Chapter Text
“Just a minute, I forgot something in Ms Milichuck’s class,” Richie said as they stepped out of their video game club classroom.
“We’ll come with you,” Pete said. Steph sighed, but she didn’t say anything.
“Yeah,” Ruth said, “You’re my ride home,” She added with a giggle.
“Okay,” Richie said, leading them further into the school.
“What’d you forget anyway?” Steph asked as they walked down the hall.
“Oh, I left my laptop charging in there. I need it for my homework tonight,” Richie said. Steph nodded.
It took a good moment of walking, but eventually they made it to the classroom. With the door being shut, Richie was worried that it’d be locked, but it wasn’t. He managed to get inside, pack up his laptop and charger, and get out in mere minutes.
“Okay, let’s go,” Richie said, gripping at his backpack straps.
Steph was the one to lead them out of the school. Well, to the doors at least. When they got there, they pushed on the bar but it didn’t move.
“That’s weird,” Pete said, “These doors don’t lock on the inside.”
“Hm,” Steph hummed before pressing against the doors again. “C’mon, we can take the back doors.”
So they headed toward the back doors. As they walked, it got colder.
“Did it just get ten degrees colder in here?” Ruth asked, rubbing her biceps with her hands.
“Weird,” Steph said, confused.
“Feels like more than ten degrees,” Pete said, able to see his breath.
Suddenly, down the hall, they could see a shadowy figure.
“Who’s that?” Richie prompted.
“Probably a teacher,” Steph said, “They’ll have a key and we can get out of here,” She said, stepping in their direction.
“Sure,” Pete said, cautious, following her direction.
In the dark of the halls, they still couldn’t see who was there. Not until Steph tapped their shoulder.
“Ah!” They shouted, turning around and slapping her hand away, revealing it was Max Jagerman. “Oh, Steph, it’s just you,” He said with a laugh. “And… nerds,” He said, eyeing the other three.
“Yep, that’s us,” Richie muttered flatly.
“Hey, so you guys haven’t seen anyone else around here, right?” Max asked, eyes shifting around them.
“Just you,” Steph said, “Right, guys?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Pete said.
“As far as I know,” Richie agreed.
“Actually, I thought I saw someone else,” Ruth admitted. “I don’t know who, I actually didn’t recognise them.”
“What?” Max asked, “What, what, what did they look like?”
“I don’t know,” Ruth said, “Pale, like really pale, with curly brown hair. 80s clothes. Dirty looking,” Ruth said with a shrug.
“Haha, cool,” Max said nervously. “So how about we get the fuck out of here like right the fuck now?” Max asked, walking toward the back door.
“What are you even doing here?” Steph asked.
“Football practice,” Max said vaguely.
“Just you?” Richie asked before he could help it, though he wanted to immediately shut his mouth.
“I usually stay long,” Max said, “And I can’t go home all gross or my- I just had to shower, so that’s why I’m in here.” Max pushed on the door. “It’s not opening. Why are none of the doors opening?”
“Yeah, we were wondering that too,” Pete said, “We don’t actually know.”
“There’s gotta be a door that opens, right?” Max asked, moving the neighbouring door.
“Dude, why are you so panicked?” Steph asked with a light laugh, “Let’s just call the— Hm,” She hummed, looking at her phone.
“Hm?” Richie quoted, “What’s ‘hm’?” He asked.
“Well, my phone kind of has no service. But that’s not that weird, the school’s always been finicky about that,” Steph said, tucking her phone away. “Fine, so we have to spend the night; that’s no big deal. Someone will be here in the morning.”
“Someone’s probably already here,” Pete said, “We just have to find whatever teacher’s still in their classroom.”
“Good thinking,” Ruth said, “I think Mr Houstin usually sticks around, so he doesn’t have to take a bunch of woodshop projects home to grade,” She said.
“Right,” Steph said, “C’mon, he’ll have a key.”
“If you’re sure,” Max muttered, following the group of nerds.
The classroom was close by, but as they travelled it just got colder.
“Oh my god, it is freezing in here,” Max said, starting to button up his letterman jacket.
