Suspending Belief

Chapter Two

The few minutes that it takes Rhea and I to reach Mona feel like hours, my heart racing with every step. We manage to catch up to them right before they reach the mausoleums. The old trees are so much bigger up close than I thought they'd be, their thick foliage wrapping this entire corner in deep shadows.

I grab Mona's shoulder and they turn to face me. "What the heck, dude? You were just going to leave me?"

They had the nerve to smirk in reply. "I figured you'd catch up."

I frown. "I should smack you."

Mona reaches out, tugging on the camera strap around my neck. "Why do you still have this on?"

"Well, you didn't exactly leave me a ton of time to put it away, did you?"

They ignore that in favor of watching Rhea, who doesn't seem to notice because she's too busy hunching over the nearest headstone, trying to read what it says.

"Why'd you bring her?"

I sigh, hanging my head. "I couldn't leave her there by herself."

"You're such a sap, always bringing me strays," they reply with a chuckle.

Before I can say anything in retort, the eerie quiet around us is replaced with something else.

"Are those voices?" I ask quietly.

Rhea makes her way back to us but simply shrugs in response. I look at Mona who points ahead, further into the darkness. When I squint, I can see a dim light towards the back of the mausoleums. I usher Rhea closer so she can see it too.

Mona only gives us a moment to sit with the new information. Then, they're off towards the source of brightness, forcing Rhea and I to keep up or risk losing them in the shadows.

After a minute of walking, Mona stops right beside the last mausoleum in the cluster. I don't recognize anything, but the light that grew brighter as we moved closer illuminates a patch of grass with more tombstones embedded in it. I don't think I've ever been this far before, but to be fair, I don't tend to frequent the cemetery that often.

The buildup of dirt and grime on the headstones tells me they must be really old, and even when I squint, I can't read what they say. I take a step forward to get a closer look at them, but Mona flings out an arm to stop me.

"Look," they whisper.

My brows furrow. "Look at what?" I whisper back. I crane my head to see around the corner. "All I see are tombstones and lights and...oh."

Mona shakes their head, quietly facepalming.

Right above the grave of one of the headstones that were closest to us, a small lamp is on the ground, illuminating two men next to a decent-sized hole in the ground. Their shovels are thrown to the ground haphazardly next to them as they quietly argue with one another.

"I guess now we know where the sounds came from." Rhea states.

I nod in agreement as Mona cocks their head to the side, watching the two men get progressively louder. "You'd think that committing this particular kind of crime would require silence," they point out. "But, what do I know?"

In any other situation, I would laugh. The way that these guys seem to forget that they're supposed to be quiet might make them the worst grave robbers ever. But then, the light catches onto something tucked into one of their waistbands and my heart lurches into my throat.

"Is that a gun?"

Both Mona and Rhea look confused until they follow my gaze and their faces pale.

"I hope not," Mona shares.