Dreamland

Chapter 16: The Edge of the Cemetery

Chapter 16: The Edge of the Cemetery

[KATE'S POV]

We left at exactly 11PM. Eric was with me and Seth picked Alice up to accompany her. I checked the pocket of my bag to see if I haven't forgotten the key. I sighed. It was there.

We met Alice and Seth in the 24/7 diner down the street. We ordered coffee before going. It's really cold outside.

"The key?" Alice asked me, finishing her coffee.

"Here with me." I pat my bag. Alice nodded and shivered. She doesn't want to go but she knew she has to.

The cemetery was quite far. But the good thing was, when we arrived there, the gate was open already. There were no presence of living things that can be felt except for us.

"Ohhh-kay. Here we go. We better hurry up and look for stuffs that clicks to that key." said Alice, taking out a flashlight.

"Umm, Alice. I don't think we should use a flashlight." I said to her.

Her head jerked up, "What?" she snapped.

"Kate's right. We might attract attention. There might be guards roaming around. Remember, we're sneaking in, not visiting someone's grave." said Eric. Alice looked at us and whimpered like a puppy. We proceed in, except for Alice, so Seth took her hand.

"Okay, I can't see the map very well." I said quietly.

"Ha!" Alice exclaimed, but not really loud. I looked at her and smiled. Smart girl, I thought.

"The moon's not full, what source of light could we use?" Seth wondered.

"Oh, just give it to me." Alice took the map from my hands and looked at it carefully as if she could see it clearly.

"We're here at the entrance lane, Path 2, because we went left when we entered. The mausoleum we're looking for is at Path 24, kinda far, almost at the end of the forest, the edge of the cemetery. Over here." Alice said, pointing at the map. We can't even see to what she's pointing at.

"You can seriously see?" asked Seth.

"Yeah." Alice replied and started walking, looking at the map then looking up.

"Hey, you guys aren't just gonna stay there. Remember, I don't wanna do this." Alice said, waiting for us. I shrugged at Eric and we followed her.

"And remember, I suck at map reading." Alice said, a little bit loud. Seth walked beside her.

By the time we arrive Path 15, we were tired. The area is still an open space with graves. We sat down on a bench and ate for a while.

"It's almost 11:30PM." announced Seth.

"Why Seth? You have something important to do?" asked Alice, not really caring because she was nibbling on a cookie.

"No, it's just that I think we should hurry up." Seth replied, putting his arm around Alice. He kissed her temple.

Up front, at the end of Path 14, thin fog started rolling like waves from the ocean. I almost dropped my sandwich by the sight of it. I slapped Eric's shoulder and I saw him looking at it too.

"Umm, guys. Isn't that a little creepy?" Eric said, standing up. We all stood up. Alice fumbled with the map, wide eyed.

"Shitshitshit, ah, here we are. Okay, okay, okay, we have to go straight to go to Path 16. Come on." she said quickly with a panicked voice.

It was weird because we ran, as if our instincts told us so. I looked back at the rolling fog. It was getting thicker, but it stayed at the end of Path 14. But right there, in the middle of the fog, was a tall figure I couldn't quite make out.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

By exactly 12:05AM, we finally arrived at the mausoleum. And it was a very creepy place. The last person who probably tried to visit here must be a hundred years ago. I took out the key from my bag and almost laughed because I saw Alice's horrified face as she hugged Seth. Eric helped me place the key. It fits. I did a mini victory dance.

The hard part was pushing the stone door open. Seth and Eric pressured the door. It opened the eleventh time they rammed it. There weren't any grave inside. There were containers and more boxes. We looked around, deciding what to take home.

"We all should take something." said Eric, looking around. Suddenly, the stone door behind us shut close. We're trapped. I looked at Alice. She looked surprised, but she was calm. The candle on the ground, the one in the middle of the room we didn't notice, suddenly lit up by itself. I had goosebumps before, but this one is different. It's not just the hair on your arms but also the hair on your head.

Three shadows appeared. Well, it's been a while. One stayed at the middle, one moved to the right, the other moved to the left. They all pointed at something at the same time.

I took the one being pointed at the middle. It looks like a music box. White, heavy, but still needs a key. Eric took the one on the left. It was a box four times larger than the one I picked up. Seth took the one being pointed at the right. It was a long box. Three inches in width and about two feet long. The shadows disappeared like poof. We put the things we found in our bags. The candle died, and it was suddenly cold. The door of the mausoleum opened by itself and outside was the figure I saw earlier amidst the fog.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

[ALICE'S POV]

The door suddenly opened and a figure was waiting for us outside. It's not just a figure. It was Mist Man. I didn't feel scared at all. This was the second time I saw him. He's not a mist anymore though, he's human like. I took out the small rod from my pocket. It was the sword that Chris gave me that my mother was supposed to give me. I just learned that it could retract when you press the emblem at the bottom of the hilt. I hovered my thumb on the emblem, getting ready. I know this isn't right.

From the corner of my eye, I could see that my friends were scared. It's time to act. I have to do something. Chris said I have tons of abilities. I developed speed and night vision. Let's see what my guts can do.

I walked towards Mist Man, outside. I could hear Seth calling my name quietly. I'm not scared anymore. I stood two feet away from Mist Man. And finally, I could see his face.

He wore a crooked smile and there were scars on his face. He looked clean though, but wearing a cloak is what made him scary. I realized that he was looking at me. I looked back, not caring anymore.

"You are very brave, Lowsley. Just like your mother." said a voice inside my head. It was Mist Man, talking to me by telepathy. How dare he mention my mom. I felt his joints and muscles twitch. He was about to move. And when he did, I pressed the emblem on my rod and pointed the tip of my sword on his throat.

"Move and I'll cut you." I said to him, making sure he was the only one who heard it.

"You don't even have all your abilities yet, Lowsley." he said, his voice coming out from his mouth. A jar came flying out of nowhere. Kate was throwing them at Mist Man, but that wasn't helping.

I moved and he moved. He clawed me, and there were three slashes on my forearm. I bled, but not for long because I saw my cuts heal. Hello ability number four. I slashed and paried, I don't really know what I'm doing. I've cut him twice on the arm and once on his waist. I was getting the hang of this.

Except that he took out a knife and plunged it deep in my chest.