spreading from the back of my head down my back to my legs, and all of my arm hair stood up.
“Wow.” Carson goggled at me, fumbling in his pocket for his phone. He touched my back and his eyes widened. “You’re really cold.”
But before he could take a picture of my arms with his phone, it was gone.
“Can we just get out of here?” Rachel whined. “I’m scared and don’t want to be here anymore, okay? This place is creeping me out.”
“Yeah,” Teresa chimed in. “We can talk about it more up at the lodge—and listen to your recordings, Carson.”
“Okay”—he nodded—“but first I need to say a prayer. Everyone close your eyes.”
I closed mine, and after a few moments, Carson started speaking in a low voice. “Spirits of the cemetery, we thank you for the welcome and apologize for disturbing your rest. We are going to leave now and would like to remind you that no matter how much you want to come with us, this is where you belong now, and you cannot come back with us. Please, continue to rest in peace, and may God bless you all. Amen.”
Everyone muttered amen , and we walked back to the SUV in silence.
As I opened the back door, I looked back over my shoulder at Albert’s headstone.
Good-bye, I thought sadly as I climbed into the backseat.
Chapter Four
No one spoke as Logan started the SUV, and Nicki Minaj started rapping loudly through the speakers again. Carson leaned over and turned the volume down; maybe it seemed as inappropriate to him as it did to me.
I buckled my seat belt as he put the car into reverse and started backing out of the cemetery. Just like on the way down, I was sitting in between Rachel and Teresa. Neither spoke. Teresa just stared out the window, but Rachel took my hand in hers and squeezed. Her small, warm hand was trembling just a little bit, and I wondered what had made her so upset. I looked at her, and she gave me a strange looking smile that didn’t quite make it to her eyes.
I looked away from her, past Teresa and out the window, as the SUV slowly backed out of the cemetery.
I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here and find out—
Find out what? I wondered, even though the thought was gone almost as quickly as it had come to me. But I didn’t want to leave with them. I had an urge to crawl over Teresa, open the door, and leap out. I wasn’t supposed to leave, I was supposed to stay behind in the cemetery…
Rachel squeezed my hand really hard, and her well-manicured nails dug into my palm. I winced and pulled my hand away.
“Sorry,” she whispered, but she still had that weird look on her face. With her other hand she smacked Logan’s headrest. “Will you hurry up and get us the hell out of here?” she snapped.
“Chill, all right? I can hardly see anything behind us and I don’t want to drive into a ditch,” he snapped back at her. “Anytime you think you can drive better—”
“Just get us out of here,” Teresa said, still looking out her window. “The sooner the better.”
What’s gotten into everyone? I looked over at Teresa. Her face looked pale in the dim light inside the car, and even Logan frowned in concentration as he stared out the back windows. Finally, he started turning the wheel as he backed out onto the pavement of Cemetery Road. A huge cloud of dust, churned up by the tires, followed us out as he shifted into drive and headed for Thirteenth Lake Road.
The weird feeling that I didn’t want to leave, that I wasn’t supposed to, that I should somehow stay behind got stronger as Logan drove slowly along the winding road. It was surreal, this sense that something was off and wrong, all the while Nicki Minaj kept rapping through the speakers. I felt a lump in my throat and tears coming to my eyes again, like I was going to start sobbing uncontrollably at any moment. I knew it was crazy, not normal, irrational—but I couldn’t seem to control my emotions.
I felt like I was saying good-bye to Marc last night all
“Wow.” Carson goggled at me, fumbling in his pocket for his phone. He touched my back and his eyes widened. “You’re really cold.”
But before he could take a picture of my arms with his phone, it was gone.
“Can we just get out of here?” Rachel whined. “I’m scared and don’t want to be here anymore, okay? This place is creeping me out.”
“Yeah,” Teresa chimed in. “We can talk about it more up at the lodge—and listen to your recordings, Carson.”
“Okay”—he nodded—“but first I need to say a prayer. Everyone close your eyes.”
I closed mine, and after a few moments, Carson started speaking in a low voice. “Spirits of the cemetery, we thank you for the welcome and apologize for disturbing your rest. We are going to leave now and would like to remind you that no matter how much you want to come with us, this is where you belong now, and you cannot come back with us. Please, continue to rest in peace, and may God bless you all. Amen.”
Everyone muttered amen , and we walked back to the SUV in silence.
As I opened the back door, I looked back over my shoulder at Albert’s headstone.
Good-bye, I thought sadly as I climbed into the backseat.
Chapter Four
No one spoke as Logan started the SUV, and Nicki Minaj started rapping loudly through the speakers again. Carson leaned over and turned the volume down; maybe it seemed as inappropriate to him as it did to me.
I buckled my seat belt as he put the car into reverse and started backing out of the cemetery. Just like on the way down, I was sitting in between Rachel and Teresa. Neither spoke. Teresa just stared out the window, but Rachel took my hand in hers and squeezed. Her small, warm hand was trembling just a little bit, and I wondered what had made her so upset. I looked at her, and she gave me a strange looking smile that didn’t quite make it to her eyes.
I looked away from her, past Teresa and out the window, as the SUV slowly backed out of the cemetery.
I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here and find out—
Find out what? I wondered, even though the thought was gone almost as quickly as it had come to me. But I didn’t want to leave with them. I had an urge to crawl over Teresa, open the door, and leap out. I wasn’t supposed to leave, I was supposed to stay behind in the cemetery…
Rachel squeezed my hand really hard, and her well-manicured nails dug into my palm. I winced and pulled my hand away.
“Sorry,” she whispered, but she still had that weird look on her face. With her other hand she smacked Logan’s headrest. “Will you hurry up and get us the hell out of here?” she snapped.
“Chill, all right? I can hardly see anything behind us and I don’t want to drive into a ditch,” he snapped back at her. “Anytime you think you can drive better—”
“Just get us out of here,” Teresa said, still looking out her window. “The sooner the better.”
What’s gotten into everyone? I looked over at Teresa. Her face looked pale in the dim light inside the car, and even Logan frowned in concentration as he stared out the back windows. Finally, he started turning the wheel as he backed out onto the pavement of Cemetery Road. A huge cloud of dust, churned up by the tires, followed us out as he shifted into drive and headed for Thirteenth Lake Road.
The weird feeling that I didn’t want to leave, that I wasn’t supposed to, that I should somehow stay behind got stronger as Logan drove slowly along the winding road. It was surreal, this sense that something was off and wrong, all the while Nicki Minaj kept rapping through the speakers. I felt a lump in my throat and tears coming to my eyes again, like I was going to start sobbing uncontrollably at any moment. I knew it was crazy, not normal, irrational—but I couldn’t seem to control my emotions.
I felt like I was saying good-bye to Marc last night all
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