By Janet
This scene comes somewhere at the beginning when the girls are found to be missing, and the search for them starts:
As she drove further along the dirt road, clouds of red dust in her wake and the highway a distant memory, Eleri was grateful for what3words and the Jeep Rubicon she had picked up at the airport. Although she had managed to sleep on the plane, she desperately needed some fresh air to clear the fog in her brain. The last 24 hours had passed by in a blur; one moment she was curled up on the sofa watching Race Across the World, and the next she was catching the red eye to Albuquerque and a 3-hour drive to the Chaco Canyon. The girls had already been missing for five days, and Eleri knew, more than most, that the hope of finding them alive decreased with every additional day after the first 24 hours. Not far now, she thought as the location pin on her phone appeared. The road curved right, and in sharp contrast to the loneliness of the drive there, a hive of activity now presented itself: police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and uniformed personnel filling the parking lot at the Information Center. She parked the jeep carefully; her boss wouldn’t appreciate any bills for damage, the jeep itself was costing enough, and asked a young officer for Sheriff King. The Sheriff turned as she approached. She could see him appraising her suspiciously before a flash of understanding.
“Detective Eleri Thomas?” he asked, butchering the pronunciation of her name and outstretching his hand.
“Yes,” she replied, shaking his hand, “but please call me El.”
Eleri felt small next to the man; he had the build of an American footballer and presence to match.
“Nice to meet you, El, glad to have you on board”, he said. Looking her up and down. “I see you’ve done your homework, dressed for the terrain. I like that. Let’s get going. By the by, you’re not afraid of helicopters, are you?”
Eleri shook her head.
“Good, it’s the quickest way to get to the campsite; otherwise, it’s a 10-mile hike.”
The helicopter ride was short and smooth, no more than 10 minutes, but she was glad, all the same, when it was over.
“This is where they camped,” the Sheriff explained. “We interviewed the other girls, but nobody saw or heard anything. They had hiked a few miles into the canyon to watch the sunset from one of the higher points, and when they got back, the girls weren’t with them. They waited for them to return, but they never did. Then they called us. What do you want to see first?”
“Let’s retrace their steps,” Eleri replied.
The sheriff nodded, “Follow me.”
After a relatively easy hike, followed by a more gruelling ascent to the rocky peak, Eleri looked at the canyon below. There were a lot more trees than she had imagined. In the distance, a flock of large birds circled round and round in the sky.
“Turkey vultures,” the Sheriff said, following her gaze.
Eleri felt the colour drain from her face, picturing the conversation she would be forced to have with Jess’s and Hannah’s parents, the pain she would cause.
“I know what you’re thinking,” the Sheriff said, reading her thoughts, “but vultures aren’t anything like they make them out to be in the movies. Circling means they’re hunting for food, sniffing the air for the scent of something. It’s when they’re not circling that you have to worry. Those fellas are just riding the thermals.”
He smiled. Eleri smiled back, visibly relieved.
“This is where we found the head torches,” the Sheriff said after a moment.
Eleri turned, noticing the police tape secured to the ground a few metres away, circling a yellow evidence marker with the number one written on it. The sheriff took out his phone and showed her the crime scene photo of the spot. Eleri walked over to the circle and stepped in. Instantly, she felt a tingle of electricity, “pins and needles” running through her entire body, and then she smelt it, the smell of surprise, followed by fear, primal fear.
“Are you alright?” the Sheriff asked. “You look a little faint.”
“I’m fine,” Eleri lied, “just a wave of jetlag. Nothing a cup of that coffee I saw you slip into your backpack won’t cure.”
“Yes, ma’am, coming right up,” the Sheriff laughed.
Eleri wasn’t ready yet to let the Sheriff know about her special talents, the talents that made her so good at finding missing persons, if she ever did. She’d been burned before from sharing too quickly and had learnt from her mistakes. Her mind wandered back to her first days on the Force.
Staring down at the grey evidence box, the anticipation of what she was going to discover inside, bubbling up inside her, Eleri felt that, for the first time in her life, she was where she was supposed to be. Her super senses no longer something freakish, something to be taunted about, but talents to be revered, expertise that only she possessed.
For so long, she had suffered at the hands of her classmates, delighting in watching her rush off to the school toilets to puke as she was overwhelmed by the smell of rotting meat or a baby’s dirty nappy someone had slipped into her backpack, or ignoring her agonising cries pleading with them to stop as they scraped their nails down the blackboard. If only they could see her now. She imagined herself back then, straightening her back, and with her head held high, defiantly putting two fingers up at them, watching as the smirks were wiped from their faces and replaced by the puzzled looks of “what the hell just happened”.
“Ready to take a hike back to the campsite?” The sheriff’s question brought her back to the present.
She nodded.
The campsite was deserted, apart from the semi-circle of seven brightly coloured tents, cordoned off by police tape, that the missing girls and the rest of their group had occupied. The other girls had flown home a couple of days ago when it was clear that Hannah and Jess were not going to be found quickly and that they had no idea where they were. Eleri made a mental note to speak to them when she got home.
“The two leaders, Jones and Lewis, had the middle tent, and the missing girls were in that far one on the right,” the Sheriff pointed. “CSIs went through everything and took the stuff, but left the tents. I have the photos, and you can see the stuff back at the department.”
Taking each tent in turn, Eleri worked through the photos, ending with Hannah and Jess’s tent. She took her time in their tent, letting her senses get to work. There was nothing sinister there, just happiness and fun with the odd hint of irritation thrown in. It was clear to Eleri that the secret to their disappearance wasn’t linked to the camp.
This scene comes when Hannah has been found and is at home, trying to remember what has happened to her. I’m not sure if this is a twist too far:
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve tried to remember, I really have, but I can’t remember anything.”
Hannah looked over at Sid, her old threadbare teddy bear sitting comfortably on her bed where he always did, his one beady black eye staring at her intently and his lopsided smile sceptical. She smiled as she remembered how Sid had entered her life, a gift from her Dad after a business trip to Germany, just before she started school, soft and fluffy with two shiny button eyes and a stitched smile. Dad knew she was nervous about her first day, but told her she would be OK, as he had asked Sid to look after her. Sid was a very brave and fearless bear, used to adventures, he told her, and he would always be there if she needed him. Dad was right, as always, her fears disappearing in the knowledge that Sid was tucked away at the bottom of her backpack. Sid was her protector, confidante and best friend, always there to share the ups and downs of her life, especially when Dad died. He went everywhere with her.
“I don’t even remember being taken. I don’t know where I’ve been or what I did there, only that I was brought back. Five years! It’s a big gap in my life, a big void. I wish I could remember something, just one tiny thing, but my mind is blank. And you’re no help. You were there too.”
Hannah turned to the window, dabbing at the frustrated tears in the corners of her eyes. She didn’t notice the slight rustling noise behind her.
“Don’t worry, Hannah, we’ll figure it out,” a low, growly voice said.
Hannah turned, startled to see Sid walking unsteadily towards her.
“What the…?” Hannah cried out, “How?”
“Stop panicking,” Sid said gruffly, staring into her eyes. “I’ve always been able to talk. I just haven’t had the need to until now.”
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