I was dead.
I woke up, shaking the sleepiness and darkness from my mind. I looked around frantically, panicking as I tried to remember what...
What?
I was leaning against a tree, wearing a black dress, and it was very cold. My hands felt bound behind my back and so were my ankles. I looked around and I was in a dark forest, and night was surrounding us. I saw a wrecked car a few yards away.
And then I remembered.
The prom. Sean. Crashing. I couldn't see through his body. And then... I blacked out.
I started to breath heavily as I tried to use my strength to bash through my bindings. But when I looked at them, they looked like metal. Or steel. Something hard that I wasn't able to break. And that was what scared me.
"Sean?" I squeaked out, my voice trembling with terror. "Sean, where are you?" What if some crazy man did this to me? And killed Sean? Or what if, instead of a crazy man, he was some psycho murderer? Who was going to kill Sean, then me, or even worse, do something horrible to us?
And how come I couldn't break free of whatever I was tied up in?
I heard a thump behind me. I jumped and tried to turn around but the tree was too thick and all I saw was slimy bark with bugs crawling around. I squirmed around in my predicament but I was stuck, cold, and wearing a dress, of all things to be wearing.
"Sean?" I whispered.
I turned around to try and calm myself but I screamed, because someone was standing in front of me.
Sean.
"Sean!" I cried. "Are you okay? I think I'm stuck, it's - " I shut up when I got a better look at him.
He had some nasty, bloody gashes and his suit and tie were all dirty and rumpled. But in his hand, he held something. It looked like a blade, some kind of dagger or sword, but it was a lot more different than the swords I'd seen before in my life. The hilt was a dark greenish color, with several engravings in gold. The blade was short yet pointy, curving down with writings in a strange form in red and black all over it. It was beautiful to look at, but it sent chills down my spine.
"Sean?" I asked, my voice trembling. "What... What is that?"
And then a smile appeared on Sean's face, and this time, it was a smile I had never seen before.
"I think you know what this is, Avaley," he said in a dark voice that I couldn't imagine him saying.
"I don't," I said honestly. "Sean, what's going on?"
And then Sean let out a loud shout and ran towards me, holding the blade up in the air. I screamed, and quickly threw myself to the side as Sean buried the sword in the tree, barely missing me. I tried to get up but my arms and legs were bound. Sean cursed as he pulled the blade from the tree. I watched as it glowed in the darkness, and heard a loud crack as suddenly the tree toppled over.
Sean looked at me, panting, and smiled pleasantly. "You can't escape from this, Avaley." he told me in a calm manner. "No matter how hard you try."
"W-w-what the c-crap?" I said slowly. "Is this some kind of game, or - "
Sean yelled again and held up the blade, bringing it down on me. Quickly, I brought up both of my legs and pulled myself backwards, as if doing a somersault except starting on my back. Both of my feet hit Sean's wrist and the blade went flying and with a clink, it landed on the ground away from me. Sean growled at me and shoved my feet away. He stared at me, a hatred look brewing in his eyes. This wasn't the Sean I knew. Something was horribly, terribly wrong.
But what could I do?
"Who are you?" I said, trying to stall and think of a way out of here. "Sean wouldn't do this, you - what have you done with - "
"Sean? Ha!" he laughed, throwing his head back. "You wouldn't know Sean if he hit you in the face. Like this!" and he reached down and threw his fist across my cheek. My teeth bit down on my tongue and a huge trail of agony spurted from my mouth. I tried to crawl back but Sean (or whoever this was) reached down and grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up. He tossed me against another tree and slapped my other cheek.
"You don't belong here, Avaley," he said. "And I'm going to make sure you don't ever come back."
"HELP!!!" I bellowed, tasting warm blood along my lips. "SOMEONE, HEL - "
Sean reached over and covered my mouth with his hand, pushing so hard I couldn't even move my tongue or my teeth. He leaned in and gave me a sad smile as I realized he was holding that dagger/knife/blade thing in his hand. How did he pick that up? I watched as he lightly ran the blade over my skin, but I felt it burn incredibly.
"Goodbye, Avaley," he murmured, and placed a small kiss on my forehead. "You are never going to wake up after this."
NO!
He aimed the blade at my chest, more of my heart.
This is really it, I thought. I am genuinely going to die, and Sean, of all people, is going to kill me.
Weird.
Then, something strange happened.
Sean let go of me, and pulled back his dagger. His eyes were wide with confusion.
Huh?
