CHAPTER 3

Çall Greg and Philip in, it's late.'' Martha instructed Penelope as she was getting ready for bed. ''Greg! Philip!" she shouted as her voice echoed through the whole forest but to no avail. Pen was getting a bit worked up about the situation. She strode all around their site but didn't spot a soul. There was movement in the bushes up ahead. ''Boo!'' Aiden jumped out and went into the tent. Aiden loved his small sister and always vouched for her when necessary. As per the usual, Aiden did not really give ducks where the rest were. His school life is just another thing in itself. When Josephine and Rowland heard the news from Pen, they were actually worried. They split up, ventured deep into the woods shouting their names. Fredrick was in slumberland and he was never fond of disturbances during these times. The cries grew weaker and weaker as Pen and Martha sat by the fire praying to their gods that the two are found. Their mother, Josephine, was headed to the same mansion that the two trouble makers were in. she kept walking with the slightest spark of hope she held onto and found the gate open. She sauntered across the whole house and came to a sudden halt as she ran past a door on which blood had been inscribed. It had to be this one right. She took a deep breath and opened the door. What her eyes were exposed to was horrifying. Philip's corpse lay next to Greg's body. Philip's leg at one end of the room as blood oozed from every opening in his body. Greg, on the other hand had a pulse. I mean, this was great but couldn't overshadow Philip's death. Josephine was short of words. She honestly had no idea what to do. A few minutes later, Greg came to but he had a dep cut on his right arm. That did not really seem to bother him when he looked to his left. ''No! No! No! Philip! Philip please wake up!'' Greg sat on the bloody floor, his left hand pressing on his cut as he let out all his sadness. This week has just been horrible for Greg. That was how he lost his Best friend. ''Come on Greg, we have to get back to camp'' Greg dragged his frends body al the way t the campsite right after Josephine treated his cut. Rowland was already there half asleep by the fire. When he saw Greg, he was ecstatic. What followed seemed to change his mood completely. Almost unrecognisable, he saw Philip corpse pale and lifeless. His mind quickly went to Fredrick, his best friend. "I mean, how will he react after hearing of this. ''Rowland asked himself. This would be his second loss of a family member. He helped Greg burry the body in a nearby graveyard. The next morning, everyone was in a melancholic mood apart from Fredrick. What's for breakfast?'' he casually asked as he went to wash his face. Rowland called him aside and broke the news to him. This did quite a number on him. He merely just took his bags and drove off. Greg was still in his tent. His eyes were red and swollen. He was grief stricken. The Madelyn thing had completely disappeared from his head.

Due to this unexpected occurrence, Rowland and Josephine ordered we pack our bags.

"We were not really feeling the spirit anymore. I honestly did not know what to do. I just got in the car and shut my eyes. When we got home, no one dared to have a word with me. I immediately went out to the woods that were a few metres behind our house. There was nothing anyone could say to me to make me feel better. My summer was ruined in an instant. I don't even understand what that was back there in that house. When I walked in, Philip was not next to me anymore. He was upside down suspended by a rope. It was the worse experience in my life. I don't even want to think about it. This brought me back to when Monique died. I feel like sometimes if I just did something different, she still would have been with us. We were at the annual County Fair in Baxton. I had been looking forward for this for such a long time. Considering I was age 12, it was understandable. All my best pals were going to be in attendance so there was no way on earth I was about to miss the biggest event of the year. I was just gonna go for the fun considering I wasn't really a freaky kind of kid. The only problem was that my parents were on a trip to God knows where. They always had a very good responsible picture every time they saw me so these kind of things never really worried them. There was a time they were away for almost a month and just left him with some money. Anyway, so due to this, I had to go over to the Preston's and beg Monique to take me. She was honestly my favourite, after Philip of course. It took quite sometime but she finally budged. She picked me up at around 8 and we were off. The fair was packed. I had to try out the Ferris wheel but Monique wasn't necessarily a heights person. So when we were getting on it, Monique was having second thoughts. When it started moving, she panicked and got off. Hardly had the ride took off when she got off. She was very unlucky as she was left dangling on one of the seats. I shouted to the control person to stop the ride but my cries landed on deaf ears. Tears run through my cheeks as she slowly lost her grip. Considering the fact that we were at the top of the Ferris wheel, she had not chance. Her hands gave up and I immediately shut my eyes till the end of the ride. Upon alighting, a pool of blood was at my footstep. To my right were body parts I didn't even know existed. My legs gave up on me so I lay there helpless. Countless passers by tapped by shoulder offering to take me home but to no avail. I didn't even notice the ambulance come and take her corpse away. It was a grotesque scene. Hours later is when Fredrick heard the news and came to pick me up. I drenched the car seats in blood. Not just any blood, his wife's...Ever since that day, I have always blamed myself for her death. No one has ever really asked me what happened. Come to think of it, the only person I shared this with was my late best friend, of which his death was also my fault. What the hell is wrong with me!?''

Greg sat in the woods for hours contemplating on whether or not he should just take his life. I mean it was understandable, considering all the things going on in his life. Not to mentioned Madelyn, Greg felt chills run down his spine when the sound of gunshots rent the air. It was coming from his house. He immediately ran towards his house to see what the hell was going on. Upon arrival, he was swiftly passed by a speeding black car with men in black. Seeing this really creeped him out considering the last time these men were here, they had some issues with Joseph, Greg's granddad. Some business debts here and there, wasn't really pin-pointed. The common ground was that they were bad news. Greg met his mother by the door, eyes dilated, skin paled and hair dishevelled. I mean, he never really needed an explanation. He went straight for his grand dad's study which was on the second floor. He stopped in his tracks when he neared his oak dark door. His head split into two having three bullet holes in his skull. I mean, there was nothing else he could really do but to cry...again! He hit rock-bottom. He was at the lowest he could ever be. He locked himself up in his room for weeks reflecting on the past week and how it might as well just have changed his life forever. Rowland and Josephine were getting worried. Little did Greg know that they were planning on taking him to Rehab. Greg had been cutting himself and hurting constantly. His parents informed him on the conclusion they made. This his him like a truck. What first came to his mind was Madelyn.