Crossing Point

by Devante’ Crowell

            People say that there is a realm after death where souls are taken before they are judged, not that any living person would know. The living call it purgatory, which is where they think innocent souls go to be judged into heaven or hell. This is somewhat true except not all of the souls are innocent and the realm known to the living as purgatory is called the Crossing Point.

Kaylei sat behind the counter, staring at the pictures that hung all over the walls. Smiles. Only smiling faces filled the room. Her mom came in from the back.

            “You ready to close up?” her mom asked

            Kaylei looked at her watch. It was gold and had white leather straps with her name on them. Her dad had given it to her, but that was back when things were less complicated.

            “It’s only five-thirty mom.”

            “I know.” her mother told her. “It’s starting to get dark a lot earlier than usual. I don’t want either of us out when it’s dark.” She told Kaylei. Kaylei sighed. She knew that it would be smart to be at home, or what she now called her home, when the light went out rather than to be on the streets where Jackals would be stalking innocent souls and stealing them away or even worse than being taken by a Jackal, Patrol. Kaylei grabbed her stuff, a notebook and pen, which for some reason she was allowed to bring with her into death.

            She went to the front window and started to shut the blinds. The sun was setting outside creating an odd red orange color.

            “Sunshine.” Kaylei said. It was one of the things that she missed the most and she was surprised that there was any now. The Crossing Point almost never had sunshine, let alone light, and the little that they did get always seemed to fade away faster than anyone wanted it to.

            “Come on Kaylei.” She heard mother say. She could hear the nervousness in her voice. It seemed like ever since they had gotten there that was the only emotion she heard. Nervousness. Fear. Those were the only emotions they were allowed. The only ones they had left.

            “Coming.” Kaylei said shutting the last set of blinds.  They walked out of a back door, which led to a side alley behind the store. The sun was still setting and the dark shadows of the night were beginning to stir. Jackals would be out soon. And then Patrol. Kaylei looked down the street. It was empty. The only thing she saw was the orange stain the sun left over Crossing Point. Pretty soon all would fade to black. They walked home in silence.

            They got to their apartment and as soon as they got inside Kaylei’s mom locked the door. As Kaylei walked to her room she heard her mom sigh.  She knew how scared she was everyday they walked out of that apartment and even though being inside wasn’t perfectly safe she knew that it gave her mom a sense of security. The kind Kaylei’s dad would have provided if he were there with them. But he wasn’t so they had to provide it for each other.

            “Dinner’ll be ready in a minute.” Kaylei heard her mother say before shutting her door behind her.

            She turned on the light and looked around her room. More pictures. Pictures of her family, friends and just of the outside world. She had taken to the idea that she was trapped. And she was. Kaylei walked over to a picture of her mom and dad.

‘Lorren and Dorene’ it read.

            She picked it up and looked at it. They were smiling. The smiles made her feel good but she could feel her eyes beginning to water. She closed them feeling the familiar cry of the night about to begin. Why were they there? What happened to them? A bump outside her window made her jump. She looked toward her window but the curtain blocked her view of anything that might have been outside waiting.

            She walked to the window and pulled the shades back. There was nothing there. She opened the window and looked out. The sun had already gone down so she couldn’t see anything. She started to pull her head back into her room until something grabbed her. She screamed but only a muffled cry came out as a hand covered her mouth. She swung a fist at whatever was holding her but another hand grabbed her arm.

            ‘This is it.’ She thought.

            ‘This is how I go.’

            She began to thrash around trying to break the grip of her captor but its grip was too strong.

            “Calm down!” she heard someone whisper into her ear. It was Colton. Kaylei’s heart started to slow with relief. Colton felt her relax and moved his hand away from her mouth only to replace it with soft warm lips. Kaylei kissed him embracing the warmth. They climbed back into her room. As soon as Colton shut the window she hit him on his chest.

            “Ow!” he said

            “You scared the shit out of me!” Kaylei told him.

            “God. Maybe I should just use the front door next time.”

            Kaylei frowned at him. She was glad that he was there but she didn’t like the fact that he scared her.

            “Hey.” Colton said. He knew he had freaked her out a little too bad.

