Chapter 2
The hospital was brightly lit, with rhythmic beeping sounds, and a weak smell of disinfectants that made her nauseous. She barely responded when they pushed her in a wheelchair into an examination room. The officers stayed near the bedside waiting for the doctor’s reports and also to get a statement from her but Gabrielle could not concentrate enough to hear any of them.
The sound of a phone ringing jolted her and one of the officers stood to answer it.
"Yes, Mrs. Christensen, we found your daughter. She’s here at the hospital... No, it’s not an emergency, but we just wanted to know whether she is physiologically well for any kind of physical exercise or work."
Gabrielle stopped breathing for a moment as soon as she heard the name of her mother. She shut her eyes and did her best to calm her breathing down. She longed to cry, to shout, but the tiredness overwhelmed her. Her mother had advised her about Derek and about going out. Had she been right all along?
Shortly after the phone call, the door to the room opened, and looking rather anxious, Gabrielle’s mother entered the room. She looked around nervously until she saw her daughter. Without any words she ran towards the bed and hugged Gabrielle tightly.
Gabrielle tensed for a second, before she melted into the embrace, holding her mother tight, her face buried into her chest as she cried hard. She had never had the feeling of being so powerless and such a nobody.
Gabrielle moved back a bit, her face wet with tears. It was barely audible as she said, “You were right, Mom… I should’ve listened. He tried to kill me."
"It's not your fault, love." Her mother’s arms came around her once again and hugged her, as if wanting to protect her from all the things that were so bad and wrong within her. "There's just no need to blame yourself, dear. You’re safe now, sweetheart. That’s all that matters."
"Ahem," the police officer cleared his throat, having had enough of the sentiment. "Would you like to inform us of what happened? How did you end up in the woods? We need to get a statement."
"I..." Brielle began to stammer. "Today was my anniversary and my boyfriend wanted to surprise me," she sobbed. "I had no idea the surprise involved killing me."
The policemen glanced at each other, their eyebrows quirked in disbelief. "Are you sure? Did you understand the question we asked?" The taller of the two men asked.
"Yes," she nodded.
The two officers exchanged uneasy glances, and then pulled out a notepad and pen. "Miss Christensen," one of them began, in a calm voice, trying to hide his frustration. "We need to understand what really happened. Can you tell us again, what animal tried to hurt you? We need to take measures to get rid of it due to other people who might be camping out in the woods."
Brielle’s throat felt dry, but she forced herself to speak. "It was Derek," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "He… he’s the one who tried to kill me."
The officers looked at each other again. The first of the two older men glanced at the other and then began, clearing his throat slightly. "We looked for all the possible signs," he said. "There was not even any hint of having someone else nearby. Not a single footprint on the ground, or marks of a fight. Just… claw marks. It resembles something from an animal.”
She cringed at the memory of the claw marks of Derek; how he had suddenly transformed in front of her – the muscles tensing, his sea blue eyes had all of a sudden changed to a golden colour and his canines were growing out to be more than fangs.
“It was not an animal,” she muttered fearfully, turning to look at the officers. "It was Derek. He… he turned into something. He was growling with his eyes glowing in an animalistic manner”
One of the officers cleared his throat, squirming a little. “A bear?” he said out loud and slowly, the way that people do when they are trying to make sure that they are not hearing things.
The younger officer was clearly annoyed, and he wrote something into his pad. "Miss Christensen, if I may, I’d like to sort of say to you that I understand your state of mind," he said gently. But what you’re describing… it sounds like maybe you were hallucinating. The adrenaline, the fear – it does lots of things to the mind. You know that right?"
"I wasn’t hallucinating!" Brielle looked angry; her voice cracked at the end of her words. "Look at me!" She pulled the blanket off her, which revealed the claw marks on her arm and shoulder. ”Do you think that I intentionally injured myself? How would I even get these kinds of marks?"
The older officer walked nearer, looking at the injuries more carefully. “These… could be from a bear,” he said slowly. It’s not the first time we hear about the presence of wildlife in the area.” It’s possible—"
Her mother stiffened beside her. She knew. They found them. "My daughter is too shaken up for this right now," she said in a firm voice. "She’s been through enough. She needs rest, not interrogation."
The officers thought for some time and then exchanged looks. The younger one glanced down at his notebook, "Mrs. Christensen,” he said slowly, “It’s really important that you know; we’re only attempting to understand what happened. The scratches left by the claws, and no sign of any people being around the place, it just doesn’t make sense. If someone brought her to the depth of the forest when he knew there was a wild animal lurking around, then…
“I’ve had enough,” her mother interrupted , her voice rising. She glared at the officers. "In any case, I am convinced that my daughter is traumatized. Stress finally got to her and I wouldn’t let you continue to force her to do more.”
The older officer snapped shut his notebook and sighed. “We’ll leave for now,” he said. "But we’ll need to follow up. If there is a bear, or if there is anything else that might be dangerous then we need to be informed .
Her mother nodded curtly. "I understand. But for now, let her rest."
The officers then took one last look at Brielle before they walked out of the room. The door closed behind them and for a moment they were surrounded by my quietness.
Brielle sat with her arms limp at her sides, head drooped over toward her mother, crying. “I’m not sure they are taking any of this seriously,” she said in a low tone. "No one will believe me."
"You can't go around telling people your boyfriend turned into a wild animal and tried to kill you Brielle."
"Mom, but he did. I... He turned into a monster, I know what I saw."
"Brielle, I know that he turned into some animal and tried to kill you. But it's more complicated than that," her mother said firmly. "When next you're questioned, admit to hallucinating and that a bear chased you."
Silence filled the room. Brielle knew she could not argue with her mom anymore.
The past few days of recovery for Brielle has been traumatic as she couldn't come to terms that her boyfriend wanted her dead. Why? She wanted an answer so badly, maybe that would help her get past the trauma. She thought.
Brielle groaned as she rubbed her eyes slightly, realising the rays of the sun somehow managed to get through her window and shine directly on her face. She cursed underneath. Her best friend was returning from the summer holiday, she prayed her mom would still let her be friends with Margaret after what happened.
She didn't notice when her door opened. Her mom walked in trembling, her facial expression was screaming fear and anger.
“How long have you been receiving these letters? Her mother demanded, holding up an opened letter.
Gabrielle’s heart sank as she realized what had happened. "Mom, I—"
Her mother held up a hand, cutting her off. "How long, Gabrielle?!"
“I…I…it's been a couple of months. I thought it was some pranksters. I didn't want to scare you, mom.” Brielle said regretfully.
“You call this a prank? Brielle?” Her mother hands the letter to her, demanding an explanation.
Brielle unfolded it and gasped as her eyes skimmed over the words:
“You can’t run from who you are.
Derek isn’t the only one after you.
You’ll die because of what you are.”
“Brielle, why did you keep this away from me? I've been trying to keep you safe all my life! She began to sob as she tried to keep her voice down.
We need to move, once you get better. We're no longer safe here” her mother said, avoiding her face.
Brielle knew there wasn't no escaping this time around. Not after she saw death glaring at her. “I'm sorry, mom. I should have listened to you”