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The feel of someone breathing on my neck wakes me from sleep. Snores fill the air and I turn around, expecting to find Raven, and nearly jump out of my skin.
“Run, my pet,” a man purrs at me. The tone is riddled with anticipation and pure instinct has me off the ground and trying to wake the others. When I roll Lucien over… it’s a skeleton.
This has to be a dream.
Right?!
“Fuck!” I gasp, falling on my ass and scrambling backward as the ghost stalks after me. “Get back!”
“Or what?” he asks curiously. “You won’t run?”
There’s no part of me that wants to answer that question. Not when my family turned into skeletons and a psycho-killer specter is after me.
“Run, little pet,” he taunts. This time, he’s right in my ear the moment I turn away to run. A cold hand on mine pulls me from the room and outside into the foggy night. It had been foggy earlier but now, it’s almost impossible to see even a foot in front of my face.
“Go,” Pandora urges. I glance over and she appears next to me, pulling me along. “He won’t stop until you stop him.”
“How?” I ask. “We’ve tried to figure out who he is. Where you are.”
Something falls behind us and it has me running harder. Somehow, I’m not breathless. That’s yet another indicator that this is a dream. But I’m not taking my chances, not after the seance went wrong.
The fog intensifies and a startled scream rings out before Pandora is ripped away into the night. Now, I am alone and can’t see anything around me.
“Oh look, my pet is lost,” the voice echoes around me as if he’s surrounding me on all sides. My heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest at this point.
Air whooshes past my ear and I wince as my cheek stings. Then a thud has me glancing down to see an arrow sticking out of the ground.
“What the fuck?” I growl out as I start zigzagging to avoid being shot. Maniacal laughter echoes before it suddenly dies off and the fog disappears completely. The change is so abrupt, I nearly stumble mid-run.
Instead of being outside, I am now in some sort of tunnel, the dirt walls are an arm’s reach out and roots stick out among the skeletal hands. Small lanterns are hooked to the walls, giving a subtle glow that allows me to see.
This is truly something out of a horror film and my chest aches for the victims who have really lived this.
“Where did my pet go?” This time, he sounds angry and I can see dirt raining down further in the tunnel. He is right above me.
My footsteps are careful and I try to make as little noise as possible, barely breathing as I push myself forward. It’s in the direction he’s going, but the pattern of dirt says he’s heading in the opposite direction.
“Jayce!” Pandora’s voice echoes out in the tunnel ahead and I pick up the pace. When laughter fills the air yet again, she’s in front of me, eyes frantic. “Wake up. Wake up now!” Her hand lashes out and smacks me in the cheek. The sharp sting startles me from sleep and I bolt upright.
My clothes stick to my sweaty skin and my chest is heaving dramatically as I try to catch my breath.
The others are still sleeping around me and thankfully, not skeletons. When I stand up and glance down, a shiver runs down my spine. My feet are covered in mud. On instinct, I reach for my cheek, horrified when I find crusted blood sticking to my skin.
Not wanting to disturb the others and afraid to sleep, I rush to the kitchen and start a pot of coffee, grateful to Lucien for packing the necessities.
Arrows.
The idea hits me out of nowhere and I realize it’s the only real clue we’ve gotten. The problem is we’ve made zero friends in town to ask about bow hunters. Surely, there couldn’t be that many shops around.
Excitement burns through me so intensely that I let out a small laugh as I pull open my laptop and start my search, only stopping for brief coffee breaks.
“Jayce?” Raven’s sleep-roughened voice pulls me from my screen and I blink up at her, shocked that sunlight is streaming in. “How long have you been up? Wait. Why are you muddy?”
I glance down, forgetting about the dream until then. Once my mind was set on a task, all else was left behind.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “There was a dream. A nightmare, actually. Pandora and some psycho and arrows. The arrows!” My words are so disjointed that she looks more confused and worried than anything.
“Wait, what? You’re scaring me a bit. Are you okay?” She walks closer to rest her hand on my cheek.
