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It had been quite a while, since they started out looking for Mary. They had called her name, a few times, but no reply came. Agatha seemed to feel warmer, and became more nauseous as she struggled to keep up. The cool night air had no effect on her body temp., as beads of sweat formed on her brow and she was now shaking. Athena would glance at her, as if waiting for her to faint, "Agatha, maybe you should sit down and rest. You don't look so good." "I'm fine, just tired." Agatha whispered back. "Maybe we should all go back to the cabin and call the police?" Iris suggested. "They wouldn't do anything until Mary's been missing for over twenty-four hours, Iris. Cops are screwy that way." Rip mumbled, as her walk slowed down, so Agatha could catch up. "Well, can the forest rangers do anything?" Iris asked her, as she too, slowed down. "I don"t know, maybe." Rip licked her lips, as she scanned the forest with her flashlight.
Suddenly, a loud groan came from behind them, as Agatha leaned on a near by tree. "Agatha!" Athena called, as she grasped for her. Rip and Iris rushed to the two young ladies, as they dropped to the ground. Agatha clutched at her stomach, as her cramps worsened. One could see the pain on her face, as she gritted her teeth and shut her eyes tight. "Agatha, what's wrong?" Rip asked her, almost in a shout, as she set the flashlight down. "I... I... don't... know..." Agatha stammered, as she tucked her knees to her chin. Athena looked up at the others, with fright in her eyes, "We have to go back! She may need to go to the hospital!" "No!" Agatha shouted, as she tried to regain her strength, "No, I'll be fine." She looked up at Rip, and garbed for her jacket collar, "Rip, I see things, things that will soon happen. I know there is danger here. You have to believe me! I... I fear that your friend is dead. Mary..." Rip blinked at her, and turned to the other girls, "She's delusional, we have to go back."
The other two girls helped Agatha up, as she struggled to gain her breath. "No, you have to look for her, Rip! Leave me here, and look for her!" Agatha shouted, as she tried to tear herself away from Iris and Athena. Rip, picking up the flashlight, didn't know what to do. She stood, watching the ill young lady, as a cool breeze blew around them. Soon, an odd noise came from the darkness of the woods. "What's that?" Iris whispered, still holding onto Agatha's arm. Rip shooshed her, as she point the light around their path. She tip-toed around her friends and listened to the noise. It sounded like fiber creaking in a tight spot, like... like a swing. Rip flashed the light, from side to side, as she ventured off ahead of the others. "Be careful, Rip." Iris whispered. Soon, Rip noticed clothes scattered every where. Rip followed the clothes, wondering if they were Mary's. The girls helped carry Agatha, behind Rip, as they followed her, but never said a word. Suddenly Rip stopped, dead, in her tracks, as the others watched the light point itself up above their heads.
The Undertaker, Kane, and the other young ladies sat in the front room, as they waited for Rip, and the her group, to come back from their search. They had been gone for quite a while, two hours to be exact, and their friends were beginning to worry with silent thought. Gabrielle began to get sick, and retired to bed early. But apart from that, the ladies seemed to be getting along with their company. Each young lady sat, patiently and with great enthusiasm, as the men exchanged stories and answered their questions. Chris had lit a fire, in the fireplace, and made everyone a fresh cup of hot tea. Evie sat next to Angel, as she quietly listened to Taker speak of his first experience in the ring. She barley touched her tea, which was to hot for her, and had set it down on the coffee table. She leaned forward and rested her head on her knuckles, and beamed a smile every time Taker looked in her direction. Angel gulped her drink down quickly, hoping it would make her feel warmer in the large room. The fire wasn't much comfort since it was across the room from her, but she refused to be rude and leave the group. She leaned back and crossed her legs, as she asked, "Kane, what the was the first ring experience was like for you?"
Debbie and Lisa sat together, in a love seat, as they laughed at the amusing comments of the two men. Though they had been up for at least two days, they both seemed to be in good spirits, and more awake than the others. Prudhoe and Laruna sat on the floor, on either side of the men, as they asked their questions, of how the men felt about traveling, and what was their favorite town or country to wrestle in. This was hard for the men to answer, knowing where all the ladies were from, but they tried to answer their questions just the same. Joanna sat in a chair, as Arianna sat on the foot stole, next to her. Both watched with content in their eyes, as they tried to imagine the men's stories in their minds. Sonje sat in the background with Chris, as the two made themselves the honorary hostessed for the night. Chris' mind wandered, in and out, of reality. She was worried about the others, the most, and somehow thought something was definitely wrong. She played with the necklace Sonje had given her, and began to feel great fear coming from another presence. A faint, but real presence. She closed her eyes, and focused her mind to this fearful spirit, and soon she found...
