Epilogue:

"When I make curtsy, bid me farewell." -William Shakespeare, As You Like It

It's been a month since the investigation closed. It's been over three years since the hell Jess, Josh and Ash lived through ended. It's been three years since we buried Hannah and Matt. Buried isn't the right word. We never got their bodies back. Memorialized may be more appropriate. It's why we're all meeting today.

Ashley is sitting next to me. I can see her leg bouncing up and down in anticipation. I place my hand over it and give her a smile. We're the first ones here. It's warm in the restaurant, despite the icy winter outside. A fireplace in the corner illuminates the restaurant in a warm, amber glow. Ashley has shed her jacket, resting it on the back of her chair, her scarf carefully folded on top of it. I discarded my jacket as well, but keep my scarf. I don't like it when people stare at the horrible scars on my neck. It's easier to cover in winter, but summer I force myself to wear collared shirts that do little to hide the damage. I'm lucky Ashley is supportive. She probably thinks the same thing about me.

I know why she's nervous. The investigation is closed. They found the guy who did it, but there was no hard evidence to prove him. There was only the eyewitness testimonies from Ash, Jess and Josh. They were the only ones who had a consistently good look at him. The glances I got were blurry, at best. The others never got a good look at him. There was no proof he gave us the boxes. His murder bunker was never found. The bodies of Hannah and Matt were forever missing. It kills me every time I think about it.

Em disappeared after that night. We didn't hear from her for months until, one day, Sam couldn't take it any more. She went to where Em was living and barged in. There was nothing but a note and an extremely emancipated body that was once Emily. The note read that she didn't deserve to eat anymore. If she had eaten when she could the she could have saved Matt. None of us realized she cared so much. The guilt probably weighed on her more than any of us realized. We got to bury her, at least.

Beth tried to kill herself more than once. She's in a hospital now, getting help. Josh and Sam visit her weekly. Josh tells her each time that he doesn't blame Beth for Hannah's death. Whenever any of us ask what happened to her, though, he pales. He can't speak of it. Ashley only told me what happened in detail a month ago, the night the investigation closed. I guess she couldn't hold in the secrets of that place anymore. I've become a great listener in recent years. It's not like I can make jokes to cheer people up anymore. I glance at Ash who is looking at the menu, but not reading it. "What do you want?" she asks quietly. It's not like I can order for myself.

Ashley has to translate for me wherever we go. Her and I both spent a year learning how to sign. I have to write out everything in words for the others, but Ash and I have our own little world. That might be the only good thing that's come out of this whole thing. I look at the menu and point at a pasta and steak dish, as well as a glass of wine. Ashley gives me a weak smile. She's noticed how discouraged I've become. I only drink when I'm upset nowadays. "They'll be here soon."

'I know." My hands are still a bit clumsy, but I sign out the response.

As is on cue Jess, Mike, Sam and Josh walk in. They all carpooled, Mike being the only one who has a car. They talk to the hostess before I let up my hand, signaling where we are. Mike nods and leads the group over.

We always meet on this day. We go to exceedingly fancy places each year, the first year being a Taco Bell, last year iHop and this year Olive Garden. Maybe next year we'll expand beyond a chain. They all take their seats at the table, the girls taking one side, Josh and Mike filling the remaining spots. "So, how's life everyone?" Mike asks.

We're all upset about the case being closed. That bastard was let off. After everything he did to us they could do nothing. There was no hard evidence. I can tell no one wanted to let him off, but eyewitness testimony and a series of letters is not enough to convict someone. The waitress comes and takes our order quickly. It's not hard to tell we're all depressed. No one wants to stay around our sorry group longer than they have to.

We eat our salad and breadsticks in near silence. I watch as Ash swirls the warm breadstick in the cold Italian Dressing. What happened to us? I hear some people cheering from the bar, people our age, watching a sports game of some sort. Shouldn't that be us? Shouldn't that be what we're experiencing?

I need to break this silence. It's driving me crazy. I sign to Ash, asking a question. The others look at me. Sam is the only other one who has attempted to learn, but she doesn't have the time to learn everything. She knows the alphabet and a few choice symbols. Ash looks up at the others, mostly Josh. "He asked how Beth was doing."

Josh looked down at the barely touched salad. All he had eaten were the olives. "She's okay. I doubt she'll ever be the same as she was. Maybe she can come out with us next year."

At that moment a series of phone chimes go off. We all pull out our phones. It's the police department, the detectives who were working our case. It's a group message and we all read the same thing. "We need you to come down to the station when you can. Five people have gone missing." The bastard struck again.

I can't believe we're done. This chapter was so hard to write because I didn't want to end this story but there was really no where else I could go. I'd like to thank all of you who read up to here. It's crazy to think some of y'all actually like my random sadistic scribbles… I'm getting really choked up writing this authors note, if I'm completely honest.

I would like to thank everyone who followed and favorited this story, and I would especially like to thank all of you who reviewed. It meant (and still means) a lot to me that you all would take time out to do that. I would like thank all of you for giving me these last nine months of support. I know I'm rambling because I really don't want to end this.

If you liked this please go check out my story Fairy Lights. It's a bit similar in tone to this story.

I love you all.

-Anarchist's Rose