I heard them long before I saw them. The ground shook under their feet. Frightened birds scattered in the branches. The forest shivered and I shivered with it.
Was this the help I had been waiting for or someone returning to finish the job?
I had been kneeling by Sienna's side for what felt like an eternity. I talked to her, caressed her hand, listened to each ragged breath she took. I didn't have to strain my ears to make out the tiny gasps escaping her lips. That's how quiet it was up here.
Now a herd of elephants was approaching us with a vengeance. I could run and try to hide but it meant leaving her behind, helpless and exposed. No way.
Grim resignation muted my panic. At least whatever was going to happen, was going to happen quickly.
A flash of movement through the trees and my heart skipped a beat. Suddenly I could make out multiple people approaching fast. I caught a glimpse of a deputy's uniform, the glint of a badge. I needn't have worried, Victor had brought help.
"Over here!" I hollered on top of my lungs.
The Sheriff was the first one to reach me. Panting, he kneeled by my side but didn't acknowledge me. All he could see was Sienna.
His eyes took in her smashed head, traveled down her powder blue sweater, studded with crusty patches of blood and pine needles, over to her hand cradled in mine and up my arms to my face.
"She's alive," I said when our eyes met.
Victor and a handful of deputies had emerged from the woods and hovered a few feet away, aware they shouldn't trample the scene.
"Where the hell are the paramedics?!" barked Sheriff Lundy at his men but got only shrugs in response.
He lifted his hat and swiped his sleeve across his brow. I could see his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.
Jim Lundy was struggling to maintain his composure, I realized. Bruler didn't know violent crime. I couldn't remember the last time someone got murdered. There were drunken bar brawls; sometimes half-lit men traded punches at boozy tailgate parties. That was the nature of the reports that filled the Bruler Eagle's crime section.
The sheriff had his hands full with chasing small-time drug dealers and solving property crime - B&Es, shoplifting, and the occasional trespass. Sienna's bloodied body was probably the worst thing he had ever witnessed on the job.
"You did great, Zoe," he said almost kindly. "We'll take it from here. I'll have someone bring you back to town."
I didn't want to leave Sienna's side but Sheriff Lundy's voice made it clear that his decision wasn't up for debate. He wanted me out of his hair so that the grownups could do their jobs. It actually made sense. There was nothing more I could do for Sienna right now.
Reluctantly, I let go of her hand and he helped me to my feet. He was leading me away from the body just as the paramedics swept in, carrying a stretcher and bulky bags of equipment.
"Is she going to be okay?" I called out but they ignored me and got to work. One of them flashed a tiny light in Sienna's eyes, the other began examining her head wound. Before I knew it, an oxygen mask was strapped to her face and a brace secured around her neck.
Watching them filled me with awe. I wanted to be able to do that one day - take control, bring hope, save lives.
The sheriff guided me further away. Victor was already by my side, his face still flushed from the exertion. He must have run both ways.
"You ok?" he asked quietly.
I nodded, not trusting my voice not to betray me. I wasn't ok. Not in the slightest.
"Johnson," the Sheriff motioned to one of the deputies, a guy with a dark unibrow and a bulging belly. "Take Zoe and my son down to the station. We'll need statements."
Fine, but I wasn't ready to leave yet.
"There is a bloody stone over there," I twisted my body and pointed towards Sienna. "I think that's what she was hit with."
"We've got this," said the sheriff firmly. "Now go."
If anything, he knew how to give orders. That was a skill in itself.
Victor handed me a small bottle of water.
"The paramedics," he said by way of explanation. I couldn't care less. I was so parched, I would have accepted it gladly even if it was a gift from the devil. I emptied half of it in a single gulp.
"Thank you."
For bringing me water, for bringing me help.
We walked down to the trailhead in a single file. Deputy Johnson first, Victor last. No matter how fast we went, the mosquitos caught up with us. Waving my arms, I noticed how dirty I was. My jeans were covered in grass stains and grime, and my hands were caked with dry blood. I forced myself to look away and focused on the back of the deputy skipping downhill ahead of me. I noticed the dark crescents of sweat sprouting under his armpits. I shouldn't be the one to judge. I looked and smelled worse.
We emerged into the parking lot just as a tow truck was pulling out, Sienna's car in its bed.
"Where are they taking it?" I asked.
"To the crime lab," answered the deputy. "These guys know what they're doing. They'll take the car apart if they have to, strip it down to the chassis, turn it inside out. The creep who did this left us some evidence. They always do. We just need to find it."
I tried to summon some of his optimism but felt short. The events of today had shaken my faith in happy endings.
He led us to his cruiser and opened the back door for us.
"Do her parents know?" I asked before stepping in.
"They're being informed as we speak," answered Deputy Johnson and waited for us to climb in. Then he slammed the door and got behind the wheel.
Riding in the back of a patrol car was not a way to travel in style. Quite the opposite. It was unsettling and claustrophobic.
Bars lined the side windows. A grille separated us from the front. The doors had no handles. Molded out of hard black plastic, the seats were worse than our school cafeteria chairs. I didn't think anything so uncomfortable existed.
"Where's Cody?" I asked, suddenly realizing that I hadn't seen him since he pedaled away to call for help.
Deputy Johnson turned sideways and said through the partition, "Your friend should already be home. Once we get your statements, you can go home too."
He put the car and gear and pulled out of the parking lot.
I glanced back.
"Wait, what about my bike?"
Victor took my hand in his and squeezed it. His palms were clammy.
"Zoe, half of the county's law enforcement is here, I think our bikes are safe."
"Yeah," said Johnson. "No worries. We'll make sure you get reunited."
I felt embarrassed for thinking about something as prosaic as my bicycle while my friend lay out there dying but I shouldn't have. It was a coping mechanism. My brain was looking for distractions, presenting me with problems that I could solve.
I shimmied closer to Victor and propped my head on his shoulder. I was tired and the hum of the engine made me drowsy.
"Close your eyes if you want," said Victor.
Tempting. I glanced at my watch. It was already past three in the afternoon. I had spent hours in the woods. School would be over by now but my mom would still be at work. Good, as far as she knew, I was home. Unless... Unless word about Sienna had reached her. News spread like wildfire in Bruler. If she had heard about the attack and had tried to reach me but had gotten no response—
I blanched and took out my phone. No reception.
"What's wrong?" asked Victor, alarmed.
"I need to call my mom."
Deputy Johnson's eyes locked with mine in the rearview mirror.
"Everything okay back there?"
"My mom doesn't know where I am."
"We'll call her from the Sheriff's Office," he said.
No parent would want to get a call informing them that their kid was at the station, regardless of the circumstances. I had the feeling my mom was no different but it was too late to worry about that now.
I closed my eyes and leaned into Victor. I was grateful for not being alone.
"You're shaking," he said. "You cold?"
"Not really."
"Must be the shock," offered the deputy. "Finding your friend like that would do it."
"Do you think she'll be okay?" I asked.
Deputy Johnson furrowed his unibrow.
"I don't know but she's lucky to have friends like you two. You did your best out there today."
Yes, but was it going to be enough?
Suddenly, the wail of an approaching siren made us all jump. The ambulance took us over, tires screeching and disappeared around the bend. I wondered where they were taking her. We didn't have a hospital in Bruler. I thought we didn't have monsters either, but I was wrong.