Chloe danced to the pulsing electronic beat that weaves through the room. The blurry mass of people at the Valentine's Day dance seemed to collide beautifully with each other. She closed her eyes and glided across the dance floor. Then the music stopped.
Chloe opened her eyes and came face to face with four cinder-block walls. A blond girl in an orange jumpsuit sat at a table with a blurred-out person, maybe a psychiatrist. The blond girl took a Dixie cup full of her pills and swallowed them down.
Chloe turned and ran down the hall. But when she came into the first room that got her attention, she saw the blond girl again. This time, she was on a bed, and leather straps tied her down, restraining her. Freaky moans echoed through the hall outside the room.
Chloe turned to leave, but the girl called her back. "Wait," she said.
Chloe turned back to face the girl. Her face looked like they had burn scars on them, but the scars looked as though they'd been treated. Her skin looked better, too. And it was at that moment Chloe recognized who the girl was.
Ali.
Feeling afraid, Chloe looked toward a window. The woods were very visible through the glass. If she could get out of the room and then outside, she'd be safe.
But then she saw the bed was empty.
Chloe's eyes moved around the room. When she saw the doorway, a shadow shifted on the wall, as though someone was trying not to be seen. Don't go out of the room, she thought. But she began moving toward the door. When she peered out into the hall, a girl wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt and jeans had her back turned to Chloe.
The girl knelt down in front of a large frame of Chloe's second grade school picture. "Soon enough, I'm coming to get you all," she said.
She stood and turned to face Chloe. It was Ali again. Chloe turned and ran down the hall. When she was almost to the end, a hand caught her arm. Then she was pulled back into the room with a fast motion.
Chloe glanced at the window again, the dark woods staring back at her. She turned to the door in an attempt to escape, but Ali was standing in the doorway, her body pressed firmly against the door.
"Don't run away," Ali said.
Suddenly, Ali lunged forward and outstretched her arms. Chloe moved out of the way, but Ali caught her, pulling her back with surprising strength. "Chloe, no. It's not safe out there."
Chloe tried to get free, but Ali was holding her hard by the shoulders. "Let me go, Ali. I'm not safe with you."
Ali's eyes softened. "Yes, you are. You've always been safe with me."
Chloe blinked, and they were no longer in the room that had to be part of the psych ward in prison. Now they were in the living room of a house in the Poconos. Chloe sat on the floor while Ali stood near a wicker chair.
Ali dropped to her knees in front of Chloe and took her hands. "I did this for you. Don't you see? You've always been safe with me."
Chloe tried to pull away again, but Ali pulled her closer, gently this time. "Everything I do is for you. Please don't run away. It's not safe out there."
Chloe still tried to get free, but Ali inched closer, putting her arms around Chloe. "You're safe, Chloe. You don't have to be afraid of me. You're safe with me."
Chloe stopped resisting and let Ali hold her. "Chloe," Ali said. "I'm not a monster. I'm not crazy. Wake up. You have to wake up."
Chloe felt herself drifting away from the sight of the living room inside the cabin. "Chloe. Wake up," Ali said.
Her eyes shot open. She was no longer in the cabin, but instead the backseat of a car. Ali was holding her steady, her hands planted gently on Chloe's shoulders.
Chloe rubbed her eyes. "Where are we?" she asked groggily.
Ali didn't answer. She kissed Chloe's hands and caressed them warmly and lovingly. Then she looked at Chloe, as if to say, see for yourself.
Chloe realized they were parked at the gates of St. Basil's cemetery. The majestic mausoleums and headstones were dappled with silver moonlight. A couple of tall, old-fashioned lanterns lit the brick pathway. There was a gentle breeze shaking the bare willow trees. Chloe knew every step to Ali's grave, but that wouldn't make the journey there any easier.
Five weeks after the Poconos fire had happened, the cemetery had made a grave for Ali. Even though her bones were never found, it was assumed by everyone in Rosewood that she died in the Poconos fire. An anonymous person had written to the owner of the cemetery, asking for a plot to be made in Ali's honor. The anonymous person even provided stacks of bills that amounted to a total of $5,000.
But the person never made their presence known to the owners, nor did they leave a traceable phone number. Chloe wondered if whoever had done this had also been the same person who'd had the memorial plaque at the Preserve built in Ali's name.
Now Chloe looked at the gates of the cemetery. Ali picked up the crinkly wrapping around a bouquet of flowers. "Where did you get those?" Chloe asked.
"At the grocery store," Ali said, admiring flowers. "Nick went inside and got them."
Chloe noticed she still had the pieces of the Time Capsule flag in her hands. Then she realized why they were here. Ali smiled at her knowingly.
Chloe opened the door and climbed out, then Ali followed behind her. They started up the walk, and Chloe led the way. The grass was wet and squishy under her feet. Within minutes, they was climbing the hill and approaching Ali's headstone. Someone had set up fresh flowers at the headstone's base and taped a picture of Ali to the stone itself.
"Chloe?"
She jumped. A shiver went down her back. Her older brother, Jason DiLaurentis, was standing a few feet away under a big sycamore tree. She looked behind her, but Ali was gone. Chloe stared at him, wondering if he'd seen Ali. But he just stood there, his eyes darting back and forth. He wore a heavy black jacket with a thick, padded hood, black pants, and black gloves.
"Hey," she finally said. "I just wanted to talk to Ali. Is that okay?"
Jason shrugged. "Sure." He began to walk down the hill, giving her space.
"Wait," Chloe called. Jason stopped, leaned his hand against a tree, and peered at her.
