Ten Open Graves: A Collection of Supernatural Horror

by David Wood

  While they waited for her to reply, Maya said, “No offense, but if I'd gone to school here, I'd have left town too. My parents were fortunate enough to afford private school.”

  “Must have been nice.” Kyle’s eyes never left his phone.

  “Not really. I mean, yeah, it had smaller class sizes and the teachers were on top of their game, but...you know...being half black and half white can have its downsides.”

  Kyle spared her a quick glance. “I could see that, but you're hot though, so...you know, win.” He flashed her a smile before turning his gaze back down.

  “Thanks.” Warmth flashed through her cheeks. “I'd like to think I'm fairly intelligent as well.”

  “I didn't mean to imply you weren't.” He gave her an I'm sorry grin. “Hot and smart. Double win.”

  Seeing that Kyle's phone screen had yet to light up with a call or text, Maya gestured toward three kids sitting on a picnic table beneath a large plastic awning. They all had long black hair, wore black clothes that looked way too warm for the weather, and were deathly pale. They talked amongst themselves, but their mouths barely moved, and they watched the people around them with constant vigilance. As cloistered as they were, they were also the most approachable looking. “Maybe you should ask The Cure over there if they know where your sister is.”

  “Huh?” Kyle looked up at her like she'd just spoken gibberish.

  “The goths,” she replied, gesturing again. “They might know something.”

  Kyle followed her hand and saw the kids sitting on the table, then nodded. After rolling the window down he stuck his hand out and waved. “Hey! Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Jerking like they'd been tasered, the goth kids flicked their dark-rimmed eyes over at him and glared before leaning even closer together and shrugging their shoulders.

  “I only need to ask a question,” he shouted over to them, undeterred. “Come on, my baby sister was supposed to meet me, and I'm starting to get worried.”

  The person sitting closest to the Jeep – a girl judging by the fullness of her chest – stiffened and sat straight up, then turned to look at him again. After a couple of seconds to confer with her friends, she got up and walked over. Dressed as she was, and with all the heavy makeup on her face, it was hard to tell what she really looked like, but beneath it all Maya guessed she had a pretty face and a curvy figure to match. Most boys probably wouldn't know it from looking at her, and Maya figured that was the way she wanted it.

  “Did you say your sister?” the girl asked once reached the Jeep. A mass of black dreads fell from her head like a nest of snakes. “Are you talking about Taylor?”

  Kyle nodded quickly and his eyes opened wide. “Yeah, Taylor. How did you know?”

  “She told me you might be coming into town.” A blush set the girl’s face on fire, even through the thick white foundation. “She was really excited about it.”

  Kyle stared for a moment, and but then closed his eyes and nodded as though a mystery of the universe had just been solved. “You must be Morgan. I mean, uh, Morgana.”

  “She mentioned me?” the girl asked, her face lighting up. “Really? Then...she told you about...us?”

  “Yes, she told me she was gay, and that you two were dating, if that's what you mean.”

  Morgana turned her head down, but her raccoon eyes stared at him, cataloging his every twitch. “And you're okay with that?”

  “Sure, why wouldn't I be?” he answered. The lack of pretension or condescension in his voice won him points in Maya's heart.

  Morgana turned her head and gave exaggerated looks to everything around her before leveling a weighty gaze on Kyle. “Pardon me if I don't give everyone the benefit of the doubt.”

  Maya stifled a laugh. She knew firsthand what the girl was implying, and hoped she hadn't experienced the same sort of treatment the people at the diner yesterday had given her. Persecution was blind to race, creed, and love.

  “I understand what you mean,” Kyle said. “And maybe we can talk about it more sometime, but right now I'm looking for Taylor. I saw her last night for a little while, and I told her we'd try and get together today. I've called her and sent her text messages, but she hasn't gotten back to me. Do you know what's going on?”

  A dark look passed over Morgana's eyes, and her pale cheeks deflated. “No, I don't have any idea. She didn't come to school today. I've tried calling her too, but she hasn't tagged me back either. I'm worried.”

