Gravekeeper

Author’s Note: It’s passed 3am and I can barely focus on the page. So if something doesn’t make sense or if there’s weird spelling errors, this is the cause of it.

-=x=x=x=-

It was Friday today, thankfully, and I was packing my backpack for an overnight stay at the graveyard. Because of that Gravekeeper I didn’t go there yesterday and now I was feeling guilty about it. Derek couldn’t tell, of course, but I liked to believe that he at least knew I was visiting him—that I hadn’t forgotten about him.

I knew with a feeling of trepidation that I’d see Gravekeeper there again. Hopefully this time he at least wouldn’t sneak up on me like that. That had scarred the shit out of me last time and I was not looking foreword to it happening again.

At least he hadn’t intended to frighten me, or hurt me for that matter, and he did heal my cut afterwards. I didn’t think he was evil or out to get me but that did very little in cutting down on his creepiness factor. But, on the plus side, he did seem to be trying to protect me. I mean he saved me from those grave robbers and he did it without permanently damaging them either.

It had been on the news the other day, the grave robbers. My name was left out of the reports because I’m a minor but I had no doubt that everyone knew it was me. Who else falls asleep in a cemetery?

The worst part about it was that it had spurred the counselors back into action. Almost as soon as I got to school they rounded me up in their office and swooped down on me like vultures, trying to get me to talk about it. I adamantly refused and left for class but something tells me they won’t give up that easily, they never do.

Sometimes I wondered if they weren’t just really bored. They should buy a television, or a cat or something, to keep them entertained. I did not like to be the source of their amusement. Rat bastards…

Sighing I tried to put them out of my mind and looked around to make sure I had everything I needed. I was already dressed in warm clothing, not that it was that cool out yet, but graveyards tended to get colder at night than most other places. And I had plenty of things to entertain myself with; music, a notebook for whatever, and even a book I probably wouldn’t even look at.

Other than that I just needed to swipe some food from the kitchen and I’d be ready to go. Leaving my stuff in my room I walked down the long hallway to the kitchen/dinning room. There were photos that lined the wall and I tried not to stare at the ones of Derek. It still hurt to remember all the times we had spent together while knowing that now I’d never be able to see him again.

There was typing coming from the dining room and I paused outside the door before peering in. My mom was sitting at the table and thankfully she was working with her laptop. That meant that she most likely wouldn’t even know I was here.

Stepping inside I started fixing myself some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, stuff that wouldn’t need to be kept cool, and paused when putting the peanut butter back before thinking better of it and deciding to take it with me. If I could find some crackers or something it’d make a good snack.

“Shane?” Shit! I paused before answering, hoping that she wasn’t going to attempt one of her ‘interventions’ or try to have one of those ‘bonding moments’ she’s been going on about.

“Yeah, Mom?” I glanced at her but she was still typing even as she spoke. Typical.
Taking advantage of the fact I hurried up and grabbed what I could while I still had the chance.

“You aren’t planning on going back to the cemetery tonight, are you?” I’m not sure if she even realized I was the one they had been talking about on the news. If she did she didn’t make any mention of it.

“I thought I’d stop by on the way to Keith’s. I’m going to be spending the night.” It was halfway true at least. I was going to see Keith at some point in time and I never specified where I would be sleeping. Of course she also thought Keith was a high school playmate so I didn’t really have to worry about being caught.

“Hmm? Alright honey, be careful.” I scoffed at that. She hadn’t even been paying attention.

“Alright Mother.” Grabbing my things I hurried out of the kitchen, grateful that I didn’t run into my father as well. He wasn’t home very often but when he was he was super strict, always wanting to know exactly where I was and what I was doing at all times. It’s as though he thought that being ‘overly fatherly’ when he was home would make up for the other 350 days a year he was gone.Yeah right.

Darting back into my room I shut the door before cramming everything into my backpack. She didn’t barge into my room that often but there was always the chance that she would so I always made sure everything was clean. Well, as clean as it got for a guy’s bedroom. I at least made sure to hide any porn I had lying around.

My parents already detested the thought of me being gay and I didn’t want to think about what they’d go if they ever found gay porn in my room. All of my mags were well hidden inside of larger books and I didn’t dare keep any movies around the house. If I wanted more there was always the internet and I already had my browser set to wipe my history, cookies and temporary files whenever I closed it. I never downloaded anything either. The risk was just too high.

