THE CRYPT The Witch's Tomb On a snow covered farm road, 12 year old Kim skipped along thinking about how she and her friend Jane were going to sneak into the cemetery after nightfall. Her golden hair blowing in the freezing breeze was tipped with ice and the scarf wrapped around her little face was all that kept her nose warm. She could already see the 2 story farm house down the frost covered road just 100 yards in front of her. The closer she got to the house the faster she would step until she began to run at a slow pace. The excitement was too much for her and she just couldn't wait to find out what Jane was planning. Knock, knock, knock. The door was so cold that it hurt her knuckles as she banged them against it. "What does Jane have in mind for tonight. Why did she call and ask me to come over and that she had something planned at the cemetery tonight?", she thought to herself. As the door slowly creaked open, Kim wondered if this was just a joke or some odd trick that Jane was going to pull on one of the boys at school who would always tease her. "Hi Kim. Come on in before you freeze!", exclaimed Jane, "Put your coat and scarf in the closet and meet me in my room. Mom is busy in the kitchen so we can have privacy up there". Still wondering what Jane was planning and why, she slowly hung her coat up and draped her scarf over the collar. Shuffling up the stairs with hesitation, she didn't know if she wanted to hear what was on Jane's mind or not. Knowing that Jane was a devious kid, Kim was unsure if she was going to participate in her scheme or not. Her curiosity was greater than her common sense so she at least wanted to hear the plan, even if she decided not to partake in it. As she slowly walked through the bedroom door, Jane was standing at the window staring silently at the cemetery as if dreaming. "What's up?", exclaimed Kim. Slowly turning away from the window, as if waking from a deep sleep, Jane spoke in a low voice. "Shush. What I'm about to tell you is not to be repeated to anyone. Do you understand me?". "Sure", answered Kim. "The other day while at school John told me that he saw Bobby in the cemetery and that he was opening one of the crypts. He said he waited for a couple of hours but Bobby never came back out. When he saw him the next day his face was gray and looked as if it had no life in it.". Kim thought to herself that this was just some way Jane was trying to get her to go along with her plan but she wanted to hear more anyway. "So what are you going to do?", questioned Kim. "I want to go into the same crypt tonight and see what scared Bobby so much but I am afraid to go alone and that's why I asked you to come with me", replied Jane, "I asked John to meet us there too.". "What do you think might have happened to Bobby?" "I don't really know but I think we are about to find out tonight while we are in there!", exclaimed Jane, "I don't want anyone else finding out what we are about to do so there won't be any tricks played on us by the other kids. They would love to have the last laugh on me for the way I scared Jill last year. I heard that there is supposed to be a witch buried in that old crypt and one day she would come back from the dead and take revenge on the town who burned her at the stake. She has been dead since 1748 and just before going up in flames she cursed the towns people and told them she would be back to take revenge on there descendants. Well, I am in the blood-line. My great-grandmother was the daughter of one of the people who brought the witch before the courts and accused her of witchcraft. John is also in the blood-line. It worries me since I hear a screaming voice calling me to the crypt every night at midnight.". "Stop! You're scaring me", replied Kim. As if to hear someone calling her from outside the window, Jane turned toward the cemetery again. The expression of wonder was on her face as she glared across the field in front of the cemetery. "Jane, Jane, are you alright?", whispered Kim. Turning back toward her, Jane said, "Yes I'm alright. I have to do this. I need to know what is going on in that old crypt. Promise me you will be here tonight and that you won't tell anyone about all of this. Promise Kim!". "OK, OK, I promise. What time do you want me here tonight?". "Come around 11:00 so we can get ready before going.", replied Jane. "Ready? What do you mean by ready?", replied Kim. "I have some special things to do and there are the clothes we have to change into. All this will be done to protect us from any evil spirits that we might come into contact with while in there. I am not going to take any chances.", exclaimed Jane. Kim didn't quite understand Jane's reply but was willing to go along with her anyway. She said, "OK. I'll be there at 11:00 then. I have to go for now. My mother told me not to be gone long.". Following Kim down the steep stairs to get her coat and to show her to the door, Jane glared at the back of her head as if in deep thought. As Kim wrapped herself in her coat and scarf she was still wondering why Jane was so obsessed with wanting to find out what was in that old crypt and the mystery behind it. After all it was just an old crypt with a woman that everyone thought was a witch inside it. As she laughed to herself she thought she was just being foolish to be so frightened by Jane's