Fall Again (a Michael Jackson fanfiction)

24. Hope searches

Hopes POV 🥀

I spent most of that day and the following night searching, I went through the entire woods - even though the cops had been through it with a fine tooth comb.

In my desperation, I guess I hoped he might see me and come to me, I knew he had grown attached to me, and I to him.

The leaves crunched under my feet, and I zipped up my coat, shivering, and pushed my hands deeper into my pockets.
Soon I needed my torch and I fumbled with it, finding it hard to press the buttons with my gloves on.

A few hours after looking everywhere I could think of nearby, it started to rain.
Great, another thunderstorm.

I had no hood on my coat, and my hair was soaked in minutes. It hung around my face, dripping down my neck and making me very uncomfortable.

I wanted my warm bed, a cup of hot chocolate and a hot shower.
But I owed it to Michael to find him, I would find him. I was determined, more determined than I'd ever been

He had been spotted twice around the area in the hour after he ran off, but not since then.

So either he had left the area, or he was hiding somewhere - probably a forest or a field, somewhere out of the public eye.

He hadn't been seen anywhere near any of the
homes of his family, which meant he was probably lost and not knowing where he was going - or, he didn't want to go home, he had something else in mind.
The thought made a chill run down me.

Then I remembered something that made my whole body go cold. Michael told me once that he thought it would be peaceful to drown, he'd wanted to do that for years.

That's why he tried in the bath, instead of ligaturing or hanging himself, he told me, it would be peaceful, floating off into nothing.

I looked up the nearest lakes, rivers, we were nowhere near the sea - it would take him weeks to get to somewhere next to the sea.

I went to the nearest open spaces of water, looking for any sight of Michael, any clue that he had been there.

Nothing.

I looked at the news article, which had revealed his name this evening, resulting in panic all over the world with all his fans.
He was so loved, I wish he could see that.

He was last seen heading for Blenwood nature reserve. They'd searched most of it, and seen nothing - yet.

I looked at google maps for lakes or any type of water near the nature reserve - but saw nothing. But Blenwood nature reserve was massive - over 50,000 acres big.

I knew the reserve would be crawling with cops, so I didn't bother going there.

I remembered he had his phone with him, it must be out of charge now - so they couldn't trace it. I stood in the rain, tapping my foot and shivering, trying to think of something else.

There was a big river about 30 miles from the nature reserve, but could he have got that far on no food or change of clothes? It had been raining heavily for days now, he must be soaked.

Then I could see a big blue shape on the map, a lake! I zoomed in, it was called Hollydrop Lake.
He could have easily got there?

Before I had a chance to try and figure out a route there - my phone rang.
Tree, the ward manager. I pressed accept and pressed the phone to my ear, terrified they'd tell me they'd found his body.

But as they told me the news my whole body went weak - with relief.

He'd been found. Alive.