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“Shut the fuck up,” I snap at my sister.
“There will be dug-up dirt near the place she is. Call the others, let’s get a search party started,” Everett demands. We climb back into our cars, racing back to the Falls.
We have to find her. I can’t fucking live knowing she could die in such a brutal way. Fuck, I can’t live at all if she dies. She spent so much time being sad, wanting to die. She was finally happy, truly living.
And if she really is gone…
CHAPTER 34
JASMINE
They taunt me, the whispers. The images making my mind snap, breaking in different directions. I know I’m slipping, but I keep thinking, if I can just hold on a little longer, my hallucinations can come true. They’ll find me.
“Easton, please, please, find me,” I beg.
My chest hurts with each breath I take, as if the earth is pushing down on the box, enclosing me inside. Claiming me as its own, refusing to give me back. Taunting me as if to say, This is what you’ve always wanted, Jasmine. Give in to me.
My fingers are caked in dried blood, the pain numbing the feeling. My energy dwindling with every fight I put up to not slip under. The water that drips is up to my ears now, but I’m too tired to move my head up. My clothes soak with the ground water, the clock ticking in my ears as it rises.
“I want to live,” I whisper to no one and nothing.
I know the pressure of the water will eventually break the box, the dirt collapsing on me, and when I take that first breath, because your body is made to fight, my mouth and nose will fill with dirt. Suffocating me to death, the earth finally claiming me.
Life is twisted, but fate is cruel, an ice queen of heartless vindication. She waits until you no longer feel the pressure, feel the need to escape. She waits until the clouds evaporate, and the sun rises to rip it all away. Cooing that she’s finally giving you what you wanted. To praise her for listening and delivering.
“I don’t want to die.” My voice cracks.
I told you, I would eventually get you again. His chilling voice skates across my ear. He’s been doing that, taunting me. My body and mind are so tired I can’t muster enough of anything to be scared.
You tried to rush fate, but she had better, brighter plans for you. This was always your destination. This voice is a hiss, as if a snake is whispering next to my ear, slithering around my neck.
“Please,” I beg. “I just want to live.”
An image flashes—pale blue face, gray veins running over the dead skin. Red lips stretching, cracking into a smile. Sharp teeth dripping blood. Black eyes void of life. Its teeth snap at my face, my eyes closing to escape. A single tear rolls down my cheek, wetting my dry, cracked lips.
“I just want to…”
As the water rises and my breathing slows, my body slipping to that in-between state, my fight finally weighs me down, and I give in.
Drifting.
Tears spill down the sides of my face as a sense of peace washes over me. The feel of soft grass beneath my body, the smell of fresh rain and wildflowers tickle my nose. The heat of a summer sunset warms my body, a slight breeze brushes my hair.
Living is hard; death is easy. But living was worth it. The memories, the people, the beautiful yet cruel world around you. Life isn’t about surviving the way so many, myself included, see it. Life is love. Not in a romantic way, but in an all-consuming way. It’s beautiful in the way someone beats cancer. It’s beautiful in the way a child hears its mother’s voice for the first time after years of silence. It’s beautiful in the way a couple celebrates fifty years of marriage. Beautiful like shooting stars. Beautiful in the way you come home from a long day of work and get to see your kids’ smiling faces as they wrap their tiny arms around your legs. Life is love and so beautiful. And I wish… I wish I could have recognized that, before it was too late.
CHAPTER 35
EASTON
We’ve been searching for… fuck, I don’t know how long, but it’s felt endless, leading to dead-end roads in every place I’ve looked.
Desperation is clawing its way up my throat. I am choking on harsh cries that threaten to break free. My body shakes as I look around, desperate for a sign.
I continue my walk along the river, society long forgotten miles back as Everett, Ezra, and I search everywhere.
The others are searching in the woods, the whole town gathering as one to find the missing heir.
To the outside world, it probably looks as if the townspeople are doing it out of fear, but we all know that out of all of us, Jasmine is the most loved. With her soothing voice, kind eyes, and wilting smile.