Stepping into the bathroom that connected mine and what used to be Derek’s rooms I combed my hair out while I could, scowling when my bangs fell back into my eyes. I hated the medium brown color of it, wishing it had been darker like Derek’s, and hated the way my bangs always got in my way. I could cut them off if I wanted, but then they’d just look stupid so the only thing I could really do was wait until they grew out again.

Setting down the comb I took a piss and washed up, barely remembering to turn off the light as I left. My backpack was lighter than usual, since I didn’t have any homework for the weekend, and I was grateful for the reprieve as I slung it over my shoulder. Why the hell we were forced to drag our books around instead of having a classroom set I didn’t know, but I hated it none-the-less.

There were lockers, of course, but I never used them and didn’t think I even had one assigned to me. Who the hell has time to walk clear across the school to change books every period? Not me, that was for certain. And I was a little paranoid that those crazy counselors would break in and go through my stuff or something.

Grabbing my pillow I peeked out the door but the sound of typing was still coming from the dining room so I was as good as invisible to her right now. I shut the door firmly, even though it wouldn’t do me any good, and walked out the front door without my mom ever saying a word to me. She probably hadn’t even noticed I was leaving.

Not that it bothered me though. It was actually a good thing since it meant I could do whatever I wanted as long as I bullshitted a little. Like with Keith. Not only did she think he was my age but she thought he was completely straight and devoted to his hot girlfriend. I really didn’t want to know if any of that was true, but at least it got her off my case.

Really, did she think I’d just sleep around with any man I came across? I scoffed at that but knew very well that that just might be the case. People had the weirdest views about gays. I mean, how does being gay automatically make me a sex maniac?

I was still a virgin for fucks sake! Not that that mattered to anyone. A fag was a fag, right?

Scowling I put it out of my mind and started heading towards the graveyard. It was only 5pm so the sun was still out and it’d only take about 20-30 minutes to get to the edge of town. That’s where the graveyard was located, at the edge of town. It always amused me that the welcoming sign was only a few yards away from it.

Welcome to the City of the Dead.

Gravekeeper wasn’t there when I arrived of course, but I was betting that he’d show up sometime tonight. Until then I had things I could do to occupy myself with. It was weird, he was still creepy as hell but I think I might actually be looking foreword to seeing him again. He was like a reprieve in my every day, boring life and if he would just stop appearing out of no where we might just get along.

Pulling out my mp3 player I turned it on and turned it up all the way, leaving it and the headphones on my backpack. If there was going to be a creepy zombie-boy popping up out of no where I wanted less of a disadvantage as I could get. Drowning out whatever sound he might make did not seem like a good idea to me.

Taking out the rag and one of the water bottles I brought with me I started cleaning the dirt and crap off of my brother’s grave. There was no way I was going to allow it to become like some of the others here, covered by grass or worn down to the point where you couldn’t even see the lettering because they were caked with dirt.

This graveyard wasn’t that bad though. I mean, they did keep the grass trimmed most of the time and it was well watered. The trees that dotted the area provided plenty of shade and since it was on the edge of town there was hardly any construction going on around here.

It was peaceful, like a good graveyard should be.

“Shane!” I looked up and saw Keith walking towards me. He had a flashlight in his hand and I wondered why. The sun was just beginning to set and making rounds didn’t take him that long.

“What do ya’ want, old man?” I scrubbed the metal cups on either side of Derek’s tomb. The ones you’re supposed to put flowers in but I never did. Derek had been allergic to them when he was alive, so why would I subject him to them after his death?

He eyed me with suspicion, looking me over and then down at my backpack and pillow. I didn’t care if he knew I was spending the night; just as long as he didn’t wake me up every time he made his rounds.

“Just what kind of idiot are you? Grave robbers almost kill ya’ the other night and here you are ready to stay out here again! Stop making more work for me, damned kid!” I blew him a raspberry, not caring if it was childish.

“The kind that talks to his dead brother and cleans his tomb stone, jackass! And if you don’t like it then fuck off and stay home watching reruns of I Love Lucy or whatever shit you old farts watch.” He growled at me and swung his flashlight at my head, though slowly enough that I could easily dodge it. “You trying ta’ kill me, old man?!”

“Watch yourself, boy!” Again with the boy! He stormed off and I gave him the finger as he left. He didn’t notice and once again I was left to the peace and quiet, except for my music of course.

After I was done cleaning Derek’s tomb stone I pulled out one of my sandwiches and started eating it. I wondered it Gravekeeper ate anything. It seemed weird that he could potentially go without food but what would someone like him eat in a graveyard?

