Chapter 12- All The Right Moves
The sirens wailed and the lights flashed in front of me. I stared out the passenger window in a daze, clinging onto the last shred of hope I still had; that somehow Ricky had managed to survive. I was emotionally and physically drained. I don't even know how I managed to retell the story to the police without breaking down. I guess the possibility of Ricky being alive gave me the strength to recite everything to the police semi-calmly.
The car pulled to a stop next to Grant's cabin. Grant was the man who was staying at the cabin I had stumbled upon. Two police officers emerged from their car in front of us, looking back at us as we pulled to a stop. I took a deep breath, my hand on the door handle, before pulling the handle towards me, letting myself out. The officers looked at me expectantly.
"Ms. Juergens, we need you to show us the way. Can you do that for us?" Officer Dunn asked. I nodded my head a little hesitant. I wasn't one hundred percent sure I could lead them in the right direction, I mean it's not like I left a trail of bread crumbs, but I would do my damned best.
I looked back at Grant and said a quick thank you before heading into the direction I came.
I folded my arms across my chest as I walked, starting to fill cold, even though it was ninety-five degree's out. My limbs ached but I pushed through the pain and walked quicker, more determined than ever to find Ricky. I felt semi-safe knowing the officers both had guns and stun guns on them, but if that psycho was still alive there was still a chance he could attack the police when they weren't looking and then come after me.
We were walking for a good five minutes and I was starting to feel helpless. I had no clue what direction I ran from when I left, and I wasn't aware if it was a straight shot to Grant's cabin from where we separated. My walking gradually slowed as my eyes frantically searched for something familiar.
"Ms. Juergens?" The older gentleman; Sheriff Mills asked. "Is something wrong?" He tried again, when I didn't answer him.
Hope burned through my every bone as I saw a familiar tree. The only reason I remembered it was because it was shaped so weirdly. I started running now, and I could hear the officers running behind me, yelling at me to slow down as they tried to keep up.
I reached the tree and spun around my eyes searching for any sign of Ricky. I started running again, calling out Ricky's name. I stopped suddenly when I noticed my surroundings. It was the exact spot I had ran away from Ricky, regrettably. I looked around, but didn't see him anywhere. I started walking forward and saw an axe laying on the ground. I gasped and screamed for Ricky louder.
The officers finally caught up to me and I pointed to the axe. The men exchanged glances, and I had a strange feeling that they hadn't believed me until now. I heard the men exchange words, but I wasn't listening, my mind was focused on finding Ricky.
One of the officers tapped on my shoulder, making me momentarily turn around. Officer Dunn pointed to the right of me and I saw a body on the ground, but I couldn't tell who it was from this far back. I went to walk in front of the officer but he grabbed my arm and told me to stay behind him. We slowly walked closer to the body, my mind racing a mile a minute. I was praying and making deals with God. I know that making deals with God sounds silly but I would do anything to make sure Ricky was alive.
We took a couple more steps forward and I could finally tell who the body on the ground belonged to. I could see the red and black flannel jacket, and the long dirty hair. I blinked back the tears of joy/relief, and put my hand on the officers shoulder. "That's him. That's the guy who killed my friends." Officer Dunn nodded and looked back at the corpse. There was a puddle of his own blood underneath him. The smell was sicking and I had to swallow the bile that crept up my throat, but I could feel the relief wash over me. I heard rustling coming a few yards to the right of me and my heart sped up. Officer Dunn noticed the movement, too, and we began walking in the direction the noise came from.
"Who's there?" Officer Dunn asked loudly, his gun still raised. I wanted him to desperately put the gun down. I didn't need him accidentally shooting Ricky, if he was still alive.
More rustling and a groan. I heard Officer Dunn yell at me to stop but I didn't listen. "Ricky?" I called out desperately.
I started getting closer to the noise but I tripped over something and landed face first into the ground. My headache became ten times worse. I picked up my head and spit out little pieces of dirt that managed to make their way into my mouth. I looked around to see what the heck I tripped on when I noticed a foot sticking out of some long grass. I picked myself off the ground and quickly made my way over. As I got closer I could make out the clothes and I almost jumped up and down in happiness.
I looked down at him, making sure he was okay, before quickly kneeling down beside his head. "Ricky? Oh my god! Thank God your alive!" I whispered as I tenderly touched his face. His eyes opened slowly, taking in his surroundings. I noticed a bump on his forehead and frowned. I guess I was so happy to see him I didn't notice it. Though, I don't know how I didn't. It was pretty big.
"Amy?" He asked doubtfully. I smiled.
"It's me. What happened to you?" I asked worriedly. He tried sitting up but immediately lied back down.
"I thought I told you to run? What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I did. I found a cabin not too far away from here." I said, relief completely washing over me now.
"Ms. Juergens, you shouldn't be running off by yourself." Officer Dunn said, finally finding me. Ricky glanced up at me and then to the officer. He didn't say anything, it was almost as if he had been stunned momentarily.