story. "Good bye. I'll see you tonight then Jane.". "Till tonight", replied Jane, "I will see you later.". Kim forced away her thoughts and started thinking about happier days as she skipped down the road back to her house. As she entered the white picket gate into her yard she was met by her little brother, David. "Where did you go?", he asked, "Why didn't you take me with you? You never take me anymore.". As he walked away crying Kim thought to herself, "He's such a baby.". She loved him very much but she knew that she needed time for herself once in a while. "I should have taken him but the way Jane was talking on the phone I knew I just couldn't do it because he would tell mom or something.", she thought to herself, "I'll take him with me when mom has me go to the store for her.". Walking through the thick wooden door of there huge farm house she turned to her right just inside the door and hung her coat and scarf on the hook. She then strolled into the living room where her mother and father were sitting watching a TV program. "Hi mom, hi dad.". They were so involved in the program that they didn't hear her so she went up to her bedroom and dove onto her bed. She desperately wanted to forget her ordeal at Jane's so she reached over to her dresser and scanned through some small books stacked on it. Finding a love story she laid gently on her back and started to read. She knew she would be up late tonight so she laid it back on the dresser and went to sleep. "David do you know if Kim has come home yet?", asked Kim's mother. "Yea. She did about an hour ago. She looked as if she had something on her mind and went to her room. I was mad at her so I didn't talk with her much.". "OK honey, I'll go up and check on her". When she got to her room the door was closed so she gently gave 3 knocks. "Kim are you alright?", she asked in a motherly voice. Kim didn't hear her so she opened the door and saw that she was sleeping soundly. She walked over and sat softly on the edge of Kim's bed and started to gently stroke her head. Yawning, Kim sluggishly opened her eyes to see her mother. "Hi mom. I got home a while ago and was so tired that I thought I would take a nap". "Are you feeling OK?", replied her mother. "Yes. I was just tired. What's for supper tonight?", she sleepily asked. "It's your favorite. Roast beef, corn-on-the-cob, and mashed potatoes.", she replied, "Come on and get up now and wash up for supper. It will be ready in just a few moments". Kim was excited about supper since they only had roast beef once a year. Her mouth was watering and could hardly wait to set down at the supper table. She forced herself to a stance, shuffled into the bathroom, and ran some cold water on her face to help wake herself. Reaching for the bar of soap she suddenly remembered what she was going to do tonight. As she washed her hands in the soothing warm water she thought about what Jane meant when she was talking about the things they were going to do before going to the cemetery. Banging on the door David asked Kim if she was going to take all day in there. Kim said, "Hold on to your underwear stupid. I'll be out when I get ready". "I have to pee real bad Kim. Hurry up dork.", replied David. Of course this attitude made Kim angry so she just took all the time she could. "Come on Kim. I'm going to pee myself if you don't get out of there!". OK I'm coming. Just hold on a minute.", replied Kim. As she slowly walked out of the bathroom, David pushed her aside and ran to the toilet saying, "Get out of the way dork". "Stuff it", exclaimed Kim. She carefully walked down the stairs to the kitchen. When she got there she saw that the table was already set and could hear her mother calling everybody to supper. She sat down and started to help herself. This was her favorite meal and she wasn't about to wait for anyone else to get there. Slapping 2 pieces of the meat on her plate she then proceeded to reach for the corn when she heard her mother say, "Can't you wait Kim. I know you aren't starving"! "Oh leave her alone Sharon. She doesn't have this meal but once a year. Let her enjoy herself", replied her dad. Kim was so hungry and since this was her favorite meal, she started to throw the food down her inviting throat as though this was her last meal. As she ate and ate the rest of the family slowly sat down at the table staring at her as if she was from Mars. "Slow down Kim!", exclaimed her dad, "You aren't going to miss out on anything". As she mumbled with a full mouth, "I know, it's just so good dad". When supper was over, she was so full that her stomach ached. "I have to go up to my room for awhile", she explained. "Are you feeling all-right honey?", her mother replied. "Yes, I just have to get ready to go to Jane's. Besides, I am so full that I can hardly breath. Thank you for the supper mom.". While standing in front of the huge mirror on top of her dresser, brushing her hair,Kim thought to herself, "I must be really stupid for letting Jane talk me into doing something like this.". She knew that she had all-ready committed herself and couldn't back out now. She looked at the small clock that was sitting on the stand next to her bed and saw that she only had an hour before she had to leave. She was anxious to get going so to pass the time she grabbed a short story from her dresser and