“It is,” Ruth agreed. “Guess Mr Houstin likes it cold,” She dismissed, “Though that does explain why it got so cold in the hallway.”
“It’s usually like this in here,” Steph said. “Since the beginning of the school year at least.”
“Well, he’s not in here,” Richie said, “Who do we try next?” The door slammed shut.
“Who did that?” Max rushed to ask.
The group erupted into each of them claiming they did not, leaving no one who did.
“Okay, if no one did that, then…” Max trailed off, interrupted almost by the sound of the buzzsaw starting.
“Okay, that’s…” Steph said with a nervous laugh, “That’s weird.” She flipped the switch to it but it didn’t shut off. She flipped it back and forth, hoping somehow it’d shut off.
Max’s body was shoved over by an invisible force.
“Guys!” He called, suddenly seeing a person. Just like Ruth had described, pale with brown curly hair and 80’s clothes. She neglected to mention the bloody cut across her stomach.
“Holy shit!” Pete called. The girl pulled Max up by his jacket, pulling him toward the running saw.
“Max!” Richie called. He looked around, finding a hammer. He swung it across her body and she dissipated into the air, the buzzsaw stopped running. Richie tossed the hammer into his wrong hand. “Are you okay?” He asked, pulling Max up off the floor.
“Yeah,” Max said, “I mean, I think I might piss myself out of fear, but I’m okay.” He looked down at the hammer in Richie’s hand. “How’d you know that’d work?”
“It’s stupid,” Richie said, “I-I’ll explain on the way to the cafeteria, we have to get out of here. Ruth, grab anything iron, we might need it.”
“Oh, I see,” Ruth said, with a giggle before grabbing another hammer as well. She found a wrench and gave it to Pete.
The door opened this time with a pull and they all rushed out.
“Okay, we’re on our way, how’d you know that’d work?” Steph asked as they sped.
“Well, it got colder as we got closer to that ghost,” Richie said, “And it just, it made me think… well, if I’m right, we need to get as much salt as we can. We can make a circle and stay in it for the night, I think that’s our only option.”
“Yeah, not unless her body’s still here,” Ruth said, “Not that any of us have a lighter or gasoline,” She said.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Ruth?” Steph asked.
“Supernatural!” Pete exclaimed, “You idiots are getting your information from fucking Supernatural?!”
“It got colder, the iron worked, the way she suddenly was tangible, it makes sense!” Richie exclaimed, “It’s worth a shot, Pete! Tell me you don’t want to try!”
“Fine!” Pete exclaimed. “Steph, Max, get in the middle of the room, we’ll surround you to keep you safe with our iron. Richie will go to the kitchen to get salt.”
“Sounds good,” Richie said.
“What, we’re gonna send a nerd in alone?” Max asked.
“What, you’d rather go?” Richie snapped as they ran into the cafeteria. The tables were folded up against the walls, leaving the room open.
“In the middle of the room, come on,” Pete said, taking Steph’s hand.
Pete led them to the centre of the room, where they stood on either side of Steph and Max to protect them from a potential ghost. Richie, as directed, ran into the kitchen to find their salt.
On the counter were a few large containers of salt, perfect and exactly what he was looking for.
He took them into his arms and ran out to his friends… and also Max.
“Okay, help me make a circle,” Richie said, handing Pete and Ruth a container of salt.
The three of them spread around the room and poured out their salt, forming a not-quite circle around the centre of the room.
“Okay, so now there’s salt on the floor,” Steph said, “What, exactly, is that supposed to do?” She asked incredulously.
“If I’m right,” Richie said, “Which, let’s be honest, I nearly always am, the ghost will be repelled by the salt and we’ll be safe. Once people arrive here in the morning, we’ll be safe to leave. And then we have to do research, figure out who the ghost is, then salt and burn her body.”
“What, we’re just gonna skip school to do that?” Ruth asked. Pete and Richie shot her a look. “No, okay, good point.”
Once they completed the circle, they stood in the centre, though a little more spread out than before.
“And what if this doesn’t work?” Max asked.
“Well, then we… die,” Richie said. “Simple.”