I shuddered at the thought that he could be a cannibal and then realized that cannibals ate their own kind and Gravekeeper wasn’t human so eating humans wouldn’t be considered cannibalism. Frowning I shook my head to clear my thoughts. At any rate he better not have done something to Derek or I’d kick his ass, creepy zombie-boy or not!

I tried to ignore the memory of the bones breaking but couldn’t. Okay, maybe I wouldn’t kick his ass. But I’d sure as hell give him a scolding!

He hadn’t done anything to Derek though. The first week after he had been buried they could barely drag me away from him and after the grass had started growing there was no way I would have missed any changes. Maybe Gravekeeper really didn’t need to eat then.

Placing my pillow against Derek’s tomb stone I leaned back against it and finished my sandwich. Afterward I leaned my head back like I always did and watched the clouds roll by as the sun set. I really did love it here.

I was eating my way through my second sandwich when I noticed the mist coming in from a few graves away from me. I looked around but didn’t see Gravekeeper and smiled when I realized he must be trying not to scare me this time. At least he could be considerate; it was more than what most humans were able to accomplish.

“You can come out now, Gravekeeper.” The sun was mostly set by now and all of the workers had gone home. Since Keith had already made his first round he shouldn’t be back for another few hours or so.

It was another minute before Gravekeeper showed up, appearing out of the mist behind the tomb stone in front of me. It was a lot better than turning around only to come face to face with him. He was still watching me like he was before though, but at least this time he didn’t seem as skittish. Silent as even he waited for me to say something and I didn’t want to disappoint him.

“Thanks for the warning, and for not scaring the shit out of me.” He cocked his head to the side as though to ask if I were serious about that or not. I laughed and he looked at me weirdly. I guess he wasn’t used to hearing laughter in a graveyard.

“Not literally of course.” He seemed to accept that for he settled down back into his normal position. He was kind of like a wild animal in a way, except for the fact that he could understand and respond to me, though it was in a rather weird way.

My lips still tingled from the kiss he gave me and I wondered if that was normal, as normal as a kiss from him could get, that is. Stopping myself from actually touching them I wondered just why he had kissed me in the first place. Was that just the way he communicated or something?

Well, he was right there in front of me, so why not just ask him?

“Why did you kiss me?” I didn’t really expect him to answer me, since he made no noise and all, but maybe he could mime it to me or something. I snickered at that but hopefully was able to cover it up before he heard me.

Silence was his answer, just as I had expected, but after a moment he started heading towards me, pausing halfway there to look me over warily. He probably thought I was going to freak out on him again. Believe me, I had already freaked out enough over him and unless he did something unexpected I was going to try and keep it down tonight.

He looked over at my mp3 player and I turned it off for him. He probably hadn’t been around much music either. Well, aside from whatever Jasper and Jose listened to.

Coming closer he kept his eye on the thing as through it would bite him or spontaneously turn on him. I guess even Gravekeepers could be afraid of weird things, but then again if I had never seen one of them before I might be scared of them too.

Crouching down next to me he hesitated again before leaning in and kissing me. I froze when his lips pressed against mine, not expecting him to do that again, at least not so soon. Then there was the familiar pressure of his mind entering my own and I heard his voice echoing in my head.

“I communicate through intimacy and physical touch.” His voice was soft and gentle, almost like a whisper, reminding me of the spider web type skin that coated his wings. He broke the kiss as soon as he was finished speaking and watched me for my reaction. I didn’t know what to say to him.

What could I say to him? ‘Neat’? Thinking about it almost made me blush. I wasn’t sure what to feel. He was creepy after all, but it wasn’t as though he was bad looking or anything. And he had basically just said we were being intimate by kissing.

My first and second kiss, taken by a Gravekeeper. There was some irony in there somewhere but I wasn’t sure where or what it was.

“I take it you don’t talk to people often then?” He shook his head no and seemed to be growing more comfortable now that I hadn’t freaked out on him. It must be rather lonely out here with no one to talk to, with no one you can show yourself to.

“Why me?” Why did he save me? Why was he showing himself to me? And why was he talking to me?

Just why me?

He kissed me again. “You’ve always respected my graveyard and its occupants. I couldn’t allow them to get away with grave desecration or hurting you.”

“Your graveyard?” He nodded but didn’t explain any further. It seemed I’d have to keep prodding him if I wanted any answers. “What do you mean?” Apparently asking questions that could be answered with a yes or no when I didn’t want a yes or no answer was out of the question.

