A Night in the Cemetery

The pickup truck drives in from the open gates of the cemetery, it's tyres squealing against the pebbles and pieces of granites used to fill in the massive potholes that are now filled with muddy brown water, the very motion of it disturbing the serenity of the night.

And as it does, eyes flicker open and oddly shaped blobs of blood dyed flesh turn, high up in the branches of the almond trees that litter the side of the entrance close to wall as they follow the motion of the pick up truck.

The headlamps are on, placing it out as a beacon that calls out to everything in the cemetery. Rats scramble out of the way, into the gutter, squeaking curses at the tyres that roll through their domain. A bat screeches, flapping it's leathery wings, transversing from an almond tree as it trails after the vehicle. 

As it does, on the dilapidated fence at the left is a mass of dark stuff, but on closer observation, an all black owl stays, perched on the top. And as the vehicle drives past, the head of the owl turns a complete 180° degree from the back, to the front, it's bird face marred by scars and yellowish matter matting it's feathers about.

It's eyes dim, then gowl before it screeches, exploding into a blast of feathers as three claws dig into it's previous location.The liquid dripping claws glint against the moonlight, trailing down, into skinny, intensely dehydrated, black elongated arms resembling that of someone suffering from nutrition deficiency. The arm links into a whitish bone socket before joining up with the rest of the abnormality that stands, snarling it's yellow, drooling teeth.

It's teeth are without cheeks and flesh, exposed to the air, parchment of decaying flesh stretching here and there across the revealed jaws, eyes replaced by hollow sockets with worms crawling in and out of them. It's nose replaced by two pinpoints sockets that contain yellow, disgustingly thick and slimy fluid that slowly drips down, causing the nightmarish existence to swipe it with the other three clawed hand, smearing the fluid about it's decaying skin. 

It's abnormally long body is lean and stretched with protruding bones and because of how long it is, it is unable to stand straight thus needing to bend it's upper torso.

It snarls in frustration as the owl appears, perched on the wall, some distance away, it's head turned to the back.

Growling to itself, it turns around it's oblong head, noticing the vehicle driving in and grins, which does not really count as it perpertually grins, it's claws elongating till they scrape against the earth.

However, to the lone adventurer in the night, all of this is oblivious to him.

Dayo turned the ignition of the white rusty pickup vehicle off, heaving a breath into the chilly air.

The atmosphere is dark at night, the moon overhead with the occasional drifting clouds casting a shadows which resemble long scaly fingers on land. 

The weather is not cold however, but because of what lies ahead, his whole body spasms to every movement around him, cold sweat and dread being is constant companion.

Behind his vehicle is the driveway, riddled with potholes filled with muddy water, which allows entrance into the cemetery. 

He sighed, his body trenbling, stepping out of the pickup vehicle in white singlet and blue checked boxers with his bare foot kissing the moist earth which accommodates several jutting gravestones as he shuts the door behind him.

Krashhhh!

He swirled quickly, pointing his key to the disturbance that resounded behind his car. His breath tripled, his heart going tippetty tip as he tiptoes round his car, moving to the boot. to

"W-who' there?"

"Quiet there... Do you want to wake the spirits up?" Came a sharp chide from his front.

With a jerk, Dayo spun around but meets a whiff of empty air.

"W-w-who are you?" His body trembled, sweat running down his face.

KRREEAK... KRREAAAAKKK... KRREAKKKKKK...!!

The sounds rip through the air, coming from the front of the car, heavy pounding of feet resonating into the dark with the sounds of cricket.

And before Dayo can react, he hears a growl, from the back of his neck.

Quickly, he spins but meets empty air again.

"Please .. I-i... I just want to be free..." Dayo cringes, his hands raised in surrender as his upper torso almost meets his thighs.

But whatever is doing that plans on persisting.

KRRAKKK...KRRAKKKKY...

Scraping sounds resounding again, this time, at the other side of the bonnet of the pickup. 

The sounds begin to distance from him but in such a way that it arcs and then seems to be coming towards him, again, from the front of him.

Dayo stands slowly, panic in his widened eyes, as three lines tear through the metal plating of vehicle, towards him, from the boot.

And then, everything comes to light.

GRAAARRRRRRRR....!!!

The nightmarish creature from before leaps at him, teeth bathed in greenish liquid as it brandishes it's thick slithering tongue in the air like a serpent, the creature's arms spread out to pounce, it's body airborne.

"Aaahhhhhhhhhhhh... My Father..." Dayo screamed, raising his arms to shield his face as drops of the greenish liquid drop on him

But however, the creature does not reach him. Instead, still airborne, it appears to be struggling against something.

Or rather, someone.

The person who had told him to come here, all along.

 for a night in the cemetery, Iyaiye.

(Yoruba: pronounced E-Yah- Ah- Yeh; means Mother of Life)

"Quiet there... do you want to break the generational curse or not?" The wizened face of the short woman in Adire(1) blouse and wrapper and a wooden staff chides him as the nightmarish creature begins to get sucked by pale yellow light into the wooden but inscription designed staff.

[Adire is a native type of material]

Why was Dayo here?

