Intimate Stranger (Editing)

Chapter 24: Lilah

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The song is "Falling Inside the Black" by Skillet and the pic is Hank Azaria who plays Will. The next chapter will be up next wednesday as usual or when I get 50 votes on this chapter. Whichever comes first.

Part Twenty-Four

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Lilah

Lilah laid uncomfortably on the stretcher, staring up at the roof of the ambulance. It felt weird to be on a stretcher when she wasn't injured. She was too wired and anxious to get any rest. And to think only a few hours ago she was at that party, flirting with boys and laughing with her friends, without a care in the world – except what she was going to write on that new essay assignment.

Now she was plagued with wondering what happened to Trace after she was rescued, and how his health was keeping up. What did Steve do when he realized she was gone and the police were there?

Soon after the Chief of Police and the detective's left to converse, Lilah felt her eyes becoming heavy. Her body was relaxing and her thoughts were fading when she unexpectedly heard a loud voice outside the ambulance.

Whatever it was, it sounded important, and suddenly there was a hoard of voices all speaking loud and panicky. Lilah's curiosity got the better of her and she sat up, crawling off the stretcher so she could see what the fuss was about. She didn't know then, but she would regret it.

She slid off the end of the ambulance, her feet smacking the pavement in an odd way, causing a tingle of pain to shoot throughout her body. Shaking it off, Lilah made her way toward the voices. They were all crowded around Steve's partner's van, talking over each other.

As she approached, the panic began to rise in her chest. She reached the crowd and pushed her way through the swarm of people. Determined to get through, she barked for them to get out of way and saying "excuse me" in the politest way possible.

Lilah's eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of two men wheeling a stretcher with a body bag atop it. Oh no, Lilah thought with dread.

What did they find?

The Chief saw her coming and stood in front of her, trying to hold her back. Nearly hysterical, she called out, "Let me go!" and then slipped past him while his guard was down.

Lilah skidded to a stop as the police officers and SWAT men finally stepped away to give her space. She stood dumbstruck as they pulled a body from the back of the van and placed it in the body bag. It was the lifeless corpse of Sabrina Jones.

There was this dead body directly in front of her and Lilah was speechless while she stared at the paleness of her skin and the emptiness of her eyes. Her raven hair was sprawled haphazardly and she was in her underwear. Lilah had never seen a dead body before and she wished it remained that way. She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut tight, picturing the body gone, but when she opened them, it was still there.

From her peripheral vision, Lilah saw detective Finley approaching her with caution. He put his hand on her shoulder and began to steer her away from the scene, "Let's go, Lilah," he muttered soothingly, while she gazed straight ahead at nothing, eyes wide. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her body was numb.