The sun had slowly begun to creep across the horizon, illuminating the far away landscape. Laura hadn't fully comprehended the situation she was in, leading an army's worth of corpse's back to their graves. With every step more of her energy was squeezed out of her, her breath got a little tighter. How had Aaina beared this for so long? It was excruciating. Laura didn't dare look at them, the smell of rotting bodies was repulsive, she felt as if their souls were scratching at her own. Just a little further, she thought to herself, I can make it. Laura could see the gate, she was so close, but she was so dizzy. Her vision went black and she felt herself hit the ground.

*

Water dripped down onto her face, she was so cold and everything was so dark. Laura lifted her head, she was lying in dirt, but where? Her eyes started to adjust, it had begun to rain. Why was it so dark? Hadn't the sun been coming up? She sat herself up from where she'd been lying. As her eyes began to focus more, she could see walls made of a muddy earth. There were four walls, she looked up to what she hoped was the sky. Above her she could see the vague outline of pine trees. She involuntarily let out a frightened shriek. She scrambled to her feet, the walls around her were so high. She was in a grave. Laura tries to scramble up the sides, her heart pounding in her chest and her blood pumping in her ears. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get a hold.

"Please! Somebody help me, I can't get out!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, she listened out, but couldn't hear a sound. It took everything from inside her to stop herself from falling apart.

"Is anybody there? Please I'm stuck and can't get out!" she tried again, and listened, it was deafeningly quiet. She slid to the floor, no longer keeping her tears in. So she sat and she waited, for a noise, a sound, anything that might indicate that someone was coming to her rescue. It felt like it had been hours, yet the darkness never began to light up into the sunrise. She couldn't understand what had happened, had the darkness overpowered her? A shiver ran down her spine, the hairs on her arm stood up, she could feel someone watching her. When she looked up at first all she could see was darkness, but something about the darkness didn't feel right. It was almost like it was becoming solid. Laura blinked her eyes, hoping it was her imagination getting the better of her. But without warning, the darkness stepped forward. In its place, there was a girl. Perhaps a little older than Laura herself. She wore a black cloak and a gown that seemed like it was melting into the night. Her dark hair was styled into waves, she wore pristine make up which enhanced the deathly glare that felt like it was eating away at Laura's skin.

"What are you doing here?" said the girl, her voice was crisp like night air, "do you know the damage you've done?" Laura was startled out of words, who was she? The girl questioningly raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know how I got here, or where I am?" Laura stuttered. The girl cocked her head to one side, looking at her like she was trying to figure something out.

"You don't know where you are?" she reiterated, Laura could only shake her head. "Well then first things first, let's get you out."

The girl reached into her cloak and pulled out a rope, seemingly from nowhere, then threw one end into the grave at Laura's feet. The girl turned and walked out into the darkness, before shortly returning again, the rope gone from her hands but seemed to be tied to something. A tree perhaps? Laura stood, holding the rope in her hands. It was strange, the rope looked old, it was incredibly thick. Not wanting to question the strangeness of the situation further, Laura did her best to climb out the grave without looking too ridiculous. The girl reached out her hand, and Laura gladly took the help. The girl's hand was icy cold, Laura wondered if she had been outside for very long.

"I'm Jasmine Jin," she said, "and you are?"

A little swayed by the girl's formality she replied. "Laura Kemp. Where are we? How did I get out here in the woods? I was at my school and then everything went dark". Jasmine looked at her strangely, but didn't give her an answer.

"How do I get back to my school?" She asked again, her heart started to beat quickly in her chest.

"What happened at your school?" Jasmine asked, her dark eyes bore into Laura's which sent a cold shiver down her spine. What was going on here? Laura wondered.

"It's too much to explain, but a girl from my class... She raised the dead. I had to stop her, I had to make it right but... then everything went dark." Jasmine suddenly grabs Laura's wrist very tightly pulling Laura in front of her, so she was looking her right in the eyes. Laura tried to pull away from her frozen tight grip, but couldn't.

"You need to explain everything that's happened, now."

"I don't have to tell you anything." Laura snapped at her, now more frightened than ever.

"Oh yes you do, Laura. You girly, are in a lot of trouble, you'll be lucky to make it back to the land of the living. So you're going to tell me what you've done, because the warmth of your wrist tells me you're not dead. Which means you've seriously messed with nature, which I'm going to have to sort out. So tell me everything."