Everyone Dies in the End by Brian Katcher

Author:Brian Katcher [Katcher, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

At high noon on a sunny day, the road would have been nearly impossible to navigate. Near midnight on an overcast summer night, it was almost hopeless. Grass had stopped growing in the middle of the dirt road several miles back. It now grew straight across. My high beams only picked out the faintest ruts among the dense trees to indicate where I should be driving.

There it was. Just like the directions said. Past a shallow pool of standing water, almost obscured behind the overgrown grass: the rusty iron gate. The cemetery was real.

I stopped the car, killed the engine, and turned the headlights down to ‘park’. Taking a deep breath, I turned to my companion.

“Charlie?”

She shifted in her seat. “Yes, Sherman?” I noticed her hand was casually draped in her open purse. It may have just been a coincidence, but that was where she kept her pepper spray.

“Charlie, you see that gate out there?”

She squinted into the darkness. “I think so.”

“That’s the entrance to the old Irontown Cemetery. I have to go do something there.”

“There? Now?” She looked decidedly frightened.

I pressed the keys into her soft hand. Whatever was out there, I had to face alone. “Go back home. Thanks for everything.” I leaned in for a goodbye peck on the cheek, but she scooted away.

“What is this? Are you involved in drugs? Is there a meth lab out there?”

“Nothing like that. No, seriously. Charlie…I have to check something. I have to set my mind at ease.”

“And you think I’m just going to let you go wandering around in the dark by yourself?” Her tone of voice was the same as when we were talking about her needing clothes for the trip. “If it’s nothing, then I’m going there with you.”

I was touched that after everything, she was still worried about me. “Stay in the car. If I’m not back in twenty minutes, go back to Columbia and call the cops. Twenty minutes, no more. Got a flashlight?”

“In the trunk.”

I flipped the switch and hopped out of the car. I was shocked at the stillness. Only the songs of the hidden frogs and crickets broke the still air. It was cool out there, almost unseasonably so. The light breeze held the odor of stagnant water, animal musk, and decay.

I opened the trunk, hoping that maybe Charlie’s family stored their spare shotgun back there. No dice. I located the flashlight, along with an ugly-looking hammer. I tried to get the jack handle as well, but it was a flimsy, telescoping thing. Useless.

When I slammed the lid, I wasn’t surprised to see Charlie standing next to me.

“Sherman…what’s out there? Tell me.”

I suddenly felt like the biggest fool in the world. What did I expect to find out there? Saberhagen, clawing his way out of a coffin? Dan and his ilk, goose stepping around a bonfire? I was supposed to be headed for Utah, not messing around in the dark like someone on a Halloween dare.

“Charlie…I need to go in there and check some facts.

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