The maroon-colored Mercury Villager pulled up in the alley behind the house with only its parking lights on. From inside the house, Harry shined a flashlight twice at the van then began to leave. He tried to be quiet but the floorboards and doors of the old house squeaked with every movement. He made it out of his room, downstairs and out the back door in the kitchen. He ran toward the van and got in the passenger side. “I was just about to give up,” he said to the driver.
“Sorry, it took me a while to get out of the house,” the driver responded. Zeke Hollister put the van into drive, turned on the headlights and drove away from the house. Behind the front seats were Geoff Dorvac and Benjamin Michelson. “Off to Stull!”
The four were all seniors in high school and best friends since Kindergarten. Zeke was the idea man and self-proclaimed leader but was also more of the clown of the group. Harry was level-headed and was the one everyone turned to when they had a problem. Ben was laid-back and had just enlisted in the Army and was leaving for basic as soon as school was over. Geoff was not as well-liked and was only tolerated by the other three. No one else even liked Geoff. Zeke and Harry had gotten into ghost hunting and while Zeke was in it to actually find ghosts, Harry had started enjoying it because of the history involved.
“Can we stop at McDonald's first or something?” Geoff asked. “I'm starving.”
“Starving? You said earlier you were eating before I picked you up,” Zeke said.
“Can I help it if I'm always hungry?”
“Yes!” Ben said.
“That sounds like something a fat person would say,” Harry argued. “Zeke, are you hungry?”
“No, I'm good,” Zeke replied.
“See? Zeke's not hungry and he's the fattest person I know. No offense,” Harry said.
“Some taken…” said Zeke.
“Fine. We don't have to stop,” Geoff concluded.
“Well, actually a quarter-pounder with cheese doesn't sound too bad right now,” Ben said. “I could probably eat.”
“I'll take some chicken nuggets and fries,” Harry admitted.
“What the hell is wrong with everybody,” Zeke screamed.
“We're starving,” Geoff said.
Stull lies about ten miles west of Lawrence, Kansas. It is an unincorporated community founded in the 1860s. The hamlet boasts only a few homes, a church and a cemetery. The cemetery was the main attraction as it was reported that the Devil rose there to dance with the dead and that it is a gateway to Hell.
The red minivan traveled down Highway 40 and then turned onto County Road 442. At this point, Harry was driving after he and Zeke did a Chinese fire drill at a red light. Everyone had finished their McDonald's and were starting to get tired.
“How much further is this place?” Ben complained, adjusting the seat so he could stretch out.
“Another four miles or so,” Harry replied. Everyone sat in relative silence except for the radio which was on a top 40 station. “By the way, Zeke, what's in the duffel bag?”
“Files on Stull, a BB gun, a couple of knives, flares, a first-aid kit, Bible, a whip, small bag of Cheez-Its, matches, flashlights, extra batteries, and four liters of holy water,” Zeke listed.
“Could someone hand me the bag of Cheez-Its?” Harry asked.
“How is all this supposed to help us?” Ben asked, digging through the bag for the Cheez-Its. “Especially against ghosts and the Devil?”
Zeke stammered to find a good answer but Harry helped him out. “Neither the Devil or any ghosts are going to be affected but we could use them against a disgruntled farmer.”
“That have pitchforks,” Geoff added.
“What's with the two liters of water?” Ben asked holding up two Dr Pepper bottles that were filled with water.
“That's the holy water,” Zeke smiled.
“How'd you get a priest to bless two 2-liter bottles of water?” Harry asked.
“Bless?”
“What the hell do you think makes holy water holy?” Harry screamed. “Sometimes you really need to think some of these things through.”
“Oh, here it comes. The Zeke lecture. You can save your breath Harry because we all know it by heart!” Zeke said.
“That's probably because I give two or three times a week! Yet somehow you never learn!” Harry argued.
“Then maybe you should stop giving it!” Zeke yelled louder. “I can take care of myself Harry so I don't need you!”
“Why don't you make love to me from behind anymore?” Harry yelled. Everyone in the van was taken aback by what Harry said.
