Rise at Twilight

by Kayla Krantz

  He hid his face with his book before she could see the change in emotion, but Luna knew it was there. Like always, he was hiding something from her, and she wanted to know what it was, but part of her had the feeling that was his way of getting her to stay in the cabin, and she wasn’t going to fall for it. Instead, she took her resistance-free opportunity to leave, glad for her complete freedom even though she could feel his eyes burning into the back of her skull all the way out the door. She glanced over her shoulder as soon as the door closed, expecting to him to pop out and insist he come with her, but he didn’t—the cabin door remained closed.

  Luna smiled then, drawing the fresh air into her lungs, and began to walk. As the dulcet sound of birds filled her ears, her anxiety began to ease. There was something soothing about this walk, something that she hadn’t had in the cabin.

  Freedom? she wondered, looking up to the branches creating a mesh of green and brown that filtered the sunlight. As far as she could tell, there was nothing out of the norm in these woods—no bloodthirsty monsters or psychopaths besides herself. Why do I have to be careful? she mused, picturing the odd spark of emotion in Chance’s eyes. I’m already dead.

  I could’ve confronted him about it, she thought. I could’ve stayed in the cabin, and he would’ve told me the truth. The look of utter defeat on his face had made her sure of that. There was something he wasn’t telling her, but it was something he wanted to tell her.

  Luna shook her head, suddenly feeling torn. Should she have stayed and listened?

  He’s just playing games, she chastised herself, trying to focus on the mission at hand. She had already made it a top priority to find Amanda. The thought of how close she had been only to fail left a bitter taste in her mouth like bile.

  I won’t fail this time, she tried to convince herself but didn’t believe it.

  If there was something about these woods that Chance hadn’t told her, then it might interfere with this mission, who knows? The more Luna thought of Amanda, the more chaotic her thoughts became, and she hardly recognized herself in them.

  Is it wrong of me to feel satisfaction that Chance killed her? was one such thought.

  And while the thought itself wasn’t farfetched, the idea that part of her truly wanted to say yes, was. She had been heartbroken at the time of Amanda’s death…how had she come so far as to be glad for what Chance had done? She closed her eyes, not wanting to think about finding Amanda’s corpse a year prior, but the thought was there anyway.

  Lost in her confusing thoughts of her old roommate, Luna didn’t see the rock at her feet until she tripped over it and fell, a branch tearing away some of the skin on her forehead. Cursing out loud, she reached up to wipe away the blood that trickled from the fresh cut just beneath her hairline.

  She scoffed, already knowing what Chance would say when he saw it. See? I told you it’s dangerous out there.

  “These woods are a treacherous place to be,” a voice called from behind her.

  Luna jumped, face flushed at the idea that someone had seen her fall, but the tension eased as familiarity washed over her.

  Sarah.

  Luna was speechless as the girl helped her to her feet. Her hand felt so warm, so real, that for a long moment, Luna had trouble letting go. When she did, she blinked, and Sarah was still there, just as clearly as she had been a moment prior.

  “It’s good to see you again,” Sarah said finally, accurately guessing that Luna would be unable to speak first.

  “It’s good to see you too,” Luna admitted.

  Sarah smiled, a small gesture but it was genuine which made Luna feel just the slightest bit better. “I know, you’ve told me countless times.”

  Luna smiled back. “I just thought now that I’m here, it might prove fruitful to say it again.”

  Sarah nodded. “I’m glad to see that you made it okay. Not everyone does.” Her gaze clouded over, and Luna took a half a step back, caught off guard by the sudden change of emotion.

  “What is it?”

  “I…it’s just…after everything that happened you’re with Chance now.” It wasn’t a question; it was a direct statement, and it stuck right in Luna’s heart. A question would’ve been easier because it would’ve meant that Sarah was uncertain, but there was none of that in her tone, and Luna felt sick even though she knew she had no right to be.

