The Forest Cottage

9

Stranded 

As these four friends were out on a late night drive through the woody forests late in the night. All of them were in full spirits as they were a bit full on beer too. Jack was driving. He was a dark haired brown eyed athletic handsome guy who was a bit vain in nature. Besides him Ron his girlfriend was sitting. She was the impulsive one. She was a curvy girl with straight black hair.  In the backseat Daisy a blonde bit plump light haired girl was there. She was a sensible one. 

. And besides her Justin a slim but good looking guy was sitting. He was the coolest of 

them all. Today was Jack's birthday so to celebrate it they had gone on a drive after the cake n 

booze. It was a windy full moon night with a little of rain and some thunder storms far away. " 

So Jack what u were saying about that new car your dad was going to gift you this bday" asked 

Daisy. " This is the car a black mustang which my father has gifted me which you all r riding 

already .." he said. " It's too great " said Justin. " By the way y are we driving here in the middle 

of the forests in a black new convertible " asked Ron. " It was all of our idea remember to do 

something crazy this year remember. By the way what's the most that can happen here " said 

Jack. " Hey do u all remember how Jack was grounded for one whole week because he almost 

got himself into getting a speeding ticket " said Ron. " Yes we all do remember it very well " 

replied Daisy. " Hey watch out " screamed Daisy. And there was a loud thud. A man had just 

been hit by their car! They all got out of their car breathless to check whether he was alive. 

Jack bend down to see his pulse. And he looked up at his friends with an ashen face. " I think hes dead.  "

All of them gasped. "Oh my God what's happening. . Ron started crying. " It's okay calm down 

let me think " Jack said. " We will go in jail now Daisy said. " Shh wait let us think it out " said 

Jack. " Let's take him to the hospital maybe he's not dead "said Justin. " N say what that we hit 

him , high on alcohol they will put us in prison for that alone forget on top of it that he's dead ! " 

" What we do now " wailed Ron. " I have an idea let's bury him here somewhere in the jungle 

no one will know. " " N be a part of murder I'm not doing it. Let's just go to the police n say that 

by accidentally we hit him" said Justin. " It was an accident not murder for God's sake can't you 

see. N see he's old n we are young. Y we should go to prison when it was not our fault. He 

came in between the road. " " Help me in picking him up " said Jack

. So they all wearily tried to pick up his dead body to load him in the car. When suddenly 

from front the flashlights of a car coming co us be seen. They all froze. Now what.

What we do now " whispered Daisy. They were all shaking with nervousness. The car stopped 

right in front of them. A middle aged man got out n asked them what's the matter do they need 

help. They all were stunned to say anything. Jack spoke up. " It's okay he came in front of our 

car n has minor injuries we will take him in our car to the hospital. Thanks for asking." " How 

did you hit him by the way how it happened I mean " he asked. " We said it was an accident 

ok" exclaimed Justin. The man looked at them bit doubt fully n with suspicion. And then left 

saying its ok. " He saw us n now we have n eye witness " screamed Ron. " Shh forget it he has 

not taken down our car number so we r fine. Now hurry up n help me in lifting him he's so 

heavy " said Jack. They all lifted the body n dumped it in the dickey n were on their way to bury 

him up. All were silent. " I can't believe this is happening " said Daisy. When from behind a 

truck came up from nowhere n the driver told Jack that something is falling off from ur dickey u 

better halt n check. They all were too frightened . Did the truck driver saw the body.

They all were breathless in anticipation. Jack said " I will see about it " n waved to the truck 

driver to go ahead. By keeping a straight face. After the truck driver had gone they got out of 

their car n rushed to the dickey. The dead body's hand was hanging. A near miss he did not 

saw it. Quickly they pushed it inside n sat again in their car. " I think we will go to our house 

first n think this out what to do " said Jack. " We will have to put him in some sack or something 

". When they reached Jack's house after half an hour. Quickly they got out of the car n started 

searching for some sack in the garage. His parents had gone out for the weekend so no one 

was at home. " I m ordering pizza I'm famished for last ten hours I have not eaten anything " 

said Daisy. " How can u even think of even eating at such a time " said Ron.