  “So you haven't seen her at all today?” Kyle asked

  Morgana shook her head. “No. And she's not the only one either. It seems like half my damn class is gone.”

  A tone in the girl's voice set off an alarm in Maya's head. She reached into her bag, and after a couple of seconds brought out a digital recorder, clicked it on, and pointed it at the girl's face. “Half your class is gone? What do you mean by that?”

  “Huh?” Morgana replied, pulling back. She glared at the mic and then at Maya before turning back to Kyle. “What the fuck is this? Who's she?”

  Kyle huffed and pushed Maya's hand down, giving her an angry look as he did it. “It's nothing. Sorry. I just need to know where my sister is, that's all.”

  The girl didn't look certain of anything, but after a moment she rolled her eyes. “Okay, whatever. All I can tell you is that she's not here. Give your mom a call. I'm sure that bitch will be more inclined to talk to you than she is to me.”

  “I wouldn't be so sure of that, but I’ll try anyway. Thanks. When I hear from her I'll have her call you, okay?”

  Morgana nodded, her lower lip curled inward as she chewed on it, and then walked back to her friends. Within seconds the small pale collective was off the table and shuffling into the school.

  “Smooth move, Anderson Cooper.” Kyle let her hand go. “They teach you that interview technique in private school?”

  Maya opened her mouth to defend herself, but she closed it when she couldn't think of anything to say. He was right. In her eagerness to get some local input on what could be yet another example of something being off in Stillwater she'd let her journalistic drive outrun her good sense. In the process she'd not only recorded zilch, but she'd angered a guy she liked who was worried about his sister. Talk about epic fail.

  “I'm sorry.” She felt as lame as the words that came out of her mouth.

  He shrugged and reached for his phone. After a quick search of his contact list he pressed a button and held the phone up to his head. Seconds later his eyes lit up.

  “Hey, Mom, it's... Can we not? I called to talk to Taylor, is she... What do you mean, sick? She seemed fine last night. I...” He looked up at the Jeep's roof liner and sighed. “Well maybe if you weren't busy ostracizing your daughter she'd tell you a couple of things. If you'll put her on the phone I just want... Hey, she's my sister, and I've got a right to talk to her!” A shrill laugh echoed out of the phone loud enough for Maya to hear, and it made her skin crawl. Kyle's knuckles went white from gripping the phone, and he hit his steering wheel with his free hand. “That's bullshit! I'm coming ov... Yeah, that's what I said... Whatever, Mom, we'll talk about it when I get there, and... Hello? Hello?” Kyle pulled away from his phone and looked it like it had tried to bite his ear off. “She hung up on me. That goddam bitch. Oh, no, this isn't over. Not by a damn sight.”

  Maya slipped her digital recorder back into her bag and made sure her seatbelt was still secure. For a moment she considered asking him to drop her off at the motel, but if she did that meant she'd have to pick up where she'd left off with Darius, and she much preferred helping Kyle deal with his drama rather than dealing with her own. Still, that didn't mean she could just butt in, and she knew it.

  “If you'd rather not have me around while you deal with whatever it is you need to deal with, you can drop me off at the motel. It won't hurt my feelings.”

  “Does that mean you don't mind sticking around?” he asked. “My parents' house is nearby, but the motel is on the other side of
town, and I'd prefer to get this over with as quickly as possible.”

  Maya nodded and hunkered down in her seat. “No, that's fine. I'll just sit out here while you...you know, deal with it.”

  The trip took only a few minutes, but to her it felt like a lifetime as Kyle fumed and raged silently in his seat. He didn’t need to say anything. She felt every ounce of his anger as his aura expanded like a star going nova.

  Chapter 12

  Kyle walked up the cracked walkway leading to his parents' house hoping like hell his mother wouldn't cause a scene at the front door. He didn't know if he could handle another round of bullshit with her, especially with Maya in earshot. He barely knew Maya, but he found himself growing more and more attracted to her, and the last thing he needed was family drama making her want to run for the hills. If things went smoothly – at the front door at least – then it would be a very good thing for all concerned.

  He wasn't holding his breath though.

