Chapter six

Samantha practically runs into her house. All she wants to do is escape the world. She opens the door and throws her keys on table in the foyer. She hears the faint sound of the mobile's song filling the air. As she climbs the stairs, the sweet lullaby grows louder. When she enters the nursery, she sees Mrs. Sims hovering over the crib. It isn't until Samantha steps closer does she hear Nolan's cooing.

Samantha smiles. It is the only real smile that she offers all day. She steps up beside the sweet, old woman, putting both hands on the crib. She gazes down at Nolan before she fixes her gaze on Mrs. Sims.

Mrs. Sims smiles. "Hello," she greets, "how was work?"

Samantha immediately flashes back to Theresa and Martin. She is completely confused. With no one to guide her, Samantha's feelings are mixed. She wants to find Martin. She wants to hold him. But if she does look for him and she finds out that he truly is dead, she cannot handle another disappointment. On the other hand, what if she finds Martin alive? And what if she finds that Martin left her? She definitely cannot handle that.

Samantha smiles and says, "Yeah." She looks back down at Nolan who is sinking into a slumber rapidly. Without looking back up at the babysitter, Samantha says, "You're welcome to leave if you want."

Mrs. Sims rubs Samantha's back. She smiles and says, "Take care." She knows what Samantha is going through. She lost her husband only a few years ago. But she also grieves. She's been a family friend since Martin's was in high school. She drops her hand and exits the room.

Samantha carefully reaches into the crib, grabbing the precious bundle. She cuddles him as she makes her way to the rocking chair. She rocks slowly, allowing her eyes to dazzle over the baby. She gently kisses Nolan on the forehead. She can feel his warmth, smell his hair. It's heavenly. He reminds her so much of Martin.

Samantha's eyes fill with tears. They roll down her cheeks, catching on her lips. She sniffles and raises her eyes towards the ceiling, trying to force the tears to stay in her eyes. It is pointless to try, however, as the tears trail down her cheeks. It took Samantha a few minutes to calm herself down and another few minutes to convince herself to put Nolan in his crib.

She wandered throughout the house, completing meaningless tasks, keeping her mind wondering to everything but Martin. However, her plan backfired when she placed a hand in her pocket for no apparent reason. She immediately felt the warm ring burning her hand. She took Martin's wedding ring from her pocket and placed it in her palm. She propped herself at the edge of her bed, placing her butt on Martin's side. Her are focused on Martin's wedding ring.

Her mind wonders through many events her and Martin shared throughout the few years of their married life. But none of them is more prominent and intense than their wedding day.

Samantha sluggishly walks to the dresser. Using her pointer finger and thumb to pinch Martin's wedding ring, she lays the ring gently on their dresser. She eventually wanders to the walk-in closet where Martin's clothes, among other things, hang. She slowly walks the perimeter of Martin's side of the closet, running her hand through Martin's clothing as she does. Her hand brushes against one of Martin's sweaters, releasing a folded piece of paper from its pocket.

Samantha stares at it for only a few seconds before she reaches for it. She opens it with curiosity. The piece of paper is ripped to only ΒΌ th of the size of a full sheet of paper. The hand writing is messy. The writer uses blue ink and all capital letters to emphasize their message. It reads:

I'M BACK AND I'M COMING FOR YOU!!!

Samantha nearly jumps backwards. She drops the old piece of paper; it flutters to the floor. She is unable to comprehend the meaning behind the words. It is so dark and sinister, and Martin never mentioned this. Never. She feels betrayed. It's an odd feeling, but for some reason, it hassles her with great intensity.

Samantha shakes as she tries to fathom the meaning of this. Does this mean that Martin's accident wasn't an accident? She contemplates on hiding this from everybody, but that won't give her any answers. She needs to know, and she needs to know now. She goes for the phone.

It rings a few times before Jack finally picks up the phone. "Hello?" he asks.

"Hey, Jack, sorry to bother you," Samantha says, "but I found something that I think you should see."

Chapter seven

It's exactly as Theresa says. The summer house sits deep in the woods. It's small; however, it looks better than Theresa's actual house. It's made of log. To Samantha, it looks too traditional of a summer house. But that's not why she's here. She and Vivian are here to find the truth.

Samantha cautiously steps inside the house. Dust particles immediately stir in the air as Samantha walks through the house. The house hasn't been used in a while except for recently.

There are white sheets that cover every piece of furniture in the house except for a couch and a few chairs. Two pieces of bread, mayonnaise, mustard, and bologna rest on the kitchen counter. Mustard covers one piece of bread. A butter knife sits in the mayonnaise. Somebody was making a sandwich, but they abruptly stopped.

Samantha has only been in the house for a few seconds, but she has many questions. Who was here? Why did they stop making a sandwich? How did they get in?

Samantha and Vivian share a quizzical look. By Vivian's expression, Samantha immediately knows that Vivian is beginning to think the same way she does. Samantha is reluctant to get her hopes up, however. Just because somebody was here doesn't mean that Martin is alive.

Vivian hangs back, talking on her cell phone while Samantha wanders to the back room. The bed is unmade. Clothes litter the room along with trash. There are many meaningless knick knacks resting on the wood dresser. But even with all the litter, Samantha's eyes immediately dart to one specific item resting on the dresser.

It's a black cell phone, and Samantha knows who it belongs to. It belongs to her husband. At first she simply steps closer to the dresser, opting to just stare at it. She finally picks it up. For some reason, the mysterious phone call that Samantha received not too long ago pops into her head. She picks up the phone and looks through recent calls. At the top of the list is a familiar number. The last call placed on Martin's cell phone was a call to his wife.

