Grave Rock: Cemetery Stones

Benji Sees A Ghost

Tye and I slept through most of the day. I know by the time we woke up that the sun was getting ready to set. The smell of caramel coffee woke me up and Tye was ready to cook up some bacon when I got to the kitchen. He stood there in his boxers and I realized how out of shape I was. Skating had kept him slim and fit. Tye offered the shower, saying it would clear my mind.

I was thinking a lot. About all the loss and the gruesome nature of it all. Unexplained things that if not caused by ghosts or by stones, what would be the cause? It seemed like science or logic held no answer either. Why them? Was all it really caused by stealing the gravestones? Could it be something more sinister? A human who used the fear and memory to get us one by one. Marcia or Bolton or both?

All these thoughts plus the dreams became static in my head. I could see my friends being killed over and over. Each time by someone or something different. There were too many variables and things left unknown to help clear the noise. The shower was helpful but I knew it was far from over.

Eating in a sort of quiet, Tye and I talked of what to do next. We had already replaced the stones. Maybe it wasn't ghosts. Do we tell the cops about Eden's letter? Her parents had kept it from them. We agreed it wouldn't help the police and only cause them to think Eden was crazy or killed herself.

We finished our food in silence and I helped clean up. Doing the dishes I opened up about my dreams. I told him everything I had seen and felt. Even those moments in the woods. Tye said he had some bizarre dreams too. We decided to toy with the idea of a high school bully who never grew up.

Marcia was the most openly hateful with Denny being more her lap dog. I reminded Tye of my stupid crush on Bolton. He admitted he had been a little jealous. There was that feeling again. Of comfort in a moment of chaos. Bolton did live near Zoe and Eden in Cherry Grove.

Maybe he had a thing for one of them but never got over it. Just when we had tossed around all the possibilities, Benji called and demanded we come to his place right away. We barely got any information from him before he hung up. Tye drove us as quickly as possible to a frantic Benji.

Night was sweeping over the town and Benji seemed to be in a bizarre state. Drunk but more importantly afraid. I don't think I had ever seen him like this. Scared maybe but the look in his eyes was that of heart stopping terror. He had seen something. He had heard something.

Benji admitted that after we left him, he went to the graveyard. Beyond drunk Benji traveled by himself to the Elk Park Cemetery. He says that it felt like he had to go there. Some sort of other worldly force was playing at his emotions. Benji said he had never felt so angry.

Once he got to the place where the grave stones rested, Benji heard voices. They told him to do it. He had stolen two stones from their forgotten place. There is no memory of him getting home. He told us he was just holding the two stones the next morning. It wasn't like him to talk so openly about his feelings. Something had him spooked and he wasn't ready to face it alone.

Throughout the day Benji said it felt like heavy footsteps would rush up behind him. Whenever he would turn to look he would hear the sound of children laughing. Every hour it got louder and the footsteps got closer. He felt like once it hit midnight something was coming to get him.

Tye tried to calm him down. He reminded him of how he always made fun of stuff like this. He never believed in ghost stories. Benji was pacing and holding tightly a green pillow. It was like Tye's words were only half getting through. Benji wasn't really making sense when he replied or spoke.

The pillow he was clutching was covered in snot and tears. We finally got him to relax and step outside with us. After a few moments he told us where the stones were. They rested with his socks, tucked away like an old secret. We offered to wait the night out with him and he immediately wanted to play some games.

After a while I noticed him jump every so often. He wouldn't make a big deal but he would suddenly look over his shoulder and mumble something. Benji was doing his best to hide what was happening to him. Soon midnight came and went. Nothing happened.

Tye decided to make some tea and Benji wanted to get some air on his balcony. I went with him and soon Tye came out with the hot cups of chai. We sat on the balcony looking at the small pond below. The moon reflected on it and made the moment sort of surreal. It sort of felt like we were on the set of some television show.

There we were sitting under the stars waiting for something evil to come get us. Tye noted the time and we realized it was almost one. Benji felt safer and went inside for a moment. When he returned he had one of the stones. He chucked it into the pond below.

Tye dropped his mug trying to stop him and I could barely believed it was happening. I was frozen as Benji went inside to get the other one. We went to stop him and Benji went into a fit of laughter. He was out of it. Ranting about surviving and telling the spirits to fuck off. Tye told him to cool it but he was beyond control. The two began to tussle as I tried to break them apart.

I locked the balcony and tossed some water in his face. It seemed to calm him and he slowly stopped fighting Tye who held him on the ground. The lights went out. Benji and Tye stopped wrestling and the three of us stood in a sinister tension.

There was a feeling like a million people were in the room. When the lights flashed on it was like that night long ago. Dozens of the undead stood around us with their rotted flesh and exposed bones. In an instant they were gone and we heard something like a throat being choked in the hall. It was distinct and clear as our heavy breathing in the living room.

Soon the noise grew and echoed out before stopping suddenly. We all heard something heavy fall to the floor. The sound of shuffling along the floorboards and raspy breathing emerged from the shadows. We saw it just before the lights went out again.

The thing from another world had the face of our friends. It was like it took pieces of Eden, Missy, and the others to dress itself. In torn fragments of flesh it slithered towards us. Benji tossed the stone at the mangled face of the creature before we all made our way out the door.

It roared a monstrous roar before following us out. I caught glimpses of it as I ran with the others to Tye's car. Like a reptile it walked on all fours and had bones jutting out from all angles. The stolen flesh and meat of our friends barely covered the demon underneath. Deep black hair twisted around the decayed eyes.

To say it was once human would be a lie. It was like a creature longing to be human. As Tye started the car and we drove away, I saw it under a street light. It looked at me with eyes that were once Zoe's and screamed a haunting cry into the night.