What Happened in the Forest

The Forest

Mara squatted down, staring at the spot in the middle of the clearing where yet another body was found. The same heavy feeling covered the clearing as the putrid smell of death filled her nose. It had been another murder. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Mara's stomach as her thoughts turned to everything she had learned about the victim.

Nick White had been an avid hiker. He knew the woods and forests around Forks well, and it wasn't unusual for him to go off by himself camping or hiking. That was why it had taken a few days to realize he was missing, even more to find his body. His parents didn't report him missing until he didn't show up for work Monday morning, as he was out on a camping trip all weekend. The coroner thought he had died sometime on Saturday night, though they didn't find him until the following Tuesday.

All the facts of his life ran through Mara's head as she leaned over and touched the ground. He had graduated from Forks High School six years ago and then got a degree in geology. He returned to Forks afterwards to help with his family's camping supply store. He loved the outdoors and nature as did his fiancé. They were supposed to get married later that year and had already built a quaint little cabin just outside town.

He had been a good and kind person. Well loved. And then his life had been cut tragically short that night in the woods. Mara felt tears prick in her eyes, though she quickly blinked them away. It wouldn't do if she got too emotionally attached. She remembered that much from her father. He always told her that as a reporter, she needed to learn how to put her emotions aside and focus on the story.

She then stretched out, lying on the ground looking up. All sorts of things flew through her mind. Did he know that he was about to die? What did he think about in his final moments? Was the pain too strong for him to think of anything else or did he worry about the family and friends he would be leaving behind?

Mara's thoughts then turned to her own past. Did her dad think about her in his final moments?

Sighing, she couldn't help the flow of thoughts, wondering how her life would have been different if they hadn't lost him that night 10 years ago.

A rustling in the trees pulled her out of her memories as she quickly sat up and looked around, her brow furrowed. Perhaps she shouldn't have come out here alone. She scrambled to her feet as the feeling of being watched washed over her. Her heart rate sped up. She should have told someone that she was coming out here.

People were dying in these woods, after all.

There was more rustling as Mara felt the hair on her body start standing on end and a chill ran down her spine.

"Get a fucking grip," Mara muttered to herself. "It's probably just some animals."

Scanning her surroundings, she started moving back towards the trail wishing she hadn't left her pepper spray in the car though there probably wasn't a lot of good it would do against a large animal. Whatever was coming, she was sure she didn't want to stick around to see what it was.

Just as she was about to step out of the clearing, movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She spun around, noticing a young man around her age moving out of the trees. She froze, hoping this wasn't the psycho killer.

"Hey," he called out, waving at her.

She quickly assessed him, noticing that he was extremely tall and built, though there was a friendly smile on his face. At first glance, he didn't look threatening in his shorts and t-shirt. Granted Ted Bundy hadn't looked threatening either and how many people had he killed? And who wore shorts and t-shirts in the fall in Washington?

"Hey, yourself," Mara called back, still keeping her distance as another man stepped out from the trees next to him. The newcomer seemed more concerned with looking back into the forest than at Mara.