Meanwhile they dragged the man inside the hall. When suddenly there was a ring on the door. 

Daisy opened the door. It was a man standing outside. He said " it's raining so heavily can I 

use ur phone to call for some help my batterys off. Hesitantly they allowed him inside. 

Because saying no would have created more suspicion. As the man's body was lying behind 

the sofa, the stranger entered inside to make his call from the table phone which was right in the right. 

All of them were too stunned to speak. Ron replied " actually u see I hit my hand, a mini injury 

n because of it all this blood has spill over ..". " U should get a first aid " said the man. " Yes 

yes we have done it " replied Jack. " Ok thanks by the way for letting me make that phone for 

garage help call I would be on my way now " said the man went out. The moment he got out of 

the door. All of them heaved a sigh of relief. " Now that was a close call " said Justin. " All right 

guys stop wasting time n help me now " Jack said. They all helped him put the body in the 

sack. " So now do we bury him or drown him in the sea" asked Daisy. " I think its better we 

bury him come on " replied Jack. " No i think we drown him its better , because someone or the 

other colliding with us in the forests " said Justin. " No we are burying him ok so lets move now 

" interjected Jack. So again they were on their way to the forests in the middle of the night. All 

were silent in the car. There was an eeriness all around The owls were hooting in the distant. " 

I m still trembling " said Daisy. " So m I " said Ron. " Oh no what's this now " exclaimed Justin. 

There was a police petrol car just behind them signalling them to halt. Jack stopped the car. 

One cop got out. " I need to see ur license and what are you all doung in the jungle at this time 

of the night ". " M afraid we need to search ur car " said he as another officer got out of the car.

The officer signalled Jack to open the dickey. Jack reluctantly came forward. And tried lifting it

up. " It's stuck I can't move it "he said. " Wait let me try it " officer said. " Whats this dent on ur

car here " he asked suspiciously. " We almost hit a car because of that this dent happened "

Jack replied. As the officer was lifting the hood they all watched with bated breaths. When

suddenly the officers walkie talkie radio came online. A female voice told them to come up

immediately to an accident scene. " We have to be on our way as something urgent has come

up . Have a safe trip " they said n went away. " That was a close call " huffed Justin. " Come

on guys our lucks running out hurry up n just bury him "Jack ordered. So they resumed their

journey. Ron started to cry " I don't believe this all is happening. " Justin comforted her by

saying " everything will be ok. We have to just stick with each other on this ok. " After they had

reached a secluded bushy spot. They buried him. The guys were sweating all over with the

digging exersion. N were returning home. When Justin said " Hey where my phone, I think it

fell on the burial site! "

Oh really, so do you want to go back n retrieve it " asked Jack angrily. Out of all of it that's

happening now u had to lose ur mobile there too. " " Its okay we can fast go back n take it

before someone else finds it, its not safe u know guys " argued Justin. " Okay I'm turning back

the car " said Jack n they went to the site n started searching for the mobile. " I don't find it

here anywhere guys " Justin said panickingly. " What do we do now someone can trace it to

us or some one has already took it. " " Wait here its " said Ron lifting his cellphone from the

ground. " Lets hurry n get out of here now. " So quickly they got inside the car again and they

were on their way back. After reaching Jack's house it was almost five o clock in the morning.

They all were so tired and just wanted to sleep. " What a hectic bday night " said Daisy

sarcastically. " All right now this all remains something about which we will not talk about okay

" said Jack. Okay they all agreed. "" Jack will u tell ur parents about this " asked Ronm

Ofcourse not. But maybe i will tell later to them and explain it all " he replied. And then they

went in Jack's bedrooms n slept. As Ron was lying in one of the rooms of his mansion. Slowly

sleep came to her. And so did to all the others. Suddenly there was a ring the land phone was

buzzing. Ron picked it up. Some one on the other line was breathing for a few seconds n then

said " I saw what you did. U all burying him! " The phone fell out of her hands.

