At the edge of town is the south bridge. It's the only way in and out of our small community. The place that holds the key to every legend. I should have known. It was where my parents took their last breaths. I haven't left town since they died. There's been no need to since everything I need is right here in Ruby Creek. There are a lot of strange occurrences at the bridge, makes sense that it would be the one place where we can stop this.

Fred and Trish came to pick us up. With Jaime's car window destroyed we needed a car. They hit it off so well at the masquerade that the first person he ran to when shit hit the fan was her, to make sure she was safe.

Jaime and I sit in the backseat. Him on one side, me pressed against the other. Touching him again would break me, and I'm already so far broken, I'm not sure I can handle anymore. But soon, I won't have to worry about that. I'll be pain free and with my family, where I belong. I'll be the heroine, even if I don't feel like I am, because it's what I have to do.

Trish's eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror as we pull up to my house. Jaime is the first to get out, leaving me alone with Fred and Trish.

"Please. Go straight home. When daylight hits you don't want to be on the road. Frank, promise me you'll keep her safe."

I unbuckle and slide up so that I can touch her shoulder. Her eyes meet mine.

"I wish you'd tell me what's going on."

"I wish I could too. Know that I love you." I pause, my voice cracks. "I love you so much."

"Why does this feel like a goodbye?" She swallows hard, unbuckling her belt and spinning in her seat.

Tears spring from her eyes. She sniffles and wipes at her face. I can't help my own, my nose tingles forcing them out.

"It's never goodbye. See you later," I say.

I squeeze her shoulder as the door on my side opens. Jamie's hand dangles as he lowers his head to peek in the car. "It's time," he whispers.

Nodding, I slip out of the car, ignoring his hand.

I can't watch Trish drive away. Once the car is gone, I pull the keys from my messenger bag and toss them to Jaime.

"You offered, right?"

"Yeah. Let's do this."

He squares his shoulders. It's easy to see he's pretending that this is okay. My hand twitches towards him but grip the strap of my bag instead.

We drive quietly through the town streets. While Ruby Creek is small, the bridge is about a ten-minute drive. In the silence that surrounds us, the words on the page continue to haunt me. Part of me wishes we could turn back time, if only for a few seconds. I'm not ready to make this sacrifice, but I'm also sick of watching people die for no reason.

"I'm going to read some more out loud."

I pull out the book from my bag, and then mom's journal. With the journal underneath I lay the pages on top.

"I still don't know how or why my family got stuck with this. And who are the teens?" I shake my head and bury my attention to the three ripped out pages we found.

Before calling Trish, we read the pages over and over. There's no mistaking what needs to be done, but there's still a lot we don't understand.

"It says, two teens, one boy and one girl, were fooling around at the river's edge, right under the south bridge. They crossed under one of the two arches to get to the other side when they spotted something shining from inside the stone. Everyone knew of the gem's rarity, including them. Prying it from the bridge triggered the curse. The spinel is the stone of immortality."

Jaime removes the hand closest to me off the wheel and lays it over mine. Shoving him away, removing it from over mine would be the smart thing to do, but I can't.

"It says, 1971," I say, trying to ignore how good it feels for his hand to be there.

His fingers connect with mine. I gasp, my attention falls to the space between us, I hadn't realized I turned mine so that he could hold it tighter.

With my free hand, I pull my phone out and type in south bridge, 1971, Ruby Creek. Staring me in the face is a very familiar name. My stomach churns.

"Jaime, my grandma, she was the one. It was her. She was one of the teenagers. But how did my mom get -" I pause again.

"What is? What's wrong?" he asks, eyes flicking to me every few seconds while attempting to keep an eye on the empty road. "Warren Reed, the other name listed here, that's my grandfather on my mom's side."

"Wait - you're telling me that your dad's mom hung out with your mom's dad, and they were why it all started. That's how both your mom and dad had the gems."

There's no more air to breathe. The car feels as if it's on fire, and the ice in my veins has melted from the flames burning me. Watching through the windshield I catch sight of the sky lightening up in the distance. The blue hour is upon us, and if we don't get started soon the light will come up and this whole thing will take a lot more effort if a daywalker finds us.

"So, how do we do this thing?"

"Give me your ring," I say, my eyes never leaving the old stone bridge in front of us.

Jaime pulls the car over just before the mouth of the bridge. I shiver. This place always gave me bad vibes, even before the accident, but now, being here for the first time since they died, it's surreal. I can't explain what I feel right now. A calm settles over me, but at the same time my heart is about to burst out of my chest.

"Jaime. The ring."

In silence he stares off into the distance. The hand with the ring is in mine, but neither of us move.

"What does the text say, what do you have to do?"

"They need to go back where they came from. Putting them back will make this all go away. And life can get back to normal." I laugh. It's mechanical but holds so much emotion all at once.

