Chapter 4: Half Way and One Step Forward

I need a raincoat for tomorrow
I need a raincoat for tomorrow
It's about how much people cry
When you die
It's not about the storm of tears
That you make when you're alive

Half-way and one step forward
Past the points of no return
Half-way and one step forward
Past the points of no return- Half Way and One Step Forward, Marilyn Manson

Lucy stared at the picture with a look disbelief on her face.

"No way!"

Natalia sighed.

"I know it seems crazy. But I've looked into it. You know the crazy caretaker who got arrested for the murder of those teens. I've read about it. He claimed to have seen something kill them. He described it as very tall, white and humanoid."

"The dude, was crazy." Lucy said. "So he blamed it on Slenderman."

"Uh, what's a Slenderman?"

"Just something some dude made up on the internet and put into a bunch of old photos. Anyways, he its' real. And there is no way there's a monster in the woods. I mean it all happened fifteen years ago. Somebody would have seen the thing. Head it. Found more dead people. Something. None of them missing persons have been found dead or alive. "

"I know it seems crazy. But I've seen monsters. Real ones. I was there when the terrorist attacked Terragrigia. And on an island when this crazy woman kidnaped me. Monsters exist. "

"Holly, shit. I'm sorry I didn't know." Lucy said. "But still why would one be here? No terrorist have made any demands. And they had fifteen years. And people ain't coming back from dead either like they showed on the news. So this is probably nothing. It can't be a bioweapon."

"I guess you're right." Natalia said.

"Anyways, we should get going. Lunch break is almost over." Lucy said grabbing her bag.

It her first day back to school from her suspension. Natalia was happy to have Lucy there for class. For the first time she went the entire day without skipping. It was also the first time she made it to art class. Mr. Hoffman, the teacher Lucy had punched, was actually rather young. He had dark hair tied into a short ponytail, he wore glasses with square frames, had a bit of a beard. He looked fashionable. He was quite handsome too.

"Miss Burton, good to finally see you." He said noticing Natalia walk in.

"And miss, Jones." He remarked seeing Lucy.

Lucy responded by flipping him off.

They sat next to each other and Lucy whispered.

"Don't trust this guy. He is bad news. When he found out Ash wanted to get into art school he started holding her back after class, for some "extra lessons". He threatened to fail her if she didn't go. She went once and she told me he was all over her. "

"Why didn't she tell someone?"

"Because the guy is somewhat famous. And the school will do anything to keep him. They would just brush it under the rug. Like she made it up. "

Natalia wasn't sure if she believed it. The teacher seemed like a nice man. She did her best to draw the shapes on the table in front of class. A pillar, a sphere, a pyramid. She drew, colored in the shading. Lucy turned it into something weird. With a man on the pillar holding up the sphere, that she turned into a Death Star and the pyramid seemed to be shooting beams at it. It was kind of cool and maybe a little funny.

"Interesting interpretation, Miss Jones."

Lucy just glared at the teacher who was inspecting their work.

"Considering the company you keep, I was expecting a little more creativity from you, Miss Burton."

Natalia looked down at her drawing.

"Art is not just about portraying reality as we see it. It's about how we interpret it."

"They don't make me feel like anything. They're just shapes." Natalia thought.

"Hey, don't let that bastard get to ya." Lucy whispered. "He doesn't seem to realize that not everyone is natural Picasso. "

Natalia nodded. After the incident she had been afraid of drawing something strange again. If she let her mind go free and imagine who know what it could conjure up.

Leaving class a boy bumped into them as they were leaving. He had auburn hair, shoulder long and somewhat messy.

"Watch it."

"No, you watch it." Lucy pushed back.

"Jones?" He seemed to recognize Lucy.

"Back off Eliot."

He seemed to notice Natalia.

"Who's your new friend? What happened to Ashley? Did she dump you or something?"

Lucy was angry. Jaw tight. Fists clenched.

"I'm gonna find her, and then the three of us will be best friends! So fuck off!"

Lucy stormed off. Natalia ran after her.

"Who was that?"

"Eliot? Just some jerk from Ashley's class who tried to get with her, but I guess he jealous that we were hanging out all the time and started coming after us. "

" Do you think that he might have done anything to hurt her?" Natalia asked.