"Are you okay, Ricky? Does anything hurt?" I asked worried. He nodded his head and winced. My eyes opened wide in shock as I looked over him again. My eyes stopped when it reached his left arm, there was a deep cut on his forearm. I instantly felt bad for not noticing it sooner. Officer Dunn got his two way radio and started telling Sheriff Mills that we found Ricky and had him get medical assistance.
I sat next to Ricky as we waited for the ambulance to arrive. We didn't have to wait long before I heard the sirens wailing loudly into the silent woods. I wanted nothing more than to ask him what happened when I left, but didn't want to ask to soon. I knew he would tell me when he felt up to it. And to be honest, I wasn't to sure I wanted to know what happened. Sometimes not knowing is best.
The paramedics rushed to our side. Officer Dunn ushering me away from Ricky, so I wasn't in their way. I followed Officer Dunn as we made our way back to his car.
"Stay here," He said sitting me in the passenger seat, leaving the door open. "I'll be back in a second." He finished, waiting till I nodded my head before leaving.
The next forty-eight hours went by in a blur. With police questioning, trying to help the police find Ben's, Adrian's, and Grace's body, calling my mother, talking to my father, fretting over Ricky's health, calling Ricky's foster mother for him, I was completely worn out. My parent's were on their way down here now, they'd be here sometime tomorrow night.
The police didn't find any of their body's, so they were going to take search dog's out with them this time. They had taken some blood from the crazy psycho's body to get his DNA. They told me they wouldn't get the results in for another couple of days. I was waiting very impatiently for any news on the man. We had no answers as to why he went after my friends, and that pissed me off immensely.
Today was the twenty-eighth of June, my parents would be arriving later on today and I was pretty much dreading it. I had talked to my mother last night and we decided Ricky would go home with us, because Margret couldn't make it down here. She had fallen down the stairs sometime last week, breaking her left leg. Ricky was fine, he had a bruise on his forehead and he had to get stitches on his left forearm, other than that he was healthy. He, of course, like me still wasn't sleeping. He refused medication to help him sleep, he told me he knew if he fell asleep he'd see their faces and he didn't think he could handle that.
I didn't blame him of course, because, I, too, didn't want to see their faces haunting my dreams. I think out of all of them Grace's death was probably the worst for me, only because I could have stopped her. I felt bad for every-ones parents', I can't even imagine what's going through their minds right now. So far, I know they called Ben's father, and Grace's parent's but they couldn't get in touch with Adrian's.
They went out and looked for their bodies again. They didn't have any luck, really. They found blood samples at three different places but there where no bodies.
My parent's broke down when they saw me. Hugging me so hard I couldn't breath, not that I minded, I was probably hugging them just a hard. I didn't tell them everything yet, I just told them the basics. When they heard what Ricky did they started crying some more and instantly wanted to see him. When they thanked him he got pretty emotional but didn't really cry. I could tell he was trying to be strong, but I could tell it wouldn't be long until he finally cracked under the pressure.
My parent's talked to Officer Dunn and Sheriff Mills a lot. I vividly remember my parents talking about me seeing grief counselors when I got home, and getting me an appointment with a therapist soon after. I didn't fight them on anything, knowing it would be good for me to talk to someone. I told them I wanted Dr. Fields as my therapist, he was Ricky's. Ricky even mentioned something about going together every once in a while, he thought it might help us.
I still couldn't get over the fact that I had even found Ricky. I mean I had no idea where the heck I was when I left him but I somehow managed to find him. I guess you could say I made all the right moves. I think my subconscious led me to Ricky, I honestly believe that. Because, I suck at directions and I can get lost at a drop of a hat but I managed to find him in the middle of the woods. It just didn't make sense.
Ricky and I hadn't had much time to talk since we found him and I really needed to. I didn't particularly want to talk about what happened, I just needed someone to talk to, even if it was about nothing. I craved for some form of normalcy but I knew I wouldn't have that for a long time. I was already preparing myself for the media attention once we got home. Officer Mills already talked to us about how to handle it. I already knew I wasn't going to talk about it with any reporters or anybody besides my family or Ricky, for that matter. Of course, I knew Grace's parents, Ben's father, and Adrian's parents will want us to tell them what happened and I would tell them because I owed them that much, but that didn't make it any less frighting. I was deathly afraid that they'd get angry at Ricky or I for being the only survivors.
Though, I guess you could say that was pretty much inevitable. They had every right to be angry, and that anger would be pointed toward us because we were the last people to see them alive. But, I just wasn't ready to handle that. I don't think I could sit across from their parents while I recollect everything that happened. I was already feeling extremely guilty, and I don't know if I could handle any more guilt. Ricky and I had decided we'd tell their family's together, because we both didn't think we'd be able to tell them separately.
We finally found about the psycho that killed our friends. His name is Daniel Mason, the state police had been looking for him for five years. He was the prime suspect in the murder of Sarah Boykewich- Ben's mother. To say I was shocked was an understatement. The police said they were pretty sure he wanted to kill Ben and his father but didn't get a chance to until now. He was waiting for the right moment, and that moment just happened to be during our summer vacation. They told us it didn't appear that he had any intention on killing the rest of us until we found Ben's body.
