Blood Sonata

Sophie looked up at the rock that he pointed out. "Uh... Are you delusional? It's a rock. Not sure why you think it's exciting." she said, rolling her eyes. It looked like an everyday rock. But then she focused in on it, wondering what exactly was going on with it. It did seem a bit funny. But it wasn't quite to the extent it was affecting Alex for some reason. The twitching of his fingers caught her eye, but she didn't mention it.

But the rocks jogged a memory. The car, crashing into the rocks, and the very last thing she saw before blacking out was a woman's boobs pressing into her and the sound of shattering windows. Alex and Chase would notice she had slipped into a mild trance, not saying anything more. One individual tear slid down her face as she stared glossy eyed at the leaves on the ground.

Alex gently lowered Sophie into a sitting position. He noticed that she seemed out of it, but he didn't try to comfort her or strike up a conversation. He walked over to the rock, carefully treading over the surrounding stones. A little bit of lake water seeped into his shoes, but he paid it no mind. He could feel his heart rate rise slightly. Something about the rock was definitely making Alex's body act up.

He pushed on it, trying to move it. He grunted, throwing his shoulder into it, but he wasn't strong enough to move it. He sat down against another rock, bracing his back and started pushing with his legs. He felt the stone shift slightly, then some more as he pushed harder. He still couldn't get it to completely move, though.
He stood up and returned to Sophie, dusting himself off. He glanced at Sophie once more, and pulled out his cell phone, dialing a familiar number.

"It's Alex. I think I found something."

Chase saw Alex move in the corner of the eye and turned to see him trying to push the rock in the lake. As he walked back to Sophie, she ran back over to join them. "Oi. Whatcha find?" She glanced over at the rock. It was kinda big and it was jutting out at a weird angle, but other than that, nothing special. "...'s just a rock."
Maybe it had some sort of property that only guys could detect, Chase thought. Like how girls can see more colors than guys. Or maybe she just wasn't seeing something. It was probably that. She took the shard of glass out of her pocket and began twirling it around her fingers, keeping it away from Alex and Sophie so that if she goofed up, it wouldn't stab them in the eye or anything.

Marya had received Alex's text and just decided to let it go for now figuring that he was right--they'd meet up again soon enough. Her and Nathan walked on in silence it seemed which was perfectly fine to her. Her mind was a bit vacant which was dangerous considering that she had to keep her senses alert and reflexes honed in the case that something happened. When her kitty cat ring tone went off signaling that she was getting a call, she jumped and stopped in her tracks. "One sec, Nathan." She dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone. The call ID said that it was Alex, so she promptly answered. "Hello?" she spoke into the phone, listening intently as Alex mentioned that he had found something. Was it a dead body? Or maybe some kind of weird creature? He didn't seem too anxious or distraught about it which made her wonder what it could be. Instead of asking, she put priority into getting over to where the rest of her friends were. "All right. Me and Nathan will be right over. We've almost scouted most of this side of the lake anyway. See ya in a few minutes," she said tersely, ending the call and tucking the phone back into her pocket.

"Hope you're up for a run, Nathan. Alex found something," Marya informed her scouting partner before breaking off into an incredible sprint. Only a few seconds had passed and she had cleared at least several yards. Everyone who knew of her amazing speed had urged her into taking track at the high school, but she was avidly against it for whatever reason. She didn't used to be able to run as fast as she could, but the psychosis had managed to change her physically as well as mentally and emotionally. She hadn't actually managed to bash anyone's skull in with her bare hands since the psychosis finally ended, but she didn't doubt her abilities, not one bit.

The grass was torn to shreds by her mighty strides. She felt so wild, a snarl rising up from within the depths of her soul that she could barely subdue. The cold wind blasted her in the face, but the warmth of her blood made it negligible. Her pupils dilated as she actually enjoyed the thrill of the run, hoping Nathan would get left too far behind. Just as she said, she came skidding to a halt near where Alex and the others had congregated around some normal-looking rock, tearing more grass apart as she stopped. Her black overcoat flapped a bit before settling down behind her, and she brushed herself off as if she had fallen, a nonchalant look upon her face with a touch of a smirk forming as well. "Nathan will be joining us shortly. So what did you find?" she asked curiously. Curiosity killed the cat. Marya fought back a grimace as the saying passed through her mind, and she focused on what Alex would definitely have to say regarding the situation.