" Ron started screaming. All rushed to her room. They asked her what had happened, she said

" someone had just called now saying they saw us burying him. " " Hows that possible " Daisy

said " we made sure no one was around us while we were burying him. " " Maybe it was that

car guy " Justin said. " And now he wants to black mail us. " " Ok enough I think its just

someone pranking around here. I m sure no one saw us with the body so just forget it " Jack

said. " But what if he calls again " Daisy asked. " Then we will see what has to be done. Now

for God's sake every one sleep I'm tired to the bone " Jack said. So they all retreated to their

rooms n tried to sleep. Morning came. Daisy got up n saw the bedside clock it read 11 am.

She got out of her bed took a shower n went downstairs. The rest were already at the table

with the breakfast being made ready. Jack was making butter pancakes n was layering it with

chocolate dip sauce for all of them. " M so hungry I feel like I have not eaten for days " said

Ron joining them. They sat together n ate quietly. Strong coffee was served in mugs to all by

Ron. " So we go to our homes now I have some work to do " said Justin. " Me too , I have to

go to my cousin sisters house to plan a house event she's hoisting " said Daisy. " Guys try to

keep this thing that happened behind us n get on with our lives now ok " said Jack. **** They

all rode in Jack's car he dropped them to their houses. With only Ron left as the last one. "

See if he calls again that miscreant let me know " he said. " Okay " she replied.

" After he left her at her house he returned home. Parked his mustang and got out. While he was

trying to

" open the door with his key Jack saw some envelope on the floor. He picked it up. "What is

this. " After he read what was written inside he was shocked. Inside on a piece of paper was

written this " Now what a you all did it will come back to you soon. "

The world felt like it was spinning and he was falling . Jack was numb to react in any way. He

said falteringly "I m telling the truth we did not murder any one I will explain it all to you. Give

us a chance. " " Now come with us to the police station and we are calling all ur friends to

report there too " said the first officer. The police car went on their way to the police station

with Jack in it. He tried to argue with them But They told him to either get a lawyer or just shut

up. When they reached the station. All his friends were there. Their faces were white with

worry. The head superintendent came and asked them to explain. Jack said it all from the start

as to how they had gone for a car ride and this man accidentally got hit & out of fear they hid

his body. " Okay so u want us to believe ur this story " superintendent asked. " We are telling

the truth, we are not murderers " cried Daisy. " You can check his body if you think we have

murdered him for any signs of struggle or weapon used " said Ron. " " Yes his body has gone

for autopsy When we get the report we will be sure whether you all are telling the truth or not "

superintendant said. Justin heaved a sigh of relief " so we will be free to go then. " " No as I

said even if its proved that u have not murdered him you all did tried to hide his body so that's

a crime" superintendant said. " So we go in jail then " Ron asked. " It depends on the way ur

case is presented by your lawyer I guess " he replied. " By the way who was the man " Jack

asked. " From his I'd we found in his pocket he was a drunk man who used to work as a

mechanic in a garage nearby with no family. " " So lets wait for the report u guys n till then no

going out of the city limits and attend ur presence here when we call u ok is that understood "

superintendant ordered. " Yes " they all said. **** After two weeks Jack Ron Daisy & Justin are

sitting in a coffee shop drinking coffee. " Really I think we should have gone to the police first

only " said Justin " imagine all trouble we took to hide the body. " Yes but its not all our fault ok

we were scared under those circumstances " Jack said. The court had forgiven them for their

actions. As their side case was also well represented by their lawyer. " So now who wants a

latte for all " asked Daisy. " I want espresso "said Justin. " Two things come out of this .. one

no more late night driving in forests second but most important, we can always count on each

other " said Ron. " Yes they all said n holded each others hands as they drank their coffee. As

the sun was setting in their quaint surroundings.