Two Years Ago - July

A name echoed in the dark woods. "Maggie!" dozens of people shouted along the gravel trail.

"Magnolia!"

"Miss Somerson!"

Jane Somerson gripped her husband's hand tightly as they continued down the trail.

"What if -" Jane whispered. She lost her sister and brother-in-law last year and adopted their teenage son, Damon. She couldn't imagine losing Maggie.

"We'll find her." Charles was just as scared as his wife, but he refused to let her see it.

The woods were eerily quiet, and the air was heavy and sticky. The thick foliage blocked out most of the moonlight, creating a murky darkness that seemed to swallow up any sound. The humidity made it difficult to breathe. The trees seemed to loom over the search party as if watching their every move. Mosquitos swarmed the search party's dozen or so people. Family, friends, locals, and the police.

Maggie was invited to stay with her friend Becky Fisher for the weekend. Becky's family had a cabin in Bridge Creek they stayed in. Jane and Charles also went away that weekend to camp with old classmates. When they learned that their daughter had gone missing, they were shocked.

"Hey!" A police officer shouted in the distance.

Jane jumped, and Charles froze. There was a sound he couldn't make out right away. Until it came closer. Something was running through the woods.

The officer ran up to Charles and the sheriff. "There's someone here! Looks like a man! He ran away after seeing me. Blood was all over his face."

Soon everyone scurried off the trail with their flashlights. Jane panicked after hearing the word blood. Charles let go of his wife's hand and sprinted toward the crashing sounds in the brush ahead.

Charles thought to himself. This must be the other boy in Maggie's group. He must know where she is.

A few minutes passed as Charles got closer to the running figure. He dived down and grabbed the person's feet. They both crashed onto the ground.

Charles jumped back up and pointed his flashlight at the tall skinny figure. Up close, Charles confirmed this was a teenager. His face was covered in blood, and he looked terrified.

"Who are you? Where's Maggie?" Charles demanded.

"I-I-I uh. I didn't do anything!" The boy shook his head.

Charles sensed the boy was lying. "Where is she?" He growled.

The boy shook his head again. Charles leaned over and grabbed the boy's shirt. The rest of the search party caught up with them.

"I'll take it from here, Mr. Somerson." The sheriff walked up to them. Charles let go of the boy.

"This is Landon Collins. His grandfather is Clear Water's Mayor. If your daughter hangs out with him and his friends, there's trouble." The sheriff looked down at the boy. "Come on, Lenny. We'll get someone to look at you. You'll have to answer some questions."

"He needs to answer them now! Where is Maggie?" Charles shouted.

"Sir, he doesn't look fit to talk. We'll fix him up and get answers from him. Until then, let's continue the search." The sheriff pointed his flashlight down to where Lenny ran from.

"So he's the Mayor's grandson." Charles rolled his eyes.

Sheriff whispered in Charles's ear. "You don't want Mayor Gerald Collins upset with you. Something more than a missing daughter could happen."

Charles's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he heard. Even the sheriff was afraid of this family.

The sheriff and another officer walked Lenny back to the trail and out of the woods. Maggie had been in the woods all night.

Charles looked over and noticed Becky and her boyfriend, Jarvis. "Did you leave Maggie alone with that kid?"

Becky felt guilty and looked at Jarvis. "He's Jarvis's friend. They were fine when we last saw them."

"Right before you two ran off to fuck around?" Charles shouted.

Becky and Jarvis wouldn't look at Charles. Jane walked up to Charles. "What did the boy say?"

"Nothing. The sheriff took him before he could tell us anything. The damn brat is the Mayor'sMayor's grandson, so he's to be treated like a prince!" Charles stormed off through the woods. "Let's go! She has to be close!"

"Wait! I remember something!" Jarvis shouted out.

"What? What?" Jane asked.

Charles turned around and ran back to them.

"I remember hearing the ATV running while Becky and I moved into the house. I don't remember seeing it after." Jarvis said.

Jarvis's dad, Tobias, spoke next. "I thought it was strange that it wasn't in the barn earlier."

Jane cried. "Oh my god. What if they had an accident? He was covered in blood!"

Tobias jogged down the trail. "There's a small ATV trail that heads down to the lake! I bet they rode that way!"

Charles and the rest of the group followed Tobias. It was his land that they were on. Becky and Maggie came to Jarvis's farm while Becky's parents were busy. Jarvis invited his friend Lenny so Maggie wouldn't be the third wheel.

About a half mile down the trail, they saw another narrow path turning left down a hill. More sunlight peeked through the trees. It lit up an ATV on its side at the bottom of the hill.

They ran down to investigate. An officer noticed a large rock nearby with blood on it. "It could be Lenny's blood."

Everyone spread out from the ATV and searched. After ten minutes of searching, Tobias shouted out to everyone. "I found her!"

Jane cried as she ran toward him. "Is she alright?"

He walked toward Jane and Charlie with Maggie in his arms. She was unconscious.

"She's breathing, but there's blood on the back of her head," Tobias said.

Charles took Maggie from Tobias's arms. The officer called his radio for an ambulance.

"It's alright, Maggie. We'll get you home soon." Charles looked down at his daughter and couldn't help crying.

Jane was shocked. In all their years of marriage, she had never seen him cry once.

Maggie started moving around. Everyone was silent. After a minute, Maggie slowly opened her eyes. They were glazed over.

"Are you hurt, sweetie?" Charles asked as he inspected her. He smelled something familiar. "She smells like beer!"

Jane glared at Charles. "Keep your voice down. You know she wouldn't drink."

Charles was upset. "Tell me why she smells like booze."

Jane looked down at her daughter and worried about her baby being hurt.

"Jesus, what were these kids up to?" Charles muttered as he held his daughter tight.

Tears streamed down Maggie's face. "I didn't want to be with Lenny." She sobbed and hyperventilated.

"Maggie! It's okay! Mom and dad are here now!" Charles tried to comfort her.

Jane held onto Maggie too. "Shh, sweetie. It's okay. We're not mad at you."

After a few minutes of crying, Maggie went unconscious again. Charles carried her up the trail and back to the Illstad farm. They could hear the ambulance siren in the distance.