Six girls all died on the same day: November 7th 2004. Detective Kimberly Rooney will stop at nothing to learn their stories.
Over ten years ago, there were six teenage girls who all went to the same school and died on the same day: November 7th 2004.
These girls were Samantha Gales, Janise Walters, Alexandra Matthews, Jamie Sanders, Katherine Jackson, and Cynthia Little.
Kimberly Rooney is an amateur police detective who wants to know why these girls died on the same day. With the help of her friend Tommy Elbin; friends, family, acquaintences of the girls are interrogated in order to uncover the truth.
Will it be a success?
90% told through flashbacks, hear these girls's stories and find out about their lives and what led to their tragic deaths.
Credit to KikiRDCZ on Deviantart for the cover photo.
It was Veteran's Day, 2004, four days after six teenaged girls from the suburban area of Asheville, North Carolina, Samantha Gales, Janise Walters, Alexandra Matthews, Jamie Sanders, Katherine Jackson, and Cynthia Little, died tragically on the same day:
Samantha Gales committed suicide after years of neglect and abuse from her mother and stepfather.
Janise Walters was killed in a car crash when her parents were arguing while driving.
Alexandra Matthews died of an unknown heart condition caused from injecting steroids during a track meet.
Jamie Sanders fell into a woodchipper on her family farm.
Katherine Jackson jumped off the building of Asheville High School believing she could fly and was taken off life support after 3 days in a coma.
And Cynthia Little hung herself after sinking into a deep depression after being caught cheating while taking an entrance exam for Willowing Heights Academy.
Word spread quickly, and soon the entire community had was devoted to honoring the memory of these girls.
The students and faculty of Asheville High School were hosting a big funeral in a the school gym and invited the entire community to mourn this tragic loss.
Among the funeral goers were aspiring police detective Kimberly Rooney and her friend Tommy Elbin. Both were alumni of Asheville High and while Tommy stayed back in North Carolina working at his dad's haberdashery after graduation, Kimberly went to the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard and graduated at the top of her class. She had dreams of becoming a police detective ever since she was a child.
A week after her graduation, she was hired at the Boston Police Department.
Kimberly couldn't wait to start working as a police detective, but the Chief of Police had other plans.
On Kimberly's first day on the job, she sat down with a room full of other police officers.
Chief said, "Attention everyone. We have a new police detective joining us. This is Kimberly Rooney, she recently graduated as the valedictorian from the Harvard Criminal Justice Institute."
Kimberly smiled, "Thanks Chief, I can't wait to be assigned my first detective case."
Chief said, "I didn't say you'd be working as a detective here."
"But why?"
Chief looked at his clipboard, "Being a detective is a man's job. You're also fresh out of college, and you're too young to be handling problems like drugs and sexual violence. I'm assigning you to parking duty."
"But-"
"No buts! Now get to work!"
Kimberly sighed as she went to her parking duty vehicle and drove off.
After a long day at work, she would head back to her apartment and read detective novels until she fell asleep.
Her luck would change when Tommy had called her up to tell her about the deaths and invited her to the funeral.
Three days earlier,
*ring* *ring*
Kimberly was at her apartment in Boston reading a detective novel when her phone rang.
"Who could that be?" Kimberly looked at the caller ID to see Tommy.
"Why would Tommy be calling me?"
She picked up the phone and began talking, "Hi Tommy."
Over the phone, Tommy said, "Hi Kimmy. How's your detective career going?"
"Not so good, no one really takes me seriously. Chief says 'It's a man's job. You're just a girl.' And when a detective is needed, he just ignores me and sends out one of the male officers."
Tommy said, "I'm sorry to hear about that, you'd make a great private investigator."
"Thanks Tommy. If only Chief could see it." Kimberly said, "How have things been back in Asheville?"
Tommy replied, "Recently, things have been pretty hectic. Six students from our old high school died yesterday."
"Wait, were they from our old class?"
"No, they were six girls in the current junior class. I think their names were Samantha, Janise, Alexandra, Jamie, Katherine, and Cynthia. It's kind of hard to talk about. They're having a funeral in the school gym and I was wondering if you would come down from Boston for a few days. It could be a perfect oppurtunity to show off your detective skills."
Kimberly began thinking: 'All of these girls went to our high school and died on the same day? there has to be some sort of connection to this. I need to figure it out!'
