AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I scrunched my face. “What the heck?” I asked quietly.
“What does she want?” he asked.
I stared at the message again, trying to figure out what she was talking about. “I have no idea. Maybe it wasn’t meant for me.”
“Just text her back and see if she meant to send that to someone else. I’m so sorry, baby. You deserve better than that.”
I looked at him sadly and nodded before responding.
__________________________________________
Me:
Hey, Mom. What are you talking about?
__________________________________________
To my surprise, she texted back almost immediately. She responded with a screenshot. I saw my name at the top along with my phone number, so it was obviously a screenshot of our messages. At the bottom there were two recent messages.
__________________________________________
Me:
Mom, I need you. Please come to church this Sunday so I can talk to you. It’s REALLY important, or I wouldn’t ask. Please promise you’ll be there.
__________________________________________
That outgoing message wasn’t on my phone. The last couple that were sent was from me a month ago telling her I wanted to see her for Mother’s Day. She never replied. Mother’s Day came and went with no reply, but she texted me happy birthday on my birthday. I’d thanked her and told her I loved her. That was the last we’d spoken. The last real conversation we’d had, as I’d told my dad, was about six months ago.
__________________________________________
Mom:
You said you needed me. I’ll be there in five. I love you.
__________________________________________
Suddenly, the world shifted around me, and my heart began to race. Familiar screams and the smell of smoke greeted me. I opened my eyes, not even realizing they’d been closed, and I was greeted with the sight of my parents lying dead next to me.
I screamed as I jumped back, my mother’s cold, dead eyes staring at me. At this angle, my father’s lifeless blue eyes stared me down, too.
“You… You did this,” my mother’s voice said.
My eyes widened. She’s dead. How can she talk? Her mouth hadn’t even moved, but it was her voice. I scooted back, but I slipped and landed flat in something sticky. I turned and screamed as I was face to face with Adeline Riley. She was fourteen and had been executed just like my mother. Her face was inches from mine.
I tossed and turned, trying to stand, but every time I tried, I slipped again. I was covered in Adeline’s blood. It waseverywhere. I couldn’t escape it.
Fear raced through me as tears poured down my face.
“Temperance!”someone called.
“Help!” I called back.
“Temperance! Wake up!”
I gasped for air as I sat bolt upright. Luna’s arms wrapped around me, her fingers combing through what I knew was wet, matted hair.
“It’s okay! It’s okay!” she said. “I’m so sorry. I heard you screaming, so I picked the lock and broke in.”
