Chapter 5

Getting wasted in a cemetery sounded like the most cliché thing ever, but I wasn’t in the mood for making smart decisions. I hadn’t had the courage to be honest with my family and I was feeling extremely guilty about lying. At least if I was drunk, I could forget about it for a while.

We parked Mona’s car across the street from the cemetery then stealthily cut across the grass and towards the broken part of the black wrought-iron gate. Only a select few knew of the loose bar to the west side of the grounds, and the police still couldn’t figure out how people got in. I was lucky that Henry told me about it when he’d first sneaked in, so I was able to lead the way. It was hardest for me to get in because I was so tall, and after a lot of tugging and bending in ways I didn’t know I could, I slipped through.

Once we were in, Mona led the way. The cemetary was separated by the old and new graves. To the left, where all the creepy trees were, the plots were all set up before two thousand twenty. The headstones were worn with age and weather. To the right was where all the most recent plots were set up. The headstones were made of a different kind of stone and was more inviting with the lanterns and colorful flowers on the pathway.

Of course she headed for the left side. I was starting to think she’d already planned out which area we were going to plant ourselves. I couldn’t even believe she was going along with all of this, let alone suggesting we do a séance. Vampires were one thing, but ghosts? I didn’t believe in them.

          “So who are we going to try and contact tonight?” I asked.

          “I was thinking maybe a member of the Sharmentino family.”

          “You’re seriously crazy, Des. You know they’re cursed right? Anyone associated with them tends to die a terrible death.”

The legend of the Sharmentino curse was well known by all in Miami. No one knew the real story, so everyone made up their own version of what happened. Some said that the daughter was in some gypsy coven and they’d convinced her to kill her parents. Others said that the family curse went back hundreds of years because the Sharmentinos rarely lived past forty. It was believed that the daughter and one son were still alive, but neither of them had been heard from in almost twenty years.

In addition to the legends was the infamous Sharmentino house that was said to be haunted. After the murders, it was never able to be sold and now it was overrun by weeds, broken windows, and graffiti. As children, the two of us dared each other every Halloween to go inside, but neither of us made it any further than the porch. The house became a tourist attraction after some time and people came from all over to get a glimpse of it.

        “Wasn’t your mom friends with the Sharmentino family?” I asked.

        “Yeah and so were my grandparents. But the one closest to them was my Uncle Curtis who, as you know, is dead. My mom said that she knew the Sharmentino girl her whole life and that they’d gone to each other’s birthday parties and everything.”

Knowing that Mona’s family knew these people made this whole thing even creepier. If the legends were right and those associated with the Sharmentinos tended to die, would trying to contact one of the deceased members put the bad luck onto us? I didn’t need more bad luck than I already had.

She finally stopped in what I guessed was the center of the cemetery then we sat down. The light of the moon illuminated the name on the grave and I saw that she wasn’t kidding about contacting a Sharmentino. The names that were engraved on the family plot were Mark, Sheila, and Robin. There was one more, but it had damaged and was now illegible.

She took the bottle as well as two shot glasses out of her purse and poured the tequila into them. She handed me one and we raised our glasses before downing the shots. The taste was horrible and the two of us began gagging.

        “I think this might have been a bad idea,” Mona said between hacks.

        “The fun will come. ”

Mona then got the candles out and I helped her stick them in the ground so that they would stay up.         “Okay, who is it going to be?”

        “How about…the girl, Robin? She was the last person to die. Maybe she can tell us who killed them all.”

        “Ooh, good idea!” She filled our glasses again and we downed them. “Let’s join hands.”

It felt silly doing this, but the alcohol was starting to make me feel relaxed.

       “Spirits of the otherworld, we call upon you tonight for permission to speak with Robin Sharmentino.”

        “The otherworld?” I asked. “Where did you come up with that?”

        “Shut up, Lucas.”

I rolled my eyes before closing them again. So far nothing was happening and I was beginning to feel dumb for expecting a response.  It was a warm night and there wasn’t an ounce of wind. All I heard was the sound of far away traffic and some crickets. And the pot was kicking in even more. I found myself standing up and moving towards the center of the candle circle.

