The Bet

        “No!”

Alex refused to go along with another stupid bet. The annual Halloween bet, where Shawny did something unbelievable stupid and usually lost. This year however would really take the cake.

               “All we have to do is stay the night and it’s a thousand dollars,” Shawny pled his case.

               “Stay the night?” Alex said shocked, “all night at Blackvale? The most - “

               “That hasn’t been proven!” Shawny interrupted.

               “Someone died there,” Alex retorted.

               “He had pre-existing conditions and that was five years ago. Look if you go, I’ll give you an extra hundred.”

               “Just 'til sunup?”

               “The absolute butt-crack of dawn and we are out.”

               Alex considered this. He really could use the money and he wasn’t normally one for superstition, but Blackvale wasn’t a place to mess around with. After a long pause he made his decision.

               “Okay, but you bring the food and that portable heater your uncle has.”

Alex couldn’t believe he had agreed to this. Spending the night at Blackvale Cemetery wasn’t what he had in mind for Halloween. Not many had the balls to stay there, past nightfall let alone all night, the ones that came close were usually arrested for trespassing as they were running for the exit. It was said that it was the most haunted place on the east coast, tonight they would find out.

               Alex and Shawny arrived a couple hours after sunset. They drove passed the black iron gate at the entrance; it was already closed.

               “How are we supposed to get in?” Alex questioned.

               “There’s an area where the fence is down. An old tree fell during that storm last week.” Shawny answered. He had his phone in hand taking pictures of the gate as they drove by.

               “What are you doing?” Alex noticed the phone.

               “We need proof. I’m supposed to send pictures and video to Sam throughout the night. That’s a part of the deal.” Shawny answered. “Drive down this street and turn off on Parker Way.”

               Alex followed his directions. When he reached the end of Parker Way Shawny told him to turn off on a small road, more of a trail really, but big enough for the car.

               “Okay, we can walk from here,” Shawny told him.

   They grabbed their bags which contained blankets, food, a small heater and enough energy drinks to keep them awake until next Halloween. Shawny had also packed several battery packs to charge their phones.

               The two made their way along the chain link fence that surrounded the cemetery. Not too far from the car there was a large tree fallen across the fence. It must have been more solid than it looked because it had crushed the fencing to the ground.

               Shawny and Alex carefully climbed over. They were about to continue on when they heard a noise somewhere inside Blackvale.

               “Down!” Alex half whispered half yelled.

               They both hit the ground thinking their venture would be over before it began and taken with it, the prize.

               “I think it’s the groundskeeper, it looks like he’s leaving,” Alex stated.

               “Shit that was close. Why is he still here?” Shawny said breathlessly.

               “He’s probably making sure some dip shits didn’t sneak in this year,” Alex said amused.

               “Ha. Ha.” Shawny replied not feeling the same.

A small glow bounce back and forth as it distanced itself from the two.

               “I think he’s leaving,” Shawny whispered.

When the light had disappeared through the graveyard Alex and Shawny got back on their feet and walked toward the middle of the grounds.

               “So where are we supposed to go?” Alex asked.

               “It really doesn’t matter, but I think there are some trees and bushes over here that might make good cover. If we get caught, he’ll call the police and the bet will be over.”

               “He wouldn’t stay here all night, would he?”

               “I don’t know, but we better keep the lights low for a bit.”

               The two made their way across the yard until they reach some bushes surrounding a large willow.

               “I should probably make the first call.”

               Shawny took out his phone and made a video call to Sam. Sam picked up quickly. He was very clearly at a bar wearing what appeared to be a cow costume along with a drunken farm girl hanging on to his shoulder.

               “Hey man what’s up? Have you shit yourself yet?” Sam had very clearly had his share of spirits for the evening.

               “No, we just got here.”

               “So, where’s my proof?” Sam asked face reddened.

               Shawny turned his phone all around showing the landscape, not that you could really see anything with how dark it had become.

               “Man, I can’t see shit!” Sam slurred.

               Shawny walked a little way from the tree to a headstone. It was old, very old. As he turned a light onto it, the etching in the stone was barely visible.

               “Alright, so for your first task I want you to look for the headstone of Virginia Harving –“

               “What that wasn’t part of the deal. I was just supposed to spend the night!”

               “How am I supposed to know if you really did it if I don’t see some significant evidence. Now, her grave will be marked with a shrouded lady. It’s a big ass statue you cant miss it. Call me back when you find it.”

               And with that he hung up.

 “How many tasks do you think he’ll have for us?” Alex questioned.

               “I don’t know but he sure as shit better not have us running around all damn night.”

               The two walked across the yard and down the trails that seemed to be endless.

               “I didn’t know this place was so big. Is there a map or something we could use?”

               “I don’t know, I’ll see if there’s a website.”

               Shawny pulled out his phone again but this time it was dead.

