Lost girl

The night was darker than usual, no moon, only clouds covering the stars. I could feel the cold air through my hair and piercing my skin. Where am I? How did I get here? Panic and anxiety hits like a punch to the chest. Can this really be happening? I’m lost and no sign of life around me.

Chapter one

This is the story of a girl named Teri. No one knows what really happened. Leaving a town hunted for years, until the winter of 87. Something about me was special and I would find out why and the real story of Teri the missing girl would finally be told.

Teri was a young and outgoing lady, most locals loved to see her come around. Always ready to give a helping hand. The people here were mostly farmers and kept to themselves. After high school Teri got a few odd jobs; from what I was told, she would help the farmers with their horses and cows. Couple of times babysitting for working, single moms. It’s almost as if Teri’s disappearance left the whole town confused.

Around the age of 6 is when I began hearing the name, Teri. Something about me made everyone in town say “Awww, she reminds me of Teri”. I would look at my mom in the car and ask “who is Teri?”. Her eyes said more than the words out of her mouth. “A young lady went missing a long time ago and well, baby, they never found her.”

I grew up with this Teri in the weirdest of ways. Every where I went someone would bring her up, always with a sadness in their eyes. Were these people lying to me? Do they know what actually happened to that girl? The older I got the more questions I had. Who was Teri and what happened? By the time I was 14 most afternoons I could be found in a library. Reading and learning about survival stories and history’s of old towns. A great source of history on the good old home town folks was the local newspaper archives, at least that what I thought.

One day while walking from school to the library, Joe Mike a senior, asked if I had a light? I replied, I don’t smoke, he laughed saying your missing out! The look on his face, that cool guy look. But something else bugged me that day. Why would he ask me for a light? He knows, I’m like, the biggest nerd in town. I just kept walking, got to the doors of the library and he said, “Hey you, know why everyone talks about you right?” A little annoyed I turned around and looked at Joe. But before I could speak he said “You could be that girl’s twin, you know Teri Cooper.” He puffed on his smoke and walked away with a smile.

I couldn’t help myself, diving deeper and deeper into the girls life. Time after time a random newspaper clip about farms on fire, animals going missing and small criminal stuff would appear front page. Nothing for a while until I hit the jackpot, on a cold winter day during December, a week before Christmas. I remember because it started to snow and I needed to head home but had finally found the news article about Teri Cooper. I couldn’t believe it, headline read, “Girl Gone Missing”. Parents of Teri Cooper are look for missing daughter, 18 years old with strawberry blonde hair, greenish-blue eyes. Wow, I thought, I guess I could understand why some folks say I look like this missing girl. My hair is strawberry blonde and I have blue eyes. But I’m no Teri, that’s for sure. She was outgoing and I’m shy. I hide in the library for goodness sakes.

I walked home in the snow, feeling cold and wet by the time I reach the house. Mom came in about an hour later. Working late, that’s just what single moms have to do. I had already bathed and finished homework, about to eat some ramen noodles and catch that show called the "Last Dance”, big hit apparently, because all the girls at school talked about it the whole time in class. Mom came in looking more stressed than usual. I totally forgot all about the show. Mom, are you okay? No, she answered, I walk to her room and Mom looks at me saying “I have to go on a business trip for two days in another state”. I replied “Hey mom, it’s okay, I’ll be fine like always.” Smiled and hugged me, trying to bring some joy to her. “Please” she said with a tear in her eye, “Don't be out late and be home by 6pm so I can call and check on you after the business conference ends”. Yes, mother I promise, I replied.

I kissed my mom good bye the next day, thankfully the snow had stopped. But I had no school today and the only place I like to go is the library. Paper clippings from the month of December, 1986, finding more on the story of Teri and her last sighting was all over my room. The weekend was all mine and I planned to solve this case. Maybe, one day, I could help her parents get her back. I was daydreaming about Teri and what could have happened. Suddenly a sound, bang! bang! I jumped to my feet and looked towards the front of the house. I’m not expecting anyone?! I slowly walked to the door and it was Joe Mike, what in the world are you doing here!? Are you stalking me? Joe laughed, smiling and said “no, yesterday you dropped this outside”. It’s my journal! Oh no! Did he read it?! I’m blushing at this point. I grabbed the journal not sure what to do next. Joe walks in, then says, your mom got any beer? I stupidly replied, yes, Joe walked right into my house. My jaw wanted to drop. I was about to speak when Joe said I know what happened to that girl, Teri. Every thought in my mind froze like ice. Joe opened the beer can and started talking as though we have be friends for years. I stood there in the doorway not sure what to do. So I listened, Joe began the story saying she was probably died and there’s no finding her now. It’s sad really, if she would have not ran into the woods that night she’d still be here. He had me hooked, I closed the door and walk to the kitchen table and sat down. He lit up a smoke while drinking mom’s beer.

