*Alex walked slowly across the rolling hills, where he saw two people in long, black military trench coats. Above him, the sky rumbled with the wind picking up leaves. Grey and ashen overcast rolled over in the horizon.
Stepping past numerous gravestones, he finally made it where an older woman, whose face was covered in a black veil, and a man stood, their gazes fixed out at the horizon. He gave each of them a moment to recognize their faces, but nothing registered. The woman drew the black veil back then turned around to him, revealing puffy eyes; sorrow was evident on her face.
“Why are you alive and she’s not?” the woman asked, her voice filled with grief. She pointed down at the newly dug grave that suddenly appeared right before them.
Alex unexpectedly felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He lifted his eyes to the headstone and saw a name written on the marble. But the name didn’t even register to him.
“Are you happy now?” It was the man who asked him this time. “We are mourning our daughter because of you.”
Alex stared at the name. He felt a burning sensation at the back of his eyes like he was about to cry, but not a single tear had dropped.
“Her death is all on you! You should be ashamed of yourself," the woman said indignantly.
He opened his mouth to reply, but the words were lost on his lips. He looked to his left and noticed the man standing next to him was giving him a cold, hard glare.
“**He** was wrong. You are selfish and vile. You don’t deserve to live," the man told him.
“I don’t understand any of this," Alex choked out when his voice finally came back to him. "Who are you, people?"
“Do the right thing and surrender," the woman growled.
“Surrender? What do you mean? What did I do?" He spun around and saw a beautiful woman standing behind him. Her skin was cadaverous, eyes a flaming amber. "Who are you?"
The woman took a step toward him. “Tell me where you are, my love.”
Alex took a careful step back, confused by what all of these three people were asking him. "I don’t know any of you. I don’t know what you from me," he desperately said, raising a hand to warn them. “Don’t come any closer.”
“Our daughter is suffering because of what you did. Do the right thing and surrender now," the older woman spoke, her voice rising slightly.
“I'm sorry! I don’t know you, and I don’t have any idea what it is that I have done to your daughter,” Alex told her brokenly.
“Of course, you do!" the man exclaimed loudly. He advanced angrily toward him, making him step back hastily toward the grave. “My daughter is suffering because of your defiance and complete disregard of the law," the man added menacingly.
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m sorry!"
“You are supposed to protect me, my love. Why have you forsaken me?" the beautiful, pale woman asked. Tears started to trickle down her pallid cheek.
The older man grabbed Alex’s shoulder hard and forced him to his knees.
“Surrender now!” he bellowed, gripping his shoulder even harder.
Alex shook and cried out in pain. “I’m so sorry, but I really don’t anyone know any of you. I don’t have any idea what I have done to you. Or to your daughter.”
“Surrender now!"
“Come back to me, my love.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Alex looked up at the pale woman and how her fangs had suddenly grown longer. He turned to the man and saw his luminous red eyes. The older woman's pair of eyes went red, too, while her fangs grew longer and sharper.
“Surrender now!” He listened to their demand as he was roughly turned around to face the grave by the man’ who still had a painful grip on his shoulder. All of a sudden, the sky roared, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, which was immediately followed by a loud crack of thunder. Soon, a heavy downpour pelted on all four of them.
The old woman leaned in close to Alex’s ear, "Tell me where you are..." she whispered tightly. “Do the right thing and tell me where you are.”
Alex looked up at her, the rain getting in his eyes. She leaned down, bringing her mouth close to his ear. "Where are you? Tell me..."
He looked around. “I’m in a field…”
“No. Not in this place. Tell me where were you before you got here.”
He tried to think then shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Think! Focus! Where were you before you got here?”
He struggled in the man’s grip. “I don’t―”
“She’s waiting for you. Tell me where you are.”
Alex swallowed hard, then stared hard at the horizon.”
“Envision it. Where were you then…”
“I was…”
“Yes?”
“I was in a car…”
“Going where?”
His eyes squinted as if reading something that was out of focus. “There’s a…a sign.”
“What sign?”
“A neon―”
But before Alex could finish his word, a rotting hand with an inhumanely strong grip grabbed at his ankle and pulled him into the grave.*
"Nooo!" Alex screamed and shot up in his bed. He was drenched with sweat, and his legs were tangled in the bedsheets. He placed his hand over his heart that was hammering in his chest. His frantic eyes looked around and realized he was in back in the second motel room he and Harper had slept in the night before.
He took a deep and long breath of relief and ran his fingers through his hair with shaky hands. He took a moment to regulate his breathing. Then he sighed to himself. *Another damn nightmare!*
After a moment, he looked towards the other bed that Harper had slept in instead of sharing the same bed. It was now empty. Sighing, he eased himself back down onto his bed and looked at the clock on the wall. It read 8:30 am.
They arrived at the motel late. Both of them were tired, and all he remembered was dumping their bags by a rickety table. He remembered Harper saying something about some news about tourists being mauled some large animal. She soon fell asleep while trying to finish her second slice of pizza. He must have drifted off, too, because he couldn’t remember anything after that.
