Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Red Bull ❯ Vol. Nine Chap Thirty-Three: Tree Falls in the Woods ( Chapter 33 )

Tree Falls in the Woods

Saturday, 3:00 a.m.

Step-drag. Step-drag. Step-drag. Step-drag.

She only had on a torn man's shirt. She was a sight to see. Pale body covered in bruises. Her eyes were so glassy. The girl wandered the streets. She looked like she was about to fall over. She breathed heavily.

Step-drag. Step-drag. Step-drag. Step-drag.

A low whimper escaped from her throat. She could barely stand. Still, this girl kept walking. Something in her pushed her to get help.

The girl dragged herself to a small dive bar. She pressed her hand to the glass. The people inside gasped in shock. It looked like she was trying to say something. She looked like a wide-mouth bass. The bodyguard ran over and opened the door. The girl collapsed to the floor. People gasped and dialed for help on their phones.

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Vince stretched his neck from side to side. Police talked to the witnesses. He turned to the detective on the scene.

“So what happened?” Vince asked. The detective turned his head.

“It's hard to say,” he admitted. “The witnesses had never seen her before. They don't know where she came from. She was in rough shape.” The girl was loaded onto a gurney.

“And the girl?” Vince asked.

“It's pretty bad, but not fatal,” the detective said. He looked Vince in the eye. “The CSIs did find something else.” Vince raised his eyebrow.

“Hm?” he asked. The other man looked around.

“They found this on her wrist,” he said. The detective handed him a photograph. Vince craned his neck. It looked like a strange symbol in neon blue. The top was a… flower with squiggly lines? Vince glanced up at the detective.

“What is this?” he asked. The other man leaned into his ear.

“I think it's tied to your case,” he said. Vince turned his head. The other detective said no more.

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The girl woke up hours later. Her screaming gave the nurse a fright. The poor old lady nearly fainted.

“Oh my stars!” she shouted. The patient panted as she stared at her.

“Where am I?” she asked.

“The hospital,” the nurse said. “St. Francis' Hospital.” The girl gave her a blank stare. The nurse paged the doctor.

They ran tests. The girl had drugs in her system. She had also been raped. The police came. They asked her questions. The problem arose when she couldn't answer them.

“I… I… I don't remember,” she whimpered. The girl buried her head in her hands. Something clearly happened to this girl. The police couldn't get it out of her head. Maybe they needed to try another angle.

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Vince made his way to the hospital about six in the evening. Close to closing time. He just walked up casually.

“Excuse me, mister. Visiting hours are about,” the receptionist said.

“Oh come on, miss. It won't take long, I promise,” he said. “I just need to ask a patient one question.” He flashed the older woman a cheesy grin. The receptionist rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” she said. Vince bowed his head.

“Thank you so much!” he said.

“Just go!” she said. Vince ran to the elevators.

He made it to where he needed to be. The PI walked up to Room 220 and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” a tired voice asked. Vince poked his head in the doorway. The girl sat up in her bed.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Hey,” Vince said. The poor girl looked so confused.

“Are you with the police?” she asked.

“Kind of,” Vince said.

“I told you, I can't remember anything,” she said. “I don't know where I was or what happened to me!”

“I just have one question to ask you,” he said.

“What?” the victim asked. Vince walked into the room and stood next to her bed. He pulled out the picture the detective gave him this morning.

“Does this mean anything to you?” Vince asked. The girl froze. She started to tremble. Vince waited as he watched her.

“Ami?” he asked. Her lower lip trembled. She managed to say one word.

“Hedge.”

“What did you say?” Vince asked. Her eyes were in a glassy daze.

“There were hedges I crawled out of,” Ami said. A small spark was lit in the PI's brain. Suddenly, that flower might make sense in his case.

Does it Make a Sound?