Brian Keene - Ghoul

Despite the morning ' s bad start, they were surprised to find themselves having fun. Then a bulky state trooper opened the trunk and the fun stopped. Pat Kemp's halfliquefied remains splashed out onto the ground, splattering across the trooper's boots. The man' s face turned white. Everyone else scrambled backward. The stench was revolting.

Doug screamed, and almost fainted. Timmy bit his thumb to keep from vomiting again. This was their hero. The cool older kid who was always willing to stop and talk to them, who treated them like little brothers, gave them advice on girls and bullies and turned them on to good music. The guy they ' d all wanted to be when they reached high school. The cool kid who smoked and drank and had the fastest car in town and was dating a fox like Karen Moore that cool kid was now a waxy, congealing, rancid stew of tissue and bone and squirming maggots.

A state police detective led the boys out of the woods, back to the edge of the cornfield, right next to the cemetery, where Timmy' s mother and the Moores had been interviewed by another officer while they were waiting.

The farmer, Luke Jones, had also arrived after being contacted by the officers when it was determined that the car was on his property. There was no sign of Barry or his father. Timmy noticed the sad, fearful look in Katie's eyes, and wanted to talk to her, wanted to tell her that it was only her sister's boyfriend' s body that had been found, and maybe Karen was still alive, but before he could, the detective asked Elizabeth ' s permission to question the boys, then took them aside and did so, one at a time. When they were finished, the detective took them back over to the other adults and told them they were free to go. He asked Timmy 's mother if she' d be willing to let them contact her son later if they had any more questions, and she agreed. While they were talking, Timmy glanced over at the Moores again. Both Reverend Moore and his wife, Sylvia, were crying. She clung to her husband, his shirt balled up in her fists, her black mascara staining the material. Great, uncontrollable sobs racked her body. Reverend Moore ' s tears were more controlled, but no less heartbreaking. He looked like he 'd aged ten years in the last three weeks. Katie stood beside them, alone, frightened, and seemingly forgotten.

"I don't feel so good," Doug said, clutching his stomach. "When they opened the trunk

…"

Elizabeth put her arm around the shaken youth. "I'll take you home, sweetheart. Can you make it back to our house?"

Doug nodded. "Yes, Mrs.

Graco I think so. But maybe I could stay at your house for a little bit longer? Maybe spend the night again."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Doug. We'd love to have you stay, but I' m sure your mother is already worried about you. And we need to tell her about what happened. She

'll need to contact the detective. He gave me a business card to give to her."

"Please, Mrs. Graco? Pretty please? Just one more night?" Timmy noticed the desperate pleading in his voice, but his mother did not.

"I'm sorry, Doug, but I just don't think you'd better tonight." He can't go home, Timmy felt like shouting. Don't you understand, Mom? What' s waiting for him at home is ten times worse than what we found in the woods. But she was already offering her condolences and prayers to the distraught Moores. The adults exchanged hugs, and once again, Timmy' s eyes were drawn to Katie. Summoning up his courage, he smiled at her. She smiled back. Sadly. A tow truck from Old Forge service station arrived, and Mr. Jones got into an argument with the driver about the man tearing up his cornfield, until one of the officers intervened.

Elizabeth returned to the boys. "You guys ready to go home?"

"Mom," Timmy lowered his voice to a whisper. "Maybe I should stay here and talk to Katie for a little bit. You know, cheer her up?"

Elizabeth glanced over at the girl, then back at her son. She smiled knowingly.

"I think that's a very nice gesture, Timmy. As long as Doug doesn't mind?"

"No." Doug spoke with the air of a condemned man who knows he can't escape his fate and is resigned to it. "I guess not."

Elizabeth turned to leave. Timmy quickly pulled Doug aside.

"If you need meif anything starts to happencall our house. I'll come up right away."

"You can't. Your dad said you weren't supposed to go that far by yourself. Your curfew"

"Screw my curfew. This is more important. If I have to, I'll sneak out."

"Doug," Elizabeth called, "you ready to go, hon?"

"Coming, Mrs. Graco."

Timmy grabbed his arm. "Remember. If you need me, I'll be there."

"I will." He tried to smile, but it came off as a grimace. His eyes were tired and haunted. "Gotta go. Your mom's waiting."

"See you later, man."

"Not if I see you first."

They both chuckled, and then Doug ran to catch up with Elizabeth. Timmy turned back to Katie. He willed himself to walk over to her. Slowly, his feet obeyed.

"Hey." He tried to say more, but his tongue suddenly felt like cement.

"Hey."

"I'm, uh… I'm sorry about… well, you know."

"They said there's no sign of my sister. She might have been abducted. Like in the movies. She might be…"

Katie trailed off, fighting back tears.

Timmy nodded, unsure of how to respond.

A white news van arrived, and rolled across the field. Luke Jones shook his fist at them and ran toward the vehicle. His cornfield was beginning to resemble a parking lot. Katie moved closer to Timmy. "Thank you for what you did today." He felt his cheeks begin to burn. "Oh, well… I didn't do anything, really. All we did was tell our parents."

"You found Pat's car. That might help the police find Karen. And it's not just that. You were nice to me at your grandfather' s funeral. Even though you were sad, you still made time for me."

Timmy's voice betrayed him. He opened his mouth to thank her, and "Would you like to go for a walk?" came tumbling out instead.

Katie smiled, and this time, it was genuine. Some of her sadness seemed to lift.

"I'd love to go for a walk. That would be fun."

"Cool."

They heard voices, raised in anger. Luke Jones shoved the cameraman. The cameraman pushed back. Both men were cursing. A township officer ran to break it up, shouting at them to knock it off or he 'd arrest them both.

Katie tugged on her mother's sleeve and asked for permission to go for a walk. Sylvia Moore turned to her husband, seeking his approval as well.

"Sure," Reverend Moore told them. He looked over at the arguing men and frowned at their language in disapproval. "Go ahead. That might be for the best. They 're getting ready to tow the car out. I'll come get you when we're ready to go, so don't stray too far." Katie and Timmy strolled off together, walking between the tombstones. He glanced around for Clark Smeltzer, worried that he might spot them, and then decided it didn 't matter. Let him try to keep them out of the cemetery with their parents and all the cops around. Timmy noticed that many more of the graves had now sunk the way his grandfather' s grave had done. It was almost as if a giant groundhog had burrowed beneath the graveyard, tunneling off in every direction. He wondered just how big the cavern beneath the cemetery actually was. He felt a pang of regret. With everything that had happened, he'd probably never get a chance to explore it now. He started thinking about Tom Sawyer again, and how Becky and Tom had gotten lost in the cave. He glanced over at Katie.

She smiled. Her teeth were white and perfect.

He smiled back.

And when she reached out and touched his hand, he thought he might die. His feet stumbled, his heart pounded, and he began to sweat. He was speechlessand the feeling got worse when her fingers wrapped around his and squeezed. She did not let go, and his discomfort grew.