"For his own sake I hope he didn't." Lucy said, hitting her fist into her palm.

"We got no leads." Natalia sighed.

"We'll find something. I'm sure we will."

Lucy took her to the back woods. Behind the house. They went in quite deep. The three were thick, old. Somebody could be standing on the other side and one could not see them. This place gave off and eerie vide. As they stood there in spot of tangled roots that formed crevices in the ground a feeling of foreboding washed over Natalia, like something bad was going to happen.

"This place feel bad." She said looking around.

"Well they did find a bunch of bodies here."

"Yeah, I've read the articles. They were scattered in pieces all over. So they can't really tell how many victims there were." Natalia said.

Leaning down she reached into a gap between roots. There was something solid there. She pulled it out. It was a piece of a jaw. She dropped it on the ground.

"Looks like they missed a few." Lucy said.

She took out her phone ant took a picture.

"Doesn't look like there are signs of any monsters here."

"Maybe it only comes out at night?" Natalia said.

"Typical isn't it. That's when all the scary stuff comes out." Lucy said.

"I guess. I forgot. Could you send the picture with Ashley, I'll put it up on the website. Maybe we can get info on her. Maybe somebody has seen her. The posters don't seem to getting us anywhere."

"Sure thing."

Back in her room she examined the picture of Ashley. The last one she ever took. The trees seemed similar to the other photos of missing people on the same area. She finds another picture of some guy that looks like the same spot. She looks for anything different. At first glance they are identical. But the she sees it, a subtle difference in the background. Where it as dark under the trees, at the corner of the picture. Something on the ground, it looks like a crouching shape. Maybe a bush maybe a stump. It didn't all fit into frame. She zooms in. there is something unmistakable, something that looks like eyes, like the flash is reflecting from them. Eyes in a half face that didn't fit into the frame. She wonders what Lucy would think. Would she believe her now?

The next day she finds Lucy crying in the house.

"What happened?"

She doesn't speak. Just hands her the morning paper.

"An unidentified body was found in the quarry" she reads. "The remains of what appear to be a female of age between 15 and 19 years old. Face and upper chest badly damaged. If anyone recognize this person please contact the police. "

The pictures bellow were of a red shirt with a square pattern same as Ashley had been wearing. And a tattoo of a black phoenix.

"It's her. I designed that tattoo for her. I was there when she got it done. It's her." Lucy said sobbing.

Natalia said nothing. She sat down next to Lucy. Lucy didn't lean in closer. She just held her knees to her chest.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't much help. But last night I found something in that picture of Ashley you gave me."

Lucy looked at the picture and listened to Natalia explain things. The map of the places where people went missing. The old stone quarry was close to the other town. And from what the report said the body was under water for less than 24 hours. Cause of death was severe damage to the chest, neck and face areas.

Natalia still wasn't sure that her friend believed her. But once Lucy was back from the police where she went to help identify the body, she was furious.

"I'm gonna kill that asshole." She stated.

"Who?"

"The thing that did this Ash."

"You believe me now?" Natalia said surprised.

"You should have seen her. Damage to face and neck my fucking ass. Her head's been ripped off. It's like something split her open from the chest and took off her head. We got to kill that thing."

"How? It's a monster"

"My step dad, well not really cuz my mom didn't marry him.. Anyways he's ex-military. He keeps his guns in the house. He works as a guard in the local elementary school. If we hurry we can make it to my place get the guns and get going. "

Natalia paused for a moment. This seemed like something dangerous. Something she should probably call adults for.

"And who is going to believe you?" said a voice in her head. "A monster in the woods? With only pictures to prove it? You know things like this can be faked? You can't prove anything."

"Alex?" Lucy was staring at her intensely." Are you coming?"

"Maybe we shouldn't..."

"Fine. I'll do it alone. It's not like you knew her anyways. I thought you were cool. I thought you were my friend. Guess I was wrong."

It hurts.

"We are friends." Natalia says. "I won't let you this alone."

"Great. Let's go kill a monster."

Ring all the bells you can ring
There's a crack in everything
That's how the sunlight gets in

Don't wanna know
Don't need to know
You got champagne problems
Don't wanna know
Don't need to know
You got champagne problems

Half-way and one step forward
Past the points of no return