            “Hey I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

            He wrapped his arms around her.

            “At least it was your monster and not the ones out there.” He told her.

            She smiled.

            “You’re an idiot.” Kaylei said

            “Yet you still love me.”

            He kissed her and they sat on her bed. Colton picked up her notebook and flipped through the pages.

            “Anything new?” he asked.

            Kaylei took the notebook from him. She wrote about everything in it. Her thoughts, her dreams, and anything that seemed out of the ordinary, which was pretty much everything that happened in Crossing Point.

            “Yeah. There was something.” She said.

            She opened her notebook and grabbed a pen from her dresser.

            ‘Sunshine.’ She wrote.

            “You noticed it. What do you think it means?” Colton asked.

            How was she supposed to know? She didn’t even know why they were there.

            “I mean its gotta mean something.” He said looking at her.

            “We’re not supposed to think about stuff like that.” She told him closing her notebook.

            “Last time we saw sunlight was when Austin was here. Before they took him.” Colton said.

            Kaylei closed her eyes. They hadn’t talked about Austin since that night and she didn’t ever want to talk about him again. This was a memory she couldn’t bear. Kaylei could feel her eyes starting to water again as she opened them.

            “Can we stop talking about this please?” she asked him.

            “I’m sorry babe I’m just trying to figure all of this out.”

            “Don’t.” Kaylei told him

              There was a knock on the door.

            “Kaylei Dinner!” Dorene said.

            Both Kaylei and Colton got up and walked to the door. Kaylei opened it and they walked to the kitchen.

            “Oh! Colton. I didn’t know you were here.” Dorene said

            “Sorry Ms. Deakin I kinda used the window.”

            “It’s fine. You just surprised me that’s all. Are you hungry?”

            “Not really. I should probably get back home. I just wanted to stop by for a little bit.” Colton said.

            Dorene looked out toward Kaylei’s window.

            “Why don’t you stay here tonight? I don’t like the idea of you running around out there in the dark.”

            “Thanks Ms. Deakin. I need to take a shower though. If you don’t mind.”

            “Not at all. Go ahead.”

            “Thank you.” Colton said walking down the hall and into the bathroom.

            Colton lived alone. He had appeared in Crossing Point a few days after Kaylei and her mom had gotten there. It was still a mystery to Kaylei how he got there but then again she didn’t even know how she got there. Colton loved her and Kaylei knew it more than anything else and even though it was hard to feel any other emotion but fear in Crossing, she loved him too.

            Kaylei finished her dinner and went to the sink.

            “You want me to do the dishes?” she asked

            “It’s fine I’ll get them.” Dorene said.

            Kaylei walked over to her mom and hugged her. Dorene smiled.

            “I love you mom.”

            “I love you too baby.” She said

            Kaylei held her for a while and then went to her room, closing the door behind her. Dorene sat on the couch. The hardest thing for her was not seeing her two youngest daughters and not knowing if they were okay. She didn’t remember how they got to Crossing Point but she had a feeling that something may have happened to them. She got up and went to the sink. A door closed and she realized Colton had gone into Kaylei’s room. They were both good kids and they loved each other. She couldn’t pull them apart. Especially after they had already lost so much.

            Colton came into the room and turned off the light. He laid down on the bed next to Kaylei.

            “You okay?” he asked.

            Kaylei turned to face him.

            “Yeah. I’m just thinking.” She said. “I miss my dad.”

            Colton wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the neck.

            “I’m gonna get you out of here Kaylei.” He said.

            They sat there in the silence. In the dark. And then drifted off to sleep.

            It was dark outside. Almost pitch black. Jackals crept in alleyways and streets that were too dark to see anything. Clans of Patrol floated through the streets searching for any lost soul that stumbled through the darkness. There were five in each clan of Patrol. They were seven feet tall and looked like black ghosts. Hoods covered their heads their eyes were like white flames in the night.

            Jasmine hid in an abandoned car lot. Her breath was like smoke in the cold night. She saw the white eyes of a Patrol. First one, then two, the three more followed. They stood in the street, floating lifelessly as if a rope was tied around their necks and was controlling their every move. They started to move further down the street and as soon as they got a distance away she moved. She ran as quickly as she could to a warehouse across the street. She stopped in the street and turned to look over her shoulder. A few feet away were one of the Patrol. It stared her right in the eye.

