Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 63

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Asher was already on his way.

The spot where they were supposed to meet up wasn’t that far from home.

According to Rick, they could trek to the cemetery since it wasn’t that far to begin with.

Asher didn’t know the definition of not that far in Rick’s dictionary.

But he hoped it meant that the place was at least somewhat close by.

Taking a night bus, he managed to reach the meet-up location without any trouble whatsoever.

For some reason, seeing humans walking around at night irked him a little.

He didn’t know why, but something about seeing these people going about their nights as normally as possible felt quite wrong to him.

Even their meet-up point wasn’t as deserted as he had expected it to be.

He could still see a few people walking around normally, completely ignoring the boys.

Asher pulled his baseball cap further down over his face, keeping his head hung low just in case anybody recognised him.

A short distance away, under a tree, Rick could be seen with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

Striding toward him, Asher calmly tapped his friend’s shoulder with a grin on his face.

Rick turned around with a wide smile.

"Oh? You made it. Thought you would take longer."

Asher shrugged and pulled out his phone to check the time.

It was already ten minutes after nine.

"Come on, we need to get going," Asher urged as he glanced around.

Rick lifted a brow.

"Why? For maximum effect, the whole place needs to be dark."

Asher frowned.

"It’s a cemetery, dumbass. It will always be dark. It’s already nighttime. I don’t want to stay out too late, otherwise Jayden would get worried."

Rick thought about it for a few seconds before nodding in agreement.

"That’s true. Come on, let’s go."

And with that, the boys began walking away with their hands stuffed inside their pockets.

Since Rick said the distance was walkable, Asher decided to believe him.

They walked side by side, their heads slightly hung low as they made their way through the streets.

"So... what do you expect the new city you’re moving to in less than two months to be like?" Rick asked with a small smile.

Asher shrugged nonchalantly.

"Probably a nice place with good people and food, I guess."

Rick lifted a brow.

"You sound like you won’t miss me," the boy said with a chuckle tinged with a bit of sadness.

"Of course, I will!" Asher blurted out.

Then he blinked.

His hand slowly moved to his chin.

"Uh... haven’t we had this discussion before?"

Rick lifted a brow.

"Huh? When did we?"

Asher thought for a few seconds as he halted his steps.

He scratched his chin a few times.

"I don’t know. I feel like we have had this discussion before. But where? And when?" he muttered, his brows knitting as he fell into deep thought.

He tried as hard as possible to recall something.

Anything.

But nothing came to mind.

In fact, his entire mind was blank.

There wasn’t even a fragment of a memory flashing through his mind like it usually did.

’Uh... when did fragments of memories start flashing through my mind?’

"Uh, bro... we need to get moving. You must be hallucinating," Rick spoke urgently as he glanced around the place.

Asher thought about it for a few seconds.

"Yeah, I think I am."

He shrugged and began moving again.

Soon, they broke away from the streets filled with people and illuminated by streetlights.

They eventually reached a location where a meadow of grass stretched as far as the eyes could see.

It was almost like they had left the city entirely and somehow transitioned into a village.

’Uh... I don’t recall this location.’

Asher mused inwardly.

But even so, he kept moving.

The boys continued walking through the grass, listening to the sounds of crickets chirping all around them.

The further they walked, the quieter the world behind them seemed to become.

There was a narrow path free of grass, and the two couldn’t walk side by side along it.

Hence, Rick stayed in front while Asher trailed behind him.

The chirping sounds grew louder and louder the deeper they went.

Flashing their lights forward, they could see a twisted gate barring the end of the path.

"We are almost there," Rick whispered to Asher, who simply shrugged calmly.

Even as Rick spoke, there was a slight stutter in his voice, indicating that the eerie situation was beginning to get to him.

Asher stared at his back for a few moments before lifting his gaze toward the gate in the distance.

"Remind me; how did you find out about this place again?"

"I heard rumours about the place. People say ghosts roam around here, so I thought we could check it out together to see if it’s true. And if it is, hopefully I can finally get a scare outta you."

"..."

"I see..." Asher muttered silently.

Something was gnawing at the back of his mind the deeper they went.

He could sense a certain wrongness in the air, but he didn’t know what it was.

It felt... familiar.

Yet he couldn’t pinpoint where he had sensed it before.

Hence, he decided to trust Rick and kept moving until they finally stood before the gate.

The gate was locked.

Thick chains were wrapped tightly around it.

’Huh? Why is it so securely locked? And if it is, how did people get in?’

Looking at Rick for a moment, he decided to ask the question bothering him.

"How do we get in?"

Rick turned to face him with a shaky smile.

Truth be told, he was scared out of his wits even without entering the place.

But the only reason he hadn’t soiled his pants yet was because of Asher’s presence.

Not like his friend could save them if there truly were ghosts inside.

Still, his determination to see Asher spooked for the first time—and even get it on recording to post in their class group—was stronger.

So, he put on a brave face.

Pointing his flashlight toward a nearby wall, he replied:

"We sneak in."

’Figured,’ Asher sighed inwardly.

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