I didn't wake up expecting to die, but that sort of shit just creeps up on you.

Even school was fine that day. Thanksgiving break was coming up, and that meant I was actually going to have an actual family dinner for the first time since I was seven. I mean, it wasn't with my family, but my life was kind of lacking in that part.

I was even getting rid of that whole situation from my life. In a town like Ranford Heights, everyone knew everyone, so absolutely everyone was talking about Jennifer. Even at school, I was the kid whose mother ditched him. People felt bad, I guess, but I just wanted things to be normal again.

So, yeah, before the whole dying thing, I was feeling kinda great. Melissa Tate and I made out before fourth period, and if things had gone better for me that day, I would've been at her place that weekend. Aidan and I got lunch at the diner after that. I scored a nineteen out of twenty on my latest math quiz.

I must've been on some sort of "good luck" high to have agreed to meet Victoria at the gas station at six forty-five that evening. Aidan wasn't completely sold on the idea, but I dragged him along before he could even think about changing his mind.

"You could at least tell me what excuse you came up with," Aidan sighed as I sent my text to Lydia Wang.

Aidan's mom is a wonderful woman. I mean, she's been there for me through everything, so I felt pretty awful about lying to her.

"We're studying," I said, shoving my phone into my back pocket.

"On a Friday?"

"Big test. Future-defining sort of thing."

"She's going to kill us." Aidan looked up, staring right past my head. "Oh, there's Victoria!"

I looked to the sidewalk, where Victoria walked with Mrs. Dill's journal in hand. She raised her head and gave Aidan a nod of acknowledgment, but barely glanced at me at all. Not that I cared that much, but Victoria was a bit different from most people. Not that I had any right to judge.

"You two came early," she told me and Aidan, meeting us at the entrance of the gas station. We began walking down the sidewalk, and I noticed that Victoria had the invitation in hand.

Harlowe Grove. The last time I went there was with Aidan and Victoria. Sophia and Aidan's twin sister Eva were there too, back when Sophia used to be fun and Eva didn't go to boarding school.

I didn't remember it being so close—the world was a lot bigger when I was younger. Aidan, Victoria, and I made it to the woods within a few minutes, though we didn't enter just yet. There weren't any street lights near the Grove, but I looked up to see the full moon, shrouded by a few clouds.

"Should we go in?" Aidan asked as he walked right beside Victoria. I turned away slightly and hoped they didn't notice, when I saw a figure approaching in the distance.

"Aidan," I whispered, still facing the figure as it drew nearer. It wasn't bear season anymore, and the closer they got, the more evident it was that they were a person. Specifically, a short, cloaked person.

I looked over my shoulder to see Aidan and Victoria reading through the book together, their heads just a bit too close together. "Hey, why don't you two make out later and take a look at that now?" I hissed.

Even in the dim light, Aidan's face flushed a bright red. Victoria seemed unfazed. I always wondered if anything bothered that girl, at least, until she saw what was up ahead.

"What the hell is that?" Victoria's voice was barely loud enough to hear, but her eyes were wide with curiosity.

The figure suddenly stopped, and Victoria began walking forward. Without even thinking for a second, I grabbed her by the arm.

"Are you crazy?" I demanded as she jerked away from me.

Victoria shook her head to herself. "I thought you were fun, Hawthorne."

"Fun and stupid aren't the same thing, Joseph."

"It's gone." Aidan pointed to where the figure had once been, and only an empty pathway stood in its place. "Okay, maybe we should just call it quits while we're at it. This is just a little too freaky for me right now."

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"Oh, yeah, you're saving the freaky for—" My voice caught when I realized that Victoria wasn't there anymore. "Joseph?"

I looked around where we stood, but she'd just vanished in thin air. Aidan peered into the forest, then turned back to me.

He'd just opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly slumped to the ground, hitting his head against a rock. Blood poured from the gash and down the side of his face. The figure that we'd seen stood right behind him, and their thin, pale hands were outstretched towards his body.

A million questions had been running through my mind, but at that moment, there was one blaring thought that lingered. I ran for the cloaked figure, pinning them to the ground as i trembled with rage.

Then, in an instant, it was gone, just as something hit against my head. I fell against the ground, the leaves softening my landing. Something, or someone, whispered against my ear before everything went dark.

-

The leaves didn't help much.

I woke up with a killer headache and a sudden wave of nausea. My eyes struck open, and I was in a place I'd never seen before. I thought I was dreaming for a split second. There were so many more of those cloaked figures standing in front of me, and they were all muttering something simultaneously. It definitely wasn't in English, but I was also pretty delirious then.

