(Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait. Things have been crazy recently with school, but I'm starting to be more motivated and have time to update! So, I hope you enjoy this chapter!)
*Y/N's pov*
Survival instincts finally kicked in and Alvin made a run for it, scrambling through the graves toward the gate.
"Wait!" Norman shouted as he grabbed my hand and pulled us after Alvin. I heard the zombies groaning and calling for us to stop, but I didn't dare to.
*Neil's pov*
I sat on the floor in the kitchen watching TV, when I heard the doorbell ring.
"Neil! Will you get the door?" Mitch called from the other room.
"I'm busy!" I yelled back.
"Are you freeze-framing Mom's aerobics DVD again?" Mitch asked. I quickly turned the TV off.
"No!" The doorbell rung again.
"Neil! Would it kill you to get off your butt and answer the door?" Mitch asked in annoyance.
"I know you're in there! Slumber party's over, dorks!" I heard a girl call from outside the door. I saw Mitch walk in with a towel around his waist and answer the door.
"Hey, Neil! You come here a minute?" Mitch asked. I groaned, but got up and went to the door. "A girl is asking for you" The girl flashed her widest fake grin and put on a high-pitched sing-song voice.
"Hey there! How ya doin'... little guy..." She said, clearly not remembering my name.
"Neil?" I said.
"Yeah, Neil. Do you know where Norman & Y/N are? They kinda disappeared" She said. My eyes widened.
"Oh no..." I began before I caught myself. "...idea! I have no idea where they are. Sorry. Bye!" I went to turn around, but Mitch stopped me before I could.
"Whoa, Neil! Better start talking, buddy" Mitch said sternly.
"I didn't really think they were serious about going up to the old graveyard on their own!" I finally caved and admitted to the whole situation. Courtney scoffed and crossed her arms in irritation.
"So Norman!" She muttered to herself.
"Oh, man. That place is bad news! Total slasher movie vibe! Why'd they go up there?" Mitch asked.
"I don't know. Maybe we should go look for them" I proposed in worry.
"I told you they were trouble" Mitch informed. Then turned to Courtney. "Sorry. But I did"
"No, it's fine. He sucks. And the girl isn't my sister, just Norman's freaky girlfriend. But I really gotta make sure they don't die or anything tonight" She said. Then, put on a 'helpless' look. "Will you help me? Please?" Ugh, gross. Doesn't she know he's not interested in girls?
"Okay... I guess I should go get some clothes on" Mitch said with a sigh. Courtney whined in disappointment. Mitch shoved my head as he walked past me.
"Uh, are Norman and Y/N in trouble?" I asked in concern.
*Y/N's pov*
I kicked the front door open with Norman behind me. Alvin, who was near hysterical, rushed inside. Norman and I followed, much more civilized, but still anxious. Norman slammed the door shut and locked it. I let out a sigh, thankful that this would hold off the zombies for at least a little bit.
"Are they gonna try to eat our brains?!" Alvin asked in fear.
"I think you'll be safe" Norman, sneakily insulted. I giggled at the comment.
"Oh, thank God!" Alvin said. He managed to think about the statement and frowned, realizing what he meant. Alvin watched curiously as Norman and I turned our attention to the book. Norman frowned as he ran his hand over the embossed leather cover.
"I don't get it! Why didn't it work?" Norman asked in frustration. He opened the book and leafs through page after page of elegant calligraphy and woodcut illustration. ""The Story of Sleeping Beauty". This doesn't make any sense!" I could tell his mind was racing, and I followed as he headed off along the hallway.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Alvin called after us. We arrived in Mr. Prenderghast's study. The room remained as before, with Mr. Prenderghast's corpse lying on the floor. We approached the body, leaving Alvin horrified in the doorway. We crouched over the body and Norman held the book out in front of Mr. Prenderghast's glazed eyes.
"Mr. Prenderghast, we don't understand! Tell us what to do!" Norman implored.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Alvin asked, clearly disturbed.
"He told us to read from the book to stop the curse!" I said as I pointed to the corpse. "I thought it was a spell or something, but..." Norman narrowed his eyes as he saw Mr. Prenderghast's desk, still scattered with pictures and newspaper clippings. He lightly grabbed my wrist and bustled over. He began rummaging through the mess, scattering papers across the floor.
"Come on! There has to be something..." Norman sputtered desperately.
