Through Hell and Into Heaven

Chapter 9

     Tina gripped the notebook in one hand and spun a pencil around in the other. She tried to check Israel's face for any hints on his current condition, but he refused to look directly at her. Tina frowned and tightened her grip on her notebook. "How have you been feeling," she started, trying to sound casual. "Fine," Israel said quickly. Too quickly. Something was definitely wrong. Tina scribbled in on a blank page in her notebook.

     He answers my questions to quickly. He must be planning them. Something is definitely up.

     Tina attempted to look bored and asked, "Yesterday's trip to the excavation site was fun, huh?" Israel's eyes suddenly widened and he stammered. "Oh.... Y-yeah." Tina smirked and continued to write.

     He reacted when I mentioned the excavation site. It has to have something to do with that.

     Her thoughts were interrupted by the clatter of a glass plate. She looked up to see Taran sitting beside her, carrying a plate of macaroni. The boy gave Israel a sympathetic glance and started devouring his meal. "Hello, Taran." Tina said as casually as possible. The teenager just nodded and continued eating his lunch. Tina gave Israel another look and said, "The inside of that tomb was awesome, wasn't it?... Well, I guess it can't be called a tomb if there's no bodies stored in it." Israel gave up a little shiver and said something that Tina did not catch. "What?" she asked. Israel glared at her and said, "Nothing! Nothing." Tina had another question in mind when she heard footsteps approaching their table. She turned her head to see a girl walking towards them, a smirk on her face. She had brown hair which was died red at the ends, a faded blue shirt and a pair of short jeans. Tina inwardly groaned. Why can't she stay away? she asked herself. It was Ghost. The teenager was a stuck-up girl who thought that all of the guys in school had their eyes on her. She was only fantasizing. Ghost was her nickname; her real name was Briana.

     She stopped at the group's table and gave Israel a long stare. "So," she began, "I heard your father's an archeologist, Israel." The boy glowered at the annoying girl. "He's my stepdad," he reminded angrily. Ghost shrugged. "Whatever. Hey, maybe you can take me to one of his excavation sites sometime or something." Israel laughed, a harsh, sarcastic laugh. "In your dreams, Ghost." Ghost frowned and stomped away, obviously upset by Israel's reply. Tina chewed on the end of her pencil, a habit she still had yet to break. "So, Israel-" "STOP!" Israel shouted, standing up and scaring Tina half to death. "JUST STOP INTERROGATING ME!" With that outburst hanging in the air, Israel marched out of the lunch room, teenagers staring at him as he went, but as he was leaving, he suddenly stopped. Tina blinked in confusion as she saw what took place before her eyes.

     Israel's face grew pale and he took a step back. "N-no...." He murmured so quietly that Tina could barely hear it. He seemed to be staring at something, but that something was not really there. "No!" he abruptly screamed, beginning to backtrack toward Tina and Taran's table. Just as he got there, he seemed to fling himself backward into the table. Tina gasped and fell off her seat along with Taran as Israel seemed to grapple with something that no one could see. "HELP!" he yelled, kicking and squirming. Then, as sudden as he started, he stopped. "W-where is it?" the teenager asked frantically, "Where did it go?!" Tina rushed to him and grabbed his arm. "Israel! What is it?" Israel's face contorted with fear and he pulled away from her grasp. "Don't touch me!" he exclaimed. Tina just stared, opened mouthed, while Taran shook his head in wonder.