Lyla fell down onto her knees, trying not to completely freak out. What the hell was going on?! First she gets up unharmed after a car crash, then sees her own body being loaded onto a bag?! What was happening? As a sort of desperate last resort, Lyla ran up to where Cassidy sat.

“Cassidy? Please, Cas, I’m right here!” She screamed. And for a split second it seemed that her friends eyes focused on her, but then her vision refocused and it was as if Lyla was invisible once again.

Lyla fell to the ground in despair, curling into a ball and just crying, until all the paramedics and emergency personnel had gone, and she was alone in the clearing.

“Well, I’ve got to say, you’re taking this better than most. “ A voice piped up behind her. Lyla jumped up, whirling around to see a young boy leaning against a tree. He looked to be around her age, with brown hair and freckles. He seemed to be dressed in colonial era clothing. Another girl stood nearby, with long blonde locks and piercing gray-blue eyes. She looked like she’d just come from the 1950s.

“My names Ezekiel, but you can call me Zeke. The grumpy blonde is Mary. “ The boy said, gesturing first to himself and then to the girl. “ Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything. But first, why don’t ya tell us your name. It ain’t often we get newcomers round these parts. “

“My names Lyla. Lyla Martin. “ She responded.

“Well Lyla, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m extremely sorry to tell you that you’re no longer part of the land of the living. “ It was Mary that spoke up this time.

⊱ ────── {⋆⌘⋆} ────── ⊰

Over the next few months, Zeke and Mary showed Lyla the ropes of the whole ‘being dead’ thing. She came to find out a bit about the two of them.

Zeke had been a drummer boy in Washington’s army during the American Revolution. Unfortunately, he never got to see the end of it, meeting the wrong end of a British bayonet near Sharpsburg. In death, he’s followed his unit around, sparking a bunch of tales of a ghost drummer boy.

Mary’s tale was a bit less grand and adventurous. She had grown up in New York City, in one of the less friendly boroughs. Her father had abandoned her mother, sister, and her, and her mothers new husband had been abusive. One day, when he was in one of his worse moods, the boyfriend had picked up a knife and tried to hurt them. When he had tried to harm her sister, Mary had stood in front of the knife, and received a fatal blow. Of course, the boyfriend was sent to jail, and Mary’s spirit followed him, tormenting him for the rest of his days, nearly driving him to insanity.

Eventually, both of them had ended up in Lylas little mountain town, and they ended up falling in love. To Lyla, it seemed like the two of them were perfect together.