started to read it. She loved to read and knew it would relax her a little. The time passed very quickly. Too quickly for her but she had to go and closed the book. Hesitantly rising she slowly walked to her closet, grabbed her coat and scarf. Walking out the front door she said, "Bye mom and dad". "Bye honey", they replied. The air was so cold that she thought she saw ice crystals forming on her breath. As she walked, the snow covered ground crunched under her feet. She wasn't in a hurry to get to Jane's so she walked very slowly. Besides, she didn't want to slip on the ice and still wasn't sure if she wanted to participate in this act either. After walking for about 20 minutes, she could finally see Jane's house down the road. She knew it would only take 5 more minutes to get there and shuffled along wanting to turn back. She would rather be in her comfortable house back home than doing this with Jane. "Why am I doing this?", she asked herself, "Am I crazy? I can't back out now after promising Jane that I would be there. I know she would understand. I can't back out. I have to do it. My curiosity is getting the better of me.". She constantly fought with herself as she shuffled to the front door of Jane's house. She remembered how bad it hurt the last time she rapped her knuckles on the frozen door so this time she just gave a tap, tap, tap. Jumping up and down trying to keep herself warm from the chilled air, she wondered if Jane had heard her knock. Just as she started to knock again Jane opened the door and said, "Get in here right now before you freeze! Give me your coat and scarf and I will go hang them up. You go sit in front of the fire and warm yourself". As she cuddled into a ball in front of the fireplace, she thought to herself, "God! This sure feels good". Sneaking up behind her, Jane spoke in a silent tone. "Are you OK?", she asked. "Yes. It is just so cold outside", replied Kim. "Stay there in front of the fire and I will go make you some hot chocolate". "OK", she replied. While walking toward the kitchen, Jane mumbled, "John will be here soon. Will you let him in when he does?". "Sure", she replied. Kim was so content sitting in front of the fire that she forgot why she was there. Time passed and she started to wonder what was keeping Jane. "Are you all-right in there", she questioned, "Do you need any help?". "No, that's OK. I was just fixing some other things too" Strolling through the kitchen door, she had a tray with some sandwiches and the hot chocolate. "I thought you might be a little hungry so I fixed some sandwiches for us". "I would love to have the chocolate but I am too full to eat the sandwiches", she replied, "I had a great big supper just before coming here". "That's good. Means the more for me. Ha ha", laughed Jane. Taking the chocolate and sipping it down so as not to burn her lips, she thought to herself, "This is real nice. I could get used to this real fast". Jane flopped into the huge chair just behind Kim and proceeded to gobble down the sandwiches as if it were the only meal she had in days. "I wonder what is keeping John? He should have been here by now", she exclaimed. "Don't worry, he'll be here soon", answered Kim. "Well we don't have much time before we have to go and I wish he would hurry up", Jane replied in anger. Kim wondered why Jane was so angry. This was getting out of hand and she didn't quite know why. "She shouldn't be getting so angry over nothing. Oh well, I guess she is just excited to do this tonight", she thought to herself. "Do you like the chocolate?", asked Jane. "Yes, it's delicious", she replied. As she drank it she started to feel a little woozy. She thought it was just that she was getting a little tired from being out in the cold and now sitting in front of the fire. Jane mumbled to herself and said, "I made that fool some chocolate too and he's not even here. He had better hurry up or it will get cold". Kim thought to herself, "She is sure acting weird". Knock, knock, knock. "Well, it's about time", shouted Jane. Leaping from the chair, she ran and opened the door. "Where have you been? We have been waiting and it is almost time to go", she scorned. "Chill out. I just thought it would help Bobby if we took him back into the crypt. At least this time he wouldn't be alone. I thought it might help him come out of the shell he has been in", replied John. Entering he saw Kim and said, "What's the matter? Are you cold or something? Just kidding. I am too". "Stuff it", she shouted. "Boy! Aren't we in a good mood tonight"? "Leave her alone John", Jane said while pushing him back, "We don't have time for this. Kim let's go upstairs and get ready to go. I have some different clothes for us to wear and there are some other things we have to do first too". "What other kind of things", she replied. "You'll see when we get up stairs". "Don't I get to watch", John said while laughing. Both of the girls looked at him with disgust and climbed the stairs to Jane's bedroom. Kim said, "What a jerk". "He's always been a jerk", replied Jane. "So what is it that we have to do before going", Kim asked excitedly. Jane replied, "Let's change our clothes first and then I will let you know the rest". Walking over to an old chest that looked ancient she opened it and took out some old fashioned dresses. "We'll freeze in those", shouted