The Purgatory Creek Diaries

May 31

I still can’t believe she’s gone. Erica and I have been friends since second grade when her family moved into Purgatory Creek. She sat next to me on her first day and after complimenting my Lisa Frank notebook and showing me her own we became inseparable. She’s always been more outgoing than me and made friends easily, but she always remained my best friend and never abandoned me for anyone else, though she did drag me along to several parties and events I wasn’t interested in.  It would annoy me so much to have to go to some popular kid’s party, but I would give anything to go to another dumb party just to spend time with her again. The night she disappeared she was going to a party in the woods with several other kids from our school, I couldn’t go to that one because I ended up being grounded due to failing my chemistry exam. At the time I was secretly relieved because I didn’t want to go, now I feel guilty because maybe she’d be alive if I did. The school psychologist told me not to think that way, that I shouldn’t blame myself for what happened to Erica, but I do blame myself. She was always there for me when I needed her and this time I couldn’t be there for her. 

Bobby Fletcher, he owns the Garden Center here in town, found her on a Sunday about two weeks ago while out hunting in the woods. It was a spot that was several miles from where the party had been on Friday night and at the time he found her she hadn’t even been reported missing yet because her parents were out of town until Sunday night. There hasn’t been an official statement or explanation on what her cause of death is yet, but Bobby hasn’t been the same since he found her and the few locals that saw her body as Andy and his deputies were bringing her out of the woods say she looked like she was mauled by something. The thought makes me nauseas, I can’t imagine her dying that way. Andy made a statement that her death was suspicious and under investigation. If it were an animal mauling like a lot of the locals believe, why would it be suspicious? Aren’t cases of animal attacks pretty open and shut? None of this makes any sense. Maybe I can get Bobby to give me more information about what he saw if I ask, everyone knows how close Erica and I were so maybe he’ll feel like he can tell me. 

Since Erica was found, my mom decided I should have a cell phone of my own. My parents never felt it was necessary for me to have one before because our small town is so safe and close-knit, everyone watches out for each other. If I needed anything in the past I could just ask someone for help, but their sense of security has been shaken now. Everything is upside-down and we’re all scared because no one knows what has happened or if this will happen again to someone else’s kid. I would enjoy the phone more under better circumstances, I remember trying to convince them I should have a phone too after Erica received her first iPhone a year and a half earlier. Erica would be thrilled that I finally have a phone and we could text instead of having to call and talk on my house phone all the time, she said it was much more convenient to text than talk. I guess I’ll never get the chance to experience that with her now. I also don’t have many other friends to share my number with, but maybe that’ll change in the future. 

Today was my first day back after being suspended for a week and a half for punching Laura Ellis in the face. She was trash talking Erica, saying she was probably sleeping around with someone she shouldn’t have been and was murdered for it. I couldn’t stand how she had the nerve to open her ugly mouth and say that. That rumor died that day, everyone knows Laura has always been jealous of Erica because of how pretty and popular she was. Erica had the things most teenage girls wanted which made her a popular target for gossip. She always managed to not let it get her down somehow, I never really understood that. Somehow she seemed to understand where the jealousy in others came from, she’d tell me that those kids are hurting and insecure inside and so they act big and mean to hide it. All day the kids at school were talking about her death and speculating all kinds of horrible things like maybe she was a victim of a serial killer or a cult of some kind, others think she was simply chased by an animal of some kind and couldn’t outrun it. I didn’t like overhearing any of these whispers. 

I’m having a hard time understanding why we haven’t received any answers yet. The other kids that were at the party say they don’t know anything either, that the party was like any other in the woods with a large fire, lots of beer, and drunken shenanigans. About two hours in someone alerted the cops and, in an attempt, to not get caught everyone scattered into the woods. Some kids got caught and were given minors, others escaped and made it home without consequence, but no one saw what happened to Erica or where she ran off to. I know a couple of the kids she liked to talk to at these parties, maybe I’ll see if I can get some information from them. I’ve been under house arrest since being suspended, my parents won’t allow me out of their sight for even 10 minutes. I’ve wanted to find out where the party took place and check out the area myself, maybe I can find something there. I’ll get the location from Chad tomorrow, he’s usually the one coordinating these parties and try to sneak out there one of these days.