The dry, hard packed soil crunched under his feet. Bushes and trees rustled in the harsh July winds of Tofield, Alberta. He ran faster leaving no foot prints; this was why he decided on this trail. After a few minutes he heard what he was looking for. The laughter of a child. He raced toward the sound. His damp palms clutched a stolen baseball bat. When Miles reached the clearing, he saw three teens, laughing and teasing each other. Miles waited for one to walk away from the others. He was just about to give up when his chance came. He raced out of his hiding spot and swung his bat wildly at his chosen victim. The sound of wood on flesh and bone was drowned out with cries of pain. Suddenly…silence. The other two teens raced to their friend. The moon moved from behind a cloud. Miles looked at the limp figure on the ground. A smile lit his face. As quickly as he came, he was gone.


“Jesse!” Cassie screamed. “Oh my god Jesse! Get up!” She ran as fast as her feet would carry her, with Danny on her heels, she reached her friend in 10 seconds. Cassie stopped, but Danny kept running. “Where are you going? Stop Danny!” Cassie hollers. “Stay with Jess! I’ll get whoever brought him down!” was the rushed reply from Danny. Before Danny was out of earshot, however, Jesse started to cough. He tried to move and was rewarded with a sharp pain that shot through his left arm and shoulder. This was enough to stop Danny dead in his tracks. He wheeled round and joined Cassie by Jesse’s side. “You ok man?” Danny asked. Concern was all over his face. Cassie was looking like someone had just eaten a whole live centipede-right in front of her. “What’s wrong Cass?” Jesse mumbled. She didn’t speak but simply pointed to his arm. It was bent at a weird angle. Jesse looked at it and started to yell. Dan grabbed his phone and called 911. Within minutes, they heard the bellowing sound of sirens. The constant beeping partly drowned out Jesse’s screams of shock and pain - but not entirely. The police were right behind the ambulance to question Dan and Cassie. The two of them gave detailed answers to their questions as best they could considering the horrifying circumstances. Then they were driven home.


It took a day of rest for Jesse to regain enough strength to have the surgery to correct the position of his arm. He had taken quite a beating the previous night. He couldn’t remember where he lived either. The only things he could remember were the names of his closest family and friends. He couldn’t even remember anything that had happened the day of the accident. When he came out of the six hour surgery he was very pale and weak. His arm was in a bright clean cast. Danny and Cassie visited him as soon as possible. Cassie greeted him with the news that her mother had just had her child. It was a boy. They named it Joey. Dan said the name reminded him of a Kangaroo. They had a good laugh at that. “I gotta go help mom” Cassie said after a couple of minutes. “Sorry the visit was so short. When do you get out?” She asked as she was leaving. “Three days.” Was his reply. “Nice. See you tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at 11:00am okay Danny?” Cassie dismissed herself. “Yeah. Okay see you later.” He said. Dan stayed with Jesse for a while after Cassie left. When he went to leave he simply said, “I’ll get him. “Then he left. Jesse regained his strength and his memory, but the night of the accident still remained a horrible blur. Just as the nurse promised he was out in three days. When he was released Cassie greeted him at the front door. She was alone. “Where is Danny?” He asked. Cassie looked troubled. She tried to change the subject but Jesse cut her off “What? Cassie, what’s going on?” he spun her around with his good arm. She met his eyes. “He’s gone” she said “he left last night. He went to the park, where you were…where the accident happened” she looked away from him. She couldn’t meet his eyes anymore. “How do you know he was there?” Jesse asked. She spoke so quietly he could hardly hear her “I was with him” she pulled back her jacket to reveal a large purple bruise-on her left arm. “Oh no! Are you okay? Is Dan okay?” Cassie laughed half heartedly “I’m fine” she said. Then her eyes clouded over again. ”Dan though…he…well” she stuttered. “What? Spit it out Cassidy!” she turned away from him, shaking his hand off her arm. ”He was attacked. By your same attacker. But, Jesse? Dan he’s not here because…he’s in surgery. Having his left arm amputated, from the elbow down.” Jesse repeated what she had said. ”left arm? He asked putting extra emphasis on the word left. He looked at his left arm. Fully encased in his white cast. Then he looked at Cassie’s left arm. It was black and purple. Then he thought about Dan, with no left arm because of this guy.” Why is it being amputated?” Jesse asked suddenly. “He had a different weapon. This time he had a hatchet.” Cassie said sadly. Then she said leaned in close to Jesse and whispered something in his ear. ”If it hadn’t been for Dan, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Jesse blinked in surprise. ”He dived in front of the guy and the hatchet caught his arm. It ripped through the bone almost entirely. It was way beyond repair.” She looked sad. In that moment, however, Cassie knew that she, Dan and Jesse would be Best Friends Forever- until the very end.



Dan was released a couple of weeks after the operation. He had a fake, metal forearm. Jesse got the cast off two months later. Cassie’s bruise disappeared within the week. The three of them survived the accident together-although Dan got the worst of it. They were luckier than some others. One week after Jesse’s cast was removed; a young girl had gone for a stroll and never come back. The police found her, on a forested trail. She was dead. She had bled to death because her left arm had been ripped off with a hatchet. They never found the attacker. Miles may have gotten away with what he had done this time. But you know what they always say, never pull the same trick twice!