1

In death, there is only darkness. Cold, empty, darkness. The kind that chills your bones. Fear. It consumes you. Breaks you in ways you didn’t know you could break. I thought I’d be lost for an eternity. Floating in the vast emptiness of time. Until he saved me. Woke me. I’m Raychel Bolton and two weeks ago, I died.

"Ray! Ray, wait!"

I faintly heard Katrina as she yelled behind me. I’ve been preoccupied lately. This feeling, it’s taken me over. I don’t know what it is, or why I have it, but it’s dominated my life for the past few days. Like the universe is trying to tell me something. I can’t shake the feeling that it has to do with my birthday Sunday. I'll be eighteen. Its only two days away but the anticipation is killing me.

"Seriously, Ray! You know my legs are shorter than yours." Kat said as she caught me. "You can’t avoid me anymore! We are celebrating your birthday tomorrow whether you like it or not. My brother is friends with the bouncer of that new club, Rage, and he said that technically if we come in at midnight tomorrow, he can let us in because you will legally be 18!"

I rolled my eyes. "What’s the big deal Kat? I really don’t want to do anything. I’m just not in the party mood."

She grunted at me and threw her hands in the air like it was the most dramatic thing she'd ever done. "Ray! You’re going to be eighteen! The big one eight! I have been waiting for this since I turned eighteen two months ago!"

Katrina Delilah Martian was the kind of girl who could see the positive in everything. Ever since her birthday in March she has been going on about how we could go to the club, buy cigarettes and porn. What teenage girl gets their big kid ID and thinks, YES! I’M GONNA GO BUY A PORNO! Kat, that’s who. She may be overly perky and optimistic, but she’s my best friend in the whole world.

“Why do we have to do anything Kat? I really don’t want to go out."

"Raychel Olivia Bolton! We are going out if I have to hog tie your ass and drag you to the club!"

I couldn’t believe she was being so persistent. "Ok, Jebus, I’ll go. But promise you won’t make a big fuss...."

She smirked at me through the scarlet lip stick she loved so much. "Ha! Do you know me at all?"

I rolled my eyes, like I tend to do. "Shit, I have to go, I’m going to be late for work! Later Kat, I'll text you when I get home!” I yelled as I bolted down Manchester Ave.

I work in a small book store in Port Royal called Silver Lining on Farrow Rd. It’s not the most immaculate of jobs, but it supports my shopping habits. I read a lot anyways and there’s a Starbucks right across the street, so double perks! Oh, what I would do for a caramel latte right now. This whole weird feeling thing I’ve had going on lately is draining me. A teenager should not have this much stress. It’s just not normal. Shit! It’s almost four, I thought, I may not have the time to stop.

I rounded the corner of Farrow at 3:57 pm. Maggie is going to kill me if I’m late again. I ran down the street and barreled through the door, right on time. The store bells rang and Mags looked up from the notebook she was jotting on before the bells so rudely announced that I was there. She peered at me over her long rectangle glasses. Her graying hair floating out of her bun in front of her face.

"Almost late again Raychel?"

"Sorry Mags, my car is broken again."

"Really? When are you going to get that thing fixed? It’s been breaking down on you for three weeks."

"Soon." I promised.

I dropped my bag behind the counter and went in back to clock in. Ginger, Maggie’s fluffy orange cat greeted me with a soft, warm purr. I’m not much of a cat person, but something about Ginger never fails to make me smile, especially when I’m feeling frazzled. It’s like she knows and tries to make it better. I pat her head saying

“Afternoon Gin Gin.” After I clocked in, she followed me back into the shop, patting softly at my untied shoe lace. I stopped to let her catch it.

"She loves you ya know." Mags said.

"Yeah, I quite love her too, she calms me." I replied.

Mags smiled, "She has that effect on people. Well, I’m off Ray. Make sure you lock up when you leave tonight."

