Mirror in the Forest: Book One

by B. Groves

  She began to hobble around the front, and was surprised to see the driver sitting up in a daze. Everyone was starting to come to, and she remembered that Miss Edwards had told her to get help.

  “I’m going to get help,” Jessica said, forcing emotion in her voice to the driver.

  He was still in shock, and did not respond.

  Jessica hobbled around the bus and stepped over Kelly Martin’s body. She made her way up the hill, and didn’t have to wait too long before a car stopped as she flagged them down.

  Police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances surrounded them as Jessica sat with a blanket wrapped around her, and a cup of hot chocolate in her hand. Jessica couldn’t believe it, besides Kelly Martin’s passing, the injuries were not life threatening, which had taken everyone by surprise. Kelly Martin would be the only casualty of the bus accident.

  Jessica managed to drum up tears when her parents arrived, and Mark held her for as long as he could before he had to do his job sorting through this mess.

  She smiled as she remembered the look on his face when he spotted her sitting on the ground being tended to.

  “Thank God, you’re alright,” he said, choking up a little.

  “I’ll be fine,” she replied.

  She almost smirked, but held back, when she heard Kelly’s mother scream in the distance. The rest of the girls were huddled around holding each other, and crying. The coaches and the driver were still in shock, and couldn’t describe what happened to Mark. He had asked Jessica, but Jessica claimed she had no good memory of the accident, because she was half-asleep when it happened. It was almost true.

  Mary and Don stood on either side of her with sad faces as they lifted the bus to get Kelly from underneath.

  “Such a tragedy,” Mary said shaking her head, and then turned to her daughter. “Honey, I’m sorry you had to see that when you got help.”

  Jessica widened her eyes, and choked back tears. “I’ll be alright, Mom.”

  “I’m sure there will be grief counselors at school for you,” Mary said hovering over Jessica.

  Jessica almost rolled her eyes. “Sure, Mom.”

  All Jessica wanted to do was go home and see The Spirit of the Mirror. She needed an explanation for what happened, and how she would have to gift him back. She was shocked that he did this, because she hadn’t asked for anything yet, but had intended to. However, she never thought he would go to this extreme, but she wasn’t surprised considering what happened to Sara Miller, Rick Tanner, and now Kelly Martin. Mandy Cooper was alive, but paralyzed the rest of her life.

  Jessica knew he was helping her, and though she had some regrets for Sara Miller, the rest of them she could have cared less about. This was her time, and now she could go through the rest of the school year in peace, and move on from there.

  Deep down, she knew she should question the Spirit’s intentions with these “accidents,” but everything that went wrong always benefited her, so she knew he had her best interests in mind.

  Jessica turned away as they zipped up Kelly’s body bag, making the other girls cry out in grief, and she felt Mary put consoling arms around her.

  “It will be okay, sweetie,” her mother whispered.

  “I know, Mom,” Jessica answered, watching them load the body onto a stretcher and start carrying it up the hill.

  Jessica fought back a smile again, and knew now that she was invincible when it came to her guardian mirror spirit. She had the whole world at her feet when he was around. All of her doubts about The Spirit melted away when they loaded Kelly’s body into the coroner van.

  Jessica was glad for one thing. She saw that Amber was fine, and was sobbing into her dad’s jacket when they brought the body of Kelly past her.

  Amber had been nothing but nice to her, and she was not hurt, say for some scratches here and there. Jessica was glad that The Spirit of the Mirror spared her from serious injuries. A few of the other girls had concussions, and one a broken arm, another a broken ankle, but they would all live. Jessica was kind of disappointed with that, but figured the Spirit could only do so much.

  The Spirit of the Mirror had no intention of hurting anyone else except Kelly Martin, Jessica concluded.

  Jessica caught Mark’s eye when he made his way over. “We just have some things to clean up, but you can take her home, unless you want to have her checked out,” he said to Mary and Don.

