Anna laughed heartily, clutching her stomach as she leaned over, barely able to breathe. Her diaphragm ached from the strain and tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she could not stop laughing.

"I can't believe—" she wheezed through her laughter. "—we did that."

Marley had collapsed onto the ground, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, a toothy grin plastered across her face. Anna fell to her knees beside her friend, her laughter finally dying out. She continued to smile, massaging her aching cheeks.

"You're never going to forget this." Marley breathed. She rolled onto her side and grasped Anna's forearm, her grip tight. "I won't let you forget, Anna," she said, staring hard at her. "I will never let you forget."

Anna nodded slowly, the smile dropping away from her face. "I won't forget," she assured.

"You'll remember this forever," Marley insisted, her grip on Anna's arm tightening. Anna winced and reached up to push Marley's hand off her.

Before Anna could blink, Marley's fingers were wrapped around her throat, pushing her to the cold ground.

"Marley!" Anna cried, her voice strained under the pressure of Marley's hands. "Stop!" she choked out.

"You did this, Anna!" Marley shrieked. "This is your fault! Your fault!" Marley pulled Anna's head up and slammed it back against the ground. "Why did you do it, Anna?"

Anna clawed desperately at Marley's hands. "We can work this out," she begged.

"This is the way it has to be," Marley hissed into her ear.

In the distance, Anna could hear the rumble of thunder clouds and a scream ripping through the air like some wounded animal. Anna cast her eyes about for any way to defend herself.

"You did this to me." Marley growled. Anna looked to Marley – what used to be Marley – staring back at her with the eyes of the dead.