As soon as Marya had said that they had found something, and began running, he immediately dashed after her. His mind wondering what it could possibly, while keeping up with pace with the girl. He wasn't one to let people outdo him easily, unlike his pathetic old self.

When he was in Elementary school, he was a complete weakling, who would let himself get bullied and pushed around by pretty much everyone. He had been pretty much passive his whole entire life, until that one day in fifth grade, when something in his head snapped. He had no memory of what had caused it, by whatever it had been, had changed him. He proceeded to beat the crap out of the bullies, and he has had these same defiant look in his eyes ever since, and not only would he never allow someone to push him around, but he would never step down from anything he believed to be a challenge.

"Marya, at least check before presuming you left me in the dust." Nathan said nonchalantly, after getting there at the same exact time as her, before turning to the others. "So what did you find?"

Sophie's trance was broken as she was lowered into a sitting position by Alex before he attempted to force the rock to move. He continued shoving until finally giving up and calling someone, probably from the other group. Probably Marya, because who else would he call? Certainly not Nathan. Those two never struck her as being that close. But Marya and Alex... they were something else.

Within minutes, the pair arrived after running all the way to their location. "You know Alex, whatever made you notice that rock probably made all those other people who disappeared feel the same thing, right? And you might be unleashing our deaths?" she said, examining her nails and attempting to see if she needed to visit the salon again. It was a shame that a bunch of her nails broke as she had fallen. She had liked that color.

"'ell, that didn't take long," Chase said as she saw Marya and Nathan running. She was a fast runner herself, but there's no way she could ever beat Marya in a race. That girl is insane, but Chase thought that was a good thing. Makes things a lot more interesting around here. Weird and insane is good.
She couldn't help but chuckle when she heard Sophie. Unleashing their deaths? Exciting. There was something about near-death experiences that Chase found endearing. Maybe it was just the satisfaction of simply surviving. Or the adrenaline pumping throughout her body. Whatever it was, Chase loved it.

Alex showed no sign that he'd even heard Chase except for a glance in her direction. He waited with crossed arms for Marya to show up. It was only a few short minutes before she did, and Nathan was hot on her trail. He jerked his head in the direction of the rock before uncrossing his arms and taking a casual step towards his friends. "I don't know. It irks me."
He shrugged, looking from Marya to Nathan, then back to the strange stone that was agitating him so much.
"Help me move it," he said quietly, crossing the distance rather quickly. He started to push against the rock again, and as his friends came forth to help, he felt the rock shudder. He pushed harder, and a few seconds later, it lifted out of the ground slightly. Alex forced all of his strength into it. The rock shifted, and rolled off a pit.

"It's a concealed entrance," he remarked nonchalantly, though he was breathing rather heavily. Sure enough, a there was a hole in the ground where the rock had been a moment before. He stared at it for a moment. "So be it if this is our death."

"See you at the bottom." He walked forward, disappearing into the depths.

"Right behind ya." Nathan said, entering the pit right after Alex. Like hell he was going to let his friend go in alone. The main reason he had come here was to make sure his friends stayed ok. And Alex was his closest friend after Marya, and he'd always have his back.

Once they reached the bottom, Nathan began looking around the area, getting an idea of the area. "See anything unusual, Alex?"

Chase followed the guys into the hole, placing her hand on the wall to guide her. It was really cool and moist down there. She wondered, if she could get enough momentum, if could slide all the way to the bottom. That would be fun. She arrive at the bottom soon after Nathan did. It was really dark and she really couldn't see anything, but maybe Alex did. After all, he had that weird feeling before, maybe it can guide them or something.
She placed her hands behind her neck and chuckled. "Oi, wolfy. Found anything? This place is kinda creepy." Creepy in a good way, she thought. Creepy and weird means cool and awesome.

As it turned out Nathan had been only seconds behind her which surprised her; she wasn't aware he possessed almost as high of a running speed as she did. It made her feel a bit more normal, she supposed. Shrugging off his comment, she listened to Alex mention the rock, and with her strength combined with Nathan's and Alex's, the rock became naught more than a pushover...literally. It was shoved aside to reveal that which could be nothing else but a concealed entrance as Alex pointed out quite plainly. With a bit of recklessness, Alex proceeded to venture into the pit not knowing what could be down there. He must be excited, she thought simply. This was definitely not an everyday event. There was no doubt this pit had something to do with the disappearances. It donned on her that this was it. They were on to something. She watched as Nathan and Chase followed after Alex before she turned to face Sophie. "Don't wanna get left behind, right?" she tossed lightly to the rather annoying girl before following after the others.

