Killers Love Silence

Prologue: Scarlett Cross

Life is bittersweet, isn’t it? The world is such a beautiful place, yet it holds some of the ugliest people. We all know those kinds of people. The ones that have looked down on us and belittled us, and for what? Just as this, everything else worth experiencing in life is bittersweet. From friendships to family, to dating, to having a child, to parking your car, to just living everyday life, everything is bittersweet. The most amazing things in life are bittersweet, and so is Scarlett’s life.

She was born on a chilly December morning, and like all babies, she was just an innocent, helpless little thing with no idea as to what up was from down. From the moment she left the hospital, life was bitter to her. After a while though, the bitterness of the biting cold became a familiar feeling. Some days, however, were colder than others, and today just happened to be one of them.

As she stood under a willow tree looking down upon the beautifully dressed corpse of her Uncle Victor, she could feel her sorrow take a hold of her heart and begin to overflow. There was so much sorrow in the pit of her stomach. It felt like a knot. The aching wails inside her; that it created, screamed to be let out. However, Scarlett could not yet let her wails be heard for if they found her, surely, she would die, or worse.

Her uncle’s skin was pale white, but his cheeks were pink. He looked almost as if he would wake at any moment, the way he always did before. It was obvious someone put makeup on his face to make him look more alive. Although his hair was still brown it was not styled the way he always wore it. It was more slicked back, than usual. In fact, the way his hair looked together with his tux, it was almost as if he was soon to arrive at a ball.

Snapping back to reality Scarlett realized she had been staring at him for too long. So, she dropped the white rose she had with her into the wretched cherry wood coffin that he laid in and quickly made her way across the clearing into the tree lining. When she reached it, she took cover behind some brush so that no one would see her and turned for one last look.

There was a police officer making his way over to the coffin, and everyone following seemed angered at his presence. Confused, Scarlett watched as another one of her uncles, Richard, mumbled something and grabbed a hold of the officer’s right shoulder as an attempt to stop him. However, the policeman became quickly infuriated at this jester. As he shook Richard off, the officer whipped himself around to face Richard and yelled, “As an order of the Court, and Judge Whitman I am obligated to repossess this body for an autopsy! I don't care if he was your family! We have reason to suspect that he was murdered. If you continue to interfere any further, I will have no choice but to charge you with obstruction of justice!”

A look of shock not only came over her Uncle Richard’s face but the rest of the family as well. Then the officer continued to make his way over to the coffin and take out his radio. Before he said anything into it; however, he paused for a short moment as the already bitter look upon his face turned even sourer. Turning in her family's direction he asked, “The funeral has not yet started, yet he already has a rose. Did any of you put it here?” This confused her family for none of them had placed the rose into the coffin.

The officer was suspicious of an uninvited person’s presence and he was right because someone that wasn't invited was there. That posed a problem for Scarlett though, because she was the uninvited one. Realizing his murder was blamed on her, she then became riddled with fear at what might happen if she were to be detained. No one would believe her. No one ever did. Which was probably why it was so easy for someone to frame her.

Desperate not to get caught she began to quietly back away from the brush. In the distance, she could hear the police officer radioing in for backup. They were going to start looking for her. Now, Scarlett knew for sure that she needed to get as far away as she could. It was obvious to Scarlett that going there was a mistake. However, it's hard to make a quiet getaway through the forest, especially when it’s Fall, and the crisp leaves cover the ground like a blanket.

Scarlett was almost far enough back that she could move a little more freely, but one wrong step was all it took. A stick that she didn’t see under some leaves shattered beneath her left foot. Frozen in place, she then heard the officer get excited and yell, he had heard something in her direction. She didn't know what to do. She just couldn't stand to run, for she was not guilty of the crime, and honestly running would just make more noise. So, she took a quick look around and found a dead hollowed out tree with a hole at the bottom just big enough for her to squeeze through and hide.

The insides of the dead tree smelled rotten and earthy. She was so terrified that there might be snakes, or poisonous spiders inside the tree as well. Right now, though, she would rather take them over the police officer. All there was left to do now was wait and hope he didn't find her. Scarlett’s heart was beating rapidly. Afraid that he would hear her, she tried to slow her breathing in order to keep it quiet. However, her heart felt like a paddle ball. Each thump jumped out and slammed back into her chest. Almost as if her heart was attached to an elastic string. Her body wanted to hyperventilate, but she managed it by holding her breath.

