Alis's clouded eyes narrow, her body thrashing as her raw throat throws off gruntle screams in my direction. Despite the blood dripping down her face from her injury, she seems as strong as ever. 

    Footsteps echo in the house but I can't peel my eyes away from Alis. The rough taps of feet stop by my side, brunette locks entering my peripheral as Thomas crouches beside my chair. I slowly turn my eyes away from my sister, looking down at him.

    "You sure about this?" He asks softly, reaching his hand out to softly lay it on top of mine. I look down at our joined limbs, feeling the chill of his body on my warm skin.

    Nodding, I meet his eyes once more, "I know she's a complete bitch but, she's sacrificed her whole life for me. It's my turn,"

    "You don't have to explain yourself, Mic. I just want to make sure you don't make a choice you'll regret," He smiles softly, looking over every inch of my face. "It's ready for you,"

    I nod, slipping my hand from his as I get out of my chair. I don't feel nervous about possibly dying in the next ten minutes, I feel more nervous about the fact that I might wake up as one of them. No matter how much I've been forced to warm up to their kind, I wouldn't be able to accept myself as one of them. 

    Thomas follows close behind me, our path towards the staircase interrupted by the front door opening. Turning to the red frame, my eyes narrow in confusion as Levi steps into the house and closes the door behind him.

    "What are you doing here?" I ask, my brows furrowed at his sudden appearance. 

    "Tommy called me," He juts his chin out towards the male beside me before turning back to me, "He told me what's going on and suggested I watch Alis while you.... y'know... die,"

    "Good idea," Alex joins the conversation, jogging down the steps until he falls into line beside me. "No offence, Mic. But, I don't really want to watch you drown so, I think I'll stay down here,"

    "Very supportive of you," I mutter sarcastically, turning my back to all three of them and heading up the stairs. I hear Thomas follow after me, now left alone with the task of drowning me and bringing me back to life. It's the only death we can think of that actually has a chance of bringing me back to life without doctors or leaving permanent damage on my body.  

    The second I get to the top of the staircase, the soft drip of the bath greets me all the way from the bathroom. I look towards the wooden door, my mouth drying at all the thoughts swirling in my head. 

    "Don't overthink it," Tommy leans to whisper into my ear, my head turning to make eye contact with him before he takes off towards the bathroom. I swallow, attempting to soothe my dry throat as I ball my fists and follow after him. 

    The door creaks as I push it open further, entering my bathroom to see the bathtub filled to the brim with clear water and fresh ice cubes floating on every inch of the surface. I can feel the chill of them even from here, my arms raising in goosebumps the longer I stand in the room. Thomas sets towels around the tub, turning over his shoulder as I click the door shut behind me. 

    "You ever done CPR before?" I ask, pulling my shirt over my head and leaving me in a black tank top. He pushes himself up from his knees, taking the clothing from me and setting it on the shelves behind him. 

    "I was actually a lifeguard one summer so, I'm certified," He offers a piece of information, presumably to distract me from the chilly air. I smile at the image of him on that lifeguard chair in red swim shorts, telling kids to stop running near the pool. 

    "Being certified is one thing, experience is another," I reply, moving to unbuckle the belt of my jeans. I flick my eyes up, noticing how he watches my movements. He finally makes eye contact with me as I grin, pulling my belt from the loops. "I'm trusting you with my life here,"

    "I know," He agrees, holding eye contact with me as I shimmy out of my jeans. The faster I get cold, the better. 

    Approaching the bath, Thomas holds a hand out to help me step into the ice-cold bath. The second I do, the chill takes my breath away, all the air leaving my lungs in the form of a gasp. Both of my feet enter the cold water, the ice hitting against my legs. 

    "Why did you still play football? It's kinda pointless isn't it?" I ask through a chattering jaw, trying to find a distraction from the painful chill pinching my legs. My teeth continue to hit as I slowly lower into the bath. 

