After 30 Days

Eight -Day 36

Alex didn't ask any questions,  just herded Luna into the vehicle and locked the doors. Her face appeared again, pressed close to the glass as she watched the rest of us.

We were trying to decide which way to start our search, when I noticed Rex sniffing furiously at the ground near the fire. Curiously moving closer, I saw the last thing I wanted to.

A few drops of blood stood out in the crushed grass.

"Uh, guys..." I interupted the debate going on over by the front bumper.

Everyone was quiet for several seconds when they saw the blood. I was sure they were having the same thoughts I was. There were only a few drops, but any blood at all was an unwelcome sight.

"There's more over here. I think they went this way," Maya indicated the trees with her chin.

"Stay together," Maggie reminded us again before walking into the trees, her eyes searching the ground for any indications of which way to go.

A twig was broken off of a sapling, right at eye level. Leaves had been kicked up, exposing the damp earth beneath them. Someone had smeared a bloody hand print on the bark of a tree.

There was a clear trail to follow, something that was both comforting, and unsettling.

Charlie had left us a way to find her.

She was also bleeding.

It seemed like we had been following her trail for miles, but in reality it wasn't all that far, when Charlie's voice carried to my ears.

"Take it easy. Don't do anything stupid."

A cackling laugh cut through the forest. The sound was disturbing. It did not come from a mind that was totally sane.

Winding our way through the brush, we finally came out in a small clearing. Several yards ahead of us, Charlie stood in a bizarre face off with Jackie, the gun pointed in the general direction of the blonde. Their body language was more than a little confusing.

Yes, Charlie was ready to use her weapon of necessary, but she seemed almost reluctant to have to do so. Very strange for the member of our group who had coldly shot a man not so long ago.

Then there was Jackie. She looked completely wild, hair tangled with leaves and eyes stretched wide open. She was still cackling as she waved a short, blood smeared knife in front of her own face.

"What is going on here?" Maggie took a few cautious steps closer to Charlie, her eyes never leaving Jackie.

"I'm not really sure," Charlie's gruff voice sounded more confused than I'd ever heard the woman. "Luna and I were packing up the suv, when I heard a noise. Turned around just in time to see a knife coming at me."

Charlie had wrapped a strip of material around her one hand. The light colored material was soaked in bright red.

She continued her story, brows drawn together as she regarded the woman facing her, "She cut me and Luna screamed. Then she just took off into the woods. I didn't want to just let her go in case she ran into you all out here, but when I finally caught up to her, she was just standing there, staring at that knife. She started giggling and then she cut herself."

For the first time, I noticed the fresh blood on Jackie's clothes. It seemed to be coming from the arm that still had the broken handcuffs dangling from it.

"I didn't know what to do. She's obviously not quite right," Charlie finished.

"Yeah," Maggie frowned. "I don't know. Maybe we should just leave her and get out of here."

Beside me, Bill looked less than happy. He had been the one who didn't want to leave an injured woman to fend for herself. I knew the thought of leaving Jackie out here probably didn't sit well with him.

The cackling laugh had stopped abruptly, pulling my attention back to Jackie. She stood watching Maggie with a sullen pout on her face.

"I don't like being alone," her voice didn't sound at all like it had the few times I'd heard her speak before. It was almost childish.

"I wasn't alone. I had my boys, but then you all had to come and ruin our fun." She waved the knife in the air and smiled manically, "I had to punish you. You were mean to my boys."

The expressions around me let me know that everyone else was as confused as I was. Standing in front of us was the woman we had picked up the day before, but she was acting, and even sounded, like a different person.

Maggie finally cleared her throat and edged slightly closer to Jackie, "Jackie, You're going to have to help us out here. We don't understand."

Ignoring Maggie completely, Jackie abruptly trained her stare on Charlie, "I don't like you." Looking down at the bloody knife in her hands, she began mumbling rapidly, "Don't like them. They ruin the fun. Just like those other fun ruiners. Wouldn't let me play. Said I couldn't have any fun. Not like my boys. They knew how to have fun."

She began humming to herself, mumbling quietly a few times about everyone wanting to ruin her fun. Seeming to forget that she had an audience, she tucked her knife into her belt, and began tugging at the handcuff. Concentrating, she tried to force the metal down over her hand.

The past few minutes had been one of the strangest encounters of my life. I had no experience with mental illness of any sort, but it was obvious that the woman in front of us was a deeply disturbed person. I had no idea how to deal with the situation.

"Guys, we can't help her. We need to go," Shawn had moved closer to me and was watching Jackie with an almost sad expression. I grabbed his hand and squeezed.

"Yeah," Maggie agreed softly, but no one moved.

"Really, she's too unpredictable. She needs medication and we have no way of getting it for her. Look what she did to Charlie."

The reminder that she had actually stabbed Charlie was enough to get me moving. We could not trap ourselves in a crowded vehicle with someone who suddenly attacked people. Squeezing Shawn's had lightly again, I let go and started back the way we had come.

The others fell into line behind me. Just before getting far enough into the trees that my view was blocked, I turned around to look back. The last to leave, Shawn looked reluctantly at Jackie one last time, before following Maggie.

Still standing in the same spot, the blonde continued to tug at the metal cuff, oblivious as it dug into her skin.