Love After Death

*Chapter 1* Cara's POV

I walked wearily around the gloomy clearing. Where am I? How did I get here?

"Hello Cara, I have waited for you a very long time." a disturbing voice whispered from behind. I turned around quickly, trying to find the person or thing who spoke to me.

"Who are you, where are you, and how do you know my name?" I am utterly terrified. Here I am in a clearing, lost in the woods with an odd voice whispering to me. Great, how could my day get worse?

"No need to worry Cara, it won't hurt very long. Only a short while. It will be so quick you won't even feel it."

"Wh-what are you ta-talking about?" At this point I have no idea what is going on, but I am scared out of my mind.

"Your death, sweet-heart." Then everything went dark. I felt a sharp pain to the back of my neck and my scream was cut off abruptly as a cold, bony hand was smacked over my lips. "Shh deary, we don't want anyone to hear you." I started kicking frantically trying to release the overpowering grip on my body. Was this the end of me? What is going on? I managed to get a quick glimpse of my attacker as the moon shone through the trees to reveal a masked man who was going to end my life. I bit his hand.

"Let go of me! Someone help me! I'm being attac-" I was cut off again by my attacker's slender hand placed across my mouth.

"Shut up little girl. Your life might last a bit longer if you cooperate." Here I was being dragged by someone in the woods. My fifteen years of life about to be over. Tears stream down my face and muffled whimpers come from my mouth that is being covered by the hand of my attacker. He lets go of my mouth and allows me to speak finally.

"What are you going to do with me?" I asked shakily. My attacker did not answer me, but dragged me into a doorway of what looked like an abandoned house. Why would he want to take me here? I have so many questions going through my mind, and I can't think straight. Am I going to be raped? Murdered? Tortured? All I can do is sit up against the wall where my tied up body lays. My attacker then lifts me onto a metal table that's stained with blood. My eyes widen in fear of seeing a large knife laying next to my body now as I am set on the table. He puts my arms and legs in restraints, and injects me with some sort of green fluid that instantly had a bad effect on me. I started getting dizzy and the world around me got fuzzy. "What's going on?" My voice sounded different, deeper, almost a groan, it hurt to speak. What is wrong with me? My attacker picked up the knife that I was dreading he wouldn't pick up, and started cutting into my chest and removed my heart. Wait, what? How can I still see everything? My body started to scrunch up and I went into the fetal position. I started moaning and groaning over, and over again uncontrollably.

"What have you done to me?" I screeched in pain.

"It worked," he chuckled, "it actually worked." Everything blacked out.

I woke up on the metal table. I was cold, and afraid. I wasn't even breathing, and I didn't have a pulse. Was I even alive? No, I was dead. I was dead, 15 year old, Cara Lynn was dead, but still alive? That doesn't sound right? How does that work?

"Hello?" There was no answer. My attacker had left. I was safe-ish. Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes; I paused to listen for anyone or anything. "Hello?" I shyly muttered once again. There was a faint groan. "Who's there?" I asked nervously. No one appeared and I heard nothing more after that. Probably just a bird, I thought to myself. I walked out into the woods. "Where the hell am I?" I thought aloud. "Who the hell am I?" This was going to be a long terrifying day.

I walked around the gloomy clearing unsure of my surroundings and whoever or whatever may lurk around me. I tried to ignore that fear, of being followed, the fear someone was watching me. I kept walking. As I walked through these woods, location unknown, I began to feel like I would never get back home. It had been hours since I saw any signs of life, so far walking in this direction did me no good. That was, until I heard a twig snap behind me.

"Hello?" I called out into the direction the snap came from. No answer. "Probably just a bird or a squirrel or something." I thought aloud. I continued walking. Once again I heard a rukkus behind me and I turned around slowly just in time to see something dart out of the corner of my eye. My heart lurched. Was someone else with me? Or something? "Is anyone there?" I called out again.

"If I count as an anyone anymore." Someone spoke quietly behind me. I turned around quickly, only to see nothing once more.

"Probably nothing." I tell myself reassuringly. I trudged on.

Hours have passed now and I still am completely and utterly lost. To be honest I think I've been going in circles. I have no idea where the hell I am. Time for something to change. I started walking back to where I woke up on that table, maybe there would be a clue on how to get back. Surprisingly I got there quick. Even if I had been walking for hours, I obviously had been walking in circles otherwise I would've gotten a lot farther. Doesn't matter now. All of those hours are gone and wasted away.