It rained that day. Not too much, but still umbrellas were needed.

A strange melancholy prevailed in the environment as a group of people, all dressed in black, walked into the cemetery.

A large coffin was already placed over what would be its resting place.

The group divided in two. One stood at the left of the coffin, while the other one stood at the right.

A priest walked and stood in front of it, and blessed the coffin and the grave, maybe symbolizing forgiveness for sins, or the eternal mercy of the Lord.

"Today we say farewell to a dear brother of ours" began the priest. "It's a moment like this that show us the power of forgiveness for the sins of our lives, and that the power to judge belongs to God".

Nobody said anything. Not even a sob was heard. Only the rain, that fell a little harder, and the squawks of the crows that flew over the graves.

"Carlos Garcia had a gentle soul" continued the priest. "Inexplicably corrupted by the force of the Devil, and unfortunately harmful to the people who loved him. Today is about the good he had in him, his virtues and how his friendship with others was invaluable. If anyone here wants to talk a little about him, please, go ahead".

For a moment, no one moved, for fear or resentment. But then someone did. Not leaving his umbrella, Kendall walked to where the priest was, in front of the coffin.

The priest reassured him with a pat on his shoulder, and stepped aside. Kendall cleared his throat before speaking.

"Carlos was our brother. Everyone who met us knew how close he, James, Logan and I were. He was kind, gentle, and had a loving soul. I honestly don't know how all that changed all of a sudden. He took away people I loved so much, people who were very important for all of us. I want all of you to know that I finally reached the level where I'm willing to forgive. It doesn't mean I'll forget, though. I just hope that..."

Kendall found himself unable to finish. He looked down and shook his head, walking to his initial position in the crowd.

Gabriel walked up. "I've known Carlos since he was born. His father and I were best friends, brothers in arms as we would oftenly say. I was his godfather. Like it's been said, he was one of the sweetest. Putting first the needs of others before his. I agree it's an inexplicable fact that he got corrupted, and did the things he did. It's a shame he never got the chance to redeem himself. I don't even know if he would have. But, for his sake, and for his father's sake; hell, even for my sake, I forgive him. I don't know the intensity of the darkness his soul was trapped in, but hopefully forgiveness will give him some peace".

Meanwhile, in the crowd, Lawrence leaned forward, and spoke in Logan's ear. "Do you want to say anything? It's ok if you want or don't want to".

Logan looked at the coffin, and sighed, thinking for a moment. But then, he shook his head.

"No. I'm ok, but I actually..."

Lawrence nodded in understanding, and patted his shoulder. "Ok".

KNIGHT'S PUB

Brooke walked into the Pub, determined to have a good cup of coffee. There was only a few customers that day, and a friend of Kendall's was in charge of the place. She wasn't surprised, for she knew what was going on.

The TV was on, she sat at the counter to watch the news.

"The body of the serial killer known as the Hunter will be laid to rest today in a private ceremony, only with close relatives. The exact location hasn't and will not be revealed to avoid vandalism against the tomb. Detective Gabriel Donovan was approached by the press early this morning but refused to give any statement..."

Brooke snorted. "Not surprised" she muttered.

"Either am I" said someone next to her.

Brooke turned her head, and saw Camille, who was having orange juice and a sandwich.

"How come you haven't gone to the funeral?" she asked. "You were friends with Carlos".

Camille shrugged. "Wanted to. But Dak recommended no to, as I apparently would have lost it and caused a scene. I honestly don't want to risk having a miscarriage, so I obliged. And here I am, as my boyfriend's murderer is being buried".

Brooke nodded. "Right".

They remaint silent for a minute or two, but Brooke's urge to talk was unbearable.

"How are you holding up? With the baby, I mean".

"Not so bad" she replied. "He's due in a few months, though".

"He" she repeated.

Camille nodded. "Yeah. It's a boy".

"That's fantastic" said Brooke with a smile. "Would, would you mind telling me if you have a name".

Camille's first decision was to tell her no, screw her. But after a second thought, she caved. "Johann James Diamond".

Brooke almost broke in tears after hearing the name. Composing herself, she cleared her throat and smiled. "Thanks for telling me".

Camille shrugged again. "I figured, I'm carrying your grandson, and when he's born you're going to be nagging about how you want to see him, so, I guess I'm creating some sort of bond so you know you're welcome to visit anytime. I guess James would want that anyway".

"He would, honey" she replied.

Camille finished her sandwich and stood up, ready to leave. "Whatever. See you, Brooke".

In a unknown location, in a dark room, illuminated by a candle on a desk, a fat man sat, facing the desk, showing his back to the door of the room. He was reading some papers, when someone at the door cleared his throat.

"They're burying him".

The fat man turned around and grinned. "Excellent. Finally a good job done, Jett".

Jett grinned too. "Quite a plan, eh Gustavo?"

Gustavo nodded. "Agreed. Though the idea wasn't entirely mine, I must confess".

Another man, with long hair, appeared from the shadows.

Gustavo looked at him. "Isn't that right, Fabio?"

Fabio chuckled. "A masterpiece".

Carlos suddenly opened his eyes. It was dark, and he could see or hear anything. Just some muffled voices that came from outside, and the soft pounding of what he presumed was rain.

"Have I gone blind?" he wondered.

