The Graveyard Girl

Chapter 24: The Priest

"Vermon, do it!" Mr. Sanders yelled. "He can't hurt you. Don't look at him."

"Put it down, Vermon," Cody spoke, his body then disappeared.

"Come on, Vermon he can't hurt you!" Mr. Sanders said.

Vermon rushed to the fire Mr. Sanders lit with the lighter. The picture slowly burned to a crisp and he watched as the ashes burned to the ground.

The gargoyle statue that was only a few feet away began moving. Vermon couldn't warn Mr. Sanders. She touched him over and over but he only asked what she was doing with the wind. The statue walked in a disturbing like way, pausing with each movement. When it reached him, Mr. Sanders was too late to notice. The statue fell onto him, leaving a loud crunch in the air.

Vermon took off running, out of the graveyard and into the streets. The sky began to turn gray. She didn't know what time it was but she headed for her mother's house anyway. When she walked inside, she read the time on the wall. 11:32 PM.

Jacqueline walked out of her room, carrying photos then dropping them onto the ground. In another room, Vermon could hear someone screaming for help. She walked inside Jacqueline's room and saw the priest lying naked a bed of wood. All ten of his fingers and toes were nailed into the wood. His eyes were covered by two upside crosses.

The priest's head lifted as soon as Vermon entered the room. "Vermon, I feel your presence. Please free me," he whispered. "Please."

Vermon couldn't touch anything solid on the Earth so what could she do? She stood over his body, avoiding looking at his lower half. "How can you hear me."

He shook his head. "I can't tell you that."

"Tell me," she said.

"During every funeral, I burn something from the dead body then consume it so I am forever to keep in touch with them.," he said. "Look at your finger."

Vermon looked at her dead and ghostly fingers. Sure enough, one was missing. "You mean you ate my ashes!"

"Vermon, there's no time to explain that. Surely I do it for good," he said. "We're speaking, right? You need to find a way to free me."

However, Vermon had no clue how to save him.