Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

"Guys," I groaned through the pouring rain, my breath fogging the air, "we should probably head back." A violent storm had blown in, partially clouding our view as Cain and Lazarus continued to unearth the grave. They had dug at least five or so feet into the dirt, grunting, exhausting themselves as they kept going. The three of us women were now clustered together beneath my jacket in a failed attempt to stay dry. Jinx was sitting on the ground next to Alastair, playing with her dowsing rods as Ruby stood next to me, shaking and visibly annoyed.

"We've got to be close to it," Cain loudly huffed to himself. "Just a little bit more," he groaned as he tossed another pile of mud aside, his hair and clothing sticking to his rain-soaked body. His entire persona had changed, fueled by some crazed obsession to find what was buried beneath him.

"It's been hours, Cain. This is ridiculous!" Ruby shouted. "How do we even know if this is really John Crow's grave?"

Jinx's metal dowsing rods slowly moved, catching my attention as they crossed, still firmly in her hands. She gasped loudly, glancing up at Ruby and myself with wide, emerald eyes. Cain looked over, watching us as Lazarus kept digging.

"W-what does that mean?" I shakingly asked Ruby, pointing to the rods.

"If the dowsing rods cross, that typically means ‘yes'. If they push away from one another, that means ‘no'." She stopped, entranced by the moving metal rods. "I-I think a spirit is here, trying to communicate with us." Her maroon eyes glowed bright, excited yet hesitant.

My eyes moved from Ruby to Jinx's hands. "What did you ask?" She shook her head, her damp hair swaying along her back.

"She didn't ask anything. All I said was ‘how do we know if this is even John Crow's grave?' I didn't ask a direct yes or no question." Jinx's rods slowly moved back to normal, bouncing parallel to one another.

The three of us remained still, unsure of what to do. Alastair was fully focused on Jinx's hands as he lay next to her, his head resting on her crossed legs. "Try asking another question, but be more specific." Ruby nodded, clearing her throat.

"Is there a spirit here, among us?" Her voice quivered as we waited, the sound of the heavy rain filling our ears. The rods slowly moved, crossing once again. We all gasped as a faint gust of air brushed along my ear, making me shudder. There was definitely a spirit present, and I had a feeling who it was.

"Hey!" Cain shouted, Lazarus snapping his head up to see what the commotion was. "What's going on over there?" He pointed in our direction with his dirty hand. The rods returned to their resting position in Jinx's hands.

"It's a ghost! A spirit is here, communicating with us!" Ruby shouted to him.

"Ask it about the grave!" he yelled.

She nodded, turning her head, directing her words to the dowsing rods. "Is this grave, the one they're digging up, is it John Crow's grave? Is this the Hemlock Killer's grave?" The rods moved quicker than before, crossing as they froze into a perfect X.

"Give me the fucking shovel!" Cain shouted at Lazarus, snatching the tool from his hands. He began to manically dig, a new burst of energy charging him. Lazarus hopped from within the deep hole, wiping his face, his clothing and arms covered in mud. He sprinted to us, panting.

"What's gotten into him?" He breathed, the smell of sweat, fresh dirt, and rain drenching the air around him.

Jinx dropped the dowsing rods to use her hands and speak to him. "A ghost. It was speaking with us. It told us this was the grave of the killer he was looking for."

"No shit?" he exclaimed. A loud thump, deep enough to be felt in our chests, directed all our eyes as we turned to see Cain grinning, strands of his wet hair shielding parts of his dark eyes as he glared at us, his eyes barely peeking from the edge of the hole. Lazarus rushed back to him. He placed his hands on his knees, peering down at what Cain had discovered. "Hey! You're going to want to see this!" he shouted back to all of us, motioning for us to join him.

The three of us glanced at once another, quickly sprinting to the edge of the dug-up grave as we desperately held my jacket above our heads. Cain was bent down, his tattooed hands wiping wet, crumbled layers of dirt from what appeared to be an old wooden coffin. It was nailed shut, wrapped in layers of thick, rusted chains that snaked tightly around the box. Thunder boomed nearby, causing us to jump as an eerie breeze danced along our spines. He examined the antique lock for a second before picking up the shovel and began slamming the blade into the lock, breaking it beneath the pressure. I jumped at the loud impact, shuttering.

"What are you doing?" Lazarus asked as Cain kicked the chains aside, the sounds of the heavy metal links knocking together.

"I want to see him," he breathed, his fingers gripping the decayed wooden lid. "I need to see him." His voice was dark and dire, tainted with desperation.

"Cain," Lazarus called to him, "Cain, leave it be. It's bad enough we dug him up. You don't need to open the coffin. Besides, there's no way you can crack the lid, it's nailed shut." Lightning shot across the pitch-black sky, thunder echoing shortly after. "Come on, Cain," Lazarus shouted over the sounds of the storm. "You found the grave, now leave it be. Let's head back before we all get struck by lightning!"

