Queen of the Damned

It was midnight. I hanged myself from a noose made of white silk right outside my boyfriend's apartment. I was smiling as I died.

No, I wasn't crazy. I did it to become a Wraith, so I could come back even stronger in seven days.

The Wraith Apocalypse was just a week away. Anyone who died during this time would become a Wraith. And I wasn't just going to be a Wraith, I was going to be the Wraith Queen, the most terrifying being in existence.

Only then could I get revenge on my scumbag boyfriend, Ethan, and avenge the horrors of my past life.

You see, in the last timeline, when the Wraith Apocalypse hit, my best friend, Sarah, died in a car crash and became a Wraith. She protected me, helped me survive in that hellish world. But Ethan, that bastard, betrayed me. He skinned me alive to please some beautiful, powerful Wraith.

He tricked me into drinking wine laced with sleeping pills. I woke up paralyzed. At first, I thought it was some twisted game, some messed-up foreplay. I pleaded with him to stop.

But it wasn't a game. He was holding a scalpel, grinning as he sliced into my skin. The drugs numbed the pain, but the terror... I'll never forget it.

I counted. One thousand and fifty-three cuts. That's how many it took him to peel off my skin, leaving me a raw, bloody mess.

Why? I screamed, I begged him to explain. He just laughed. "You were nothing but a toy," he said.

Sarah, my Wraith friend, found out what happened. She was furious, she wanted revenge. But Ethan’s new Wraith girlfriend, a truly powerful one, was too strong. Sarah was destroyed, wiped out, because of me. I died, heartbroken and utterly hopeless.

Then, by some miracle, I was reborn.

This time, things would be different.

First, I had to save Sarah. Dying within seven days of the Apocalypse made you a Wraith, but it was agonizing. She sacrificed everything for me. This time, I would protect her.

It was 4 PM. Sarah was due to die in a car crash in an hour and a half. I video-called her at work.

"Hey, Amy! Missing me already?" she asked, her face appearing on my phone.

Seeing her again brought tears to my eyes. I had to compose myself. "Don't leave work when your shift ends," I said, my voice serious. "I'm coming to get you."

"What's going on?" she asked, confused.

"Just stay put. No matter what happens, wait for me!"

At 6:30 PM, we left her office together. But then it happened. A red pickup truck, speeding, headed straight for us. I swerved, but it still clipped us. We were okay, thankfully, just shaken up.

I remembered the truck from my past life. Red, no plates. This wasn’t an accident. It was attempted murder.

“Sarah,” I said urgently, “have you pissed anyone off lately?” Sarah was kind, gentle, almost naive. I couldn’t imagine who would want her dead.

She shook her head. "No."

"Think!"

It finally clicked. "You mean, that truck…on purpose?"

I nodded. She shivered and clung to me.

Then, hesitantly, she said, "There is one thing…it’s about you.”

My heart san...