• Not once have I, the bearer of many burdens, thought of getting what is known to be 'revenge'. For you know that I, despite any wrongdoings of my own, have managed to hold my crumbling and broken pieces of my sanity together by sheer will. But now, as the dressings of my mind are torn once more, retribution is to come. You see, I'm sane, but my will is broken. For why else am I to be calm when I have done this awful, and permanent deed? But, dearest reader, it is human nature to be increasingly ruthless, is it not?
    It was October, I don't remember the exact date. But, I do recall my excitement. Me and a few friends of mine were going to visit a graveyard at night, a very chilling experience it should be, yes? Either way, once we reached the cemetery, we split off into groups of two. Being the young and rather idiotic teenagers we were, none of us brought anything...except for me. Tonight was the night I set my plan into motion.
    "Okay, everyone," Our 'leader', whose spelling was no better than a fourth grader's, spoke aloud, clapping her pale, luminescent hands. "We need to break off into groups of two, then meet back here when the moon is at its highest point...so maybe midnight." she said, slurring her words so much it was hard to make any sense of them. She was drunk, probably slipped a strong liquor by one of the boys of the group. Either way, I didn't care. It wasn't her I was after. "I've made several mini-group leaders. Andrea, you can lead the way to the large tomb on the eastern side. Anyone want to go with Andrea?" I immediately raised my hand. Andrea was my intended target.
    Our leader nodded, her dark green eyes flashing. Andrea stood in the moonlight, silver striking her blond hair and pale skin, with her eyes turning marvelous blue. Her looks depicted that of an angel, but her personality was that of an unspeakable demon. She insulted, battered, and bruised my mind until it shattered under pressure. Glaring at her out of the slits I had made my dark, almost black, brown eyes, she paid no mind. She was listening to the intoxicated fool that will most likely pass out on a headstone somewhere. "Okay..." the leader finished the long slur. "Let's go!" Taking out a strong crowbar, the leader smashed it against the lock of the cemetery gate. With a loud crash that matched that of thunder, the large metal lock fell to the ground, along with the chains that sealed the old, abandoned cemetery.
    As we all walked inside after the creaking metal-iron gates were opened, I picked up the heavy metal chain. "What will you need that for?" Andrea asked, her voice higher than the electronic droning that always found its way into my ears. "I don't know..." I replied, though knowing its intended use. "I just thought it would be nice to keep. A keepsake of tonight, perhaps." I responded in full, keeping appearance. "Oh, I see. Good idea..." Andrea said, picking up the wrought-iron lock and putting it in her pocket. I narrowed my eyes disdainfully as she walked by. I knew that if she noticed she'd ignore it anyways, so I walked along behind. The large tomb we were going to was one that held a very important man. His body had gone missing long ago, and only a lonely casket remained. We were on our way, as the moon careened above us, looking as delicate as a blooming flower.
    "Are we almost there?" Andrea moaned, and I waved my hand. "Do not worry. The tomb is just ahead, now quit complaining!" I hissed with a glare. "What's up with the fancy language?" Andrea asked concernedly, and stupidly. "Never mind it," I grumbled. "The point was we are almost there." As we plucked our way over the last hill, we came to the entrance of the looming ceramic grave. Walking through the open gate around it, we came up to a spiderweb-encrusted wooden door. Gripping the dusty, and rather cool, metal handle I tugged. The door creaked open slowly, and as it did, cool, musty air hit our faces. The eerie feeling of darkness engulfed me, but I was not afraid. I had brought a satchel, in which I carried a flashlight. Pulling it out, I shined the light into the dark tomb. The silence distilled in my ears, causing my mind to crave sound. Andrea's whining voice entered my ears, and shocked me back to reality. "I don't want to go in there! It'll ruin my hair..."
    I snarled, a simple reaction. "Do you see me complaining? No. Now stop being afraid. Its dust!" Andrea only rolled her eyes to me. "You don't understand. Your hair always looks like a train wreck anyways...oops, did I say that out loud?" That was a minor annoyance. Thinking I put so much reliance on vanity, she is foolish. "Are we going to stand around or actually have fun?" I asked, for I knew it would be a great load of fun. "Sure, but you're going to pay if my hair gets messed up." she said walking through the door. I smirked evilly. There would be no worry about that.
