud, and cuts. Her left eye was swollen and her lip on her right side was cut and swollen as well. Her long hair was partially pulled out of her braid from when Mary Ellen had done it for the dance. "J-Jason..." Her voice was raspy and soft as her lip began to tremble.
Jason dropped the flashlight and ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her causing her to drop the rifle. Tears silently fell as he carefully brought her to the ground on her knees and gently held her face. Her right eyes was red and puffy while only a small sliver of her left eye was able to open. "Joy!" He cried with a smile as he gently kissed her lips. He held her close and felt her body tremble in his arms. She was alive. She was back home in his arms.