I tried to push myself off of whatever I was lying down on. My limbs just wouldn't budge, so I did the next best thing.

"What the fuck is going on?" My voice was painfully hoarse.

"Carter?"

Thank god, I could still move my head. I turned to my right and saw Aidan lying down on a table, his arms and legs stiff at his sides. Right next to him was Victoria, who was clearly awake but wasn't saying a word.

I tried to look around as much as I could. The best way I could've described it was like it was a giant library. There were bookshelves across the walls, and staircases leading to even more, similar floors. It kept going higher and higher until the very top was too small to see from where I was.

The murmuring around us stopped. I felt something brush up against my arm, and I turned to see one of those cloaked people. Their back was turned to me, but underneath their sleeve, I saw the glint of metal. They raised their arm, holding it right above Aidan.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Get that away from him, you son of a—"

The realization hit me just then. Right as they swung their arm down, and a guttural scream escaped Aidan's lips.

Victoria wasn't just quiet. She'd just been the first to go. Now, Aidan was gone too.

I was the one left for last. What a fucking lucky son of a bitch.

-

This is the fun part. The part where we transcend beyond our mortal plane and experience death.

I would tell you if I remembered. All I do know is that no human mind is capable of processing all that. Either, it destroys itself, or shatters itself so completely that it'll never be the same. I'm honestly not sure which I would've preferred.

All of us woke up in that same place, except, it had been completely abandoned. A bit of light escaped through the cracks in the wood and shined directly in my eyes. I sat up, turned to Aidan, and shook him as much as I could.

"Thank fucking god," I said once he stirred awake.

"Should've called it quits?" Aidan groaned. He pushed himself up, then gasped. "Victoria!"

"I'm fine," she answered. Aidan and I looked to our left, where Victoria was standing by one of the bookshelves, tracing her fingers along the spines. "Just looking for a way out. No doors. No window."

"We could try and break through," Aidan suggested, glancing at the cracks in the wall. "Carter, you should punch that wall. Stay true to your heritage."

"Half my heritage," I shot back. Jennifer was a whole white woman, but my dad's a second generation immigrant from a Dominican family. "But fine. I'll punch a wall."

Aidan and I walked to the wall, and I traced placed my hand beside the crack. Then, I brought my arm back, and punched as hard as I could. My knuckles paled as I recoiled in pain, and a bit of my blood stuck against the wood.

"Shit!" I cursed, wringing my arm. "Maybe you'll have better luck."

Aidan was dead silent, transfixed on the blood against the wall. "Maybe I don't want to break my hand open," he finally spoke.

"I'll do it," Victoria offered.

"No offense, but maybe you should sit this one out," I suggested. Listen, I'm all for girl power and that shit, but now was the time to be realistic. Victoria was about 5'1" and all skin and bones. "Just try it, Aidan. I'm sure you've got some pent up anger in there."

Aidan let out an exasperated sigh and took a step back. Then, he lunged forward with a confidence I'd never seen in him before. As soon as his fist made contact with the wall, the pieces flew all over the place, creating a large enough hole that at least Victoria could walk through without bending down.

Victoria was already standing beside me, her jaw hung open wide. Aidan stood on the other side of the wall, his expression a combination of shock and joy. I pinched myself just to make sure that this wasn't the weirdest drug trip I've ever had.

"Who pissed you off?" I managed to say.

"How did..." Victoria's voice trailed off. She shoved right past me and walked through the hole in a stunned silence.

I followed right after her, shielding my eyes from the sunlight. When I turned back around, all I saw was a pile of leaves right behind me.

"I'm going insane." I pressed my fingers against my temples and faced Victoria and Aidan. "This looks like Harlowe Grove. Aidan punched a giant hole in the wall. I think I'm still asleep."

"I don't think we've ever been this far into the Grove," Victoria pointed out. "Can one of you drive?"

"Yeah," I answered. "I don't know how that'll help, though."

"There's a jeep right behind you."

I pressed my hands against my ears as the sound of a deafening car horn cut her off, and looked over my shoulder to see a jeep driving right towards me. It came to an abrupt halt, sending leaves flying behind it.

The passenger seat door swung open, and the hottest woman I'd ever seen stepped out of the car. She had long, black hair and deep brown skin, and a real nice pair of—

Blades. She kept one in each arm, and glared right at me.

"Now, one of you are going to explain exactly what happened here," she spat. "Or, I'd suggest that you start running."