“Great,” Max muttered.
It wasn’t long before the ghost reappeared, the air getting thinner and colder. The ghost neared the circle, but didn’t seem to be able to cross. It was a moment before the ghost seemed to give up.
“Holy shit!” Steph exclaimed, “Your nerd logic worked!”
“I’m just as surprised as you are,” Pete admitted, though he didn’t put the wrench down.
“I knew it would work!” Richie exclaimed with a laugh, “Holy shit, I can’t believe that worked,” He added in deep fear, his voice dropping.
“Hey man, you did it,” Max said, punching him lightly in the arm.
“Welp,” Ruth said, setting her hammer down, “We should probably get some sleep.” She said, sitting down in the circle of salt. She quickly curled into a small ball, relaxing into near-sleep.
“I don’t know,” Steph said, “I’m still a little cold. Don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep.”
“ That’s the reason you won’t be able to sleep?” Max asked incredulously. Steph shrugged.
“I’ll keep you warm,” Pete said, putting his arm around her in what must’ve been an adrenaline-induced moment of no fear. Steph smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.
Eventually, Steph and Pete found themselves cuddling on the floor next to Ruth, leaving Richie and Max the only ones standing.
Richie stretched out his arms and took a breath before sitting down, pressing his knees to his chest. Max joined him on the floor.
“Thanks for like,” Max said, “Saving my life back there. That was probably the most terrifying thing I’ve ever been through, and you just… you acted. It was awesome.”
“Oh,” Richie said, “Thanks, I guess?”
“Something wrong?”
“I just, I didn’t expect that. From you. Specifically,” Richie said. He rested his head on his knees and for a second, in the dim light, Max almost thought he looked… no. He couldn’t be cute , he was a nerd. A boy nerd. That was the worst kind.
“Right,” Max said. “I’m sorry about all that. You’re… a lot cooler than I thought.” Richie smiled and— wow, maybe Max was wrong because Richie was looking pretty damn cute right now— let out a gentle laugh.
“Thanks,” He said. “And you’re a lot more of a lame-ass than I thought. Still gonna piss your pants?” He teased. When Max moved slightly, Richie flinched. “Please don’t hit me, I was just messing around!” He said, squeezing his eyes shut and tensing his body. Max, instead, buried his hand into Richie’s hair. Richie’s eyes shot open in surprise, but decided not to spit that he almost never let anyone touch his hair. And besides, it felt kind of nice.
They fell asleep against each other that night, a wonder that they didn’t fall out of the circle.
The group only began to wake up when the lights flipped on around six am. A janitor.
“Ugh, are you kidding me?” The janitor said. “Thanks for the extra work, rotten kids,” He muttered, beginning to sweep up the salt.
“Hm,” Pete hummed, “It’s morning,” He muttered, only half-awake. “Whoa!” He exclaimed. He nudged Steph gently until she was up and motioned to where Richie and Max were pressed against each other.
“Holy shit,” Steph muttered with a laugh. She took a breath. “Let’s wake them up.”
“Haha, fat chance,” Pete said, “You want to try to wake up Richie, feel free; I’ll wake up Ruth, thanks.”
Steph rolled her eyes, but agreed, starting to wake up Max and Richie. Max woke up relatively easily, but Richie didn’t want to wake up.
“Richie, c’mon!” Steph said, annoyed, shaking him.
“No,” He grumbled, clinging further onto Max.
“Richie!” Richie spared her a glance for a second, just to slap her in the face. Max barely stifled his laugh, arms still wrapped around Richie, like he didn’t want him to wake up either. “Wake up!” She pulled his hair. Richie’s eyes shot open and he slapped her hand away.
“Don’t touch my hair,” He said, easily the only coherent thing he said all morning.
“There we go,” She said, crossing her arms. Richie pouted, but stood up anyway.
“We should put these tools back,” He said, picking his hammer off the floor.
“Like hell I’m going back in that classroom,” Max said. Richie held out his hand, which Max took, and helped pull him up.
“Understandable,” Richie said. “I won’t make you go back. Do you have a ride home?” He asked. Max laughed nervously.