When she reached the bottom, Marya came to a stop behind the others, still wondering who or what would go through the trouble of making the exceptional concealed entrance they had used to get to this place...wherever it was. The questions that needed asking had already been asked, and she listened intently for some answers. Her hearing was pretty much her sharpest sense--another enhancement from the psychosis...or at least that's what she called it. It was a boon to be able to hear really well...unless her parents were going at it and she could hear everything that was going on through the walls. She was thankful it was dark, for a small trace of a blush burned on her cheeks., and she stifled a groan by placing a hand tightly over her mouth for a moment.

The entrance was little more than a dark hole that dropped about ten feet. The chamber it led to was dark and dank; a grey stone brick wall with ankle-deep water. Alex proceeded forward quietly, running his fingers lightly across the wall. "Here," he stated simply.
The wall shook, and several bricks fell away, creating a doorway. The boy stepped through, a hungry look to his eyes. His hands hung at his sides, twitching slightly. His breathing was ragged.

He continued walking, through the new chamber he just opened and immediately into a long passage. He seemed posessed, knowing exactly where he wanted to go. His strange demeanor probably didn't help things either...

He stopped suddenly, in a round room that was almost completely dark, except for a small slit in the cieling that was letting a thin stream of light through. The beam ended on the forehead of a milk-white forehead. Alex laughed, kicking the corpse aside. "Found someone," he said in a high-pitched voice. He let out another psychotic laugh as he waited on his companions to arrive. He kicked the body once more, turning it over. The spine was torn out.

Chase frowned and pulled out the shard of glass, holding it so that she wouldn't cut her hand by accident. Alex was really starting to act weird. Maybe it was ghosts or something, and he was possessed by one. That would be pretty cool, actually. Unless he tried to kill her, but she was prepared for that.
She cautiously passed through the long tunnel, nervously squeezing one of the rocks in her pocket. She was ready to fight if she had to, there was no way that she was gonna run from this.
When she entered the second chamber, she had to take a minute to adjust to the almost total darkness. She noticed the corpse on the floor and scowled. Dead people, gross. She shuddered when she heard Alex's strange laugh. Dear god, it reminded her too much of that "Santa" from so long ago. "Bloody 'ell, Wolfy. Da fuck's wrong with ya?"

Watching intently as Alex continued to take the lead, revealing an entrance by knocking away some bricks, Marya became a bit unsettled, more so than she already was upon reaching the bottom with the others. She let Chase pursue Alex first before trailing along, hoping Nathan and Sophie wouldn't be too far behind. She strolled down the tunnel making sure to tread carefully in the case there was something that could trip her on the ground. Luckily, her vision in the darkness wasn't impaired like a normal person's would be. Another alteration...but I guess it's not completely unheard of to be able to see decently in the dark, she thought stoically to herself before Chase's words reached her ears.

Marya came to a stop, taking in the sight of a dead body that Alex seemed to be quite fond of kicking. The echoing maniacal laughter didn't exactly help the picture either. "Alex, knock it off. This is a bad time to be acting like an asshole," she shot at the guy who was supposed to be one of her closest friends, but he wasn't acting right at all and that worried her immensely. A scowl set upon her face, eyes as cold as ice despite the fiery blood coursing through her veins. She kept an ear out for the others would surely be following her. This situation was growing more and more ominous in a bad way.

The boy ignored Chase in his psychotic fit. He looked away from the corpse, continuing on forward to yet another brick wall. His fingers traced it as they had in the earlier room, though his touch seemed to not have any effect. By now he'd stop laughing, only to have it replaced by a hungered look; like he was a starving wolf that just found an easy meal several feet in front of him. He glanced back at Marya and marched forward. "Can't help it," he muttered, taking her hand and dragging her over to the wall. He pressed her hand against it, and several bricks loosened.

Alex cleared it away in a few seconds and stepped through the makeshift doorway. He was still trembling, more violently than before, and his breathing was ragged. This room was worse than the last.

Several bodies hung from the ceiling, blood spattered the walls, and the layer of water that was in the earlier rooms seemed to be pure blood. His breath caught in his throat and he let out a laugh that was more of a stangled cough. "They're not here," he said in a voice that was slightly off-pitch.

