“Thank you for freeing me, humans.” Her voice echoes through the room, chilly like a breeze and as sharp as a blade. Everybody remains silent, as we all gaze at the girl standing before us, her skin white as paper. “F-free?” Chris spells out, his voice almost trembling. “Are you Emily?” I step forward and ask, but I already know the answer. Her gaze fixes on me, as she looks me up and down. “Yes. And YOU are the reason I’m standing here. That book was my prison, and you set me free.” Emily replies, as a small, sinister smile forms on her lips. I’m only able to stare at her, as my mind goes completely blank. “Your curiousness and your disobedience have doomed you, as well as your friends. If you can even call each other friends… You’re just pigs that are headed straight to the slaughterhouse.” She slowly voices as her expression turns serious once again. This time though, it’s probably more serious than the last. She slowly walks closer to us, and all we can do is stare as she briefly locks eyes with each and every one of us. “You, my lovely little livestock, disobeyed the rules of the book. And for that, you shall be punished.” We all turn to each other, eyes wide, as we anticipate the words that are about to come out of her mouth. “P-Punished?” Sarah repeats in a terrified manner. “What for?” Max tries to protest, but a death glare from the ghost standing before her is enough to make her knees shake. “Silence!” She cries out and everybody obeys. “You may have freed me, but you knowingly disobeyed the rules. I can’t have disobedience.” Emily explains as she approaches us further. “But… I won’t kill you just yet…” She announces and I can feel a sense of relief rushing through me. I’m assuming she must have felt that, as she immediately turns to face me. “Yes…” She says in a lower voice as she approaches me. I try to step backwards but my body stands there completely still. “…I must thank you, for decoding the dream I showed you last night, as well as for solving that riddle.” The girl in front of me slowly spells out as she reaches for my chest. “You must be rewarded…” I flinch and close my eyes before her hand comes into contact with my body, but strangely, I feel nothing. Only when I open my eyes do I realize that her arm, up to her elbow, has passed through my chest. Thankfully though, it’s not physically, but more like spiritually. (It doesn’t hurt at all…) I realize, but not long after, I feel a hand grip around my heart as my body stiffens. Suddenly, that grip turns tighter and tighter as my heart feels like it’s about to pop like a water balloon.. “AAAAAAGHHH!” I shout out in pain as Emily’s ghost not only doesn’t relent, but keeps adding further force to her squeeze. “Jack!” April and Max cry out as I twist my face in complete anguish. “Stop this please!” April shouts as she steps closer to us but a stare from Emily is enough to stop her advances. I, on the other hand, have reached a point where breathing is next to impossible and my heart feels next to exploding. “AAAAAAGH!!” I cry out one more time, as I feel nails digging into my heart’s surface, and witness the fury in Emily’s eyes. “STOP!” “JACK NO!” “PLEASE!” I hear muffled voices around me as my consciousness starts to slowly slip away. I struggle to keep my eyes open as Emily finally pulls her hand out and I feel my knees giving out. “I changed my mind. Killing you here is of no use to me.” She bluntly states as she walks away and I fall to my side like a toy, after its owner boredly tossed it away. Almost immediately, everybody runs up to me and I can feel a pair of arms wrapping around my body as I look at the ghost who almost took my life. “When the sun sets, and rises once again then your time will be up. This will be your punishment. You have until then, to search for the last key.” She briefly explains and turns around, walking further away from us. “I will be watching you…” She states before her body fades away, as if it was blown away by a gust of wind. Before I can even process what she told us, I realize just how heavy my eyelids are. “Jack! Jack!” I hear April’s voice over my head as I turn to look at her, resisting the urge to close my eyes. “Stay with me!” She says one more time as tears dance at the edge of her eyes. I can make out her voice as she pleads once again but I can’t make out what she’s saying. I can tell the others joined in as well, as I make out a set of voices. But every sound surrounding me is muffled. “I’m okay…” I am barely able to utter before I can no longer keep my eyes open and I drift out of consciousness. 

