Raid On The Necropolis By Kain Vinosec Kyle and Marsden walked at a steady shuffling pace into a large ominous graveyard. The boys were only about thirteen years old, but they had the maturity to pass as fifteen. The night was cool and they were dressed for the mission at hand. Both wearing a jacket, t-shirt and jeans. Earlier that day at school one of the other kids, a nuisance named Bobby, had dared the kids to go into the fabled necropolis down by the river and bring back an artifact of the dead. Neither of the boys would have done it if Jessica hadn't been watching but like most boys, they would do anything to impress the girl. The necropolis was infamous amongst the school children for being the scariest place they'd ever seen. It stretched two miles in all directions from the river bank to the woods. No one had been buried there in years as it was quite full, having been around for several hundred years. It was also impossible to be accepted. Back when it was more functional, it'd been considered one of the most prestigious places to be laid down. Now it was falling mostly into decay. Not even a watchman anymore to keep kids like Kyle and Marsden out. The boys walked into the dead center of the grounds and took the chance to rest from their long walk, as well as to examine the surrounding area. They were both a bit cold and fearful, but felt safe with each other. Kyle looked over at his friend and inhaled the cold air sharply; “So, what are we going to take back?”. Marsden bent down to pick up a rock and then tossed it off into the darkness. He waited to hear the sound of it landing but instead was greeted with silence. He looked back at Kyle with his hands in his pockets; “My dad said that when people die they keep wearing their wedding rings. I say we try to get one of those.”. Kyle looked around and wondered to himself how they would find someone still wearing a ring amongst all the tombstones. Just barely within their sight however, Kyle managed to spot a mausoleum shrouded in the darkness. He pointed it out to Marsden; “Look! Maybe we can find something in... there.”. A noise had come from behind the kids as Kyle was speaking. They both turned around slowly and for the first time that night they knew what intense fear was. What they saw was something much worse than any type of after-life incarnation. “Hi boys.” A young girl stood before them wearing tennis shoes, leggings, a pink skirt and a white zipped up jacket. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and bounced with her head as she walked towards them. Marsden took a breath once he realized she wasn't anything to be scared of and greeted her; “Hi Jessica. What are you doing here?”. She stepped up to the boys and turned to look at Marsden; “I heard you guys were coming here. I wanted to come see what all the fuss was about.”. Kyle knew that her being there was dangerous for all of them, but still he was relieved to see her again. “Glad you decided to come Jess. We were just about to go check out that little building back there.” She looked at Kyle and smiled; “Great! Let's go.” The three took off walking towards the building and started up a casual conversation to kill time and rest their uneasiness. Jessica - “So Kyle, what made you agree to do this? You always seem like the smart one.” Kyle - “I don't know. Just sounded like fun... I guess.” Jessica - “If this is your idea of fun I'd hate to see you at a party.” Marsden - “Kyle's always been an odd one anyway.” Kyle - “Thanks for the encouragement guys. You're both here too y'know!” Marsden - “Yeah, but I came to prove that I could do it.” Jessica - “Prove it to who? The kids at school or yourself?” Marsden - “I don't know. Myself I guess.” Jessica - “You boys are both silly.” Kyle - “Yeah, but you're here too Jessi. What made you come out here, really?” Jessica - “I just felt like I needed to come along okay? I can't explain it.” The kids heard a noise in the direction of the small mausoleum they had been walking towards. Nearly there, the noise came loud and rattled the ground a bit. It seemed to grow louder as they got closer and they were unable to see what the source was, but to them it sounded like the large machine in the boiler room at their school. It would come on sometimes during class and would always force the teacher to pause his lesson until it finished, allowing the kids to pass notes to each other. Marsden - “Hey Kyle, what do you think that noise is?” Kyle - “I dunno. It sounds angry though.” Jessica - “A noise can't sound angry can it?” Marsden - “This one does... Maybe we should go somewhere else to get the proof?” Jessica - “Gonna back out now that you've come all this way?” Kyle - “Yeah Marsden, we passed the point of no return a long time ago.” Marsden - “I was just saying...” Kyle & Jessica - “Let's go.” The kids pressed on towards the mausoleum which had now seemed to've grown into a dreadful place to live out one's afterlife. As they neared the building they began to see a miniature white glow coming from inside one of the windows. They all were a bit scared but knew that they couldn't back out now. They continued walking forward until the light shot a beam straight from the mausoleum and right through Jessica's chest. She flew back a good fifteen feet and rolled like a rage doll on the ground. The boys were immediately freaked but they ran over to check on their friend. Marsden - “Dude what happened?!” Kyle - “I don't know! She got hit by something. Is she okay?” Marsden - “I'm not a doctor. How am I supposed to know?” Kyle - “I don't know what to do. We can't carry her.” Marsden - “We gotta do something, that light could come back any second.” Kyle - “She's still breathing. See? Maybe she'll be okay. We can't leave her here though.” Jessica - “You should have left when you had the chance.” The body of Jessica rose up off the ground. Her eyes were glowing orange and there was a weird greenish aura around her entire body. The voice she spoke with had become a deep male voice and seemed distorted. The boys backed away from their friend and stayed together staring in awe at what she had become. Jessica's body - “You boys are trespassing on my land. Why?!” Marsden - “It was a dare! The kids at school dared