Switched

Elsie Sheppard

It was the first day of May, but you’d never be able to tell. It was as cold and foggy as any day in

autumn had been.

Sitting on her front doorstep, Gina took note of the unusual crispness in the air as she pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands. She was waiting for her best friend Donnie to pick her up for school. And, while school was within walking distance, they had a stop they needed to make along the way. She checked her watch, 7:10, school started in an hour and she began to get nervous that they wouldn’t have enough time. But, just then, she heard the rumble of his engine coming around the corner as he sloppily pulled up next to her house.

“I thought we said 7:00 am,” she said slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “Asking anyone to wake up before at least 8:30 should be considered a crime against humanity” Donnie retorted through the rolled-down window. Gina rolled her eyes as she slid into the passenger’s seat “yes because we’re both so good at following the law”. “We do our best” He snickered, pulling off to their next destination. Five minutes later they found themselves idling in the parking lot of the local graveyard.

Gina unzipped her backpack and routed around for something. Donnie looked at her and sighed with apprehension.

-I know I promised not to ask any questions, but a graveyard, are you seriously not going to tell me why we’re here?

Gina finally pulled out a plastic baggy with a little notebook in it; it was leather-bound and had mud caked on the surface as if she had picked it up off the ground.

-No questions means no questions, sorry Donnie, I owe you one though

She then took off her seatbelt and quickly got out of the car, before Donnie got the chance to ask if he could follow. And, he knew better than to go without asking. The ground was muddy and with each step, Gina’s sneakers sunk into the grass soaking her socks. She really hadn’t dressed for the occasion, but she was a girl with a mission. She pulled the little notebook out of the baggy and flipped to the dog-eared page.

Erin Gallagher, this name had been on Gina’s mind for the past week now, after all, Gina had just moved into the house of the town’s haunted tale. One thing Gina hadn’t told Donnie about, something she could never tell him about, was that Erin Gallagher had been appearing in her dreams even though they had never met and she died over 75 years ago. To be honest, she would not have been able to give Donnie an answer as to why she was there even if she tried. But, Gina felt like maybe, if she visited her, even just her grave, there might be some answers.

The only thing she had so far was this notebook she had found on her basement's unfinished floor. But even that was hard to read with its faded pages and unknown author. The only thing Gina could really make out was a handful of names. Erin Gallagher standing out to her from their unsettling encounters at night. She knew which grave to look for. The Erin Gallagher tomb was famous in the town as the creepiest gravesite in the cemetery, but only because of the fact that it left the body above ground housed in an opulent stone mausoleum. It was the only one of its kind in the small burial ground. Once she reached it, at the very back of the field, Gina stood and inspected the engraved name above the door, large loopy letters surrounded by stone roses with dull jagged thorns whose vines wrapped around the columns that stood on either side of the door. Gina had a sudden sick feeling in her stomach, she had come here hoping to find answers, determined, but this new uneasiness was frightening.

Just then a gust of wind howled through the trees, so strong it caught Gina of guard throwing her out of balance and the book from her hands. The book landed closer to the mausoleum entrance then Gina had hoped to go. Slowly she stepped closer, reaching down to grab it when she noticed something strange. The book had landed open face down, and when she flipped it over she noticed it was open to a page she had never seen before. On the page, in a script all too similar to the one that labelled the tomb, was scrawled “go inside”. Gina felt a chill run down her spine as she looked up from the unsettling note to find that the grave’s door, which she was certain had previously been closed, was now ever slightly ajar. She took a deep breath, she knew she should probably turn and run back to Donnie, who was probably pissed that she was taking so long, but the curiosity inside, as usual, trumped any other feeling she had.

Tucking the book back in the plastic baggy and into her backpack, she reached for the opening and with ease pulled the stone door open just enough to slide in. It was dark, the daylight behind her the only illumination in the room. It was small and musky with Erin Gahligers casket in the middle of the room on a bed of stone. It looked almost brand new, untouched by time and the elements. Gina stepped closer for further inspection, but as she did she heard a bang behind her and the room went black. The door had shut. Gina’s heart pounded in her chest; she was frozen in fear.

Suddenly, she got the sensation that she wasn’t alone. A quiet shuffling came from the other end of the room. “H-h-hello?” Gina spoke, not fully expecting a response but unfortunately, she did.

“Hello, Gina” a voice came from the darkness. Terrified Gina screamed and turned to the door trying to pry it open, but it wouldn’t budge.

“It’s no use, Gina” the voice came again, “there’s no leaving now.”

Suddenly Gina was paralyzed in fright, as the sudden sound of footsteps began to draw closer until it seemed whatever was causing them was right in front of her. She took sharp, shallow breaths unable to speak or move, as she felt whatever was inside there with her put its cold boney hand on her cheek.

“I’ve been calling you Gina. Waiting for you to come here. I’m bored Gina, and I want to get out. Unfortunately, only one of us can leave and I’ve been here so long it’s only fair.”

The voice was cold and dull, and Gina couldn’t tell if it was speaking out loud or in her head. “W-what are you talking about,” Gina finally mustered. But the thing was done talking, was ready to be set free. All of a sudden Gina felt the boney fingers prying at her lips, reaching down inside, slowly stuffing more of itself in. With each second Gina felt further and further outside of herself as if she was being pushed out as Erin pushed her way in.

Then Gina heard the door open, she tried to get up and run, but she couldn’t move. As the daylight seeped in, Gina saw her body leaving the mausoleum without her.

Erin stepped out into the day, the cool air brushing through her new hair, she took a deep breath and smiled a sick smile.

Finally, she had been waiting for someone to set her free for so long. She set off to the cemeteries parking lot, leaving her old stone prison behind, opened the door to the car waiting for her.

“What took you so long?” Donnie said as Gina’s body buckled in.

“Just had to put something back in its place,” it said as they pulled out the parking lot and headed for school.