Chapter 1
It was just past midnight. She sat on her bed, staring out of the window. Rain poured from a moonless sky, tapping against the roof. Other than the rain, everything was still and silent. A car drove by, its headlights illuminating the raindrops.She could never sleep on nights like this, so she rose and crossed the room. The floor of the old house creaked as the girl slipped out of her bedroom and crept down the stairs. Her rain boots stood by the door, a coat hanging from a hook just above. She took both and left the house.
The girl looked to be around seventeen. She had dusky brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles dappling her fine features.She adjusted the hood of her coat and walked down the sidewalk at a brisk pace. A few corners down, she stopped under a glowing street lamp. Sure that no cars were approaching, the girl darted across the road.
A wrought-iron fence stood in front of her, enclosing a large cemetery. The glossy, wet headstones reflected the pale glow of the barely visible moon. She unfastened a small gate and entered the eerie place. The girl walked silently along the rows of graves. She eventually stopped at a tree, just one of the numerous large evergreens in the dreary cemetery. She reached out to part the low branches, raindrops sprinkling her arm. Beneath this tree, it always stayed dry, even on the rainiest nights. The girl would often come here to read and escape the rest of the world, as she was tonight.
As she turned on her flashlight, she heard a voice. “Hello?” it said, with a hint of fear. She swept the beam of the flashlight in its direction. A boy her age stood in the middle of the row of headstones. He shielded his eyes from her intense light. “Oh, sorry.” she said, angling the light lower. “Who are you?”
“Alex. You?”
“I’m Samantha, Sam. What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same of you.”
Sam rolled her eyes, knowing he wouldn’t see. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“Nothing, I just think it’s odd.”
“Oh, really?Then tell me why you’re here.”
“I’m, um, visiting my sister.” He gestured to the gravestone behind Sam.
“Oh, uh, sorry.I guess I’ll just go home now.”
Alex walked toward her. “No, please, don’t. I could use the company.”
She showed a small smile and agreed to stay. “Okay.”
Sam and Alex walked up to the headstone with his sister’s name, Lauren, engraved near the top. Alex bent and laid a single blue flower at the base of the stone. Sam looked at him, a sorrowful expression on her face. He looked embarrassed and wiped his eyes. “I’m not crying, It’s just raindrops.” Sam knew that wasn’t true, but she stayed quiet as he turned away and began walking. She caught up with him, and they walked for a while, exchanging no words.
Soon enough, the rain stopped, and the thick, dark clouds disintegrated. Sam looked up at the moon. Not noticing the patch of slick mud in front of her, she fell to the ground. Alex paused and turned, reaching out a hand. Sam took it. Suddenly, blinding white light flashed between them, and pain flowed through their bodies. As soon as their hands parted, the pain subsided, and the light faded.They both lay on the muddy ground for a few minutes, breathing fast and hard. When they finally recovered, they sat up and looked at each other. “What - what was that?” questioned Sam. Alex slowly shook his head. “I have no idea.”
