Cursed

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"What's up?" I looked from her to the TV. Then, my heart dropped.

"They dug up more bodies. They now think whoever killed and attack those poor girls is now digging them up. Isn't that just horrible?" I tried to count how many bodies they had dug up now and it was up to six bodies. What were they doing and why did they need so many?

"That's nuts, what do you think they're doing with them?" I asked her in a small voice.

"I don't even want to think about that." She clicked the TV off and stood up. "It makes me sick, the body they dug up last night had only been in the ground a week. I feel for those families. I cannot imagine." She put up her hands, signaling she wasn't going to talk about it anymore. 

"Who died a week ago? Why didn't they put it on the news?" There was a pattern here and it was on the tip of my tongue. Something really bothered me about hearing this. What was I missing?

"Oh, it was a woman from the next town over. Her family lives in Salem, so they had her buried in the Salem Cemetery. I think she died of cancer. She was in her forties, so tragic." The gears in my brain started to turn, connecting the dots. 

"Yeah, that's tragic. Um, mom, I have to go. I'll see you later though!" I stammered, running out of the house. Subtlety had never been my strong suit. I think I knew what was happening. I wasn't totally sure who was digging up the bodies -- it sure wasn't the killer, like the police thought.

We had vanquished Levi. There was no way he was digging up bodies. 

At least, I was pretty sure that wasn't a possibility. 

I sped the whole way to school, ignoring the speed limit signs. I needed to get to school and tell the others my theory. There was something really fishy about the bodies being dug up, but this confirmed the pattern. I saw Erik's truck and parked next to it. It was a tight squeeze, but I didn't care. 

I ran inside, hoping everyone was by their lockers like I asked them to via text. Looks like I'm going to be late to Zack's class -- again. I see Erik before I see the others, which makes me smile. He doesn't see me yet, but that's okay. There are a few stragglers in the hallway, but they all look like they're walking to class. 

"Good, everyone is here." I pant. I really need to start working out.

"Why did you ask us to meet you here?" Ivelyn asks. Her tone is worried, not snarky like it usually is. I finally catch my breath.

"Another body was dug up," I tell them. 

"Yeah, Kate just told us." Addie gestures towards Kate. She nods. Of course, Kate already knew that part. 

"Right, but the body was dug up last night." They all nod, waiting for me to go on. "They had only buried her a couple of nights before that. She died less than a week ago." Again, they nod. "Before that, they dug up Rachel and Selene's bodies who had died a couple of months ago. Before that, the bodies they dug up seemed to be from random times. There's a pattern." I can tell I lost them. 

"Don't you see it? The pattern?" I exclaim. The bell rings, meaning we are all officially late for class. 

"I think I speak for everyone when I say no, I don't see the pattern," Erik tells me with his lopsided smirk. 

"The first body they dug up was from like a hundred or two hundred years ago, it was from the section of the cemetery from the pioneers and shit." How do they not see this? "Then, the next body was from a hundred years ago. Whoever or whatever is digging up these bodies, realized they need fresher bodies. They dug up Rachel and Selene because they had died last, but then this woman dies from cancer, so they dig her. They're trying to do something with the bodies." This was when they finally realized what I was saying.