Kimberly said to Tommy, "I'll be there!"
In the present day, Kimberly looked around at the gym, and saw the girl's families and the entire student body were sitting in chairs and bleachers. Everyone was crying.
Tommy said, "I can't believe this. They probably had so much to live for and their lives were cut so short."
Kimberly added, "It's such a shame."
Everyone became quiet when the principal of the school, Principal Duncan got up to the podium, "Students, faculty, and friends of Asheville High." he said solemnly, "we are gathered here today to bid farewell to juniors Samantha Gales, Janice Walters, Alexandra Matthews, the 2 time MVP of our track team, Jamie Sanders, Katherine Jackson, and honors student Cynthia Little. When these girls first came their freshman year, I thought they were here to learn, grow, and prepare for their bright futures."
He began to get choked up, "I had no idea that they were secretly insecure and had some terrible problems. I just wish that I could have reached out to them sooner." He said as he wiped tears from their eyes, "but now it's too late. Before the families and friends can give their eulogies, I have an announcement to make."
Everyone was talking at once in the audience.
Principal Duncan said, "As a principal, it's my duty to protect this school and help reach out to students in need. But after we lost the girls, I feel like I have failed them. I've failed this school. So, I've made a decision. After 25 years of being the principal Asheville High, I've decided to resign from my position. I'd rather commit suicide today than let the memory of these girls dying torture me forever. I'm very sorry but I can't live the guilt."
He got down from the podium and started to walk to the door.
Everyone began talking at once.
"Principal Duncan, where are you going?"
"Who's going to take your place?"
Principal Duncan turned to the audience, "I've already made my final decision. I'm quitting my job, Vice Principal Knight will take my place."
He exited the auditorium.
The rest of the service was a series of eulogies given by the girls' friends and families.
Finally, the six caskets were taken away to the cemetery to be buried.
The six of them were buried right next to each other and each tombstone read an inscription about the girls.
'In loving memory of Samantha Elizabeth Gales An angel too pure for this cruel world. 3/12/1988-11/7/2004'
'In loving memory of Janise Heather Walters Beloved daughter and sister. 8/3/1988-11/7/2004'
'In loving memory of Alexandra Dana Matthews Track team MVP. 5/23/1988-11/7/2004'
'In loving memory of Jamie Caroline Sanders A farmers daughter with determination 9/2/1988-11/7/2004'
'In loving memory of Katherine Louise Jackson A loving daughter and hilarious friend. 2/11/1988-11/7/2004'
'In loving memory of Cynthia Abigail Little Perfect daughter and beloved honors student 7/23/1988-11/7/2004'
Kimberly watched with the crowd as the caskets were lowered into their graves.
Tommy said, "Do you want to go back to my place?"
"Sure. I have a few notes to take about today."
Later that evening, Kimberly was taking notes in her notebook.
"I don't get it Tommy. Was this a death pact? Was it fate? Could it be a coincidence? I have so many questions!"
"Easy, Kimmy. Why don't we drive down to the local police station and we tell everything to Officer Stevens?" Tommy said to her, "maybe he'll let you take this one."
Kimmy said, "That's a great idea."
At the police station, Officer Stevens looked at all of Kimberly's notes,
"Well these are some very good notes you've taken down, Kimberly. I'm more than happy to let you take the wheel on this case."
Kimberly said, "Thanks Officer Stevens."
She then turned to Tommy, "Tommy, do you want to help me out on this case? I could use a partner." Kimberly held out her hand for him.
Tommy took the hand, "I'll be right there with you Kimmy."
"Even if we fail, I'll finally prove to everyone I'm a great detective!"
The next day, Kimberly and Tommy were driving over to the Craggy Correctional Center, where Isabella and Timothy Gales, Samantha Gales's mother and step-father, were being held and awaiting trial after being arrested on several counts of child abuse, sexual assault, and neglect.
"Okay, who are we dealing with today?" said Kimberly.
Tommy replied, "According to the list of family members, the first people we're meeting are the mom and step-father of Samantha Gales being held at the Craggy Correctional Center."
"Great."
The pair went up to the entrance and found the prison warden at his office.
"Names?" the warden asked.
"Officer Kimberly Rooney and Thomas Elbin. We're looking for inmates Isabella and Timothy Gales. We need to talk to them about the death of their eldest daughter, Samantha."
