Scary Story Chapter 2

Up in the night tonight - I just can't force myself to go to bed.
I realized after everyone turned in and left me alone, that I have that test at the hospital tomorrow, and I'm feeling a bit edgy about it, I guess.

I started this scary story just as a lark the other day, with no intentions of going any further, but my sister wants a second chapter - so, as per her request (and since I need something to do) - ta da!

Chapter 2

Brent, Charlene, and the rest of the group drove back to the cemetery, leaving a cloud of dust boiling up on the dirt road behind them.
Each member of the group scanned the scenery through the windows as best they could in the dim light, in case Tina had attempted to walk the long road back to town. They careened through the gate, and stopped near the spot where the car had been parked earlier.

In one swift movement, they all piled out of the car.

"Hold on, you guys - we need a plan so we don't all end up getting lost!" Mike chimed up, feeling guilty for his part in the calamity.
The group of friends circled around him.
"Let's team up in pairs, and spread out so we can cover more area," he added.

"I've got some flashlights in the trunk," Brent said, as he walked to the back of the car to retrieve them.

"What? You had flashlights all along, and yet you left us here in the dark? You really are a jerk Brent!" Cindy scolded.

Brent and his friends grew quiet, the seriousness of the situation taking all the humor out of them.

Mike passed out the flash lights, and started dividing them into groups...
"Oh, no you don't" - Charlene stopped him short, we will divide boy/girl, boy/girl - we're not giving you a chance to ditch us again!"

"Aw, come on, you guys," Derek complained, "give us some credit - we're not stupid enough to do that again. This is not a game anymore."

"OK, well, just the same..." Charlene added, a little less abruptly.

Armed with flashlights, and buddies chosen, they fanned out to search the cemetery.
They covered the small area in a short time, and bewildered, gathered back at the car to decide what to do next.

"Maybe she walked out through those fields out of sight of our lights," Brent offered, "Let's make some noise - maybe we'd have a better chance of her hearing us."

He leaned inside the car door, and honked the horn repeatedly. The rest of the group yelled and called out to her as they took a second sweep of the area.

"What's that?" Mike asked, shining his light on the ground just off the path.

"It looks like footprints - maybe some kind of ...dog?" Cindy observed.

"If that's a dog, I'm a munchkin!" Mike gulped.

"Look, there are more prints over here," he said, following the trail of prints.
He swallowed hard as the footprints merged with a set of small human prints. It looks like there might have been a scuffle here," he noticed, seeing that the tracks became numerous and smudged as they led past the edge of an open grave.

As he shone his light around, something inside the grave caught his eye. He stooped, and looked more carefully.
Both he and Cindy gasped - "It's Tina's shoe!"
They called out to the others in the group. "You guys, come over here - we found something!"

As the rest of the group trickled over, Mike gingerly jumped down into the hole and retrieved the shoe.

"Yup, that's hers alright - I went with her to buy these just the other day," Cindy said, looking gravely at Mike, she added - "This can't be good, can it?"
Mike turned away quickly to hide the sense of dread that was building inside, fearing that Cindy had hit the nail on the head.

As the others joined them, they showed them what they had found.
"Shine your lights all around here, you guys - let's see if we can find which direction she went." They walked slowly and deliberately, so as not to disturb any existing footprints, and combined the beams from their flashlights to make the light more intense.
They walked down the path a bit, when Derek pointed - "Look, it looks like something is being dragged here." They all looked at the spot Derek had directed them to, the blood draining from each face.