He looked around the room, picking his way between the gruesome scene. "I can smell them. They're close," he whispered, just barely loud enough for his friends to hear. His shaking suddenly stopped, and his hungry expression turned to melancholy. He slumped slightly, like all the energy had just drained out of him.

"Woah..." he muttered, sucking in a deep breath. "What...What the hell just happened?" He looked at his hands, obviously confused. "I-" he began. "I can't remember what just happened..." he said, then jumped. "Are those...bodies!?" He jumped back, one hand over his mouth. His hands started shaking again.

Sophie remained on the surface of the hole, simply because she was afraid of injuring herself further. And chipping a nail. She had no idea what was in there, but she heard voices in the hole talking about bodies. It made her even more grateful for not being in there.

"I'm just going to chill up here... stand guard I guess... alone.... If I die, it's your fault Alex for not trying to help me down there!" she shouted down the hole finally after several minutes. Just confirming she was still alive. And aching.

She pulled her cell phone out and texted her friend Lana. omg these pznts got me INJURED. WTF!!! she snapped angrilly.

want me 3 cme get u?? was her response.

no, stuck in the fckin woods with the psycho killer and pznts. dont bother. if we live ill make 1 of them take me 2 hospital. With an angry sigh, she shoved her phone back in her pocket.

"...da fuck?" Chase muttered, raising an eyebrow. She appeared to disregard the dead bodies all over the place, as if she was used to seeing them. Ghosts, she thought. Maybe Alex was possessed or something, or maybe it was his wolf side coming out.
She frowned and reached into her shirt, pulling out a cross necklace. She took the cross and pressed it against Alex's forehead, looking as if she was expecting something to happen. This is how they would they would get rid of evil spirits, right?
After a while, she realized how silly it was and stuffed the necklace back in her shirt. Ain't no such thing as ghosts.

Marya audibly growled when Alex grabbed her and led her over to the brick wall, though her anger subsided when the bricks seemed to fall at nothing but her simple touch. Alex let her go and made the entryway more clear before pressing onwards to another room that was nothing short than a scene from a horror movie. The scent of blood was stifling, so overwhelming that Marya could almost taste the metallic tinge of the crimson liquid upon her tongue which was oddly familiar for whatever reason. A layer of it covered the floor, and up above, more dead bodies dangled haphazardly, and she worried about one falling on her or one of the others, but that seemed to be the least of her worries. There was something else here, or at least that was what Alex seemed to hint at before he appeared to settle down at long last, returning to his normal demeanor. Marya took it upon herself to try and calm down as well.

"Alex, you better watch yourself," she warned her friend calmly. "The next time you grab me like the way you just did, you might lose your arm." She was serious. It was easy enough to tell. If he had been normal, she wouldn't have minded, but with that whole psycho act going on, it just didn't feel right and she wouldn't be having any more of it, even if it meant crushing some bones or tearing limbs off. The scene was already gruesome enough as it was. An extra severed limb lying around wouldn't make it worse.

Alex stared blankly at Chase while she had the cross pressed to his forehead. He moved aside calmly, a couple steps closer to Marya. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me," he apologized.

Nathan entered the room there, looking somewhat confused. He didn't say anything though, but crossed the room to where Alex and Marya were standing. He opened his mouth to say something. Alex took a sharp intake of breath and tackled Marya, sending them both splashing into the pool of blood below.

The only sound that escape Nathan was gurgling, as he fell to the ground, a hole through his chest. His blood was gushing out, his hand was reaching towards Alex. The boy took his friends hand as he died in front of him, and tears welled up in his eyes.

He heard the sloshing noise of movement and looked up. He could vaguely see the silhouette of a human, much taller than any of the group, but skinnier with sagging skin and glowing red eyes. Blood dripped of it's right hand.

Alex scrambled to his feet, pulling Marya up with him. His knife was in his hand in a second, and he lunged forward, propelled by vengeance and adrenaline, showing the knife towards the thing's chest with all of his force.

Snap.

Alex looked up at the thing slowly, his eyes wide with fear. He dropped his broken knife. "But..." he stammered, as the thing seized him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. He flailed about, trying to free himself, but it was no use. He choked and gasped frantically, tearing at the thing's arm with his fingers, trying to get air in his lungs, but it was no use. His vision was going blurry...