    "I don't know," He smiles softly, still holding onto my arm as I sit fully in the water. "I had a scholarship before I turned, one I lost. I was going to finally get away from my Dad and Brother. I guess playing was a way for me to remind myself I wasn't trapped and that I wasn't always this thing. It's stupid, I don't play anymore and don't think I ever will. Truthfully, I never really liked it,"

    "Before I... became a hunter," My words break apart as my jaw continues to shake, my body sending painful stabs all across my skin, "We used to have a family movie night... the first Friday of the month... before church. We're not... much of a family... now but, we still, we still keep that tradition going," 

    "I'm really sorry about what happened to you, Michaela," He says softly, his fingers pressed on my wrist as he continues to check my pulse. "You didn't deserve that,"

    I stay silent for a moment, my wrist shaking in his hold as my eyes search his face for the answers to all my questions. After another stretch of silence, I shake my head, "Neither did you,"

   He knows that I'm referring to his family. No matter how different our circumstances are, both of us were led down a path because of the choices of our families, our own lives stripped away from us in honour of our last names. Sometimes, when I look at him, it's like looking deep within my own soul to the person I could have been if I let her free. Now, it's too late for that. 

    "Do you remember... when you said I was good?" I ask quietly, feeling my body slowly relax into the water. He nods, his eyes focus down at his watch as he feels my pulse. "I never- I never felt good until I started helping you," 

    My words seem to throw him off, his head whipping up to meet my eyes. Maybe it was the context of what I said, or maybe it was how I said it, laced with vulnerability and truth. He smiles sadly at me as he removes his hand from my wrist, "Y'know, as funny as it sounds, you make me feel a little less like a monster. If someone like you who hates my kind so much can look past what I am and just see me then, I must not be so awful after all,"

    "Man, I must be the world's worst hunter," I grin, leaning back as he laughs at my attempt at a joke. My jaw continues to rattle as he bites into his wrist, holding it out in front of my face.

    "Drink up. If I don't bring you back in time it'll be too late to give it to you then," He insists, leaving no room for argument. This is the part of the plan that I hate the most, the part where I could wake up with an insatiable hunger for human blood. But, that was the deal I made. Besides, If I died, who would be there to take care of Lei?

    So, I lean forward and wrap my lips around his closing wound, drinking a mouthful of his supernatural blood. I lean my head back against the tub, swallowing the bitter liquid as he wipes the excess on his jeans. 

    The bathroom door bursts open, Alex steps in and shuts it behind him. My heart drops, thinking something has happened to Alis or Levi as Alex kneels down beside Thomas. 

    "On second thought, it would be a dick move to let you die up here without me, even for a second," He explains, his brows scrunching in concern as he looks over my shaking frame. I smile at my best friend in the form of the thanks I can't muster the energy to say out loud.

    "Well, here goes nothing," Thomas breaks the silence, pushing himself up slightly as he reaches for the top of my head. He hesitates, looking at me one last time for confirmation. I nod, letting him know I haven't changed my mind before he pushes my head downwards and all my senses are submerged in icy cold water. 

    I feel my flight or fight instincts kick in, my body only slightly thrashing around due to my lowered heart rate. The ice water makes me feel weaker, the ice cubes blocking any clear view of above water. I feel Thomas's hand still on the top of my head, holding me underneath the splashing water. 

    The pressure in my head only gets stronger, forcing my heavy eyes closed and my body to slow down until I feel myself fall weaker and weaker. And then, nothing.

   The cold chill leaves my body, and nothing but warmth and tingling overcome my skin. My skin feels dry, and my legs and arms are covered in soft material as I finally open my eyes. Nothing but darkness surrounds me, upon turning down to my feet, I discover my feet are settled on nothing but a void. 

    Is this what being dead is? Nothing but a liminal space? Or have I not been dead long enough to reach the final destination?

    Turning around, my eyes come in contact with a white door, a small semi-circle window split into three sitting calmly before me. The bright white of the door is a vast contrast from the darkness of everything else.

    My heart leaps, my brain digging up memories of that very door. I haven't seen it in so long. 

    My legs move before I can register them, almost like my innermost being was pulling me to that door, longing for what lies behind it. My hands reach for the doorknob, turning until I hear a click and pushing it open. Stepping in, I close the door behind me and look around my childhood home. 

    The air is sucked out of my lungs at the scene before me, the scene that has played out so many times in my head now, once again, in front of my very eyes. From my position at the front door, I watch as a little girl with big eyes enters the kitchen, looking down at her feet. 

    I can't bring myself to turn the corner and see the whole scene, only watching through the younger me's eyes as they widen in horror. I could describe the details of the incident even without seeing it, but nothing can prepare you for seeing your parents die twice. 

    I have to be seeing this for a reason, my subconscious is shoving me here not to torture me but to help me. 

