The Ghost Of You Is Close To Me

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"Josh, come on, don't be a fucking baby about this," Jack called, handing some beers around the group.

"I'm not a baby, just, what if Death is there?" Josh asked, thinking about the stories that he'd heard being said around the college. He shivered at the thought, the idea of even going to the cemetery at night, let alone drunk, had him uneasy and honestly, very terrified.

"Fucks sake, dude, just come with us."

Josh knew that if he didn't go they would bug him and tease him for the months to come.

Besides, no one had seen Death in a couple weeks, what could go wrong?

~~~

They were all well on their way to being trashed, the beer leaving a bad taste in Josh's mouth and his mind pleasantly empty. He listened to his friends talk, all of their horrible jokes and he laughed along, sitting down next to a couple of them while he fished out a new drink from the backpack they'd brought.

"Wasn't so bad, huh, Josh?" Pete asked, smirking when Josh rolled his eyes.

Josh shrugged again, looking around the cemetery, his eyes stopping on the statue where Death used to perch. He shook his head at himself and downed a couple gulps, willing himself to relax and enjoy this night.

"Fine, I guess it's not that bad but you can't blame me for saying it's still fucking creepy," Josh answered, looking at the tombstones and the trees that all looked somewhat dead in their own way. A couple others hummed their agreement.

They continued on downing drink after drink, all of them letting loose, smiles on all of their faces. Death had left all of their minds, the only thought they had was what lay in front of them, their entertainment and their jokes.

~~~

The noise is what startled Tyler first.

He lived close by to the cemetery, a thought that creeped him out for years when he was younger. After a while, he began to enjoy it. It wasn't loud. You could lay in bed and listen to the trees rustle or the birds' caw, all without the disturbing white noises of other neighbors.

Tonight though, there was talking and laughing and it was loud. Tyler knew it was outside, there was no other place it could have been other than the cemetery. He began to panic, fearing that those same kids had come to tag graves again. He felt the anger still left over from the month before.

He sighed and grabbed his skeleton hoodie, rushing out of the house as quietly as he could and hopping fences, getting to the cemetery in record time. He was barefoot as he'd started doing after a while but it was still cold and snowing and he almost regretted not bringing a pair with him.

Tyler crawled up a tree, keeping himself hidden as he stared down at the kids, his panic settling for a moment at the fact that they were just idiot kids that were drinking, no visible cans of spray paint. Tyler still disliked them being there though.

"Death won't even be here, they say he left town," One guy said to his buddy, the rest nodding along and tipping back drinks. There was one guy that was a little more on the cautious side. He took sips occasionally, looking over his shoulder every so often, scanning the cemetery. Tyler knew that he was the one that was suspicious of Death being there just by his actions. He was also the first person to spot Tyler.

Tyler had done his very best to stay hidden. He was up in a tree, crouched down behind a patch of leaves so he was mostly hidden but if you stared long enough the shape of this figure would come out and his bones would be visible. The guy had his head pointed in the direction of the tree, his eyes squinting a couple of times in an effort to see better.

"Guys," he said quietly, hitting the person closest to him on the arm, they all turned their attention to him with raised eyebrows. The guy didn't answer again, simply raised his arm and pointed at the tree. Tyler knew instantly that it was about him and his mind went blank, letting his body take over and do what felt right.

He hopped from the tree, landing solidly on his feet but instead dropping to his knees. He landed with a thud that ached deep into his bones but he avoided the thought, focusing on the eyes that stared at him. The group all jumped to their feet, grabbing what they could and scattering through the cemetery, running as fast as they could. The only person who didn't leave was the guy who had spotted Tyler first. He was on the ground, eyes wide as he looked at Tyler.

Tyler didn't move from his position, watching the guy, noticing with ease the fast rise and fall of his chest, the obvious panic there and what was set into his face. Tyler was happy with that, proud that he was still able to freak the offenders out.

The only problem so far was that the guy still hadn't moved. Tyler cocked his head to the side, hearing his own neck pop a couple of times as he did so. He knew that once again, it was an inhumane angle, that it creeped others out just by how far he was willing to turn his head and deal with the pain. It was enough to freak the guy out, scrambling back on his hands, trying to get away from Tyler. He stumbled, his hand slipping on the damp grass and sending him sprawled on his back. Tyler surged forward as quickly as he could, his mind still trying to process what to do next. He found himself on top of the guy, pinning him to the ground, one knee digging into his thigh, his other knee pressed up under his ribcage. Tyler placed his hands on the guy's shoulders, pinning him down without much effort.

Tyler's mind spun of what to do next, the guy's attention was all his and he needed to do something then and there to end this, to keep people away from the cemetery.

Tyler reached a hand to Josh's throat, placing it there and squeezing gently. Tyler had no intention of hurting the guy but he did want a point to be made, he wanted to make sure the guy was paying attention.

"Don't come ba-" Tyler started, trying to make his voice deeper and more threatening, he was doing good up until headlights flashed in the cemetery, shining on him and the guy. Tyler's voice cracked at the end of his sentence, his panic spiking at the light that now flooded everything surrounding him. Tyler stood up then, his feet straddling the guy's hips as he thought of what to do. It came quickly enough to him and he blitzed, getting himself moving, dodging gravestones and statues, hopping over anything that still laid in his path until he got to the edge of the cemetery, crawling up the fence and disappearing from sight.

~~~

Josh felt the pressure leave his chest, felt the air rush back into his lungs and he coughed and choked for a minute before he was able to sit up and stare after Death. He saw Death scurry up a fence on the backside of the cemetery.

Josh briefly registered that Death was barefoot.

~A.N~
Hey y'all. Just here to say sorry about the short chapter and that I'd like to say I'm gonna finish this story and 'Anonymous' and then I'll be taking a little break from Wattpad. It's not that I hate this app or writing, it's just that I'm not enjoying what I'm writing. I guess what I'm trying to say is that after I've finished the stories earlier stated, I'm leaving Wattpad for a bit and I don't know how long for so we'll have to see but for now I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all tomorrow with the next chapter! Byeee

-Pixeled74😜🧡