Devils Roses 01 - Cursed

others were trying to figure out what was going on, as the yard was filling with emergency lights.
    The ambulance was there first, rolling into the driveway very slowly, so as not to hit any of the kids mulling about.
    I had grabbed Jaime’s hand when her head went floppy against Shane’s bare chest.
    The outside lights flicked on and Michelle came running out in a panic. “What’s going on? Who called the cops?” she was angrily shouting at the men getting out of the ambulance. “Get off my property. You need a warrant to come on here.”
    They ignored her completely and walked to where Shane was holding Jaime.
    Michelle froze, watching as a stretcher was carried to where Jaime was. The men started to work on her. Shane put her down gingerly on the stretcher and stepped back, as a blanket covered Jaime. I couldn’t get the vision of her two white legs stretched out behind her, in the dark woods. I imagined it was going to take me sometime, before I got past the entire spring. Shane spoke to the two paramedics, no doubt explaining the situation with care so no one else would hear.
    He walked to me and put his arm around me. We both smelled of her vomit and were covered in dirt.
    He whispered in my neck, "I'm sorry I got mad at you."
    I shook my head, trying desperately to ignore the tears streaming down my face. "You were right. I shouldn’t have left without you."
    He held me tighter. "You saved her, Aimes."
    We watched in silence, as they took Jaime away. The police had arrived and were asking questions of the paramedics who remained. They all pointed in our direction.
    Constable Bindley and Corporal Williams made their way to us with grim looks on their faces.
    “ Aimee and Shane, want to come with me? The rest of the guys are going to stay here, take pictures, and talk to the kids that are left,” the corporal asked.
    I nodded as Shane spoke, “You want to see where we found her?”
    Williams nodded. “Yup, and the exact path you took to get her here.”
    Shane pointed. “I came around the side of the house this way, and walked up the grass from the backyard.”
    Williams pulled out a huge, long, black flashlight that looked more like a baseball bat. He walked around where Shane told him. He looked down at the ground carefully, the entire way down the back lawn.
    “ Who found her?” he asked, as we walked back to the spot slowly, so he could look around.
    I cleared my throat. “I did. I saw her at the party, she looked bad. I just knew something was wrong. She had the same cup I remembered Giselle and I drank out of—you guys showed us. Anyway, I ran around looking for her for about fifteen minutes and I ran into Aleks—”
    “ He was here?” Shane asked roughly, his hand biting into my arm.
    I nodded. “Yeah, I met up with him on my search for Jaime. He came with me. We were walking down here and when we got to about here—” I stopped and pointed to the bush. “—We heard a noise there. Aleks ran after whoever it was with a crow bar—” I stopped, realizing he had never come back. I felt my eyes widen as I spoke, “He never came back. Do you think he’s okay?”
    Williams shook his head. “No, either way he’s in trouble now. He’s probably looking at an assault charge now. He probably never came back when he saw the lights. Who is this Aleks?”
    Shane crossed his bare arms looking at me defiantly. “Yes, who is he?”
    I shrugged. “He’s a social worker of some sort from the city working here for a family he helps.”
    Williams shook his head. “If he comes near you again, Aimee, you need to phone me right away. There is no such thing as a social worker from the city coming to a small town. We have our own here. They are government workers like me. They work where they’re assigned. He’s a suspect right now and I want you to treat him as such. What’s he look like?”
    I gulped as Shane started spewing out the facts. “Tall like me, white like me, built like me, blue eyes, dark-blond hair shorter than mine, clean cut. That’s what all the women in town say anyway.” he spoke through his teeth.
    Williams clicked on the radio at his collar. “Dispatch I need a BOLO put out on a young man, early twenties late teens, Caucasian, dark-blond hair, blue eyes, six foot two, muscular build, seen fleeing from 1942 Elder Grove Road—”
    “ Black jacket and blue jeans.” My voice was hollow.
    “ Seen wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.”
    I pointed to the woods as he