  After pulling open the screen door he curled his right hand into a fist and knocked. When no one answered after a count of ten, he knocked again, harder this time. He was halfway through another ten count when muted swearing built on the other side of the door. A cloud of rank smoke billowed out when it finally opened.

  “Who in the fuck is pounding on my front door?” his mother asked with a cigarette dangling from her mouth, her eyes watery and dark. Though had hadn’t imagined it possible, she looked even worse than yesterday. Her skin color rested somewhere between gray and yellow, like her entire body was one big bruise, and he could practically see her bones beneath it. “Jesus H, can't a person be left alone?”

  “I told you I was coming, Mom.” He waved smoke from his face.

  Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward to get a closer look, a scowl turning her face into wrinkled laundry. It only made her look worse. “And I told you not to.” She stopped speaking and raised a hand to cover her mouth as a quick series of coughs flew out of her. The ash from her cigarette broke off and tumbled down her dirty apron. She brushed at herself, but it only smeared the ash into a long streak.

  “I want to see Taylor.” He chose to ignore her sarcasm and terrible appearance.

  “And what makes you think she wants to see you?” His mother took a drag on her cigarette and blew out a wall of fog to foul the air between them. “Just go! You’re no son of mine!”

  Kyle wanted to slap the snide look off his mother's face, but his hands remained at his sides. There were troubles enough without adding assault to the mix. “Mom, let's not get started, okay? Just let me see her, and then I'll be out of your hair.”

  “I should have slit your throat when I squeezed you outta me.” Her dark eyes burrowed into Kyle like twin pickaxes, flaying him straight to the bone. Her eyes cast over the rented Jeep, where she stopped and took a long look. A sinking feeling hit Kyle's stomach.

  Aw shit.

  “It ain't bad enough that your sister has to be a goddamn dyke.” His mother’s head swiveled back around to him. “But now I got to see you riding around with some nigger? You ain’t my son, you hear me?!”

  Hoping like hell his mother's voice didn't carry far, Kyle crossed his arms and leaned forward. “Leave Maya alone. She's good people.”

  “She could be the goddamn queen of Sheba, that don't mean I want her around here.”

  “Then fucking look away,” Kyle said, the urge to slap her greater than ever.

  His mother fixed him with a flinty stare before shrugging and taking another drag on her smoke. “I already cast you from this family, so what do I care.”

  “You can disown me all you want, but I’m still Taylor’s brother.” He crossed his arms.

  “No you ain’t.” His mother waved her hand at him, sending thin streamers of smoke in the air. “I told you yesterday, get in your vehicle and go. You've been gone, so just go and stay gone. Nothing here for you anymore.”

  Kyle uncrossed his arms and put his hands on his hips. It took every ounce of restraint he had to not take the woman by her shoulders and shake her until she puked. “Yeah, well, that's not gonna happen. Now let me see Taylor, or by God I’ll walk through you.”

  Shaking her head, his mother dropped her cigarette on the cement outside her door and ground it out with a slippered foot. “You're sister ain't here, but even if she was, I still wouldn't let you in. Now get going before I call the cops.”

  “Not here?” Kyle replied. He hadn't been prepared for that. “What do you mean, not here?”

  “Ain't here means ain't here.”

  Kyle didn't believe her for a moment, and when she started closing the screen door his anger and frustration boiled up in a flash of heat. Without thinking he grabbed the screen door and pulled it from her grip. She stumbled forward but righted herself quickly when he stepped into the house. He barely waited for her to flatten against a wall before barreling forward. Every step he took into the dank hallway was an effort. It only took a few seconds for the oppressive atmosphere to press down on him and fill his lungs. He wondered how Taylor had lived with it for so long.

  “You get outta my house!” his mother yelled behind him. “I'm gonna call the police!”

  Once past the living room, he turned to the right and approached the closed door to his sister's room. It had a taped up poster of the band Paramour on it. He knocked, careful not to wrinkle the poster.

  “Taylor? You okay?”

  There wasn't a reply, nor did he hear any stirring.

  “I'm coming in, so if you're...whatever, just cover up. I want to make sure you're okay.”

