Martin groaned, his head whirled and his vision seemed blurred. He suddenly felt wide awake as his memory came back with throbbing head pain. His eyes seemed teary as he sat down and stared at the bookshelf in front of him. Chills traveled down his spine as he thought about the last time he saw his best friend more than ten years ago.

It was late spring, and Martin studied for his last exams. He tried to be quiet since his parents were asleep. A loud knock on Martin's bedroom window startled him. Martin looked around for a moment, to make sure the knock didn't wake up his parents. He soon traveled to open the window.

Hayden squatted on the ledge of the roof, and a wide smile adorned his face. Martin moved aside and Hayden climbed into the room. Hayden took off his hoodie hood and scanned the room.

"Still studying?" Hayden asked, looking at Martin's desk.

Books and notebooks covered the wooden desk. The room seemed dark, just a desk lamp and Martin's laptop giving slight visibility to the space.

"Next exam is tomorrow," Martin reminded him. "And it's not going so well." He shook his head.

"You need a break," Hayden said with a laugh.

"Keep it quiet," Martin said, looking around.

"Right," Hayden agreed. "Bedtime," he added, smiling. "Let's go to the woods." Hayden raised his brow.

"Exam is tomorrow like I said," Martin pointed out. "I can't go today."

"But it's my last night of freedom." Hayden stepped closer to Martin. "We won't stay for long," he said, gripping Martin's shoulder. "My last night, Martin," Hayden repeated, joggling Martin's shoulder.

"Fine," Martin agreed, looking at his friend. "Just for an hour." He squinted his eyes.

"That's my man," Hayden whisper-shouted.

"Keep it quiet," Martin reminded him and took the sweater from the backrest of the chair. "Or we won't go anywhere, anytime soon." His brow lifted suggestively.

Hayden nodded, his chin-length hair falling to his face, brushing against his square chin. He combed them back with his hand as Martin put on his sweater.

Moments later, the guys climbed down over the window and stood on the roof ledge. They roamed the ledge and soon reached the ladder. At this point, they appeared experts in roof climbing. Martin would often sneak out during the night, and often Hayden was the one who encouraged him to act that way. They climbed down the ladder and ran across the street to Hayden's car.

They soon reached the old cemetery. The place for most people seemed creepy, but Martin and his friends would come there often. There were old gravestones in the middle of the forest and people avoided going there, hearing rumors it was haunted. For the group, the place seemed perfect to test their magic and fool around with newly discovered spells.

Soon the guys reached their favorite spot. It was held at the back of the graveyard, and it seemed even more secluded than the rest of the cemetery. They squatted on the ground, Martin bent his back to the old gravestone and looked up at the sky. The Milky Way remained visible and a pine tree smell reached him as the wind swirled around.

"It will be fine," Martin said, lowering his gaze and looking at Hayden.

"I know," Hayden agreed with a nod. "But things will change and you know I never wanted this." He unzipped his backpack.

"It's strange how a big part of our lives was aligned before we were born," Martin said, taking a beer can from Hayden.

"Yeah," Hayden agreed, opening the beer can. "I would just leave with Kennedy and we would travel and see the world," he added and sipped the beverage.

"Is she still going away?" Martin asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"She will," Hayden agreed. "But we are strong and we will make it," he added. "Although I don't know if she will want to be in this position long term," Hayden continued, sipping the beer.

"Being a wife of the head of the coven has its perks," Martin pointed out. "But it also has a lot of responsibilities, and K doesn't want to be bound to Anchorage." He rubbed his chin.

"That is why I wish I could just leave," Hayden said in a slumber tone.

A new sound soon appeared as the guys continued to talk. Hushed whispers soon turned to familiar voices as Kennedy and Dylan emerged from behind the trees.

"Got room for two more?" Dylan asked with a laugh.

"How did you know we are here?" Martin asked, looking at Dylan.

"I invited him," Kennedy said, squatting in between Hayden's legs. "Hi baby," she said, bending her back to Hayden's chest and kissing his cheek.

"Hi baby," Hayden said, kissing her neck as Kennedy turned her head back to the group.

The group continued the chatter and drinking beer. As the first rays of the sun appeared, they felt dizzy and started to pick up their things. Martin, Kennedy, and Dylan had exams in a few hours and needed to rest.

The group decided to take a different route and moved toward the broken fence at the back of the cemetery. They cut the walk short as three people emerged from the depths of the forest. Helena quickly reached the group as two guys from the coven stayed behind, near the fence.

"I thought I might find you here," Helena said in a harsh tone, looking at Hayden. "Coronationem is today and you are wasting your time, drinking beer," she added, scanning the empty beer cans on the ground.

"Give me a break," Hayden said, picking up the cans and stuffing them into his backpack. "It's my last night."

"Exactly," Helena agreed. "And you supposed to brush on your knowledge of rules and spells and not waste your time," she added and looked at Kennedy. "I thought you knew how important this is and yet you let him do this," she applied to Kennedy, motioning toward Hayden.

"He knows everything already," Kennedy said. "And he can do what he wants." She raised her eyebrow. "He is head of the coven."

"Not yet," Helena mumbled through her gritted teeth.

