≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

''Shut up. You know how you're trying to remember a song but can't figure out who sings it?''

''Early stage of dementia?''

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

THE OLD GRAVESTONES felt even more creepy at night, and I could feel the crunch of brittle leaves under my boots as I walked. I caught the edge of Kiara's nervous voice drifting over to me, even as I was more focused on my phone screen.

Kiara sighed, looking around with her flashlight flicking across the stone walls. ''This place is scary. John B, what are we doing here?''

I tried to push away the distraction of my phone buzzing in my hand. Ashley had texted three days ago, her words full of apologies, claiming she'd been forced by Topper to turn against me. Now, another long message from her filled the screen, almost desperate, but I put my phone on Do Not Disturb, rolling my eyes as I stuffed it back in my pocket. I didn't buy her excuse one bit.

John B's voice broke into my thoughts. ''Shut up. You know how you're trying to remember a song but can't figure out who sings it?''

''Dementia?'' I quipped, glancing at him with a smirk.

JJ stifled a laugh beside me, nudging me with his elbow. ''Good one, Mimi.''

John B just shook his head. ''No, Mave, not even close. So, Redfield, right? This whole time, I thought it was a place. But it's not a place. It's a person.'' He raised his flashlight higher, illuminating the faded word "Redfield" etched on the wall.

JJ's eyes widened in appreciation. ''Voi-effing-là,'' he murmured, his mouth slightly agape.

John B pointed to the wall. ''See, our great-great-grandmother, Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name.''

''Help me with the door. Come on,'' he added, waving Pope over.

Pope rushed over to him, and they positioned themselves on either side of the heavy stone door. ''All right, on three. One, two, three!'' The two of them strained, shoulders pressed against the door, but it barely moved.

Pope winced, gritting his teeth. ''Are you pushing?''

''Yeah, I'm pushing,'' John B panted, though it didn't look like they were making much progress.

JJ stepped forward slapping his hands together. ''Hold on, I got this.'' He braced himself against the door too, muscles tensing as he shoved with all his weight.

The door didn't budge an inch, and Pope groaned, giving up for a moment. ''This door's like 700 pounds. It's not gonna move.''

''We didn't come this far just to get stopped here, all right? We got this.'' JJ shot a challenging look at Pope, who flinched slightly as JJ geared up to push again.

Then, from the wall just beside the door, a faint hissing sound caught our attention. I froze, watching as a snake slithered out of a crack, its eyes glinting as it moved across the wall.

''Whoa!'' Pope yelped, stumbling back next to me as the snake slid down closer to the ground.

''A snake!'' JJ yelled. ''That's a moccasin, all right. Ye olde dr. Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass,'' he added theatrically before dropping to his knees and, to my horror, barking at the snake like a dog.

''JJ, shut up! Are you actually roleplaying a dog? What the hell?!'' I whisper-yelled, my voice hushed but sharp.

Pope slapped JJ's shoulder, looking around with worry. ''You're gonna wake the dead, man.''

JJ shrugged, unbothered. ''They're afraid of dogs, everyone knows that,'' he insisted. ''Wait, hold on.''

''What?'' John B and Kiara chimed in.

''If there's one, there's probably dozens. All around us,'' JJ stated, suddenly serious as his gaze darted around.

Kiara frowned, clearly uneasy. ''Can you stop? You're scaring me.''

JJ didn't seem to care and just started barking at the snake again, louder this time. I groaned. ''JJ, you can't just bark in a cemetery! Are you insane?''

''There's no one here to complain about it,'' he scoffed, brushing it off with a shrug. But before he could go on, Kiara cut him off with a frustrated look.

''Well, I'm complaining about it, so just stop!'' She shined her flashlight into his face, and he backed off, finally quiet.

Pope leaned against the door, wiping the sweat from his forehead. ''John, look. We're not getting in there. It's not budging. Maybe we should just go.''

Before anyone could respond, Kiara's flashlight landed on a small, rough hole in the wall, just wide enough for her to squeeze through. ''Wait... I can get through,'' she announced, already moving toward it.

John B turned to her, incredulous. ''No, no, no. You think you're gonna fit through that hole?''

I smirked, crossing my arms. ''Are you saying she's fat, John?'' I asked, raising an eyebrow. I knew he didn't mean it like that, but I couldn't resist poking fun at him.

John B's face turned red, his eyes widening. ''No! No, that's not—'' he stammered, clearly flustered, but Kiara waved him off.

''Can you help me with that?'' Kiara asked, already brushing branches and debris away from the opening.