Chloe considered her words. Jason was the only family member who was really on Ali's side. Even though he proclaimed that he wasn't on anyone's side, he was always Ali's only ally: He visited her at the Radley and the Preserve regularly, he advocated for her to go on family vacation trips, and he even convinced their parents to let Ali attend Rosewood Day with him, Courtney and Chloe. Ali had been in and out of hospital care due to her constant behavior issues, but the family had all promised not to tell anyone where Ali had been whenever she missed school to go to the hospital. As much as Chloe wanted to reveal that secret, she never did. Why? Because there was a part of her that still loved Ali.
"Do you think Ali loved me?" Chloe asked.
Jason kicked his toe into a loose clump of soil. "Ali has always loved you."
Chloe thought of what to say next. "We don't know if that was true. We don't even know who Ali was. She was crazy."
"I know who she was."
Chloe knew she had to pretend like she still hated Ali, but even then, a part of her was still mad at Ali for everything she'd done.
Jason stared at Chloe, not breaking eye contact. "I know you've never understood why I visited her all those years at the Radley," he said quietly. "I just thought she needed someone in her corner, you know?"
"So why did you stop visiting her at the Preserve?" It was a question Chloe had never asked him.
Jason ran his finger over the silver BMW keychain. "I didn't mean to stop visiting her at first. I was just swamped with schoolwork and couldn't make the time. The times I did visit her, though, she seemed so . . . strange." He swallowed hard, then glanced at her. "She told me some weird things about you."
Chloe's anger began to take over. "She was a jealous, crazy bitch."
Jason didn't look convinced. "I knew the things she told me weren't true."
Chloe didn't break her ground. "She was lying."
Jason opened his mouth, then closed it again. He stared at her hard, as though trying to figure out what she was really thinking. "Do you ever wish you could go back and change what you did?"
"I didn't do anything," Chloe said. Was he talking about what she thought he was talking about?
Jason kept his eyes on her. "We all did things we could have done differently. We could have helped her. Been more of a family."
"That's not how I see it," Chloe said sharply. "She was crazy. She needed to be locked up. End of story."
Jason gave Chloe a concerned look. "Ali never wanted you to be like her. Whenever I visited her, she told me that she never tried to hurt you."
"Did she tell you about the horrible things she did to people or how she wanted Courtney out of the picture because she was so desperate for my attention?"
Jason nodded. "She confessed to everything she did. She said she did it out of jealousy because she didn't want to share you. She also said she didn't want you to be like her or do the things she did."
He paused, waiting for Chloe speak. "Ali wanted you to be better than she was. I know she did terrible things, but she loved you."
Chloe's anger began to simmer down. "What about Ian and Jenna?"
"Ali was very sick," Jason answered. "But she loved you very much. I could see it every time you were with her. She was always good with you."
Chloe faced Ali's headstone. Alison Lauren DiLaurentis. Then Jason spoke again. "Don't be mad at Ali. She's gone, but you can still tell her how you feel."
And with that, Jason turned and walked down the hill, disappearing out of sight.
Leaves rustled. A car swished on the street below, its headlights bouncing off the tree trunks. Chloe wondered where Ali was. She turned, making it seem like she was about to leave. Then she heard another noise. She stopped. It sounded like a snicker.
Chloe scanned the trees, but there was no one there. She glanced at the other graves, but nobody moved among the headstones.
"I'm going back home, Ali," Chloe called out.
Five long seconds passed, but no one answered.
Chloe turned and started down the hill. She wasn't bluffing. If Ali wasn't going to appear, she was going to find her way back home. Two people, a guy and a girl, walked past her, walking down the hill in the same direction.
"I think that Alison DiLaurentis girl is still alive," the guy said. "Who else could that person in the black hoodie have been?"
The girl turned to look at him. "I wish she would try to attack us. We could turn her into the police and get a lot of money."
Chloe glanced at the trees, and a pair of unblinking eyes stared at her through the branches. It was Ali. She put her finger to her lips. "Shhhhh."
The guy and the girl disappeared down the hill, and Chloe stopped. If Ali was going to continue to play these games, Chloe would rather go home and live a normal life. But when she started down the hill again, a voice called out to her.
"Chloe, wait."
Chloe turned to see Ali emerge from the trees, her eyes wide and pleading. "Where are you going?"
"Home," Chloe said.
"But what about us?" Ali asked.
Chloe stared into Ali's eyes, which were desperate and pained. Ali took Chloe's hand and led her back toward the grave. "Come on, Chloe. I wasn't trying to make you mad. I just hid so Jason wouldn't see me."
When they got back to Ali's grave, Ali set the flowers down on the ground. Then she held out her hands. "Let's have our own Time Capsule burial."
Chloe smiled and handed the flag pieces to Ali. Then Ali knelt down next to her own grave and started to dig in the earth next to it. Dirt got underneath her fingernails and all over her palms, but she burrowed down at least a foot before she stopped. Taking a deep breath, she dropped the pieces of the Time Capsule flag in. It really was like their own little Time Capsule, something that would symbolize their friendship forever.
Ali grabbed the flowers and got to her feet. "Pour vous, from moi," she said, holding them out to Chloe.
Chloe took the flowers. "I thought these flowers were for your grave."
Ali shook her head. "No. They're for you. I told Nick to get flowers that reminded me of your signature scent."
Chloe looked at the flowers once more. They were lavender flowers—lavender had been Chloe's scent before she switched to strawberry.
A jet roared overhead. Ali touched Chloe's shoulder and gave her a warm smile. "You helped me with my bad thoughts, Chloe. So I'm going to help you with your anger toward me."
She took Chloe's hand. "Come on, Chloe. Let's get out of here. Just you and me."
Chloe looked back at the hill, then at Ali. "Let's do this."
And with that, they took off running, holding hands the whole way.