[ WP ] You join the search party for the person you had murdered and buried in these woods . Someone found your site ; everyone gathers . You push through the crowd and see an empty hole .

Its been one day and sixteen minutes since Astrid Burnham has been declared missing. The search party moves to another point, checking off another square. There's still a lot of ground to cover and the only place they think their missing person disappeared to. Others, across town, are all scouring about, searching for her in endless cornfields, ravines and forgotten roads no one has traveled on in years. 
 
 David lingers behind, flashlight in hand, light shining in a pale reflection of the moon. It's almost dusk and the sky begins to bleed into a swirl of deep crimson and dark blue. 
 
 `` I ai n't seen anythin' like this in all my years livin' here,'' Richard, a fellow veteran, declares. 
 
 It is the biggest manhunt David's ever seen in this town and he's never understood why so many people immediately rallied up to organize the search party for just one girl. She's pretty, with ebony hair and fair skin and deep caramel eyes. But he thinks, would this be the same if she was African-American? Would they still look for her too? 
 
 `` Kidnappin' the mayor's girl. Only family he has left,'' Richard continues. `` Who would be insane enough to try that?'' 
 
 *Me. * A smirk rises onto David's face before it vanishes, crossing into shadow. A few more crunches of leaves and branches crack underneath their feet. An eerie atmosphere slowly merges into the world of nature around them, a light fog settling above their heads. 
 
 Richard ambles forward, hobbling as fast and carefully as he can with his cane, swishing his flashlight around, calling out the mayor's daughter's name. There's no response. There will never be because David's buried her in a hole at least four feet into the ground and has made damn well sure that it would n't be discovered. He's purposely led the search party astray, claiming that he's seen her dashing off into deeper in the forest, away from them. That is the direction they're currently on. The lights wander aimlessly in the distance as they near closer to the others. 
 
 `` Astrid!'' 
 
 `` Astrid! If you can hear me, make some noise, honey!'' 
 
 `` Astrid? Where are you?!'' 
 
 Astrid this. Astrid that. God, David ca n't wait until this whole thing blows over before he can revel in the silence and finish what he's came here to do. 
 
 There's the crackle of the walkie-talkie blaring to life as a voice warbles out: `` Hey, guys. I think I found something. Over by the west side, near the river with the crooked steps.'' 
 
 He follows the others, quickening his pace. There's a crowd already gathering around his site and he needs to get there before they do and -- - Heart hammering in his chest, he looks back to see one of Astrid's friends lingering behind, standing at the edge of the treeline. He looks at her, brows furrowed. Why is n't she joining the others? `` Leslie? You okay?'' 
 
 She looks up and sees him, olive skin clashing against her mismatched wardrobe, dark hair falling in a straight curtain as she shakes her head. `` I ai n't going out there. This is sacred ground.'' 
 
 `` They think they found her,'' he offers. 
 
 `` That's still not gon na make me step over there. And besides, she's not in it.'' 
 
 David pauses. `` What?'' 
 
 `` They said the hole's empty. She's not in it. She must've gotten out and -- -'' 
 
 David tunes out and begins to push through the crowd in a desperate manner. He has to see for himself. And Leslie's right. Dirt has caved in the hole as if a bomb's blown through it and blackened around the edges. There's no sign of Astrid anywhere. 
 
 David knows Astrid's dead. He *knows. * He's strangled her and stabbed her at least six times and has felt and saw the life leave her body before discarding her into the hole. 
 
 He makes his way back to Leslie. `` Do you think she's still alive?'' he asks cautiously, pretending to care. 
 
 `` She has to be,'' she replies. `` That or...'' 
 
 `` Or what?'' 
 
 She hesitates. `` Nothing.'' 
 
 Her eyes wander and then fixate on something in a distance as she heads to find Astrid's father, pausing in her steps. A heartbeat later, then she turns around and looks at David, eyes dropping to the edge of his shirt. Her fingers reach out and curl around the silver chain he has hidden underneath his shirt. 
 
 `` This is her's. Why...'' Leslie meets his eyes. A knowing look with the hint of confusion mingling in, then realization. David remains impassive, meeting her with a cold look. Her fingers immediately jerk away as if she's been burned. `` Oh my God. Oh my God.'' 
 
 Her voice becomes laced with panic and she opens her mouth to shout, to warn the others but then David's fingers grip the switchblade in his pocket, flicking it open and draws a red smile across her throat. Her fingers clasp around, trying to piece the skin back together but the damage has already been done. She collapses to the ground, dead. 
 
 David turns. There's silence from the others as they stare at him in horror. Then he moves. They try their hardest to subdue him only to fail. He ca n't leave any survivors. 
 
 A demented ring of laughter escapes his throat as the realization of what happened to Astrid sinks in. It worked. It finally worked. 
 
 After years of trying, the deed has finally been completed. He has managed to do the impossible. His father had told him that he would n't be able to succeed. 
 
 He can feel the ghost of fingers lightly tracing the back of his head as if in a curious, gentle caress. He turns. Astrid is standing there in all her bloody glory, throat healed and wounds closed. Her eyes have faded into a pale color and when she stretches her lips in a soft snarl, her teeth have been filed into points, decay sinking into her cheeks, a hollow contrast compared to the girl he used to know. When she raises her fingers again, he can see that her hands have been replaced with long claws and emaciated fingers. 
 
 `` You are beautiful,'' he whispers, moving aside a strand of hair, tucking it behind her ear. She purrs softly in response. `` You will lead the others. You will leave a revolution beyond your wake and an army once this town becomes the name that fear gave itself. This town will endure the horrors it has tried to forget. We will show them what it truly means to be afraid.'' 
 
 There's a hungry look gleaming in Astrid's eyes and David knows she does n't care. She still understands him though and that's all that matters. 
 
 He offers her his hand. `` You and I are the same. We've both had to hide who we are and what we want. No longer. Let's show both of our fathers why they once feared the dark.''