John B gave me a half-hearted glare, and I just grinned, holding back a laugh as he and Pope helped clear away the last of the branches. As they worked, I stepped back, glancing around to keep an eye on the cemetery in case anything, or anyone, decided to interrupt us.

 ''Give her a boost,'' John B instructed JJ.

JJ dropped into a wall sit as he pressed his back against the wall, his hands held out in front of him. ''I'm gonna boost you, all right,'' he muttered, looking up at Kiara with a grin. ''I've seen it in the movies plenty of times. Ready?''

Kiara's expression was nervous, but she moved forward, steadying herself. John B stepped over, holding out his hand for her flashlight. ''What am I looking for exactly?'' she asked.

''You'll know when you see it,'' he added cryptically, giving Kiara an encouraging nod as she handed him the flashlight.

JJ shuffled, adjusting his position. ''All right, put your hands right there,'' he mumbled, motioning with his chin.

Kiara placed her hands as instructed, lifting herself with a slight grunt of effort as JJ steadied her foot. ''On three,'' she muttered, glancing down at him.

''Right... on three,'' JJ began, but as Kiara started climbing, he gave up with a half-laugh. ''Okay, never mind, just forget about three.''

She clambered through the small gap, disappearing into the darkness. A moment later, her voice drifted back to us. ''Okay, flashlight?''

Pope handed his over. ''Yeah, here.''

John B leaned forward, looking through the gap with concern. ''You alive in there? Got, like, a—a heartbeat and everything?'' he asked.

''So far,'' Kiara replied, sounding a little breathless but alive.

''That's good. That's good,'' John B nodded, visibly relaxing.

''Uh... I need more light,'' Kiara added.

''Yeah, I gotcha,'' John B answered, quickly handing her another flashlight.

JJ leaned in with a raised eyebrow. ''Is there gold?'' he asked, clearly eager.

A few tense seconds passed, and then Kiara's voice dropped to a murmur. ''Oh my god...''

Curious, I squinted through the opening. ''Found another snake in there?'' I asked, smirking.

Kiara's head appeared back through the hole, her expression lit with excitement. ''No, thankfully—but look at this!'' She carefully climbed back out, her eyes sparkling as she handed us a yellowed envelope.

Pope took it first, frowning in disappointment. ''This is not gold.''

I rolled my eyes. ''No shit,'' I muttered.

John B's face softened, his eyes fixed on the envelope. ''Holy shit. That's from my dad.'' He was about to say more when, out of nowhere, JJ's head snapped up.

''Code red. Code red,'' he hissed, taking a quick drag from his vape. ''Square groupers! Square groupers!'' He backed up against the wall, eyes wide.

I whipped around as headlights sliced through the trees. We moved quickly, ducking behind a crumbling wall as the sound of a car engine grew closer.

JJ peeked out. ''It's the guys who robbed your house,'' he stated, glancing at John B.

Kiara urgently gestured, her eyes wide. ''Light!'' she whispered.

''Light!'' Pope repeated, turning off his flashlight in a hurry. I did the same, watching as JJ clumsily smothered his joint against the wall.

''JJ, turn your light off, man!'' Pope hissed, quickly reaching over to switch off the last remaining glow.

''Homie's got a gun,'' JJ muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible.

My stomach lurched. ''Screw this!'' Kiara turned, bolting toward the gate in a burst of speed. We didn't need any more convincing; the rest of us scrambled to our feet and dashed after her, our footsteps pounding against the stone path as we ran toward the cemetery's exit.

We reached the iron gate just as JJ grabbed my hand, steadying me as we scrambled over the cold metal. One by one, we dropped down on the other side, breathless and panicked. Pope's voice suddenly broke the quiet.

''Guys! Guys!'' He was stuck, his pants snagged on the top of the gate. He glanced back at us, panic creeping into his face. ''Guys, I'm stuck!''

JJ groaned, throwing his hands in the air impatiently. ''Pope, come on, man!''

I turned back, seeing Pope dangling awkwardly from the gate. ''No, don't move, okay?'' JJ pulled a small gun from his waistband, pointing it toward Pope.

John B swatted JJ's hand, knocking the gun away. ''Wait, wait! Are you insane?''

''You're gonna rip me! You're gonna rip me!'' Pope stammered as Kiara reached up, helping to pull him down. With a small tear, his pants gave way, and he tumbled down, landing in his underwear.

JJ smirked, chuckling as we all stared at Pope, whose face was red from embarrassment and frustration. ''Nice one, dude. Lookin' like a little Tootsie Roll,'' JJ teased, clapping him on the back before taking off toward the van.

words: 1575