Rest In Peace (part 3)

Rest In Peace (part 3)(Becca Timmerman) Chapter 11 ~Henry~

David clutched the phone to his ear.
“Sam, tell me where this guy is.” He demanded.
“Sorry, no can do, buddy,” Sam said, sounding hesitant.
“Sam, come on, as my friend, please,” David implored.
“Sorry David, I really wish I could, but I can’t.” Sam said. “I was told not to tell you until we have the guy safe in custody. The boss doesn't want you to go and do something that you’ll regret. He thinks that you are too close to the case, and to tell you the truth, David, I don’t disagree,” Sam tired to explain.
“Sam, I need to know where this guy is,” David said, angrily.
“I can’t tell you, David. I just thought you’d want to know that we are going to get the monster who killed your daughter.” Sam said. “Justice will be done.”
“Sam, I will find this guy, with or without your help.” David promised.
Then he slammed the phone down.
“David, what was that about?” Anna asked, looking concerned.
“I have to go,” David said. “Work called me in,” He lied.
“David,” Anna called out to him, standing in the doorway.
“What?” He asked, his voice softening towards his wife.
“…Be careful,” She told him. She knew something was going to happen. Something big. She might not know what was going to happen, but she saw that look in her husband’s eyes, and knew that he was going to do something big.
“I always am,” David answered, nodding, and heading out the door.
David quickly stopped at the police station.
He got the information he needed from the data base.
He knew exactly where to go to find the man he was looking for. He also knew that the other officers were taking a longer rout to get to him. David knew a short cut. To get to this man before the other officers got to him. David was prepared to make this man pay for what he did to his daughter. He was going to see to it personally that this monster didn't get away with what he had done.
David hopped into a police car, and sped away.
He made it to his destination, and as he knew, no one else was there.
David got out of his car, barely waiting for the car to stop moving.
He spotted a figure running away from the house in the back.
“Stop this is the police!” He barked at the guy. The runner didn't stop.
David gave chase. He wasn't going to let this guy get away.
The guy ran around back, only to find himself fenced in. David turned the blind corner, and immediately stopped. The runner hand stopped running, and had now turned on him. The runner hand taken out a gun of his own.
“Henry Smith, stop. There is nowhere else to go.” David said.
“Go ahead, shoot me,” Henry said. “I swear the last thing I will do is kill you.” He promised. They both had their guns aimed to kill.
“I’m not going to shoot you,” David said. “Not yet. You still have something I want.” He growled. Henry was the only one who knew where Kari’s body was buried. He wasn't going to get away that easily. David still needed to get that information from Henry before could pull the trigger, and kill this monster.
“What do you want?” Henry asked, curiously.
“Where did you bury Kari?” David demanded.
“Who is Kari?” Henry asked, sounding genuinely confused.
“The girl you killed in the ally,” David replied, through clenched teeth.
“Oh, her? I didn't bury her. I just left her there,” Henry said.
“No, the first girl you killed,” David stated. “Where is she?”
David heard other people come. The other police officers had finally made it to the scene. He heard them come out of their cars, and heard them aim their guns.
“David, drop your weapon!” He heard Sam’s voice order him to do.
David had no intentions of doing that. He was so close to finding Kari.
“Tell me where she is!” David barked.
Henry looked around him. He knew that he was out numbered.
He wasn't about to go out without a fight.
“Drop your weapon, Henry Smith!” A different officer barked.
“David, let us handle this!” Sam implored. Sam ignored him.
“Tell me where my daughter is!” David yelled.
Henry was looking desperate now. He knew he wasn't going to get away.
His arm tensed, and David knew that he was going to shoot at him.
David couldn't bring himself to pull his own trigger. Not just yet. Henry still had information that David needed. Maybe if he just waited a little more…
Then David realized that Henry wasn't going to say anything.
Henry was going to go down, and try and take as many officers with him.
Then, a single gunshot rang through the air.
David blinked, surprised. He watched Henry’s eyes widen, and then fall to the ground. Then his blood pooled around his head where he had been shot. David stared at his gun, which was still unused. He looked behind him.
There was Sam standing there with his gun aimed at where Henry had stood.
And the barrel of his gun was smoking from its recent use.
Sam nodded at David.
David looked back at the monster who took his daughter’s life.
He had gotten what he deserved.
David’s only regret was that he didn't kill Henry with his own gun.