Though his consciousness was fading, he felt a burning in his forearms. Whatever the burning was, it must have helped because the thing let out an unholy scream, and released Alex. He hit the floor, spattering more blood on him. He gulped in large breaths of air, panting heavily for a few seconds before getting back up. Something felt different...Though he was too hyped up on adrenaline, and his brain too fogged up for him to notice the massive claws and fur that were now his arms.

The thing hissed, cradling the stump that was it's arm. "Nihtgenge!? Diht thu haf!?" it screamed, taking several steps away. Black blood oozed out of it's wound, and it's red eyes held a hint of fear.

Alex felt a predatory instinct; he couldn't explain it, but he knew he had to end this monster in front of him. He lunged forward, drew back his arm and raked it across it's face. It screamed, an unnaturally high screech, and fell against the wall. Alex brought his hands across it again and again. It continued screaming, then suddenly...

It burst into ash. Alex stopped, panting, and took a step back. "I...killed it," he said, slumping against the wall. He felt another strange pain in his arms, and slid to the ground, sitting in the pool of blood. His eyes found Marya's then crossed the room to Chase. He took a deep breath and fell to his side, barely conscious.

"My arms hurt," he complained. He still didn't notice the strange transformation that took place. The fur and claws were sloughing off, being replaced by his natural, albeit raw-looking skin. He took in another shaky breath, and passed out.

An apology. Marya let out a sigh and felt herself relax. It was true that her friend hadn't been himself. It must have had something to do with this really creepy place which she still couldn't get over. How could no one know that this place was here? Before she could even think, Alex was taking her down with him as he dove into the blood covering the floor. The spilt life essence covered her clothes and skin, splashing as her body hit it along with Alex's. Her eyes were quick to pinpoint what exactly was going on. Nathan was dead. Her friend's body fell forward into the blood after having been impaled by some weird creature. This was it. This was what was waiting for them. Not a psychopath, but a monster like something out of a fiction novel. The creature stood their with Nathan's blood upon its right hand. Before she could react, Alex was already helping her stand and rushing in with his knife. No... she thought quietly as she heard the knife snap clearly leaving Alex defenseless. First Nathan, and now it was Alex's turn to die.

Marya waited intently for the inevitable outcome, not sure if she could even combat this creature with her bone-shattering strength. The knife certainly didn't stand a chance. However, her assistance didn't seem to be needed, for the creature dropped Alex, fear appearing in its red eyes. Why would it be so afraid of Alex? The guy wasn't exactly intimidating, not to mention he was unarmed. The more she watched, the more she became intrigued. Was Alex slashing at the creature? It was actually retreating! Somehow, Alex managed to get it against a wall, and to her utmost surprise, the thing burst into naught but ash. However, the triumph didn't set well with Alex. He seemed more shocked and tired than anything. Her eyes met with his and she felt the strong urge to embrace him, but he passed out before long leaving her and Chase the only conscious ones in the room with Sophie standing guard above.

"Ch-Chase...what the hell just happened?" she questioned her other friend. She was glad she wasn't the only one down here. Her shoes splashed the blood as she tread quickly over to Alex, examining his arms. He had mentioned that they hurt, and they certainly looked raw to her. It was unsettling just like everything else. It hit her like a ton of bricks. Nathan was dead. Nathan was dead. She thought the words, and they felt so foreign just flowing through her mind. He was dead and never coming back. Dead. What would they do now? They had to tell the cops. And they had to get Alex to safety. And what about Sophie? She would freak out if she saw what was down here, not to mention the news of Nathan's death would not be welcomed, even if she didn't particularly care for the guy.

It all happened a bit too fast. Nathan's limp body crashed into the ground. Dear god, is he...?

Chase saw the tall, slim figure and almost immediately thought about Slenderman. All those video games probably did a number on her. "Slendy" grabbed Alex, and if it weren't for the fact that her reaction wasn't exactly the fastest, Chase probably would've pounced on him and may have gotten herself killed.

And then...what? Was it afraid of him or something? Alex's wolfish instincts must have kicked in or something, because Slendy dropped him and began to retreat. Alex was slashing at him...why the bloody fuck did he look so furry? Was he actually a werewolf? Well, if Slenderman existed, werewolves probably did as well.

When he passed out, she knelt down next to him, but was afraid to touch him. He looked exhausted and weakened, and she didn't want to hurt him or trigger something. "...I don't know," she said blandly. "But we need to get outta 'ere. Report this place to the cops and let the professionals handle it." But...she really wanted to get to the bottom of this. She was still a bit shaken and surprised by Nathan's death, but she wanted to learn more. Fear and pain...something about them triggered something inside of Chase.

