Chapter 1

I stand on the ice in the middle of the lake. The full moon is the only light illuminating the frozen lake as I hear an eerie voice call, "Alyson." I turn to see a dark, cloaked figure looming over me on the dock. I step back in fear, immediately recognizing its smile as one that could only belong to the Mad Hunter. I gasp at the form in its arms; a very pale and very blue Avi.

"You want her back?" the Mad Hunter says. He tosses her lifeless form and she lands several feet away. I rush to her, my heart beating out of my chest. The ice cracks and I freeze as the ice gives way under Avi and she slips beneath the water. "You will never be able to save her," the Mad Hunter chuckles. "All of your loved ones are in danger as long as you're here." He stands in front of me now and I feel my heart drop as the ice cracks again. I look down just in time for the ice to give way under my feet and I fall through into the icy waters below.

My eyes snap open as I immediately sit up. My heart is still pounding, I notice as I try to calm my rapid breathing. I scan the room to try and orient myself. I'm…I'm home. I'm in the old house.

"Aly?" I hear a soft voice beside me. Avi…she's okay, I register. "Did you have another nightmare?" she asks. I nod, letting out a shaky sigh. "Come here," Avi says as she scoots closer and wraps her arms around me. I clutch her tight as tears trickle down my cheeks. "That's the third one this week, Al," Avi points out. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

I shake my head, "I just get the same nightmare…of seeing you and watching you drown or finding you…after the fact. But I lose you in every single one." I squeeze Avi tighter, as if I let her go, she'll vanish.

"Oh Alyson," Avi whispers, "I'm here. I'm alive. You're not losing me. I'm okay."

"But you weren't though," I say, pulling away. "It wasn't that Tyler and I managed to save you in just the nick of time. We found you dead…and doctors had to revive you. And I…I can't shake the fact that you…you died."

A heavy silence hangs in the room as I feel Avi's eyes study me. I finally feel her hand on my arm as she says, "Aly, you can't keep torturing yourself like this. I'm alive, focus on that. I'm here. I'm not leaving you." I finally turn to face her; her eyes sympathetic. I clutch her hand as I let out a sigh and hang my head. I jump at the sound of Avi's phone ringing.

My eyes pop open as I feel my heart pound in my chest. The anxious feeling grips my chest as I slowly sit up. Is this…Aly? I think to myself. "Hey, you okay?" I ask her through the Voice. I wait several more moments, looking back to see Michael snoring peacefully. I give a small smile before grabbing my phone off my nightstand and stepping out of the bedroom. I freeze for a moment before quickly dialing Avi's number. If something is going on with Aly, Avi should know, I think to myself. Plus, if Aly won't answer me over the Voice, she probably won't answer her phone either. I nod and pull the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?" I hear a hoarse voice answer.

"Hey Avi, it's me," I say groggily. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, I was up," she says convincingly. "Let me guess, you felt it too?"

"Yeah," I say. "Did Aly have another nightmare?"

"Why don't I let her tell you," Avi says. I hear the phone shuffle briefly.

"Ty?" I hear Alyson's voice shake as she answers. I feel a pang in my chest.

"Hey Aly," I say softly. "What's going on?"

"I-I had another nightmare," she says shakily.

"What was it about?" I ask gently.

"Avi again," she answers. "But I also saw it again."

"It?" I ask confused.

"The Mad Hunter," she says. "He was holding Avi's…body and telling me that I couldn't save her and that everyone I loved was in danger because of me." I hear her voice break and a stifled sob.

"Hey, hey, listen to me," I say firmly but gently. "You know none of that is true. You did save Avi. You aren't putting those you love in danger. What's causing this, Al?"

"I don't know!" Alyson almost shouts. "I don't know," she repeats, her voice quivering.

"Hey, I love you, you know that?" I say to her softly.

"Yeah," she sniffs.

"Why don't I talk to Avi for a minute?" I ask gently. I hear the phone rustle before asking, "What should we do?"

"I don't know," Avi says. "But I'm worried. What happened with me definitely set something off and it only seems to be getting worse. I mean…it happened months ago and she's still having regular nightmares."

"I know," I say, almost feeling hopeless. "I'm just afraid we're going to have a repeat of that summer before Chloe died."

"Me too," Avi says nervously. I let out a sigh, letting the silence hang for a few moments. Finally, I sit up straight.

"I may have an idea."

I let out a sigh and hand the phone to Avi. "He wants to talk to you," I mumble.

Avi nods and puts a hand on my shoulder, "I'll be right back," she says as she steps out of the bedroom. I only nod in response as I pull my knees to my chest.

God…what is wrong with me? I think to myself. Why am I thinking like this? Why am I having these consistent nightmares? And why am I seeing it? I feel a couple tears trickle down my cheeks as I rest my forehead on my knees. I look up as Avi walks back through the door. She gives me a sad smile as she sits down beside me on the bed. "I'm sorry I keep waking you guys up like this," I say softly.

Avi shakes her head as she puts a hand on my back, "Don't worry about that. I care more about what you're dealing with. I just want you to be okay."

"Did you and Tyler come up with a plan to fix me?" I say, holding back a chuckle I can't bring myself to voice.

"We may have some ideas," Avi says with a small smile. "But you need to sleep now. We can talk about this more in the morning." I let out a sigh as Avi lays back down in the bed. I lay down beside her and she wraps her arms around me and pulls me closer. "I love you, Aly," she says as she rests her head on top of mine.

"Love you too," I mumble. I hear her breaths become even and the soft beating of her heart but sleep does not return to me tonight.