Chapter 12 ~ Dark Secrets~

Once I touched the light, I felt myself flying… or so I thought. It took me a little while to realize that I wasn't actually flying. I was, in fact, doing the opposite.
I was falling.
“Whoa!” I exclaimed, feeling the wind whip past my face. I hit the ground with a thud, and rolled a little ways. “Ow,” I murmured, rubbing my hip. “…Ow!” I exclaimed, feeling pain. Well, I hadn't felt pain since I had died. I rubbed my hip shocked. I didn't know that I could still feel pain. I mean, I could be happy, angry, scared, or sad, but I haven’t felt pain in a long time. I've done many things in my strange limo land, and I've never felt any pain. I wonder why I can now.
I looked around to see where I was. I saw that I was in an alleyway…
Wait. I knew this place. It felt like I was in some kind of a dream.
No, not dream… this was too real to be a simple dream.
This was a memory… a memory from when I had been alive.
I remembered this ally. I used to take this alley home whenever I was running late, or if I just wanted to get home faster. Dad had always told me to not come this way, but I didn't see the harm in going this way. I’d never gotten in any trouble before. Dad said that nothing good ever happened in dark allies, but I thought he was just being an overprotective father. I always rolled my eyes at him, and ignored his warnings. People used that alley every day, and nothing had ever happened there except once someone got their purse stolen from them. I never had anything of value on me when I was there. All I ever had was a book bag, and anyone is welcome to take my homework away from me if they really wanted it.
I heard footsteps echo throughout the alley.
I quickly hid myself behind a dumpster that I always had passed.
A shadow elongated itself across the alley walls as the figure approached.
And then I saw the figure step into the afternoon light…
It was me. I was walking home from school, my books in my hand.
I tossed my hair behind my shoulder; not even thinking that today might be my last day alive. I should have been more aware of what was around me.
I saw a dark figure in a little street that was across the dumpster I was hiding behind right now. Somehow I knew that this was the guy was bad news; I knew that if I turned around and took the long way that added about five minutes to my walk home that I would be alive, and none of this would've happened.
“Turn around!” I yelled, jumping into the alley and running at… well, me.
The me who was walking down the alley paused in front of me.
She looked behind her as if she was thinking about turning around.
“Yeah, turn around!” I told her, now nose to nose with myself.
I looked back, and took a step in that direction… and then I shook my head, and grinned like I was spooking myself. I then continued to walk down the alley, and the past me walked through the dead me. Well, that was weird… and kind of rude, really. It felt weird to be passed through. I felt like I was a ghost just watching a scene unfold before my eyes (that is pretty much what I was).
As the past me approached the area where I was hiding, I felt fear.
I knew that when I made it to the cross section that something was going to happen… something that wasn't good. Something terrible was about to happen.
“Stop…” I murmured, feeling myself grow tense with suspense.
Something caught the past me’s eye. Something moved in the shadows.
I followed the past me. I saw a dark figure emerge from the shadows, and then grab past me by the arm. Past me demanded to be let go, eyes full of anger. Then, the figure took out a knife. Past me whimpered, and begged him not to hurt me, but the dark figure stabbed past me in the stomach. Past me doubled over in pain. I heard past me say something like ‘I won’t tell anyone I promise!’ as the figure came back to me. He seemed to hesitate, but ended up cutting my throat. However, he didn't cut deep enough, and I began to run.
“Stop…” I murmured, feeling like I couldn't breathe.
“Daddy!” Past me cried out, trying to make it out of the alley.
The figure grabbed past me, and made the cut across my throat deeper.
Past me fell to the ground, dead.
The dark figure stepped into the light, and I saw my killer.
He looked like an ordinary man. There wasn't anything that set him apart from any other man. It surprised me on how normal looking he looked.
Suddenly a flash of light blinded me, and I was transported away from the alley, and I found myself in a patch of woods. I was in a clearing. I knew where this was. I used to go there when I took a walk when I was alive. If I needed some time to just clear my head I would find myself drawn there. I was drawn to the quietness and peacefulness of the area. Now it was ruined forever.
I was suddenly trapped in my body again, alive in a dead girl’s body.
I looked up, and felt my killer grab my arm, and drag me away.
He threw me in a hole, and began to bury me alive.
“No!” I tried to scream, but I couldn't make a sound. Then, he began to toss dirt over me, and I couldn't breathe… soon I couldn't see anything because dirt was over my eyes. Dirt was everywhere. It was over my eyes, in my hair, in my nose, and in my mouth… I was slowly suffocating. I was dying all over again!
“Hhh!” I gasped, suddenly back in my limbo world.
I sat straight up, and found myself in the dandelion field that I fist found myself in when I came here. I looked around, and I saw that lake where the rose is.
I knew that I could finally go to heaven. All of my questions were answered… and yet there was something else I had to do. I looked into the sky and saw a picture of my dad painted in the sky like the sunset. He looked so real…
It was time for both of us to find peace…
It was time for a swim.


