15-year-old, Casey McKinley slammed the door of the small apartment on Grover Street behind her, ignoring the loosely hung pictures of her and her mother vibrating on the wall.  She slouched on the same brown tattered cushion of the couch that she has sat on her whole life.  Exhausted, she reached across the couch for a half-empty bowl of potato chips on the side table.  She had a difficult time grabbing the bowl of chips but at this time of the day, she couldn't care less.  Before she had the chance to change the channel on the TV, “Breaking News” flashed across the screen.  In bright bold letters, reporter Jansen excitedly warned the community of a loose murderer who had just committed a crime in the forest across Grover Street.  An unknown suspect had left a body for dead in the middle of the dense forest.  Frightened by this news, Casey clutched onto her necklace with the red ruby, the only necklace of its kind in town.  Remembering the day she received the beautiful necklace from her grandmother on her fifth birthday, Casey began to smile showing her braces, washing away the fear.  

The McKinley family has lived in the town of Grover Street for generations and the city has always been a safe and united community. In particular, the forest has been a place of wonderful memories for the McKinley family. Holding the red ruby necklace, Casey began to remember when her grandmother would play hide and seek with her in the forest. She smiled to herself and could not imagine something so tragic could happen in that whimsical forest. Feeling a strong compulsion to help her community solve this mystery, Casey runs out the door forgetting to close it behind her.

All around her, birds are chirping, the wind is blowing, squirrels scurry around and through her, but Casey feels and hears nothing. Walking on the damp ground barefoot, Casey feels nothing. 

The air is dark and gloomy, and a deep mist overhung after a long day of rain.  Stepping into puddles, Casey reaches the forest.  As a strong gust of wind pushes her back, there is a crunchy, crackling sound of the fluttering leaves. The sticks and rocks Casey runs on seem to penetrate her feet. As leaves whisk past her, Casey becomes nervous. As she stands in the middle of the forest, Casey begins to look for signs. She could almost hear her sweet grandmother whisper in her raspy voice, “Find the body”, “Do Not Give Up.” Peering through the darkness, Casey looks for signs. She sees the bright full moon shining above her and a raccoon scampering to the opposite end of the forest. Frustrated, she starts to think this is a hopeless task.  Suddenly, through the corner of her eye, she spots ripped leaves and dirt tracks that seem to be dragged into the bushes. Finding a small opening through the bush, Casey steps forwards and bends down towards the bush. Twigs protruding, cobwebs scattered throughout the bush and with hesitation, she begins to crawl. The cobwebs wisp by her and Casey almost feels as if the twigs were invisible. Following the dirt tracks, Casey comes to an unusual opening at the other end of the bush. As she stands up, trying to brush off the dirt and leaves of her clothes, Casey realizes there is nothing on her.  

Spotting ripped pieces of cloth covered in what looked like blood on the murky wet ground, Casey gasps. She stops. As her heart races, she takes one step forward, and then another. Spotting bright blue and red lights from a distance, she realizes she isn’t the first one at the crime scene. Police officers are bent down towards what looked like a pit, some are taking notes of what they’re observing, and others are examining the ground around the pit. With a magnifying glass in one hand and a notebook in another, an officer stands up and walks in his big bulky black boots to the edge of the forest. Two police officers are putting up eye-catching yellow caution tape around the clearing. Casey dodges the police officer attempting to take pictures of the scene, thinking she will be in the picture. Noticing four police officers in deep discussion in the right corner of her eye, Casey walks towards them. In the center of the clearing was the jagged pit.  Casey begins to feel nauseous, having butterflies in her stomach wondering why so many police officers are peering into the unusual pit. Turning back, and seeing the police officers walking around the scene putting up the caution tape she asks what’s going on. Ignoring her, they continue to walk and put up the tape. Casey ponders why they ignored her but reassures herself by assuming that they were probably busy with the crime. As Casey walks towards the pit, she sees tattered leaves and broken down branches of trees over the cold-stone ground. Hearing the distinct conversation between the police officers, Casey begins to eavesdrop. “This really will be a difficult case to solve, the murderer was very careful. How could something so dangerous happen in our town?” “Henry, did you get any of the DNA samples of the girl?” As officers are putting the pieces of evidence together, including the ripped pieces of cloth and a strand of brown hair, Casey begins to walk towards the pit. Surprised that the officers do not notice her, Casey spots blood on the ragged leaves. Frightened about what to do, Casey takes one step backward and steps in what appeared to be a burnt paper. Opening it up were four letters, in bold red writing, spelling out, 'HELP'. Gasping to find her breath, Casey runs to the officer to show the evidence. Unable to hear what she is saying, Casey slumps down onto the cold wet ground. Then it all came to her. She had flashbacks remembering how she felt no pain when walking barefoot on the uneven ground, or when sticks and leaves penetrated through her. Screeching at the thought of what may have happened, she begins to cry!  She clasps her hand over her mouth and starts walking back, holding her red ruby necklace. Then she hears it… 

“What a shame, such a beautiful red ruby heart necklace, and such a beautiful young girl!  Such a sad story…