Chapter 5

I stood in front of the large metal gates of the cemetery, a cold sweat running through my body. I locked my arms tightly around myself, trying to keep warm. It seemed to be around one or two in the morning and I was planning on looking around the graveyard to see if I could find my own grave. If I couldn’t find it, that means that it was all just a dream. And if I did find it… then we’re all screwed.

I took a deep shaker breath as I opened the large gates and took a step into the cemetery. Sure, my plan didn’t really make much sense, but I was cold and tired from the sleepless nights before. I wasn’t really thinking straight.

The wind grew stronger as I began searching for my own gravestone. The clouds in the sky swirled angrily, as if something evil was lurking nearby and it was trying to warn me but I refused to listen.

From the distance, I heard a wolf’s call echoing through the cold air and I stopped. I was beginning to have second thoughts about my so-called “brilliant” idea and I realized that I was probably delirious for wanting to go through with it.

Just then, I banged my knee on something hard and fell immediately to the ground, crying out in pain. I picked up my flashlight angrily and shone it on the thing that I fell on. It was a black cemented coffin sitting next to a small gravestone.

Cursing, I stood up and brushed the dirt off my knee to study my injury. A small bruise was already beginning to form. Muttering, I glanced back up at the grave and my blood froze cold when I read the bold print on it.

“Mystic Rivers...” I read. It was my gravestone that I stood in front of. Maybe I wasn’t as dilirious as I thought I was.

Suddenly, a face flooded into my head and my eyes widened.

“Hunter…” I whispered into the dead of night. There it was. This was the grave that was from my dream. And if my dream was true, that would mean that Hunter would show up at any minute, right? A shiver ran down my body.

I glanced over at the coffin again and breathed a sigh of relief. Unlike from my dream, the coffin was closed.

‘Maybe that’s a good sign,’ I thought hopefully. ‘Maybe that would mean that Hunter won’t show up.’ Hunter terrified me. He looked so familiar to me in my dream, yet I don’t remember him.

Just then, I heard a loud gasp from behind me and I jumped. I spun around, shining the light behind me to see both Arielle and Kelsey standing there, mouths opened.

”Mystic?”

The first thing that I noticed was they’re appearance. Twigs stuck out of their hair and their clothes were all torn. They were both holding shovels, dirt stained their faces. A smile slowly tugged on my face when I saw them, my heart pounding with excitement.

”Arielle! Kelsey!” I cried. I instinctively began racing towards them but quickly skidded to a stop when I saw them step away; Kelsey’s eyes were filled with fear.

”No…” Arielle murmured, staring at the ground and shaking her head. “You can’t be here right now… We calculated everything.” My face fell.

“Why not?” I asked, feeling hurt that they weren’t so excited to see me. I turned off my flashlight as to not blind them and another look of terror rolled over Kelsey’s face.

“No!” She screamed. “Don’t turn off that lig-” But it was too late.

Before I could even ask why, I heard a loud creaking sound coming from behind me. Both Kelsey’s and Arielle’s faces whitened as they stared over my shoulders. My muscles tightened and my stomach churned. Was that the sound of a coffin opening? Slowly, I turned around to face the horrifying scene myself.

The sky had been painted blood red and the moon was nowhere in sight. The ground underneath us began to shake and cracks were beginning to form around us, sucking everything into it. It was the same setting as in my dream. And the coffin… The coffin was wide open, the inside empty.

I heard a small cut off gasp and a strong scent of blood filled my nostrils immediately after. I spun around to find Arielle on her hands and knees, held down by large vines. And Kelsey was trapped in a pair of strong arms, with a sharp knife cutting into her throat. And the person that held that knife was Hunter himself.

Hunter stared at me with his cold, dead eyes and smirked as he slowly dragged the sharp blade against Kelsey’s throat. A chill ran down my spine as I watched the thick blood race down her neck. Zane smiled triumphantly at my reaction and let Kelsey go, shoving her to the ground next to Arielle.

He held out his hand to me, motioning for me to come to him. My eyes stayed glued on Kelsey as the weird weeds began chaining her to the ground too, and I cautiously walked over to Hunter. I reached out to grab his hand and immediately flinch at the cold touch.

Hunter pulled me into his chest, holding me tightly in his arms. I pulled my eyes away from my friends and looked up at him, staring deep into his eyes. And I froze at what I saw.

His eyes were warm as he stared kindly down on me. My mind reeled as I tried to put everything together. Again, I felt as though I KNEW this boy… How could he look down so gently on me if he didn’t know me? I couldn’t help but to wonder if he meant to hurt me or not.

Hunter slowly leaned down and the strong scent of peppermints filled through my body. I closed my eyes, my reeling mind slowing down. I felt his hot breath as he gently pressed his mouth upon mine. Quickly, my pounding heart went back to normal and my aching muscles were relaxed. I recognized this touch… this scent… this kiss…

As I felt hypnotized by this calming emotion, I barely noticed as the overgrown vines slowly began surrounding us; slowly towering over us. Hunter pulled away, is dark eyes still on mine, a small yet relieved smile grew on is lips.

“My queen,” he whispered into my ears before moving back to my mouth to steal another sweet kiss. Behind me, from a distance, I heard Arielle’s and Kelsey’s screams. I couldn’t understand what they were saying as I unconsciously kissed Hunter back, but I do remember thinking that my vision was coming true… and I liked it.