Baked Scribe Flashback : Luison

 

The iron gate into the cemetery clanked loudly in the wind as they hurried past. Even though nothing was spoken, they all seemed to pick up their pace, not wanting to linger, so close to this eternal place of rest. This was why Elaine hated going to the late night showings, but Kim, Caroline and Rhyanna had all insisted.

There was a tiny building located on the edge of the cemetery, presumably for the caretaker, and for some reason, she found it almost as unnerving as the bone-yard itself. It was built out of heavy iron, with no windows and no visible utility lines going to it, but there was always a line of bright light emanating from underneath the heavy door. The wind picked up just as they passed, and it carried with it the smell of death and rot.

They had almost made it to the end of the block, where she would be able to see their condo, when the door to the building was thrown open and a man came staggering out. She couldn’t help but clamp a hand over her mouth at the sight. He weaved from side to side, as if drunk. The long black coat and pants he wore were covered in slimy, foul smelling earth and his hair hung all around, mostly obscuring his face behind long, greasy strands. All she could see was his eyes, which blazed out at them with an unholy rage.

None of them were able to move as he stumbled up to them, scrutinizing each as if judging a contest of some kind. He lifted up one hand, flinging disgusting moisture all over them and reached out. Every instinct told her to run, but her feet remained immobile. The man took another step forward and placed a hand carefully on Kim’s forehead. With the other hand, he reached over and did the same to Caroline. They stood like that for several moments before the man let out a long sigh and dropped his hands. He looked them all over again before shaking his head and shambling back to the iron building, slamming the door behind him.

The nervous laughter that followed was interrupted by the screaming of brakes and the thud of a sub-woofer as the sports car came flying around the corner, hitting all of them in the process.

It was a week before Elaine woke up in the hospital. She was recovering from massive internal injuries and several broken bones and as for Rhyanna, it would be several weeks before the doctors would be able to bring her out of the induced coma. Elaine would likely walk with a cane for the rest of her life, but at least she was alive. She found her thoughts constantly occupied by those few minutes before the accident, how he had laid his hands on only two of them, as if he had been choosing.

It had to be a coincidence that Kim and Caroline were the two who had not survived.