Two guys slowly moved toward the group. Martin scanned them, they seemed pale. One guy named Noah stepped closer to Kennedy. His Adam's apple moved as he halted near the group. Martin glanced at Hayden. He picked up the last can and tossed it into his backpack. Helena nodded her head, looking at Noah and another guy named Alex.

"Prohibere," the guys said in unison.

Martin felt stuck. Looking around, he realized Kennedy and Dylan were in the same position. Since the guys used the spell, which takes away the ability to move. Seemingly the spell was used just on the trio. Hayden lifted his head and stared at Helena.

"What the hell is this?" Hayden asked, standing up. "You can't use spells just because people don't agree with you," he added, moving closer to his sister. "Cancel the spell," he said to the two guys. They stood silently, looking at the ground. "Alex, Noah," he said to the guys. "This will have serious consequences," Hayden pointed out in a harsh tone.

"I wish there was another way, brother," Helena said, as Hayden reached her. "But there is not," she added, pulling out a dagger from her coat pocket.

Everything unfolded fast. Hayden walked closer to his younger sister as she gripped the golden handle of the dagger. He squinted his eyes, his nostrils widened from the visible anger. Helena smirked at his reaction, stretching out her hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice came out as a gust of wind as the dagger sunk into his chest.

"Hayden," Martin yelled as Hayden walked backward.

Noah and Alex stood still, their glances still stuck on the mossy ground. Martin, Dylan, and Kennedy couldn't move. The only thing they could do was yell and watch as Hayden dropped to the ground.

"Now," Helena said, turning to the yelling trio. "This is once more unavoidable," she said, taking out a folded paper sheet from her pocket. "I will see you soon," she pressed the lighter. "Obliviscatur," she said as the paper caught on fire.

Martin blinked a few times from the memory of Hayden's death. He looked to his left and observed Kennedy and Dylan. The pair studied the box which stood on the wooden table. He realized the purpose of this visit immediately. And even though he wished to help and get Hayden back, his mind held elsewhere.

"I have to go home," Martin said, standing up from the concrete flooring.

"Don't stand up too quickly," Dylan warned him, stepping closer. "Let me help." He stretched his hands toward Martin.

"I'm fine," Martin said, standing up. "I need to go."

Kennedy moved closer to them. "We will go home soon," she reassured Martin.

"You don't understand!" Martin yelled, his heartbeats held fast. "Helena is dating Lydia." His tone dropped down a note. "Which means Stacie is in danger."

"How long?" Kennedy asked, glancing at Dylan.

"Around two years, I think," Martin replied, rubbing his chin.

"So Stacie is fine," Kennedy said, going back to the table. "Helena probably kept tabs on you for a while."

"Right," Martin agreed, looking at Kennedy as she picked the box. "You opened the box?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"I will let K, explain that," Dylan said.

"Right," Martin agreed. "I just have one question: what the fuck happened?"

"Which part?" Kennedy asked, traveling toward the stairs. "We should go." She stepped on the metal tread.

"So both of you remember everything," Martin said, following Kenedy. "How?"

"It's a long story," Kennedy said, glancing over her shoulder.

"I got my memory back just last night," Dylan said, turning off the light as the group reached the top of the stairs.

"So, K got it back first," Martin concluded. "That is why we are here," he continued as Dylan closed the bunker door. "Missed us, my ass. You could've just told us without all of this."

"The only reason you are here is that I needed you to open the box," Kennedy said, traveling up the cave.

Martin paused and looked at his finger. "Seriously?" he asked, seeing dried blood on his finger.

"We needed to check if the crown was there," Kennedy explained.

Soon they walked out of the caves. The sun was setting behind the mountains and the area seemed colder as a harsh wind blew. Martin bypassed Kennedy and walked toward the same path they came here. Although he could see the logic behind Kennedy's words, he wanted to know if Stacie was okay. He rushed from the ravine, taking out his phone. The phone reception bars didn't appear. He rushed further up the forest pathway, toward the cabin.

He could hear Dylans and Kennedy's pleading to wait for them, but his mind held elsewhere. The walk back to the cabin felt shorter, Martin went straight to his car. He pulled out his keys and hopped into the driver's seat. Soon he left the cabin behind and drove down a snowy road toward home. Halfway through his drive, he remembered his bag back at the cabin. Considering his phone didn't work, his priority remained with his wife.

The driveway of his house held occupied by Lydia's car, therefore Martin stopped by the side curve. A Lexus parked behind Martin's truck as he stepped out of the car.

"You can't just take off like that!" Dylan yelled. "You were driving like a maniac." He appeared out of breath.

"I have a nice life, and I won't let Helena screw that up," Martin said, moving toward the house.

"We can help," Kenedy said, forcing Martin to stop.

Martin stared at them for a moment. He realized they probably lost each other because of Helena. Sometimes it felt strange that they lost physical connection, but Martin always felt close to them, despite the time and distance between them. He wondered which memories he had were real and which were made up by Helena and the spell.

"I know," Martin agreed.

Kennedy stepped closer to him, Dylan stood slightly behind her, starting at Martin's house.

"I'm sorry," Kennedy said, taking out the folded paper from her jacket pocket. "It's safer for you this way. Obliviscatur," she said, lighting the paper.

Martin blinked five times. He stood near his house. He felt the urge to go inside but seemed unsure why. All he could remember he had a great time with his childhood friends, and they cut the weekend short because of Kennedy's work and went their separate ways.