Outside the tree, it became quiet and she could hear the sounds of thunder in the distance. A thunderstorm was headed in her direction but she welcomed it. Honestly, she knew it was a stupid idea to come to this funeral and now her chances of getting away looked grim. If she were to be found it would be a long time before she would ever feel the rain, see the sky, or breathe in fresh air again. At least she would be able to one last time.

The sounds of crackling leaves and snapping twigs got closer and closer, until, they were right outside the tree. Just as they arrived, the air from outside began to smell sweet, and the soft pitter-patter of raindrops filled the forest. The officer’s footsteps sounded even closer now, but they just kept coming. Just when Scarlett thought it was going to be all over a loud ring came come from the officer's phone. His footsteps halted as he answered it, “Yeah Boss. What? Right now? What hospital is she in? Ok. Yes, sir. I’m on my way. Who are you sending to take my place? Alright, I'll call Davison and tell him everything before I go.” As he rushed away from her tree back to the grave site, Scarlett faintly heard another car pull up in the far distance.

A breath of relief came over her as she realized he was gone and she could go. Cautiously she poked her head out of the tree. The coast looked clear as she wiggled out and began sneaking her way through the wet forest again. It was now pouring down, soaking Scarlett head to toe. Even though she was drenched, she welcomed the storm. The noise of the thunderstorm covered the noise of her footsteps and the water covered her tracks.

Time was of the essence though, and Scarlett knew it. It would only be a matter of time before the backup he called in began to search the woods. As soon as she got far enough from the funeral, Scarlett began sprinting as fast as she could through the marshy undergrowth.

Unfortunately, the way she was headed wasn't how she had gotten to the funeral. She didn't know where she was going, or even where she would end up. Her only hope was to continue in the same direction until she could find a road. Although, just as everything else had gone wrong, so did her plans of finding a road.

Instead of standing at the edge of a road, Scarlett found herself atop a steep bluff gazing down at the raging rapids of a very wide river below. Until now she hadn't had any idea there was even a river nearby. She had no idea where she even was. However, she was now beginning to realize how hopelessly lost she was. There had to be a way across somewhere, so Scarlett began scaling the bluffs with her eyes for a safe way around. Suddenly, from behind her a voice yelled, “Hold it right there!” With how unexpected it was, it caused her to jump and lose her footing.

She screamed for help while desperately trying to regain her balance; however, it was already too late. The last blood-curdling scream flew out of her mouth as she quickly fell to the deep white rapids below. As her body plunged down deep into the violent currents of the freezing river, she took one last gasp of air. The stinging cold engulfed her and the violent rapids of the river slapped down on top of her, keeping her from resurfacing. The current pushed her along as she struggled desperately, trying to resurface. Her lungs screamed for air for what seemed like an eternity as she stayed trapped beneath the icy murky waters.

Finally, the rapids let up just long enough for Scarlett to pop her head up and get a breath. As quickly as she could, she looked around at her surroundings before the waves took hold once more and pushed her back down. The quick glance revealed there were falls ahead. Scarlett was beginning to quickly realize that if she didn't get out now, she really would die. So, she began to swim sideways in order to reach the bank. To her surprise, it was working, but there wasn’t much time left before she would reach the falls. Frantically, she stroked the water with all the strength she had left barely managing to reach the river bank.

Scarlett pulled herself up onto the shore and collapsed gasping for air. She was more than relieved to be back on the muddy ground. Sadly, even as sopping wet and tired as she now was, there was no time for rest. She didn't know how long she had been in the river or whether or not the police were still looking for her. So, she needed to get as far away from the river as she could.

As she sluggishly drug herself through the forest, she could feel her temperature rapidly dropping. Little did she know, hypothermia was beginning to set in. Her stamina was next to none and her legs were beginning to give out. Scarlett tried pushing herself just a little further, but her body had hit its limits. Chills began to set in all over her body as she fell to the ground and scrunched up trying to get warm. The cold seemed like it was intensifying as she began shaking like a leaf.

There was nothing she could do. She had no energy left. So, she just laid there and stared up at the last rays of the day's sunlight shining down through the leaves of the forest canopy. Her breathing slowed and darkness slowly surrounded her as she closed her eyes and went into a very deep slumber.