He had come when things began to look bad for him. That very moment when he had a deal to secure, a big one, something went wrong.

Usually, the norm was that the contractor or so would call him and warn him never to come near them at all.

And if he'd asked why, he was often told, the ghost of his father's house had come to warn them to back off from him.

It started as soon as October started. The month of Halloween as was called in foreign lands. But when a friend had listened to his cries, he had informed him that October in Nigeria, was the month the dead come to play.

And not only to play, but to repay every of the debts owned them.

And In the month of October, this was hen Spirits came out to order crates of beer to the cemetery to drink at night, often incurring mysterious debt to the cemetery management.

And often times, a delegation would be sent into the thickets at night, in order to appease those spirits and lay them all back to their graves again.

Tonight, according to Iyaiye who his friend directed him to, he was going to do so.

He was going to spend a night in the cemetery an hope he could invoke and appease the ghost who was runining him with the help of Iyàiye

"What are you waiting for? Has the thing between your legs suddenly shrunk? Where's the boldness you spoke to me of?" Iyaiye chides with a head turned back and her gnarled hands stamping the staff into the ground in haste, way ahead of him.

"It's almost Dawn. If we don't catch the ghost on time, it will be too late. Don't forget to carry the sacrifice too." 

"Y-yes Ma." Dayo whimpers, reaching into the pickup compartment and latching fingers on an earthenware of a covered bowl, bathed in red oil.

He picks it up and begins to walk, following Iyaiye.

She uses her staff to clear a pathway into the ancient graveyards area which are now coated with thickets of vegetations.

"Hahahahahahahaha..."

Dayo turns to his left, whimpering as the laughter rippled to his ears. 

As he did, his eyes focus on the bungalow building in the far left which has many dark outlines of trees about it. But that is not what his eye focuses on when his heart goes tippety tip.

Huffing, Dayo looks, seeing the ethereal see through figures that are seated on plastic chairs under a tree, laughing loudly with a crate of beer in their midst.

Seeing this, a drop of sweat drips down from his eyebrows just when one of the figures suddenly turn it's head to him.

BA-THUMP! His heart goes.

"AHHHHH " Dayo yells, staggering backwards as the face of the figure suddenly appears inches from his, suffocating him with the stale acrid smell of decaying matter and blood soaked soil with few roots sprouting from it's eyes which are crying blood.

"I am too young to die..." The figure says, it's face morphing into a helpless, crying little girl with a black hair bun adorned with large red ribbons.

"They killed me. I didn't deserve to die. Give me another chance, please." She cries, raising a hand to touch Dayo's body.

Dayo is spellbound, his heart searching out what could have killed this Innocent of a little girl. But on the outside, unbeknownst to him , the girl's fingers on his face begin to gradually burn in, her body fusing in, into him.

As that happens, a cloud drifts across, casting a shadow on the Earth. The wind swirls, picking dirt and stones, the crickets and frogs suddenly go silent, acknowledging the operation going on as it is time for the dead to play.

Grotesque forms appear all about, throwing their arms up in blood curdling excitement, revealing hideous grins of mangled and blood stained dentition. 

Dayo begins to gasp for breath, a sensation of being sucked into something else settles in just as his eyes widen.

Out of dread and instincts, he feels his face and notes it has somewhat grown long as if stretching into the girl's face before him.

"T-thank You... It's being so long I fed." The girlish voice resounds in his head as Dayo feels his will slipping away, his connection to life gradually cutting off.

"Dayo." A voice calls to him but Dayo's head is fuzzy and heavy because he is losing control of himself already. He begins to fall, backwards and downwards, slowly, the earthenware pot of sacrifice falling down into smithereens while the ghost girl stretches down over him till he can no longer see her face.

His face is covered with white Misty substance and the sounds of teeth chewing on something resounds continuously at the back of his was sending pangs and pangs of headache into him, numbness settling in.

Now, that his head is submerged in the ghoul's head, he faintly can see, through barely opened heavy eyelids that the girl's body is whitish, like plumes of smoke in humanoid form that expand and stretch continuously with each inch his body gets closer to the ground.

"Dayo... Do you want to die here? Focus on the journey or they will steal your body."

Iyaiye's voice erupted and immediately, everything vanished.

He is on knees on the ground, the pot of sacrifice broken, revealing the spilled concoction on the sand. Startled, he flicks his eyes open and looks to the bungalow house but...

It is merely an empty house with empty chairs around the empty crate and leaves falling all about.

"Ewo!(2) The Sacrifice is broken. The ghost has come to break it." Iyaiye says with a surprised croak, noting the pot.

[Meaning Abomination]

And with a sudden jerk of her staff round in the air, her eyes widen.

"Dayo, this is not good. We have to run. They are coming... The one we speak came to break the sacrifice, now all the dead can come to play with us. Run!"

"Run!" Was the last word Dayo heard as Iyaiye, old and little as she was, flew across the cemetery to the gates, running.

"What??" Dayo trembled, trying to pick himself up when suddenly, every shadow about him suddenly lengthened, spawning towards him while the black owl flapped it's wings, it's head turning slowly in 180°.

Dayo slumped, his heart unable to take any more.

.