Amnesiac

Prologue

After another tireless day, the sun began its daily decent in the sky, giving way to hues of vibrant reds and yellows that settled into a deep purple. The inner-cities' bustling noises of the night could be heard even on the outskirts. On one lonely road, almost silently, an old pickup pulls over beside a murky pond. The only indication of his presence was a quiet splash, and something so unsightly, even the most hardened criminals would've grimaced. There was a loud stalling, an engine revving, then silence. If it wasn't for the atrocity left behind, the heinous act might've gone unseen and unknown, perhaps even hidden.
The sky, not quite yet dusk, shone ominously on the face of Rachel Abbot. Her eyes, like crystal mirrors, reflecting the celestial display above her, a stark contrast to her now ghastly appearance. It was only now, in the flitting light between light and dusk that a boy-somewhere between eight and nine-stumbled upon her. At first glance, the boy assumed it was roadkill or trash-nothing unusual for the area-but as curiosity drove him closer, there was no denying the scene before him.
It was half-past eight when the police arrived, but it wasn't until nearly midnight that the body was moved. Rachel Abbot's haunting stare stayed with the boy through questioning - his own eyes now glossed over and empty. The sheriff's words fell upon deaf ears as his mother tried to comfort him. But the sight he'd seen was too abhorred to retell, too fresh to want to relive.
By twelve-thirty, an ominous cloud had befallen the neighborhood, neighbors peering anxiously through their closed curtains, waiting to hear who it'd been, mentally recounting who they'd seen last, and wondering if maybe that'd truly been their last time.