"I really need to get home! I've got like a seriously early curfew" Alvin said. I wasn't sure if it was the truth or just some excuse he made so he could leave. "My mom gets really upset when I'm not..." Something CLUNKS loudly from down the hall, sending Alvin into an urgent babbling panic. "We gotta defend ourselves! We gotta shoot them in the head with like silver stakes or something! I'm way too awesome to get eaten! Norman, are you listening to me? Y/N! You really have to do something!"
Norman uncovered a couple of dull photographs of the old graveyard. One is of the seven tombstones, the other is of the stone marker, which reads "HERE LIES BURIED THE SEVEN VICTIMS OF THE WITCH'S CURSE..." Beside the photos is a ripped page from an old book. An intaglio illustrates the seven members of the witch's trial, solemnly seated at a bench within the courthouse.
"Seven victims..." I said in realization. Grimacing, I glanced up and saw a page from an old book pinned to the wall. It is an illustration of a hideous old crone, cackling evilly. Another THUMP from down the hall. Norman looked from the photographs in his hand to the image of the ancient witch. He looks at the pictures in front of him. Graves. Jurors. Witch.
"Seven graves," He said. He thought about something for a moment. Then his eyes widened. "The witch's grave! It wasn't there!" We turned to Alvin.
"We were reading the book in the wrong place!" I notified a very disturbed and confused Alvin. Down the hallway, another loud THUMP.
"Hide!" Norman and I whisper-yelled. Alvin crouched behind a stack of books. Norman and I lied underneath the bed. The footsteps grew heavier as the zombies hobble into the room. Rotten legs step up to Mr. Prenderghast's body, lying where he died on the floorboards. Two wrinkled feet suddenly step right up to the bed. Something drops onto the floor inches in front of our faces with an abhorrent SLAP. My eyes bug out as I realize it is a zombie's dislodged ear. A weltered arm reaches down to fumble around for the body part, until Norman pushes the ear, as carefully as he can manage, back into the zombie's hand. The hand retreats out from under the bed.
There was a scream as Alvin jumps out from his hiding place and makes for the door. The corpses look up as he disappears down the hall, then reel after him. We took this chance to follow, but a zombie wearing a wig that judges typically wore, blocked our exit. Norman and I stand quite still, staring into the zombie's eyes. The corpse tilts its head, almost quizzically, and its eyes widen as it notices the book under Norman's arm.
We stepped sideways to run past it, but the corpse does as well. Both us and the zombie step one way, then the other, and back again. Norman and I feign one direction and immediately dash in the other, past the corpse and out the door.
We ran through the hallway towards the front door. Alvin reached the door first and threw it open. Directly in front of him was another zombie on the doorstep opening a mouth full of ragged teeth. Alvin screamed like a little girl, hits it ineffectually with his spatula, and the door is abruptly slammed in the zombie's face, a startled and muffled groan coming from the other side.
Alvin, still screaming, looks down to see Norman and me beside him, leaning against the door. The Dead Judge leads the rise of zombies down the hall toward us. We heard his moan and knew we had to act fast. Norman swung the door back open, the zombie on the other side moving with it, teeth firmly planted in the wood. As it attempts to pry itself free, I grabbed Alvin by the arm and we all darted onto the porch behind the zombie back, headed for the road."Come on!" Norman shouted.
*In Mitches Van* *Third person pov*
Mitch drove along dark roads. Neil sits behind him looking bemused while Courtney, in the front passenger seat, tells her life story.
"And she said I could totally consider a career in formation swimming. But I was like, "I wanna do something that helps people less fortunate than me", thank you very much, y'know, like the poor or people who are like dying or ugly or something, 'cuz I really think that ecology and world peace are like totally important today" Courtney looks over at Mitch and got distracted. "Do you use free weights? Your deltoids are huge"
"I've never used deltoids in my life, I swear. You can test me" Mitch said with a guilty look.
"Kill me now," Neil said as he rolled his eyes.
"Thank you for doing this Mitch. They mean an awful lot to me. I love Norman like he was a brother" Courtney said with fake tears.
"He is your brother" Neil reminded her in a monotone voice. Courtney counters the backseat by smiling demurely, but Mitch's attention has been drawn by something else.
