The Sixers: The Huntsmen of Death

Chapter 5

I stood on the edge of a small dock looking down at the water below me. Darkness haunted in the night. I heard faint whispering coming from the depths of the lake. I looked into the darkness seeing nothing.

I stood there petrified as two figures approached me. A faint shadow of two heads could be seeing bobbing their head above the water. I couldn't move. I couldn't run. I stood there – unmoving.

The figures got closer and I could make out the faces of my parents gliding swiftly across the lake. The water never once moved. "Mom? Dad?" I called out.

Their faces were now staring up towards me. My bare feet inched closer to the edge of the dock placing my toes off the edge. I looked down unable to see their faces. They were blurred out and unrecognizable, but I knew it was them.

My father spoke, "Come with us sweetheart."

"Go with you where?" I asked.

He reached a hand out towards me, "To a better place."

I backed up from the edge. I was scared, and a million thoughts seemed to wonder through my mind. Do I go? What about my brothers? What's the better place?

"I...I can't leave Josh and Jer," I stammered.

My mother rose from the water like she had been sitting on her knees. My mouth gaped open in fear. Yet, I still did not run. She now stood eyelevel with my own eyes. "Just come with us Rayla. Your brothers don't need you."

I shook my head, "Tha..that's..that's not true. They do need me." I backed further away from my mother separating the distance between us.

She reached out towards me grasping my shoulders, "But they don't. They never have."

I stared into my mother's eyes looking into a cold black darkness. "You're wrong."

The next thing I knew my mother had grasped me and started pulling me across the dock. I squirmed and screamed wanting to be set free.

My father's voice softly could faintly be heard, "You wanted to be with us don't you Rayla? You get to go home."

I screamed and kicked wanting to be released from my mother's grasp. My body submerged in the water. I kicked fiercely springing myself back up to the top of the water. I gasped for breath and filled my lungs with air.

Hands grabbed at my feet and sent me shooting down to the depths of the lake. I couldn't see anything. All I saw and felt was darkness. My chest infuriated with pain and a heat spread over my body. I couldn't breathe.

I felt a hand grasp at my shoulder shouting my name. My eyes shot open as my body lunged forward. My breathing was uncontrollable, and my chest heaved for air.

I looked around at my surroundings noticing that I was back in the apartment with Josh and Jeremy standing over me. My breathing began to slowly come back to a normalcy.

"You ok?" Jeremy asked. Both boys had their bags on and looked to be heading out to catch the bus for school. Jeremy was wearing blue jeans with a black hoodie and his black low top converse. A small silver necklace that contained a cross could be seen around his neck. Josh was wearing kakis with a lacrosse regionals champions sweatshirt and the same black low top converse as his brother.

I sighed pushing back my hair with the bottom of my hands. My chest hurt so bad from the pain. I nodded trying to gather myself. "Yeah," I looked up to both their worried eyes showing a fake smile, "I'm good."