"Chris, I'm going to make some popcorn." A friendly voice whispered in her ear. "Care to join me?" Sonje smiled at her dark headed friend, as she squeezed her shoulder. Chris opened her eyes and looked, blankly at Sonje, then nodded her head. "Ooo... Popcorn sounds lovely!" Prudhoe piped in, as she stood up. "May I be of some service? You girls have waited on us all night!" She smiled, as she followed them into the kitchen. "Sure, Hon, you can get the butter from the fredge." Sonje told her, as she got down the popcorn popper from it's shelf. "This is a nice place. It must have cast a pretty penny to get a big cabin, like this, for us." Prudhoe began to make light conversation. "Yes, it did, but Rip never told us how much. She said it was part of the deal with Taker and Kane coming here. She never really goes into too much detail." Chris laughed, as she poured some corn into the popper. "Rip's sneaky like that!" Sonje said, as she put in some salt and some butter into the mix of corn. She put the lid on the popper and turned it on. The three staid in the kitchen and waited for the popcorn to finish popping.
Suddenly, the front door burst open, girls were screaming, as wind blew through the cabin. Chris, Prudhoe, and Sonje ran from the kitchen to see what was the matter. Taker had his hands gripping Rip's arms, as Athena held up the sickly Agatha. Iris was trying to tell everyone what was happening, but she couldn't seem to puts her words correctly. Kane tried to get her to calm down, as he lead her to the fireplace. "She's dead! She's Dead!" Rip shouted, as she stared up into Taker's green eyes. "Who's dead? Rip, who's dead?" He asked, as he shook her to her senses. "Mary... she is hanging in a tree.. down the wooded path." Iris jumped in, as she shook from fear and cold. "Agatha!" Athena shouted, as her friend finally collapsed from her stomech pain.
Kane scooped her up, and helped carry her to her room, as Athena showed him the way. The other ladies were shouting and screaming questions at the two remaining girls from the search party. Rip's ears went numb from the rising blood pressure, and excitement, as she tried to speak. "We were trying to find her, when Agatha got sick." Rip choked, as she tried to fight back the tears. "We stopped, so she could rest, that's when I saw Mary's clothes, scattered all over the place. I walked a little ways... and... and that's... OH, GOD, we have to go back, get her down, call the police!" Rip finally broke down, and fell in Taker's arms, as she sobbed. "Can you show us where, Rip? Iris?" Kane asked, as he closed Agatha's bed room door. "Yes, I think so. I can, if Rip wants to stay behind." Iris said, still shaken from the ordeal. "No, I can go." Rip replied, trying to gain her composure. "We have to move fast, it's quite a ways away." Athena, spoke up.
"I'll call the police, while you're out trying to get her down." Joanna said, as she held herself. "I need to check on Gabie. I pray she has not heard us. She's to ill to know what's happened." Sonje said, as she ran to her room. Chris, just stood at the kitchen doorway, to the front room. The sudden popping noise of the popper, startled her to her senses, as she lurked back into the kitchen.
With no words to say, the ladies, Taker and Kane had their jackets on, and was ready to follow the three girls to Mary's body. Joanna, Sonje, and Chris, staid behind with the two girls who had fallen ill. Rip lead the larger party through the woods, wiping the tears from her chapped face. Though dark, and with only one flashlight, Rip could pick out signs of where to go. If she stumbled, Iris was there to help get her back on track. Athena staid close, next to them, as she tried to keep up with the group. All was silent, but for the sounds of the large group making their way through the woods. Some were numb, others frightened, other's in sorrow, and the rest not knowing if this was really happening. But soon, they found Mary's things scattered about, and began to search the trees where Rip, Iris, Agatha, and Athena first found the body.
The wind blew cold, as one of the girls let out a blood curdling scream. Evie, stood, shaking, as her eyes could not turn away from the awful sight. Kane pulled her away, and buried Evie's face in his chest. Rip pointed the light up at the corps, but the body still hung in almost shadowy form. Taker took the flashlight, and lead the beam over the rope to see where it ended. He found it, quickly, and untied the knot. He slowly lowered the body, to the ground, as Rip guided the light for him. The girls gawked at the corps, not believing what they were seeing. Rip slowly moved the light around Mary's face, but only to find she was face down in the fallen leaves. No one wanted to move, until Taker started toward the body. "No!" Rip grasped his shoulder, "There might be finger prints of whoever did this. If not, your prints show up, the cops might think you did it."
Taker nodded, as he stood back. "How... are we going to get her back to the cabin?" Angel asked as she held on to Laruna's hand. "I don't know... I don?t know." Rip cried, holding the flashlight, tightly in her hand. Arianna took out a pair of leather gloves, from her pocket. She put them on, and spoke, "If we some of us take off our jackets, maybe we can carry her back?" "Well, aren't you supposed to keep a body where you found it? The cops, might not like us fetching her back to the cabin, if we mess up any unknown evidence." Lisa piped up, not really believing what she was seeing. "Yeah, that's right. And Taker's prints are already on the rope." Her sister, Debbie, added, as she pointed to the large red head, next to Rip. "We have to do something." Prudhoe shouted, as she could no longer see Mary lying there.
