She takes her bag and dumps it on the passenger seat and begins to sort through it. ‘It has to be here somewhere. I’m sorry officer, I never been asked to show it before.’ As Kate continues to sort through the mess on the seat, the skinny officer looks down at the line. Kate glances up and sees that the line is starting to get longer.
‘Excuse me.’ The skinny officer says, ‘If you could give me your name, I could radio up to the office for you. Save you some time.’ Kate begins to put the mess on the passenger side seat back into her purse. She turns to the skinny officer, ‘My name is Kate Newberry. Or, maybe you should call it in as Katherine Newberry. Kate is a nickname but it says Katherine on my report cards.’
The skinny officer stands up, takes his radio from his belt. He raises it to his mouth and pushes the button. ‘Officer Moore to station 3, come in.’ A voice cuts through the static, ‘Go ahead’ the voice response.
The skinny officer pushes the button, ‘I need a positive ID on a student. The name is Katherine Newberry.’
The skinny officer walks to the front of the car, ‘Her license plate is P-as in Peter, K-as in King, J- as in John, 9,5,2…copy?’ The office waits intently for a response.
‘Identity confirmed’ the radio replies.
The skinny officer waves to the chubby office. The chubby officer holds his hand up and pushes the barricade aside. The skinny officer gives Kate a small salute, ‘There you go Kate. Enjoy the rest of your day.’ Kate smiles at the officer, ‘Thank you. You do the same.’
Kate slowly drives past the cubby officer and waves. She watches him through the rear view mirror put the barricade back in its place as she pulls into the student parking lot.
On the lawn of the school, a large crowd of people are gathered in front of a podium. The podium is empty and whispers are exchanged through the crowd. Behind them are ten cameras set up in front of 7 vans.
Kate pulls into a parking spot and takes her phone out. She dials Jessica again. Again, she gets her voice mail. Kate gathers her purse and backpack and gets out of the car. As she closes the door, she sees a couple kids running toward the crowd.
Kate shakes her head in disgust, ‘Freshman…’ She looks around and notices the unusually large number of students in the parking lot. She checks the time on her phone again. Its 7:24 and classes start at 7:20.
A group of students are gathered near the entrance, surrounding a girl who appears to be crying. Other students are using their cell phones to video tape the crowd and give a play-by-play commentary of the event.
‘Kate! Over here!’ a voice from behind her says. Kate looks around and sees her friend Linny sitting in her car with her boyfriend Donovan. Kate walks over to Linny, ‘Hey. What’s with all this stuff going on?’ Linny looks at Donovan, then back at Kate, ‘You didn’t hear? Jessica’s dead.’
Kate’s eyes widened with disbelief, ‘What?! Oh my God, what happened?’ Donovan begins to type something into his phone, ‘She got murdered. Crazy huh?’
Kate’s hands begin to shake, ‘She was murdered? I just saw her at Mason’s party on Saturday. What happened to her?’
Linny gets out of the car and puts her arm around Kate, ‘They say she was found in the wood this morning. I heard her mom kept calling her after she left the party and she didn’t get an answer, so she called the police. The police said she would have to wait 24 hours before she could be considered missing. Then when they finally started looking for her, they found her dead,’
Donovan puts his phone back in his pocket, ‘Found dead? She was 100% murdered.’ Linny kicks the side of his car, ‘You don’t know what happened!’ she yells at him, ‘All we know is that she was found dead.’
Donovan begins to chuckle, ‘They found her freakin’ head impaled on the top of a tree.’ Linny punches Donovan on the shoulder, ‘That’s a rumor dumbass!’
Kate begins to slowly shake her head, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ Linny strokes Kate’s hair, ‘We’re all taking it hard babe. Rachael is in pieces. She said she called Jessica and told her to come back to the party. I think she’s blaming herself for letting her walk alone in the first place. I bet that weird ass kid Simon had something to do with it. He did leave the party not to long after her, and he’s just creepy. You know how he always takes pictures. That’s what serial killers do. That, and kill small animals. Even at the party he was taking a crazy amount of pictures. Someone should have kicked his ass right then and there.’
Donavan takes his phone from his pocket, ‘Simon? You mean the kid who can’t even climb the rope in gym class somehow managed to climb a 30 foot tree. No, wait; climb a 30 foot tree WITH a head tucked under his arm? You a regular Sherlock aren’t you?’
Linny takes Kate by the hand and begins to guide her to the school, ‘C’mon Kate. Let’s hope this caveman drowns in his own stupidity.’ As they walk away, Donavan sticks his head out the car. ‘I love you baby!’ he yells with a smile.
Linny quickly turns around, ‘Go to hell!’ she yells back.
Kate and Linny walk toward the podium of the school. A police car drives up and parks on the lawn, next to the podium. Sheriff Morrison gets out of the car, along with a man dressed in a suit. The crowd sees the Sheriff and his companion and walk closer to the podium. Some of the people in the crowd take out notepads and direct their cameramen to begin filming. Some of the students in the crowd take out their cell phones and begin recording.