us...” Kyle - “What are you and what are you doing to Jessica?” Jessica's body - “You would trespass on a king's land for a dare? Insolent children... What I am is none of your concern. Who I am, is quite the matter. I am Arthur Jacobs. I owned this land when I was alive, and now I own it in death!” Marsden - “We didn't mean to bother you. We just had to get something from here to take back to school.” Arthur - “Am I to believe that children your age are grave robbers?!” Kyle - “We were going to bring it back.” Marsden - “Kyle, shut up. You know we weren't.” Kyle - “Yeah but he didn't know that until you just told him!” Marsden - “He's a ghost or something. I think he knows when you're lying.” Kyle - “Maybe, but it wouldn't have hurt too much to try. I mean it's not like we're in a good position anyway.” Arthur - “Shut up both of you! I will make you a deal. If you can defeat me in battle I will allow you to take something of mine, if you cannot I will keep this body for my own.” Kyle looked at Marsden and then back at Jessica standing there glowing with unfamiliar eyes. “I don't think we have a choice.” Marsden looked over at Kyle and nodded in agreement. He looked back over at Jessica and feared what was to come. “You're right. We don't. We'll fight you!” Jessica's head tilted straight up and she let loose a scream that would have shattered glass. The white light flooded from inside her body and flew in circles around the two boys. Jessica's body fell lifeless to the ground. The boys both wanted to rush to her side but knew that Arthur had to be taken care of first. The white light swerved away from them and formed itself into an apparition. Arthur was a ghoul. He was pale, his clothes had color but there was a fog of lightless aura around him that deadened whatever colors might lie beneath. The ghoul pulled a sword from the air and swiped it in the direction of the boys, afterwards pointing it directly at them. “You must pierce my heart to win back your friend. Suffer the pain of the Lord!” The ghoul lunged at the boys who quickly split up and tried to run in separate directions. Arthur was incredibly fast and was floating. The only way the kids could really avoid him was to run as fast as they could and keep dodging from left to right to avoid his sword. The ghoul was instantly enraged as the boys split up and decided to follow suit. He split himself into two and chased after the boys in different directions. Marsden's Story Marsden ran off in the direction of the mausoleum that Arthur had come from in the first place. He'd hoped there would be a weapon there that he could use to protect himself. The ghoul kept attempting to skewer him with the unreal rapier. It called out behind him in the same low voice it has used in Jessica's body “You can't run forever son. You're going to die tonight and then we can spend eternity reliving this battle!” Marsden found a shovel leaning against the side of the mausoleum. He grabbed it as he ran past and spun it around to use it as a large club or a lance. Having played a lot of video games he theoretically knew how to handle himself with a weapon but had never had a reason to put it to practical use. Now he felt like he was lost in Final Fantasy VI and fighting his way through the ghost train. He turned and readied himself for the battle. “Come on sucker! I got a world of hurt here for you.” The ghoul came flying straight at Marsden. But he did not falter. He pulled the shovel back and let it fly straight at Arthur's face. It collided and the ghoul dropped his sword, but the shovel had just passed through the specter. Marsden turned and continued running for a bit until the ghoul began chasing him full speed again. Marsden remembered what the ghoul had said about piercing his heart and saw his opportunity coming up. There was a broken tombstone infront of him. He slowed his run down so that the ghoul would be exactly behind him. He planed the handle of the shovel in in the crease that the tombstone made with the ground and turned around. He pointed the sharpest point of the shovel straight at the ghoul's heart and the ghoul impaled himself on the shovel. He immediately dissipated. Kyle's Story Kyle had been running for awhile. There were no signs of hope or weapons with which to fight back. He feared what was seeming to become inevitable. He'd almost run into the river at this point and was breathing in the way a drunk would before one regurgitates. As he ran down across the river bank he stepped on a trout and caught sight of a burnt, small shack a short ways away. On the wall of the shack hung several sharp, large hooks made for fishing. He ran to the shack and grabbed one. He turned to look for the ghoul and found him coming straight at him. Kyle gripped the hook as best he could and ran towards the ghoul. He kept thinking to himsef “This is for Jessica... This is for Jessica.” as he ran he jumped straight up into the ghoul and buried the hook into his heart. It had caught Arthur by surprise and he hadn't had time to react to the attack. Kyle flew through the specter and landed on the ground behind him. Jessica's Story The boys met back at Jessica and the ghoul still remained floating above her. Marsden - “I thought we killed you?” Kyle - “Yeah. Ditto.” Arthur - “You killed images of me. I cannot die. For I am already dead.” Marsden - “Either way, we won. Now keep your promise!” Kyle - “Yeah!” Arthur - “Oh, my promise is kept. Jessica is yours to take back with you.” Kyle - “She's still unconscious.” Arthur - “And she will remain that way. I said you could have her back, I did not specify in what condition.” Kyle - “That's not fair! We put up with your stupid test!” Arthur - “The world is not fair. You wronged me by trespassing, now I have equally wronged you with the soul of your friend.” Marsden - “Jessica...” Arthur floated down towards them. “I also promised you could have something of mine.” Arthur stretched out his hand and Kyle accepted what was in it. Arthur then rose into the sky and faded away. The two boys stood there weeping and staring at Jessica's comatose body. Marsden looked at Kyle's hand and wiped his tears away. “What did he give you?” Kyle looked down and his heart flooded with remorse. “His wedding ring.”