"Not yet!" Cain shouted. "I–need–to-see-him!" His words grunted, straining as he pulled at the edge of the wood. Lazarus lightly recoiled at the possessed tone of his voice, watching as he tried to force the coffin open.

Cain strained, pulling at the edge of the box as the veins in his arms and neck bulged beneath the physical strain. The rotting lid of the coffin snapped, small pieces splintering in all directions as Cain fell back onto his ass with a thud. He wiped the mud from his face, crawling to his knees as he stared down into the exposed coffin with wide eyes. Lightning flashed overhead, revealing the skull of a decaying corpse, its mouth wide open, as if it had been yelling from the otherside. Cain reached down, gripping the fractured edge of the wooden lid of the coffin, ripping it back further, exposing the torso of the corpse. The body was nothing but skeletal remains beneath deteriorated fabric that was once considered clothing. It was wrapped in numerous locked chains, just like mentioned in Cain's ghost story. I glanced at the pieces of the lid laying behind Cain, noticing countless scratch marks, as if the man had tried to claw his way out of the coffin. It sickened me to think that this corpse was once a breathing perso,; a killer who tormented this town and its people with his sick games.

He's here.

The whispers of his victims warned me, their voices overlapped and full of fear. Before I could question or react, the group's radios all collectively beeped and turned on. Static scratched through the speakers, playing all at once, the high-pitched ringing piercing our eardrums as we listened through the thundering storm.

"May my retribution begin," the warped static voice played. Lightning struck again, this time hitting a tree just a few feet away in the graveyard, green sparks shooting from the splintered base. We all gasped, flinching, watching as the ignited branch fell from the tree trunk and crashed onto the ground as thunder boomed. Our faces were transparent, showing just how absolutely confused and terrified we all were.

"Fuck this, I'm done!" Ruby screamed, grabbing Jinx's hand as they began to run back in the direction we came. I quickly grabbed my bag and whistled to Alastair. There was no doubt that we needed to leave this place immediately. It was wrong, all of it.

"Lazarus!" I yelled through the pouring rain as the wind began to pick up. "We need to go! Now!" He nodded, looking back at Cain.

"Cain! Come on, man, let's go!" Cain refused to look up from the skeleton, as if locked in a strange trance. "Cain!" Lazarus screamed again. Cain was frozen, ignoring his voice as he stared down into the empty sockets of John's skull. A faint flash of green reflected across his eyes from one iris to the other. "Fuck this, man. If you get struck by lightning, that's your own damn fault!" Lazarus turned, grabbing my arm as he led me away, the two of us rushing from the unearthed grave with Alastair trotting at our side. My head turned, glancing over my shoulder as I watched Cain bend down deeper into the grave. What the hell is he doing?

The three of us sprinted, gaining speed until we caught up to Ruby and Jinx. We didn't think of where we were going, only that we wanted out of the cemetery. Another strike of lightning struck a statue just ahead as we neared it. Ruby screamed as the stone crumbled, the broken chunks collapsing over her, pinning her to the muddy ground. She had dragged Jinx down with her, the two struggling to get back to their feet. Lazarus released my arm as he tried to help the two up, straining to move the heavy pieces aside from their bodies. "Alaska!" he called, his voice tight as he lifted a large, broken piece of the statue, asking for help.

"I got this!" My hands burned, my magic wrapping around the remaining pieces. They glowed a light blue, rising as I controlled them with my power, removing them from the women. Ruby and Jinx scrambled to their feet, scuttling out of the way as I whipped my arms, the rocks flying away from them and slamming into the earth.

"I'm right behind you," he breathed. "Now, let's go!" Lazarus pointed towards the direction of the entrance. I nodded, rushing with Alastair as we aimed for the gates.

"Alastair," I shot to the wolf, "lead us out of here!" The wolf bolted, barking for us to shadow him. Lightning struck again, nearly missing the group as Ruby raised her hand, her maroon magic burning from her palms as she blocked the debris from our path, forcing it aside.

We continued to follow Alastair, Ruby and Jinx closely behind as we sprinted through the cemetery. I couldn't hear Lazarus, but I hoped he wasn't too far behind. A high-pitched whistle, much like the one before, pierced my ears. Alastair froze, ears perched high as he listened intently.

"What is it?" I breathed, stopping next to him. A second and third whistled chimed. The sounds came from all directions, surrounding the cemetery. It was as if someone was communicating deep within the forest. A frightening thought. Alastair howled, quickly resuming his pace. We continued to follow him, racing towards the direction of the gate, rain and darkness clouding our view. Another whistling in the distance made me jump, the unknown scaring me more than the storm. What in the hell is happening?

All I wanted to do was get out of this storm and back to the cabin.

Run, little witch. Run.