Respect the Dead

Prologue

"I'll be right back, Emma. You stay here and keep Mr. Roger company." I told my baby sister who was nearly two. "Don't crawl on the graves." I warned as an after thought.  Because being on top of a grave was a sign of disrespect, and Mommy said if you disrespected the dead then the Beast would come and tear you to bits. I didn't want that for my sister. She wasn't old enough to at least not cry the whole time, unlike me whom was five and whom would face death without fear.

        Emma giggled and knowing that was the best response she could give me, I left.

        I grumbled incoherently as I weaved through the tombstones. Why did I have to forget the water? Emma and I were supposed to be having a tea party with Mr. Rogers, but you couldn't host a tea party without some kind of liquid to drink. Drinking air was just silly. Besides, sensible people knew air was only good for breathing. Mrs. Teather taught me that.

        "Well, well, well. Look who's here. The little freak who plays with dead people." said Blake, a boy one year older than me which  he thought made him 'superior'. His two sidekicks, Kent and Allen, stood silently behind him.

        I blinked at them. What were they doing here?

        "Didn't you hear me? Let me repeat myself. Slowly this time so you can keep up. You're. A. Freak. It's no wonder you don't have any friends." Blake smirked, thinking his words had effect on me.

        Oh. So he was attempting to bully me. Well, he wasn't smart if he thought I would take it like a weakling. "'It's no wonder you don't have any friends'" I mimicked him in a high squeaky voice. "You're no good at bullying. You're stupid." and with that I stuck my tongue out at him, stomped on his foot (very hard), and ran away.

        Blake howled in pain and chased after me. "You're going to pay for that!" he shouted, his voice full of malice. It didn't scare me one bit.

        "Nah-nah, you can't catch me!" I yelled as I ran. I hopped over every grave placed in my path, not daring to place my foot on one for even a millionth of a millisecond. The Beast would know. But sadly, Blake didn't believe in the Beast, so he tramped all over them. "You better stay off the graves, or the Beast will tear you to bits!" I hollered back in warning.

        "There's no such thing as 'Beast'. You're dumb if you think there is!" Blake hollered back, taking extra care to ruin every grave placed in front of him.

        I shrugged in my head. It was his funeral.

        I heard a cry from behind and turned back to see that Blake had tripped on a tree root between graves. Thinking I would escape, I slowed slightly. My mistake. For on his way down, Blake grabbed my ankle, bringing me down with him. I landed on a grave. I tried to crawl off, but Kent and Allen grabbed my arms and pinned me.

        "What was that you were saying about us not catching you?" Blake sneered from above.

        I stared at him. At his sapphire eyes. At his auburn hair. And to think I had a crush on him at the beginning of the school year. "You can't hit a girl." I said finally, determined he wouldn't be able to wreak revenge for stomping on his foot.

        "Yeah, but I can pinch you. I can poke you until you're sore." Blake said smugly.

        I struggled with all my might when he started to lean forward, fingers poised to pinch. I yelled when he was finally on me. "Help!" I called. "Help!" I repeated when Blake pinched me again. And as if in answer to my call, Blake, Kent, and Allen were all lifted off me. Immediately I rolled off the grave.