Jaime sniffles. My eyes catch tears rolling down the side of his face. His cheeks twitch and his grip tightens around my hand.

"You'll be okay, you barely know me."

"I was getting to know you, starting to think that maybe you were warming up to me. Always feisty, but I saw it in your eyes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you it was me at the masquerade. Would you believe me if I said I was afraid you wouldn't want to dance if you knew?"

"I'm not mad." I turn to him, but I'm trapped by the papers on my lap, and the seatbelt.

Putting it all on the floor, I use my free hand to unbuckle.

"Confession time?" I ask.

He grins, facing me now too. Our eyes solely focused on each other and nothing else.

"I'm glad you kissed me. Now I can die knowing what it's like to kiss the heartthrob, Jaime Donovan."

That gets a laugh out of him. I bask in it, knowing I'll never hear it again.

"Would it be so bad if I asked for one more?"

"No. I'd like that. What a great way to go."

I wait for the smirk, but it never comes. I went too far with that one. He caresses my cheek with the hand not holding mine. His thumb sliding over my cheek. He leans in, his breath dancing along my lips. My face moves forward about to kiss him when the car door on my side flies open, something tugging me out.

This time, it's got me, and Jaimie can't stop it in time.

"Nore!"

He's quick on his feet as he climbs out of his car. From my back, I catch sight of the perfect sunrise. The sky is pink, nearly red as the blue fades and morning blankets the town. I'm pinned to the ground. The red-eyed monster stares at me and releases its fangs. So, it is true, they do bite, but it's not for food, it's strictly meant for killing.

I kick my feet up, and for a minute I've got the upper hand. We roll into the pile of orange, red, and golden leaves. They're rustling in my ear, getting tangled in my hair. We hit the hill beside the stream and roll down it in a tangled mess.

Jaime is calling for me, his voice getting closer each moment. Now the creature is on me again. Unrecognizable pale skin, and a snappy mouth. The teeth are horrendous, something out of a horror movie. They really are a zombie meets vampire.

Snap. Snap. The clicking of teeth is like nails on a chalkboard. I use my knee and push upward, and for a second, they're stunned and I'm able to push them off me. I race to get to my feet. Jaime is only a few feet away. Feeling the sense of freedom as I stand, I begin to move towards him, he's got the gems.

I take three steps before I'm being pulled back, feeling the nibble of teeth along the leg of my jeans. Kicking hard at them in a fight to shrug them off. Jaime comes skidding over. He lifts his leg up and over the creature and his boot comes down striking it in the face. Bloodied and battered, the creature still reaches for me, no matter how many times Jaime strikes him, he's refusing to give up.

The tip of its teeth grazes the skin below my sock line. I wait for the impact, for it to kill me, but seconds later it stills, it's face distorted and dismantled from Jaime's boots.

He grabs me in his arms, holding on tight.

"I have to do this now, give me the gems."

He hesitates again, but finally, after a few seconds, hands me both his ring, and the piece of the necklace.

"You should - you should stay here."

"No, are you fucking crazy. I'm going with you. I'm going to hold your hand. I'm not letting you die alone."

"But what if - what if there's some kind of charge that kills you too?"

"So be it. I've got nobody, Nore. My family is gone, and while it may look like I have friends, I'm not close to anyone. You - you're the only person that matters to me. Please. Let me be by your side."

He's not going to let it go, so I tug him along. We wade through the shallow waters to the other side of the bridge. The rickety old bridge barely looks safe to drive over. The stones are chipping, there's pieces missing, and it looks so unsteady.

The sun has nearly risen now as we creep closer to the spot underneath. Not even the birds that sing their morning wake up song are singing. There's a heavy tension in the air as we stop in front of two holes.

I unclasp the small cocoon around the gem in the necklace, then the ring. It's easy to take out, like they weren't fully set inside. Throwing the ring and the cocoon aside, I check for the missing spot in the wall.

As I turn for the bridge, I stop and spin towards Jaime, finally giving him the kiss. The one we were supposed to have in the car. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I press myself against him and get one taste before pulling away and walking to my death.

Within a few steps I'm there. I glance only once over my shoulder before lifting both hands to the spot. As I touch the stone, two warm gentle hands are placed over mine. I try to push back, but it's too late, he uses all the force he has to push them against the wall with me. An explosion rattles through my body. It's loud enough to make everything quiet. I know I'm screaming, but I can't hear it.

Flying backwards we're both tossed right out of there. The bridge shakes. As cracks begin to form my eyes land on Jaime. He's lying too close to it. Pieces are crumbling right before my eyes. How am I still alive? Just above him the bridge buckles and the ground shakes.

"JAIME!"

