Graveyard Shift
Tonight was the night. The first
night the clan would have the night off from their silly “monster hunts”.
Sindy, Veronica, Danny, Frito, and of course Salem the Cat were all on their
way to a get-together on the forests’ edge. They were all dressed up in their fancy
dresses and tuxedoes, even Salem the Cat was dressed up. They were
approximately 35 miles into the forest when Salem randomly jumped out of the
van window.
Not minding Salem could have been
hurt, Sindy wails, “Salem! You stupid cat! You’re going to get your new tux all
dirty!” Frito parked the car on the side of the road. The gang sprang out of
the van, and ran into the forest. Not thinking or caring what might possibly be
in there.
After
an hour and a half of searching for Salem, they decided it was useless. Sitting
down on a low branch, Veronica states the obvious, “Sindy, I know you want to
find Salem, but we’ve been searching forever, and everyone wants to go. It’s
cold, wet, we’re all tired, and we’re late for the party. Besides, my dress is
getting all dirty, and I don’t think I can last any longer in these heels.”
Sindy sighed and looked at the group’s
exhausted faces, “Alright, alright, but we have to come back for him. No man
left behind right?” As they all started to walk to the van, Sindy suddenly stopped,
questioning them.
She angrily asks, “Did you guys
really think I was serious? We can’t just leave Salem out here all alone, he
won’t survive!” They all sighed and turned to face Sindy; they all looked at
each other.
“She has a point you guys, Salem is
a house cat, he won’t be able to survive on his own, the mosquitoes could kill
him. Besides, the party’s probably going to be a drag anyways,” Frito
explained. He clearly didn’t have any feelings for the feline, but he did have
deep feelings for Sindy, who he would do anything for.
“Whose side are you on man, and what
about us, Like Veronica said, it’s cold, wet, I’m starving, and I’m getting
eaten up by mosquitoes too,” Danny complained.
Interrupting the group’s discussion
was a faint rustling sound in the distance. Startled, they all froze.
“What was that?” Danny questioned.
As they all stood there, the sound progressed toward them.
“I-it could be Salem,” Sindy
stuttered.
“Or it could be something way worse,
so I say we get the heck out of here,” Veronica suggested. They all stood there
with their eyes clenched shut, motionless, breathless, and clueless of what was
about to approach them. Until a slight meow approached, out of nowhere.
Slowly loosening her eyes, Sindy
exclaimed, “Salem! I told you g-guys.” Her voice lowered to a light whisper,
causing everyone else’s eyes to open.
“Ahhh!” they screamed in unison.
Standing before them was a man, not just any man; he wore overalls that seemed
to be a tad too large, that also smelled as if it hadn’t been washed in decades,
and he belonged in a slaughter house. He wasn’t so wrinkly, just some on his
forehead that must have been from frowning too much. What really caught their attention was a
shovel, propped up upon his shoulder, with what appeared to be covered in a
red, gooey, substance. Was it blood? What else could it be? The unsettling
sight caused the group to wheel back a couple feet away from the mysterious
man.
“I um, found your cat lurking around
my graveyard. I want him out, I want you out, and I want you all to stay out,
you hear me!” the mysterious man demanded.
“Yes sir,” Danny said. “We’ll be out
in just a minute, but may I ask, what is that on your shovel? Also, a graveyard
in where I recall this to be a place of pure forest acres,” surprised that he
could speak up the way he did. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight to
one side.
The nameless man squinted, his
mysterious, brown eyes at him and replied, “Why, it is none of your business. Now
be gone, all of you, before there is trouble, and take that stupid feline with
you!”
“Right away sir, there’ll be no
trouble tonight. We’re just a little lost, but we’ll find our way out. Thank
you for saving our cat, goodbye now,” Veronica quickly stated, as she pushed
Danny and the others in the opposite direction of the odd man holding the
shovel.
As they approached the street they
came from, they noticed that there was something missing. What it was, they had
no idea. Standing there in the middle of the road they realized that what they
were searching for was their van. It was gone, where had it gone? They all
searched up and down the street, but it was nowhere in sight. In fact, nothing
was, besides a single dim streetlight that flickered above them.
“Where’s the van Frito?” Sindy
curiously asked.
“It was right here! I’m absolutely
positive that I parked the car right here! We must have gone the wrong way!”
Frito angrily shouted.
“No we didn’t. There was only one
way out, and that’s the way we came in. That’s what we did remember, I have a
photographic memory!” Veronica corrected, feeling proud to be some sort of
help.
“Maybe we should ask that one creepy
guy we ran into in the forest, or should I say graveyard. Ooooooo,” Danny
suggested, trying to do a poor imitation of a ghost.
After sometime of walking back into
the forest, the group spotted a small shack in the distance. Half way through
their journey to the shack, a sudden sobbing came from nowhere. They all looked
at each other, but no one appeared to be crying. So who was it? They had no
clue. Ignoring whoever it was, they continued on for their own deeds.
“Knock, knock, knock, anyone home?” Danny announced, trying to open the locked
door.
“Guys, something’s not right about
this place. It’s too suspicious, you know? Think about it, it’s the only house throughout
this whole forest, or whatever you want to call it, and look there’s no
gravestones. Isn’t this supposed to be a ‘cemetery’?” Veronica stated, while
she shivered. It wasn’t cold out, actually it wasn’t cold at all, it was hot
and humid.
“I thought I told you hooligans to
scram! Why are you still here?” The old man yelled.
The startled bunch whipped around in
shock, not expecting the odd man to be behind them. “Sorry, it’s just that
someone stole our car,” they announced in unison, as if they had some kind of
psychic communication.
“Is that so?” The man chuckled.
“Yes sir. So is it oaky if we stay
here until sunrise tomorrow, we won’t-,” Frito spoke.
“No! Not enough room, and not enough
time for kids. Now leave, I have things to do!”
The man quickly answered, interrupting Frito.
They looked at each other, shrugged,
and headed back in the same direction they came. Once again having to find
their way through the forest and to the dark street, where the only visible
light was the dimmed street light that might not even be working any more, and
the light of the moon and stars. They had to travel past the indescribable
sobbing noise in the middle of nowhere, again.
“Help me, help me please!” a girl
pleaded, while she once again began to sob.
“Guys, did you hear that? Don’t you think we should check it out?”
Frito, worried about who or what it can be in the middle of nowhere, asked.
“No way, we came here to find Salem,
and that’s what we did. It’s not our problem anyway. It’s our day off remember?
Plus, I’m not going to risk my life for someone when I don’t have any
protection for myself! It’s one soul, not four. If I die, where is Salem going
to go? Besides, we don’t have permission for an investigation anyways, and I
need this job. So let’s go, like now!” Sindy demanded, meaning every word she said
judging by the attitude in her voice. There was obviously no chance of changing
her mind.
“But Sindy, someone could use our
help!” Frito pleaded
“But nothing, we’re leaving!” Sindy
exclaimed.
“Fine, fine, fine, you’re right. We
can’t be that far from the edge of the forest anyways. Let’s go,” Frito sighed.
“What do you guys think?”
The rest of the group looked at each
other and nodded in agreement. They walked onward, not knowing if the girl who
was pleading was in real big trouble, or just a simple girl who lost her way.
They had to live with that guilty conscious, knowing that someone could have
needed their help, but ignored it to go to some party.