The Truth (Mommy's House 2)

Part Twenty-One

"Whoever's behind all of this is doing a great job trying to throw us off," I heard someone say as I walked out of the trailer. The fresh air felt incredible to breathe in.

There were officers littering the premises at that point, pulling out evidence, taking in the body for identification. I stood outside, my heart racing in my chest so rapidly it hurt. The world seemed to be spinning around my vision and my body felt heavy, as if I were being lulled to the ground.

"Are you all right, Officer?" one of them stopped to look at me while I nodded and dismissed him. Sweat was beading down my face despite the frigid winds surrounding me.

I really didn't feel right. Quickly, I rushed away from the chaos, through a pathway hidden between a bunch of trees. I held onto the cold, rough bark of a tree in front of me and began to vomit.

Before this, the worst our police department dealt with were armed robberies in the uneventful neighborhood. From that to suddenly having the lives of children in our hands, and a ring of psychopaths running around - it was taking a physical toll on me. I wanted to find all of them, but in that moment, I felt that I didn't have the strength to.

I leaned my arms against the tree and rested my forehead against them, taking heavy breaths as I stared at the floor of the forest. The leaves were dead, crisp, and crunching beneath the weight of my feet as I kicked them.

I had a strong feeling that something wasn't right. It was twisting my stomach and putting a sour taste in my mouth. I spat on the ground and took my knitted hat off to run my frozen fingers through my hair.

My breath was visible in the air as I huffed, shaking my head. I felt like I could pass out any second.

"Excuse me?"

I jumped, looking towards the source of the nervous sounding voice. I shined my light in the direction, and it landed on an adult woman.

She was standing there, shivering and staring at me. Her hair was dirty and knotted, and the side of her skinny face was illuminated by the harsh moonlight above. Her clothes were ratty, and the bony woman practically swam in them, as they hung off her body like rags.

"Who are you?" I asked as I studied her appearance. "Do you need help?"

"You are James Rocklin, aren't you?" the woman asked, her tone shaky.

I almost couldn't believe my eyes - why was this woman here? The crazy idea that I was hallucinating even ran through my mind.

"Why are you in the woods? Who are you?" I asked her.

"I've seen you on T.V.," she told me.

"Who are you?" I repeated for the third time.

"I... I need to show you something... desperately," she said, her eyes widening as she stared at me.

"Tell me who you are," I said, taking a step closer. The woman continued to stare blankly at me.

"Come with me," the woman begged again, her voice raspy as she walked away.

I swallowed hard and followed behind her. I was fully aware that what I was doing was stupid, but in the moment, I really didn't care. I knew I should have alerted anyone of where I was going, or urged for anyone to come with me, but I was too impulsive and determined.

The woman looked over her shoulder at me timidly following behind her - what could she possibly have been leading me towards?

"Miss, are you in trouble?" I asked her again, and she blatantly ignored me.

She continued winding through the trees, picking up a fast pace as she was walking, and we were gradually getting farther away from the site of the trailer. I was getting nervous, but I had my gun and walkie in case anything happened.