Sarah Benadine is Dead

Chapter XXII, Part II

"Oh, God," Ginger said. "This is it, isn't it? This is where they've been."

"I bet those lead underneath the whole school," Ollie said, gesturing towards the many openings leading from the room.

"Oh, hell, we'll never find Tuly like this," Allison said.

"You don't think that, uh, maybe she's...already here?" Jared asked uncertainly, pointing to one of the coffin-boxes. Allison paled; Shannon could see it even in the weak light.

"I guess we'll have to see," Caleb said after a long pause. Without hesitation, he approached one of the boxes.

"Oh, be careful!" Ginger implored. Caleb paused for only one moment to look back at her with a reassuring smile, and then he lifted the lid.

"Oh, yeah," Caleb said. His voice sounded thin. "We found the vampires, all right."

The whole group moved closer as Caleb moved back. They all stuck close together; Shannon noticed Allison's hand come up to clasp Caleb's arm. Ollie gripped the back of Jared's shirt. Stuck shoulder-to-shoulder between Allison and Ollie, Shannon peered into the box. There, lying on an unimpressive mound of dirt, was one of the vampires they had seen the night in March. The same that Jared had seen at Kraus farm on Thanksgiving. She was still wearing her flowery, blood-stained dress. She looked more human lying there; if not for the fact that she wasn't breathing, Shannon might have believed she was just an average person asleep.

She knew better than that.

"I bet the blonde one is in that other one," Shannon said, barely louder than a whisper. The vampire did not so much as stir.

"Then where's Tuly?" Dexter asked.

"She could be anywhere!" Allison said, sounding frustrated. "God, only Tuly Lewis would get herself transformed into a vampire."

"I don't really think she did it on purpose, Allison," Caleb said. "And we don't know she's a vampire yet."

"We better find her soon," Allison said, and Shannon thought that went without saying.

"I hope I'm not pointing out the obvious," Ollie said hesitantly, "but, uh, we haven't looked down there."

She pointed to the hole in the ground. Somehow, Shannon had almost completely forgotten about it. She couldn't tell for sure from this angle, but it looked pretty deep. Almost—

Like a grave.

Shannon took half a step forward, trying to get a better look. Admittedly, she was too nervous to completely leave the sides of her friends. She still could not see much of anything; she looked instead to the broken stone pieces lying around the hole. With a jolt, she saw a face staring back at her, and all at once she realized what the pieces were. All around the hole in the ground were pieces of a large broken crucifix, much like the one that hung at the front of St. Patrick's, Shannon's family's parish.

"Oh, look what they did to Jesus," Ollie groaned, apparently recognizing the pieces of rubble as well.

"Come on," Shannon said, taking Allison by the arm. The other five followed close behind them as Shannon and Allison approached the hole. Shannon was squeezing Allison's arm too hard, she knew, but Allison didn't say a word and Shannon didn't dare let go. Being mindful of the broken pieces of the crucifix, Shannon walked to the edge and looked down. A long ways down—

Six feet­

—was a third coffin, much more traditional this time. It was lying open. There was nothing and no one inside.