“Are these two gay?” asked Geoff.
“I always knew Zeke's girlfriend was a cover but Harry?” Ben was surprised.
“I'm not gay,” Zeke defended.
“Isn't denial the first sign?” Ben smiled.
Stull, as usual, was dead quiet as Harry parked the minivan in a dark corner of the bait shop parking lot. They all got out of the van and walked toward the intersection and looked at their surroundings. Besides the bait shop on the southwest corner, a modern church was on the southeast and to the north was a shallow ravine. Off in the distance was a lone streetlight that partially illuminated the cemetery and deteriorating old church. The four walked through the intersection and toward the cemetery.
The cemetery was almost as big as the little town and the tombstones were showing their age. The old church had definitely seen better days. What was once a thatched roof was gone and left the inside exposed to the elements. All four walls were still standing but all had major damage to them. Loose rocks, bricks and timbers lay cris-crossed on the church floor.
The four stopped at the locked gate and shined the flashlights on the signs warning people to "keep out" and "no trespassing". The four immediately began to either climb over or crawl under the fence and walk up the gravel road to the north end of the cemetery.
“So what exactly are we looking for?” Ben asked, whispering.
“A gateway to Hell,” Zeke replied.
“Of course,” Ben responded.
The gravel road curved and went right in front of the old church. The four gathered in a small clearing on the east side of church. “So where's this gateway supposed to be?” Geoff asked.
“From what I've read it's on the northeast side of the church so it should be around there somewhere,” Zeke said.
“Well, while you three wander around her I'm gonna be in the church,” Harry said and began to get closer to the church.
“We should probably stick together,” Zeke said nervously.
“We are. You three will be there and I will be in here. We'll be able to hear each others screams of terror,” Harry smiled and stepped through what used to be window.
They each explored their own areas of the churchyard. Harry had to step over the rubble and explored every inch of the old church. Zeke, Ben and Geoff searched the grounds, stepping hard in some places in hopes of finding a place where a door covering a stairwell could be. They all explored the church and land for another hour before regrouping at the front of the church and descending the gravel road back to the gate.
“That was a waste of time,” Geoff complained.
“We'll have to come back when we don't have school the next morning. Come on, we should head back to Lawrence,” Zeke said
It was Harry's study hall period and he was trying to do his algebra homework. Harry hated algebra. He was getting fed up with these problems and was about to shut to book. “You have to divide the integers,” said a girl who sat down next to Harry.
“What the hell's an integer?” Harry looked at the girl confusingly.
The girl chuckled then went back to a straight face. “Oh my God. You're serious. Here, you switch these numbers around and those are your integers.”
“Math is so pointless,” Harry said.
“You're gonna need math for every job out there.”
“I want to be an author. Last I knew authors didn't need to know what the hell z equaled.”
“What if you don't become an author?”
“Then I'd have to kill myself.”
“What about your money? You'll need to know math so you can keep track of your money.”
“I can do basic math-addition, subtraction, multiplication and division-but this algebra crap is pointless and way over my head.”
“Well,” the girl began scribbling words down on Harry's notebook paper, “I am getting an A+ in advanced calculus so if you need a tutor or just have a question here is my phone number and IM address.”
The girl smiled big and walked back to her desk. Harry glanced down at what she had written. “Thanks, Tana.”
“So she just sat down beside you and started talking?” Zeke asked.
“Yeah. She started yammering about math then wrote down her name and contact information,” Harry said.
“Sounds like someone likes you Harry,” Ben smiled.
“The girl must be crazy or something,” Geoff said. “I mean look at you.”
“Yeah, thanks Geoff. I don't know what to do. I mean, I don't really want a girlfriend so I don't want to open a door I can't close. Although she was kind of cute. Maybe I should pursue it. If nothing else, I made a new friend,” Harry decided.