The warden checked the list of inmates in the record book. "Here they are. These two have recently been incarcerated and are awaiting trial for child abuse contributing to their daughter's suicide. They also have an 8 year old daughter who was placed into foster care after their arrest."
Kimberly said, "Thank you sir, but we want you to take us to them so we can hear what really happened in Samantha's life. I'm doing this so I can let the world know what happened to her and the five other girls before they died."
The warden looked curiously at her for a minute, "Okay, I'll lead you and your friend directly to where they're being held."
The warden led the pair down to a darkened hallway with a sign on a door that said 'Gales Cell'.
"They're right here. Do you want me to come in with you?"
Kimberly shook her head, "No thank you. Tommy and I will handle everything."
"Okay, if you need anything, let me know."
Kimberly opened the door and saw a young couple in their early-30s.
Isabella Gales was a pale, thin woman with shaggy blonde hair and her husband Timothy was a muscular, scary looking man with dark brown hair and a five o'clock shadow.
"Who are you and what do you want?" said Mr. Gales.
Kimberly took out her badge, "Officer Kimberly Rooney of the Boston Police Department. This is my partner, Tommy Elbin. We're here to learn about your daughter's life."
Mrs Gales rolled her eyes, "You mean Samantha?" she said, "that little bitch ruined my life! She was an accident, I never wanted her!"
Kimberly calmed Mrs Gales down, "Okay, I just want to know all about Samantha. If you could give up a few minutes of your time to tell us about her."
"Why do you want to know?"
"It's for a documentary on HBO." lied Tommy, "We have to let the world know about what happened to Samantha and the other 5 girls who passed away."
"Fine, whatever." said Mrs. Gales, "The story begins in the summer of '87:"
"I was a young, beautiful fifteen year old girl. I had everything: popularity, the greatest friends, a loving family and I was dating the most popular senior at Asheville High School, Donny Rivers, he was the best boyfriend a girl could ask for!"
In 1987, 15 year old Isabella or (as her friends called her) "Izzy" McDonald, was at her house in her bedroom laughing with her friends while they were putting on makeup and dancing to Madonna's music.
"Izzy, I can't believe we're like totally going to Donny River's graduation party! It's gonna be gnarly!" said Izzy's best friend, Leann as she put on bright pink lipstick which accentuated her braces.
"Thank you so much for getting us invitations!" said Molly, another best friend of Izzy.
"You guys are like so welcome." said yes Izzy as she finished spraying her hair with hairspray, "Most of all, I can't wait to see Donny! I think this might be the night Donny and I consummate our relationship!"
The three girls squealed loudly.
"I love being the most popular girl in school." said Izzy. "Maybe someday I'll be queen of America. Everybody will love me!"
There was a honking noise and the girls looked to see their junior best friend, Melissa, pull up in her 1986 Chevy Corola.
"Ready to party ladies?! Come on down!"
Everyone squealed and ran down to the car.
“I still remember Donny’s party. Everybody was there, no grown ups were around, and everybody was drinking, dancing and having a great time! At one point in the night, Donny and I went upstairs to his bedroom.”
“Well Izzy,” Donny said, “we’ve been together for over seven months now and we’ve had so many great times together.”
“I know. I love you so much Donny.” Izzy blushed.
“Now is the night where all of our dreams come true.” Donny pulled out a condom And started to strip.
Izzy began to follow suit, “I’ve been waiting for this all year! I’m so excited!”
“Then what are you waiting for? Let’s get to it!”
Izzy laid down on the bed as Donny went to the door and closed it.
“That must have been a pretty fun night.” Kimberly said as she reviews her notes of the night.
Mrs. Gales immediately went from happy and nostalgic to her usual grumpy self, “I thought it was too, until about a few weeks later when I discovered I missed my period and was barfing in the morning. My mother took me to the doctor because she was concerned about me and then I got the news that ruined my life.”
Izzy was sitting with her mother Mrs. McDonald in the waiting room of the doctor’s office when a lady in pink and white polka dot scrubs under a lab coat came to the pair and handed Mrs. McDonald a few sheets of paper.
“Mrs McDonald, the test results from your daughter’s appointment came back and it turns out she’s pregnant.”
Mrs. McDonald looked over at Izzy, who was embarrassed to the point of her face being red.
“Isabella, will you kindly explain to me why I am getting a granddaughter this early?”
