• Reya stared up at the fading sky, thinking. She was seated on the roof of her school, staring out over the buildings that surrounded it. The world was silent to her, the orange glow from the setting sun slowly vanishing into the darkness of the night sky. Church bells rang in the distance, shattering the silence that blanketed the town like snow.
    A cool, autumnal breeze swirled around her, making her long, golden hair dance about her neck and shoulders like smoke. Her eyes were like liquid silver orbs that reflected the pallid glow of the rising moon. She stood, forcing herself to look around.
    A faint, barely audible sigh passed through the young girl’s lips. She fingered the beaded necklace that rested on her slim, pale throat. It was intricately carved, all of the pieces hand crafted. It was fairly hard to tell what material had been used to make the necklace. It was polished and white, like ivory. It wasn’t ivory, though.
    Reya brushed a strand of hair from her face and strode over to the door that led back into the school building. She picked up her backpack, which had been left carelessly beside the door, and trudged down the stairs lightly. She reached the front lobby of her school and looked around. It was completely deserted.
    As she left the school the wind began to pick up a bit. It was almost seven o’ clock. She needed to get home to make dinner for herself. As she walked, though, she began to feel dizzy, lightheaded. After a few minutes Reya forced herself to stop. Her breathing had grown rough and uneven and she was sweating profusely.
    Falling to her knees, she simply blacked out, collapsing onto the ground.


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    She was in the middle of a forest clearing. It was dark out; an owl hooted in the distance. A wolf howled. Reya didn’t recognize the place, but somehow, it felt familiar to her. She stood up trying to remember what had happened. She had been walking home from the school. She remembered collapsing, but after that, she drew a blank. This brought up many questions in her mind. How did she get to this place? Why was she here? What time is it? And many more.
    Reya looked about in a feeble attempt to gather a better idea of her surroundings. Unfortunately, all she could see was trees. She took a deep breath to steady herself and decided to start walking. She closed her eyes and rubbed her throbbing temples. She looked in every direction possible, trying to map out the best way to figure out how she could get home.
    She couldn’t recall any of the survival tactics that she had learned when she was little, except, perhaps, the basics. Shivering, Reya decided that she would have to find some sort of shelter for the night before she could come up with a way out of the forest. Therefore, she started to keep her eyes open for an empty cave or a place where the trees were exceptionally thick.
    After a good, long twenty minutes or so she stumbled upon a cave, whose entrance was dark and gloomy. Reya swallowed hard, trying to rid herself of the lump that rested in her throat before entering. As she walked she had gathered some dry wood, sticks, leaves, and grass so that she might be able to start a fire. Upon entry in the cave, however, she found several torch sticks, matches, and other necessities. Clearly other people had been here prior to her entry.
    Why, though, would they leave their things there? It didn’t really make sense to her. Shaking her head, the blonde girl dropped her pile of materials and picked up one of the torches to look over it as carefully as she could in the darkness. Finally accepting that it was just an ordinary stick used for creating torches, she lit a match and set flame to the tip. Immediately the entire front end of the cave was alight in the dancing, flickering glow of her torch.
    Turning towards the back end of the cave, Reya looked as far as she could into the fissure. It was too deep, however, for her to see the end of it. She decided to let her curiosity get the best of her and began to walk forwards. Pausing, she stopped and tucked the matches and several extra torches into her backpack, which was still slung over her shoulder.
    As she approached the far end of the cave, she felt something strange happening around her body again. She blinked.

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    She was in an ambulance being rushed to the hospital. A paramedic was at her side taking her pulse, blood pressure, and other such medical needs.

