Jim rubs Charlene's back. "Take your time, Babe. Remember to take deep breaths."

"Someone needs to call 911." she cries. Jim nods to Chad.

"What happened to Julie?" Dom speaks quietly.

Chad walks away to call 911.

"She, she, was murdered. She stayed behind to pee, and we lost her. We backtracked our steps to the creek where we left her, and she was gone."

Her eyes are wild, and her voice is void of any emotions.

"Deanna went to get help. Did she find you? Is that why you're here? Suellen twisted her ankle when we ran away after finding Julie's body hanging from a tree. I couldn't carry Suellen out. I couldn't do it. I tried. I did try." Charlene looks over at me with an apologetic look. "I hid her in the bushes and ran like hell until I heard you all calling for us."

Chad stops dead in his tracks and turns back towards Charlene, totally ignoring the 911 operator on the other end of the line.

"Are you sure Deanna left to go to the truck?" He asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. How did you know to come here if Deanna didn't contact you?"

We all look at each other. Shit, this isn't good.

"Charlene, Deanna's truck is still by the road," Chad says before returning to the 911 call. He informs them of our location and lets them know that one is possibly dead, one is injured, and one is missing. They tell him to stay on the line until help arrives. Dom and I are freaking out.

"I have to get in there and get Suellen out!" I exclaim. My friends look at me knowingly.

"I'm going with you," Dom says through his tears.

Jim gently brushes a stray lock of hair behind Charlene's ear and lifts her face to meet his. "Can you take us back there, Babe?"

She violently nods, "NO! I can't. I can't go back in there. Please don't make me."

"I got you, Babe. You can do this!" Jim kisses his wife's forehead.

"Okay," she whispers.

I turn towards Chad. "You return to the truck in case Deanna or emergency vehicles arrive."

"Got it," he says and runs off in the direction where we found his truck.

Jim takes Charlene's hand, and with renewed strength, she quickly walks back in the same direction she ran from only moments ago. The terrain was not too rugged, so it didn't take long to get where Charlene was leading us. When we get there, Charlene runs towards a thickly grown-up area.

"Suellen, the guys are here. You can come out now. Suellen?" I watch as Charlene gets on her knees to look under the brush. I come alongside her, kneel, and look where she's looking.

"Are you sure that this is where you left her?" I ask Charlene.

"Yes, I'm positive." She looked at me with fear in her eyes. "I knew that I shouldn't have left her. I knew it. I begged her to let me stay. She insisted that I go for help—help for Julie."

My heart sinks.

"Where's Julie?" Dom is trying his best to stay calm, but I can tell that he's about to lose his shit.

"This way." Charlene gets up off her knees and starts walking into the creek. She never stops; she walks right through the knee-deep water. We all follow her without question.

The sun is starting to descend, letting us know that our daylight is limited. Charlene keeps walking like she's on autopilot and suddenly stops looking at Jim.

"I can't go further; please don't make me. I don't; I can't see Julie like that again. Please."

She buries her face in Jim's shoulder. He nods for Dom and me to continue in the direction Charlene was leading us.

We go about thirty feet, and it looks like a couple is having an intimate moment under a tree. Dom and I hesitate; we see a blonde-haired woman underneath a massive guy in an orange jumpsuit. It clicks almost immediately—the escaped convict. Dom also realizes what I see, and we run over to the tree.

Dom and I fall onto our knees and push the immense bastard off of the woman, my woman.

I collapse across my wife's naked, bloodied body and sob uncontrollably. Dom has his arms around my shoulders, but I'm inconsolable. Why? Why did this have to happen to the love of my life? The beautiful soul that I wanted to spend my life with forever. What a damn nightmare. It just has to be.

I don't even feel it when Dom pulls away.

"What the hell?"

I turn to him and notice him looking up. I follow his eyes up into the tree. Hanging from the branches is a naked Julie staring down at us with lifeless eyes.

Dom quickly jumps up to reach his bride. He gently and carefully pulls her down, and she falls into his arms. His knees buckle, and he wails Julie's name.

My friend and I mourn the loss of our mates side by side. From a distance, sirens come blaring. We're too late. I can't breathe. I'm suffocating in my grief, willing for God to switch Suellen's place with mine. He doesn't listen. I'm just left here on this earth without my love, without my life. I'm sure that I'll die right here next to her from my breaking heart; this is how it feels to die of a broken heart, I'm sure of it.

I hold my wife as blood continues to seep from the wound in her neck. How close was I to saving her? Did this happen in the last ten, fifteen, twenty minutes? If only I left the bar when I felt something terrible in my gut.

Would I have saved her?

Would I have made it on time?

Would my wife still be alive?

I glance over at the motherfucker who did this to Julie and Suellen. It's the first time I notice a thick stick protruding from his chest. I look back to my wife; she did this. She killed this fucker. At that moment, I couldn't have been more proud of my badass wife. Even in death, she avenged her friend and herself.

"You were always so much stronger than me, Suellen. I love you. I'll always love you." I cry like a baby, not caring who the hell sees or hears me.

Darkness surrounds us as Dom and I hug our wives close to us, rocking them, talking to them, and just breaking down altogether. I can feel my friend's anguish as I know he can feel mine.

Flashlights approach from the distance. Soon, uniformed officers surround us.

"Gentlemen. Please step away from the bodies."

"Bodies? Bodies? This woman is my wife, asshole. I will not step away!" I shout.

"Me neither," Dom yells back. "You'll have to shoot me first."

The officer decides to use a different tactic.

"We understand, but to find out who did this, we must secure the scene."

"The bastard is right over there." I point in the direction that Dom and I tossed the asshole.

Their flashlights go in the direction that I pointed. "Well, I'll be damned. Harlan Mason. Holy shit."

They walk over to inspect his body. The officer places his finger on his carotid artery and shakes his head toward the other officers, indicating that he's deceased.

Dom and I are doing what we can to hide our wives' naked bodies from the officers surrounding us. I take off my shirt, and Dom follows. We do what we can to cover up our women. All we have left to give our wives is their dignity.

*****