Grave Rock: Cemetery Stones

Another Dream, Another Death

I dreamt of the well and that abandoned home again. The dreams and memories seemed to mix with us aging closer to our real ages. Before the second murder, I dreamt that Eden and Zoe had constant tears in their eyes. Always crying but never showing the emotion. Just tears streaming down smiling faces.

When they discovered the body I was with Missy doing some stocking. I began to help with the bookstore and found myself enjoying it. It helped distract from the looming thoughts and grisly deaths seemingly happening at random. If only I had known then what was the cause of all the loss and evil I may have saved Zoe. Maybe saved everyone.

I remember Missy got the call. It was Benji telling her to turn on the news. It was being reported that they found the body of Zoe around noon and passerbys heard no sounds of a struggle. She was discovered outside her favorite tea shop which was down the road from the bookstore. We both raced out the door and to the scene of it all. Police tape and a gathered crowd painted the dreadful moment.

We learned that Zoe was seemingly dragged into the alley before being killed. Rumor said parts of her face were missing including her eyes and tongue. More talk of animal attacks and it seemed to be explained away by wild coyotes. I felt in my stomach that it was something truly evil. Glenwood was known for coyotes but they never attacked during the day.

People in the town seemed to come alive at the news of death. Some believed the coyote story while others talked of a serial killer or killers. It seemed to make the entire town buzz with gossip and speculation unlike anything I had ever seen in all my years living there. There were even talks of starting a coyote hunt. Things were painfully tense throughout all of Glenwood.

Even our friend group could not stop talking about it. The days leading up to Zoe's funeral were filled with theories and haunting possibilities. My fear and paranoia toyed with all of them once again. I could imagine Zoe leaving the tea shop with a gift for Eden. Her favorite rose tea in a cute, seafoam green bag.

Everytime I closed my eyes it was something different that reached out and grabbed Zoe. A rabid coyote that attacked with a hungry fury. There were horrid images of a shadowy figure or figures grabbing her. Pulling her so fast and hard she broke her nails digging into the cement. Zoe never had a chance to scream or call for help.

It all happened too quickly. The worst image was that of the thing no one seemed to see. Burned and decaying, the skeleton creature pulling Zoe into the alley. Mildew dripping from every orifice and the stench of rotted flesh mixing with the dumpsters nearby. The wicked thing gleefully gasping as it devoured our friend.

Tye made sure we all checked in on Eden at least once a day. We saw her for a moment the day after it happened but she seemed reserved. It was beyond hurt. There was a deep and unrelenting pain that oozed from her face. Eden was hurting and we all needed to be there for her.

I remember the dreams were just as bad for those next few days. The night before the funeral I had dreamt that Zoe and Renee were older than the rest of us. Both of them wore matching outfits like Halloween costumes. Bizarre black and yellow school uniforms that reminded me of wasps.

We did not venture to the well nor did we venture to the house. There was a neglected and forgotten path that led right past both places. I do not know if this path existed in real life. Renee seemed to know the way though and took the lead. At the end we found ten looming stones that reached out to the night sky.

They were smooth and had no carvings or decorations. Just ten large grey rocks that were placed in two rows. Renee and Zoe began to dance between them. In the distance I could see a fence and more stones behind it. Missy sat at the edge and began to read from a leatherbound book.

Benji eventually joined the two girls but Eden, Tye, and myself stood watching. The smell of florals filled the air like a bouquet of grim things to come. It was so potent I almost choked on it. I knew the scent of the lily of the valley flower and it lingered long after I woke up.

The thing in the corner of the room was not there that night. I woke up early in the morning and realized I slept through the night. Though I still had the eerie and confusing dream, I had slept the entire time. I do not recall how long it had been since that had happened.

I dressed in a hurry and helped my dad pick out an outfit. My mom had spent the previous day baking conchas in a trio of colors. Zoe had always loved when my mom made them so she baked a large batch for the services. Tye picked me up and we left to grab Missy. We would meet my parents at the funeral later.

The funeral went quickly and before I knew it, there I was standing at her open grave. It was all too much for me. My memory blurred all of it and I only remember how sad everyone felt. A powerful and heavy sorrow that filled the funeral home like a thick smoke. I had not been to a funeral in a long time.

The family was having a small gathering after the funeral for relatives and close friends. I wished I had not gone but I know things could have been worse if I hadn't. Once I found the missing chain in the memories I had locked away it seemed everything would flood in. It all started to unwind so fast there was no stopping it.

That night many years ago. The stupid dare that made us drift as friends. Forgotten and repressed memories of disbelief. What happened and was any of it real? I still do not know. All I remember is that everything started to come back to me when I saw that stone.