Liz Strong sat in her bed staring at an old photo of her now missing sister, since the investigation began no clues had been found. The woods were scoured by police and volunteers alike all in hopes of finding the missing girl. 1 week had passed and her disappearance still had no leads. Liz held out hope, and as she stared at the photo of her now missing sister she began to recall the story of it.

7 years prior, a 16 year old Liz was forced to be at her then 6 year old sister’s party. She did not want to be there. Her friends had invited her to rent a movie and hang out which she was forced to decline. She loved her sister but very much resented her at this moment. The family had chosen to have the party at their house and her parents, Melinda and Jason Strong, asked Serene Huckleberry, the town baker, to bake a cake. The party was nothing special as it was just 6 year old Jolie and her school friends running about and playing games. Liz was there for her parents, who demanded that since she was her sister she had to be at her party. So Liz sat in the corner, reading a borrowed copy of “Salem’s Lot” from the school library up until it was time for cake. The cake was eaten, the gifts were opened, and the party was over. Parents came to pick up their kids and then it was just the Strong family. Liz sat in the chair she sat in most the day when Jolie came up to her.

“Whatcha reading Lizzo?” Jolie queried. Liz tossed her hair back before responding.

“It’s a book about vampires, too scary for you”

“Oh yeah, I think I can handle it”. Liz chuckled, and offered to read the book to her, to which Jolie obliged. While they read their parents walked in and snapped a picture on a polaroid camera, the very picture that Liz Strong held in her hand wishing for her sister’s return.

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A tear formed in her eye as got up and sat the photo down on her desk. Her sister was gone without a trace and she only wished for her safe return.

* * *

A month passed before the investigation was halted, big news in the area. Back when everything started there were so many people that Liz almost was certain that her sister would be found. But time passed, and this hope faded. The Strong family was in shambles.

Melinda Strong blamed her husband for inspiring an independence in their daughter.

Jason Strong blamed Melinda who never dare offered to give Jolie a ride before her disappearance.

And Liz blamed herself, for she was not there to pick up Jolie, even if she was told not to be. Anger boiled between Melinda and Jason as Liz sulked. Then the investigation ended and everything only became worse. Liz spent her time walking through the forest where her sister had disappeared. She learned of the trees, and the dry well at its center. The earliest theory had been that she fell down the well. However with no body visible it was quickly ruled out. Everytime Liz walked by the well she looked down in it, at the bottom was a dry dirt floor and with no large crevices in the walls that indicated that there was a crawl space where she could be, it was a fruitless endeavor everytime. Looking down she could almost hear a voice say,

“Your sister is here come down and look” and after enough time she almost believed that she was and climbed down the well to search the bottom. She always resisted. At night she would scour the internet in hopes of finding something, anything that could help her find her sister. She eventually came across articles about a man. A man who solved impossible cases across the nation, a man who could help, a man by the name, Benjamin Jones.