"Thank you for driving me home," I whispered while stepping out of the car.

"Let me help you walk to the door," Luke offered quietly.

"I'm fine, just go home," I answered while turning towards my house. All the lights in the house were off, the occasional flash of light from the living room suggesting my dad was up and watching tv yet again.

I let out a sigh and took an uneven step forward, immediately losing my footing and falling face first into the walkway. A slam resonated through the air, seconds later, Luke was helping me up.

Concern was obviously painted onto his face, his eyebrows raised slightly and his brown eyes holding a type of worry.

After a bit of struggling, he and I stood in the doorway. The black haired boy reached over and rang the doorbell, shifting uncomfortably.

"Be careful", Luke whispered right as the door swung open. In the doorway, a man holding a beer stood, slouching and leaning against the doorframe.

"Where the hell have you been Soulstice Smith," the man slurred drunkenly. I rolled my eyes at his use of my full name, then limped past him into the house, Luke following closely behind.

"I was in the nurse's office passed out cold, dad," I emphasized. His face contorted into an expression of anger, the grip on his beer bottle tightening.

In a matter of seconds, he threw the beer bottle to the floor in front of me. The bottle shattered upon contact, shards of glass scattering around the room.

"Clean this up, bitch," he spat before taking a step forward. As he walked closer, glass crunched under his sneakers, which may have been white at one point but were now closer to the color brown. I took an uneven breath, fear beginning to rise in my mind.

Luke stepped in front of me, blocking my dad from getting any closer. "Don't talk to her like that," he hissed angrily. I walked forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"It's fine," I whispered to him. My dad threw his head back and let out a laugh before grabbing another beer and walking into the living room.

The two of us quietly watch him leave, neither of us willing to say anything after the drunken display we'd just witnessed.

That's when I saw it, a black, smoke-like figure with red eyes, standing in the corner of the living room. My voice was caught in my throat and my hands began to tremble, fear taking control.

I quickly grabbed Luke's arm and ran out of the house, pulling him along with me. "Soul, what is it," he asked, refusing to continue running.

"In the car, now," I demanded, impatiently pulling at the car door. Luke shot me an odd look before unlocking the car, making his way to the driver's seat. As soon as he shut the door to the car, I locked it and let out a deep breath.

"Drive to your house, I'll explain on the way," I instructed while putting on my seatbelt. He nodded wordlessly and began to drive away. I watched as the view of my house disappeared as we drove further away.

It was dark now, the moon had risen and taken over the dark sky. Stars littered the sky, twinkling and shining like small flashlights that were too far away to completely see. I rolled down the window and sighed contently, I loved the night. It was calming to me, I was much more of a night owl than a morning person. "Can you explain what's going on now," Luke asked, breaking the peaceful silence.

"Yeah", I whispered. As the brown eyed boy drove, I explained to him what had happened, starting from the disappearing spray painted message on the lockers, to the shadowy figure I'd seen in my house.

He listened quietly, but I could tell he was still skeptical. When I finished explaining, he looked over at me and let out a long sigh. "Soul, you have to know this all seems crazy, right?" he asked while pulling into the driveway of his house.

"I know, but please, you have to believe me," I pleaded, looking out the window.

"If it really is true, you need to tell the rest of the group," Luke advised, turning off the engine of the car.

"I will, can I text them and tell them to meet us here," I asked while opening the car door and stepping out.

"Sure," he answered. I smiled slightly and took a deep breath, happy to have some fresh air. I stretched and walked around the driveway, waiting for Luke to open the backyard gate.

"Quietly, my parents are asleep," the brown eyed boy whispered. I followed him to the backyard, texting our group chat the code word for emergency meetings.

In a matter of minutes, five pairs of eager eyes were set upon me. I smiled uneasily and began to explain what was going on. When I finished, looks of concern and confusion were written on their faces.

"So that's what happened this morning," Cora spoke, breaking the silence. I nodded and looked away.

"I know, it sounds hard to believe, but I would never lie to you guys," I reasoned.

"Do you think it could have anything to do with your nightmares"," Amy asked, her light brown eyes lighting up at the thought.

"Could be," I admitted.

"You sure you couldn't have been imagining anything," Rose asked skeptically.

I nodded yet again, looking directly into her hazel eyes. She stood up, her dirty blonde hair whipping around in the breeze that had picked up. She quickly made her way over to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"We believe you," she whispered, tightening her grip on me. Rose let out a small whimper and loosened her grip.

"That thing you saw, it had smoke red eyes and a disfigured black body, right," she stuttered.

"That's what I said, why?" I asked.

She let go and backed away, pointing over to the trees. I whipped around and followed her gaze, spotting at least three different figures standing between the trees. I looked around and spotted at least fifteen more scattered in the forest, surrounding the six of us.
Rose let out a sigh of relief, brushing her hair from her blue eyes.

"They're gone, I must've been imagining it. I'm just being paranoid, ignore me," she justified, walking back to her spot in the circle we'd formed.
My mind raced, confusion overtaking my mind.

"You could see them when you were hugging Soul, right?" Amy asked while standing up. Rose nodded and sat down, leaning back on her hands.

Amy walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. She looked around, her light brown eyes glistening with curiosity and fear.

