James Hackett

With Rhonda on a hard study vibes, Keston and Kayla decide to go find Bois on their own. This undertaking, however, may prove to be serious trouble. With four more weeks to the Graduation event(*) things are really starting to heat up…

Kayla was on her belly trying to peer down inside of a hole that yawned at Keston from inside the crypt. Keston was appalled at the sight.

“What it is you think you doing?” he asked.

“What?” Kayla replied. She didn’t not hear him as she was trying to look further inside.

“You know how much vagrants and thing does be inside of here?”

“And your point being?” she said, finally taking her head out of the hole. Her hair was all over the place from hanging upside down so long. She looked like a wild woman. It was one of the reasons why he could not resist her, she was carefree and genuine, not stuck up and self conscious like most girls he knew. She was unique –mad- but that’s just Kayla. She ran over to him.

“You know, it have some kind of tunnel underneath there.”

“Girl, stop playing. Maybe too much blood run to your head.” His short snort of laughter was cut off by a withering stare.

“No, serious. Come check it out.” It took her a couple minutes to convince Keston, but Keston eventually found himself inside the crypt peering down into the tunnel.

“Look, Kayla, maybe this is a bad idea yes. Let we just go back. Maybe Rhonda might know what to do. I have a bad feeling abou…”

Keston stopped cold. Down at the end of the tunnel there was something moving toward them.

“Oh frig! Kayla you see that?”

“How you mean if I seeing it!” The girl’s face was rapt with fascination.

The figure was coming closer and apparently Kayla wanted to see what it was.

“You mad or what?” Keston said as he grabbed for her, “I don’t what to ever find out what that thing is!”

“Girl, this thing serious, what you waiting on?”

“Kes, look, it have no feet.” Kayla was actually studying the thing.

That was all the boy could take he took her hands and charged toward the hole which they had climbed through. Kayla screamed out. He turned to see what had happened to his friend.

“Or, so is now yuh frightened? Gyull, run!”

Whatever it was, it was following them, violently tearing up the passageway as it passed and bringing down dirt and debris in it’s wake. The jumbie did not speak but it continued to pursue the children. Keston turned, fear and anxiety making his chest pound. He wondered if Kayla could hear his heartbeat. He was certain that the jumbie could. He glanced back at Kayla and ran a little faster. The hole loomed ahead, open and waiting.

“Kayla you go up. I will give you a boost, and then you pull me up.” The figure was coming closer. More rubble was being torn form their places. After a particularly loud snarl, Kayla was up onto his shoulders with amazing speed. Keston swallowed hard as she reached up and scrambled out, leaving him alone in the hole.

“Kayla…your hand.” He was extremely terrified and made a desperate grab for the Kayla’s hand but missed. The ground gave way and Keston went tumbling down. He could hear Kayla’s screams as he went falling…

Rhonda hustled into the cemetery; she knew that Keston and Kayla would come here. She was sure of it. She had went to their homes to apologise but realised that they “went out” according to their parents.

“I sure they think that they could find Papa Bois here,” She said to herself as she went around the huge silk cotton tree. That’s when she heard Kayla’s screams. Rhonda dropped the pack of Choo Choos she had in her hand and raced to Kayla’s side.

“What all yuh get yourselves into now?” Kayla was close to tears as she hastily told Rhonda what had transpired.

“…and he still down in there?”

Rhonda was beginning to put her feet down into the hole when Kayla rest a hand on her shoulder.

“You going in? Hello! the jumbie?”

When she saw the blind fear on KaylaÕs face, Rhonda just smiled.

“Don’t worry, we safe,” and walked inside the crypt. “Come on, we going together.”

Kayla entered cautiously. Curiously, the jumbie had disappeared after Keston fell.

Rhonda felt around the hole until her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Then she called out to Kayla that she had found Keston. The boy was still out cold and Rhonda was trying to revive him.

“He all right?” asked Kayla, as she surveyed her surroundings. That was when she noticed the figures that were silently coming down into the tunnel. The figures continued to move silently toward the trio.

“Ummm…Rhonda?”

“What? Girl afraid of a stupid jumbie? Is the living you have to fraid, not the dead. My mother told me that.”

That was when one of the shadowy figures spoke.

“Well she tell you good things, girl.” Green eyes glowed from the dark then teeth shone from beneath broad rimmed fisherman’s hats.

Redman stepped toward them: “Is what, ladies.”