“Nah,” He said, “And if I was home during a school day anyway, my dad would fuckin kill me.”
“That’s fine,” Richie said, “You can come to my place. Uncle Paul won’t care that we’re home, especially after I didn’t come home last night. We can research, uh.” He eyed the janitor. “Y’know,” He said.
Richie drove them to his house, followed by Steph and Pete in Steph’s car.
Richie could hear Paul from the other room when he entered.
“I can’t come in today, my nephew is missing,” He said. “Yeah, the one I live with… I don’t know, I stayed up all night hoping he’d come back and he didn’t. I’m gonna go to the cops today… okay, thanks.”
“Uncle Paul?” Richie called. Quickly, Paul rushed out of the kitchen into the living room, where Richie and his acquaintances were.
“Richie!” Paul exclaimed, pulling Richie into his arms. “Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? I tried calling you over a dozen times, you’re supposed to tell me when you’re going to stay out!”
“Sorry, Uncle Paul,” Richie said, hugging back. Paul gave him one last squeeze before letting go.
“Is Pete with you? Ted was worried too,” Paul said.
“Yeah, he’s out in the car,” Richie said. “You know, you really should go into work today, I’m here now.”
“What?” Paul asked, “No, I… maybe. I’ll at least take a half day, I already called in. Where have you been?”
“We got locked in the school,” Richie said. “So we stayed there for the night.”
“Seriously?” Paul asked, “I thought your video game club was chaperoned.”
“It’s supposed to be, but Mr Matteson wasn’t in today,” Ruth said, “So we just did it ourselves.”
“I don’t think that’s supposed to be allowed,” Paul sighed. “Whatever. You’re home now. That’s all that matters. Do you want something to eat?”
“I can have cereal,” Richie said humbly.
“Nonsense, I’ll make everyone pancakes. You didn’t eat dinner last night I’m guessing, unless you raided the kitchen.”
“We did not,” Richie said, even though it was technically a lie.
“Then it’s settled,” Paul said, “I’ll make everyone pancakes. When Pete gets in here, make sure he calls Ted, alright? He has a funny way of showing it, but I’m pretty sure Ted cares about Pete more than like… anything pretty much.”
“I’ll make sure,” Richie assured.
“Good,” Paul said before stepping back into the kitchen.
“I’ll get out my laptop and we can start searching about that death,” Richie said, lowering his voice ever so slightly so Paul couldn’t hear him from the kitchen.
“I’ll help,” Ruth said, pulling out her own laptop.
“What can I do?” Max asked.
“Just sit down, and relax, okay? You almost died yesterday,” Richie said, “And don’t touch anything,” He added, eyeing the many nerdy figurines lining the TV stand.
Pete and Steph entered, Pete already with his laptop out. Quickly they made their way to seats, with Pete on the couch next to the armrest and Steph sitting on the arm rest. Ruth was sitting in a chair adjacent to the couch, while Max sat next to Richie on the couch.
“We need to look into any death at Hatchetfield High, that’s where they’d be chained to. Probably in the 80s, based on her style,” Richie recalled.
“I’ve already been searching on my phone. There have been 13 deaths in the woodshop classroom alone in the past 35 years, and they all seem to be accidental deaths,” Pete said.
“Well, let’s look into those. It doesn’t have to be from the 80’s, it might’ve been like spirit day or something, we check thoroughly,” Richie demanded. Ruth and Pete nodded, already typing away on their laptops.
There was a moment of just silence, nothing but the sound of Paul’s music from the kitchen.
“So, yesterday, Pete said you got your information from Supernatural. What is that?” Max asked. Richie sighed, feeling embarrassed.
“It’s… a book series,” Richie confessed. “I read it when I was little— I absolutely should not have, it gave me nightmares— but I got Ruth into it when we met. And then they made a TV show based off of it. It’s actually wrapping up here pretty soon. They introduced some more characters, fleshed out Castiel some more, it’s really meta now, it even references the books existenting within the show. But it’s really weird, they made Carver Edlund this prophet named Chuck, and he’s actually- anyway, there’s a lot of ghosts in it.