A few days later, Izzy called Donny on her phone.
Donny happily picked up the phone, “Hi Izzy, how are-“
“Donny, I have some news that may shock you.”
“You can tell me anything, sweetheart.”
Izzy sighed, “You remember when we had sex at your graduation party?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well, over 3 weeks later, my mother finds out I’ve been sick in the morning and my period never came. So she took me to the gynecologist where I learned that I was pregnant and you’re the father.”
Donny’s eyes widened, “Wait, I got you pregnant?”
“Yes you did, and I need you to help me.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s what fathers do.”
“Look, babe. I love you but I can’t just throw away my scholarship to Duke along with my dreams of becoming a football player to raise a child.”
“But Donny, you have to help me. My parents won’t allow me to abort so you’re my last hope.”
“Look, I’m sorry. I just can’t help you. Besides we should break up because I don’t want to be given hell for getting a girl pregnant.”
“But Donny!” Izzy pleaded.
“I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is. I gotta go.” Donny hung up the phone.
Izzy, now enraged, slammed the phone down onto the stand.
She began to yell at her stomach, “This was all your fault! I hope you die in there!”
“That was only the start of my problems. Word spread around the school and soon people began to call me a slut. My so called “best friends” dumped me because of the baby and when Samantha was born, I was forced to drop out of school to raise that little shit full time. To add to it, my parents sent me away to some empty house so they wouldn’t have to deal with the burden.”
“So thanks to that little bitch, I had no boyfriend, no education, and no friends. I was stuck in a house with a screaming baby who would drive me insane.”
“I see,” Kimberly noted, “But when did Timothy come into the picture?”
“It was 1991 when Sam was only 3 years old,”
Isabella entered the O’Reilly Tavern to drink off a long hard day of dealing with Samantha.
“Evening Isabella, what would you like tonight?” The bartender asked.
“Artie, give me the usual. I’ve had a long and day of screaming at Samantha and I need a strong liquor to get my mind off things.”
“Coming right up.”
As Isabella was waiting for her drink, a young Timothy Gales entered the tavern and took the empty seat next to Isabella.
“Rough day, I’m guessing?” Timothy asked.
“It was the worst,” Isabella sighed, “My daughter was being so annoying today. She cried because I was hardly feeding and being mean to her when all she wanted to do was have an apple while she watched that stupid Sesame Street on the TV. I finally put her down to bed and drove out here.”
“That seems better than my day,” Timothy snickered, “I was at my parent’s house watching some TV with my friends when these teenaged crackheads showed up to my house and started to drive us crazy. It took all of us to hold each of them down until we could call the police and get rid of them.
“Well I guess we both have problems.” Isabella said as she put her hand out, “I’m Isabella by the way.”
“Timothy Gales.” The pair shook hands and exchanged numbers.
“Tim and I hit it off immediately and with a year, we were married.” Isabella reminisced.
“Sam and I had a really great relationship.” Timothy said, “I still remember those days when I would babysit her while Isabella was going out for her GED.”
In 1993, Timothy Gales was sitting on the couch drinking a beer and eating a bowl of Cheerios. Mrs. Gales was at her GED class and he was left to watch little Samantha.
He then turned over to see the little five year old girl walk down the stairs in her yellow and pink sundress and stuffed rabbit.
“Morning Sam and that filthy animal she always carries around with her.”
“Daddy, Angel is not a dirty creature. He’s my best friend.”
“Yeah whatever.” Timothy sighed.
“Where’s mommy?”
“Mommy is at school so she can get a job to support us. But don’t worry, we’ll have our own fun today.”
Samantha let out a small, “Yay!”
Unfortunately for Sam, her stepfather was much worse than her mother. While he would not verbally abuse her as much as her mother would, he would take her down to the basement whenever her mom was at her GED class and would leave her there often for an entire day. Worst of all, her mother never did anything about this.
Today things would be much darker.
Timothy led Samatha into the basement where he placed her on the couch.
“Is this gonna be like last time when I was in here all day?”
“No Sammykinz.” Timothy said as he began to go towards his pants, “Today something special is gonna happen between us.”
“What are you doing Daddy?”
“Oh you’ll find out soon enough.”
Tommy and Kimberly’s eyes widened with horror as Timothy described what happened next.
“You, didn’t actually- No? Did you?”
“Hey, Sam didn’t mind.”