         “Lucas what are you doing?”

        “I need to be closer.”

My voice sounded foreign to me. I didn’t really know what I was saying, but words were coming out of my mouth. I then knelt down so that I was crouching and placed my hands flat on the ground. Mona started giggling, probably because of the tequila and because I knew I looked like an idiot.

Then something changed. I could feel my body growing warmer and it felt like tiny bolts of electricity where shooting through me. My skin prickled like my entire body had lost circulation and I began to panic. My thoughts became incoherent and I couldn’t move. I’d never experienced anything like this before and I was sure that something was very wrong.

       “Why are you humming?” Mona asked.

        “I…I’m not…doing…anything.”

It was difficult to speak, but I could still hear everything. I had no idea what she was talking about. I wasn’t humming. I hadn’t even spoken until she’d asked me that question. I was about to try and speak again when I suddenly discerned what she was hearing. It was a low hum, like there were bees underneath the ground; no…inside of me. My body was humming.

As suddenly as it started, the humming stopped and I toppled over onto my back. Now all I could feel was lightheadedness and minor exhaustion, like I’d just finished running five miles without warming up. I had to catch my breath. Mona leaned over me with a concerned expression and I forced myself to sit up.

            “That was…incredible,” I said. “Did you feel that? It was it was like an acid trip without the acid. I felt like I was flying!”

            “No, that was freaky. No more tequila for you.”She took my hands and helped me stand up. I was feeling lightheaded and nearly stumbled into her. She laughed as she steadied me.

           “I should caaall Niiicky,” Mona said, slightly slurring her words. “I am…not going to wreck my car.”

I nodded in agreement and I took another drink while she texted her sister. The tequila was starting to taste better with every sip, but my vision was getting blurrier. We’d had enough fun for one night and I had to take into account that we had class in the morning. I was tired and predicted I would pass out in the car.

            “Nicky’s on her way,” Mona said. She put her phone in her pocket then took the bottle from me, guzzling down a little more. “Well, our séance was a bust. Besides your little crazy moment, we didn’t get any action tonight.”

            “Did you really think something would happen? Séances don’t work. The only monsters out there are vampires, and even they are practically extinct. Let’s get out of here before we get—”

 A loud rumbling sound came from near the gravestone, stopping us in our tracks. Mona clung to me as we slowly turned around to see if it was only in our heads. It couldn’t have been. Mona and I were drunk, but if we were seeing the same thing, then that meant we probably weren’t imagining it.

 The rumbling came again and we froze where we stood as the ground began to move. I tightened my grip on Mona’s hand and waited for what would happen next. This was just an earthquake, right? A mini earthquake. Either that or a mole digging around. This wasn’t some supernatural event that was supposed to only happen in movies.

Before I could even perceive this frightening reality, the ground shook until the headstone split in half and then the earth moved apart. Mona and I fell over, unable to remain steady from the earth quake. Finally, it stopped and we remained on the ground, waiting for it to be safe.

Seconds later, a small hand came out of the hole that was created. Mona let out a piercing scream and dropped the bottle. I was too scared to make a sound. I couldn’t move, even when the hand became another and then two arms. Someone was crawling out of the grave.

She tried to drag me away, but I couldn’t find the strength to move. The rational part of me knew I should be running for my life while the curious part of me wanted to see this through. How was this girl coming back? We’d barely even summoned her and even then I’d thought the most we’d get was a scare from a rustling bush. This was ten times scarier.

            “Lucas, we have to go!” Mona urged.

            “Wait!” I shouted. 

The person rested their hands on the ground then began slowly pulling themselves out. When her head popped out, my breath caught in my throat. It was undeniably a little girl and she looked so small. I’d heard that Robin Sharmentino had been five years old when she was murdered, and this somehow softened my fear. Instead I felt pity.

            “We should help her,” I whispered.

            “Like hell! I’m getting out of here, and you’re coming with me”

 I finally found my legs and I let her practically drag me out of there. Every ten steps or so, I looked over my shoulder to see what was going on. The little girl had crawled completely out of the grave and was frantically looking around. I stopped for a second, but only long enough to see that she was crying.