“Ghosts are vengeful spirits that couldn’t move on to the afterlife. There’s signs that they’re there, usually the room gets colder, if you have an EMF reader, it’ll give high readings. There are ways to fight them, using iron and salt. Some folks would use shotguns and fill the shells with rock salt. Use that.”
“Hm,” Max hummed. “Cool.”
“I never understood why they didn’t use water guns,” Ruth said, “Salt water, holy water, borax water; could’ve fought a lot of folks using water guns.”
“Yeah, that confused all of us, Ruth,” Pete said.
“I think I got a hit,” Richie said. Max leaned into what should’ve been his personal space to look at the laptop screen. “Uh, um, Annie Wagner. Died 1987 in an accident with the buzzsaw. Looks like she was the first one, which means the rest were probably her fault.”
“So, what is it, what’s the obstacle? She cremated?” Ruth asked. “Are we going to have to find a lock of her hair in a bible on a bus?” Richie scoffed.
“It was in his shoe, idiot,” He said. “And no, she was buried…” Richie scrolled on his laptop and Max grimaced. “In Clivesdale,” He finished.
“God, fuck Clivesdale,” Max muttered.
“It’s fine, we’ll head out first thing,” Richie said.
“Okay, pancakes are ready!” Paul said, walking into the living room.
“After pancakes,” Richie said.
“Pete, did you call Ted?” Paul asked.
“Shit!” Pete exclaimed, scrambling for his phone.
“Okay, we need shovels,” Richie said, unlocking the tool shed out back.
“What for?” Max asked.
“Um, she’s buried?” Richie responded, “How else are we going to get to her?”
“Wait, isn’t that like… illegal?” Max asked.
“You’re afraid of breaking the law now?” Steph asked.
“In broad daylight!” Max argued. Richie shook his head.
“It’ll be after 5 by the time we get there,” He said, “Sun will have gone down. Not broad daylight.”
“Gonna make it so much fun finding her grave,” Pete muttered.
“We have flashlights; don’t be so dramatic, Pete,” Richie said. He tossed a flashlight at Pete, who fumbled to catch it.
Richie grabbed a couple of shovels, which he honestly didn’t even know why they had, before escorting everyone back out of the shed.
“Alright, shovels,” Richie said, opening his trunk to put the shovels inside. “We need salt, matches… anything else?”
“Gasoline?” Ruth asked.
“Hm,” Richie considered. “No, we’ll try to burn it without. If we fail, we can get some gasoline then. But we should bring our gas tank,” He said.
“This is crazy,” Max muttered to himself.
“Only slightly,” Steph agreed.
“We don't have much of another choice,” Richie said. “It's only a matter of time before Anne claims her next victim; she tried to kill Max last night.”
“You're right, but… I don't know, why us?”
“Because we know what to do,” Richie said.
“No, you know what to do,” Steph said.
“Steph, if you don't want to come, you don't have to,” Pete said, his voice slightly colder than usual.
“No, I… I'll come,” Steph said, a little ashamed of herself now.
“Good,” Richie said. “I'm going to run inside and get the matches and salt, you guys go ahead and get in the cars.” He tossed Ruth the keys to start the heat in the car.
“Heh, I'm not riding with Richie,” Ruth said, tossing the keys to Max. “I'm going with these two,” She said, pointing to Pete and Steph. She did a peace sign as a sign off before getting in the car.
Pete and Steph exchanged looks before getting into Steph's car. Max hesitated before climbing into the passenger seat of Richie's car and starting the vehicle.
He awkwardly tapped his thighs with his hands as he waited for Richie to return.
It took a couple minutes, but Richie returned with his backpack. Presumably, that's where the salt and matches were.
“Ugh, of course Ruth decided to tag along with them,” Richie said, tossing his backpack into the back seat.
“What do you mean?” Max asked.
“She's probably hoping to hear something,” Richie said with a shrug. He reached to start his car before realising it'd already been started. “It's whatever. Just don't be a dick or I'm kicking you out. This is my car,” Richie said.
“You got it,” Max said, slouching back into his seat.