"Just as I thought," she began. I shot her a curious look, still wary of the figures hiding among the trees.

"Everyone come here, quickly," Amy ordered. The other four stood quickly and walked over to us. Amy took a deep breath and took one more look at the forest, taking her hand off of my shoulder. "All of you, grab hold of Soul," she demanded, expectantly watching the four of them.

Looks of confusion washed over the four of them. "Just do it," she pleaded. After another minute or so of hesitation, Cora walked closer and placed a hand on my shoulder, the rest following her example. Lastly, Amy grabbed onto my arm, her hand shaking unsteadily. "Look around," she instructed.

The five of them began to look around, sounds of distress and fear filling the air. "We can see them Soul, but only when we're in contact with you," Amy concluded. Surprised expressions washed over their faces, none of them taking their eyes off the shadow figures in the forest.

A single figure to my right took a step forward, raising its pitch black arm. The rest of the figures stood in place, staring at the six of us.

"Whatever you do, don't let go of me," I advised before slowly standing up.

Fear had completely disappeared, replaced by a sense of bravery and urgency. The human-like form started off towards me, its slow and unpredictable movements drawing everyone's attention.

"Soulstice," the figure spoke, its voice sending shivers down my spine. It came even closer and stood only inches away from me. "We've been looking for you", it added, its voice low, skipping, and glitching, as though it was recorded and played on a scratched CD.
I could feel my friends' grips tighten on my shoulder, some of them shaking.

"There's no need to do that," the figure said, a wicked looking smile taking over its face. It quickly raised its deformed arms, a blue light emitting from them.
"Let go of her," the figure instructed, its red eyes falling upon each of their hands laying on my shoulder or arm.

None of them moved, some from resistance and others were just frozen in fear. "It's okay, let go," I whispered reassuringly. Hesitantly, they slowly let go of me.

"Soul, we can still see them, what's going on," Allen asked, backing away slightly.

"There's no need for us to hide our existence from you if you already know about us," the figure explained, swaying from left to right.

The shadow figure suddenly snapped around towards the trees, signaling towards the others. All at once, they all came forward, surrounding Allen, Rose, Amy, Luke, Cora, and I.

"It's time for you to hand it over," the figure hissed, holding out a hand.

"Hand what over," I asked, backing away.

"Don't play stupid little girl, give us the necklace," the figure snarled, taking another step closer.

I looked down at my silver necklace and put my hand over it. I traced over the familiar indentions, the only thing I had when I was left at the orphanage. It was the reminder of my birth parents, whoever they were.

I didn't know why I still had it, I should hate my birth parents, they left me when I was just a baby. I was found at the steps of an orphanage with nothing but this necklace, my name engraved in cursive on the surface. Nevertheless, I'd worn the necklace since I was born, never once taking it off.

"Give it to me before I kill one of them," the figure threatened, pointing a finger towards my friends.

"Why do you want it," I questioned, attempting to stall long enough for me to come up with some type of plan. The figured laughed and snatched the necklace, snapping the chain with the force.

Rage overtook my body, my mind focused on nothing but the necklace. The rest of the world seemed to become a blur, all that mattered was getting the necklace back. The part of my skin where the necklace had laid began to burn, bringing tears to my eyes.

I clenched my fists and took a step forward, my mind racing. Allen and Luke tried to run past me to the figure, no doubt trying to get my necklace back.

I raised a hand and they froze in place. Cora, Rose, and Amy rushed over, attempting to make their way to the two boys. A laugh escaped my lips and I raised my other hand, freezing them in place too.

The figures look at the five of my friends, confused chatter filling the air. "Shut up," I demanded, bringing down both hands at once. In an instant, an eerie silence settled into the night.

"Give me back my necklace," I hissed, walking closer to the shadow figure which held my beloved necklace. The figure looked at me, then turned around and hit the closest tree.

The middle of the tree broke open, a blue light breaking through the bark. It glanced back at me one last time before stepping into the blue light and disappearing.

I let out a scream, a sudden excruciating pain washing over my body. I fell to the floor, tears streaming down my face. I looked down and saw what was causing the pain, a bright blue light had started to emit from the place where my necklace had once sat.

I screamed and cried continuously, my throat burning. The intensity of the blue light increased, the pain increasing with it.

A hand was placed on my shoulder, then another. Slowly, the pain seeped away. The pain was still present, but now at a much more bearable level. I glanced back, my eyes set on the five of my friends, wincing as a blue light emitted from their bodies.

"Let go," I demanded, realizing that they were the cause of the slight pain relief. Their faces contorted in expressions of pain yet none of them moved. As the blue light continued getting brighter and brighter, the pain seemed to reach a new level.

"Please," I begged, trying to crawl out of their grip. My body was in too much pain, I couldn't move, and they wouldn't let go. Suddenly, the blue light became so harsh that I had to squeeze my eyes shut to shield them.

My mind began to spin, nausea slithering into my gut. An unimaginable pain spread through my mind, making it impossible for me to think straight. All at once, darkness enveloped my mind. I closed my eyes, giving into the darkness.

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Author's Note

I don't really know how I feel about this chapter. I tried though, sorry if it doesn't make much sense.

Anyways, it's pretty late and I should probably be sleeping.

That's all for now, vaarwel~ <3