Unexpectedly Undead

-Curiosity-

"Olivia Constantine, what have you gotten yourself in to now?" She whispered to herself from the back seat of her friend Ramona's boyfriend's car. It was a 1986 Honda Prelude, primer gray though Matt talked too often about saving up the money for a paint job. They had been driving for what seemed like hours, headed to an abandoned warehouse outside their hometown of Joplin, Missouri in search of something paranormal.

Ramona and Matt have always been into that sort of thing; snooping around old graveyards, decrepit churches, and the like. Olivia never thought of them as thrill-seekers though, unless you counted "ditching her in said locations so they could go screw" thrill-seeking. On second though, it sort of counted.

Olivia was an adventurous person too -minus a little of her friends sexual exhibitionism- but since her mother had abandoned her and her father three weeks prior, the thrill of searching the abandoned had since died down. She knew abandonment and emptiness, she saw it every time she looked into a mirror.

"A whole lot of nothing, that's what." Olivia answered herself under her breath as she rolled her eyes in frustration. Ramona, perhaps hearing her comment, turned around from her place in the front passenger's seat and looked at Olivia with a curious expression.

"We're almost there, Liv." Her best friend of nearly ten years offered in a reassuring manner. Olivia nodded her head with a slight smile, before her gaze returned to the scenery of a night slowly passing her by.

She was beyond exhausted due to many a sleepless night of listening to her father argue over the phone with her mother about her whereabouts and heated preparations for their eminent divorce.

"Yeah Liv! We'll be there in just a few minutes. Promise." Matt added glancing at her in the rear view mirror. She wasn't positive, but she senced a hint of annoyance in Matt's voice.

Olivia had felt like the third wheel the entire evening. Hell, she's felt like the third wheel practically their entire relationship. She couldn't wait to go home... or at least what was left of her home.

"So why are we going to this old warehouse?" Olivia asked, only semi-curious. Nine times out of ten it was Matt and Ramona who picked out the destinations for their outings, especially since Olivia had started losing interest.

Ramona squeeled loudly at Olivia's question and twisted in her direction once more. She placed both hands on the back of her head rest and began to gush.

"I thought you'd never ask! So, a few years ago there was a traveling cult..."

"A traveling cult? Since when do cults travel?" Olivia abruptly asked.

"Shut up and let me finish! So this traveling cult happened to pass through here and sought refuge from the harsh weather. They decided to occupied this abandoned warehouse and during their stay sacrificed a total of eleven people in some bizarre satanic rituals."

"Bullshit." Olivia chuckled.

"It's true." Matt added. "The locals warn people to stay away, and not to go inside. They say from the dingy warehouse windows you can see the spirits of the eleven victims wandering around, trapped within its walls."

"Locals? It's Joplin, we've lived here our entire lives. Aren't we the locals?" Olivia asked, not believing this poor excuse for an urban legend.

"It's a figure of speech Olivia." Ramona offered, desperately trying to defend her boyfriend's integrity.

Honestly, Ramona wasn't the same when Matt was around. Olivia remembered when the two of them weren't the least bit interested in boys. They would have sleep-overs, stay up late eating ice cream, and watch R-rated movies.