Monica scrambled backward, gasping, chest heaving so hard it hurt and she was immediately relieved that she had managed to avoid violation.
But then she looked at him.
Jude lay unnaturally still, sending shivers down her spine. His eyes were open, staring blankly at the stars, but there was no movement. No rise and fall of his chest.
"Jude?" Her voice cracked, small and trembling. She crawled closer despite every instinct screaming to run. "Jude… wake up."
Nothing.
"Jude, please…" She reached out, shaking his shoulder. "Wake up!"
Her eyes widened with horror as she saw the extent of the damage inflicted by the stone upon his head, blood pooling in the sand beneath his head.
Monica's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my God… oh my God, oh my God!"
She pushed him again, harder this time, as if sheer force could rewind the last thirty seconds. "Jude, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please wake up…"
There was still no response.
"What have I done? What have I done?"
Panic crashed over her like a rogue wave and she shot to her feet, spinning in place, eyes wild.
"Someone help!" she screamed into the night. "Please, help! Help!"
Further down the beach, Jade had been sitting alone on a low dune, knees drawn up, staring out at the black water and trying to untangle the mess of her own heart, when she suddenly heard a desperate SOS call pierce through the air.
Startled, she looked around, trying to locate the source of the distress.
"Someone help!!!" the voice echoed once more, urging Jade to take action.
She quickly rose to her feet and started running, sand kicking up behind her, heart hammering against her ribs.
Though the distance was considerable, Jade pressed on, driven by a mix of concern and curiosity.
"Someone help!!!"
The cries grew louder, clearer.
Jade rounded a shallow bend and finally caught sight of the distressed individual.
"Someone help!!" Monica's voice rang out again, filled with confusion and despair.
She had taken a life unintentionally. She killed someone!
Jade skidded to a stop, recognizing the face, breath sawing in and out. "Monica?!"
Monica's tear-streaked face snapped up, eyes wide and glassy with shock. "Jade, oh my god."
She quickly rose to her feet, legs unsteady, hands shaking so badly she could barely keep them in front of her.
Blood smeared across her palms and the hem of her gown.
"I've done something terrible."
Jade took one slow, careful step forward, then another, circling wide around the still form on the sand.
When she finally saw his face clearly, Jude's face, eyes open and empty, blood matting his hair and pooling dark beneath his head, her breath punched out of her lungs.
"What… what is this?" Her voice cracked, stumbling backward in shock. "What kind of sick joke…?"
"It was a mistake," Monica choked out, the words dissolving into sobs. She wrapped her arms around herself as if trying to hold her body together. "He… he tried to rape me."
"Rape you?" Jade's gaze shifted from Monica to Jude's lifeless form, her eyes widening with disbelief. "Tell me he's not… tell me he's not dead."
Monica shook her head, anguish twisting her expression. "I hit him with a stone. I just wanted him to stop. It was self-defense, I swear."
Jade exhaled shakily, a trembling hand rising to her mouth. "Oh my God…"
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Monica whispered, the words spilling out in desperate repetition. "I didn't mean to kill him. I just needed him to stop."
Jade's breaths came in rapid bursts as she stared stared at Jude's motionless body. Her mind raced with confusion and disbelief. What had led him to such a dark and desperate act? No. Jude wouldn't even do something like this.
"We...we can't just leave like this," Jade said, voice unsteady. "We have to… we have to call someone, or…"
"We have to go," Monica cut in, sharp and urgent. "Now."
Jade recoiled, her heart dropping. "Go? Leave him here? On the beach? Like this? We can't…"
"I can't go to prison, Jade. Not for defending myself." Monica's voice trembled, but her eyes were hard with fear. "If we stay, they'll twist it. They always do. Please, let's go."
She picked up the blood-smeared stone, then walked the few steps to the water's edge, and hurled it with all her strength.
The stone arced through the air and disappeared beneath the dark surface with a faint splash, erasing any trace that could lead her to potential harm.
And even if it was to come back, everything leading her to Jude's death had just been erased.