               “Shit! I thought I just charged this thing. I’ll grab the battery, use yours.”

               Alex took his phone out, it too was dead.

               As they walked letting the battery packs charged their phones, Alex was finally able to turn his on and looked for a map.

               “Found it. It looks like we might be close.”

 A sepulcher sat in front of them, Alex noticed the name Davis etched above them.

“Look, Davis, we are right here, she's behind this thing, about 50 ft. that way.”

As they walked around the tomb, they saw the flashlight of the groundskeeper again. The two quickly ducked out of sight.

“He’s still here?” Shawny said annoyed.

“If this shit happens every year, he’ll be expecting the same thing. This lady’s grave must be popular.”

They looked back carefully to see the flashlight once again bobbing away until it disappeared.

“I think he’s gone.” Shawny finally spoke.

They made their way to the statue. Laying at the feet of the statue was a white rose. Alex picked it up and examined it before resting it back at her feet.

“That’s fucking creepy dude,” Shawny commented.

“Probably paying his respects?” Alex half questioned.

They looked at the statue looming over them. At the base was the epitaph, it read Dearest Virginia your impression will remain undying.

“What does that mean?” Alex wondered.

“I don’t know but I better make the call.”

Sam answered the call a little slower this time. A zombie girl danced behind him to a remix of monster mash.

“Hey” he hiccupped.

“We found her” Shawny responded.

He turned the camera around to show the statue. Alex shined his light at the statues face.

“Sweet. I’m gonna need you to whistle.”

“What?”

“You gotta whistle, she’s supposed to like it.”

“Okay… Are you gonna be able to make it through the night?”

“Nope. I will send you instructions, just take video of each thing. I’ll look at it later this week, but you better get some good shots or – “

He was interrupted by people in the background chanting ‘shots’. The call ended with someone pushing a small glass into his hand.

“So, we’re gonna be doing this stupid shit all night huh?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Shawny and Alex took turns whistling after thirty minutes a text popped up on Shawny’s phone.

               “Looks like a list of things to keep us busy until sunrise. Shit he even has the exact time of sunrise, 6:58.”

               “That’s eight hours.” Alex grumbled.

               “I’m setting a timer. Eight hours and begin count down. The text says keep whistling if nothing happens in thirty minutes move on to…boy with ball?”

               “Oh my – he got this list off the website.” Alex interjected.

               “What?”

               “It’s a list on the website. I saw it before I checked the map. Look!”

               Shawny read the list on the website:

               The Shrouded Lady, Child at Play, Weeping Willow.

               “They’re all supposed to be where sightings occurred.”

               “Still I guess we better keep whistling.”

               The two continued taking turns whistling. Alex noticed his battery was getting low again. He pulled another battery pack from the bag and began to charge it when in the distance they heard a faint whistle.

               “What was that?” Shawny’s voice sounded startled.

               They sat completely still until the whistle came again, this time closer.

               “Shit, shit, shit, shit” Shawny repeated.

               “What?”

               “It’s the caretaker, he’s fucking with us. Look!”

               They saw the same light bobbing towards them, this time more rapidly.

               “I think he’s running towards us. Go!”

               The men grabbed their bags and took off. They found their way back to the same willow tree they had planned on camping under when they began their night.

               “I think we lost him.” Alex said breathlessly.

               “Oh…damn…”

               “What?” Alex asked.

               “It’s the willow, the one on the list. Fuuucck we could have already had it marked off.”

               “Do they have to be in order?”

               “I don’t think so.”

               The directions in the text asked them to have a nightcap with the dead.

               “Nightcap?” Alex questioned, “Did you bring any alcohol?”

               “Nope,” Shawny replied opening up a can of energy drink.

               “Liquid Insomnia? I hate these things.”

               “Drink up, its all I have.”

               He raised his can to toast.

               “To…“ he looked at the text “to Earl Blake, I never knew ye.”

               Shawny took a sip, then poured a small drink into the twist off cap. He placed it beneath the tree.

               “Damn, my battery is about to die again. Time to get a new phone. Looks like you do to, how long have you had that? Five years?”

               “Two but I got it from someone else,” Alex answered annoyed.

               “Well it looks like we have time to warm up. He really doesn’t have that much on here to do for eight hours.”

               “He probably thinks we won’t make it.”

               “With a thousand dollars on the line, I’m sure he’s hoping.”

               Shawny pulled his uncle’s heater from his bag and turned it on. As he waited for his phone to charge yet again, he began to record the tree and the little drink he left beneath it, but he noticed it was gone. The cap lay empty in the dirt. He shook off the idea that someone actually drank it. It had to have spilled, maybe he hit it when he was getting the heater.

               “This thing really doesn’t work that well,” Alex pointed at the heater, tapping it slightly.

               “I charged it before I left. Its old.”

               A can cracking echoed into the night.

               “Dude you better take it easy on those things, you’ll have a heart attack,” Shawny laughed.