In the basement floor, Samantha was lying down in a fetal position and crying.
“Why?”
“I’m just showing you some fatherly love.”
“No! You’re not my real daddy! Daddy’s don’t hurt their-“
*SLAP*
Timothy grabbed Samantha who was now sporting a red welt on her face.
“Alright you little bitch, if any of this goes out to your mother, I’ll destroy that stupid rabbit of yours you hear me?”
Samantha nodded.
Timothy went upstairs and turned back, “Enjoy the next few hours bitch.” He then closed the door leaving Samantha and her angel bunny alone.
“You are a sick twisted human being!” Kimberly snapped and pointed to Timothy, “You abused and assaulted an innocent five year old!”
“Whatever.”
“I just hope that the rest of the story isn’t as bad as that was.”
But he was wrong,
It was 1995 and Timothy and Isabella were sitting on the couch.
“Hey Samantha. Get your ass down here!”
Samatha, now 7, came down the stairs.
She sat down on her little bean bag silently and submissively, not wanting to earn a beating from her parents.
“Your mother and I are having another baby. It’s due in a few months.” Timothy said.
Samatha cheered slightly, “I’m gonna be a big sister.” and in turn earned a slap from her mother.
“It’s my big news! The world does not revolve around your pathetic life! Now get upstairs!”
Samatha was about to walk on her own when Timothy grabbed her by her hair and dragged her up herself.
After he slammed the door on her, Samatha held onto her Angel, “I’m gonna be a big sister! This could mean that my parents will finally love me.”
But that never happened. When Annie Gales was born on April 22nd 1996, it marked the day of Samatha’s downward spiral to her death.
*8 years later*
Samatha walked the long 20 minute walk to Asheville High School while her parents were giving Annie and her friends a ride to school.
Since Annie came around, Samatha’s life had taken a turn for the worse. Both of her parents decided to give Samantha’s room to the baby and sold all of the little girl’s stuff in exchange for more money to spoil Annie, and they even took away her stuffed Angel Bunny to give to Annie because she was “too old” for it.
“Where am I supposed to live?” 8 year old Samatha asked.
Timothy grabbed her arm and dragged her outside, “Since we love Annie more than you, we’ve decided that you will be sleeping outside on the front lawn while your sister gets all of our love and affection.”
Sam never questioned this and stayed in her new home even during rain or snow, but would often look inside to her home to see Annie getting her parents love and affection as tears would well up in her eyes.
But there was a positive side to it, one night Samantha was sleeping when she heard a small cry from near the trees of her house.
“Come here. Don’t worry I won’t hurt you.”
The creature emerged from the trees and Sam saw that a little baby fox had a thorn in its foot.
“Oh you poor thing. Don’t worry I’ll help you.”
Samantha held onto the little creature as she carefully removed the splinter from the fox’s foot.
“You’re safe now.” Samatha whispered as she fell asleep with her in her arms.
The next morning while the three of them were having breakfast, their looks of happiness turned to disgust as Samatha walked in with the fox she rescued.
“What is that filthy creature doing in our house?” Isabella asked angrily as she rose from her chair.
“His name’s Todd and I rescued him from the scary darkness last night. I even pulled a thorn out of his foot.”
Isabella threw a punch at her daughter, “TAKE IT AWAY! I hate animals!”
Samatha held onto the fox tightly, “But I don’t wanna leave him.”
Isabella threw her daughter to the ground and started beating her, “I WANT THAT HIDEOUS FUCKER OUT OF OUR HOUSE!”
“Please stop. It hurts.”
“Do I give a shit? No. Get that out or no breakfast for you.”
Samatha tearfully obeyed and set the fox out into the wild.
Timothy popped her head out the door, “And why would we even feed you? You’re just a mistake!”
The harsh words of Timothy echoed through Kimberly’s head as she closed her notepad.
“I think I’ve heard just about enough from both of you.”
“Thank God” Mrs. Gales sighed, “because I hated this interview”
“Before we go, we want to know if anyone else knows the rest of Sam’s story because I don’t want to hear another horrible memory from any of you.”
“There’s Mrs. Walker, that social worker that took Annie away, some girl named Alison Chandler and that Mr. Discord teacher that Samantha would always hang out with.” Timothy suggested as he grabbed the notepad and wrote three phone numbers down, “I gave you their numbers so you could contact them.”