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    She blinked again and she was back in the cave, walking automatically towards the darkness at the end. When she finally reached the farthest point that she could go, all she found was a dead end. Sighing and leaning against the wall, the fair-haired girl looked around again. Something caught her eye on the ground and at the base of the cave’s walls. Tilting her head to one side, she kneeled and ran her fingers over the marks.
    “Claw marks?” She said in a rather confused voice.
    Upon closer examination, though, she realized that it was scratch marks from a human being’s fingernails. Her eyes widened and she pressed herself against the wall as though she might fall through the floor. Reya closed her eyes and then reopened them as if the marks might go away. They were still there. A tan color only a shade paler than the walls themselves, shadows flickering through the particularly deep gouges.
    The blonde was trembling, eyes wide. Her eyes were locked onto that one spot, her face colorless. She swallowed hard as a lump formed in her throat again.
    Then she heard a soft rumbling sound. A clawed hand, pitch black rose up out of the dark granite. It was followed by a long arm and the top of someone’s head. The entire figure was shrouded in darkness, all black, but for the two glaringly bright crimson eyes. They were like rubies, glittering in the light of her torch. Fangs glistened at the edges of a thin, almost undefined mouth. The thing extended its arm towards her and she backed away.
    Reya was pressed against the wall. She was petrified. The claws grew closer and closer to her. She couldn’t escape them. A fanged grin spread across the creature’s mouth as he clamped onto her ankle. Her breathing quickened as he dragged her towards the floor, into the ground. She fell to the floor of the cave, unable to scream, unable to make any noise at all. Her throat caught. She couldn’t breathe anymore.
    She burst through a thick layer of solid rock into pure darkness. Her bag was still slung over her shoulder, but now there were shackles around her wrists and ankles. She had lost her torch whilst being dragged through the ground. When her eyes finally adjusted she realized that she didn’t need it. There was a good amount of light within the enormous cavern to which she had entered, though from where, she couldn’t tell.
    Pain wracked her entire body. A voice called out. “You should know of the curse from your grandmother’s necklace. And now you are under its control.” A wicked cackle, then she blinked.

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    Reya could hear shouting. White was flashing all around her. She could pick up occasional words; “Pulse,” “Temperature,” “Reaction.” Her eyes opened, but just barely. Her head was pounding within her skull. The rest of her body was in agonizing pain.
    Tremors ran through her body wildly as she brought her fingers up to the necklace that was pressed against her pale skin. Her fingers clasped around the ghostlike beads and she tugged at it, trying to get it off. It was stuck. It wasn’t coming off. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.
    A doctor put a hand against her shoulder, shaking her.
    “Miss… Are you alright? What’s wrong? What happened to you?” He was firing questions at her insanely fast. Her mind wasn’t comprehending properly.
    She tried to respond, but no words came out. Her mouth moved silently as she gasped for breath. Finally she found her voice. “Necklace… Off… Curse… Pain…” Her voice trailed off into nothingness as she fell unconscious again.

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    Blackness surrounded her once more and she began to grow confused. Thoughts, ideas, memories… everything was swirling around her in a blur. Her eyes snapped opened again. She was surrounded by flames, all the while having harsh, hoarse voices calling out around her. She screamed.
    Pain erupted in every cell of her body. She couldn’t tell if it was real or if it was only in her mind. Tears slid down her cheeks. She tried to move. The shackles on her wrists and ankles began to tighten.
    Scalding hot iron chains wound themselves around her body, crushing her. She screamed again, closing her eyes and trying to block it out. It was impossible for her, though. The cold, harsh laughter. The jeering, taunting voices. Burning pain exploding in her whole body. She couldn’t take it.
    Her body fell limp. She was on her knees. Reya held her tongue, not wanting to scream again. It was hard, though.
    She held her breath. She was shaking uncontrollably.
    “Why?” She said, her voice hoarse and gravelly.
    “Why?! WHY?!!! For revenge, you idiotic little pest!” He roared. That shadowed figure, once again. He stood in front of her, eyes fiery as he yelled at he. “For what your grandmother decided to do to my family! Do you know what that necklace of yours is made of?! BONES!! HUMAN BONES!!!”
    She was on her knees, but this made her look up at him. She was defiant now. Her grandmother hadn’t been that kind of person.
    “No. You aren’t even worth being called a human anymore. If you could do this just to get revenge, you aren’t a human!” She spat the words at him coldly, like they were acid in her mouth.
    He froze. He had never expected her to respond in such a way. Then the corners of his lips turned upwards in a sadistic grin.
    “You’re so naïve, little girl. You know nothing of humanity. Humans are insane. Humans will do anything to get power, money. To get what they want. And what happens in the end? To all the people that they pushed down, out of their way? Do you know what happens to them? They lose everything. Just like I did. Because of your grandmother. You didn’t know the real her. What she was truly like. Did you?”
    Reya was shaken. The harsh reality of it was a shock to her. Her mind wasn’t quite able to grasp the words that he had spoken. Her silvery eyes, reflecting the firelight, stared up at him solemnly.
    “You’re right. I didn’t know her. I didn’t know her at all. But if you were to reap revenge, why would you do it to me? To her granddaughter? Why wouldn’t you do it to her?” Her voice had grown very low, very solemn.
    He shook his head. His fangs shone in the firelight.
    “Because you were the thing that meant the most to her. Her little baby granddaughter. Because to take you from her, to cause you pain, would be a more powerful blow to her than doing something to her own person.” His voice had sunken to match her. “Enough, now, though. I’m sick of talking.” He walked over to her, staring into her eyes. “I want you to suffer more than anyone has ever suffered. Beyond even what your brilliant little imagination could conjure up.”
    She swallowed, staring him in the eyes. She knew that her body, let alone her mind, wouldn’t be able to take the stress of torture.
    Was it a dream? Or was it something else? If it was, she hoped to God, Buddha, whoever, that she could wake up. Suddenly, an insane laugh escaped her lips. She sounded like an nutcase. She had suddenly been reminded of the part in Alice in Wonderland when she had been trying to awaken herself, her sleeping figure outside of her wonderland.
    Was this her own insane wonderland? Was she crazy? She was laughing still, like a lunatic. The Cheshire cat, playing pranks. That had been one of her favorite movies. The Queen of Hearts was chasing Alice with a deck of cards. Colors began swirling around her.

