The Mausoleum

Others Stories | Jun 28, 2016 | 6 min read
32 Votes, average: 4 out of 5
Others Stories

The Mausoleum

Ryan slowly opened one eye and then the other. His head was somewhat fuzzy. Darkness all around him. A shiver ran down his body. He was lying flat face down on a hard, cold surface. His left side lay against what he believed was a stone wall. A strong musty smell filled his nostrils. He wondered where he was, but better yet, he wondered how he got here. If only he could remember. He extended his right hand and felt around him.
His hand swept the area around him, but he felt nothing but dirt and a few dry leaves. Then his fingertip hit something. He reached as far as he could and pulled the object close to him. It was smooth, thin and short. He couldn't decipher what it was, so he pitched it away from him. As it hit a far wall, he heard the scampering of small claws on the floor and the unmistakable screeching of rats. His stomach heaved.
He struggled to his feet, but as he did a bolt of pain, much like a brain freeze when he sucked down a milkshake to fast, shot through his head. His knee's buckled. He grabbed his head with his hands and fell against the wall. He closed his eyes and held his breath until the blinding pain receded.
When he could stand again, he felt the wall with his hands and began to walk slowly forward, following the wall, feeling his way like a blind man, until he ran into the corner. He turned and walked about five feet when the wall gave way to a small alcove.
Feeling with his hands, he felt a small jutting lever. He immediately realized he had found the door. With a sigh of relief he pulled on the lever. Then he pushed and yanked and jerked. He couldn't budge it.
Disappointed he continued on around the wall. He had only gone about three steps when his foot struck something and he went down, feeling the burning sting as his head slid against the wall. Warm blood trickled down his face as he used his shirt wipe it from his face.
He struggled to his feet again, but this time his hand rubbed against his thigh and he felt a small object in his pocket. He plunged his hand down into his pocket and pulled out a small box of matches.
"Oh Yeah!" He cried out loud and then a memory came to him. He had been with Doc, Marty, and Sam. They were camping at Willow Lake, but he couldn't remember what happened after that. Then he had a thought.
"Doc, Marty? Can you hear me? Are you here? Sam!?" He shouted out. Silence except for the scratching of little claws. Then he remembered the matches.
He opened the box carefully and pulled out a match. He used his finger to feel for the rough side of the box and then he pulled the match head across it. The room instantly lit up. The only thing he saw before the match went out was that he was alone in a small block room with two large objects in the middle and then everything went dark again.
Then an idea came to him. He stripped off his shirt and his socks and wrapped them around the piece of wood that he had tripped over and made a torch. Not a very good one, but it would do for a couple of minutes.
When his shirt was ablaze, he quickly looked around. Fear crept into his heart. He was in a mausoleum. He moved the torch around the room. The rats had retreated back to wherever they had come from.
In the middle of the room stood two large stone vaults side by side. A stone pedestal stood between the vaults with writing on the flat surface. He went for a closer look.
"Simon and Adele Chevalier. Forever life in death. 1832." He read out loud. "Wonder what that means?" he said, still talking out loud to himself.
His torch began to go out, so he made another swipe around the room, searching for a way out. When it was only a small glow, he went to the door and sat down. He continued to hand onto what was left of the stick, just in case the rats got brave and decided to investigate him.
He sat with his back to the door and lay his head against it, closing his eyes. He wondered where his buddies were. Why didn't they come for him? Then he felt a stab of irritation. They had done this to him! He remembered on their way to the lake passing a very old graveyard. Marty had even commented on the old faded tombstones and the creepy looking mausoleums that dotted the cemetery. It even had a high wrought iron fence with arrow shaped decorations placed on top each of the iron. poles. There had even been a sign hanging over a locked gate that read Stone Mill Cemetery.
He shook his head. He bet they had slipped him something in his beer and when he was out had locked him in here as a joke. They were probably outside laughing their butts off. But even though he was irritated at their joke, he was kind of relieved. He stood up and pounded on the door.
"Okay guys, jokes over! Let me out now! Come on!" He shouted loudly. He pressed his ear to the door and tried to listen. Nothing. He pounded harder with his fist.
"Doc! Sam! Let me out! I need to pee!" He shouted louder. Still nothing. Then he heard a sliding, gritty noise behind him. He froze.
He turned around slowly. He pulled the box of matches back out of his pocket. The sliding noise continued. His heart beat hard in his chest. His mouth felt like the desert. Shaking uncontrollably he tried to light a match. he fumbled it and it slipped from his fingers. He reached for another, but had a wild thought. They were hiding in the vaults to scare him.
"Doc, is that you? If you're trying to scare the devil out of me you have succeeded. Please say something" he begged.
The sliding noise stopped just as a match lit up the room. Ryan screamed a scream that came from the pit of his stomach. He dropped the match. Still shaking, he pulled out another one and dropped it before he could even swipe it. he tried two more times before he could get one to light. Finally he managed to light one without dropping it. For a split second he wished he hadn't woke up.
Standing before him was Simon and Adele Chevalier. He couldn't help but notice they didn't look dead. Simon, tall and thin, stepped down from the vault and helped Adele down. Ryan couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked with her pale skin and long red hair that flowed to her waist. Then the match went out. He struck another one. They were watching him. Vampire, zombie went through his head .
The two entities closed in on him. The match went out. He felt the cold hands of Simon on his shoulders. Ryan tried to scream, but only a gasp left his mouth. His vocal cords were paralyzed. He felt cold lips on his neck as an icy hand slid off his shoulder and onto his chest. He was about to die! He wanted to fight back but he couldn't.
Suddenly without warning, he fell to the floor. The door to the mausoleum flew open. Moonlight from the full moon flooded into the dark cavern. Still on his butt, he scooted out of the tomb and then jumped to his feet. Adele hissed at Simon. He turned and made a sign at her. She stepped backward out of the moonlight and into the darkness. The door closed.
Ryan, taking full advantage of his chance, sprinted for the gate, zig zagging through the tombstones. As he passed by another mausoleum, something caught his eye. He slowed and turned back. He crossed the front of the tomb, a plaque catching his eye. A family of four were buried inside. The LaGraines.
A huge oak tree spread out on the other side of the stone building and there he found Doc, Marty and Sam hanging side by side from the lowest branch by there feet. Their throats had been ripped open. Sam's dead eyes stared at him. He turned and ran and puked. He didn't look back.
When he was outside the gate, he stopped and bent over with his hands on his knee's to catch his breath. His chest was burning from the exertion. He didn't understand why they hadn't killed him, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He raised up to continue and rubbed his chest. He felt something hard and smiled. He knew why he hadn't been killed. He slipped the necklace out from under his shirt. His grandmother had given him the ancient necklace when he was a young boy and that it would protect him from the evil ones. It was a tiny red ruby encased in a small smooth clear glass bubble. She had called it the Blood Ruby.

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