“Thank you. We’ll ask them to finish the job for you.”
Tommy and Kimberly walked out of the prison away from the abusive couple.
Kimberly took out her cellphone, “Next stop is to track down these three and ask for their sides of the story.”
After Kimberly made the phone calls, she and Tommy went over to the local pizza place to wait for the trio.
“Do you think they’ll agree to talk? Because I don’t think Alison seemed very happy when I mentioned Sam’s Name. I asked if she did anything bad to her and she just burst into tears and hung up.”
“They’ll be here. They even said we’d talk at the pizzeria. Trust me.”
And Kimberly was right as a few minutes later, Mrs. Walker, Annie, Alison and Mr. Discord noticed the pair sitting at their table and joined them.
“Are you detective Kimberly Rooney?” Mr. Discord asked.
“Yes, yes I am. Have a seat.”
After the group sat down and ordered a pizza, Kimberly took out her notepad.
“The reason I had to call you here was because I’m doing interviews with the friends and family of girls who recently died and I heard from Sam’s parents that you guys knew about her story.”
Alison was the first to speak, “For years my friends and I bullied Samantha because she wasn’t pretty or popular.”
On Friday November 5th, Samatha sighed as she arrived at her school.
While her home life was miserable, Samantha’s time at her school was even worse.
She was never a pretty girl due to her shabby clothes, braces, messy hair often with twigs in it, lanky frame due to frequent starvation, and bruises and scars from her parents beating her.
No one at school gave her any sympathy because most of her peers would bully her and call her ‘Sluttershy’ because she was a doormat and that she had lost her virginity much earlier than all of her classmates. Most of the teachers weren’t much help either because they were afraid of a confrontation with her mom and stepfather.
Samantha arrived at her locker and started to collect her books for her first period class.
“Hey Sluttershy!”
This was a voice that Samantha knew all too well. She turned around to see her main school tormentor, Alison, or as everyone in school called her, Sunny Chandler and her friends.
“Hi Alison.”
“I see you’ve gotten uglier throughout the night.”
Samantha stammered, “That’s because I’ve been sleeping outside on my front lawn.”
Another friend of Sunny, Theresa Li, picked out a little twig from Sam’s hair, “Yeah it shows.” and then did a mean chuckle.
“Can you just leave me alone? Please my stepfather assaulted me again this morning and I haven’t eaten in over 2 days. I want to go.”
She tried to escape but Sunny's other friend, Stella Gallagher, grabbed Samantha by her arm and quickly shoved her to the ground in front of a bunch of students, inciting laughter from all of them.
“Let’s get out of here.” Sunny said to Theresa and Stella as the three of them walked away from the sight.
“So long Sluttershy!”
The laughter became too much so Sam decided to clean out her locker, put it into her backpack, and then she walked out of the school for the last time, never to return.
In the present day, Alison was now dabbing her eyes with her napkin and crying.
“When Principal Duncan mentioned Sam’s name on Monday along with the other girls, my heart just sank. We got called to the main office where we were explained everything and got a ten day suspension for bullying and ignorance.” She cried, “If I had known that her home life was horrible, I maybe would have been nicer to her. But now it’s too late.”
“Maybe it isn’t.” Kimberly said, “What you did to Samantha was pretty horrible, but there are two things you can do to take away from this. You can either keep feeling sorry for yourself and continue bullying or try to you can learn from your mistakes and begin reaching out to others.”
“I think you’re right. When I get home, I’ll call Theresa and Stella and hopefully they'll understand.”
“Thank you.” Kimberly smiled, “Mr. Discord, you were the only adult at school who knew or care about Samantha. Do you mind telling me what happened?”
“Well okay.”
”I’m the janitor at Asheville High School. My real name is Mr. Daniels but after I helped the class of ‘97 with their senior prank, everyone there has been calling me Mr. Discord ever since.”
“Can you tell me about your relationship with Samatha?”
“Sure, when she came here on her first day of high school, I was busy dancing to some REO Speedwagon in my closet when the poor girl came in crying.”
On September 3rd 2002, the first day of high school for Samatha and the other dead girls, Mr. Discord was dancing with his mop in the closet when the door opened and Samatha came into the closet crying.
The door slammed and caught the janitor off-guard.
“Hey you’re really not supposed to be here.” Mr. Discord said before his mood shifted as he saw the poor girl’s face.