I look up to Mags a lot. Especially since I don’t have a mother. I mean, I did at one point in time, it’s not like I was a genetically engineered child or anything. Is that even possible? I thought to myself. Any who, I’ve asked my dad about my mother a lot over the years, but all he would ever say was that she was a good woman and that she loved me very much. I never got much more than that out of him. My Daddy isn’t the most affectionate of men, but he’s a good dad and I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world. To get to the point, I see Mags as a mother figure. She’s gentle, kind, and treats me like a responsible adult, even when I’m not. She’s great when it comes to advice. There are some things that you just can’t talk to your dad about when you’re a teenage girl.

When Mags was gone I went about my normal work routine. I turned on my favorite song and started to dance while I cleaned up. I did the electric slide while dusting, danced with the broom, and sang at the top of my lungs into the air freshener can. You know, the usual. I’m not a super star or anything, but I have an alright voice. At least the dogs aren't howling, I smiled to myself. I had a few customers but for the most part it was quiet. That’s when it hit me, like a semi-truck. That undeniable sense of paranoia. The hair on my arms stood, my palms went cold, and I started to shake. It’s like I couldn’t control my emotions, they were going haywire. I was nervous, scared.

That’s when the door to the store slammed open. Terror rushed through me. The lights in the shop busted and the pungent smell of sulfur came wavering into the room. I was frozen with fear. This was it, the terrible feeling I’ve been having was surfacing. Then, as if a bomb went off, every window in the little shop exploded. Glass shards flew at me from every direction. I felt the ripping of skin on my cheek, and the cold flow of blood making its way to my chin. What the hell do I do? I thought. Run... RUN! My mind screamed at me. So I did. I ran as fast as I possibly could. Out the back door, down the alley, and into the middle of the street. I started running north toward home thinking, there’s no place like home! The sound of my shoes slamming into the pavement over and over, were the only sounds I heard. All other sounds, if there were any, were absent. The sounds of hard cold cement, and loose rocks scraping with a screech across it, rang in my ears like the sound of impend able doom. I never saw it coming. The arm that reached out and snatched me out of thin air. I screamed loud and sharp.

"Ray it’s me. Ray what’s wrong!?" my breath caught in my throat as recognition set in.

"Chase!" I breathed.

…

Chase Adams was the tall dark and handsome type. 6'1", rusty brown hair cut short but still style able. Hazel eyes piercing but in a calm way. Sun kissed skin, like he belonged in a magazine featuring tropical places to vacation. He was chiseled and solid. You have to be to be on the varsity football team at Port Royal high. He was also the love of my high school life up until last week. I caught him kissing Stacy davenport at a party that I bailed on an hour before. Of course Kat talked me into it and it happened to be the worse party of my life. I mean come on. How embarrassing is it to catch your boyfriend kissing the girl who has vowed to destroy you. Stay was the peppy cheer type who made you want to punch her in the suck hole the moment she opened that overly perky, stuck up, yet secretly evil mouth of hers. Needless to say she came to school with a black eye on Monday and I’ve been ignoring chase ever since. But even after all that, I couldn’t possibly be any happier to see him then I am right now.

"Whoa Ray, you look like you running away from Michael Myers. What’s wrong lil' miss?"

The cute name he once called me made me cringe away, but now was not the time. Like it or not I needed him right now.

"Oh thank god Chase it’s you." I said breathless and shaking.

I probably looked like a lunatic religiously looking over my shoulder every two seconds.

"Why are you running through the streets in the middle of the night?" he asked, ever so patiently.

"Chase something was in the shop." my eyes started to betray me by letting tears escape as I pushed on. “I was cleaning up and out of nowhere all the bulbs in the shop burst. Then the windows exploded like I was in a movie. I was so scared and didn’t know what to do so I ran."

my shaking turned into violent spasms now as a tried to catch my breath. Chase pulled me in close to his chest and held me there. It was nice. I felt safe, if only for a moment. I pulled back and looked into his eyes. Those eyes I’ve looked in almost every day for the last three years, and my heart shattered to nothingness.

"Come on ray," he started, "id better get you to the police station." I let him guide me to the old brick building. Thank god our town was small and everything was in walking distance.