Kim. "No we won't. They're thick enough to keep us warm. Go ahead and put them on and you will see", exclaimed Jane. Jane quickly threw on her dress and ran out the door shouting back to Kim, "I'll be back in a minute Kim. I have to give John his chocolate and I am going to make some for Bobby too". "I wish she would stop acting so weird. She is starting to scare me", Kim said to herself. Slowly pulling her dress over her body, she realized that what Jane had said about the dresses being warm was true. Some how she felt very different in it though. She didn't feel like herself at all. As Jane came strutting happily back into the room she said, "Now I'll show you the other things we have to do". Reaching into the old chest, she took out something that looked like a piece of charcoal and drew a pentegram on the floor. She then took out some candles, lit then, and placed them next to the pentegram. "What are you doing", asked Kim. "Don't worry. It is just something to protect us while we are in the crypt tonight. Besides, it couldn't hurt", replied Jane. Kim wondered if Jane had completely lost her mind but went along with her anyway. After completing the ritual, they went back down stairs to where the boys were. John was sitting in the giant chair watching TV and Bobby was sitting on the floor staring into mid air. Kim looked at him and wondered if he would ever be himself again. She was hoping that this experience at the crypt would bring him back to himself. She thought he was cute and wanted to get to know the real person. Now she had a real reason for doing this thing and felt much better about it. "Thank you Bobby", she thought to herself. John said, "I feel kind of woozy". Upon hearing this, Kim pondered whether Jane had put something in the chocolate that she had given them. All of a sudden she started to remember things that she didn't experience before. She was remembering things of someone's past she didn't know. "Who is this person and why am I remembering things about them", she thought to herself, "Am I becoming as strange as Jane?". Her head was full of questions but she tried her hardest to keep her wits. John was also having thoughts like this but kept his mouth shut about it. He was trying his hardest to be his rude self. "Is it time to go yet? You were in such a hurry for me to get here and now that I am we aren't doing anything", he questioned. Jane wasn't in the mood for his nonsense right now and said, "Hold your pants on we will be leaving in just a few minutes". Everyone was getting anxious to get on with this thing and were starting to get frustrated with each other. Jane wanted to go up to her room to get some things from the old chest that housed the dresses and other things so she excused herself. While she was gone Kim said, "John have you noticed anything different about Jane?". "Na. She is just herself to me. Why? Do you think she is different? You're probably just getting paranoid or something". "Well, I think she is acting weird and I feel so different since she gave me the hot chocolate. I think she put something in it", Kim replied. John knew what she was talking about since he was also feeling pretty weird after drinking his. He didn't want to sound like there was anything wrong though and didn't respond to what she said. He just turned away, walked over to the huge chair, flopped down in it, and started to watch TV again. His ignorance annoyed Kim so she mumbled to herself, "What a jerk! I wish we were taking someone with some brains instead of him", turned back toward the fire and sat on the floor in front of it crossing her legs Indian style. She was so frustrated with his foolishness that she didn't even want to look at him. As she stared at the fire she started to envision a past life of a woman who used to know Jane. This didn't make any sense to her since the woman lived in the days of 1748. "Why do I keep seeing these things?", she thought to herself, "What does Jane have in common with this woman.? I am going to have to ask her if she is related to someone like that". All of a sudden she remembered what Jane had told her about being in the blood-line with what happened back then but she couldn't understand why she was seeing those things when she wasn't in the blood-line herself. Still staring at the fire she grew more and more involved with the flames to the point of being hypnotized by it's motion. Feeling herself becoming more and more engulfed with the woman's life, she jumped up and fell backwards. She was feeling herself losing her own life and becoming the woman and it scared her tremendously. She didn't want John to know what happened so she told him that she just lost her balance. "What a dummy. Just like a girl to do something like that. Ha ha ha ha", he laughed. She needed an excuse to get away from him so she said, "I wonder what's keeping Jane. I'm going up to see what she is doing. I'll be back in a minute John". Strutting away toward the stairs before John could respond to her, Kim climbed them as if to run. "Jane what are you doing up there?", she shouted. When she reached the top, Jane was standing there with an empty look on her face. "Are you all-right? Why are you looking at me like that Jane? Jane, Jane". "Huh? What Kim", replied Jane. "You looked as if you didn't have any life in your face. What's