“I’m sorry I didn’t meant to hurt you. What’s your name?”
“I’m a freshman. Samantha Gales.” She whimpered. “It’s my first day here but no one wants to be my friend.”
“Why not? You seem like a nice, pretty girl.”
“That’s not what they think.” Samatha added, “Everyone is bullying me because I’m poor, I sleep in the woods, and I’m a slut because I’ve sex before any of them have.”
“Well those kids are ju- Wait, you had sex?”
“My mother and stepfather abuse me at home and favor my little sister Annie over me. I get beaten up, they yell horrible things at me, they starve me and they took away everything I’ve ever loved and I’m relegated to sleeping outside without a proper bed. But the worst part is that my stepfather...” She pointed down to her blood stained green skirt, and the bruises and red marks going up her inner thighs, “rapes me.” She broke down crying in Mr. Discord’s arms. “And when I told my mom about it, she told me it’s my punishment for ruining her life.”
“No it’s not.” Mr. Discord said, “Your parents are jerks for not loving you. You deserve a nice loving family who won’t hurt you. I’m gonna call Child Protective Services so they can help you.”
“No!” Samatha stopped him, “If the authorities get involved, my parents will blame me for everything and I could possible die at their hands.”
She began to cry in his arms, “Sam, it’s alright. I know how it feels to be scared of your parents. Mine used to lock me in a makeshift confessional booth and tried to get me to pray to God because I was watching too much of those Dean Martin roasts on TV. It took me until I was 17 years old to actually report them because I was so afraid of what they would do to me.”
He set her down on a table, “I understand if you’re too afraid to report your parents now. But when you’re ready to, I will be right there to help you.”
“Thank you.” Samantha said as Mr. Discord handed her a turkey sandwich.
“From that moment on, we were best friends. Whenever she had a free period and we were on our lunch break, we would always hang out in the janitor’s closet and talk about how our days were going. I would bring lunch for us and we’d often stay after school some days to play with the hamsters in the biology room.”
“When I didn’t see her that last Friday before her death, I immediately realized something was wrong. I had tried calling her house but got nothing. When I heard that she killed herself and what happened to those other girls, my heart just sank.”
He let out a hefty sigh. “I miss her so much.”
“We all do.” Tommy sighed. “She was such a pretty soul taken too soon.”
Annie hit her glass of water with her spoon to get everyone’s attention, “Can I tell what I remember about Sammy?”
“You can go ahead then I’ll tell my part.” Mrs. Walker said.
”When I was growing up, mommy and Daddy would always shower me with love and attention and ignore Sammy. I enjoyed the attention when I was still a baby but when I was around 3 I started to realize that something was wrong with my big sister.”
When Annie was only 3 years old, she was playing with Angel Bunny and her other toys when she noticed Samantha enter the house bruised and crying.
“What’s wrong Sammy?”
“I had a very bad day at school. The kids laughed at my poor appearance and a few of them even decided to beat me up over it.” She sat down on the couch and started crying.
Little Annie sat down next to her half sister and handed her Angel Bunny, “Would a hug from Angel Bunny make you feel better?”
Samantha patted Angel Bunny on the head but gave it back, “I’d love to but I really shouldn’t. If mom and dad saw that I had it, they’d think I’d be stealing from you and hurt me.”
“But why do mommy and Daddy hate you?”
“Because mom had me when she was very young and she blames me for what her life is like now. When dad moved in, he was much worse. I barely get food, I have no bedroom, and I sometimes get beaten for no real reason.”
“I don’t see mommy and Daddy hurting you.” Annie replied.
“I guess that’s because they don’t want to expose you to violence. They love you too much and they probably manipulated you to hate me too.”
“I don’t hate you Sammy.” Annie said, “I think you’re a very pretty girl and you have the biggest heart. I know it from the picture the photographer took of you holding me when I was first born. Even though mommy and Daddy hate you for no real reason, I’m not like them. I love you.”
“I love you too Annie.” Sam replied as she hugged her little sister.
“Since that day, we had a great relationship. Whenever she was hurt and hungry, I would give her some of my dinner when mommy and Daddy weren’t looking. When she was asleep outside, I gave her my Disney Princess blanket and pillow she could sleep with. Whenever I had my friends Kelly and Abigail over, Sammy would always come over and play with us. I was always afraid of telling our parents to stop hurting her because I didn’t want to be punished for it and I didn’t have the courage to tell them until the day she died.”
