I kissed his cheek then went over to Carlo. “Carlo. You have no idea how sorry I am for what happened to you. You deserved to find your soul mate, and I had hoped that it would have been me.” He put a finger under my chin to lift my head back up to meet his gaze. The look on his face was the same look Domenico gave Kris. This was my chance to ask him about the odd voice mail that he had left me that had been plaguing my mind. “What did you mean when you said that the Faction is looking for me? What Faction—”

But before I could form another word, the two of them started screaming. Their eyes rolled to the back of their sockets and all that was left were the white, eerie sclera. With looks of utter terror on their faces, they continued screaming with all their might. At first, startled by their sudden change of expression and how loud their screams were, I could not grasp what they were saying.

Then I understood. They were asking for help. My help. Soon my skin looked like the surface of a boiling stew. Beneath the thin skin bubbled toxins, the pains of my past leaving my blood, seeking release. Then fog came out of nowhere, engulfing me, suffocating me. It felt as if I might die. I was desperately trying to free myself, screaming for help, yet nobody came. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the fog disappeared.

Suddenly, I was sitting in the passenger seat of a car—similar to the one Bryan and I had stolen from his parents that one time when he had tried teaching me how to drive. From the surroundings, I knew Bryan was the one driving without even having to check. I somehow could feel that this was it—this was the moment before he died.

“Bryan, please.” He didn’t seem to hear me. “Bryan, pull over! Slow down!”

As if he had not heard my warning, as if he had to follow the script fate had prepared for him, he continued driving, a steely look of determination on his face.

“Stop!”

No matter what I said, the car was still moving, getting faster with every second. My hand grabbed the seat tightly until my knuckles turned white.

Still speeding, he finally seemed to be aware of my presence as he turned to face me. A scary smile that I had never seen before formed on his face. “This is all your fault, Avery. You deserve this.”

The fog came for the second time, like a dark void. A never-ending darkness that consumed me and left me with nothing. I was so empty that I couldn’t even feel the pain as the fog continued to suffocate me. When the fog finally cleared, I was still in the dark, only this time, I could hear voices.

“Where is she?” The voice somehow felt familiar.