  If anyone should feel sick it would be Sarah. After all, the only reason she died was protecting Luna from Chance, and Luna hadn’t returned the favor. She had fled, leaving Sarah for dead. There was no way to get around that fact, and Luna wondered how it could be that Sarah could smile at her.

  If the situation was reversed, Luna would’ve never been able to even look at Sarah again.

  Sarah’s nose twitched. “I like to think that you’re my friend…but I don’t think that’s the truth, is it?”

  Luna didn’t know what to say. Considering their circumstances, it seemed like a moot point to argue, but Luna wanted to anyway. She thought of the trip to DreamWorld they had taken, the plans they had made to run away together. No matter how things had fallen apart, they had been close enough at one point. “Of course, you’re my friend,” Luna said at last, but her mouth had grown so dry that the words sounded weak.

  Sarah smiled, but it was a bitter kind of smile. The kind that never reaches a person’s eyes and leaves you to wonder why they bothered to put it on their face to begin with. “You really think so?”

  Luna bobbed her head, scared that her voice would be less than willing to come through for her.

  “Well, I miss my friend, but you aren’t her anymore, are you? I—you’re with him, and...” Sarah paused, dropping her gaze to the scar on Luna’s arm, the one that Chance had left the day he had killed Sarah. “I’m supposed to hate you for it, for what you’ve become, but I can’t do that. Not without fully understanding why you’re doing this. I might not know you as well as some of your friends, but I know enough. And this isn’t you.”

  I can’t understand it either, was what Luna wanted to say. She wanted to pour her heart out, but stopped before she could utter a word, thinking of the way Max had reacted to her. Sarah’s reaction was already drastically different, but the comparison didn’t stop Luna from worrying that the encounter could go sour at the drop of a hat.

  “He’s taking care of me while I get adjusted to life here,” Luna said. Sarah visibly cringed at the words, and Luna couldn’t say she blamed her, but the relationship between herself and Chance couldn’t be summed up any other way.

  The disgust left Sarah’s face before she drew her eyebrows together and said, “But he’s not. Can’t you see that?”

  Yes, she wanted to say but didn’t. Old Luna would’ve chewed her own leg off before living with him. That was something that both of them were aware of.

  “He killed both of us…how can you stand by his side after that? Don’t you have any shame?” she asked. “You really look him in the eyes and don’t see the same ones that took your life?”

  Luna dropped her gaze, heat flooding her cheeks, and out of words to say. Even if the perfect word came to mind, how could she possibly create an excuse to cover herself? Should she tell Sarah she had been grateful to Chance for taking her life?

  That just further proves her point.

  Truth be told, Luna wasn’t ashamed of who she was and what she now stood for. This version of herself felt like the truest yet so it hurt her more to think that Sarah still saw her as the naïve and selfish girl she had been in high school. After everything Luna had survived, she had gained enough perspective to learn and grow. They all had.

  Sarah shook her head slowly, her dark brown hair swaying from side to side. “I didn’t want to think someone strong like you could be taken down like this.”

  Luna stared into Sarah’s ice blue eyes, lip quivering.

  “What has he done to you?” Sarah asked in a voice that was hard to hear. “What could he have possibly done to change you this much? Is it a spe
ll? Voodoo? Blood magic? What is it?”

  Luna didn’t have an answer for that question either. Sarah was looking for something to blame it on, but not every problem had such an easy solution. Nothing, was the answer that Luna had, but saying it wouldn’t make anything better. Was it really fair to say Chance was completely at fault for how different, how twisted, she had become? She was the one who had picked up the knife…she was the one who had decided to end three different lives in a flash of blood and pain. No one could’ve made that decision for her. Not even Chance, for all his magic, could’ve made her do that if she had chosen not to.

  “Max was right,” Sarah said, lifting her chin.

  That statement knocked the wind from Luna’s lungs. “You talked to Max?” Luna didn’t even think the two knew one another. Apart from Max’s funeral, which Sarah had attended to talk to Luna, she didn’t think the two had ever even come into proximity with one another.

  Sarah nodded. “Word travels fast here.”