“I protect this graveyard and its occupants, both the living and the dead.” Every time he answered he answered with a kiss. I guess if he needed intimacy and physical contact then kissing was the way to go. I stopped myself from thinking about other things that would meet both of those requirements. What’s wrong with me? Derek, I think I’m going insane.

Gravekeeper sniffed the air and then looked down at my half-eaten sandwich with a peculiar look. I held it up for him to see if he wanted any and he backed away from it like it was poisoned. Gravekeepers are weird…

“It’s just a sandwich; bread, peanut butter, jelly, nothing dangerous.” I took a bite of it to show him and he cautiously came back, still eyeing it with mistrust. It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen and I had to hold myself back from laughing. Really, freaking out over a sandwich? Priceless.

I offered it to him again and he sniffed it but didn’t do anything further. Maybe he really didn’t eat anything.

“Don’t you eat?” He shook his head no and pointed towards my water bottle. The sky was getting darker and it was getting harder to see so I took out my flashlight, turned it on, and placed it between us so it would illuminate the area without blinding us.

“Liquids then?” He nodded and I handed him the water bottle, which he took after staring at it for a while. He must have seen the flashlight before, probably with Keith, for he ignored it soon after and didn’t even bother questioning its presence. Taking in my stance he awkwardly tried to copy me by sitting cross-legged, his wings folding around him like they were paper and bending at odd angles to accommodate him.

They were weird, those wings, and I wanted to touch them but he was too busy trying to figure out how the bottle worked and I didn’t want to end up scaring him again. I remember how he had reacted the first time I touched him, and since he had been courteous enough not to scare me, I could only do the same for him in return.

I finished my sandwich while I watched him struggle and once I was done I took the bottle from him, moving slowly so he didn’t freak out. Taking off the cap I handed them both back to him and he looked it over like it was a complex puzzle. Like a rubrics cube or something. I wonder if I have one of those things that I could bring him. It would certainly be entertaining to watch him try and put it together.

After a moment he took a drink from it and I nearly applauded him for it. He was almost like a child in some ways and that just made you want to praise him. I doubt he would appreciate it though.

Getting an idea I dug around in my backpack for a moment before I brought out the peanut butter. It was the creamy kind so maybe he would be able to stomach it. If not it’d at least be entertaining to see him taste it. Maybe I really should start questioning my sanity for wanting to feed a Gravekeeper weird things just to see how he’ll react to it.

Looking over at him I noticed he had managed to get the cap back on and smiled at him for it. He looked at me curiously and then eyed the peanut butter, not as cautious as he was before but still pretty nervous about what was inside. Opening the lid I offered it to him and he sniffed it cautiously, wrinkling up his nose at the foreign smell. It was kind of cute.

“It’s called peanut butter, the same stuff that was in the sandwich.” I would have given him the knife so could taste it like that but I didn’t want him to accidentally hurt himself, not that there was much he could do with a butter knife, but still. When he made no move to try it or go near it I scooped some of it out with my finger and ate it.

“You don’t have to eat it, but why don’t you try tasting it? You might like it.” He looked between me and the peanut butter, probably not believing that brown goop that smelled funny would actually taste good. I had to admit, from that description it didn’t sound very good to me either.

Taking another scoop of it I held my finger out to him and he looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was too. But, very slowly, he cautiously licked the peanut butter off my finger. The cold of his tongue made me shiver but I kept myself in place, waiting to see his reaction.

He made a weird face a first, as though he didn’t know quite how to react, and then his tongue made a thwacking sound as it stuck to the roof of his mouth. I laughed and he gave me a look that was a cross between a glare and something else but before I could say anything we heard the sound of a car driving by and Gravekeeper was gone in an instant, disappearing into a puff of mist.

A second later there was a bright light shinning in my eyes and as I moved my hand up to block it out I heard the short cry of a siren as red and blue flashed in the background. Shit.

-=x=x=x=-

brayzen: I’m not sure about a movie; I mean I really don’t think it’s that good. And I don’t know about daily updates because it takes hours upon hours for me to write a chapter (since I obsess) but it’ll at least be once I week (I hope). I don’t have myspace, ‘cause I hate cameras and people always demand pictures.

As for the picture, I’m honored you drew me fanart! I usually have to harass my friend in order to get any pictures. The wings are a bit different from what I had in mind but it’s still pretty good. And I don’t mind if you keep it up.

Aurora Matsuei: Thanks for the review. I was trying to make him as creepy as possible without being grotesque or ugly. I’m not quite sure if I succeeded or not.