Chapter 1
On the outskirts of the city of Loneville,
The full moon dazzled like a pearl in the deep night sky. Silvery white moonlight was cast on the trees and sprinkled on the ground. When the night breeze passed through the trees, the rustling leaves felt like the whispers of the trees.
Two men are walking down a lonely path shaded by tall trees. The short guy, maybe in his 20s, was carrying a bag on his back and walking ahead while holding a torch. Behind him, a man in his late-30s was holding a packet and a bottle of alcohol in his hand. Their faces are concealed by masks. The sound of their footsteps pierced the silence.
“Boss, why do we have to give him the money he asks for?“.. Can’t we just beat the shit out of him if he disturbs us?” the short guy asked with frustration.
“I know it’s your first job, but I didn’t know you would be this stupid.”
The short guy looked at his boss in a confused state.
“We have to work as a ghost and make sure not to leave any traces that will lead back to us,” the boss said.
“But wouldn’t it be better if we knocked him out and finished the job?”
The boss smiled and asked, “You must have enjoyed your life till now, huh?”
“What. w. w. why?”
“The person who gave us this job, we must follow his instructions at any cost. If we do not follow and that becomes the problem for him, then” The boss looked at him and said, ” He will make you feel as if you were never born in the first place. ”
“...”
“So, shut your mouth and do the job.”
“Yes, sir.”
**
The wind howled in the night. The cold iron fences creaked with even the slightest brush of wind. The grass is old, and brown leaves are scattered almost everywhere. Many large inscribed stones stand above the ground. These headstones contain the details of the person sleeping beneath them. A place where people can sleep peacefully. A graveyard.
The atmosphere is pitch black, and the moon offers illumination. A man with a big tummy was sitting on a chair near the entrance of the graveyard. He is wearing a uniform-like dress, which says he is the keeper of this grave.
He is sleepy. His head is not listening to him as it is shaking due to drowsiness. He jerks suddenly after hearing the footsteps. He saw that two men were approaching him. He stood up, waved his hand, and started walking towards them. Three of them came close to each other.
“What took so long, mate?” I’m waiting past my working hours, you know... you guys better give me a little extra than what we talked about.” The grave keeper asked hurriedly.
The boss was irritated by the grave keeper’s speech and said, “Listen, scumbag... if you act like this, I don’t think you’ll be getting anything.”
“Oh-oh, mate. I’m just asking, you know. Give me the money, and I’ll be on my way.”
The boss glanced at him once more before pushing the bottle and money towards him.
“Hehe, Thanks, mate. Do whatever you want, but please don’t leave any extra work for me.”
“If that’s the case, then get out of here.”
The grave keeper walked away happily while checking the amount in the packet. He smirked and muttered,
“That’s a lot of money, idiots.”
Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind. The short guy loudly said,
“Remember, whatever happens here needs to stay here. If it leaks, then my boss will make sure you won’t be seeing the next day.”
The grave keeper turned and made a sign like his mouth was zipped and walked away.
While the short guy was watching his back, the boss asked,
“Hey.. brat, what do you think you are doing?”
“Ah, sorry boss, I wasn’t able to trust him, and my mouth slipped out of its own.” he nervously replied.
“Then trust the money.”
After saying this, he walked towards the graveyard. The short guy followed him after a few seconds. They are both now at the entrance of the cemetery. When the short guy passed the torch to his boss, they started walking into it. The boss started searching for the tombstone but halted when his counterpart asked a question.
“So, what’s the name we are searching for?”
The boss was enraged,
“I have made a mistake by bringing you here. I told the name several times, so rack your brain and continue the search.”
“Ok, boss.”
They passed the headstones one by one. Both of them pointed the light to the stone and checked the name. It’s been nearly 20 minutes, and they have searched every nook and cranny of the graveyard. Finally, the boss torched the one headstone.
“That’s the one we are looking for.”
“In the lovely memory of George Williams. Aaahh, George George, now I remember.”
“Tch.”
Both of them approached the grave and stood on both sides.
The boss reached his hands out. The short guy unpacked his bag, took the shovels, and handed one to the boss. The boss began shoveling the ground, and he also joined him. The two of them dug the grave from both sides.
In the quiet night, only the digging sound resonated throughout the graveyard. They unearthed the sand and chucked it towards their side. The breathing of the short guy is unstable. His irregular breathing matched the digging sound. It is clearly visible that manual labor is unsuited for him. He took a short break to catch his breath and sat down on the sand, dumped on his side. He then looked at his boss and asked absurdly,
“Boss, when are you going to take me to violent robberies and brutal murders?”
“Whaaat?.. brutal murders??”
“Yes, boss. It would be cool to tell others I murdered someone.”
“What the heck?.. Are you high?.. It is certainly not cool to tell others. Rather than showing off, it’ll obviously get you in trouble. You understand, idiot.”
“Yeah... Yeah... You do all kinds of stuff and brag about it, but we can’t, huh.”
“Instead of blabbering your mouth, get up and dig it.”
The short guy glanced at his boss and then got up. He seized the shovel and continued the digging. In the meantime, his boss took a little breathing space, then joined him. Both dug frantically. Soon, their shovel hit the coffin. The short guy voluntarily took the claw hammer from the bag and passed it. His boss carefully pulled the nails from the coffin. After removing the nails, they opened it, cadaverine and putrescine smell, which is precisely a foul rotting odor, came out and forced them to cover their noses with disgust on their faces.