"Whoa! Look at that sky!" Mitch exclaimed. The wooded hill rises steeply a few miles in front of them, and at its top is the old chapel. Pressing down upon it, huge seething thunderclouds shift into abstract shapes. Mitch and Courtney are mesmerized. Neil suddenly points past Mitch's face.
"Look out!" Neil shouted. Mitch slams on the breaks, twisting the wheel.
"Oh no!" Mitch said. Running down the middle of the road, blinded by the glare of the van's headlights, are Alvin, Norman, and Y/N. The van veers around them and scrapes the trees, the side mirror flying off as it hits a branch. Mitch fights to control the van as Courtney screams.
"That was Norman! And Y/N" Neil informed. Shaken, Mitch realizes another figure is looming out of the darkness in front of them. He slams on the brakes again, but too late. The tall dirty-looking figure stands stock still as the van plows straight into him. Dust flies up from the wheels of the van as it skids to an eventual stop in the center of the road. Mitch turns to everyone as he pulls off his seat belt.
"Is everyone okay?" Mitch asked. Courtney and Neil answer in unison, both of them upside down in their seats with their legs sticking up in the air.
"No!"
"No!"
Mitch, trying to stay smooth, looks in his rear-view mirror and sees a recumbent shape on the ground some yards back. Mitch climbs out of the van and sees the figure lying still on the moonlit road. He nervously jogs over to it. As he gets closer, Mitch can see the man more clearly. He is wrapped in filthy tattered clothing of a former era and is covered in dirt. Flies buzz around him.
"Er... hello, sir?" Mitch said. He hunkers down and is immediately hit by the stench. A mud-encrusted face stares up at him. Courtney gets out of the van.
"Is he dead or what?" Courtney asked.
"I... I don't know! He's not moving!" Mitch answered. The figure's head lets out a faint gasp. "He's still breathing!" Mitch reaches out to gently lift the figure's head but as he does, there is a crunch and it comes off in his hands.
"So he's okay?" Courtney questioned, obviously not seeing that he was decapitated.
"Uh... not exactly" Mitch mumbled to himself.
"What? What did you just say?" She asked. Mitch looks from the head back to the van, then at the head again. He licks his lips nervously as he thinks.
"Does anyone know CPR?" He asked. Further down the road, Norman and Y/N run back toward the van, Alvin still in tow. He sees Mitch ahead of him, getting dizzily to his feet, still holding his head.
"Run!" Y/N shouted. The head in Mitch's hands suddenly gasps again, opening its mouth. Mitch shrieks as the headless figure on the road sat up and reaches out its arms. Mitch drop-kicks it like a football. It flies, weeping, into the bushes. As if struck by the same blow, the rest of the corpse wavers backward. Alvin, Norman, and Y/N run past him toward the van, bustling past Courtney and scrambling inside. More corpses are emerging from the trees on either side of the road. She screams and gets back into the van, as Mitch leaps into the driver's seat beside her.
*Y/N's pov*
"Did you see that?" Mitch asked, trying to catch his breath.
"That was insane!" Courtney said.
"I know, right? I kicked that like a hundred yards!" Mitch replied, clearly they were talking about two different things.
"Norman, what just happened?!" Courtney asked, sounding irritated and anxious all at once. I was going to say something, but Alvin spoke first.
"Zombies! I swear, okay? We saw them burst out of their graves! For real!" Alvin explained in exasperation. He realized Mitch and Courtney were staring at him and tried to disguise his raw panic with nonchalance. "Just so you know, I totally saved their lives, and I could totally save yours"
"Sorry, who are you?" Courtney asked.
"I'm Alvin. I'm in their class" Alvin introduced himself. Norman and I weren't so easily distracted from the problem at hand as the others, we glanced uneasily through the window. The zombies sway arthritically toward the van, groaning, and purling.
"Uh, guys... maybe we should actually drive away now" Norman suggested with a nervous gulp.
"Oh, right," Mitch said, snapping back to reality. Mitch starts the engine with a yell, just as the nearest zombie squints in through the window.
As we drove away I realized how close Norman and I were to each other. There were only three seats in the backseat, meaning Norman and I were squished together in one seat. The seatbelt kept us snug. I think he noticed too, due to both of us looking up at each other, then growing flustered and looking away quickly.
Why does this romance thing have to be so hard?
(Hope you enjoyed it! As always have a good day/night! TOODLES!!!)