Chapter two

As Joe spoke I was watching his mouth. He took a long drag and then slowly sipping on the beer. The smoke he exhaled came flooding into my face. Coughing and fanning out the smoke, I started towards a window, "Joe, you can’t smoke in here! How am I going to explain this to my mom?" I said. He replied, "Calm down, don’t get your panties in a bundle!" Then he helps me open windows and fanning out the smoke. I told Joe to go out our back door and wait there. I lit one of Momma’s scents and walked out back. Okay Joe, what do you think happened to Teri? Joe began telling me about his dad, how he had a crush on her and so his dad talked lot about Teri Cooper. He’d get drunk and cry about it. Joe finished the cigarette and threw it down, my dad says to always stay away from those woods behind the football field. Teri Cooper walked into those woods after a homecoming game and never was seen again. Not a trace of her was found; no shoes, no clothes, no nothing. It’s not that Teri was special but she disappeared while with a group of friends. My dad says they had a bon fire, normal night. Our friends hanging out together and drinking some stolen beer. All the teenagers hung out just on the edge of the woods behind the football field. Everything was going good, music playing from the car radio and girls giggling and laughing. Us guys trying to hold our liquor and be cool smoking cigarettes. Around midnight the other girls couldn’t find Teri, and my dad admitted he was buzzed and don’t remember seeing her after a few hours. Everyone ended up going home that night but Teri. He swears all of us thought she left and went home. We definitely didn’t think anything bad had happened. That next morning the phones were ringing off the walls all over town, everyone calling everyone. No one saw Teri and she wasn’t at home. A search party was made on the second day, the whole town walking around, through those woods, football field, school, parks and cemeteries. Then the blaming and interrogation started after she’d been gone for a week. Poor ole dad got beaten down one time from another boy. Everyone thought he did something to her, but he swears he didn’t. All I know is my dad is a drunk and Teri is probably died. Joe had me speechless again, what was I supposed to say? I looked at my watch and saw it is almost 10pm. I told Joe my mom is coming home soon. Yeah I lied, but he had to go, this whole night was awkward.

I laid in bed that night thinking about what Joe Mike had told me. How his dad had a crush on a girl that went missing and what did the other friends have to say about that night. Did Teri really walk in the woods and never come out? What happened, what really happened to Teri? I continue to toss and turn until 2AM then finally passed out for a few hours, getting up at eight. Washing my face, brushing my teeth, normal morning routine stuff. Decided to make me some eggs. I think about how my mom is doing on her trip; think about our conversation last night and then I start thinking about the conversation that Joe and I had, what an odd boy. But everyone thinks I’m odd too, smiling to myself, kinda cool tho. Everyone in town has always said “not so nice things” about them both, like he was some kind of a horrible person, maybe what he’s telling me is true. Maybe, Joe’s dad and that group of friends never did have anything to do with Teri’s disappearance.

I ate my breakfast and waited for my mom to call, she’s always usually prompt and on time calling around 9 o’clock. In the meantime of waiting on my mom; I got some dishes washed then watched some TV. Around 10:30 my mom called she sounded so rushed and exhausted at the same time; I told her, I loved you and that I hope you’re having a good time. I could hear it in her voice that she was not and that she was really wanting to come home. The conversation was brief and then we hung up of course. I was thinking about my mom after hanging up the phone, she’s just having such a hard time lately. I wish there was something I could do.

The day was beautiful outside not to cold but nice 45°, cloudy. I put on my jacket, gloves and scarf. I wanted to go investigate the woods while I had some daylight. All that is running through my head now was what Joe Mike talked about last night.

