Chapter 2 Buried
FIONA
I heard the trunk of a car open.
Bale's hands grabbed my arms. Shania took my legs. They lifted me like I weighed nothing and carried me through the house. Every movement sent fresh waves of pain through my broken body, but I couldn't scream.
Cold night air hit my face when they stepped outside.
They dropped me into the trunk. My head hit something metal and the world turned sideways. The trunk slammed shut and everything went dark.
The engine started.
I lay there in the darkness feeling every bump in the road rattle through my broken bones. I tried to move my fingers. Nothing. I tried to turn my head. Nothing. My body was stiff.
Voices came through the back seat. They were muffled but still clear enough.
"What if someone sees us?" Bale's worried voice asked
"Tch. We're going to the outskirts, no one goes out there this late. We'll be fine."
"I still think we should have just..."
"Should have what? Called an ambulance? Explain why your fiancée fell down the stairs the night before your wedding?" She laughed. It was a sound I'd heard a thousand times before but now it felt like a knife stabbing my chest. "Don't be stupid, Bale. We finish this tonight and tomorrow we move on."
Silence for a moment.
"You're sure no one will find her?" he asked.
"Not where we're going."
The car drove for what felt like hours but was probably only twenty minutes. Finally it stopped. The engine cut off.
Doors opened and closed.
The trunk popped open and cold air rushed in again.
They pulled me out and dropped me on the ground. Rocks dug into my back. I stared up at the sky. Stars scattered across the darkness.
"Start digging," Shania instructed.
Metal scraped against earth.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to beg. I wanted to do anything except lie there and listen to them dig my grave.
But my body wouldn't cooperate. Wouldn't move. Wouldn't even make a sound.
"How deep?" Bale asked, his breathing heavy.
"Deep enough that wolves won't dig her up."
More digging.
"That should do it," Shania finally said.
Footsteps came closer. Bale appeared above me, silhouetted against the stars. He looked down at me for a long moment.
"I'm sorry. It's nothing personal."
It totally was personal. If only I could spit at him, curse him. I wanted to tell him he was a coward and a liar and that I hoped he rotted.
But all I could do was stare.
He bent down and grabbed my arms. Shania took my legs again. They lifted me and carried me the short distance to the hole they'd dug.
Then they let go and I fell.
I hit the bottom hard and more pain exploded through me.
I looked up at the rectangle of sky above me. At the stars I'd never see again.
The first shovelful of dirt hit my chest.
Then my face.
It filled my mouth. My nose. I couldn't breathe or cough it out. Panic flooded through me.
More dirt. Covering my eyes. My ears. Blocking out everything.
My lungs burned. Screamed for air that wouldn't come. My mind fractured into a thousand pieces of terror, rage and regret.
I prayed. To the Moon Goddess. To anyone who might be listening. Please. Please don't let me die like this.
The dirt kept coming.
My thoughts started to scatter.
I remembered the orphanage. Sister Mary reading to us before bed. Shania braiding my hair and telling me everything would be okay someday.
All lies.
Everything had been lies.
The burning in my lungs faded and then there was nothing.
White light appeared everywhere.
I opened my eyes. I was standing. The dirt was gone. The pain was gone. Everything was just white light stretching in every direction with no beginning or end.
"Welcome, child."
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I am the Moon Goddess."
I looked around but saw nothing except light. "Am I dead?"
"Yes."
The word settled over me. I waited for fear or sadness but felt only numbness.
"But your death was unjust," the voice continued. "And you called me in your final moments."
"I did?"
"You prayed for help. Another chance, and I have come to offer you one."
Hope flickered in my chest. "What kind of chance?"
"I can send your soul back. Give you another life. A chance to seek justice for what was done to you."
"How?"
"Your soul will return to a body. You will live again but there are conditions."
Of course there were conditions. Nothing was ever free.
"What conditions?"
"You will have one hundred and fifty days in your new life. In that time you must find your true mate and receive their mark. If you succeed, you may live a full life in that body. If you fail, you will die permanently. No afterlife. No second chances. Your soul will simply cease to exist."
