The Day I Died (EDITING)

Prologue

(Universal POV)

In the loud, buzzing streets of New York City, sixteen year old Lily Woodland's fingers tap vigorously against her phone as she texts her friend, "I'll b @ your house soon! Cya!" twirling a strand of her shoulder-length light ginger hair. She can't wait for the huge slumber party she'd be attending; high schoolers barely attend parties these days. Lily smiles down at the two large white bags she was carrying. She'd saved up her whole monthly allowance in order to prepare for the treats and cosmetics so that this slumber party would be legendary! As she crosses sidewalks and roads, Lily finally spots her friend's apartment across the street. Excitement filling up in her quicker than a jet plane could fly, she joyfully sprints over the painted white pattern on the black pavement. Just as Lily's purple flat is about to touch the sidewalk, a sudden huge force slams into her with painfully powerful speed, Lily too shocked to even scream. Her whole body feeling like lead, the girl tumbled onto the hard, dark street, her head hurting like crazy. Lily puts a tentative finger up to her head, only to widen her eyes when she sees that her finger is dripping in dark red blood. All around her, people are screaming and people are on their phones calling the ambulance. But it is too late. Lily's breathing stops, and her vision is swarmed with black nothingness.

A few corners and sidewalks away, sixteen year old Hazel Jiang strolls along casually, her right hand gripped tightly on the leash her dog, Winter, is pulling. This is typical for her, since her mother always makes her walk the family's teacup Maltese, as Mrs. Jiang uses an excuse that "her boss always needed her around Seven O'Clock, for there's always a new patient." Sure, Hazel got the fact that doctors like her mom are busy, but why are they always pulled at Seven? "Gee, what a great mystery to solve!" She blurts out loud, tapping her finger against her chin sarcastically. Not that Hazel was going to complain, for she was the one who asked the family if they could get a dog. Suddenly, Winter's head snaps up, and she lets out a noisy, ferocious bark. "What is it, girl?" Hazel asks, but she already knew the answer after she gazes up at a tree. Perched neatly upon a dangling branch squatted a tiny brown squirrel, it's beady black eyes gorging into Hazel's dark ones. The squirrel focuses it's gaze at Winter, then bolts down the tree, across the sidewalk. Winter, of course, scampers rapidly after it, dragging a frightened and annoyed Hazel along, her long black braid flying in the air. Soon, they neared a bridge that connected one street to another, the water beneath it shimmering in the dawn light. Unfortunately, the squirrel leaps over the bridge and onto a branch. Before Hazel could yell, "Stop Winter!", the fluffy white furball leaps after the stupid mammal. Hazel screams in fear, but she couldn't catch her dog before she tumbles off the bridge, into the air, below the depths of the water. The sudden impact of the girl hitting the water shocks her, and she couldn't get herself to hold her breath. Hazel struggles wildly, trying to remember what her swim coach said, but the deep, dark waves swallow her whole, cursing her to never see the surface again.

To the south of the bridge, seventeen year old Alexander Grace is enjoying his soccer game. So far his team, the Leopards, were leading the game, and he can't wait to head back home with his head held high in victory. Xander grins at that thought, and races towards where the ball is running. Stealing the round object and juggling it with his feet, he heads toward the goal. Alexander's leg strikes, and the black and white ball flies into the air, into the goal. He opens his mouth in a cheer, and the coach calls them for a half-time break. "Good job, dude!" his friend calls. A chilly wind passes through his slightly spiky blond hair, and he grins. Soon, the team is back on the field, but the other team starts winning. However, a strip of hope passes through the boy as he sees that one of his teammates got the ball. Xander races up to him and yells, "Pass!" hoping to head the ball to a person towards the goal so that they could score. His teammate does pass the ball to him, and it is only when the blue-eyed boy sees the head guard on his teammate's forehead that Xander realizes that he forgot his own head guard on the bleachers. Before he can dodge the ball, the round object lands onto his forehead with a very hard thud. Pain passes through Alexander's head, and he clutches it, groaning. It didn't help matters that an opponent took no hint that he was hurt, and he shoved Xander out of the way forcefully. Now, he was holding both his head and stomach. Xander heads over to the bleachers to tell his coach what happened, but his coach is too far away, so he just decides to sit down for a while and tell him later. After half an hour, his vision swarms hazily and his head and stomach hurt even more. Alexander finally staggers over to his coach, and the next events are hard to remember. He gets taken away on a stretcher, and then passes out. The next thing he knew, Xander finds himself lying in a hospital bed. Some people above him are murmuring, "He can't make it. We might have been able to cure him if he told us this earlier, but no. The wounds are making this situation worse and worse, and we'll can't save him." Shocked, Alexander tries to scream, "No! Don't do it!" but something sharp jabs into him, and he shrinks away into the dark.