            Her heart stopped and she became paralyzed with fear. The Patrol moved forward and the other four appeared right behind it. Their hooded robe like bodies flowed like water as they floated through the air. Jasmine caught her senses and started to run. She ran past into warehouse and hid behind one of the machines she had found. She watched and waited for the Patrol to pass her. Her breath was heavy. She steadied her breath and walked out to the street. It was empty. The clan of Patrol hadn’t followed her. She walked back into the warehouse and then an ear-piercing howl that sounded like a siren bellowed through the darkness.

            She looked at her watch. Three o’ clock.

            “No.” she whispered and started to run. The howl faded away and as it did all light went with it. Her footsteps echoed through the night as she ran. She went into an alleyway and found a shed. She went in and closed the door. She wrapped her arms around herself and the only thing she could hear was the sound of her breathing. The air around her started to get colder as if death itself was wrapping its arms around her. A tear rolled down her cheek. Jasmine heard a low growl behind her. She turned to see a pair of glowing blood red eyes staring right at her.

            She backed up toward the door and as she did the creature pounced at her.  She fell backwards and the beast slammed through the door. She rolled over and ran out of the shed going back out into the street. She could hear the monsters claws ripping the cement as it chased her. Tears streamed down her face as she felt it closing in behind her. She tried to run but her legs were aching under her. The creature jumped and she felt its claws dig into her shoulders as it pinned her to the ground. She tried to crawl away but the creature dragged her back to itself. The girl sobbed as it stared at her, its eyes like hell fire and its breath as hot as the flames themselves. It growled and went for the girl’s neck. Just before it bit into her throat she screamed.  

            Kaylei’s eyes flashed open. There was a howl outside that made her jump. She looked toward the window, shivering from the blood-curdling howl that had sounded. Someone screamed making Kaylei jump again. The scream faded away and Kaylei knows that whoever was out there, running around the in the darkness of crossing point was now gone. Kaylei turned over and put herself in Colton’s arms.  She wanted to feel safe in his presence like she always had before but she couldn’t. Every bit of hope and security that she had before had faded away. Crossing Point took a lot of things from her and she feared that it would soon take the one she loved most. Colton. She wrapped his arm around her and held his hand tight and then drifted off to sleep.

            Kaylei opened her eyes. It was morning. She could see the dull gray light of Crossing Point streaming into her window. Colton was gone.  There was a note on her dresser saying that he had taken her mom to work and would see her later tonight. She looked around the room. All of the smiling pictures stared at her.

            “I gotta get out of here.” She said running her fingers through her hair. She got up and went to the window looking out at the street. It was foggy, and probably cold. The thought of going out made her shiver. She sighed and walked to her door, opening it and then walking to the bathroom. Turning on the hot water she took off her clothes and stepped into the shower.

            The hot water scorched her skin but it took the chill away. The goose bumps of fear melted from her body and for once she felt relived. The warmth took away the nervousness and everything else that came with living, if she could call it that, in Crossing Point. She stood under the water until steam filled the room and then she turned off the water, drying herself and then putting on her clothes.  She walked back into her room and grabbed her watch, notebook, and the key to the apartment and then left closing and locking the front door.

            She walked outside into the cold foggy air. She felt it rub against her skin as if a hand was softly brushing her cheek. She bent down to tie her shoe and noticed that she heard footsteps. She looked up slowly and there was a girl walking in the middle of the street. Kaylei got up. It was rare to see anyone in Crossing Point and she was lucky that she and her mom had been together. The girl walked slowly down the street as if she was in some sort of trance. Kaylei ran toward her. She stopped in front of her.

            “The r…” the girl mumbled

            “What?” Kaylei asked.

            “The River.”

            “What do you mean? What river?”  Kaylei asked grabbing the girl’s shoulders.

            “The River.” The girl repeated. The girl looked at her but Kaylei didn’t feel as if she was.  As Kaylei looked the girls eyes started to get wider. Fear filled the girls face and she started to scream.