    I watch as Alis runs towards me, younger me and little Leila in her arms before she brushes past me and disappears into the void. Swallowing hard, I round the corner and almost immediately step into a puddle of blood. 

    My parents lie face down on the tiles, their blood staining the floor and my bare feet. The man who killed them stands over them, looking down at his victims from the shadows as he licks his lips. My fists ball until my knuckles are white, a carefully crafted stake magically appearing in one hand. I hold it up in front of me, inspecting it before turning back to the man.

    He's too distracted by my parents, wiping the blood from his face and onto his tongue like a snake. My teeth grind, the stake lifting in the air as I charge towards him and land the weapon into his chest. The man looks at me, the first person to acknowledge me as his eyes water in pain. 

    Familiar green eyes stare back at me, eyes that my soul knows but my brain can't remind me of where they come from. My eyes lift to his forehead, a scar across his temple to the middle of his forehead catching my interest. I never noticed that before. 

    I look back into his green irises, his skin cracking and turning to dust as I hold the stake in his chest. The more he cracks and fades, the more my surroundings follow it until everything around me blows away in a fake wind. 

    Blinking, I open my eyes to another familiar surroundings. The sun hits my eyes, directing them towards a headstone in front of me.

    Mikael Joseph Reid and Maribel Claire Reid.

    The inscription underneath their names tugs at my heart, a phrase I never paid much attention to since I hate visiting their grave at all: You will know the truth and the truth will set you free - John 8:23. One of my parent's favourite bible verses, the one they lived by in their line of work. They always felt knowing about the truth of the universe allowed them to be free from the what-ifs, not that it did much for them in the end.

    My eyes widen the credit to which verse tugging at a recent memory. 

    "John 8:32. You're a hunter, that should be clear enough for you," Lance adds into the conversation, looking at me with a certain spark of excitement in his eyes.

    How could he know what that means? Another stupid cryptic message. What I do know is, he seemed pretty smug when he dropped that piece of information. 

    I have to go back to the graveyard. 

    Almost as if on cue, everything around me fades to dust once more. Looking down at my hands, the tips of my fingers slowly turn to ash and blow away.

    Within seconds, I feel the air being forced into my lungs, a warmth on my lips leaving as I sit up in my bathroom and turn to my side, spewing water from my lungs onto the towels set down by Thomas. Tommy sits over me, water covering his body from presumably dragging me out of the bath and giving me CPR/mouth-to-mouth. 

    I cough some more, my chest sharp in pain as Thomas rubs my back in comfort. Finally finishing, I rest my heavy head on the nearest thing, Thoma's lap and close my eyes as I focus on sucking in air and releasing it. 

    Alex reappears beside me, dropping warm towels over my body and rubbing it up and down my arms. My jaw continues to chatter, the warmth leaving my body. 

    "Did it work?" I ask through cracks in my horse throat, looking at Alex in hope.

    "Yeah, it worked," He nods, laughing as he leans and pushes my wet hair out of my face. I laugh alongside him in relief, his cold hands feeling warm in comparison to my skin, "You crazy bitch,"

    I reach my shaking hands up, feeling my neck for a pulse, sighing in relief when I feel it beating beneath my fingertips. I'm still human. 

    The door swings open once more, allowing Levi to enter without closing the door behind him. He sighs in relief when he sees me awake before crouching down beside me, "You are so stupid, Mic,"

    "It worked, didn't it?" I smile, slowly pushing myself up to sit, my head leaving Thomas's lap.

    Thomas clears his throat, looking at Levi as he speaks up, "Alis okay?"

    "She's fine, she's passed out. The deeper the compulsion, the longer it takes her body to kick it out," Levi responds, directing the last part of the information towards Alex and I. In all the commotion, I forgot that Alex doesn't really know anything about Vampires. I have to give him the rundown soon.

    "So..." Alex starts, looking at me with a grin, "How was being dead?"

    "Actually, I think Thomas's Dad gave me a clue," I respond, turning my eyes towards the male in question, "We need to go to the graveyard,"

    "You sure you want to trust a clue from him?" Thomas asks. I nod, communicating with him silently that, although Lance is questionable, I trust this one piece of information. Thomas returns the nod. "Alright, we'll go whenever you're ready,"

    "I'm ready now," I announce, pushing myself to my feet and letting the towel fall to the ground.