From Beyond The Grave

This is it, I'm finally going to live like a real man. I couldn't help but think that. This is a new start to my life, with new people, a new town, and my best friend Erik. Even if Erik and I are jobless and dirt poor. We figured if we got a place together and split the bills, it would be easier. I found a job here on Cumberland Island at the grocery market. It was the only place hiring for my qualifications. Erik is staying home trying to get our Halloween mask business started. He is the artist. Erik makes very beautiful masks and heads and every now and then, makes arms for every creature in his imagination.

The house is old, possibly one of the oldest on this island. Maybe that's why the rent is so cheap. There is also a perfect basement for Erik's sculpting, which was why we even were interested. It's peaceful here though; it's sunny and warm and the grass in our lawn is almost three feet high. Just perfect; keeps us from spying eyes.

The moving truck backs up in the driveway, it has a mix of useless things Erik's and mine parents gave us. Erik immediately starts to gather his own boxes first. I walk inside trying to find my bicycle. It was my only way of transportation in this town. Erik quickly unloads most of the boxes. He wants to get a head start on a new mask he wants to create. As I carry the bike to the front porch to be chained up a van is passing by.

The driver looks young, a girl. She has the longest black hair I have ever seen. It was like a black wave flowing out of the open window. I wouldn't have normally noticed her if I didn't see my favorite band's stickers plastered to the side of the vehicle. She just stares at me, a bewildered expression on her face as she drives past. I watch, out of curiosity, as her van pulls into the apartment complex down the street. I shrug; at least someone in this town has a good taste in music.

"Come on Curtis." Erik calls for me to follow him inside.



Erik tosses the pizza box on our so call kitchen table. "Dinner is served, master." He grins, taking the first slice of cheese pizza. Our first meal in the new house. Hmmm, pizza, it smells really good. By the looks of it it was completely handmade too. I dig in without a second to spare. It tastes even better than it looked. Erik stares at me as he chews.

"What? Do I have some cheese on my chops?" I ask, rubbing the scuffs of hair growing on the side of my face. It took almost a year for them to grow out like this. They are my pride and joys.

Erik chuckles, "I'm just thinking about what happened at the port this afternoon." Oh geez, not again. My mind wonders through the day until it got to when we arrived. As we got off the ferry to the island there was a commotion on the beach. Some kind of metal cylinder washed up on shore. The fishermen stood around it as if it was alien. Erik wanted to go down there and see, but I refused. I wanted to get to the house as soon as possible. It felt weird; I think I was just sea sick at the time.

I shake my head to end his curiosity. "Erik, it was just some stupid part of an old ship. Those men most likely thought it held gold or something." I try to make it seem reasonable, but even I wanted to see it after Erik made such a big deal out of it.

"It had a strange sticker on it. I think it was a bio-hazard sticker." I shake my head again. "Come on Curtis! You have to admit it was strange for something like that to wash up. There could be a new breed of something inside that thing! Just for us to find. Lets go see it." Erik excitedly grabs my arms. "We have to, Curtis!"

"You are an idiot." I say. I have to admit, it did have a sticker that looked like that. "It's a bad idea snooping around a place like this. We are newcomers. Towns like this hate that. If it is something like that, the best thing we can do is stay low. Okay?"

Erik burrows his eyes brows and sits back down. He mumbles something like "okay" or "asshole." I flash a smile at him and take a loud bite out of my pizza.

"It's so good!" Erik rolls his eyes at me.

Later that night, after the house is all locked up and the lights out, I silently think. What if that tank had something like that inside it that could change the world? Shut up Curtis, you know Erik has an overactive imagination. The man makes monster masks for a living, Jesus Christ! I listen, even if I was an asshole sometimes.

I can hear the bay's waves hitting the sand outside. It was calming, I can say that much. It smelled horrible though, just like fish. I hate fish so much. I slam the window down, cutting the stench off immediately. I can see lights on at the apartment outside where that girl lives. I wonder what she is doing. I turn on my radio, my favorite band's CD already inside. It doesn't matter anyway if she is doing anything. There is just something about, as if I'm about to be stuck with her for a while.

"GO TO BED, CURTIS!" Erik yells from his bedroom across from me. I turn down the radio, a smirk on my face. Any other time I would have turned it up full blast. "Goodnight!" He sang.

I curl up to my pillow, letting myself drown in the music lyrics of pure epicness...