* * *
“What do you exactly mean dad no longer lives with you?”
Harper let herself out of the room and found a peaceful corner in the hallway of the motel, and had tried calling Lucas again. His phone rang several times before the call was again sent to voicemail. She wanted to leave a message, but she cleverly thought it was safe if she’d directly speak to him. With him not answering any of her phone calls, she was starting to think that something could be up.
She let out a dejected sigh as she dragged her free hand down her face. She had then decided to call home instead. Her mother had answered her on the third ring. She had wanted to surprise her mom by telling her she was coming home―with a man. But, she got the shock of her life instead, when her mother had told her that her father no longer lived there.
“I mean exactly that, Harper. Your father and I are no longer together.”
As soon as her mother further explained the recent development at home, her
face fell, and she shivered despite the woolen sweater she was wearing over her shirt.
“Did you guys fight over Baker Todd? I told you I’d take care of it.”
“Harper, just come home. Your father and I have been meaning to talk about this…”
It was one of those things that no one ever wanted to hear from anyone.
“About what, mom? Look, why don’t you tell dad to get his ass back at the house because I’m coming,” she said before she heard a sigh from her mother.
“Harper, he can’t.”
“What do you mean *he can’t*? When did he actually leave the house? Last week? Why didn’t you call me?”
“Harper…” her mother trailed off, then silence.
She held the phone against her ear, trying to listen to anything in the background that could provide her with any hints that her mother could be pulling a prank; that her dad was just right beside her, holding a laugh that was about to burst.
But nothing.
“Mom?”
Another sigh. “Harper…he left the house a year after you moved out.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” Harper’s voice quivered.
“I wish I am, sweetheart. Just come home.”
“But…where is dad now?” Her eyes moistened behind her glass.
“He’s back in Northampton.”
“With grandma?”
“Sweetheart…”
“Mom! Why didn’t you guys tell me?”
“I don’t know about your dad, but I didn’t want to worry you.”
“What about Baker Todd?” Harper was now anxiously pacing around the corridor.
“I’ve gone back to working again to buy it back it.”
She shook her head. “No. This isn’t happening.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
Her glasses had slipped down her nose slightly, so she pushed them back up in a practiced motion. “I need a moment.”
Without letting her mom say goodbye, Harper canceled the call. She walked back to the corner and slumped on the floor, sniffing, trying to suppress a cry. She took her moment and tried to recall any red flags in her parents’ marriage. But she couldn’t. There were no alarming signs. Her parents argued, but those were just typical arguments; some were even so petty that she wouldn’t think it would cost them their marriage.
But why?
She tried to think of any reasons when she received a text message from her father. She read it with a heavy heart.
**Harper, your mom told me you’re coming home. I’m sorry, but I left home. Why don’t you come to Northampton instead? Your grandma misses you so much.**
She shoved the phone back in her pocket. “Whatever, dad.”
She wrapped her arms around her knees, buried her face in her arms, and that’s when her body shook.
* * *
Alex stuck his head under the warm spray from the shower. He sighed at the relaxing effect of the water over his body, running a hand down his face. He felt at utter peace, and the nightmare had slowly beings washed away, flowing right down into the drainpipe.
*But who were those people?*
He tried to dig into his brain again to remember anything about the young woman, but his head started to pound, so he just let it go and continued with his shower. The water pelted his face as he stood entirely still for several minutes, letting the pressurized water do its work. He then grabbed for the soap and scrubbed his body from head to foot. Then he stayed under the shower for another couple of minutes until he was completely rinsed
When he was finally done and felt freshened up, he turned off the shower. Stepping out, he grabbed the fresh towel on the rack behind the shower curtain and dried himself off. He wrapped another towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom while trying to dry off his messy brown hair with the towel.
“You’re back,” he said and crossed the room to get some clothes from his back.
Standing by the door, Harper’s slightly puffy eyes wandered over his body before her mind came up with a short and faint reply. “Yeah.”
“Where did you go?”
“Are you always this possessively creepy?”
“Just a curious fiancé, I guess.”
“I went outside to call my mother,” Harper explained, eyes locked on the clock on the wall.
“Okay! I can’t wait to meet your mother. I hope seeing her would help me remember anything.”
Harper closed her eyes for a moment. “Change of plan.”
Alex looked over at her. “What do you mean?”
“We’re not going to my parents. I don’t want to talk about it, so don’t ask.”
The room was silent for a few moments. When Harper didn’t hear anything from him, she turned and saw him walking towards her until he was standing squarely in front of her.
“What?” she asked, too stunned to move. His body was close. She looked away.
Alex cupped a hand under her chin and gently lifted her face until her amber ones were looking into his electric blue ones. “I understand. I’m here when you’re ready to talk,” he whispered.
Harper licked her lower lip then said, “I’m going to…ah…bath.”
He smirked. “Okay.”