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    She sat bolt upright in her hospital bed, laughing maniacally. It was a screeching, loud, insane laughter. That of a mad person.
    The doctor who had spoken to her before turned to stare at her. She seemed hysterical to him. He was both shocked and confused. She had been unconscious, apparently had just collapsed on the street, had gone comatose for about two days with the occasional brief awakening, and was now sitting up in her bed and laughing like a lunatic.
    “What the hell is wrong with this kid?” He muttered to himself, walking over to check blood pressure. “Miss… Are you okay?” He inquired. The doctor, a youngish looking man with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, was staring down at her as though she probably belonged in an asylum.
    “Cheshire cat! Queen of Hearts!” She was babbling like an idiot. “Haha! Look! There goes the white rabbit and the Mad Hatter.”
    He stared at her, and then left for the main office. Earlier she had seemed so serious. She had told him something about her necklace. They hadn’t been able to get it off. Nobody in the office could break it, nor could anyone find something that would be useful to cut it. Maybe she was just insane? Probably.
    He sighed and stared at her. She continued to babble incessantly. Shaking his head, the young doctor moved out of her room to contact someone of higher status who might be able to do something with her.
    Another doctor, older and more experienced, entered. She had calmed down by then. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin was exceedingly pale. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth. She was shaking.
    “He’s going to come and get me. I know he is. But I won’t let him. No. No, I’m not going to let him.” A terrifying grin broke out upon her face.
    The doctor was staring at her. To him, she belonged more in an asylum than in a hospital. Shaking his head, he took the arm of the younger doctor and the two men walked out to discuss her condition in the hallway.
    Reya was giggling to herself. She stood up slowly, quietly, and walked over to the bright, sunny window. She was on the eighth floor. Laughing, she pushed the window open.
    Her eyes were wide, those of a lunatic. She climbed up onto the sill and stared out the window quietly, wind brushing past her and making her hair swirl around her thin body.
    The doctors reentered the room and their eyes grew wide as they saw the slight, pale figure fall forwards and out of the window. Both men ran towards the window, looking out as her small figure fell towards the pavement.
    She was laughing maniacally and the two doctors were screaming.
    A loud crack as her body hit the pavement. Instant death. Blood pooled around her, though there was no hope for the blonde. Insanity had set in faster than anyone could have guessed. Perhaps it had been the sudden, mysterious death of her grandmother. Perhaps it had been something else. Now, though, it seems that no one will know why poor Reya Cooper lost her mind so quickly.
    All we know is that it happened. And that the necklace is what killed her. Her necklace disappeared, however, had disappeared within a moment of her death. Was it her grandmother’s fault? Was it the fault of the mysterious man whose identity is never revealed? None shall ever know.