And for some reason that unsettles me even more than when he stares at me.
“Come on,” I murmur to Sparkles, giving the leash a gentle tug.
We keep walking along the edge of the water, the path narrowing as it curves away from campus. The grass here is longer, a little overgrown, brushing against my legs as we move. The sound of the water is soft and steady beside us, and for a moment, everything feels calm again.
Sparkles slows and her ears perk up. I feel the shift in her before I hear anything.
“What is it?” I ask quietly, glancing down at her. She doesn’t bark and doesn’t pull in any direction, she just… listens.
Then I hear what’s caught her attention. It’s a low sound, super faint, almost like a groan.
At first, I think I imagined it, but then it comes again, quieter this time, like it’s being swallowed up by the brush.
My heart starts to beat a little faster.
“Good job, Sparkles. Don’t worry, it’s probably nothing,” I whisper, though I’m already stepping off the path to check it out. Whatever it is sounds really hurt. Sparkles follows without hesitation.
The grass thickens as we move closer to the waterline, and there’s a patch of overgrown brush just ahead, tangled and wild like it hasn’t had much traffic for a while.
The sound comes again. A soft whimper and my chest tightens.
“Oh my gosh…” I breathe.
I push closer, ducking under a low branch, my shoes catching slightly in the uneven ground.
I’m expecting…I don’t even know? A hurt dog. A bird. Something small.
But then I see it, a human foot. I swear my brain doesn’t process it right away. I see a pale ankle, twisted at an odd angle and wrapped in brush. I notice a broken black high heel still clinging to it like it.
“Holy shit…” My fingers go slack.
The leash slips from my hand. “Sparkles!” I call, panicked, but she doesn’t run away like I’m anticipating. She doesn’t move at all, but instead just lowers herself to the ground, watching me like she understands what’s happening.
My hands start to shake as I push the brush aside, branches scrape against my arms, catching in my sweater as I pull them back.
And then I see her.
A girl about my age. Blonde hair matted and tangled around her face, streaked with dirt and something darker that I think might be blood. Her skin is bruised badly all over and her face is swelling along her cheekbones, her eyes completely closed, lashes stuck together.
Her hands are bound in front of her with some kind of fishing line.
My stomach drops so fast it makes me dizzy.
“Oh my God… oh my God…” My voice sounds like it’s not even my voice, like the words are far away and someone else is speaking them. Flashbacks of my parents being slaughtered in front of me take over my mind. It’s like I’m in two places at once. I’m seeing her and them all at the same time, and I have to blink to bring myself back to reality.
She’s breathing because her body rises in shallow, uneven pulls, and that same broken sound slips from her lips again. Idrop to my knees beside her so fast it jars my bones, my hands hovering over her like I don’t know where to touch, what might hurt her more.
“Hey—hey—” My voice shakes. “Oh no… oh no…” I see the life draining out of my father and then my mother. It’s so clear in my mind, and I want to scream. I’m reaching for them, but a hand covers my mouth. It’s too late, I can’t help them, they’re already gone.
Sparkles stays where she is, head low, eyes locked on me like she’s trusting me to fix this.
I have to do better this time. I can’t let this girl down.
I fumble with my bag, nearly dropping it as I yank it open and dig for my phone. My fingers don’t feel like they’re working right, clumsy and numb as I finally grab it.
I hit the number 999 with shaking fingers and then reach for the girl, my fingers pressing gently against her neck, searching for a pulse the way I’ve seen people do in movies.
For a second, I can’t find it.
