"Your mother is going to perform the final ritual tonight," Mr. Sanders said. "You have to find the picture that's buried with you and burn it. You have to do it fast. I'll start a fire here, and you get the picture. You have an hour to walk the Earth once you get that picture. Don't let Cody stop you! He can't harm the dead until he's set free."
Vermon heard everything. She felt around but couldn't feel anything. She looked around, but couldn't see anything. How was she going to find it? She thought to herself. She didn't give up. Everything she grabbed or reached for felt like air. She didn't even feel like she was underground. Underground. She thought. Her mother had thrown the picture on top of her coffin. She looked up. She couldn't see anything or feel anything but that didn't stop her from climbing. She didn't know if she was climbing, she just tried. It seemed like forever until she saw the small picture.
Once her hand touched it she found herself back on Earth, inside of the graveyard. Next to her stood Mr. Sanders. He held lighter up.
"I'm here," Vermon said, but Mr. Sanders couldn't hear her. He didn't share Vermon's gift. She went up to him and touched his face. A gust of wind almost sent his hat flying off and he had to hold onto it.
Mr. Sanders smiled. "I see you made it. Believe it or not, it took you two hours. No worries. There's time," he flicked the light on. "Place the picture over the fire,"
Vermon was about to do as told when she heard something screech behind her. Cody was lying on his belly. His head was upside down and his beak was craft into the sharp and twisted shape. It made him look like a painting that had gone completely wrong.
YOU ARE READING
The Graveyard Girl
HorrorVermon can talk to the dead. Her power sparks the world, but it also sparks something else living underground...