            “The River! Run to the River!”

            Kaylei backed away from her not knowing what to do.  The girl still stared and as she did her expression somehow changed. The fear remained but something else was there too. Kaylei stood there watching her not noticing the black figures floating silently behind her.  Kaylei felt a cold chill behind her and before she turned around she saw the five hooded figures floated past her toward the girl. Kaylei froze, her heart stopping. They surrounded the girl and her scream became muffled whimpers of fear.

            “Run to the r….”

            Kaylei backed away as the Patrol’s dark hooded bodies covered the girl. She turned to run and as she did the girl screamed. Tears streamed down Kaylei’s face as she ran. The girl was gone. Taken by Patrol. Kaylei ran all the way to the alley behind the picture shop and burst through the back door running to her mom and holding her tight.

            “Kaylei? What’s wrong baby?” she asked

            “Mom they took her! They took her!”

            “Who? Took who Kaylei?”

            Kaylei couldn’t breathe. All she could do was cry. She didn’t even know the girl but just seeing her be taken hurt her. She held her mom as tight as she could and cried.

            The door to the shop opened making both of them jump. A person had come into the store. They looked scared and confused.

            “Can you help me?” they asked

            Dorene looked. It was a kid. A little boy who was probably about six years old. She walked Kaylei to the back room.

            “I’ll be back baby. As soon as I get done with him we’ll go home.”

            She walked to the front again and the boy stood there.

            “What’s your name honey?” Dorene asked.

            “Daniel.” The boy said. Dorene couldn’t help but hug him. He reminded her of her youngest daughter. Kaylei watched as her mom did this. It didn’t feel right to have someone else who wasn’t Colton there with them but she was glad that they weren’t alone. Kaylei walked to the front to where her mom and the boy were.

            “I can’t find my sister.” He said

            “When did you see her last?” Dorene asked. The boy scratched his head. Kaylei could tell he didn’t remember that much and that he was scared out of his mind.

            “She left when it was dark. She said she’d be back. I can’t find her.”

            Dorene looked at Kaylei and Kaylei knew what that look meant. The boy didn’t have anyone to go to and Dorene couldn’t let him stay by his self.

            “You’re going to come with us honey. We’ll help you find your sister.”

            They left the store and started to walk down the gray streets of Crossing Point. They had found someone, maybe saved them, and they would help him and if they found his sister they would help her too. Kaylei saw Colton walking toward them.

            “Who’s this?” he asked

            “He walked into the store today. He says he lost his sister.” Dorene told him.

            “What did she look like?” Kaylei asked thinking of the girl she had just watched be taken by Patrol.

            “She has brown hair.” The boy said. They wouldn’t really get any better description out of him.

            “What was her name?” Colton asked him.

            “Jasmine.”

            They walked on and got to the apartment. They went inside and both Colton and Kaylei went into her room, leaving Dorene with Daniel. She was kind of relieved about this. She didn’t really think that Kaylei would like the idea of having someone the same age as her sister in the house, although it didn’t seem like she cared.

            Colton sat on the edge of Kaylei’s bed. He was silent.

            “They took a girl today.” Kaylei told him.  Colton was silent. He stared at the pictures of Kaylei’s family.

            “She was right in front of me when they did it.”

            Colton still said nothing.

            “What’s wrong?” Kaylei asked him. He looked up at her.

            “What?” he said

            “You’re not saying anything. What’s wrong?”

            “Nothing. Everything’s fine.” He said getting up. He looked at the clock. It was five o’ clock.

            “There’s something I gotta do. I’ll be back tonight okay?”

            Kaylei stared at him. He could see the confusion on her face. He kissed her.

            “Don’t worry. Everything’s fine.” He told her. She was worried. She didn’t know what he meant or where he was going and it seemed like he kept saying everything was going to be fine. But things weren’t fine. From what she could tell they were basically dead and the only emotions they were able to feel.

            “I’ll see you tonight.” Colton said and left the room, closing the door behind him. Kaylei sat on her bed. She felt herself about to cry. She put her head in her pillow and let the tears come out. She had to get out of Crossing Point. She cried into her pillow until she felt herself drifting off to sleep.

