Chapter 9
Nick's pov
Monroe. The name glowed vibrantly on my phone as it continued to vibrate in my hand. I almost dropped the phone as my hands fumbled urgently to pick up the call.
"Monroe! Please tell me you have some good news. I could really use some right now."
"Well, you kind of have to see for yourself," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"We found tracks… footprints to be exact. They may be Juliette's but we didn't want to get our hopes up only to be let down… again," he said quietly.
I was silent for a moment as I thought of what he had said. What if they weren't Juliette's? Where would we be then? But if they are hers maybe there's still a chance that I can save her. I had to do this… for Juliette.
"Where are you; wait, never mind, I'll just track your cell," I stated quickly and hung up.
My feet were in motion before I even processed what I was doing. My phone was already searching for his direct location in the woods as I slid past the other officers that had returned to their work. Dodging past Hank I bolted down the hallway and out through the doors to my car as my phone stated that it had the map loaded and ready. With my foot on the gas pedal I sped down the bustling streets of Portland and towards the dense woods that surrounded the park. People were crossing sidewalks and picking up afternoon coffee as I flew by them and into the park's parking lot. My eye's scanned the small map and headed towards the main area of the forest. Broken logs and drooping vines filled every space but I quickly glided and jumped over each one, snagging lefts and rights as the phone spewed out directions. The markings showed me growing closer as I began to pick up on some of the noise s that echoed around the woods that weren't because of me stepping on the weakened twigs.
"Monroe! Rosalee!" I called out.
"Nick!"
And there it was, the voice of Monroe that boomed through the area around me. A peak of light slowly filtered through as his body emerged from some trees and motioned me forward.
"Glad you could make it. We haven't moved since we found it; we figured you should be there too when we move forward," he said.
"Thanks," I said with a small smile as I crossed through the same trees that Monroe had with him following from behind.
Rosalee sat on the ground waiting patiently, glancing at the footprints every now and them and analyzing them ever so closely.
"Why do you think the tracks just started here?" I questioned.
Rosalee slowly moved the tips of her fingers over the disheveled dirt, picking up the pieces of grain and rubbing it between her fingers.
"The tracks started here because the dirt is soft. The rest of the area's land must be harder than it is here," she stated.
"Well let's follow it," I said just wanting this whole mess to finally be over with.
Monroe quickly moved in front of me offering a hand to help Rosalee up as he went. I slowly followed stepping around the tracks with one last look. The footprints stayed the same for a while, left foot then right. It wasn't until the markings began to blend together and become unrecognizable did we stop to question it.
"Guys, hang on a second," I said kneeling down to get a better look.
"It looks like the tracks have been disturbed," Monroe said.
"More like someone followed them just like us but didn't do a very good job at it," Rosalee stated.
Followed? Who else would be out in the woods but us and want to follow a set of tracks without even knowing where they would lead?
"Come on, we have to keep moving," I said getting up and walking past Monroe and Rosalee to grab the lead.
I heard them pick up from behind me but I kept moving forward. Where ever we were going we were heading deeper into the forest. With no way of knowing of where these tracks would stop we kept moving. The marks were barely recognizable anymore forcing us to follow the paths that appeared as nothing more than disturbed dirt.
"When do you think they'll end?" Monroe asked trying to break the silence.
I didn't answer so Rosalee piped up.
"Soon. They can't go much farther. If these are Juliette's she hasn't been missing too long and I doubt she would get much farther in a hospital gown without any food."
She was right. It couldn't be much longer. The tracks were slowly disappearing as we continued; the ground most likely becoming hard again. The markings were becoming more and more distanced until I stopped at the tree beside me.
"Why'd you stop?" Monroe asked.
I managed to move my hand to point at the ground right in front of my feet as he asked me this. There stood the final tracks and a small puddle of blood.