Embry POV
"Dude, you haven't moved in three days!" Seth exclaims.
It's true. I've been lying here in the sand, the exact spot she left me in. well, not totally true. I needed to use the bathroom a couple times, but the ocean was right there…
"Dude, just come back. You must be starving."
I wasn't. I hadn't eaten in three days, but I was fine. All I kept thinking was, Cassie hasn't eaten in ten years. And she'll never eat again.
"Embry," Jake says. "I know you're upset, but just come back. You can lay on Emily's couch and mourn.
I shake my head.
"She's not coming back," Brady says. I hear someone hit him, but I don't look up to see who.
"What he means is, you're lying here like you expect her to be there soon. She's gone," Jake says softly.
"Gone," I repeat quietly. "Forever."
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Cassie POV
It's been forever, but also only seconds. There's something important! There was a pause. A noticeable pause.
I drowned, then the voice told me I lost something. Then I went back, and something happened.
What happened?
And why am I back here?
I struggle against the nothingness. I finally open my mouth, only to realize that the nothingness is choking me.
But there's something important.
More important then my own life.
"What is it!?" I scream. Then the nothingess releases my throat. I am standing in a meadow. It's unlike anything I've ever seen.
The grass is green. Almost too green. And the sky isn't any color. The only word to describe the sky is bright. It was burning my eyes. And there were trees all around.
"Where are you going Cassie?" a voice asks mockingly from behind me.
"There's something I left behind," I say, looking for the source of the voice.
"But you went back to find your love," the vioce says. "And you've found it. Now you can move on."
At the word love, everything comes back. Embry. I have to go back for Embry!
I love him.
"I have to go back to Embry!" I scream.
"I'm afraid that's quite impossible," the voice says. "My dear, you can never go back."
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Embry POV
Together they lift me up and begin to carry me to Sam and Emily's. at that moment, I see something sparkling in the sand next to the water.
Without thinking, I jump away from them, ignoring their yelps of surprise, and run to it. I forget for a moment where I saw it, and I drop to my knees, digging around for it in the sand.
I find a small silver chain. This is it, I think, as I lift it up. On the end of the chain is a small silver locket. It is old and worn away. I try and open it, but the ocean has sealed it shut. I try and force it open. If it has a picture of her, I will open it.
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Cassie POV
"Your love misses you," the voice says tauntingly.
"Show yourself!" I scream.
"Ah, mustn't break the rules," it says. "Your love has found your locket."
Thinking about Embry, I had almost forgotten the thing I had spent ten years searching for. "The locket," I whisper.
"Ah, that strikes a chord," says the voice. "But you don't care about that anymore. Then locket. You once left me for the man who gave you that locket."
"W-what?" I say, confused.
"Ah, miss me sister?" Maggie asks, walking into the meadow.
"Maggie?" I ask in disbelief.
"I'm not dead," she says conversationally. "You see, they locked me in an insane asylum when I told them I'd murdered you."
Her face dropped. The evil, taunting façade gone. "They told me you'd drowned, and it wasn't my fault. But it was. I murdered you."
She started crying.
"Why are you here, if you're not dead?" I ask cautiously.
"You see," she says, still crying. "When they put me in the asylum, I started having visions. I saw this meadow. And a voice spoke to me, telling me I had murdered you. But it told me I could have one more chance. It said I could help you. And I wasn't going to. I was going to get my revenge. I have the power to do that now."
"But I see that you love that man down there," she continues. "And, Cassie," she says. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
She crumples to the floor, and I throw my arms around my sister.
"I forgive you!" I cry. "It's okay, Maggie. But is there any way I can go back?" I beg.
"The locket," she says through tears. "I kept it from you all this time. But now…" she trailed of.
"Now!?" I ask frantically. Maggie, I need to know!"
"If the locket is opened, you have a chance. One tiny second to jump from this place back into the human world. To be alive again. You new love…Embry, he's about to open it. Don't miss your chance!"
I hug my sister one last time. Then I prepare myself to jump.
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Embry POV
This stupid locket won't open!
Disgusted, I throw it aside. Then, as I'm about to walk back to Emily's house, I hear, "Open it Embry," so quiet that it could be the wind.
But I pick the locket up again, and this time it opens easily. There is a small bit of ruined paper inside. It must have been a picture at one point, but the ocean had destroyed it.
I start to sob again, but then I see something.
Someone.
Lying on the ground was a girl. About my age, with black hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes. She doesn't move for a moment.
It's Cassie, a voice tells me. And it is. The skin isn't as translucent white, and the eyes and hair aren't colorless, but it is definitely my Cassie.
She begins to cough. Then she rolls over and spits up a lot of ocean water. She sits up, looking at me as if she's very confused.
"Embry!" she cries happily, after a long nervous pause. I throw my arms around her.
"Am I hallucinating?" I ask her.
"I don't think so," she says.
I look at Jake and Seth to be sure. Their mouths are hanging wide open.
I lift up Cassie and carry her over to them. "Come on boys," I say, grinning.