Samantha's feet almost fall from under her. She knows that anybody could have called her from Martin's cell phone, but she is convinced that it was Martin. This means that Martin didn't abandon his family. If he left on purpose, he wouldn't call her. She knows that something happened to him. She knows, for sure, that her dead husband is actually alive.

--

He uses the woods to his benefit. He hides behind trees that are a good distance away from the summer house. His breathing quickens. He is nervous. He has a horrible feeling that the blonde and African American women are with the police. If his instincts are correct, then all of his problems just escalated by a thousand.

He watches through thick eyelashes and bushy eyebrows. The African American woman is on the phone. The blonde paces, nervously. Blondie is holding something; he can't tell what. He is curious what these women are doing. As the seconds tick by, he is more and more convinced that they are with the police. Could the day get any worse?

He turns around to head deeper into the woods. He cannot stand watching the police officers. He needs to fix his mistakes. He needs to find him before it's too late.

Chapter eight

Samantha peers down at Martin's cell phone in her hands. She looks up at Vivian who is still talking on the phone. She finally tares her eyes away from her immediate surroundings. She thinks she sees something or someone hiding behind the trees. She looks back at Vivian who is engaging in a serious phone call.

Samantha is unsure at first, but she finally begins to step closer to what she saw. By now it is gone, but she still feels drawn to that spot. At first, her feet slowly carry her, but with each second ticking by, her feet begin to thump hard against the ground as her speed quickens.

When she reaches that certain spot, it is empty. There is nobody there. She shakes her head and begins to think that she is hallucinating. However, rapid movement in the distance catches her eyes. Somebody is running through the thick sea of trees.

Samantha has only a few seconds to react. Following the running person could potentially lead her into danger, but if she goes back to tell Vivian, the runner will disappear.

It's as if Samantha's feet do the thinking for her. She begins to run after the man. It seems like he doesn't know she's behind him because he maintains a steady speed, allowing Samantha to shorten the distance between them; however, it isn't long before the man begins to quicken his speed. It is apparent that he knows Samantha is following him. He begins to weave himself through trees in a desperate attempt to lose his pursuer.

As an FBI agent, Samantha was trained to react and manage situations accordingly. She knows she shouldn't be chasing this stranger. But she also knows that he can tell her where her husband is. It is the only thing she wants from him. But no matter what Quantico taught Samantha, they couldn't teach her to run faster.

Soon the man becomes a distant speck in the trees. Eventually, Samantha finds herself alone in the woods. The only things her eyes see are trees. All of them identical. All of them hiding the way out.

Samantha's panting prompts her to prop herself up against a tree with her right elbow, her left hand clutching the cramp in her side. Her eyes dart around. She is content. She is not worried about being lost in the woods.

Once a normal breathing pattern is established, Samantha pulls her cell phone from her pocket. No service. She repeats the same thing with Martin's cell phone. No service.

Samantha sighs and contemplates the right way to go. She knows the general direction back to the cabin, but for some reason she finds herself going in an unfamiliar direction. She is walking briskly with her eyes only fixed ahead of her.

Ten minutes pass before Samantha hears the unmistakable sound of a car driving by. She immediately changes her direction slightly. Though she cannot see it, there is a road directly in front of her. With the sound of another car passing, Samantha quickens her pace into a fast jog.

The tree line stops about ten feet before the road begins. Samantha stands in the grass covering the ground between the tree line and the road. Once again, she is panting. She looks to her left. The road endlessly runs for as far as the eye can see. But when Samantha turns to her right, it is definitely different. The road makes a slow climb into a hill. It is impossible to see oncoming traffic coming from the right.

Samantha has seen this somewhere, this exact same scene. At first, Samantha racks her brain trying to figure it out. She slowly stalks closer and closer towards the hill. Her hands are clasp in front of her, picking at her cubicles. Her head hangs. She knows she's seen this before. She hasn't been here, but she's seen it.

When Samantha looks up, she stops in her tracks. She jumps and furiously stares at the figure standing in the middle of the road.

There is a man standing almost a top the hill. He is standing in the middle of the street. His once nice looking suit is torn. It is soiled with dirt and blood. His face resembles his clothes. His brown hair is in shambles a top his head. He stands erect. He is oblivious to the woman watching him. His blue eyes are scanning the sky. He stumbles when he tries to step. He is disoriented and unsure about everything.

Samantha's breathing escalates. She feels her knees weaken. Her stomach twists into knots. She stares wide eyed at the man. The only thing she can hear is her heart pounding. She is so unsure of herself that she simply stands and stares. She must stare at the man so that she's sure of his identity.

It's Martin.

Samantha now knows where she's seen this before. Her dream.

Samantha has not yet moved from her spot on the side of the street. She is too surprised to see her supposedly dead husband standing in the middle of the road. But her joy is suppressed by her many questions and emotions that rumble inside her. She wants answers, but she is too scared to find the truth. Martin is alive; she has carried the wish that Martin would come back to her for the past week.

"Martin," Samantha says. Her voice is a whisper. She begins her trip to Martin choosing to walk. But when she sees the white pickup truck appear at the top of the hill, she feels her heart skip a beat. She is expecting to hear the driver honk his horn. Samantha breaks out into a fast run, but it seems as if everything is going in slow motion.

"Martin!" Samantha shouts at the top of her lungs. Martin turns towards the sound of his name. His eyes widen at seeing Samantha dash towards him.

Samantha hears the truck's powerful horn wail. She immediately knows that her wish and her dream came true.