An eerie stillness filled the air when Addison and her father arrived home. Luke’s truck was parked out front, but there was no sign of him anywhere. She dialed his number. It went straight to voicemail. She shouted his name. Her father shouted his name. A deadly quiet followed.
“We need to check the woods,” Addison said.
Her father looked at her, perplexed.
“I’ll explain later. Hurry!”
He frowned. “Addison, what’s going on? How do you know Luke is out there? And don’t say you’ll tell me later. I want to know now.”
“He was looking for something,” she replied. But she wasn’t looking at him.
“What?”
The knot in Addison’s throat enlarged, first feeling like a ping-pong ball and then expanding a few sizes. She pressed a hand against her throat and tried to breathe. “I…can’t…explain…right…now,” she stammered. “I’m sorry, Dad. But I have to get to him.” She began to run. She felt guilty for leaving her father behind, but she had to; something didn’t feel right. And, when she reached a half-dug hole in the ground, and saw the limp, lifeless body lying inside of it, she knew why. She collapsed to the ground, pressing two fingers to the side of Luke’s neck. She’d hoped to feel signs of life. What she experienced was something else entirely.
***
In her vision, the area surrounding Luke was sheathed in a fog-like haze. He stood over the area Addison had been found in and chucked piles of debris over his shoulder with the shovel, sprinkling dirt onto the ground below. He dug a few feet down and peered inside, like he’d noticed something. Addison couldn’t see what it was—she could only see him, not inside the hole.
He leaned the shovel against the tree and lowered his head into the area he’d just excavated. He reached a hand in and pulled out a small object, turning it over in his hand to inspect it. After he’d stared at it for several seconds, he held it up to the light and then gasped, gently setting it down next to him before dropping himself back into the hole again. Both of his hands were hard at work now, shovel tossed to the side, as he clawed his way deeper into the hole. Addison shifted her gaze to the object he’d set to the side. It was a bone, and it looked like a human’s.
The sound of footsteps approached, but Luke didn’t seem to notice. A hand reached through the mist, picked up the shovel, and whacked Luke on the back of the head. He slumped over, falling into the hole. His cell phone flung through the air and landed several feet away. She turned again, determined to see the face of the person holding the shovel. He was gone. Running. He was running away. Why was this person running away when there was no one else here?
Addison’s father’s voice penetrated her vision. He was yelling her name. She felt her body being tossed around violently like it had gone limp. Her father grabbed her hand, pulling it off Luke. When she opened her eyes, her father was hunched over her, his face crippled with fear. She reached out a hand and cupped it around his cheek. “I’m fine, Dad,” she said. “We have to get Luke to the hospital.”
“Is he…alive?”
Addison wasn’t sure. She leaned in and touched him once more. This time, she was on the beach overlooking the sea. Luke stood across from her. He looked different somehow, older, and his hair was shorter. He was smiling. She was smiling. And she felt an overwhelming sense of peace. As she looked around, she realized they weren’t alone. People were gathered around. Some she recognized, others she didn’t. One woman in particular stood out, grinning at Addison like they were best friends. She saw her father, and Luke’s parents, and three girls she’d never seen before wearing what appeared to be the same exact dress. The same dress? That only happens at a… She turned her attention back to the mirror image of herself, now noticing she was also wearing a dress. But it wasn’t white. It was a soft, pink color with spaghetti straps and a corseted bodice. Luke was in a fitted grey suit with the bottoms of his pant legs rolled up. She glanced down. Neither of them was wearing shoes; instead their feet dug into the sand. A man stood between them. He was saying something. His lips moved, but it was like someone had turned the volume all the way down. She couldn’t hear anything.
“Addison, don’t do this to me…not again. Wake up. Please,” her father pleaded.
She felt herself moving, being pulled off of Luke for a second time. When she opened her eyes again, her father stood between her and Luke. “I think it’s best if I check his pulse this time,” he said matter-of-factly.
She placed a hand on her father’s wrist. “There’s no need. He’s going to be fine.” He turned to her with a puzzled look on his face. She forged a smile, hoping to calm him. “Trust me, Dad. I know.” She looked to the side. The bone Luke had found in her vision was not there. She fished her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed. When the operator answered, she simply said, “I need the police and an ambulance. Now.”