  “Have you talked to Amanda then?” Luna demanded, searching her old friend’s eyes for some sign of hope. “If you’ve talked to Max, you must have.”

  Rather than reply, Sarah turned away to head into the woods as if she suddenly regretted making an appearance at all.

  “Hey, wait!”

  Sarah sighed and turned back to her. “Look, you’re my friend…despite everything. I don’t want to hurt you, but I also can’t help you. Not when you’re with him. That child deserves better, Luna, and if you don’t know that, there isn’t much else I can say to you anyway."

  The more Luna studied the girl, the less she could understand about the situation. The Voice had said Sarah didn’t belong here, that she wasn’t “part of this world” but watching the way she moved now, Luna never would’ve guessed it.

  “You didn’t even know Max. How could you find him or talk to him? Why would you?” Luna asked.

  Sarah stared at her but didn’t answer.

  Luna already knew—they were talking about her. The thought angered Luna. How could they involve one another in the workings of the Realm without coming to her? Hadn’t she been an important piece at one point?

  “But the Voice said you never should’ve been here,” Luna said. “The Voice wanted to erase your memory.”

  “And?”

  “So why didn’t it? Why are you here talking to my friends…and…and plotting against me?”

  Sarah shrugged. “Maybe because it can’t take away what I know? Maybe because I have unfinished business to tend to? I don’t know anymore than you do. I just know I went from being murdered by Chance to coming here, and I haven’t asked.”

  Luna pressed her lips together wondering why exactly she was here. Those were both likely scenarios though she hated the thought that she had doomed her because she hadn’t let the Voice wipe her memory. “What’s your unfinished business?”

  “Do you really have to ask?” She tilted her head to the side, staring at her with such a determined expression that Luna felt silly for even asking.

  Susan, her sister. Sarah had done everything she could to track down the truth of what had happened to her sister back in high school. The obsession to know had carried on for years after high school ended. That was the reason Sarah was here, that was the reason she had died.

  “You still haven’t found her?” Luna asked and the question sounded cold, blunt, though she hadn’t meant it to.

  Sarah’s eyes glistened with the start of tears, but she blinked and the look vanished. Luna was impressed. “No, I haven’t.”

  Luna thought it ironic how quickly the conversation had changed in such a short period of time. Luna had the upper hand now, and that was something Sarah probably hadn’t counted on. “I’ve seen her,” Luna replied simply, thinking of the school and the souls there, the ones Chance said should be avoided at all costs.

  Sarah’s eyes stretched wide, and she took a step forward, a lock of brown hair falling into her eyes. Luna could tell her need to contain herself, to hold herself back just a little bit from the situation was gone as she said, “You have?”

  Luna bobbed her head, considering how she could use this to her advantage.

  “You have to show me where. You have to help me find her!” Sarah said. Luna swallowed, and the hesitation caused Sarah to frown. “What? What is it?”

  “I don’t really have to help you find her, do I?” she asked. “If you really aren’t going to help me, then why would I help you?”

  “You owe it to me.”

  The thought struck Luna deep, and she hoped her face hadn’t reflected that thought. “Chance said I shouldn’t go back there.”

  Sarah’s mouth twisted, and she jerked her head backward as if Luna had tried to hit her in the face. “You can’t be serious.”

  Luna held her palms out. “I don’t care how he feels, if that’s what you’re thinking, but he said it’s dangerous, and really, I’m not going to risk that for nothing.”

  Sarah curled her lip, exposing her teeth. “What do you want?”

  “Information, Sarah,” Luna said. “All I want to know is where Amanda would’ve taken Asher, and I’ll take you to see your sister.”

  “How do I know you won’t just take the information and run?”

  “I guess you don’t. How about a compromise?” Luna asked.

  Sarah went silent, but Luna could see her mulling it over in her head, going over the pros and cons before she said, “Okay. What’s the compromise?”

  “Tell me what you know, and then we’ll go.”