Kate looks over to the group of girls at the entrance. She sees Rachael surrounded by the girls, tears flowing from her face. The girls grab her arms and try to push Rachael inside the building.
‘Rachael, you shouldn’t hear this’ she hears one of them say.
Rachael tries to resist, ‘I need to know what happened to her! It’s all my fault she’s dead!’
The reporters look over at the commotion and rush over to Rachael. They quickly shove the girls surrounding Rachael out of the way. Rachael’s crying begins to subside and the reporters elbow each other to get closer. One reporter holds a recorder close to Rachael’s mouth. ‘Excuse me, did you know the victim?’
Rachael takes a deep breath, ‘Yes, yes I did. She was my best friend. I called her when she was leaving a get-together with a few of the students at the school. She told me she had to go home and started to leave the party and I grabbed her by the arm and pleaded with her not to go. I offered to go with her but she must have sensed she was in danger. She saved my life.’
More reporters begin to retrieve their recorders from their pockets. Another reporter fights through the crowd to get her recorder close to Rachael, ‘Are you saying the victim knew she was in trouble?’ she asks.
Rachael nods her head, ‘I believe she sensed she was in danger. I believe she knew I was part of a bigger plan and sacrificed herself so that I may fulfill some sort of destiny. I don’t know what it is, but I plan on doing some soul searching over the next couple days.’
Linny rolls her eyes, ‘Is she really THAT desperate for attention?’ she says with disgust, ‘The girl who treated Jessica like her lab rat is now so distraught over her death. Oh please!’
Kate looks across the lawn of the school and sees Simon sitting on the bench. She watches him as he takes his camera out of his backpack. He sits the camera next to him. He reaches into his backpack again. He pulls out a film cartridge and sticks it in the back of the camera.
Kate taps Linny on the arm, ‘There’s that Simon kid. Do you really think he did something to Jessica?’ Linny tears her attention away from the crowd gathered around Rachael and looks at Simon.
Simon stands up. He slides the hood from his head and aims the camera in the direction of Rachael. His thin fingers and pale hands shake from the cold as he struggles to push the camera’s button down.
Linny turns to Kate, ‘I…You know, I was just upset when I said that. Yes, he IS creepy, and no one talks to him, but I doubt he did anything to Jessica.’
Rachael begins to sweep the hair away from her face as an on
slaught of cameramen take pictures. A herd of reporters flock to her, microphones in hand ready to shoot questions in her direction. Another reporter pushes through the crowd and stands next to Rachael. He pulls out a pen and a notepad,
‘…And what is your name?’ he asks.
Rachael flips her hair over her shoulder, ‘Rachael Overton. My last name is spelled O-V-E-R-T-O-N.’
All of the reporters quickly write down Rachael’s name as photographers crush each other to get her picture.
Sherriff Morrison pushes his way through the crowd. Most of the reporters push back, but stop once they see the sheriff star shining on his chest. He reaches the center of the circle and puts his arm around Rachael, ‘If you are a member of the press,’ he yells, ‘please refrain from talking or harassing the students! Everyone please go to the area designated for the press!’
The reporters begin to file out one by one. Rachael, whose arm is being tightly held by the sheriff, loudly clears her throat.
‘Thank you everyone for being so understanding in this difficult time. And thank you for respecting my privacy, which I will use to reminisce of the times I had with Jessica through old photos of her and I together after school.’
The reporters stop. ‘What time do you plan on doing this?’ he yells. Rachael flips her hair, ‘I will be at my house after school at 2:45 pm.’ All of the reporters quickly write down the time.
The sheriff opens the door to the school and gently, but firmly, pushes Rachael inside, ‘Ok folks, keep moving!’ he yells. Rachael covers her face and starts to whimper, ‘Thank you Sherriff Morrison for your kindness and helping me get rid of those guys.’ Sherriff Morrison grinds his teeth together and smiles, ‘You’re….welcome….’ he says through his teeth.
The reporters begin to walk past Kate and Linny on their way to the podium. ‘That poor girl’ says one reporter to her cameraman, ‘she has to carry that heavy burden around for the rest of her life.’
Kate and Linny listen as another reporter and cameraman duo past them, ‘It would be a great story following Rachael Overton’s journey through the loss of her best friend. It would be such a heartfelt story. These are the kinds of stories that win ratings and broadcasting awards.’ he says to his colleague.
Linny rolls her eyes, ‘I know I joke about cracking Rachael in the head with a brick. But today…I’m starting to premeditate a plan.’
‘C’mon Linny’ Kate says, ‘Maybe this is her way of dealing with this. People have different coping skills.’
‘Coping skills?’ Linny says puzzled, ‘She’s totally milking someone’s death for attention. Remember freshman year when she told everyone that she was going blind because she got hit in the eye with a softball? Then when she didn’t go blind, she told us that the universe has a special plan for her? This is the same exact thing, except more morbid and twisted.’