  “Honey?” Don asked, turning to Jessica.

  Jessica shook her head furiously. She had no intention of going to the hospital.

  “Are you sure?” Mary asked, concerned.

  “I’m fine,” Jessica insisted. “I just want to go home.”

  “I’ll be over when I can,” Mark said.

  Jessica stood, wincing in pain, but eager to get home. She was happy Mark would come and see her later on.

  Don shook Mark’s hand. “Of course, thank you for everything.”

  Mark walked away, making Jessica smile brightly at his retreating figure. He was so handsome, she thought with a sigh, despite the chaos around her.

  Of all the things that had been going well for her in the last few months, he was the best thing out of all of it.

  Jessica was handed her bag from one of the firemen, and began to get herself together to go home. She stood silently while her father and mother spoke to another deputy, Mark’s uncle, and she smiled and nodded at the older deputy. Mark and Jessica had gone to dinner at Hal’s house the week before, and Jessica had a great time getting to know Mark’s family. They had been so much fun to hang around with.

  Jessica had barely walked about another two feet before Amber faced her, and then hugged her in a friendly gesture, though Jessica knew she was mourning Kelly. Amber stared at Jessica for a moment, and Jessica knew the look she was giving her was a silent confirmation that things would get even better for her now that Kelly, and Mandy were out of the picture forever.

  Jessica only half-listened to her parents go on and on about their relief that the accident wasn’t more serious, and that she was not seriously hurt, etc.

  Her parents pulled into the driveway, and Jessica spotted Alex standing there waiting for them. Jessica was sort of disappointed when Tessa did not appear with him. Jessica stepped out of the car into the arms of one of her best friends. She drummed up some fake tears, and Alex stood there sobbing slightly with her.

  “Where’s Tessa?” Jessica finally asked.

  Alex frowned. “I have no idea. Probably out with Danny, and didn’t hear the news yet.”

  Jessica just nodded, and they talked for a while. However, Jessica had her suspicions on why Tessa wasn’t there, so she decided to spare Alex talking about it.

  She was anxious to see The Spirit of the Mirror, and wondered what he would want in return for giving her a wish without provocation.

  She would soon find out.

  Chapter 40

  Mark watched as the last of the accident was cleaned up a few hours later. Almost all fire and rescue were gone from the scene now. Everything that was needed from the scene for analysis was done, and they were now ready to reopen the road to travelers once more. He stood at the edge of the river for a couple of minutes, staring down at the blood soaked dirt beneath his feet where Kelly Martin met her tragic end.

  He knew he should be getting ready to go. He looked up to the sky, seeing it was already late afternoon, silently groaned because of the investigation he had to start, with the paperwork that went along with it. He did want to stop and see how Jessica was doing first.

  This last game of theirs had been on a Saturday from scheduling conflicts, not a Friday, which he couldn’t help, so he didn’t switch with Paul as originally planned. He had told Jessica he just couldn’t get there today, and she had been very understanding.

  He remembered when the distress call for the accident came in. He remembered every emotion pounding at his gut when he raced to the scene. He didn’t think he could really run that fast, but before he knew it, he was down
the embankment, and frantically looking for Jessica. He had been so frantic that he missed that she was sitting with the person whom had gotten help, when she flagged him down on the road. Then he realized something. It had been bothering him since he arrived on the scene; the injured were not in any kind of serious condition whatsoever, and they told him the bus flipped at least three times.

  Besides Kelly Martin, the injuries were minor, and all would recover from the horrific bus accident. Mark took statements from everyone who was able to give them, and he knew from experience that more should have been dead. There shouldn’t have been that many survivors, with just bruises and some broken bones. He remembered Hal commenting that it was a miracle that there was only one casualty, but Mark knew better now.

  This accident was no accident; he could feel it down to the very depths of his soul. He spoke with the bus driver, and he insisted an outside force that he could not explain was controlling his steering wheel. The bus driver then explained that after the first roll he lost consciousness, and he was shocked when he woke up to see Jessica telling him she was going to get help.