Max mostly dozed off on the drive, but eventually his phone started buzzing violently, indicating a phone call. It jerked him awake and he picked up.
“What?” He asked.
“Hey, Max!” It was Jason. “Playing hooky today?”
“Oh,” Max said. “Yeah, sorta,” He barely didn't mumble, glancing over at Richie.
“Why didn't you invite us?” Kyle called into the phone.
“Cuz I figured you assholes wouldn't want to go to Clivesdale,” Max said with a laugh, leaving out the part where he was road tripping with a nerd.
“Ew, why are you going to Clivesdale?” Jason asked, and frankly Max wasn't prepared to answer that.
“Uhhh,” Max hesitated. “Uhhh,” He continued.
“Tell them your dad's forcing you to go,” Richie said.
“Can't, dad hates Clivesdale more than the entire school combined,” Max said, pulling his phone away from his face.
“Say Steph's dragging you there to check out a supposedly haunted location,” Richie excused. Max put the phone back to his face.
“Steph's dragging me to a haunted place,” Max said. He could almost hear their confused faces.
“But Max, you can barely stand horror movies,” Kyle said.
“Why do you think she's dragging me,” Max said with a nervous laugh.
“So you're with Steph,” Jason said. “Put her on the phone.”
“She's in the other car,” Max immediately said, which was true.
“Max, your car is still here. Whose car are you driving?” Jason asked.
“Uhh,” Max hesitated, not even knowing where to start. After all, he wasn't even the one driving. “Oh, yknow, we're almost there, gotta go, bye!” Max hung up. Like a coward.
“Wow,” Richie said. “That was pathetic. What'd they ask to warrant that response?” Richie asked.
“Whose car I was driving,” Max answered, sounding miserable.
“Oh, and you couldn't say mine because then they'd think you, yknow, stole my car.”
“Right,” Max said. “And I couldn't dodge the question by saying I wasn't driving because they'd asked who's driving.”
“Gotcha,” Richie nodded.
There was a pause as Richie made a turn.
“Are you sure this is the right thing to do?” Max asked. Richie took a breath that sounded like a sigh.
“In Supernatural, ghosts are always shown being put to rest. It looks kind of painful, because their spirits burn up, and they aren't happy about it because in the moment they're always seeking vengeance for something or other. But in the end, it's the right choice because you're sending them to their true afterlife. Sure, if it's hell you feel bad, but it might not be. And this way there aren't more people dying. Yes, I think this is the right thing to do,” Richie explained. Max turns his phone in his hands.
“Okay,” He said. Richie was probably right. He seemed to know a lot, about this and other things. Max was wrong about most things, so his doubts were probably unwarranted.
Richie looked so concentrated when he was driving, it was interesting. It was like he was so focused on driving, which Max couldn’t really relate to. He almost looked angry, with his brows furrowed and his lips tightened. Not that Max was looking at his lips.
If Max was staring at Richie for the remainder of the ride, it was because his shifting concentration face was interesting and entertaining to look at.
Soon enough they arrived at the graveyard, and Richie was right, the sun was mostly down. And they’d have to find her grave anyway.
Richie and Max arrived first, with Steph, Pete and Ruth having followed.
“Okay, we’re here,” Richie said, unbuckling. He looked at Max expectedly when he didn’t do the same. “Max?”
“Hm?” Max hummed, staring at Richie. “Right,” He said, snapping out of his stupor. “Right, sorry. Spaced out there.” He unbuckled and the pair exited the vehicle.
“We can search without the supplies, and then come back for them once we’ve found the right gravestone,” Richie said, walking into the graveyard. Max, on the other hand, felt uneasy. But, not wanting to be left behind or alone in a cemetery, he quickly caught up with Richie.
“Hey, so,” Max said, joining his side, “What are the chances we run into a ghost here? It is a graveyard.”
“Like,” Richie thought, ”Maybe 5%, being generous. The chances of someone dying at a cemetery are exponentially low— I doubt you’d even be able to find numbers on the subject.”
“Okay,” Max said, “But it’s a graveyard. There are dead bodies here,” He said. Richie sighed and rolled his eyes, stopping.