wrong?", Kim asked. "Oh nothing. I just heard those voices calling me from the cemetery again. I also found out after looking at the calendar that we are a week too early. We will have to call off our plans to go to the cemetery tonight and reschedule it for next week". "Hey, that's OK with me. I didn't want to go anyway", Kim thought to herself. "That's too bad", she told Jane, "I'll bet John will have something stupid to say about it when we tell him". "Oh well he'll get over it. Just ignore him. He's just a kid anyway", Jane replied. John could hear them whispering as they descended down the stairway and thought that they were planning something against him. "What are you two up to?", he questioned as they approached the foot of the stairs. "It's none of your business", they replied. They didn't know what to say to him since they knew he would have something smart to say about all of this. "We have just decided that it is too cold to do this tonight so we are going to wait until next week.", they spoke in a soft tone. John asked himself, "Are all girls like this?" and angrily replied, "Why do I let myself get into these kind of things? Are you two up to something I don't want to know about? If you change your minds next week then you can go by yourselves !". "Don't worry yourself about it", replied Kim. Reaching for Bobby's hand, John grabbed it firmly and pulled him to his feet. "Come on Bobby, let's get out of here", he whispered while sneering at the girls. Walking out the door into the freezing air that chocked him with every breath, John turned and said, "I hope you two brats have made up your minds and won't decide not to do it again next week". Jane sneered at him and replied, "As I said, don't worry about it punk". "Look at who is talking shit-head", replied John. Bobby was just standing there like a puppet so John pulled him gently with concern and they both disappeared into the frozen air. Kim and Jane went back up the stairs to change their clothes and talked for an hour before Kim said that she had to get home. Jane said, "I will see you tomorrow at school and we can talk more then." "Till tomorrow then", replied Kim. She walked to the closet and draped herself in her coat and scarf. Opening the door, she was hesitant since she did not want to go back into the freezing air and snow covered ground. The temperature seemed twice as cold as it was when she first arrived at Jane's but she knew she had to make this trip for the last time tonight. "I'll see you at school tomorrow Jane". "OK. We can decide what we will do then. It will be much easier to talk with you now that you know what we have to do before we go", replied Jane It was so cold that Kim didn't say any more and trudged down the ice and snow covered road. It seemed to take her much longer getting home this time. She thought it was only because the snow was deeper by now. She thought to herself, "I sure hope it isn't this deep tomorrow. If it is, I might stay home from school". Arriving at her house, Kim ran through the white picket gate up to the front door. "God it's cold out here", she thought to herself. Turning the knob she couldn't open it. Her mother thought she wouldn't be home until much later and decided to lock it. "Oh no", Kim said to herself, "I can't stand this cold any longer". Bang, bang, bang. Jumping up and down to keep warm, she tried to get her parent's attention. Finally the door swung open and her little brother was standing there. "What do you want?, he said while trying to close it in her face. "Stop it and get out of the way stupid. It is freezing out here so stop playing around", Kim scolded. Turning and pushing the door closed with both hands, she said, "Is the fire going ?" "Yes. Why?", replied her brother. "Because I am cold and need to get warm dummy. Are mom and dad still awake? I need to talk with them". "Well, mom is in the living room and I think dad is upstairs", sneered her brother. Kim replied, "It sure is nice to be home even though I have to put up with you brat". walking away and mumbling to himself he said, "Stick it Kim". "I love you too David", she replied. As she took off her coat and scarf she thought to herself that it was really nice to be in the warm house and couldn't wait to sit in front of the fire. She always got cold easy and loved to sit in front of a fireplace. Curling up in the country sofa she laid her head on the armrest. The chill in the air had always made her tired ever since she could remember and nothing could disturb her comfort now. "Hi honey", stated her mother as she walked into the warm room, "How long have you been home? I thought you were going to be out late tonight? Did something happen? Are you all-right?". "I'm fine mom. We just decided to do, what we had planned for tonight, next week since it is too cold outside", she replied with a yawn. "Why don't you go up and crawl into bed and get your sleep? Don't forget that you have school tomorrow and you will need your rest", her mother exclaimed lovingly. Kim said, "OK, I will see you in the morning. Good night mom. I love you", as she scuffled to her room. "I love you too honey". Kim was still chilled and wasn't ready to take off her clothes. She crawled under the covers still dressed and was sound to sleep in just minutes.
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