  Mark took a deep breath, and gazed one last time at the bloodstain before walking back up to the embankment to join Bill.

  Bill lit up a cigarette, waiting for Mark at the top of the embankment.

  Mark knew the look that Bill was giving him, and it was not good.

  He had seen this before.

  Mark lit up another cigarette that he got from Bill Brown, and puffed on it welcoming the nicotine into his bloodstream to calm his raging emotions, though a little weed would’ve been better.

  “Has this ever happened before?” Mark asked, taking a drag of the cigarette.

  “Many times. I guess you haven’t read up on it yet,” Bill answered.

  “No. I haven’t had a chance,” Mark said, as he flicked the ashes from the cigarette.

  Bill shook his head and said, “It’s right in front of your face.”

  Mark turned and stared at the deputy. “You know damn well, there is no way to prove it was more than an accident. Besides, how do you know this?”

  “No...but I’m not the one with the personal stake in it either. You said it about the girl yourself once,” Bill said turning to stare at him accusingly.

  “You’re crazy. There is nothing more to prove,” Mark answered, still trying to deny it, knowing exactly whom Bill was referring to.

  “Maybe, but I’ve lived in this town for many years, and have seen more things than I like to admit. Hopefully, you stop living in denial,” Bill said, flicking his finished cigarette down the embankment.

  He turned without another word, got into the cruiser driving off, and leaving Mark there alone with his thoughts.

  Mark almost didn’t go there. It was a long drive as thoughts raced through his head. If he wanted to, he could’ve avoided it all together, and just went to the office to do the reports, and continue the investigation into the bus accident. However, he knew he couldn’t. He knew there was something evil in this town, and no matter how much he wanted to reject it, he couldn’t.

  From the moment he met Jessica Winters, until now, odd things had been happening, and he knew deep down that she was at the center of it. Well, not just her, but the mirror that he came upon in the woods near her house that one day, the day they found Rick Tanner hanging from the tree.

  He gripped the steering wheel hard, and thought back to each and every incident, and knowing he had to face it. He still tried to figure out Sara Miller, but knew that would come in time.

  It wasn’t that he wanted to accuse her of anything, because any logical person would say there is nothing that was her fault, but he knew better. He always knew, never wanting to see what was right in front of him the whole time. He knew why he never wanted to face it, because that night in the diner when they first had dinner, that was when he knew he was in love with her.

  Now, he had no choice. Too many were dying or hurt, and he had to know why, and try to put a stop to it.

  He pulled up to Jessica’s house and took a deep breath. He exited the cruiser, and was barely closing the door when Jessica came out of the house.

  It had not escaped him, that when the accident happened, she had not shown an ounce of remorse, guilt, or trauma. Not once. In fact, she seemed almost giddy about the accident, which furthered his suspicions.

  He knew people had different ways of reacting to traumatizing events, but Jessica’s had been strange all along. Everyone else on the accident scene had shown some kind distress, she seemed perfectly fine.

  She smiled broadly when she came out of the house. She was walking with a slight limp. He could see the bandages covering her arms from the broken glass of the accident. She should have been showing some kind of stress, not only from the accident, but also from watching a classmate die before her very eyes.

  She showed nothing on her face to indicate that the accident had affected her mentally.

  “Hi!” She said, hugging him and kissing him.

  Mark barely returned the gesture, and Jessica frowned for a second, but her eyes shielded over trying to ignore his reaction.

  “How are you feeling?” He asked in a low tone, when she let go of him.

  Jessica shook her head a little, and said, “Sore, but not bad right now. Mom says I’ll really feel it tomorrow.”

  “She’s right. Are you okay, did you need anything?” He knew he was still avoiding the questions he wanted to ask her.