Without one more word, Arianna knelt down to the corps, and brushed some locks of hair back. "Wait a minute." She said, as she rolled the stone cold figure over. The light from Rip's flashlight shown on the bodies face. Cold glass eyes stared up at her, as a clownish smile evilly grinned up at her. "THIS IS BULLSHIT!!!" She yelled, as she kicked the dummy. Stuffing and straw flew all over the place, as she attacked the unliving crap out of the doll. "B*llsh*t! B*llsh*t! B*llsh*t!" She dropped her flashlight, as Taker grabbed her and got her to calm down. She seethed through her teeth, as her head ached from an on coming migraine. "Let go of me!" She screamed, but Taker only held her tighter.
The other girls didn't know what to think, as Arianna told them it was not Mary's body, but the body of a dummy doll, one would make for Halloween.
Joanna tried to call the police, but the phone was dead. She examined the phone line connection, on the back of the phone, but it was intact. She knelt down and crawled half way under the phone desk, and saw that the line to the wall, was also plugged in. "What are doing?" Chris asked from behind. She spooked Joanna so much, that when she jumped, she hit her head on the desk top. "Ouch!" "I'm sorry, Jo, I didn't mean to scare you. You okay?" Chris said as she helped her friend up off the floor. "It's all right, I'm fine. The phone's not working, Chris." Joanna told her, rubbing her now sore scalp. "How are we going to call the police, then?" Chris asked, as she made sure Joanna could stand. "Not sure, maybe some one has a cell phone?" Joanna asked, looking around the room. "I think Lisa has one, and maybe Taker. But I'd hate to go through their things." Chris said, shaking her head. "Well, we might have to. I'm sure they wouldn't mind since it's an emergency. You go search their things, Chris. I want to check on the Gabrielle and Agatha." Joanna told her, as she went to Agatha's door. "I think Sonje is checking on them." Chris mumbled, but Joanna never heard her. Giving off a deep sigh, Chris headed up stairs to the other rooms.
Joanna peeked in on Agatha, who was still out of it. She kept the room dark, as to not disturb the sick young lady, and walked up to her bed side. Joanna moved Agatha's bangs back, and checked her forehead, but there was no fever. Joanna thought it strange, but left the room, just as quiet as she came in. She quietly walked down the hallway to her and Gabrielle's room, and opened the door. She cringed as the door creaked loudly, as the other did not, and quietly tip toed inside. The room was dark, but for a light coming from the cracks of the closed bathroom door. Joanna's eyes adjusted, slightly, as she moved closer to the bed. She couldn't quite tell if Gabie was in her bed, or not, and lightly felt for her friend's face. But all she felt was the pillow. "She must be in the bathroom." She thought to herself, as she walked to the closed door. She knocked softly, "Gabrielle? It's me, Joanna, how are you feeling, dear?"
No answer came from the other side, and she knocked harder. The door slowly creaked open, but Joanna was afraid to pop her head in. She didn't want to disturb Gabie, but she was concerned for her health and welfare. "Gabie, are you in here?" She called, but no reply came. She opened the door, further, as she called once again, "Gab..." A sudden sharp pain descended onto the back of her head, as she soon saw nothing but black.
Agatha, tossed in her bad, as she began to feel her head pulsate from pain. She moaned, not quite knowing where she was, at first. She stumbled out of bed, and crawled to the wall. "Help..." She mumbled, to weak to shout. She felt the wall, as she tried to find a door. She felt totally sick, as she reached a knob, but found it was a closet, when she opened it. She felt the floor, remembering she had put her bag in side. One more reach lead her to what she was looking for. She unzipped the bag and felt for a vial she brought with her, just in case she needed it. She quickly found the odd shaped bottle, and pulled the cap off with her teeth, and drank a sip of it. She put the cap back on, tightly, and slipped it into her skirt pocket. She began to hear strange noises from out side her room, and quickly closed the closet door. Still weak, and tired from the search, she collapsed, unconscious, onto her bedroom floor, not knowing where she would wake up next.
Chris had just finished her search for any sign of a cell phone. She found Lisa's, but it was dead. Now she had to search Taker and Kane's bedroom. She didn't want to, but knew if she could find a cell phone, and call the police, it was right to do in the end. She looked in their empty suit cases, in their clothes, hanging up in the closets, and even in the their dressers. "No phone, but interesting underwear." Chris whispered, as she closed the last drawer. She bit her lip and looked around the room, for one last time. But before she left, she found a small black box, just under a blanket crease on Taker's bed. She rushed to it, and knew exactly what it was. She opened one end, pulled out the antenna, and began to dial the numbers. Suddenly, she heard a loud ruckus downstairs and as she jumped, startled, the phone dropped from her hands, and crashed to the hard wood floor.