Chapter 6
“This is where I draw the line,” Damon said. “I am not going to the cemetery.”
He was hurrying next to Jaden, who was smirking as he walked with confidence along Main Street toward the old cemetery at the other end of town.
“You’re just scared,” Jaden said.
“Have you ever been to the Ravens Pass Cemetery?” Damon asked. “I have, when my grandma died. It’s creepy!”
Jaden laughed. ‘Nothing can hurt you in a cemetery, you scaredy-cat,” he said. “Except . . . maybe . . .”
He turned and suddenly grabbed Damon by the shoulders. “ME!” he yelled.
Damon pushed his arms away. “Get off me!” he shouted.
Jaden burst out laughing. Damon glared at him. “That wasn’t funny,” Damon said.
“Yes it was,” Jaden said. Then he started walking again. “If you don’t want to find that treasure, then just run back home to your mommy.”
Damon gritted his teeth. Then he hurried to catch up.
* * *
The big, iron gates of the cemetery were wide open.
Inside, a few stray cats slinked around the gate. There were some newer headstones near the entrance, but most of the gravestones were cracked. Several creepy statues cast long, eerie shadows in the moonlight.
“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” Jaden said. “This is one creepy cemetery.”
“I told you,” Damon said.
Jaden smiled. “Just my kind of place,” he said, grabbing Damon’s shirt and pulling him in.
“What are we looking for?” Damon asked.
Jaden weaved between tombstones and ducked under tree limbs. “A grave,” he said.
“Here’s one,” Damon said, pointing at a cracked gravestone. “There’s another. Oh look, and another.” He stopped pointing. “Can we leave now?”
“You’re hilarious,” Jaden said, rolling his eyes. “We’re looking for the grave of Esther Smith — the name on that plaque we found.”
They moved slowly as they got deeper into the cemetery. The trees became uglier. The ivy grew wild along the crumbling brick walls. The tombstones were broken and chipped. Damon could barely read the names on some of them.
“We’ll never find it,” Damon said. “This is hopeless.” Jaden didn’t answer.
As they stepped over a fallen and cracked gravestone, something moved slowly in the shadows.
“What was that?” Damon whispered, bumping into Jaden.
Jaden twisted his head and stared for a long moment. Nothing moved except for tree branches that swayed in the wind.
Jaden started walking again. With his first step, he snapped a twig.
“Naughty children!” a voice cried out.
A figure darted out from the shadows and grabbed Jaden and Damon by their shoulders.