Chapter 13 ~Finding Kari~

David stared at Henry’s dead body.
That was it. Henry took with him the whereabouts of Kari’s body.
He was David’s last hope, and now even he was gone.
“I’m sorry,” Sam said, quietly, clasping his friend’s shoulder.
“You had no other choice,” David murmured, shaking his head.
Rain began to fall on the scene. David watched the droplets make little ripples in the dark red blood that was still spilling from Henry’s head wound.
Then, David saw something forming in the blood… it was an image, but not a reflection of the sky like it should have been. It was a reflection of Kari’s face.
She looked around as if she was trying to figure out where she was. Once she seemed to figure out where she was, she looked to her right, and looked like she wanted him to follow her. David squinted at her, but before he could get a good look, the rain blurred her face, and Kari was gone. David nodded, and began to walk in the direction that Kari had indicated towards.
“David, where are you going?” Sam asked, but David ignored him.
David continued walking away, and Sam just shrugged him off.
If David needed some to himself, Sam wasn't about to get in his way.
He found himself standing by a tall building with a bunch of glass windows.
By now, the rain had turned into a steady down pour.
David hardly noticed the rain that drenched his body.
He spotted Kari again, only this time she was running across the windows that had rain pouring down them like sheets of translucent living glass. She was running towards a park… David recognized the park she was running to.
He had once thought that Kari had ran away when her grandmother died, but it turned out she had just gone to the park. He had found her sitting in the middle of this peaceful clearing, just letting herself clear her head. He never told her that he’d found her there before. It just didn't seem like there had been a right time to have told her. Now he would never get a chance to tell her that he’d seen her sitting here, and that he understood how she had felt all those years ago.
David ran towards the clearing, seeing his daughter’s reflection all around him. She was in the windows around him. She was in every drop of rain that fell around him. Kari’s face was in every puddle that crossed his path. She as leading him somewhere and he was going to follow her. He knew that where ever she was leading him was important. There was something big where she was leading him.
He felt the mud underneath his feet squish as he ran through the woods.
David could smell the damp earth and hear the constant fall of the rain.
The droplets of water cooled his body, allowing him to keep going.
David finally made it to the clearing.
He paused at the opening to the clearing, unsure if he wanted to go on.
David knew that this was the place where all of his questions about what happened to his daughter would be settled, but he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to handle it. Something terrible had happened, and now he was going to learn just how terrible it had been for Kari in her last moments of life.
He was going to learn how she died…
And was going to be reminded how he hadn't been there to protect her.
David took in a deep breath, and continued forward.
He needed to do this for himself, and he needed to do this for Kari.
David spotted something that hadn't always been there before: it was a rectangle of disturbed dirt over by a little pond. David knelt by it.
His breathing became shaky, and his hands trembled as he removed the wet dirt. He felt something under the dirt, and it was soft. David dug a little faster, and he revealed a face… but there was too much dirt to see who he’d uncovered; however, David knew who he would find before he started digging.
The rain washed away the dirt that clung to the face of the body he uncovered, and sure enough, he was staring at the face of his Kari.
Tears blurred David’s vision. He’d finally done it… he’d found Kari’s body.
He stroked his daughter’s cheek gently.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” He whispered. “I’m just so sorry.”
David felt like his heart was too big for his chest.
He felt his tears mix with the rain water streaming down his face.
This was what he had been looking for. This is what he had needed to find.
He glanced at the pond, but then had to do a double take.
On the surface of the pond was his daughter again. She was there, smiling at him. He smiled back at her. She gave a little giggle, and waved at him. He waved back at her. Then, there was a warm gold glow that came from above her.
She looked towards it, and then slowly faded from the surface of the pond.
David knew that would be the last time he’d see his Kari…
And for some reason or another, he was OK with that.
They had both finally found peace with each other.
David sighed, and lifted his face to the sky. He let the tears that he had held back for so long stream down his face, and allowed himself to feel for the very first time since Kari had disappeared. He let himself feel all the pain that he’d been holding in his heart. He allowed himself to feel all of the guilt, and strain he’d held inside of his body. He let himself let go of all the feelings he’d locked inside himself.
In the end, he was left with one feeling, and it was so strong, he could hardly breathe. He was filled with a feeling a peace so strong that he’d never thought was possible. It was a feeling so strong and pure that he knew that all of his doubts about Kari’s death could be put to rest. It was a feeling that was strong that he’d ever felt before, and he knew that there wouldn't ever be a moment when he’d feel this way again, but he was going to savor every moment he could feeling like this.


