Crashed

TWENTY

"Alex is dead, Terri. Someone killed him."

Alex is dead... Alex is dead... Alex is dead...

The words echoed in my brain yet I couldn't comprehend them. How could Alex be dead? He was the killer, I knew he was.

My eyes were shut closed and my breaths were coming out ragged. My chest heaved with the simple effort of getting oxygen to my lungs.

The downpour of rain wasn't slowing down as it soaked my clothes and froze me to the bone.

I stood up and wiped some rain off my face. "I want to see him," I demanded.

"What?" Kiana asked.

"Alex. I want to see him," I repeated.

"Why?" Seth questioned.

"Because I want to see him!" I shouted. "He's the killer and I know it and no one else believes me!"

"He's dead Terri!" Kiana yelled, shaking my shoulders. "He's not the killer!"

"Well if he's not the killer," I began, "then who is?!" Everyone stopped at that moment and stared at me, because I had just said what everyone else was too afraid to say. None of us wanted to admit it, but one of us was a murderer.

Just at that moment, Mr. Burke stumbled in. His hands were covering his eyes, trying to wipe away some of the rain from his glasses. He looked up and gasped in shock when he saw us.

"Nice of you to stop by, Burke," Neil growled.

"Oh, uh, I see you all made it out of the fire... good to see you all alive," he mumbled awkwardly.

Corey stood up, rage in his eyes. "You left us there to die!" he shrieked. His hands were clenched into tight fists and I could tell it was taking all his self control not to throw a punch.

Zoe stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

I decided to speak up again. "Someone, show me where you found Alex."

Kiana sighed. "You're not going to stop, are you?"

"Not until I see his body."

Seth stood up. "I'll show you, if no one else is going to volunteer."

"I'll come too," Kiana said, staring me down from the corner of her eye.

Seth led the way and I followed close behind. Kiana stayed a couple steps away from me. I could tell something was off by the way she was looking at me.

The rain was slowing down slightly, but my whole body still felt as if I had just survived a tsunami.

A large root that had become sleek with rain was jutting out of the ground and I only noticed it once my foot had slipped against it. My whole body lurched to the side and I braced myself to fall into a huge puddle of mud but to my surprise, my body never hit the ground.

I looked up to see Seth's arms gripping onto me, preventing me from collapsing. He helped me stand back up straight and let his hand linger at my waist.

"Are you ok?" he asked. I nodded and moved away from him. I felt his gaze remain on me and I tried to ignore it.

"Ahem," Kiana muttered, her eyes glancing at the two of us with her hands on her hips. "If you guys are done, Alex should be right over there."

I walked over to where she was pointing but saw nothing. "Where?" I asked.

"Right there," Kiana said with impatience. When I asked "Where?" again, she pushed me out of the way and went ahead. "He's right... there...?" She paused and turned around. "He was right here..."