Though I could dream, and thus did sleep now, I went all night without sleeping. But I felt fine. Not a bit sleepy, drowsy, or unfocused.

It was good to be a gnome.

I stopped in my tracks and shook my head. Was I crazy? It was NOT good to be a gnome!

In front of me, Wood and Teddy were hiking up to Prospector’s Lookout. Originally I’d planned for me and Teddy to go up there alone, and dig. But then I started to think that I didn't really know how big the car was. The dimensions of it. And if we dug a hole that wasn't big enough to fit the car, and I took it out of inventory, then it would be stuck on top of the hole, not in it. I’d barely lifted the thing the first time, I didn’t trust I could lift it again in that situation.

That's why we enlisted Wood’s help. He’d spent all those years working on cars with Teddy and his dad—he would know the dimensions of mom's car.

Plus, we would dig the hole a third faster if he was around. Probably more. He was stronger than both me or Teddy.

I frowned. If I hefted Mom's car off the ground to get it into my inventory, then I guess I was stronger than Wood. That alone gave me pause.

A few minutes later we entered the clearing where people used to park to make out. I'd borrowed mom's car one night and brought Ellie up here. We’d made out. We’d talked. I think we had a fight that same night. But before we headed back down we had made up.

Wood had a measuring tape, and four sticks of wood, like you would stir paint with. He went about measuring the dimensions of the hole we were going to dig, and then measured it again. Measure twice, dig once, he’d said. And then we got to work, pulling the shovels we’d brought out of inventory. Wood happen to have a shorter shovel; kind of like you would take on a camping trip. That was perfect for me. Gnome sized.

We started digging, and though it took a lot of displacing dirt to make a hole deep enough to bury the car, we were more than half done by the time we decided to take a first break. I didn't really need to take the break, physically, but digging a hole is a bit monotonous and mind-numbing.

Teddy and Wood plopped their sweating butts on the ground, under a tree, and I came over and sat beside them. Wood had a couple sandwiches, and Teddy had a couple waters that they popped out of their inventories. They exchanged the food and water wordlessly, and then started to eat and drink. They did a lot of things wordlessly. I guess it was a having a brother thing. I never had a brother, or a sister, but it kind of felt like I did between Oz, Teddy and Wood.

That thought started to make my brain itch. What about Ellie? Did that make her like a sister to me?

I closed my eyes and pushed that thought right off a mental cliff to its death. Sorry, not going there today.

After a while we got back up and picked out shovels off the ground, ready to start digging again. It kind of reminded me of that movie Holes. I liked the movie when I was a kid. So, I got the book from the library and started reading it. But after the second hole he dug in the book, I was sick of reading about digging holes.

I had my little shovel in my hand, and I was just about to join Wood and Teddy down in the hole. But then I saw Teddy look up at Wood, and the next second they’d dropped their shovels and had weapons drawn. Teddy had his bow and arrow out, and Wood… had a freaking shotgun!

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Whoa!

That's when I noticed movement in my peripheral vision. I too dropped my shovel, and pulled my frying pan out, just as two men stepped out of the shadows. They looked really familiar. Probably because they were the nightmares of most of my fellow students.

Tall, broad shouldered, with menacing expressions on totally menacing faces. And they both had long hair, longer in the back than the front. And now that we were confronted by them, it was more than obvious that they were far more dangerous than when we were in school. First because we knew they were werewolves now, and just one of them had almost killed us all. If it hadn't been for Oz…

Jesus…

“Nice hole,” one of the Travai said. He paced into the clearing, and skirted around the edges of the hole we were digging. The other Travis stood back, leaning against a tree nonchalantly.

I noticed they both had the same red crescent moon tattoo on the side of their necks. Just like the one that was on the dead Travis D’s neck.

“We can dig one for you, too,” Wood ground out, keeping the shotgun leveled at the strolling werewolf. “if you like.”

The werewolf smiled. It was a frightening expression. But I don't think any of Travis's smiles were ever anything but.

“What are you burying?” The Travis by the tree asked.

I almost spat out that it was none of his fucking business. But I pushed that thought aside. I had no idea if we could handle two of them. We hadn’t been able to handle one.

I swallowed my anger, and my pride, and said, “My mom.”

The one by the tree’s expression didn't change. “Kind of big for one person.”

I could feel myself revving up, getting angry. I pushed that down as best I could.

“She was crushed in her car. I want to give her a proper burial.”

I noticed that one Travis looked to the other, and then they looked back to us, and the hole.

“Well then,” the Travis by the tree said, “we will leave you to it.” and both men turned to walk away. But then the one closest to us turned and looked back at us, staring at Wood. “We're looking for our friend. You haven't seen him, have you?”

Wood looked him straight in the eye. “No, we haven't seen him.”

The werewolf’s mouth quirked into almost a grin. “Be seeing you.” And then he turned away and the two werewolves dissolved back into the shadows.

We all stood there, Wood and Teddy still down in the hole, me standing above it. We all had our weapons out, all looking off into the woods, watching for any movement, listening for any sound.

After a while Wood asked, “Should we finish, or go back to the pizzeria?”

I was torn. I really wanted to put my mom to rest, and this was the only way I was going to be able to do it. But having two werewolves possibly hanging around, ready to attack at any moment, it kind of filled me with paranoid jitters.

It didn't help that their fallen psychopath wolf buddy was currently in Wood’s inventory.

“Should we bury him?” I asked in a whisper.

Teddy's eyebrows bunched as he looked at me. “Here?”

“Oh, God no,” I said. There is no way in hell I was going to bury that thing with my mom.

“Well,” Wood said, peering around the hole he and Teddy were standing in, “We do have this really big grave.”

“No. Fucking. Way.” I reiterated.

Teddy shot a punch into Wood’s shoulder. “Jackass.”

Wood return it, hitting Teddy right in the chest. They both had pained expressions on their faces, but they also had little quirks at the sides of their mouths.

This was just how they worked. Kind of violent, but they enjoyed it.

I shook my head, this time not even noticing the action until after it was over. There were so many things I was going to have to get used to doing again. That is, if I could get this gnome body to someday become human.

“We’re here,” I said, “and this thing is over half dug. I say we finish it and put my mom to rest.”

Teddy nodded. Wood peered up at me, our eyes locking. “For Mrs. Everhardt.”

The Brothers Grimm picked up their shovels, and gave them a little clang together.

“For Mrs. Everhardt,” Teddy repeated.

Wood grunted and spat on the ground. “Fuck those Future Mullets of America.”

Teddy’s tense face bloomed into a wide, happy smile. “Future Mullets of America… that’s a good one.”

“You saw their hair, right?” Wood said. “It was a gimme.”