They talked to Ben's father. And apparently, Sarah use to be engaged to Daniel and they were suppose to run off together but she changed her mind at the last moment and ran away. She met Leo and fell in love with him, and eventually got pregnant. Daniel found out about it and plotted his revenge for years. The only reason he waited so long to carry out his revenge was because he went to a mental institution for ten years after killing a little girl.
We were finally home a week later, I think Ricky and I had a combined total of ten hours of sleep so far. Each time I closed my eyes I saw their faces, and I saw his menacing face. I had already woken up twice to puke after my nightmares. My parents were excessively worrying, I didn't blame them. I didn't even recognize myself when I looked in the mirror anymore. I would see glimpses every now and again, but most of the time I looked like a walking corpse. From what I could tell Ricky was the same way. I wanted to see him but my parents wouldn't let me out of their sight for more than a second.
My sister, Ashley, cried when I came home. She told me she loved me and she wouldn't fight with me ever again. She had been watching me like a hawk, too.
Honestly, most days I felt like I was just a circus act for my family. Every-time I ate or fell asleep for a second they would be so enthusiastic. I just wanted to be treated normal again.
The media was worse. We couldn't go anywhere because there was always a news reporter waiting to bombard us, and our phone rang non-stop. We couldn't turn on the news because our local news stations talked almost non-stop about the killings.
Hell, news reporters were willing to do just about anything to score an interview from either Ricky or I. They would probably even settle for an interview from my parents or sister at this point. Every reporter wanted to be the first one to get the scoop, while the story was still hot of course. Because, if they didn't get the interviews soon people would stop talking about it and would forget about us. So, right now they were pretty much willing to sell their souls for our interviews.
I longed to talk to Ricky, privately. We have talked on the phone on multiple occasions but someone was always in the next room, no doubt listening. But, for right now I'd just have to endure my family for a little while longer, until they see that I'm alright. It really felt like they were smothering me twenty-four seven.
Talking to Ben's father and Adrian's parents had been tough, but not anywhere near as tough as talking to Marshall and Kathleen. If Ricky hadn't been there with me I don't think I would have had enough strength to talk to them. Even though they had been the hardest to talk to they happened to be the most understanding. Kathleen had walked over to me and hugged me tightly. She told me it wasn't my fault and that Grace wouldn't want me carrying around all this guilt. Adrian's mother, Cindy, had been the most vicious. Blaming us for talking her into going, even though Grace was the one who asked her. I was just glad to get talking to them out of the way.
My first day of therapy was tough. Dr. Fields was amazingly patient and understanding and I could see why Ricky always talked about him so highly. We didn't talk about what happened, though. We just talked about general things to make me feel more comfortable before we gradually started talking about Ben, Adrian, and Grace. I laughed and cried as I shared some of my favorite memories I had of them.
Going with Ricky for the first time was definitely easier. It was the first time we had actually seen each-other since we got home and I was overwhelmed by how much I had missed his presence. We were close before everything happened but now we were impossibly closer now. The tragedy connected us together in ways I never thought possible.
It had been a month since we got back and school was just around the corner. I didn't think the first day could get hear soon enough. It's not that I love school, it's just something that's familiar and normal. My parents kept telling me that I didn't have to go back to school right away if I didn't want too, but I couldn't stand being cooped up in the house any longer. It was starting to feel like a jail cell.
Sleep was still came in short spurts. I really didn't eat much anymore, I've already lost ten pounds since I got home and my mother was worried about my health. So, most days I'd try and eat a little but even a little bit of food was hard to stomach. Ricky had even commented about my eating habits one afternoon while he was over. It had been the second time he had been over and every-time he was around I felt fifty percent better.
School was harder to get through than I imagined. It was difficult not seeing Ben, Grace or even Adrian in the halls anymore. The first day back Ricky and I had helped each-other get through our first three classes before we left. My mom and Ricky's foster mother, Margret, had somehow managed to get me and Ricky in the same classes, which helped immensely.
About three months after we got home my grandmother, Mimsy, died. My mother had to fly to arrange her funeral and I had managed to talk my father and sister into going with her. I would have went but I didn't think I could handle seeing another dead body. Ricky helped me persuade them into going by telling them he'd stay with me until they got back.
Ricky and I had grown a lot closer in those three days. We slept in the same bed, cuddled up closely together, giving us our first full nights of sleep. The first morning I woke up actually feeling refreshed and more lively. I laughed more in those three days than I did in the past three months. I knew now that if I wanted things to start feeling and going back to normal I would need Ricky. I needed Ricky as much as I needed normalcy. And I was determined to have both. And maybe someday I will, but for right now I was content with what I had. Ricky was alive, my family was alive, I was alive and healthy, so really my life's just beginning and I can't let what happened stop me from living my life.
This chapter actually didn't take that long to write. I'm thinking about writing an alternate ending, but if you guys think this one is fine then I wont. If you do want the alternate ending do you want me to post it next or after the epilogue? Did you guys catch the other Harper's Island references? Sheriff Mills, Officer Dunn, and Sarah Boykewich??
I'm sad now guys! =[ This story is almost done!
