We were all out drinking on the beach after graduation. Everyone in our circle wanted to get together before some of us would move away to college. We sat around the bonfire taking in the warmth away from the chilling sea breeze. The flames danced in the salty wind, skewing our faces in shadows and warm light in the dark of the night. Curtis decided to break the silence.
"Who wants to play a game?" He took a swig from his bottle and stood with his other hand in his coat pocket.
"Ugh, no, I know what your games are like," replied Eddie. He recalled all the dirty party games he would get them to join.
"No no, I swear this ones different! Come on, Dante, you want to, right?"
I sipped my beer and asked, "Well what is it if it isn't risque?" The guys chuckled.
"A game of chicken!" We all rolled our eyes and groaned. "Hey, I said it wasn't like that! I mean chicken chicken this time!"
"What is it then man?" Leo questioned. He downed his third beer.
"Y'all know that legend about the nearby cemetery right?" Said Curtis.
"Oh no, no no no, we are not doing that!" Eddie exclaimed. Everyone and their grandmother knew about the legend. No one had even been buried there in the last century. They say that a vampire lives in the mausoleum at the farthest corner of the cemetery. If you go in there, you don't come back out; at least not alive.
"Chicken," the three of us called out in unison. We chuckled and Eddie crossed his arms at us.
"We are so doing this!" Leo chimed.
"So, how are we doing this?" I asked.
"Whoever gets the closest wins of course," Curtis smiled.
"Wins what?" Eddie asked.
Curtis thought for a minute and looked around, sipping his beer thoughtfully. "I'll put in fifty bucks," he shrugged.
"Shit, I'll bet on it," Leo added another fifty to the one in Curtis's hand. Eddie and I looked at eachother quizzically. I figured what the hell and added the thirty five from my wallet. Eddie blew a disgruntled raspberry and scrounged together a bunch of ones from his pockets.
"A hundred and forty two bucks babyyy!" Leo and Curtis sang together. "Let's fuckin gooo!" Eddie and I kicked out the fire and tried to pick up as many of our discarded bottles as we could before we all headed off toward the car.
We arrived at the front of the cemetery shortly and Curtis parked just outside. "I really don't want to do this man, I-I'm gonna stay here..." The three of us opened our mouths to speak, but he cut us off. "I fuckin know I am you jerks, just make sure you come back in one piece ok?" We all awed at Eddie's sweet gesture jokingly.
We got out of the car back into the chilling night air. We were farther away from the ocean, but somehow it felt even colder here at the graveyard. A shiver brushed through all three of us. We exchanged looks and walked toward our doom. The deeper we went, the more unkempt, old, and dusty everything appeared, from the greenery to the headstones. We came to a point where we stopped walking. The atmosphere felt so tense.
Curtis turned around to see Leo and I looked petrified. Curtis pulled the wad of cash from his pocket and tucked it into a vacant flower holder.
"Alright fellas, we know the name of the game?" Leo and I gulped and nodded. "Alright, uh, let's go then," Curtis said. We all faced the distant mausoleum. It looked like it would start breathing like a sleeping bear. None of us moved. We stood there for what felt like an hour before Leo took the first steps. His movement encouraged Curtis and I to take our first steps too. We inched closer and closer to the old, cracked building. It was covered with moss, ivy, and cobwebs. The white marble pillars were dusted with the dark earth and mud. The iron gate was heavily rusted and crumbling under its own weight. Leo stopped walking.