"That's something I can agree with you on," Marya replied quickly, immediately standing up and pulling up Alex along with her. With very little effort, she picked her friend's body up and slung it onto her back without much care, but she knew he'd be okay. She nodded her head in the direction they had come from indicating to Chase that she should follow. Without another word, Marya sloshed through the blood and into the room before, through the tunnel to the bottom of the pit. Looking up the incline, she could see a figure at the entrance that must've been Sophie 'standing guard.' Now that Marya thought about it, her remaining up there would have probably been for the best. "Make room up there!" Marya shouted up at the girl as a warning before starting to ascend, readjusting Alex. Giving an unconscious guy a piggyback ride wasn't on her to-do list, yet here she was taking the responsibility upon herself.

The cool air of the outside was wondrous, for below she had been sweating, her blood coursing through her veins like a raging inferno. It was stuffy and cramped and decrepit and disturbing down in that hidden chamber or whatever it was, and now that she was free of it, she gulped in the truly fresh air. She didn't set Alex down; she was almost afraid to let him go. Looking down at her legs and clothes, she could clearly see the vast amounts of blood that had stuck to her. She looked like she had just finished murdering several people. Not a tremble could be seen, and her face was more relieved than anything. Several thoughts hit her like a ton of bricks all over again.

Nathan was dead.

Monsters were real.

Alex held some kind of power.

This place was...what even was this place? What was that monster?! Everything was frustrating her immensely, and her head pounded as fiercely as her blood burned. "Sophie...call the police..." she managed to mutter, standing perfectly still in her spot. She didn't feel like moving. This was a nightmare, though she wasn't expecting to wake up this time. It wasn't like with the psychosis. This was real life, or at least that was what she thought.

Sophie's eyes widened as she heard unholy screams echoing through the hole. "Guys, are you okay? Is this some weird prank you four are pulling on each other? On me? OMG did you find the psycho killer?!" she called down the hole, beginning to panic. If something was going on down there, it may try to come up the hole. And then kill her after her friends. She didn't want to die looking like she had rolled in dirt. She wanted to end up being pretty when dead, like Snow White, and not Kristen Stewart's Snow White. Then again, maybe a better choice of words was Sleeping Beauty. Pretty enough to be kissed and brought back to life.

She waited in anxious silence until Marya came up from the hole carrying Alex. "I can't tell them anything without knowing anything! What the hell happened? Alex led the charge, did he kitty out or something? I heard screams, and got no answer. What's going on?!" she panicked as she fumbled with unlocking her phone.

Chase clenched her fist and bit her lip. "Just...just say that we found something suspicious by the lake," she said quite calmly. "Say that we think it might be linked to the disappearances." She looked back into the pit with a sorrowful look in her eyes. She bowed her head, as if in respect, and quietly added, "And we may 'ave lost a man."

She could feel the anger and frustration growing in her. She couldn't leave something like this for someone else to figure out. No, they were already too deep in. It's not like she could go back and keep them from ever finding that place and prevent Nathan's death. No, she couldn't undo it, can't unsee it. It was like they were tied to that place now. Dear god, she just wanted to go home and sleep it off, maybe that'll make everything better, even if it was only a little bit.

She had to stay optimistic. It was her nature, after all. If this is the worse day ever, it can only get better from here, right? She tried to smile, but instead a pained look appeared.

"Are you saying... Nathan's dead? Down there? So I have to tell the cops about a DEAD BODY?! They're going to think we killed him! Let him be one of the disappearances! He wandered off, we lost him! I'm not calling the cops, my parents will kill me enough as is because Alex got me injured! And I can't go anywhere because of that! So I suggest one of you come up with a better fucking plan!" she snapped, giving up on the phone lock code and throwing it to the ground. It landed in a soft pile of leaves.

Sophie was only acting like this out of sheer terror. Her life wasn't scary. It was filled with shoes and purses and expensive jewelry. She enjoyed that life. Nathan wasn't a part of that, butthere was this weird feeling she got knowing she was one of the last people to see him alive. Death always triggered a feeling inside her. This was the second person who died around her. More memories of the silky black shirt she had worn that day, pressing up against her face and body. Blood soaking that shirt.... oh god, what was she thinking? Angrilly, she swiped tears from her face that had slipped out.