Free Everlasting by L.K. Kuhl

tight and opened it again, wiggling my fingers toward it, but not grasping enough of it. I tried my fingernail, prying, at last catching the thin edge. It slid and moved. Little by little, I inched it toward me and picked it up. My breath caught in my throat and a coldness shuddered my core, almost sending me to my knees. I read the label and froze. It was a music CD of Chopin.
    My hands shook and my mind spun. I turned it over and inspected it closer, seeing a strip of masking tape at the bottom. A word, scribbled in ink, ran across the tape, but the fading letters made it nearly impossible to read. Really trying to focus, I studied it longer, eyes squinting tightly. I finally made out the word… Tate .
    A tingling shiver ran the length of my body. I threw it back into the drawer and slammed it shut. My entire body trembled, and I hyperventilated, sweat dotting my brow. If Matt and Mandy had planted it here—some hurtful joke—they had some explaining to do.
    The hall to my bedroom seemed like a mile long as I ran out of the room, stumbling and using the wall for support. My breathing was running a race with my heart as I staggered in and slammed the door, collapsing onto the bed. I clutched my head…reeling.
    I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t contain myself, so I got up and went back to the room, grabbing the CD out of the drawer. I raced downstairs, ready to show Mandy and see if she could tell me. She and Matt still weren’t home, so I ran back up to my room, this time tucking it in my top dresser drawer underneath my underwear.
    I fidgeted, unable to sit in the house any longer, so I put on my shoes to go for another run. Clear my head. Think things through. I opened the door, and the chilly air swept through me, so I grabbed my jacket, wrapping and tying it around my waist.
    As I stood on the stoop and stretched my legs, limbering up, I listened to the chatter of people playing at the beach. What if Tate is there? My legs were still stiff as I took off, finding it hard not to go in that direction just to see. The compulsion to see him astounded me. I managed to steer clear, though, and ran the same path I ran the other night.
    I drew in deep breaths, getting into the run, relaxing and focusing my mind on fun things. But Tate and the CD kept popping into my head. And with the strange music and mysterious feelings I had last night, it knocked me out of rhythm. My breathing became labored—a burning blade cutting through my chest. Energy plummeted—legs became metal boards. I ran as far as the cemetery and turned around, heading back toward Mandy’s.
    A crack of thunder split the sky, and the clouds tumbled, becoming big gray savages. My feet picked up pace again. It was either hurry…or prepare to get drenched. But then…I heard it. Something that mimicked a whine or a sad howl. I stopped, shooting my gaze over the iron fence of the cemetery. A black dog meandered its way toward the exit gate, head hanging low. Lost and lonely.
    I gasped. “Symphony?” The dog’s ears perked, and she came toward me. “Come here, Symphony. Come here, girl.” She ran and tackled me with slobbery licks. My head swam with disbelief.
    The sky recoiled and rolled even darker, and the wind came up. Another storm blew in—this one, even worse than yesterday. I grabbed her by the collar, and we took off at a fast walk toward Mandy’s. “We’d better get out of here. The storm’s coming fast.”
    Some strange sound just then rippled through my eardrums. Something so odd and grotesque that it crippled me…paralyzing me. The bizarre screeching sound came from behind. I glanced over my shoulder, almost stumbling on a downed tree branch in the process.
    When my gaze latched on to the source of the threatening sound, I became dizzy, my legs grew weak, almost collapsing. One of the black-cloaked men trailed about forty yards behind, chasing me, closing in fast. I let go of Symphony’s collar, urging her to follow. I turned around