Another thing he noticed was that he was lying still. Where, he wasn't sure. But he was lying. He tried to raise his arms, but his hands touched something hard a few centimeters from his body.

Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "I've been buried. If not, I'm about to".

As he could, he started pounding and shouting, hoping that anyone would hear him.

"Help! I'm alive, help! Get me out of here!"

CEMETERY

A line had been formed, and the people who had attended were placing white roses on the coffin.

Kendall placed his with Katie, both not saying anything.

Gabriel put his rose, and touched the couffin for a moment. "Meet your father, Carlos. Though I'm afraid it won't be for long".

Dak placed his rose next. He had something prepared to say, but when he tried to speak, nothing came out of his mouth. He figured the shock and disappointed hadn't disappeared yet.

Then, Lawrence, who decided not to say anything, for he had nothing to say.

And finally, Logan walked to the coffin. With his hands trembling, he kissed his rose and gently put it on top of the others, hoping he'd get at least some peace of mind.

But as he put his other hand on the coffin, he felt something, and quickly put his hand off.

That wasn't all. He heard a muffled sound. Was it coming from inside the coffin?

Frowning, he leaned in, and put his ear close to it. He tried to listen carefully, but the sound of the wind and rain weren't much help. He didn't hear anything else.

"Logan?"

Logan turned around. Dak had approached, having noticed his reaction.

"Are you ok?"

"I thought I heard..." he drifted off. How stupid. Carlos was dead. "Nevermind".

Dak nodded. "We must step back. They're gonna put the coffin down".

Logan nodded. "Right".

He joined Dak, and both friends left with the others, as the coffin was put down in the grave.

COFFIN

Carlos panicked the moment he felt movement. He started pounding and screaming harder and louder, but his efforts were useless. He was doomed.

Realizing there was less and less air inside, he finally gave up.

"This is it. If the sniper never killed me, I will surely die here".

He thought about his friends back in town. About his life. How it changed all of a sudden because everyone blamed him for the murders. How the entire town thought he was a serial killer. But he knew. He hadn't killed anyone.

"This will not be over yet" he decided.

Suddenly, he felt more movement, and screamed as he felt the coffin fell down, and kept falling. And again, it stopped, making him gasp.

"At least let me redeem my soul before I'm tried".

Taking a deep breath, fearing it would be one of the last, he closed his eyes. "Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil".

As he finished his prayer, he felt something hitting one side of the coffin. He was now beyond scared now. Something hit the other side of the coffin. Then, a hit above him, and finally some calm.

But suddenly, the coffin was opened, and a strong white light blinded him for a few seconds, before he passed out.

Carlos started awake. He was not in his bed, that was the first sign that made him realize it hadn't been a dream at all. He slowly got up.

It was hot, and he heard the sound of waves. The beach. He was close to a beach.

And he was in what seemed to be a normal house. When he spproached a window, he confirmed his suspicions. There were palmtrees outside, and a big mountain not too far away.

He checked all the house. It had been carefully equipped with clothes, furniture, a first aid kit, food, decorations, even the bathroom didn't lack of anything.

He got out of the house. The door was on the other side of the house, and when he stood outside he saw the beach, and the waves of the sea. He wasn't in any beach though. He instantly knew he was in a tropical island. Not to mention the weather was really hot, even though a few clouds indicated it would rain soon.

Carlos wasn't out of his surprise, when suddenly someone almost tackled him to the ground, hugging him as strongly as they could.

"Oh my God, I missed you so much!" said the person. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Carlos froze. He knew the voice. He separated from the person who had hugged him, and almost fainted.

A smiling Jo was looking at him, completely excited.

"This can't be" said Carlos. "I-I must have ran out of oxygen in that coffin. Is this a hallucination or something?"

"What?" frowned Jo. "No!"

"Then that's it" he said. "I'm dead".

"No, you're not!"

"But you are".

"I'm not dead" argued Jo. "I'm alive, I'm very much alive".

"No, no" said Carlos. "I-I died, and now I'm in Hell and my punishment is to face everyone..."

"Carlos!" she yelled, grabbing his arms and shaking him. "You're not dead. You're alive. We're all alive".

Carlos, panting a little, stared at her. "We are?"

"Yes!" she said.

"Then how..." he started. "Ok, first of all, who got me out of that coffin?"

"I did" said someone behind him.

Carlos turned around, and his eyes widened. "James".

James smiled at him, and Carlos ran to hug him. "Good to see you, man".

"Oh my..." said Carlos. "You're also here. Who, who else is here?"

Jo looked at James.

James smiled at him.

"Everyone. Everyone's here".

THE END

So, here's where THE HUNTER ends. I want to thank you all for reading this story and reviewing, it's been so much fun and you're all so great.

But wait, we still got some loose ends. We still have to see Carlos and his friends' new adventure in that island, how everyone survived, Johann's birth and a lot more.

I gotta be honest. I'm out of ideas. Not that it changes anything, because, since the storyline is changing, and end was already proyected for this story in this moment.

There are good news. I'm planning a sequel. Of course, we have to tie those loose ends. I'm still getting ideas, and if everything goes well, I must start posting by July. I know it's a lot of time, but there are some responsibilities I must take care of first.

Thanks again for the attention given to the story, and see you all soon!