VII
The
cemetery seemed totally different in the pitch darkness. Josh's eyes had adjusted enough to allow him
to see the faint traces of fog drifting through the black and the outline of
each headstone as it loomed out of the dark.
It made the world feel both impossibly large and claustrophobic, but for
Josh it was just new.
The
grass beneath his feet crunched softly with every step and he could still feel
his breath condensing in the air. He
quickened his pace to keep out the chill and made his way on towards the ruined
mausoleum. Bare branched trees struck
out towards him unexpectedly, smaller headstones, pot holes and the edges of
paths served to trip him up.
Then
the ground rose slightly, became less manicured and he found he was walking
along the side of a low stone wall. He
reached out a hand towards it, felt the rough crystal mixture of ice-cold
granite and the crumbling remains of mortar.
He was nearly there.
He
followed the wall around until he found a gap and then he made his way into the
enclosure. He kept on straight ahead,
aware of towers of masonry jutting out to either side and broken headstones
beyond. An arch passed overhead, the
air became still. He sighed and the
echo carried around the space in front of him.
He reached into his pockets, found an old lighter (but using it wouldn't
have brought him closer to her) and then flicked it on. The tiny flame wavered slightly then became
steady and the mausoleum flickered into view dimly.
It
wasn't a very large space. It's walls
were mostly intact, with small alcoves for flowers or candles long since left
bare. There were holes near the roof at
the side and the front half had collapsed leaving piles of debris either side
of the archway. Two stone sarcophagi
lay side by side in the centre, sealed by weight and time.
He
walked slowly around them, drinking in the combined atmosphere of stone and
cold and night and flame. His pale blue
eyes were held wide open, reflecting the spark he held in his hands.
There
was a small altar at the far end. Its
surface was granite, like everything else, but there were veins of reddish brown
running across it, like iron. He
stretched his hand over its surface and felt the roughness. It came away covered in dry flakes, which he
dusted off on his jacket.
As
he turned back towards the archway the light sputtered for a second and then flickered
out. He tried it a couple more times
but there was no fuel left for the sparks to light.
"Don't
need any light anyway...” His voice echoed.
He
felt his way over to one of the sarcophagi and climbed on top, lying across
it. It amused him to cross his arms
over his chest for a while. His legs
hung over the side and he kicked his heels against the stone. He thought about Paige and his hand slowly
found its way down to the zipper on his jeans.
There
was a scream and he sat bolt upright.
It
had come from the direction of the apartments.
His
blood was racing and he felt sweat coming out in droplets on his forehead. He pulled his zip back up and hopped off the
slab, stepping towards the door.
The
scream came again and he thought that he could pinpoint it this time. He ran forward, nearly tripping over debris
in the short avenue from the mausoleum and then he was holding his hands out,
trying to find the wall to the car park.
He felt the pressure suddenly against his wrists, the cold stone making
a hard buffer. He slid his hands up its
surface, feeling for the top.
Stretching onto his toes he managed to get a grip and starting hauling
himself up. His head just crested the
top and then he saw the orange red light from the second storey window.
A
shadow rose in front of him.
He
fell.
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