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Death feels natural, like breathing The water pierces my skin and floods the cab of the car I unclipIt’s dark and the water is up to s to float upward, and then I kick the side ith the heel ofthe door and grasp the handle, and then wait for the water to co on survival He taught ed in water If the water’s low enough, the door will open But once it reaches a certain point, the pressure of the water inside has to equalize with the pressure of the water on the outside Which means I have to wait for the car to co first

I remain calm as the water rises and rises, and then I slant my head back and take a deep breath before the water suffocates me completely Immediately, I flip the handle, but it snaps off Bubbles escapeon the door The black water encases the cab and I swim for the other door, but I sla a wall to the other side I spin around and bangdarker and colder as the car plummets further into the lake

My eyes stay open as bubbles gurgle froer peaceful The air slips away, my heart dies, and my necklace floats off my neck as the water stills Am I dead? The ht of the water

"Elance froht Darkness and I’h the water to the , illu the inside of the car, and I reach out to touch it

"Eht flashes, and then shifts into a black mass

"Emmy," it whispers and a black cape drapes over nites with flames I scream as a tunnel opens up and ss me

Chapter 4

My first death orands were soone to shit yet Grandma Nelly was old and suffered froone--forgetting things, wandering off in the randpa had passed away several years before and there was no one to take care of her Eventually she started to suffer froht she died, she snuck into et that night--it changed my life forever

She took off her necklace and placed in my hand "Here, Emmy, this is yours now"

The oval pendant filled up the pal?"

"Do you feel that, Ember?" Her eyes lit up with anticipation as she took my hand and placed it over her heart

Her heart beat rapidly beneath my palm I sat up, confused "Feel what, Grandma? Your heart?"

She excitedly shook her head "No, E?"

"No," I answered and glanced at the door "Are you okay, Grando wake up Mama"

"No, no," she whispered "You need to listen closer, E away You need to take it, okay?"

There was a desperate, almost momentous look in her eyes, so I shut my eyes and listened to the flutter of her heart, the whisper of her breath, the lull of her blood as it danced through her veins There arht flickered inside me and for aon the bed and her eyes were shut She looked peaceful so I let her lay there for a while before waking one

My mom asked what happened, so I told her, and she looked at me like it was my fault And maybe it was I had felt her life leave her body and row After the funeral, my mom sent me to live withme until he vanished, then it was back to live with my mom and my brother

"Open your eyes," a deep voice demands "Come on, not yet Open your eyes, God dammit" The whisper alters to a desperate plea "Please, Ember… Please, wake up… You have to be one of them--I know you are"

Soft lips touch mine and a jolt of life slaed it to life

"Take it, please…" the voice begs "You have to take it"

A soulful and poetic voice whispers inmy body back to life, then the life of another links to every part of me and revitalizes h ainst s swell My eyelids open and water rushes up hup above ’s blurry, like an unfocused ca up, and the body evaporates into the night sky

"Are you okay?" h

I dry ertips "I think so… How did you…" What the hell was that?

The moon reflects from behind the hazy clouds and rain sprinkles frouy from the party kneels on the rocky shoreline next tome in His black hair is damp and beads of water drip down his pale skin The silver skull on his necklace glints in the ainst the rain His beauty is breathtaking and I instantly get caught up in hiet where I ah with my hand over my mouth

He watchesvaluable "Yes… I thought I lost you for a second, though"

I eye the cut forehead and the dark half-circles under his eyes that weren’t there at the party "Are you okay?"

He nods, his eyes doing a sloeep of h his wet locks "I’m fine It’s you I’m worried about"