Although I was already eighteen and had a driver's license to get me here, we had to have a supervising adult like children.
Since Duncan did not have a driving license, I gave him a ride, he was the other member of our search party. When I picked him up from practice, he was especially ripe. I made the pointed effort to not mention the smell coming from his body.
His dark hair matched his dark eyes, so different from before. Whenever I saw him, a grin always formed on his lips. Now he seemed to be itching from anxiety and worry.
Today was different. When I picked him up, he was arguing with Haley, and it seemed heated. When he was finished, he just get into the car, picked up a shirt over his head, and then put on earphones not to talk to me, although I told him that I hate when he takes off his shirt.
But he was particularly genuine about his motivation to join. He is Jacks's teammate and best friend, one of the less douchebag ones.
I parked in a branch between the gas station and the outgrowing woods. I latched onto my backpack, unzipping it to give a quick look, going through my checklist: water bottle, map, compass, phone, earphones, and sketchbook—all here.
I unlatch the door, giving a wary glance, looking for Mr. Warner. He was supposed to be here, the only teacher who was willing to be out in the woods in the middle of the night looking for a missing body.
Not even once did he want to back away. Despite the fact that he had plenty of reasons why not to. One example comes to mind the time when Jacks teepeed his car last year or the fact that he drew boobs on one of the textbooks in his class for literature.
Duncan splayed his body over my car, crossing his arms over his dark, muscled torso. It wasn't that he wasn't attractive. The fact that he was Jack's friend is what put me on edge around him.
I was giving him room, concentrating more on the map I was currently playing over my windshield. I was staring at the map with all the crossed-out areas. The woods were huge. In no measure a normal forest.
Our town was famous for those woods. People have gotten lost there for years now, and warning signs are the only disincentive that we could have managed to help ourselves to warn hikers to not go into those woods.
It wasn't just the size of it. People have been mapping the woods for years now, and somehow it always seems bigger when you enter its depths, as if it's trying to lure you in.
It seemed that I'd seen most of these woods weathered with the search party the time that I'd been hiking up those woods during my free periods.
It all paid off. We almost managed most of it. Only a patch of land in the middle of the woods was the only area that we didn't cover.
At the sound of the screeching wheels, I quickly folded up the map into my pocket.
Mr. Warner's car, a dark Jeep with a bicycle rack behind, parked itself right next to my car. Mr. Warner got out of the car, playing his hands wide, "all right we are all here?"
Duncan with one subtle motion, picked out his earphones and pointed out, "Haley quit."
I whipped my head towards his, displaying my shock that he could have ridden with me all the way out here and not mentioned that?
He huffed a long sigh. So that's what they were talking about, realizing what that heated discussion was. Mr. Warner expresses his disappointment: "Such a shame. But this news brings me to something I wanted to talk to you."
I stiffened my spine at that. I glanced at Duncan with a question in my eyebrow. He shook his head in acknowledgment, telling me that he has no idea what is going on.
He continued, "I talked to the police unit handling Jacks's case, and they told me that they're not going to investigate anymore."
Duncan screeched a bark of laughter that seemed to be forced out. "Of course they did. Useless."
I looked at Mr. Warner a quick assessment. He looked genuinely concerned for Jacks's safety. He really wanted to find him alive.
"What are we doing now then? Are we shutting down the search group?"
His gaze wandered between the two of us, jumping from one to the other. "That's a more complicated decision since we are only three members now and the case is now going cold. We need to discuss what we're going to do next."
Duncan fisted his hand. He's trying to stop himself from punching him. "So you're going to give up on him?"
Mr. Warner probably saw the rage, and he raised his hands at the fence. "We don't know where this path will lead us, and I don't want us to keep up hope for something that isn't out there. Maybe we should move forward."
Duncan fumed. I felt a touch of violence coming his way, but I reached out for his hand, squeezing it. "Mr. Warner, there is a patch of land we didn't go through yet. Let us have today to decide." I looked at him with a lot of intention and determination. He decreased his brows, trying to figure me out, but he held back an objection. "All right then, let's pack up and go."
I let go of Duncan's hand, feeling it relax under my grip. His expression was still angry as hell, but a lot of confusion was creasing his brows. 'What are you doing?' was clearly what you were trying to communicate through me, but I pretended I didn't see that question.
We gone into the woods and we're not coming back until we're going to find him.