  His mother punched him on the arm as he reached for the doorknob. She wasn't a big woman, but she had surprising strength in her. Her bony knuckles left four small red dents on his skin. “I'm not gonna tell you again, boy! Get outta my house this second, or there'll be hell to pay!”

  He ignored her threats and opened the door. Inside he saw the prototypical teenage girl's room. Posters for various bands and movies covered the walls, but instead of images of guys like Justin Bieber and Ryan Gosling, he saw lots of Amy Lee, Megan Fox, and more women he didn't recognize but who invariably had dark hair and dark eyes. Taylor definitely had a type, that was for sure. The white carpet of her floor looked like it hadn't seen a vacuum in years, and various gloomily colored clothing lay scattered across it. A wooden desk buried under magazines and long, gauzy scarves sat on the left, a beat-up recliner occupied by half a dozen stuffed animals was next to it, and an empty bed covered in a tangle of black sheets was on the right. The window across from the door stood half opened.

  “I told you she wasn't here.” Her words were knives thrown at the back of his neck.

  Kyle pulled back from the door and turned toward her. “Then where is she?”

  For a split second his mother flinched and leaned away, but then darkness crossed her eyes and she screwed her mouth into a sneer. “Your daddy took her.”

  “Took her? Took her where?”

  His mother shrugged as though she neither knew nor cared. “The doctor I guess. God only knows what bugs she's got up in her since she became a dyke.”

  Kyle had to grab his leg to stop from lashing out. “Your daughter is gone, and you don’t where the fuck to? Jesus Christ, what happened to you?”

  Darkness returned to her eyes, this time so heavy is was like they disappeared into a void, and he took an unconscious half step back, which was all that saved him from a savage slap aimed for his face.

  “You don’t talk to me like that, you bastard!” Her anger added new color to her skin, deepening the bruised appearance. She pulled back from Taylor’s room, and shadows fell across her face. “I wish you’d never been born, and soon…soon you will too. Oh yes. Now get the fuck outta my house and don’t ever come back. If I see you again, I swear I’ll kill you. You hear me? Go!”

  As bad as everything had been since he’d returned to town, nothing had shocked him as much as what she’d just said. Worse, he knew she meant every word
of it. Her thin muscles quivered and her hands curled into claws. Whoever his mother had once been, she was long gone, and what had replaced her felt…evil. Now, more than ever, he wanted to find Taylor.

  “Fine, I'm going,” he told her as he raised a finger and aimed it squarely at her face. “Threaten me all you want. But when I find Taylor – and I will – I’m going to take her with me. You’re not fit to be a mother to anyone.”

  A vicious rebuttal twisted his mother's face into a hellish mask, but before she could unleash it he pushed past her and stormed out of the house. He was in the Jeep and starting the engine before she made it to the front door. From the corner of his eye he saw her standing half out of the house and shouting something, but the engine noise drowned out whatever it was.

  “Your sister okay?” Maya asked, purposefully not looking out her window to see the mad woman raving on the porch.

  Kyle shook his head. “I don’t know. Supposedly Dad has her with him.”

  “So that means…?”

  Knowing he was the only one who could finish the hanging thought, Kyle backed out of the driveway and steered them toward town. “It means we’re going to the mine.”

  Interlude- Ripples In The Shadows

  If a mirror had been put before Ash, he wouldn't have recognized the face staring back at him. Gone was his dark hair, his cleft jaw, and the nose that tilted slightly to the left thanks to his years of high school football. Now his skin was a rancid shade of gray and hairless, the bones of his face were knives slowly pushing outward in sharp lumps, and his nose was a knob of flesh rotting on the ground at his feet, which were themselves growing and ready to burst through the leather laced around them. He felt himself changing more quickly as the water lowered and the ancient power increased, touching everyone for miles and miles, transforming them as well.

  Using the two gaping holes in the middle of his face, Ash sniffed the air. Oil and exhaust mixed with the sweat of his workers and the fear of the children in a nearby chamber, and mingled with the omnipresent scent of broken earth and coal, but beneath all that lay a new odor. Or, rather, an old one. Very old.