I didn’t live far from the football field. It was probably only two blocks away. I could hear the games at night during the fall season. Even though I wasn’t much of a social person, sometimes I would walk down and just watch the games from outside the fence. Everybody cheering, happy, it was nice to watch. My mind is racing as I walked; thinking about this and that, before I knew it I was at the football field. A thought crossed my mind “What are you doing?"” another voice inside said “Do not go into those woods”, you heard what Joe said “Stay away from the woods”. Of course, while everything is warring within me, I just kept walking. I look up and around me and I’m in the woods. I could see the fence that is around the football field, so I know where I am. I’m not too far in. There are a lot of different type of trees and a lot of leaves on the ground. I can hear crunching as I’m walking and I grab the stick to just move some leaves around on the ground thinking “Oh maybe I’ll come across a bone or something”. The depth of reality never actually hit me, referring to what it would be like to come across a deceased person; so my mind is drifting and wondering as I’m walking through these woods. It seems like the day is getting darker faster than it should be. I look back, I no longer can see the fence to the football field. I stop and I look around trying to find something familiar. I had gotten lost in the woods and it’s getting dark. Looking at my watch it’s showing 5:40pm. Definitely going to be darker soon. Oh snap! My moms going to freak out if I don’t answer when she calls at 6. That’s when the panic hit. I wanted to run but I didn’t know which way to go. Darkness hit fast, crap, I was in the woods at night with not flashlight. I was scared and angry that I was in this situation. The wind was cold, I couldn’t see anything, no stars, not even the moon! My mind is racing off its rails, I starting to cry. Then a scream came from behind me, high pitched and shrill; goosebumps ran all over me. Frozen in fear with tears in my eyes, I’m to scared to even look around me. I’m to scared to even take a step because “it’ll” hear me. My heartbeat is so loud that I can hear it in my own ears and I’m trying to calm down. “What is that?” The panic that I had felt from being lost had done turned into pure fear. Now I have something in the woods with me and I can’t see it but it can see me and it can hear me. What am I going to do my heart is racing and I’m still about in tears, I really want to go home and I really want my mom. Suddenly, I can hear the crushing of the leaves, something begins walking towards me. That’s when I begin to run, the fear, the adrenaline, everything kicked in and I just didn’t care that I couldn’t see. I had my hands out in front of me filling bark on trees frantically looking behind me. The cold air is now hurting my lungs from me breathing too deeply, and to fast. I have to stop, my chest hurts as I bend down to catch my breath for a moment, I can hear it. It’s stalking me! I can hear this heavy panting and breathing. I start running again too afraid to let it catch up with me. That’s when I fell and the pain kicked in. I screamed in horror and pain. Tears flooded down my face. I can feel cold mud all around me. I have fallen in a hole. I start feeling blindly with my hands, I’m trying to stand up and I can’t but I can feel dirt, cold and wet.

I slowly realize, I’m hurt, badly at that. I lay back crying, yet relieved. Hopefully safe from that monster. I listen, for any sounds. I can hear “the thing” pacing in circles above me. Panting and growling, it sounds big! Clumps of dirt hit the top of my head. I’m quenching from dirt hitting my face. I can’t see anything around me, it so dark outside and now I’m laying in a hole, cold and injured. I’m not sure how long I’ve been laying here. Feels like forever but all I know is it’s still dark and everything has grown quite. I don’t hear the creature anymore above me. Exhausted and scared, I just want to make it to daylight.

The only way I can see is with my hands, “There’s gotta be some sticks down here that maybe I can use to help me get out of this hell.” Yes, I feel something smooth and long, I pull a little bit and break it lose from the mud gripping it. Slowly, I wrap my scarf around my leg and the stick. I’m thinking about home, being safe and warm, then the feeling of hunger and thirst hit. Feeling pain in my whole leg, and the shivering is not helping. I can’t see my watch, its to dark, trying to stay quiet and still. The cold air is freezing but thankfully I’m deep in the earth, blocked from the wind. I looked around and saw a peek of daybreak. Relief is the first thought, second is, can I stand? Is the creature waiting for me to crawl out and eat me? As I began to pull myself up, pain and tears are all I felt. Damn, I’m deeper then I realized, looking up I can tell it’s daylight now for sure. A good 4ft of ground above me. I’m probably 10ft down. Shit, it's straight up! I think it’s an old water-well. I bet my mom is worried sick by now. Screaming, help for hours it seems. I’m so tired, I’ll sit down for a while.

Waking up to the day growing dark again. I’m truly scared and can’t feel my finger and toes. I’m so cold, I’m shaking, all I can think to do is wrap my arms around my chest. I read once in all those different books, I loved so much, about a guy who was able to keep himself alive by keeping his heart warm with his arm crossed over his chest. As my mind drifts in and out of consciousness, I focus on my conversation with Joe about Teri. What if Teri got ate by the creature that was chasing me. And what was that scream I heard, before I took off running. My mind was trying to function. What’s big, fast, and screams like a woman dying?

