The Curse of Bones

memory I'd rather n

dents when the town accident

ar senior, showed up at a party with a troph

eryone wanted to touch it, ju

g in and out of consciousness. Then he started counting with h

uched that bone fell ill,

alled it a ra

a curse, and that Wilkerson

pte

Santos

Oakhaven. That was until the "Oakhaven Revit

ife, breaking ground, and c

vy silence fell over the site. The workers were whispering, not a

mething unnatural. It wasn't just a few bones; it was a moun

er number of them shocked everyo

swarmed the area, locking down th

public order" and "scientific investigations." He said the whole to

ologists, and forensic anthro

s dated back to the 1920s; they belonge

t on that very plot of land. This forgotten mass

g anyone talked about. Kids swapped rumors, and some

hem. It was a thrilling adventure, a b

er, watched the news co

lace. Those bones are not meant to be disturbe

that old asylum. Restless spirits. They tied patients to

. Grandma's "old-school" superstitions felt

n a world of science. I though

h I had list

lling bell, trying to warn me of an invisible storm on th

popular senior in school, w

. He was holding a small, white object in his

a finge

e bone was covered in dark, intricate carvings-like tiny, delib

this out," he announced over the lou

piece of paper in his other hand. "

cheerleader, was th

" she squealed, but she didn't let go. Others re

ld," som

zzing," anot

fingers feel weird. L

no more. A strange, heavy a

d more names on the

irst name on that list was Keeg

e heart of our town. None of us knew it then, but that bone harbored

and offered

n. Don't tell me

licated crush on him made my stomach

oded my mind. Her terrified expression flashed before m

y it cool. "Germs and stuff, you know. Old b

ough even I could te

g chuckle. "Jenna

ers sni

just a bone!" Cassa

and grating, as if design

being seen as the odd one

had instilled in me easily

d there, sa

le, making a faint, scratching sound. He drew a line in the dust, as if ma

na? It's

t felt as though they had left deep gashes in the a

ifted, sound

e fingers touched it. More

llion against boredom. Every tou

, then David, Maria, Er

nd. A roster of names. The exact order in

er forget

f any "list" and dismissed all talk of a curse. They wa

en that it was

e the order of their suffering, and u

n the party ended, he left with it. H

e had left, I rema

aint metallic sheen lingered. It seemed to pulse slightly, like

wasn't sweat. It was the scent of damp earth mixed wit

itched inv

bizarre scent trailed after me out the door and into t

ht, I ha

of me. I was standing in a dark, cramped space, the air thick w

t, and dressed in rags. His eyes were hollow and dea

apping his fingers against t

wo, th

sound came out-only t

d slender, marked with faint lines-

his gaze fixed on som

wake, gasp

o hard I thought it woul

see that blurry figure in front of me. I

gers t

joints, and then glanced at my n

awn was painting the sky a pale gray. Bi

undamentally shifted overni