Getting to my feet, allowing the adrenalin to kick in, I push myself. Grasping him in my arms I tug and pull. The pieces of stone are crumbling down around us as I pull Jaime's lifeless unmoving body away. I'm not quick enough to avoid the backlash of the crash. As all the pieces hit the ground, we're surrounded by dust, debris, and water rushing to the shore.

I cover him with my body and wait, wait for it to all be over. It feels like an eternity before the earth stops shaking under me, and before my weakened body can move.

I scream his name again. Tears blinding my vision. Resting my ear against his chest I find nothing, he's not breathing. Not at all. I know CPR. It's been a while. I can bring him back. I have to. With my mouth on his, I make my move. I'm not even sure I'm doing it right. He's not responding, not moving. His lips are cold. His body too.

I'm sobbing, and attempting to fill his lungs with air, but nothing is working.

"Please, Jaime," I squeak. "It was supposed to be me. Not you! Not you."

I try again, and again. Until the world spins. I'm so dizzy, so tired, using up all of my energy to save him. But I can't. I fling myself over his body. Holding him to my chest. My sobs shake both of us.

"I don't want to lose anyone else. Please."

I don't know who I'm begging. Jaime. God. My parents. I don't even know. His face has bruises, his arms are cut up, and his lips. They're blue. He's gone.

There's rustling in the leaves behind me. I spin, holding Jaime tight. I won't let anything hurt him, even though he's gone.

"Who's there?"

Again, the crinkling, and not a person in sight. A slight breeze picks up, maybe it's just the wind. The morning birds start their song, and the gray clouds over the sun clear, fog rises and dissipates. And the rustling continues.

"Show yourself." I say, gritting my teeth.

A man does. He stands at the edge of the hill leading down to where we are. He's got something about him that feels oddly familiar. Maybe it's the slight red inside of his emerald eyes. "Jaime?" I whisper.

The man slowly moves down the hill carefully so as not to fall. There's something eerie about him, like maybe he's not quite alive. I don't think he's a daywalker. He's got this gray aura surrounding him. Maybe I'm the one who's dead.

"No. Not Jaime. Trent. Trent Donovan."

He's just as tall, if not taller than Jaime.

"Trent?"

"His dad."

Slack Jawed I stare at him. "But you're..."

"I am. Don't look so surprised. Jaime's okay."

"But he's not.." I glance down at him, his chest moving. I swore it wasn't a second ago. I hold on tighter.

"How are you here?"

"I felt a tug, had to come check on him. It wasn't in his time. Take care of him will ya? Your mom and dad are proud of you."

"So, you're telling me ghosts exist?"

"Not ghosts, nightwalkers."

I blink. "Where are they?"

Looking around I try to find them. "The curse is broken. The nightwalkers are gone. The daywalkers are gone. I only have a few minutes to spare, but I had to meet the woman who saved us. When you were born Billy never shut up about you. You were the light of his life."

That makes me smile, despite the circumstances.

"So, what now? Will we just go back to living a normal life?"

He nods. "Live day by day. Don't worry about the future. You've got one now."

I sneak a peek at Jaimie. His lips are pink again, his breathing somewhat normal. He moans, and his eyes begin to flutter.

Glancing up, I start to talk. "But I..." Trent is no longer there.

I blink several times. My eyes are burning from the bright sunlight shining down on me. I'm flat on my back staring up at the clear blue sky.

"Jaime!"

Scurrying off my back, and onto all fours, I find him next to me, breathing. My attention lands on the bridge, it's destroyed, but – was I? Confusion hits me like a ton of bricks. What just happened? I swore I saw... but when I looked there's no one there.

"Nore?" Jaimie says, voice strangled.

My eyes meet his, and I breathe for what feels like the first time in hours.

"I'm here, Jaime. We did it. We're both here, both alive." My lips tremble, as he reaches up, holding my face in his hand.

With the other hand he pulls me down onto him, holding me, but cringes, so I pull away.

"Ow. My fucking ribs hurt."

"Don't move, okay? I think they're coming for us."

"What happened?"

Sirens wail in the distance, moving closer by the second. I wonder just how loud the explosion was. Must have been enough to send out help.

"I don't even know." A laugh pours from me. It's another half-cry half-laugh thing, and I don't even know why.

"I could wake up to that smile every day."

My cheeks hurt from the pull on my lips.

"I'm just glad we're okay."

"Me too." He grunts, wincing in pain again.

"Your head," he says, lifting his hand a bit higher. I feel in the spot he reaches for, and sticky goo wets my hand. "That's gonna need some stitches."

My ears ring with the sounds of the sirens as they close in on the bridge stopping beside my car.

"Hold tight. I'm gonna flag them down."

I slip away and yell with everything I've got. An officer standing across the way, waves back. I get down on my knees, hold my head in my hands and sob. It's over. We're okay. Now it's time to rebuild our lives, celebrate the ones who have been taken from us, and give them a proper send off.