“Eww, This stinks badly. So, do we have to take the body?” the short guy screamed and asked his boss.
“No, we need to take that.” He pointed his finger precisely to the pendant on a chain lying on the body’s chest. It looked very old, If anyone have a look at it, they could easily tell, it’s not that much worth. Also, there is some weird design engraved on it.
“What? Boss, Are you serious? We did all those just to take a chain from the dead man. I know I’m not your favorite, but I thought this would be a big job since you are coming. But thiss.. this.” He stuttered out in a wave of anger.
He was shocked and walked away from the coffin and stood on the pile of sand while clutching the shovel. The nagging coming from him irritated his boss.
“Hey, stop it. Just because I’m going easy on you, don’t forget who the boss here is. Take the pendant and put it in the bag. Quick.” he shouted fiercely and turned to take something from the bag.
The disappointed short guy banged the shovel with frustration. But since he is standing on the sand, this made the sand collapse, and he fell over the coffin.
“Ohh fuck.. Reaally. He is not my sleeping beauty. For the fucks sake.”
He got up and dusted him off. He then bends over to take the shovel, but when he reaches, he sees the shovel’s hand is over the pendant. He slowly retracted the shovel and noticed the broken pendant with a glowing crystal inside it. This commotion made the boss’s head turn to his side. When he saw the broken pendant, his eyes bulged, and his lips tightened. The veins of the forehead clearly be seen on his agitated face. He looked at him and landed a punch with the fist.
“What the fuck have you done? you bastard”
The short guy fell on the sand and got scared.
“S..Sorry, boss. It was a mistake. I didn’t do it on purpose.” he begged on his knees.
“You not only ruined your life; but also mine!”
The boss shouted at his face before kicking him down and squeezing his throat with his foot. He struggled to get out of the grip.
“Boss.. pl...please...spare me. I will take full responsibility. please.. I beg ..you.. boss...please.”
He got a quick breath when the boss removed his leg.
“Go and take the pendant carefully. Arghh.. I shouldn’t have brought you in the first place. What the fuck I have done.. fuck. You bloody bastard.. Don’t watch my face. Do what I said”
He crawled towards the coffin as his boss was shouting in the back. He was scared out of his shit. As he reached to touch the pendant, he flinched when an unknown hand suddenly grabbed him. It is a thin, half-decayed hand, and some of the bones are plainly visible through the naked eye. Cold sweats dropped out of him. When he aggressively tried to remove the hand, the corpse suddenly opened his eyes and looked at him; he was horrified as he could feel the chillness running through his body. He shouted his throat out, forcibly pulled his hand, and started running towards the forest without turning back.
“Hey.. where the hell are you going?”
The boss yelled at him. Seeing him running, he thought he reprimanded him more. When he noticed the pendant was still on the corpse, it made him furious. He gave him only one job, which was to take the chain, but not only did he make mistakes, but he also did not complete the job. So, he took the chain, slid it into his pocket, and started chasing him into the forest.
The guy is running as if this is the last day of his life. He didn’t even hear his boss’s shout. He suddenly tripped and fell by the tree root. The boss turned him and then sat over him.
He held the throat, then began pounding over his face. He is hitting him non-stop. Soon, the short guy came out of the dazed state and started fending with his hands.
“What the hell are you thinking, you bastard? You think you can do whatever you want. I gave you a job to do, and not only do you break the chain, but you have the nerve to run away.”
“Boss.. sorry.. boss.. please listen to me.”
“Why should I listen to the bastard, who is not listening to his superior command?”
He pounded him a few more times before standing up. The boss breathed in and out and controlled his breath. He glanced at him and asked,
“Now, let’s hear about the reason why you ran off without doing what I told you.”
Not listening to what the boss questioned him, he screamed loudly,
“No..Hand.. Take the hand.. Aaaaah.”
The boss closed his mouth with his hand.
“Shut the fuck up. Don’t scream. you’ll get us caught.”
The short guy relaxed a bit after his boss’s words. The boss removed his hand and sat next to him. He waited until the guy became calm. He looked at the moon that was watching over them. A soft breeze grazed over their sweaty faces. The surroundings were so silent. The sound of rustling leaves and the rough breathing of the guy were only audible. After a few minutes, the boss looked at him and asked calmly,
“What happened to you? I already told you how important the work is, then why are you behaving like a 5year old child?”
The tears began flowing from his eyes.
“No.. That hand... the corpse... touch me.”
“Stop sobbing and tell clearly.”
He wiped his tears and started explaining the things. He told his boss what happened when he tried to take the pendant. Obviously, his boss didn’t believe him. He stared at him and talked,
“See here; I took the chain after you left. Nothing happened to me. It’s all your hallucination.”
“But I’m not lyi-”
The boss suddenly cut him off.
“Stop... we don’t have time to waste. Come, we need to close the coffin and revert the things as before.”
The short guy was scared,
“No... I’m not going there.”
“Stop whining and come; I won’t repeat.”
The boss yelled and stared at him angrily; he could not withstand the pressure coming from his boss. So, he gathered the strength and stood up. Both of them walked towards the graveyard. The boss moved quickly, but the guy was frightened as he was walking very nervously. Soon, they reached the graveyard. They were approaching the coffin, and there was no difference.
“See, Nothing happened after we left. Everything is the same as it is.”
The boss told, but the short guy was still in fear. They both closed the distance between them and the grave of George. When they reached, they leaned forward and looked at the coffin. The boss looked at the guy in bewilderment.
Because What he saw there was an empty coffin.
**