I can feel someone holding me… Is that you, mum? I slowly open my eyes and realize I’m staring into the clear, blue sky above me. I sit up and gaze upon a field of grass. The green color stretches out as far as the eye can see and I immediately feel strangely tranquil here… Although I still feel someone’s warmth, it’s evident I’m alone. What am I even doing here? I can’t answer but… but it just feels right. As I’m about to lie back down on the grass I hear a female voice call out to me. Jack? Is Jack my name? I wonder as I look around. The voice calls out to me once again and this time I’m even more confused. Why can’t I stay here? Another question pops inside my head and I immediately feel the need to stand up. As I do, flowers start to bloom all around my feet in a circle. Flowers, as white as snow, with a hint of yellow on their core. At first the flowers are just another mystery, but something inside my brain clicks and I immediately recognize them. Daisies… The voice is getting stronger now. Why does my cheek feel wet all of a sudden? “JACK!” This time, the voice echoes throughout my brain like a siren. This voice is… familiar? I look back at the daisies at my feet and a word escapes my lips. April? My brain starts to hurt and I immediately feel events and memories surging inside my head. “April!” I shout out as a fleeting image of her has finally brought me back to my senses. I can now hear all the voices around me as a white light blinds me and I instinctively close my eyes.

I suddenly feel a strong push on my chest and I inhale sharply filling my empty lungs with air. My eyes shoot open and I gaze at a group of familiar faces over my head, looking intently at me. “What are you all looking at me for…?” I manage to sneak in a comment before I take a big breath and rub my forehead. “Jack…” April says in a low voice as I sit up. I immediately notice that her eyes are red as she quickly wipes them with the edge of her sleeve and throws her body forward, wrapping her arms around my neck. “You’re alive…” She whispers tightening her grip. “Of course I’m alive…” I say as I pat her back and look at the others around me. Everyone’s wearing a smile and their expressions are shouting “RELIEVED!”. “What happened?” I ask, unable to recall. “You… You lost consciousness and then… your heart stopped beating… We performed CPR…” Max replies in between a few sniffles, as Anette nods next to her, her eyes red. “You scared us for a moment there!” Sarah raises her voice and I immediately feel apologetic. “Sorry…” I reply, a small smile playing on my lips. (At least they gave a damn if I lived or died…) I think as Chris breaks the silence. “No worries, at least you’re alive.” He states with a smile and I nod. “Uhm, April… everything okay?” I say noticing that she is still clinging to me. She shakes her head while sobbing silently. I sigh as I return the embrace and she relaxes against me. (Ah, that feels nice… Thank you God for bringing me back!) I internally shout inside my head. “Should we uhm… give them some space, maybe?” Sarah suggests and everybody nods and gets up, except Anette who asks “Space?” and is dragged away by the others. In the silence of our solitude, April rests her head on my shoulder and clasps her hands together around my neck. “I thought I lost you…” She whispers and guilt immediately strikes me. “I was so scared!” She slightly raises her voice and I hug her tighter. “Sorry that I made you worry. But there are still so many things we haven’t done yet… I can’t just up and die.” I state as she separates from the hug and looks into my eyes, her hands still resting on my shoulders. “You swear you… won’t ever do this again?” She asks with a sniffle. “I swear.” I reply as I lock eyes with her and wipe a tear away from her eye. “Then I’ll refrain from killing you.” She bluntly states, her expression stiffening as she glares at me. “Haha ha ha…” I laugh awkwardly fearing for my life a second time today, as we get up and dust ourselves off. “No pinkie promises this time?” I ask before we join the others. “No, I’ll just take your word for it.” She flashes me a small smile as she walks back to the others, who are standing behind a bookshelf, probably overhearing everything. I follow behind her as I suddenly recall Emily’s words. (When the sun sets, and rises once again, then your time will be up huh…? The time we have left is cut almost in half… can we make it out?)