Another night goes by, at least it is quiet. No creature, my hurt leg is so numb from the cold I’m thankful I can’t feel the pain. But what’s worse? that it’s that cold or I no longer feeling anything. My arms still wrapped around my chest, keeping my heart warm. I fell asleep again and awake to break of day two. I’m so hungry and cold. I look down at my leg, it’s definitely broken. Looking around then spotted a bone sticking out close to my ankle. I noticed the stick that was wrapped up in my scarf was really odd. Once my eyes adjusted to what I was looking at, I realize this is not a stick! It’s a bone! A bone! I can’t believe it! I tied up my broken leg with a leg bone! Oh God! Help me out of this hole! I’ll do anything! I scream for help harder then ever. Screaming to the point I had to stop. My voice is going out and not hearing anything around me.

Passing out again from my body needing to conserve every ounce of life. I’m 14 and going to die in this hole like Teri Cooper! Oh, how great, I find Teri and now no one even knows I’m out here!

Third day, it’s noon I think, I can’t be sure but I do see light. Suddenly I’m hearing voices and the sound of leaves being walked on. Am I dreaming? I try yelling out, nothing, I choke. I try swallowing but my mouth is too dry. I yell, help, in what weak voice I had left. Praying, God please some how get me out! The voices and crushed leaves get louder. I’m reaching upwards as if they could just grab my hand and pull me out. Some one is close, I yell as loud as I can. Help! Help! I’m down here!

My mother’s voice came back down to me, a flood of tears came and I felt warm for once. I hear other voice, she not alone. "Mom, mom help me!" I can hear a dog barking. I hear Joe Mike too, thought I’d never be so happy to hear his stupid voice, but today was an exception. I’m found and relieved. After a few hours a rope and ten gallon bucket was place in the hole with me. It had bottled water and a sandwich. I wasn’t picky. I ate and drank so fast I almost threw up. A man called down to me, “Grab the rope and put one foot in the bucket." I was extremely weak, and shivering still. As I was pulled out of the hole the light was blinding me. I felt my mom’s arms around me then passed out again.

When I woke up the next morning I'm in a hospital, my, broken leg in a cast now and I am warm. Mom is asleep in a chair, over in the corner of the room. Happy and safe, I thanked God for getting me out. I dosed off to sleep again, knowing that I’m safe made it easy. Later that day, Joe Mike came in the room with his dad. Told me how the search for me started. Joe said that he had left his cigarettes at my house but by the time he realized it, I wasn’t home. He came back by the house the next day and ran into my mom. She was frantic and holding my pack of smokes in her hand. Joe told my mom those smokes were his; but he didn’t know about me being missing. Joe told my mother about the night before hoping it would calm her down, but it didn’t. She phoned the police. Police came out questioning me and asking me what I knew. Well, on day two we formed a group, you could say, started looking for you. Joe said that my dad’s dog, Buddy, hit on a scent and went wild. Ended up being a hole that lead us to you. Mom chimes in saying with a smile and tears in her eyes “That’s how we found you sweetheart!”

On day three of being in the hospital, the media and police all wanted to hear my story. Police did say that was a leg bone I had found while in that old water-well. Officer Steve said, "I sent it off for DNA analysis and we hopefully will get results in a few months." I soon felt relieved that it seemed as though everything is finally going to be okay. After all, I made a friend and had my mom to forget about that bone I found. Then one day the police called and my mom said we had to go down to the station house. It’s spring time and starting to warm up outside. Mom and I sat down in Steve’s office. The detective said, “Hun, you solve a fifteen year old case, congratulations!” My jaw dropped, “Do what!” I said. Mom looks shocked too, but it is true, I had found the bones of Teri Cooper. He began to tell us that they uncovered the rest of the remains and did a full exam of the bones. Teeth marks were found on the leg and neck area of Teri’s remains. After the DNA revealed who, we were able to confirm she died by animal attack. It looks as though Teri was attacked then tried to run away but fell in the hole we found you in. She unfortunately bleed to death is our conclusion.

The Cooper family buried their loved one and the whole town seemed at peace again. Even Joe’s dad seemed to be better. I was still known in town by everyone, but not because I looked like Teri Cooper, but that I found out what happened to Teri Cooper.

The End.