Account 1-2 Case # 6392

Subject: Veronica Ruby Haig

Location: Hurricane, Utah, USA

1204 hours, June 26th, 1985

Veronica sat on an old, rusted metal bench near the shores of the lake, her soft hazel hair flowing in the wind, wearing a black tank top with denim shorts. She looked up and saw the looming form of the Military Base, the sounds of vehicles and weapons tests audible from even where she was sitting. On a whim she glanced down at her watch, 12:04 PM.

It had been three years since she had last seen Michael. Five since the two of them had first met in a dingy secondary school in Hull. Her a native of Scotland whose father had been fired from his factory job and forced to take a job at a Fish n' Chips shop due to his rampant alcoholism, and him an unwanted child who was forced to live with his PTSD and dementia-ridden uncle because his parents viewed him as a mistake. They were forced from their old homes, neglected by their families, and hated by their new community, so it was only natural they become friends. They believed they would get nowhere in life but were determined to make that life the best it could be. They drank, partied, went to concerts, vandalized some buildings, and tried to live every single day like the Russians were about to start WWIII. Her bold and brash personality was kept in check by his wise and cautious nature. This made it all the more disheartening when he was eventually forced to leave.

The death of Mike's uncle shook her entire world. She didn't know the man well, but his death meant he now had no living relatives left in the United Kingdom. In the end he would be sent away to his parents, with the only lead for her to go off of being the town of Hurricane, Utah.

For three years she had been alone, the glory days of their friendship long gone. But a month ago she would finally be given an opportunity to see her old friend again. Their school announced it had organized an exchange program with several schools in the United States. But due to the fact she was in a Private Religious school, they were only able to partner with two schools, one of those being the Adelbert Der Jung Christian Academy in Hurricane, Utah, Mike's new hometown. After hearing about this she convinced her father to sign her up for the program and was able to find a family that was willing to take her in until the program ended around December of that year. After convincing her father and her host family to let her move in early, she was finally here. All she could do is wait and see if her letter had gotten to him.

The time ticked on, it was now several minutes past noon. She knew he was probably just running late but anxiety began to well up within her all the same. What if he hadn't gotten the letter? What if he had gotten it and decided to ignore it? It was unnecessarily vague in hindsight. She put her hand on her head and stared at the ground, trying to calm herself down. Then all her anxieties faded away when she looked over and saw a familiar face walking towards her.

"Mikey?" She called over to him.

A look of shock and surprise overtook his face as he looked to see Veronica, a face he never thought he would ever see again. She sprinted over to him and wrapped her arms around him as a wave of relief washed over her. After all these years, she had finally found him, her best friend.

"Surprised to see me aren't ya!" She said finally releasing him from her bear hug.

"Ve…Veronica?" He said shocked.

"I bet you're wondering how I got here, right? Well, our old shite-stain of a school decided to do an exchange program with one of the schools in the area, and now I'm here!"

"Why though?" He questioned.

"What benefit would you have coming to the middle of Buttfuck Utah, and aren't you pressed for cash as we…"

"I did it to see you blockhead!" She interrupted him.

"Things haven't gone very well since you left, and I wanted to at least see the guy who made all our good times possible before High School ends!"

He suddenly felt his heart drop, mentally smacking himself for not thinking this through sooner. His old friend, the best friend he ever had, wasted a lot of money just to fly over to Utah and see him. She didn't know what had happened after he moved away, what kind of person he had become. It broke his heart to reveal his monstrous deed to the only person who still cared about him. But he closed his eyes, steeled himself, and prepared to do the right thing.

"Veronica, I need to tell you something before we continue. I'm not the same man you saw leave England."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I…Oh fuck ok."

He found himself at a loss for words. His mind was screaming at him to tell her about the fact he was a murderer, that he was crazy and that she should run for her own sake. But he got stuck, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't say anything. Before long he began to sweat and avert his gaze away from her to keep her from seeing his indecisiveness.

"Mikey, look at me."

He turned to look at her and saw her looking at him, a bright smile dominating her face and her green eyes staring into his with a look of understanding.

"We've been apart for most of our teenage lives, of course were going to be different from one another. So how about you and me have a fun day out like the old days, and find out how much one another has changed!" She said wrapping her arm around his shoulders.

"Come with me! It's time we show these Americans how the youth do things back in Britannia!"

He mentally accosted himself once more for not having the courage to admit to her what he had done. He eventually calmed down and decided to enjoy this day while he still could, but in the back of his mind he knew he would have to tell her soon. If he didn't it would be inexcusable.