I was surrounded by a dark blue abyss. I opened my frozen blue lips with tears already forming in my eyes. But you can’t scream or cry underwater. I noticed my hair gravitating towards the surface, flowing like the seaweed right below me. My face is what haunts me the most though. The shocked, pained look I had, too panicked and confused to even make an effort to swim to the surface.

I began to cry the more I stared into my twisted, pale face. I moved my gaze upwards, to the surface of Loverheads’ Lake. I spun around in a complete circle to see any clues about how this happened. I stayed above the surface for around five minutes before I spotted a black-hooded figure making its way down the thin stretch of sand before reaching the water. It furiously started to dig a deep hole in the sand before pulling out what looked like a scuba mask and placing it over the hood.

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I tried desperately to wake myself up and out of this dream as I always do. I didn’t think my time was coming so soon. When I was fourteen, the dreams begun. It first started with a woman dying from old age. I woke up in the morning freaked out a bit, but not thinking about it much. It’s just a dream, right? Little did I know how wrong I was. The lady died a week later. I saw the obituary in the newspaper.

I usually have the dreams every couple of weeks, but it fluctuates. Each one of the people that were shown dying in my dreams are now dead in real life. I have never told anyone when or how they will die, not even my best friend. I chose to go to Grace’s party with her and had to watch her get into the car filled with the wrong people and drive off, unknowing of the tragic consequences lying ahead. Lily would be announced dead the next morning after the car slammed into a telephone pole. Lily’s boyfriend Timothy, was then sentenced to prison for a DUI.

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The figure started swimming across the lake at quite a fast pace, considering it had clothes on. I watched as it reached to where my body is several feet under. I saw it’s chest rise as it took a deep breath and plummeted under the murky lake. He is only down there a minute or two before dragging my limp, lifeless body out onto the surface. I searched around the outside of the lake hopeful to see someone that would report this being for taking part in my death. I then realized it seemed to be the early morning and Loverheads’ lake doesn’t usually open until noon, so it’s unlikely that any passersby would see this dreadful scene anyways. The being started to swim to the edge of the lake, dragging my corpse with it. I was wearing my varsity field hockey sweatshirt and a pair of gray sweatpants with Canton High written in gold letters along the sides. He continued to pull my body along the sand up to the woods. “How long would they take to find me?” I wondered. The forests are heavily wooded and dense, and who knows where my supposed killer would hide me. In fact, hikers often go missing and the search and rescue teams invade Loverhead’s Lake at least every other month. I began to wonder how my family and friends will feel. When Lily died, her entire family was mourning for months on end and still are to this day. Her friends, too. The last thing I wanted was for my family’s and friend’s lives to be completely turned upside down, something that no one deserves.

After awhile, the black-hooded figure stopped dragging me once he was under the large, droopy willow tree. It is now that he would start digging my grave. I had seen enough deaths in the past two years through my dreams that I can usually predict what the killer is doing once the person has already died. Not surprisingly, I was right. He walked away for a minute and came back with a long, metal shovel that would easily be able to break into the loose dirt. It started digging at such a rapid pace, that nearly ten minutes later my grave was dug up. Then, my body was picked up by the arms and ever so carelessly thrown into the deep pit. Once he was done piling dirt onto my already filthy body, he let the shovel drop to the ground right over the grave. This was an unusual move for killers.

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I woke up, in my bed panting and sweating profusely. My alarm clock read 6:00 a.m. I had exactly one hour to pull myself together before I needed to walk to the bus stop and begin the homework I failed to complete last night. I tried to hold back tears, but I knew my time was coming. In my dream, I looked the same age as I am now. But I figured it would be best to cherish and live my life as completely as possible.

“Grab some breakfast before you leave dear,” my mom reminded me as I was almost out the door. I wasn’t ready to leave her.

I boarded the bus and plastered a smile on my face, trying to force myself to enjoy one of my last bus rides. I couldn’t help but think if there was any way I could prevent this death or at least delay it. I doubt it would work or be a good idea. Messing with the forces of life and death could make everything much worse. Like when I prevented someone from consuming poisoned food, they instead died from an extreme case of pneumonia. Sometimes I wonder if I had made the right decision with letting Lily get into that car. I was so worried that she would instead have to face an even more painful death in the future. But now I had nothing to lose. The last thing I wanted was for people to remember by was that I suspiciously drowned in a lake and the person who was responsible is still on the loose. Plus, I didn’t have much to lose. Sure, I could die even earlier or suffer more, but I refused to except what was destined for me. I knew I had to try to do something, no matter what the consequences were.

I arrived at school and went straight to the library to start to brainstorm ideas as to what I could possibly do. I ripped a paper from my binder and started to jot down everything. I could tell someone about what’s been going on but I’m 99% sure they’d think I was going crazy. I could fake an illness and stay in my room for a long, long time and lock my doors and windows to prevent a murderer. Probably wouldn’t work. By the time the bell had rung, I was at a pretty big loss of ideas.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. I rode the bus by myself and slowly walked home, attempting to soak up the sun and the world around me. It was such a lovely day, with the birds chirping and the tree branches swaying in the wind. I almost walked by my house from staring at a butterfly fluttering between rows of my neighbor’s lilies. I decided when I walk in and am greeted by my dog Daisy that I should take her on  walk. What was the point of doing homework now that I wouldn’t even live to be an adult anyways?

I clipped Daisy’s leash to her collar and locked my front door behind me. It was already 7:00, considering I had field hockey practice and stopped for dinner with the team.

Daisy was so happy that she couldn’t contain her energy and practically was the one walking me to the end of our block. As I tighten my grip on Daisy and struggle to catch my breath, I turn to see a bike parked on the edge of someone’s driveway. I let go of Daisy knowing she would find her way home and hop onto the bike. We already know where to. The lake. I didn’t even have twenty-four hours to process my dream before I was about to die.

The goal of today was to not think about death, or about Lily, but I constantly caught myself thinking about all the amazing memories I had with her. The sleepovers every weekend, field hockey tournaments, and having her always by my side. She even was the one that introduced me to my boyfriend, who I’ve been with for two years. She had made such a big impact on me as a person and on my life, that I felt vulnerable without her.

One of my favorite memories was on my birthday, when she snuck out of her house and surprised me at mine. She texted me that she was on her way and all of a sudden, opened my window and tumbled into my room. She then showed me two concert tickets for our favorite band. With pure excitement and joy, we quickly climbed out my window and onto my lawn without even hesitating.

“I bought them a couple of months ago, but knew our parents wouldn’t let us go all alone, and

I pulled into the beach, which closed at six. A few people were still in the parking lot, I was farthest from where the entrance was. I start crying, hoping someone would notice.

A voice suddenly spoke, “I wouldn’t bother, Kate. No one will see you from here”

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After everyone had finally left and it had felt like hours later, I made my way to the beach. I tried to run, but it holds me back. It tied my ankles up with the thick, course rope before using it on my wrists. I headed down the beach and I try to take in my surroundings. I don’t bother fighting it, there was no use. It would chase me wherever I would go. Nowhere to run nor hide. We reach the surface and it carries me in a few feet. Right before the sandbar drops real deep, I prepared to dive.

I said nothing, only breathing in the salty air around me. I already knew nothing would change my mind.

I exhaled the fresh air from my lungs as he threw me far off the drop off into the lake. I struggled for several minutes, pained and terrified more than ever. I worried about going to heaven or hell, my family, my friends, who would find the note. And most importantly, when I could find Lily.