               “What are you talking about? I’ve barely drank any of this, I told you I don’t like them.”

               A short distance from them they heard loud sipping. A light sat on a headstone. They could see now that it wasn’t a flashlight the groundskeeper hand been holding, but a lantern. It sat in front of him at his hip. The light illuminated his face slightly, he wasn’t too tall, but he was stocky and easily outweighed either one of the men. They also noticed a very distinct beard black as coal apart from a patch of silver under his lower lip.

               They flattened themselves to the ground. Alex was about to turn the heater off, but it too had died. They questioned their luck at that point, hoping the groundskeeper hadn’t seen them.

               “Back, go back behind the tree,” Shawny whispered.

               They silently dragged their bags as they crawled behind the massive willow.

               The two decided to move on to the next task with extreme caution. It would seem that their luck was turning around when they found that it was at the end of the cemetery and far from the man that so far seemed to be stalking them.

               “I swear bro if he calls the cops, I’m gonna be pissed. I’m supposed to be making money on tonight not spending it on bail,” said Alex.

               “I think he’s trying to scare us. If he wanted us arrested the cops would already be here.”

               “How does he know we aren’t murdering, psychos?”

               “He’s probably been through this too much. He ain’t scared of shit. Desensitized.” Shawny waved his hand in the air like it was the word of the day on a kid’s show.

              They walked and walked, searching for the next grave but it was impossible to find in the dark. They didn’t dare turn on their flashlight just yet. After looking for over an hour they gave up and sat down.

               “Well shit we might not make it,” Shawny said looking at his phone. “Four hours left.”

               “And we still have three more things on the list. That’s some bullshit. I’m cold and tired, but I’m not losing. I don’t know anyone else who has made it this long and – well shit.”

               Shawny followed his gaze. Behind was a grave marker, a temporary one.

               “I guess she needed a new headstone. Hey what’s that?”

               Alex pointed at a small piece of metal glinting in the light. Shawny picked it up. It was a ring.

               “Huh, looks like someone beat us to it.”

               “What do you mean?” Alex replied.

               “The text said to leave a memento. It looks like a man’s ring.”

               He examined the ring closely.

               “Well, I better document. Damn phone is at 30% and I only have one battery pack left. Maybe you should turn yours off. Preserve the battery just in case.”

               Alex turned his phone off and just as he did a beam of light darted across the yard hitting both of them. Shawny had just start filming when they heard a yell coming from behind the light. They bolted away. After spending so much time looking for this last task, they both had looked over the map making a mental note of where the next places to go were.

               “This is bullshit. I say we just find the next sites get the proof and find a place to hide until dawn.” Alex panted.

               “Agreed.”

               They quickly found the last three gravesites. This time they only took photos as Shawny’s phone was at 10% and somehow the last battery pack didn’t have any power in it.

               “I’ll have to take the last photo with your phone. The sun rising over the gate.”

               The sunlight was nearly upon them. When they headed toward the gate.

               “6:40. We made it bro, turn your phone back on and let’s get the hell out of here.”

               Alex turned his phone back on and pulled up the map. He wanted to make sure they had no trouble finding their way out. As they neared the gate Alex scrolled up looking at the haunting list.

               “Man, this night was fucked. Chased around by a caretaker and on top of that no ghost siting just a creepy guy trying to scare us. Well at least we are a thousand dollars richer.”

               Shawny stopped. He couldn’t here Alex walking behind him. Alex had stopped dead in his tracks only a few feet from the gate. His face was white.”

               “What’s with you?” Shawny asked mildly startled.

               Alex handed him the phone. Below the list they had followed that night was a picture of a man with a black beard wearing the same silver ring.

               “It’s the groundskeeper. So what?”

               Shawny scrolled down. Underneath the picture it read:

               Rest in peace our beloved groundskeeper.

               It went on with his obituary. He passed away five years ago of a heart attack on the grounds. It also mentioned that he would whistle a song and leave a white rose at the Shrouded Lady, have a nightcap beneath the weeping willow and leave a memento with the Forgotten Woman along with everything on Alex and Shawny’s list.

               Both were pale with terror. The sun started to rise as they ran for the gate. They tossed their bodies against the iron. It was oddly already cracked open.

               “Wait!” Shawny yelled. “I have to get the last picture. Otherwise this will have been for nothing.”

               He turned on the camera. He tried to focus the image despite his shaking hands. The sun was in the background making it hard to take a picture of the plaque with the name Blackvale, but he managed. After he snapped the picture, he stared intently on it.

               Alex walked up behind him looking at the photo. The plaque of Blackvale was slightly illuminated by a lantern, the same lantern that had chased them all night. Beneath the plaque was a new sign that he couldn’t remember seeing before.

               Property maintained by the county.

               The two looked up to see a stocky figure with a black beard behind the gate, fading in the sunlight.