I walked through the thick brush across a meadow toward the woods, my boots squelching in the mud. We were all spaced roughtly 20 feet part as we entered the treeline. The sky was grey and the air cool. It rained most of night and into the early morning hours but was now only misting. I tried to keep my focus on my surroundings; after all, that was the point of trudging through the woods in the first place, but I couldn’t help but think of Cassie.

The last time I had seen Cassie I had just arrived back to our apartment and she was curling her hair in the bathroom mirror.

“Where are you off to tonight?” I had asked.

“I have a date!” Cassie exclaimed. “Do you remeber, Brett? The bartender from Mack’s?”

“The one with dark hair and a bad reputation?” I had inquired.

“I don’t exactly have the best reputation myself, y’know” Cassie had quipped, “And yes. I bumped into him today and he invited me out for drinks tonight.”

We had met Brett one night while out drinkning with friends at a local dive bar. He was your typical, conventially attractive career bartender in his late 20s or early 30s who used his Saturday night shift to scope out potential hookups. Unfotunately for Cass, Brett set his sights on her. But who could blame him? Cassie was fit, average height with light brown hair and the most brilliant green eyes.

When she laid eyes on Brett that night at Mack’s, I knew she was smitten. Brett flirted with Cassie all night. She was so giddy when we returned home. Lovestruck by any male attention cast her way. We all tried to bring her back down to earth when she got like that.

“Should I wear the blue one or the yellow one?” Cassie inquired while holding two sundresses with tiny white flower designs on both of them.”

“They are literally the same dress, Cass” I had said while rolling my eyes. Alice was the type of person who found a shirt, dress, or pants that she loved and bought it in every color she possibly could. Her closet was extensive, making outfit choices a daily struggle for her. She could be so indecisive. Cassie could never decide what to wear, what she wanted to eat, or if she wanted to date this boy or that. The latter of those had gotten her into trouble quite a few times.

“Does Nick know you’re going out with Brett tonight?” I asked.

“Nick has been so distant. I can’t bear it.” Cassie responded, “Maybe if he finds out he’ll put in a bit more effort. A bit of friendly competition really.”

“Nick has a temper and a bad mood.” I cautioned as Cassie changed into her dress.

“Nick loves me. You don’t need to worry about it. Besides, it’s just drinks with Brett. Brett and I have nothing more than a casual flirtation… at the moment.” Cassie stated.

Brett seemed to have a “casual flirtation” with lots of girls around town. There were rumors surfacing the last two days. Other girls who had gone “out for drinks” with Brett had suddenly started revealing details of their dates, or rather the lack of details they remember. Lots of other girls, just like Cass, had gone out with Brett but never seem to be able remember anything after their second drink. All these other girls claim they woke up the next morning unsure of how they made it home. Too embarassed to say anything, all of these women kept their mouths shut until now.

I stumbled over a root protruding, catching myself on a tree. As I focused on my surroudnings I noticed a grassy area up ahead and heard the sound of running water. A stream. I walked forward, focusing more on my footing. The grass was knee high and blocked my view of the stream but I knew it was just up head. As the sound of the trickling stream grew louder I noticed what looked like a mass in front of me, flattening the grass about 4 feet away. I slowly walked towards it. Thats when I saw the blue sundress with tiny white flower designs on it.

My heart sank and I thought I might puke. I blew my whistle to signal to the other searchers I had found something.