Kate watches as Sherriff Morrison walks up to the podium, ‘Are you going to stick around to see what he has to say?’
Linny hunches her shoulders, ‘Might as well. It looks like everyone else is.’
Kate and Linny find a small clearing close to the stage. Like everyone else, they stand quietly. Like everyone else, they prepare themselves for the worst.
Sheriff Morrison begins to arrange the microphones on the stand. He adjusts the microphones towards him one by one as his companion places a stack of cards on the podium. Sheriff Morrison shuffles through the cards slowly; his mouth moves a bit while quietly reviewing the information. He places the cards face down in front of him and looks out to the crowd.
‘Hello everyone’ he says, ‘My name is Sherriff Michael Morrison. The sheriff’s office has called this press conference today to confirm that we have positively confirmed and identified remains found at the scene as Jessica Nowak.
Ms. Nowak was a student of this high school, and a member of our community. Her remains were found in a wooded area off Hopkins road on Monday at 2:47 am. Her mother reported her missing at approximately 4am on Sunday morning and from the testimony of those who saw her last saw her; she left a gathering of student’s alone at 1:21am on Sunday morning.
We ask if anyone has seen anything suspicious between 1:33 am Sunday and 2:47 am Monday morning to contact the Sheriff’s office with any information you may have. I will now allow questions from the press. Please direct any questions you may have to our county spokesman, Jeff Grumbacher.’
A slim man in a dark suit walks up to the podium and rests his hands on its sides.
‘Hello and Good Morning. My name is Jeff Grumbacher and I am the official spokesman for the county sheriff and law enforcement office. We have designated 20 minutes for questions so I ask that everyone please respectfully ask just one apiece and please do not repeat questions. The questions portion of this conference is now open.’
The reporter’s hands shoot up in the air.
‘Mr. Grumbacher, Mr. Grumbacher!’ they yell as they elbow for room.
Jeff looks out at the crowd and points to a man wearing a navy blue suit, ‘You sir.’ The rest of the reporters look at the man and put the points of their pens to their notepads.
The man in the navy blue suit clears his throat, ‘Mr. Grumbacher, I’m Matthew Cartwright from channel 11. My question to you is, what evidence have you found at the scene?’
Jeff looks back at Sheriff Morrison, who begins to walk to the podium. Sherriff Morrison leans over the microphones.
‘We are currently not releasing our findings of evidence due to the sensitive nature of this investigation.’ Sheriff Morrison moves back to his original position behind the spokesman. Jeff looks over the crowd, ‘Next question.’
The reporters once again start elbowing for room and shouting his name. He points to a woman in a floral blazer and pin stripped dress.
‘Yes Ma’am.’ He says while pointing.
The woman tried to get closer to the stage. She shoves one of the reporters as she flips through the pages of her notepad.
‘Hello. Leslie Shepard from WFYT AM. Is this case tied to the case of the missing 14 year old from Glen Holly, Patricia Lehman and are there any similarities in the two cases?’
Jeff leans closer to the microphones on the podium, ‘At this time, we are not releasing those details of this case nor can we comment on any similarities. Next question.’
The reporters begin to raise their hands less enthusiastically. This time only a few reporters call out.
‘Mr. Grumbacher.’ One says in a dry tone.
Jeff looks over the crowd and sees a woman dressed in a purple pant suit. He points to her, ‘Yes, go ahead.’
‘Mr. Grumbacher.’ The woman says in a deep tone, ‘There are reports that the head of the victim in question was severed from her body and impaled on top of a 30 foot tree. Can you confirm this?’
Sherriff Morrison leans forward and whispers in Jeff’s ear. The reporters listen intently, hoping a stray word or two will find its way to the microphones. Sherriff Morrison steps back and Jeff leans closer to the microphones, ‘We are currently not able to comment on the cause of death of the victim. Next question.’
‘When are you going to stop lying to these people and tell them what’s really going on!’ a voice screams from the back.
Everyone’s attention moves from the front of the stage. They look behind them and see a ragged dressed man. His tattered clothes barely hang on to him. Pieces of dried autumn leaf clutter his tangled grey and white beard. He sways a bit as he stands anchored to the ground. His eyes have the look of exhaustion and sleeplessness.
Jeff looks at the man. He turns to Sheriff Morrison and whispers in his ear.
The reporter closest to him looks at him with a puzzled expression, ‘Excuse me sir, what do you mean?’ he asks.
The old man points to the stage, ‘They are lying about what is going on! They know everything! I demand you tell the public the truth you bastards!’
Sheriff Morrison motions to an officer standing by the barricade to go confront the
man. The reporters slowly begin taking interest in the man and crowd around him.
Jeff waves his arms frantically, ‘Excuse the disruption folks. This situation will be handled shortly. If anyone has anymore…’
The reporters are now moving closer to the man. The woman in the floral blazer turns her notepad to a clean sheet, ‘Sir, could we get your name?’ she asks.
The Slender Man Game of Myths Page 2