Colton walked through the cold gray streets of Crossing Point. He had to find the girl he had met a few days after he got to Crossing Point. She had saved his life and helped him find Kaylei. He walked into the neighborhood where he last saw her and looked around at the houses. He saw that one of the houses front doors was open and he walked toward it. As he entered the house he saw a bunch of drawings on the wall. There was a picture of a river and what looked like a cornfield. The words ‘run to the river’ were scratched and drawn all over the walls. Colton looked at the pictures and noticed that one of them looked familiar. The factory. He knew exactly where it was and from what he saw, the river was right behind it.

            “Run to the River.” He said and then there was a loud crash in another room. A clan of Patrol burst through the door. Colton ran out of the house as they glided toward him. He would find the river and get Kaylei and her mom out of Crossing Point.

Kaylei opened her eyes. She was standing in a river. Her mom was next to her and so was Austin and Colton. They held each other’s hands. The water started to move and a current built up. Two waves formed on each side of them and they started to move toward them. There was a bright light and everything faded away.

Kaylei woke up sweating. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage and she couldn’t control her breathing. She looked around her room and realized it was dark out. Colton wasn’t back yet. She got up and walked to her dresser. Her notebook wasn’t there.  She got down on the floor and looked under her bed, finding nothing. As she got up she realized where she had left it. It was back at the store. She went straight to her closet and grabbed her hoody. She put on her shoes and went to her window and before opening it she grabbed her watch.

            She stepped out of the window and climbed down the fire escape, landing softly on the concrete. It was one-thirty. She had to move fast. Time always seemed to move at its own pace in Crossing Point and five minutes could turn out to be three hours. Kaylei walked at a quick pace, trying not to make a sound. She looked at her watch. Two o’ clock. She had to hurry. As she walked she felt like something was following her.

            “Don’t look back.” She whispered to herself. If she did there’d be no chance of escaping from whatever was following her. If it were Patrol she probably wouldn’t get the chance to run like she did last time. If it were a Jackal, she’d be gone before she could even think about it. She walked on, still feeling the presence of something following her. As she got to the store she turned to look behind her. Nothing was there. She sighed.

            “Come on Kaylei. Keep moving.” She said to herself. She went to the back alley, which led to the back door of the store, and opened the door. The store was less welcoming than usual. Probably because of the dark. She walked to the front and saw her notebook on the floor in front of the counter.  She bent down and picked it up flipping through the pages as if there were some that she thought would be missing. She looked up and her heart froze. A black dog like creature was staring straight at her through the window.  It’s muscles rippled as it snarled at her, curling its lip back to show its long bloodstained K-9 teeth. It’s blood red eyes burned through Kaylei, as she stood there, paralyzed with fear. The Jackal growled at her making her jump. She turned to run and as she did it jumped through the window.

                        Kaylei ran to the back room, hearing the Jackal tear through the store. She slammed the back door shut and ran out of the back alley. The Jackal smashed through the door and chased after her.  Kaylei ran as fast as she could hearing the Jackal’s claws rip the concrete behind her. Tears were streaming down her face and before she knew what was happening she felt herself trip and fall to the ground. She scrambled to get up but before she could the Jackal was on her. It held her face down on the ground with its powerful legs. She felt its hot breath on the back of her neck and could feel it getting ready to sink its teeth into her. She cried and for some reason felt the pressure of the Jackal’s leg rise from her back. She looked up to see that Colton had tackled the Jackal and was now picking her up.

            “RUN!” he yelled at her and she did. She looked back and the Jackal was staring right at them. As it did its body shook and it let out a high pitched howl.

            “The Siren.” Kaylei said to herself. As they ran all light faded away. Kaylei couldn’t see a thing but both she and Colton kept running. Pretty soon they were back at the apartment. They burst through the front door to find Daniel and Kaylei’s mom sitting on the couch.

            “Kaylei! Where have you two been?” Dorene said running to Kaylei and hugging her. 

            “We need to get out of here!” Colton told her. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed two flashlights.

            “What’s going on?” Dorene asked.

            “I found a way out.” Colton said.