            “Lucas, keep moving!” Mona shouted.

 I moved once more and this time, I didn’t look back. I started running on my own and I moved the broken bar so that she could get through then I got out myself before putting the bar back into place. We stumbled onto the street just as Nicola pulled up in her parents’ car. Mona hopped into the back seat and I got in on the passenger side.

            “You two look terrified,” Nicola said. “Did something happen?”

            “Yeah…we were chased by a dog,” Mona said. I was shocked that she’d lied. I figured that tonight was the night all rules would be broken. With the dawn would come Mona’s good-girl image.

  Nicola started the car and drove off. I remembered this was the first time I’d seen her since she’d gotten back from New York and I studied her. She looked a lot different than when I’d last seen her. Her auburn hair was longer and she looked somewhat frail. Her honey brown eyes were void of emotion. I didn’t remember her looking this depressed.

            “Did you guys feel that earthquake?” she asked.

            “Earthquake?” Mona asked. “What earthquake?”

            “I can’t believe you didn’t feel that. What were you two doing all night?’

            “Getting drunk out of our minds. You should try it sometime. It’s very liberating.”

 The three of us grew quiet. Mona requested that Nicola drop us off at my apartment because she didn’t want her parents to know she was wasted. I didn’t blame her. Even though we were both old enough to drink and make our own decisions about alcohol, I was not prepared to do the walk of shame.

 We got back to my apartment and the three of us went inside. Mona went to my room to find a shirt to borrow and I started a pot of coffee. Nicola sat on the couch so I joined her. It had been a while since we’d talked and I wanted to know how she was doing.

             “How have you been?” I asked.

She turned to me and I sensed that she was annoyed. I waited for her to give me some snide comment when we locked eyes and she let out a quiet gasp. I became self conscious and wondered if there was something on my face. Was my nose bleeding? Or could she see deeper than that? As crazy as that sounded, I broke our gaze to keep from being too paranoid.

             “Nic?”

             “Sorry. I’m good, thanks.” She turned her eyes away. “Since when did you fill out? I remember you being this scrawny kid.”

            “I’ve been exercising. It helps that the college has a free gym.”

            Mona came back into the living room and she was wearing my Miami Shark’s t-shirt and a pair of my shorts.

          “Nicky, do you mind staying here?” she asked. “I’ll probably be inadequate to drive in the morning.”

           “What do I get in return?”

           “I’ll stop by tomorrow and bring you lunch,” I said. “I need a ride too and I’d like to repay you somehow.”

Mona tickled my side and I smacked her leg. I knew she was trying to hint that I was flirting and I probably was. I hadn’t meant to, but I didn’t need Mona making fun of me for it.

            “I suppose,” Nicola said. “You have a guest room?”

I nodded and pointed her in the right direction. As she walked past me, she bumped into my shoulder and I could tell if it was an accident or if she did it on purpose. She used to be nice to me and now I couldn’t tell if my presence bothered her or if it was just her attitude. She probably didn’t like me anymore because of my association to Henry. Their breakup had been pretty messy.

Mona planned to share the guest room with Nicola, but she wanted to have some coffee first. I made a pot and we talked in the kitchen while we drank it.

            “I’m never getting drunk or going to a cemetery again,” she said.

            “Not even for my funeral?”

            She smacked my arm and I laughed.

            “Stop saying that. You’re not going to die. Not for a long time.”

            I shrugged. “Only time can tell, Des. For now I’m going to make the most of what time I do have left.”

 She hugged me then set her cup in the sink and went to bed. I took a quick shower before going to my room. The events of that night all seemed so surreal. I was so sure that the tequila had caused me to hallucinate, but I hadn’t drunk that much and neither had Mona. We were buzzed at the most and definitely not to the point of seeing things. I was terrified.

 I tried to close my eyes, but all I could see was the look on the little girl’s face. How could I have just left her there, confused and alone? She may have died twenty years ago, but she’d come back the same age. She had no one to tell her what was going on, no one to take care of her. Why did I care so much? I didn’t even know her, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d abandoned her.