  Jessica smiled again and said, “No. I think I’m good for right now, but I’m glad you’re here though.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  Jessica put a finger to her lips, and Mark caught her worried look. “The only thing that I am worried about is I haven’t been able to get a hold of Tessa. Danny called me about it. Alex was here, and hasn’t seen her. Her parents said she went to study, but hasn’t been home yet.”

  Mark stilled, but tried to shake it off. He knew Jessica and Tessa were going through a rough patch, but it made him wonder if she really was worried about Tessa.

  “Does she know what happened?” Mark asked.

  Jessica looked confused. “I’m not sure. Her parents said she had to hear about it by now. I just hope she didn’t have anything happen with her diabetes.”

  “I’ll tell you what, when we get done here, I will take a look around for her,” Mark offered. He felt concerned for Tessa’s well-being, but didn’t want to say anything just yet.

  “Thank you,” Jessica answered, relieved. “Did you want something to eat or drink? Mom is making supper now.”

  “No, thank you. We need to talk,” Mark implored.

  Jessica raised her eyebrows in question. “Alright,” she answered, carefully.

  Mark took a deep breath and adjusted his hat. He knew it was now or never.

  “Jessica, from the moment we met, you have been lying to me. I usually cannot stand liars. I’m a cop, and that can get you in deeper trouble when you lie, but yours I have forgiven for the longest time, because….well you know why, but it’s time you told me the truth about what’s going on with you.”

  Mark didn’t know why, but the relief from what he said made him feel so much better. He had been holding it in for so long.

  Jessica took a step back, and he could see the emotions playing on her face as she tried to find words.

  “What….what…do you mean?”

  “Jessica, you are not the same person I met last summer. You’ve changed. No, let me rephrase that, you’ve changed more than any other person I’ve ever met before. I want to know what is going on with you, and I want the truth,” Mark insisted. He could feel his anger starting to build.

  He wished she would just tell him the truth!

  Jessica looked like she would bolt back into the house, but instead put her hands up in a slightly defensive position. “I was just in a horrible bus accident….one of my teammates is dead….I lost the game of my life not even hours ago, and you want to talk about me changing?”
Her voice rose to almost to a squeal.

  Mark tilted his head, and looked her over. The guilt began to show on her face, he knew he was finally getting through to her.

  “Yes, one of your classmates is dead. You don’t seem upset or surprised. Care to explain?” He asked, in an accusing tone.

  “Everyone reacts differently,” Jessica tried to reason, but Mark could see the tears forming in her eyes. “What are you trying to get at Mark? Do you really think I would have done something to that bus? To hurt people?”

  Jessica looked like she was in panic mode now. Mark was backing her into a corner, and Mark knew she didn’t know how to handle her lies any longer.

  “I never accused you of anything. I just want to know what you know,” Mark said calmly, not backing down this time. “It’s time for you to tell me, Jessica.”

  Jessica shook her head frantically, and the tears began to fall on her cheeks. Mark noticed her mother looking out of the front window, but he didn’t care. Mark never liked her parents; they were so phony, and so narcissistic, that it grated on his nerves.

  “I don’t know anything! Why are you asking me these things?”

  “Jessica, goddammit, you’re lying again! I know you are. You told me you saw a bear when we first met. That was a lie. Your hair and body have changed more than a normal person should. You were not cut out for playing basketball. I’ve watched you play. It was almost unnatural. No one, and I mean no one can play like that in his or her first year. Yet, you told me your mother and father taught you. Another lie. There are other things too.”

  Jessica was practically sobbing now, but did not do anything. She just stood there with her hand over her mouth trying to keep it together.

  “Why did Rick Tanner attack you and mention a mirror? Why did your friend Tessa mention a mirror in the forest?” He asked, getting sick of her denials.

  “Please Mark, please, I don’t know what you’re talking….”

  “Yes you do! I know you do, Jess! You know exactly what I’m talking about!” He yelled, making Jessica shrink back a little.