Scarlett: (GxG)

Chapter 36

Zoey

The cemetery was pretty much empty this early in the morning. I could see a groundskeeper or two weeding in the distance, both paying us no mind. The wind felt cold on my arms while I stood at the gated entrance, wondering if this was truly my only option. Scarlett stepped up behind me. She hadn't asked any questions when I told her where to go. In fact she appeared a little defeated next to me. If Jordan wasn't willing to listen to her, that only left Deacon, the one I was sure had hurt her last night.

"You have to promise me you won't tell anyone about what we're doing."

I turned to the tall woman and she had her jacket held out to me. How she wasn't the least bit cold was beyond me.

"I promise I won't tell anyone we spent a morning wandering around an empty cemetery."

"Okay, smart ass."

Rolling my eyes a little I begrudgingly took the jacket and put it on. I'd only worn it for one night but the heaviness due to the studs and spikes had a comfortable familiarity to it.

"But I'm serious."

I led her along the winding path that cut into a rolling hill. Gray headstones jutted out of the green grass in every direction. The newer ones had a nice shine to them while those that had been there longer were just starting to become weathered. Before long the typical headstones turned into larger effigies of angels resting over graves and other statues that would cause anyone to assume the person buried there had come from some amount of money. Then, finally, we came to the tombs.

They were all old and stained from years of being weather-beaten, making them appear rather bleak against the green backdrop the graveyard provided. The writing on many of them was hard to read right away but if you let your fingers trail along the letters, eventually you could come up with a name or two. From the way that Scarlett walked beside me, taking note of some of the above ground tombs and wall vaults that caught her eye, I could tell it was her first time here.

"It was a fire," I said when I noticed her paying close attention to one of the above ground tombs that had children's shoes etched into the stone.

"Sometime in the late 1800's I think. It swept through and killed almost every child in the orphanage. I can't remember if they ever found out what caused it, but my dad used to tell me stories about the night it happened. He remembered it well."

Stepping toward her I watched the woman take notice of the damp toys resting against the outside of the tomb. The morning dew still clung to them. Small offerings like that weren't uncommon to see.

"It wasn't a bed time story was it?"

She reached down and my hand shot out to touch her wrist.

"Don't touch it!"

Scarlett gave me a curious look.

"It's bad luck. Besides, being haunted by kid ghosts might be a little much for us right now."

"Calm down."

There was a slight, possibly mischievous, smile.

"I wasn't going to touch it. But, regardless of the world you and I live in, surprisingly, whether or not I believe in ghosts is still up for debate."

The next above ground tomb to catch my eye just happened to be where we were headed. The granite was weathered with the crest of a hound on its front. My family's crest. There was no name or even words to distinguish who it belonged to. But if you came to pay your respects then you already knew who lay inside.