“If everything else we’ve learned is true, then it stands to reason that ghosts can only haunt the building or premises that they died in or on. Some can possess folks and walk off those premises, but once they stop possessing that body, they’re bungeed back to their death site.” Richie looked around, finding that the rest of their little group were still in the car. He hesitated, but put his hand on Max’s arm. “Relax,” He said, “You won’t get hurt here,” He said. He put his hand down and started walking again. “Not by a ghost, at least.”
It wasn’t long before Steph, Pete and Ruth joined Richie and Max in the search for Annie Wagner’s gravestone. It was, however, a while before it was found. Maybe an hour of each of them searching separate columns and rows, barring Max who stayed by Richie’s side the entire time.
It was Ruth who found it, getting everyone’s attention loudly when she had.
“Guys, I found her!” She called, waving her arms frantically. She flinched when everyone started shining their flashlights in her direction. Steph, Pete, Max and Richie joined her soon enough to confirm that it was, indeed, Annie Wagner’s gravestone.
“Okay, Max, come help me get the shovels,” Richie said, leading Max away from the party. Max followed silently.
Richie grabbed his backpack from the backseat and unlocked the trunk to retrieve the shovels.
“You’re sure this isn’t gonna like… curse us, or something?” Max asked as he shut the trunk.
“Winchesters didn’t get cursed from it,” Richie said, as if that were a real answer. “We’ll be alright, Max,” He assured. Max didn’t feel confident that was true, but something about Richie made him want to believe it.
They made their way back to the burial site and began taking turns shovelling out the grave.
It took hours. Paul was probably getting worried again, hours. The stars were out, beautifully shining hours. The moon reached the apex of the sky hours.
They switched maybe every half hour, cycling between the five of them. They celebrated when they finally hit the coffin, though tiredly.
“Holy shit, I can’t believe we did it,” Steph said, with more relief than disbelief. She wasn’t even the one shovelling at that point.
“Okay, everyone out,” Richie said. He helped Ruth and Max out of the grave before pulling the top open. Everyone but Richie winced at the bones left behind, along with the mop of dark hair, spot-lighted by their flashlights.
Richie pulled the salt out of his backpack and scattered it over her body. He lit a match and dropped it inside, watching as the whole thing engulfed in flames.
“There,” Richie said, “It’s over now.”
The heat was nice in the cold October air, but soon it started smelling like burning hair. Less than pleasant. They made awkward small talk as the fire burned and eventually started to die down.
Richie used a shovel to shut the lid of the coffin and looked over at the massive pile of dirt they’d accumulated.
“Now for the fun part,” He said, not being able to tell if he was being sarcastic.
The group worked together to push the dirt into the grave and carefully replace the grass they’d set aside specifically for this.
“Okay,” Richie said, “Time to go home.” Steph groaned as she stretched, and Ruth pegged Pete’s face as pink in the moonlight, shining a flashlight in his face to prove her theory, though it was quickly shoved away.
“I’m wiped,” She said.
“I can drive, if you want,” Pete offered, “Then you can sleep on the way home.”
“Really?” Steph asked. Pete shrugged.
“Sure,” He said.
“That sounds great,” Steph said with a smile. Richie rolled his eyes as they started walking off with Ruth.
“I can drive,” Max said, “For you, I mean. If you want. So you can sleep and stuff. I know your little nerd body probably isn’t used to exerting itself this much,” He joked.
“Thanks,” Richie said, “But I’ll be fine. I don’t want you crashing my car and not getting an insurance claim out of it because you’re not covered,” He said.
“Oh, so you’re not sore?” Max teased.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m burning right now. But I’d rather drive than have you do it.” He lightly shoved Max in the arm before wincing at his own physical exertion.
“Whatever,” Max said, shoving him back.
“One thing though,” Richie said, “I usually drive with music on,” He confessed.
“What?” Max asked, “Then why didn’t you have music on the way down here?”
“Well, you’ll definitely find my music weird,” Richie said. He tossed Max a shovel and started back toward the car. “But you know what they say. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.” Max stared after him for a second before starting to catch up.
“Who the hell says that?”