Dead Garden

 Beth stood upon the walkway in awe, and excitement. She could not hide the glee she felt as the Realtor handed her the keys to her new home. Beth stood froze, as the Realtor got in his car to leave, gazing at the plain beauty of her new front lawn. "I need FLOWERS!" she yelled, looking around as she realized it was out loud. Beth strolled happily through the garden section of the hardware store. Selecting flowers based on colors, and shape. Paying no mind to whether they were perennials, or annuals. One hundred dollars later, she was headed home with a trunk full of plants. As she reached home, she backed into the driveway, and popped the trunk. She lifted the trunk lid, and cussed for many had fallen over, and spilled soil all over trunk. Already off to a bad start she thought to herself. She carefully pulled all the plants out, and set them in the driveway. She grabbed her gloves, slipped them on, and flipped her trowel in air. She caught it perfectly by handle. "Yes! Let's get to work." she blurted out with a smile on her face. Beth started digging by her front steps, and immediately hit a bed of rocks. "Damn it!" she yelled. "Having trouble there neighbor?" Beth shot up startled, looking for the source of her scare. She laid eyes on a scrawny old man laughing at her. "Sorry to frighten you. I'm Kenny. I live across the street. Just thought I'd come over, and introduce myself. I'd be careful digging in that yard, never know what weird stuff you find from the last owners of this place. They did a real good job fixing it up though. It use to be such an eye sore. Well, I'll leave you to your fun, Ha Ha." Beth just stared as the old man turned to walk back home. "Thanks, I guess." She said, unsure if he heard. Frustrated, she grabbed a claw hammer, and began to furiously beat at the rocks. She was determined to have her flowers there. Finally, she felt she was deep enough, only now the dirt seemed to reek. Is this normal she thought. It smells so bad. She stopped for a few moments to search on her phone. "Just bad drainage huh? Well, good thing these flower need lots of water." She grabbed the hammer once more, and swung, and swung. Pounding with the claws of the Hammer, she finished faster than the first row. She cleared away the rocks, and the stench hit her nose once more. "oh God! That's Awful!" She looked around and noticed the gutter drain was disconnected, and the flow of water was no longer directed away from the base of the house. Guess that's my next project she thought. Didn't the old man say they fixed this place, she then began to wonder. No matter, it's mine, and it's wonderful, as she fitted the next row of flowers. As she dug the next row, she felt the smell was getting stronger. She reached in, clearing away the rubble, then she gasps. There, in her hole, was a bone. Hesitant, she reached down, and pulled it from the dirt. Underneath, there laid more, but smaller. She realized it was too small to be human, and the others seemed to be bones from chicken legs. Wiping the sweat from her brow, in relief, she threw the bone back in, and planted more flowers. Maybe that drain, and these stupid bones are the cause of that smell? Why did they have to put their stupid food scraps in my garden? Again she clawed away at the super rocky soil, stopping as the smell hit her hard in the face. This time though, it made her gag hard, almost causing her to vomit. She stood, and stepped away hacking, and spitting. "What the hell?" She cried between coughs. "Need some water young lady?" A small voice ask from the neighboring yard. Beth Looked over to see a small, elderly woman standing there holding a bottle of water. "Oh, Thank you... Miss...?" Beth stammered. "Just call me Tiffy." The small woman answered. "I was so glad to see you bringing all those flowers out of your car. This old place use to be so dreary. The previous owners were not very clean people. At least the little I seen of them." Beth twisted open the bottle, and took a big gulp to sooth her throat. "Yeah, I've found a few chicken and turkey bones trying to dig well enough for my plants." "Are you sure it was poultry?" Tiffy asked, with a blank look on her face. "Ummm..." Beth stood with a nervous shiver about her. "I'm kidding. Didn't think I'd get you that easy." Tiffy said with a wide grin on her face. "You're going to be fun to live with. I promise I won't be too hard on you." She spoke with a bright expression. "Be careful digging, and be sure shower that nasty stink off. Have a good evening." Tiffy turned and headed back to her porch. Beth stood for a moment, trying to shake off how creepy the little old lady was. "What the Hell was that?" she mumbled under her breath. "It's getting dark, I better get these last two rows done." She placed the flowers in the stinky hole, covered the roots, and began the next row. She dug, and dug, and scooped out the stinky dirt. She got up once more, and walked around to catch her breath. She knelled back down to scoop out some more, and felt something furry. Slightly worried, she tugged at it, unearthing a severed head. She screamed, dropping it back into the hole. As she went to stand, everything went black. Beth came to with a sharp pain in her head, and unable to move. She struggled, as her eyes focused, she seen Tiffy, and the old man. "I warned you about that digging little woman." The old man scolded. "I had such high hopes for you. You seemed so nice. But we can't have you bringing the police around here." Tiffy said with a stern look on her face. "I guess we'll bury you in the back." The old man cackled, as he slowly started pulling his machete from its sheath. As the the blade "shinked" against the leather, Beth woke, sitting straight up from a pool of sweat. Breathing heavy, she grabbed her phone, and left a message for her Realtor, retracting her bid on the property.