Chapter 14 ~Free At Last~

My head broke through the surface of the lake, and I found myself right next to the rose that was in the middle of the lake. There was some golden glow that was coming from the center. It moved towards the edge, and then an arm that glowed gold extended from above the rose. I took the hand, and it pulled me up onto it.
I stood on the flower as if it was some solid ground.
I stared at my hand and body. Even though I’d just come out of a lake, I was somehow miraculously dry. My hair wasn't even wet, nor was my clothing.
I stared at the person in front of me.
Only, I knew that this wasn't an ordinary person standing before me.
He was by far the most handsome person I’d ever seen, and he glowed gold with heaven’s light. He smiled back at me, and then I noticed that he had wings.
This was my angel. He was going to take me to heaven.
And this time, I was ready to go with him.
There was nothing holding me back. Not this time.
“Kari!” Came a little voice above me. I looked up, and gasped as I recognized that tiny voice. It was the voice that I last heard calling out my name before it was silenced forever. The last time I’d heard that voice marked by far the worst day of my life. It was a day that would haunt me even beyond the grave. Now it was the first thing that I heard before I would surely find to be the best days of my new life.
“L-Lacey?” I stammered, feeling my heart swell inside of my chest.
“Kari, come with me.” She beckoned. I nodded, tearing up with joy.
“Are you ready?” the angel asked me, extending his hands to me.
“Yeah,” I barely breathed out, taking his hands.
He smiled at me, and nodded his head. Then, he began to fly. We climbed higher into the sky, and then we reached the thin layer that stood between limbo and heaven. Gold mist swirled around the both of us. It was a feeling like nothing I’d ever felt before. It was the purest joy I’d ever felt. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before while I was living. It was a wild untainted joy.
The gold mist swirled around my back, and then it formed two wings on my back. I felt the mist become solid, and then I looked behind me, and there were two white, feathery wings coming from between my shoulder blades. I flapped them and laughed. I was finally an angel. I was finally at peace with my past.
The angel let go of my hands, and the clouds beneath me didn't give out.
I stood there, taking in everything that was around me.
It was all so perfect, so peaceful, and so… so right.
This was where I belonged. Ginny was right. I didn't belong in the world of the living. I wasn't alive anymore. I was as dead as Lacey is. It was time for me to move on from my past life, and into my new life. This is what it felt like to be born again. I will start a new life up here in heaven, and I will wait for the day that I’m reunited with the ones I love that I left behind in the land of the living.
“Kari, Kari!” Lacey cried, running and wrapping her arms around me.
“Lacey,” I whispered, hugging her tightly to me.
“I've been waiting for you, Kari,” Lacey told me, smiling up at me.
“I've been waiting for this too, Lacey,” I told her, smiling broadly.
“What took you so long?” Lacey asked, cocking her head to one side.
“There was something that I had to do before I came here.” I said, kissing her forehead. “I had to show Daddy something before I could ascend.”
“Daddy will be OK,” Lace promised me. I nodded.
“I know that now,” I murmured, remembering the look on his face when I left him after I’d led him to my body. He was finally at peace with what had happened to me. I knew that he needed to find me before he could forgive himself for being unable to help me from my death. I knew he would always be guilty if he couldn't find my body. I knew exactly how he felt; more than he’d ever know himself.
I stroked Lacey’s soft hair. She was so real.
It was almost like we were still alive; although I knew that wasn't possible.
This was better than living.
This was heaven. I’d finally made it to my final destination.
I could finally move on from the past, and I could move on to my future.
“Can you show me around?” I asked Lacey. She grinned at me.
“I have so much to show you!” She told me, eyes glittering.
She took my hand in her little hand, and took me towards these big gates that opened wide for us. I could hardly wait to see what was beyond those gates.

My name is Kari Sanderson. I lived. I died. I felt the purest joy, and the deepest despair. Now there was only one thing that I could feel. It was something that my body had been craving for unknowingly since the day my sister had died.
The feeling filled all of the empty holes in my heart, and every inch of my body. My skin tingled with it, and every cell in my body vibrated with it. The feeling was too big for my body, and yet it felt like it fit perfectly within me. I wondered how long I had been waiting to feel it. I opened my wings and flew towards heaven with my sister. This feeling felt like flying.
My soul could finally rest because I felt one thing:
Free.

The End