He took a step back, and then another one, and then dropped the dagger thing. And he continued to stare at me. Was something wrong with me or something? Were slugs coming out of my nose or something? Had I grown another head? Why was he looking at me like that?
"Impossible," he whispered, and the evil look on his face disappeared. He looked sorry.
"Sean?" I said, but he didn't seem to hear that. He just stared straight at me.
I looked down at myself.
But get this: I wasn't there.
And get this, times two: my arms and legs were not bounded anymore.
And immediately, I knew this: I have just developed a new power, and this is what it is: invisibility.
I took a step forward, and then another one, all at this time looking down at myself. I couldn't see anything, but I felt around my body and I knew I was there. I couldn't see myself. Sean couldn't see me.
And when I stood in front of Sean, he just stared at the tree where he was attempting to murder me.
I reached up and poked his cheek. But instead, before I knew it, I was falling, and I landed on the ground behind Sean. He didn't even notice. He was too busy gaping at the tree.
Had I just... Fallen through Sean? What the heck?
I stood up and watched as Sean picked up the blade and walked over to the tree. "Impossible," he said louder. "You weren't supposed to do that."
Who? Me? I wasn't supposed to do what?
Suddenly, Sean whirled around. His eyes widened, and he stared straight at me. Oh, crap. I looked down at myself and saw my body. Oh-k, I might have to practice my invisibility power once more before using it in times like these, ok? I told mysef.
And get this, once more: my arms and legs were now officially bound again. Great.
And then the evilness landed back on Sean Radke's face, and I saw him adjust the blade in his hand. "You like playing, don't you?" he grinned and charged at me.
Oh, crap!!!
I jumped as high as I could, floating in the air and tried to soar up higher, but the objects that tied my arms and legs felt like huge weights as I soon felt myself falling to the ground, I landed on my side, and pain seared through my elbow, hip and knee and I cried out loudly. These things around my arms and legs... They were preventing me from flying!
Sean chuckled as he walked over to me, the blade gleaming in the night sky, not that it was pretty or anything. "Still trying to escape, aren't we?" he said.
"Why are you doing this?" I replied. "I thought we were friends."
He smiled, and I realized it was that same smile he had given me when we were actually friends. It was a true, genuine smile. "I know, Avaley. We were friends. I'm glad you can think straight now." and he let out a loud yell, and raised the blade, and this time, I knew there was no hope.
I opened my eyes and saw Sean on the ground, and a figure on top of him wrestling him for the blade. I recognized the light shade of hair and the well structured body: DAVID?
"Avaley!" David roared as he threw a fist down on Sean's face. "Get the blade!"
Blade? What blade?
Sean yelled and I saw the blade go soaring through the air. I managed to stand up, wobbling a bit and my vision blurring with the pain in my side and my mouth and just everywhere in general. It flew through the air, and I scrambled to get it as David wrestled Sean on the forest ground.
It was falling through the air, and I knew I had to get it, but I wouldn't get it in time, these stupid cuffs around my wrists and ankles was...
I suddenly realized the bindings on my arms and legs were gone. I let out a breath, and looked at my body. Nice. I was invisible again.
"Avaley?" I heard David ask, as he looked around for me, but Sean jumped up and kicked David in the head. NO! I wanted to scream but I had to get that blade, while no one could see me. Apparently it played some importance in what was currently going on right now.
It was right over me, spinning and flipping and shining as it was about to meet the ground. I jumped up, extending my left arm and I felt its sheath slither through my hand, and my fingers latched around it.
And then I started to feel weird.
The handle burned my hand, and I screamed, trying to get the firey pain off of me but I couldn't move my hand. It vibrated, like a phone, and seered with heat and it didn't seem to want to let go of my hand. I shook it around, as best as I could, but it was stuck, and then it started to glow, extremely bright. My hand was ging to burn off if I couldn't get this thing away from me!
Apparently I was on the ground by this point, and as I was screaming and trying to get the thing off of me, I realized David had walked over to me. He could see me. He had a strange look on his face, and he reached over to the blade.
"No, don't touch it!" I wailed in pain. "It burns!"
"Maybe two people can make the connection," he said, and reached over and placed both his hands over mine, and I felt a soothing touch of coolness settle over my body. The glowing and the vibrations from the blade subsided, and it fell from our hands.
I let out a breath. "Thanks."
And then I snapped back to reality.
Pain seared through my body and my hands were bound behind my back and my legs were bound too and David was screaming my name as I fell to the ground, and the last thing I saw was Sean's limp body.