purgatory

chapter 7

Friday, October 1st

"Its big." Mr. Cormick breathed, his eyes widened in shock and dismay.

Siren stood along side us, mute. She gripped my hang tightly, squeezing assuredly that we would find her. It didn't seem so likely, defiantly not easy.

"Very big." I added, taking in the thousands of tombstones plunged; wrenched into the earth.

He clapped his hands together, turning his head towards us, "only one way!"

He pushed open the wrought iron gate, it's hinges creaking and snarling in old age. Rust gritted under his hands, falling to flakes as he wiped his hands on his jeans. I followed after him, peering behind his large figure. It was very dull. A few hills, no trees. A couple of unkempt shrubs here and there, followed by the occasional bouquet of plastic flowers.

"Are you sure she could be buried here?" I asked.

Such a boring place for an extraordinary person.

Siren shrugged, "ya' never know."

I shuffled my feet, gravel crunching monotonously.

"To make things easier!" Mr. Cormick paused, "look for new dirt. If she was recently buried, then the ground wont be flat like the graves of people who've been dead a while."

He's right.

"Should we split up?" Siren asked.

He nodded, "It'll be much faster."

Turning to the right, he headed off down the road. Siren patted my shoulder, before charging straight into the cemetery. Disgruntled, I paced to the left, starting the treasure hunt. No gold waited for me. A slight breeze crept from behind, lingering on my back before brushing away into nothing. Its frigid, a bit cool, nothing to sweat over.

I scanned over the distance, no new piles of dirt. But this was the biggest cemetery, holding a total of 6,432 dead people. It would take a while. Mr. Cormick insisted we do this on foot instead of using his van, afraid we would pass by her grave and never know. So here we are.

The road shifted, turning from gravel to worn dirt, then to nothing but a little trail of grass. I guess nobody visited down here. I walked farther, heading to the back of the cemetery. Still no fresh earth beside a newly carved headstone. headstones crumbled more and more the farther i went, but i couldn't stop, not if it means finding her. Weathered and bruised, these graves seemed nothing more than a chunk of rock.

Gloom.

I shielded my eyes from the parted clouds, stopping to take a breath.

Impossible.

Utterly disappointing.

I kneel, falling back to sit against a grave.

I guess this person wont mind.

Twirling a bit of my brown hair, I curl it around my finger before dropping my hand to my lap. I turn to look at this grave, brushing away the grime and moss that covered it. Chunks of cement were seemingly bit out, old and weary. the letters have been washed away, only faint white lines stained the stone. peering to the top of the headstone, I place my fingers along the grit. Pulling an arrow head from the grave, I roll it around in my palm.

Just like this cemetery, this arrow head was nothing special. carved from a plain rock, its dull edges no use. Dropping it to the ground, displeased, I look up.

~

Nothing.

No headstones.

No graves.

Just a plain field, tall grass swaying like a living ocean. Pine and oak trees lined the edge, their branches creeping toward the glimmering sunlight that peeked through the clouds.

Where's the cemetery!

I was just there!

I scrambled to my feet, my heart fluttering from its cage.

This isn't real!

This can't be real!

I'm dreaming!

"Family name?"

I whirled around, a curdled scream belching from my stomach. An old man, tanner than anything I've seen. His face was that of leather, wrinkled and spotted in age. His hair was long, pulled and knit into a braid with multiple feathers hanging from the strands. I sunk to my knees, bewildered.

He held a long pipe in his hands, holding it in both his pals, he took a long inhale, before blowing a ring of smoke in my face.

Weed.

"family name?" he asked again, a warm smile playing his lips.

"What?" I asked.

"You're family name dear. I'm here ta help ya' find ya' family!"

"What do you mean find my family!" I hollered, wringing my hands into my hair.

He gently bent down, placing the pipe among the grass, before pulling a feather from his hair.

"You died haven't you?" he asked, his face perplexed.

His lips moved in a blur.

Died?

NO!

"No!" I said.

He stood back up, placing the feather back into his braid before rubbing his chin in thought.

"Very peculiar." he hummed.

I jumped to my feet.

"Where's the cemetery!"

He blinked a couple times, "no cemetery in purgatory my dear!"

"Purgatory?" my voice cracked.

What the actual fuck?

"Yes purgatory. Life after death!"