  Sarah scoffed. “That’s ludicrous. You might not even know anything at all for all I know, and this is just a trick to get your way. No wonder you get along with Chance. You’re just like him.”

  Luna pursed her lips. “I can walk away from this and tell you nothing.”

  “But you won’t, because part of you knows that you have to do this. You have to help me find her,” Sarah said.

  Luna looked up at her, feeling her lip quiver, because she was right. Neither of them had to speak, but it was clear that this was what Luna could do to make up for getting Sarah killed.

  “Okay,” she said at last. “I’ll take you, but after you see Susan, you tell me everything you know, or I’ll leave you there in that place with her.”

  Sarah smiled and extended her hand. While Luna would’ve expected it to be cocky, smug, or excited, it was none of those. It was just a cold twist of the lips, a show that somewhere deep inside, Sarah was still there. “Deal.”

  Luna returned the handshake, Sarah’s words bouncing around in her head. No wonder you get along with Chance. You’re just like him.

  When she pulled her hand away, she wondered how to get back to the place. Her trip there hadn’t been on purpose, and Chance had been the one to pull her out. She looked down at her feet and heard the grass crunch as Sarah stepped closer. “What is it?”

  “I’ve only been there once,” she admitted. “And I don’t know how I did it. Chance pulled me out of there. All I know is that it’s not the same place as this. I don’t know where it is exactly.”

  “You have to try,” Sarah said and wrapped her fingers around Luna’s.

  Luna nodded and together, they sat in the grass across from one another, fingers on both hands linked. Luna closed her eyes, staring down at the grass as she tried to picture the place in her mind. She could remember the gloomy steps of the high school covered in shadows and the crackly lights of the hallway that seemed to close in on her. She gasped as the image came to her, and when she heard Sarah take in an equal gasp of air, she opened her eyes to see the school before her.

  A chill wormed its way through her, and she glanced to her side to make sure that Sarah was still there. She didn’t want to be here at all, but it’d be worse if she hadn’t been able to bring the girl with her.

  “The high school?” Sarah asked, skeptically, and turned to Luna with her jaws parted. “Why the high school?”

  “I think it’s because s
he’s trapped in that stage of her life because of what…happened,” Luna said, trying to both explain her thoughts and do so in a way that wouldn’t hurt Sarah.

  Sarah nodded as if the explanation made any sense and was the first to proceed up the stairs. Luna stared after her, hoping that she could wait outside, but when Sarah made it to the top, she paused and glanced back toward her escort, waiting for Luna to join her.

  With a sigh, Luna obeyed and climbed the familiar steps, feeling as if there was a rock in her stomach. She thought the Purgatory with Chance was awful, but everyone’s custom made Hell was. They stepped inside, footsteps echoing and lights flickering just as she remembered. Luna thought of the bodies she had seen, the souls trapped here, and desperately hoped they would be able to avoid one—Michelle.

  “Hello!” Sarah called, and Luna winced but there was no response.

  As they began to move, it was as if Sarah forgot Luna was there. She started to scope out farther and farther ahead, barely even bothering to see if Luna was still behind her. They rounded a bend in the hallway, and Luna gasped as the sickly image of Susan appeared before her. She was cloaked in the white gown they had found her body in and was covered in a series of bloody cuts and scrapes.

  In her life, Susan had been a beautiful girl, and had always taken the time to carefully groom her appearance. She had had immaculate makeup, hair, and nails, but now, that was a thing of the past. She looked like a Hellhound’s chew toy.

  Sarah seemed to notice none of it. She threw her arms around her sister, face dissolved in tears. Luna felt like an intruder watching the scene, the happiness that their reunion brought them. After all, she had had a hand in them being torn apart. Just as that thought crossed her brain, the sight of the sisters began to waiver.

  “Hey, wait!” Luna called, heart thudding.

  Sarah turned to look at her but said nothing before they disappeared from sight. Eyes wide, Luna swallowed and took a step backward to rest against the nearest doorframe. That was when she caught sight of the classroom inside.