            “What?” Kaylei said looking at him.

            “There’s a river. It’s only a couple blocks from here. We can make it but we have to leave now.”

            Kaylei listened to him.

            “Run to the River.” She said.

            “There isn’t much time.”

            There was a loud bump at the door that made them all jump. Daniel got up to answer it.

            “No! Don’t open it!” Colton yelled. It was too late Daniel had opened the door and was grabbed by the hands of Patrol. He screamed.

            “No!” Dorene yelled running to the door. Kaylei grabbed her as Colton shut the door. They all ran into Kaylei’s room.

            “No! He was just a little boy! No!” Dorene yelled. Colton slid a dresser in front of Kaylei’s door. There was a loud crash. The Patrol had gotten into the apartment.

            “We gotta go now!” Colton yelled. There was a bang on Kaylei’s door. The Patrol was trying to get into the room. Colton opened the window and helped Dorene and Kaylei climb out. They climbed down the fire escape and started to run, turning on the flashlights that Colton had grabbed. Kaylei looked back at the apartment and in the window she saw one of the Patrol staring at them as they ran. It’s white eyes burning in the night.

            They ran for what seemed like an hour, stopping behind a car.

            “There’s a warehouse across the street.” Colton told them

            “What are we waiting for?” Kaylei asked.

            “Them.”

            A clan of Patrol slowly passed the front of the warehouse, floating like ghosts.

            “I’ll distract them. You guys keep running. Once you get to the warehouse, go out the back. There’s a field behind it. Keep running and you’ll find the River.”

            “I’m not letting you go.” Kaylei told him.           

            “There’s no other way.”

            “There is! There has to be! I’m not losing you!”

            “You won’t. I’ll be back before you know it.” Colton told her. He smiled knowing that it wouldn’t assure her. He probably wouldn’t be coming back and they both knew it. Colton kissed her.

            “Go.” He said and then got up and ran toward the Patrol. He ran past them yelling for them to chase him, and they did. He ran past the warehouse and down the street, not looking back at his pursuers. He was on a suicide mission but he didn’t care. As long as Kaylei was safe his life didn’t matter.

            Kaylei and her mom ran to the warehouse hiding inside. They knew that Colton probably wasn’t going to be back but they waited. The night was cold. Colder than they had ever felt.

            “Mom.” Kaylei said.

            “Yeah baby.”                       

            “I love you.”

            They waited for what seemed like hours sitting in the warehouse resting and listening. The heard footsteps and they got up. Colton stumbled into the warehouse.

            “Colton!” Kaylei yelled and just as she was about to run to him a Jackal jumped from behind him, biting his shoulder. Colton felt the Jackal’s teeth sink into his shoulder and he screamed.

            “No!” Kaylei yelled. She picked up a pipe that was on the floor of the warehouse and stabbed the Jackal in the neck. It let out a high-pitched scream. Kaylei pushed the pipe in deeper making the Jackal let go of Colton. The Jackal shook making Kaylei fly to the side and making the pipe fall to the floor. The Jackal turned to Kaylei and started to walk toward her. She backed away as it crouched down to pounce. Dorene grabbed the pipe and stabbed the Jackal again.

            “Get away from my daughter you bitch!” she said. The Jackal growled. Kaylei got up grabbing another pipe and stabbed the Jackal in the neck again. The Jackal fell to the ground and moaned as its last breath left its body. Both Kaylei and Dorene dropped the pipes and ran to Colton.

            “Colton. Colton are you okay?” Kaylei asked. He looked at her.

            “We gotta… move.” He said struggling to get up. His shoulder was torn open and he was losing a lot of blood.

            “Colton you should rest. You’re hurt bad.” Dorene said.

            “No. We gotta get to the river.” He told her. They walked out of the warehouse and into the field.  The walk seemed to take hours but pretty soon the grass started to thin out. They had made it to the river. Colton fell to his knees as he saw the dark, still water that he had been searching for.

            “The River.” He said and then fainted.

            “Colton!” Kaylei yelled. She ran to his side and put his head on her knee. His whole arm was soaked in blood and the teeth marks the Jackal had left on him were deep.

            “Mom we need to help him. He’s dying.”

