There were four people, Lydia saw, no, five... six? Including her? Lydia couldn't tell. Everything was swimming in blood red jello for her, it was like she was caught in a goo monster, and she couldn't move, breath, talk or listen.

Everything was fuzzy, her thoughts, her vision...like she had been asleep and she hadn't quite woken up yet. Lydia felt an urge to nod, or to do anything.

But she couldn't

She didn't know where she was, just she did know that the air around her was crackling with anger and anxiety. It crawled up Lydia's arms and slithered down her back and she wanted to shiver to make it all go away. At least she wasn't walking anymore. Why had she been walking?

Huh? Was someone talking? Lydia strained herself, but other than a few whispers that she couldn't decipher, it all came out as white noise.

Lydia was tired.

Then there was something, a flare of anger deep in her stomach. It crackled throughout Lydia, through her body and to her fingertips, but she forced it back. She hated when that happened, it felt awful. Like something deep within her, an animal or something, was rearing back on its hind legs and striking out with terrible fury, ready to rip apart anything that came near.

Lydia didn't like it, which is why she tried to quell it. The first time she did it was instinct, but every time it flared up Lydia got better and better at stopping... whatever it was.

Hold on... what was that?

Lydia blinked, finally in control of a train of thought. There was a girl in front of her, and even though Lydia couldn't see her very well, she was sure she had never met her. She had blonde hair and a blue dress, Lydia noticed. Light blue.

And she was holding a crown. The prettiest crown Lydia has ever seen. It shown like it was the moon itself, like it was made up light, and Lydia felt warm and amazed just looking at it.

The girl was walking forward in a lumbering lurch that looked like she was hurt. Lydia wondered what happened, briefly, and then also wondered if she had done it.

But that was ridiculous. Why would she do that?

The girl finally stopped, right in front of Lydia. Her blurriness was not something based on perspective, Lydia finally realized, there was just something wrong with her vision.

But that didn't matter. A strong pull of longing in her chest was forcing Lydia towards the crown. She found herself thinking of her mother as she stared in the shiny reflection. But it wasn't Lydia that looked back.

There was a girl's face looking back, with blonde hair, slightly curled. Her eyes met with Lydia's, and they both reached for the crown.

Then Lydia stepped away, and all there was left was Carrie, looking up to the heavens in her prom queen crown. That was the last sight she saw before everything went black.