It was early morning of Sunday, November 7th. Her parents were asleep and Annie was having a sleepover with Kelly and Abigail. Samantha snuck into the kitchen and started to eat a bowl of cereal when she heard the footsteps of her stepfather.
“What are you doing awake? It’s 5 AM.”
“I.. I.. just wanted to get myself some breakfast.”
“Damn It Sam! It’s always something with you!” He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down to the ground.
Samantha was knocked into the couch as Timothy got close to her.
“Alright you little slut. We can do this the easy way or my way.”
“Please get off of me.”
Timothy ignored her and unzipped his jeans, “If your mother ever hears about this, I’ll kill Annie and that stupid rabbit! Understand?”
Samantha could only nod as Timothy climbed on top of her.
At a local foster care center, Mrs. Walker was working as a social worker for abused and orphaned children when she received the phone call that would change her life forever.
“Hello this is Emma Walker from CPS, what is your family issue?”
“HELP ME! MY SISTER’S DEAD!”
The call had been made by Annie on November 7th at 6:45 AM. She snuck out of her room while her friends were still sleeping because she wanted to go to the bathroom for a glass of water and there she noticed Samantha lying motionless on the floor.
“Sammy? Are you sleeping?” Annie asked. She poked her sister for a response. Nothing.
“Sammy. It’s me Annie, can you hear me?” She asked again.
Still no response.
Tears began to well up in the little girl’s eyes as she tried to shake her sister awake until she noticed a little empty bottle of Valium lying near the bathtub.
“SAMMY! NNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!”
At her scream, Kelly and Abigail and ran into the room.
“Is that Sam?” Abigail asked.
Annie nodded and all three girls screamed.
Mrs. Gales stormed in from her room, “Damnit girls! I was trying to sleep!”
She then stopped at the sight of her daughter lying motionless on the ground.
Annie yelled, “You and Daddy did this to her! This is all your fault!” she ran to get the phone and call for help.
Kelly shot Mrs. Gales a mean look and walked out with Abigail.
Annie was now crying in Mr. Discord’s arms.
“I want my sister back.”
“I miss her too Annie.”
Mrs. Walker decided to finish up the story.
”When I first received the phone call from Annie, I was shocked and horrified when I heard what Samantha had been through. My first intention was to forward the call to 911 and go over to the house as soon as possible to see what had happened.”
By the time Mrs. Walker, CPS, and the ambulance arrived, Samantha was already dead.
One police officer was waiting with Kelly and Abigail until Kelly’s parents and Abigail’s grandma arrived to pick each of them up. Officer Stevens was at the door questioning Isabella and Timothy for the alleged abuse.
“What did you do sick people do to her?”
Isabella got defensive, “You’re blaming us! Blame her for fucking over my life when I was a teenager! I had to abuse her because she ruined me!”
“Samantha was just an attention seeking wimp.” Timothy replied, “That little bitch couldn’t do anything right, not even orgasm correctly.”
Officer Stevens’s eyes widened, “You raped your stepdaughter?”
“What else was I supposed to do with her? Keep her in the basement forever?”
The couple was immediately handcuffed and escorted to the police car.
“You two are under arrest for child abuse, rape, and neglect. Your surviving daughter will be taken into foster care so she can have a loving family.”
Mrs. Walker and Annie, who was carrying a suitcase with her things, went out to the CPS van when Annie stopped her.
“Mrs. Walker, can I go say goodbye to Annie before we go?”
“Sure, go ahead.” Mrs. Walker complied.
Annie skipped off to find her dead sister being loaded into a body.
“Excuse me sir,” Annie asked, “Can I put my Angel Bunny with Sammy. I want her to have a friend when she goes to heaven.”
“That’s a bit obscure but okay.”
Annie thanked the undertaker and placed Angel Bunny in Samantha’s arms.
She then walked back to the CPS van and looked over at her sister being zipped up.
“And that’s the story of Samantha Gales.”
By then, the pizza had been finished and the bill had been paid so everyone was leaving.
Kimberly review her notes, “Thank you all for provided the information on Sam. This is going to be really useful someday.”
“Thank you,” Alison called as the pair walked out the door to their car, “I really appreciate your advice on anti-bullying,”