    Shining the light inside once more, I saw the gray stone of walls. Grabbing matches out of my satchel, along with a few small gas-lit lanterns, I began to work. I would need light. "What are you doing?" Andrea hissed. "Making light?" I responded, quite loudly as to overpower her whispering voice. "Sh! They might hear you..." Andrea fretted, still in a whisper. "Who will hear me?" I spoke loud again, lighting the first lantern which gave an amazing light. "The ghost of E-" I stopped her right there. "And what do you know about ghosts?" Several minutes of silence passed as I finished lighting the lanterns. She did not have an answer. "Nothing. You do not study the paranormal, nor know of its existence. What does not exist cannot harm you." I placed the lanterns by the door of the tomb and by the empty coffin. Still, she did not speak. I turned to look at her, and saw her face drained of all color, her eyes wide and glazed.
    Running over, I slapped her across the face. Immediately, the white vanished under the pumping of blood and her glazed eyes lost their luster. "What did you do that for?" she asked, her voice tight with aggravation. "Why were you as pale as a sheet?" I countered. She only glared, and turned towards the casket on the other side of the grave. "Shall we?" she asked. "We shall." I responded. We both walked over to the brown casket, and I reached out a steady limb. She was shaking, fear coming off of her in waves. My flashlight in hand, I opened the old brown lid. Inside was velvet cushioning, and a bone or two, tons of tiny spiders and bugs, and not much else. "Well." I wrinkled my nose. Andrea screeched. She hated cockroaches, and one had crawled into her field of vision.
    My opportunity. Taking advantage of her shock, I gripped handcuffs from my satchel and easily overpowered her as I gripped her hands and slapped them on. Taking my strength, I easily threw her frontal region into the casket and forced her kicking legs in. I shut the lid, and tore out the specialized lock I had brought along with the chains from the front gate. Wrapping the chains around the bottom half of the casket, I heard Andrea cry out. "Your funny! Okay, joke's over. Let me out now!" I laughed; she could've seen this coming. It is not as if I disguised my hatred, but maybe, it seemed a little less than full force. "Best part about coffins," I hissed loudly. "They only have thirty minutes of air. But of course, one being as old as this you might have forty." I then began to chain the front half of the coffin, feeling very accomplished as I did so. Finally, I was ready to put the lock on, but the coffin had started shiver and rock violently. "Let. Me. OUT!" Andrea screamed, battering the wood with her weak arms and legs. "I'm sorry," I hissed. "I can't do that... but I can bid you..." I trailed off as I snapped the lock into place.
    Silence. She could not be dead yet. "Please..." came her pitiful, sorry excuse of a beg. "I just want to live my life..." Her voice wavered so heavily that you knew she was crying. "You have lived your life..." I said. "Tonight is where it ends. And I, I will live mine." Then it was that I realized if she screamed the others could hear her. I decided on what to do... I took out the putty I had left in my satchel that I forgot to take out before I left, good thing too. Taking the putty, I sealed off the small gap between the lid and the coffin itself. "Speak, and I may let you live. Wail as loud as you can!" I commanded. I heard Andrea's scream, but it was so soft, it sounded like a whisper. "Thank you. I suppose now I will pretend this was all a joke..." Then I heard her real cry of joy, and it was also barely audible. "Just kidding." I smirked. It was a joy to hear the sudden cut-off of her joyous scream. "Now, I bid you adieu, Andrea. May our friendship live on in death." The casket again shook violently. "Please!" she screamed a shrill cry. "We were friends!" I again let out a loud laugh and smirked from ear to ear. "No, my dear. I was never your friend."

    I blew out the lanterns and grabbed my flashlight. I headed out, and as I closed the tomb's door, I took out a hunting knife. Shoving the knife in the lock violently, I managed to break the tumblers and jam it. Then I tried to open the door. Nothing. Smiling a little, I continued to walk back. As I got to the gate, I saw some were already there. "Where's Andrea?" a girl named Stephanie asked. "She went home. She was worried the tomb would ruin her hair." I replied. "Sounds like her." Stephanie admitted. It was past moon high now, and some others still weren't there. "Odd." Stephanie remarked. "Agreed. Shall we just leave?" I ventured. "I don't see why not. The others know their way home." we turned to walk away, and the dying leaves rustled in the wind. A chill crawled up my spine, and I could almost hear a heartbeat next to my ear.
    It got slower and slower as we left the cemetery. As we split off to go our separate ways, I continued my walk in fascination of the sound drumming in my ears. As I walked by several street signs and up my street, I never stopped listening. Just as I placed my hand on the front door of my home, the beating stopped completely. She was finally dead.