            “Get him into the water. Maybe it’ll help.”

            They walked into the river carrying Colton in their arms. The water was warm. It wrapped around their legs and felt like it was pulling at them. Colton’s eyes opened as the water touched his face.

            “What’s happening?” he asked

            “We’re in the river. What do we do now?” Kaylei said. Colton looked around and sat up. As he stood the water began to pull at them. A current ripped in both directions. Kaylei looked to her right and there was a huge wave coming at them.

            “Mom!” she yelled, grabbing her hand. She looked at Colton. He was yelling but she couldn’t hear him. She was focused on the wave that was behind him. It was just like her dream. She grabbed his hand and began to run, pulling both her mom and Colton forward with her. The waves crashed down on both sides and the water blinds them. Colton feels the current pull at him, ripping him this way and that. After the current stops he realizes that he’s no longer holding onto Kaylei’s hand. He opens his eyes and to his surprise he can se clearly. The water starts to go black and then he can’t see.

            Colton opened his eyes. He was back at the hospital. The only difference was that he was looking down at his self. He pulled a small razor out of his pocket, looking at it as if he was staring death right into its eyes. He had heard the doctors say that Kaylei would be in a coma from the accident and that they might have to pull the plug. There was no way he was going to live without her.

            “Down the tracks, not across.” He heard his self say and then sliced his left arm open. The razor cut through his skin as he slid it down hi arm. At first the skin just parted to both sides then the blood came, spilling on to the white tiles of the hospital bathroom. Red was the last color he remembered seeing before he died. Everything started to fade to black again.

            Colton was back in the water. He looked around realizing that everything he just saw was a flashback to how he had gotten to Crossing Point. The water pulled him in every direction making him dizzy and within a couple minutes he felt his self on solid concrete. He was back in Crossing Point. He felt the hot pain of the Jackal bite on his shoulder and he grabbed it. He fell to his knees and began to cry. He didn’t get out. He didn’t even know if Kaylei and her mom had gotten out. He had failed.

            There was a low growl behind him and he felt the air around him get colder. A tear rolled down his face and as he felt it drop he heard the Jackal howl. His blood spilled all over the concrete as the Jackal bit into him. Red. That was the last color he saw before he died.

            There was a repetitive beeping sound that made Kaylei’s eyes twitch every time she heard it. Lorren watched as his daughter and his wife lay on the hospital beds lifelessly. It had been five weeks and the doctors were ready to pull the plug on them. He stroked Kaylei’s hair and kissed her on the forehead, doing the same thing to Dorene.

            “Come back to me.” He whispered in her ear. He got up and was about to wake his other two daughters until he heard Kaylei’s voice.

            “Dad?” she said. Lorren turned around. Kaylei’s eyes were open. She was alive.

            “Kaylei!” he yelled waking his other two daughters. They ran to her and hugged her. Kissing, crying and laughing as they did. She cried, kissing them back. Lorren walked over to his wife.

            “Dorene?” he said.

             She smiled. He held her and they both kissed each other.

3 weeks later:

            Kaylei sat at the counter and dialed the number. The phone rang but after seven rings it went to voicemail.

            “Hey it’s me. I’m home. Give me a call. I love you.” She said and then hung up. She was worried. She had been home for three weeks but hadn’t heard from Colton. The last thing she remembered was waking up in the hospital and he was nowhere to be found. The phone rang. Kaylei picked it up on the first ring.

            “Hello?” she said.

            “Hi is this Kaylei?” a girl said.

            “Yeah this is.”

            “I’m Colton’s sister, Sarah.”

            “Hey Sarah. I’m sorry I’ve called so much. I’ve been trying to reach Colton. Do you know where he is?”

            There was a pause.

            “He’s dead Kaylei.”

            After that Kaylei heard nothing else. She dropped the phone and repeated the words in her head. Colton was dead. A cold chill started to go through her body and somehow it felt familiar. She went to the couch and pulled her legs up to her chest.  The doctor’s told her that she had escaped death, but right now she didn’t feel like she was alive. The pain of losing Colton made her feel like she had been killed. It made her realize the truth: no one could escape death.