It was a tense but somewhat easy first week, even with the police roaming the halls, questioning as many students as they could each day. Classes are getting unofficially suspended with teachers always in meetings, but it’s not like they can even begin anyway with only less than half of the students present in each classroom. Many parents were so reluctant to send their kids back to school that a lot of them are in talks about postponing the start of the school year. This is even after the school board assured the parents that they would enforce stricter security protocols. The school felt like a ghost town during its first week.

An altar was set up by Sara’s locker, and although there were many flowers, letters, and various other tokens left there, no one seemed to want to stay there for too long. No one even paid attention to it as the days went on even when they keep on reminding students to honor her during morning assesmbly. Some kids can be heard expressing their sadness and feelings of distress over the loss of such a kind kid, but those were just crocodile tears coming from kids who like to get attention. Those who were tormented by the late queen bitch of Lawton High can try to hide their delight, but you can tell how happy they are just by the glow in their eyes. It was an unspoken celebration that could go on for days, maybe even weeks.

What many do not seem to understand is that the person who was responsible for sending the devil back underground is still out there. Matt, for one, wants to give that person a big ‘thank you’.

A cremation was planned for Saturday, following the wake that would happen on Friday. Everyone is expected, more like required, to attend. Kind words were said during the eulogy, but barely any of them described the Sara Gutierrez everyone knew. When one of the teachers mentioned that there was no one like her in the world, everyone hoped she was right.

It was a closed casket. They say it would be too much for anyone to see what remained of her, but Matt knows of another good reason why they would not want it open for viewing.

There is no body in that casket. Just a head.

It was not the police that almost caught them at the cemetery that morning. It could have been just about anyone, but the important thing was that they did not stumble upon Sara’s corpse. She was still there when Matt returned in the afternoon. Matt made an anonymous call as soon as he left, tipping the police off to her whereabouts, but in between the call and the police following up on the report, someone moved Sara’s body and cleaned up the scene. It was a very quick job too.

"They should just open it. It’s going to be big news. Sara would have loved the attention." Matt did not even attempt to whisper when they were gathered at the gymnasium early Friday morning. It was difficult to tell if the balloons they released after the ceremony were a metaphor for them wishing Sara’s soul to be free or that they were happy she was gone. It depends on who you ask.

"I cannot believe you said that. People turned their heads in our direction." Morgan hissed at him earlier, but now that they were on their walk home, he could not stop laughing.

"If we didn’t clean up inside the mausoleum, do you think whoever snatched Sara’s body and played crime scene cleaner would have cleaned up for us too? That would have been very polite of them."

Morgan spaced out and was not even listening to him. He has been drifting in and out of it for the past few days, and it is difficult to tell if he is just shaken, as most people were, or if his wound is bothering him. It has mostly healed, which is surprising, but Morgan is obviously still feeling pain from it.

"Do you think she’s okay?" Morgan, finally spoke after a few blocks of walking in silence. Matt forgot to consider the most obvious option. "I can’t imagine being in her place. Sara’s not the nicest person, but they were still best friends. Now they are gonna have to bury their friend. I don’t know how I’d be like if that happens to me. You know..."

Matt sighed. He would not want to be quick to judge Morgan as just some love-struck teen, but... "Don’t worry, buddy, I am far more likely to be framed for a murder than to be murdered. Ask my mom and dad. But I know what you mean. It really is kinda weird they are only burying her head. When the rest of the body shows up, is that gonna be a whole other funeral, like a redo?"

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"Wha- why-- how could you even think that? I really don’t want to be inside your head."

"You think I’d let you in here? It’s already crammed and noisy. I don’t need another person talking inside here," Matt chided. "No but seriously. It was weird when they announced that they were going to bury her after announcing the cremation for tomorrow. That just confirms that Sara’s body is still missing."

"You can speculate all you want. We all know the only reason you’re interested is because you’re getting a kick out of this. What was that you kept chanting the other night from that old movie?"

"Ding dong the bitch is dead. Yeah, from the Wizard of Oz. Now I know the joy those munchkins felt." Matt tucked his hands inside his jacket because of the afternoon cold. "And it’s not a speculation… yeah it definitely is. But their family is old blood. OG Lawtons. They wouldn’t just decide to bury her and there is no use in cremating just her head. With her body still here somwhere, she can still comeback. It’s a good thing they didn’t find it at the crypts at least. If they did, our house would have been swarmed by police cars and reporters again. And if they ask me how I feel about her getting chopped off the block, literally, I probably wouldn't be able to hide my joy at all. I always wished she'd do something awful, slip up, and end up in jail, but karma really works in mysterious ways."

"You’re a terrible person," Morgan said, but the smile on his face lets Matt know that he understands why.

"Oh I am," Matt said with gleeful pride. "But put me right next to her, and I am but a dutiful angel." But still, Morgan was right. What happened to Sara is an awful, awful thing, and he would feel pity if it happened to someone else. "By the way, how’s your wound? Are you using the ointment I gave you? It will really help lessen the scarring."

"About that," Morgan said, lifting his shirt to show where the bite mark should be. There was not much left of the wound to see when there was some redness to it a couple of days ago. "It’s almost gone." Matt’s eyes widened, as did his mouth, but before he could even say anything, Morgan shut him down. "Don’t be silly."

They laughed, but their laughter slowly faded into serious consideration. "You’ve seen the movie," Matt said, quickly.

"It’s just a movie." Morgan snapped back. "And it was just a wild dog."

"It was a giant wild dog called a wolf," Matt winked. It is a silly thought, and they both know it. "You know. Fingers crossed. It might just happen." Matt is just glad the injury did not hurt Morgan as bad as he would have thought. Although he has been spacing out a lot the past few days.

"I thought we were going to your house?" Morgan said.

"Yes. You said you wanted to eat pizza and hang out. It’s Saturday tomorrow, so we can stay up late. We should hurry. It’s getting chilly out here."

"I did. So why are you asking where we are going?"

"No, I wasn’t."

Morgan looked utterly confused, and so did Matt.

"I just heard you. You asked me just now."

Matt shook his head and asked Morgan if he was having conversations with the voices in his head too. "I may run my mouth a lot, but I know what I’ve said after I said it."

"What do you mean too?" Morgan answered.

Matt may be wrong after all. "Are you sure you’re okay?" He said. Morgan may not be doing all that well after all. "Good thing I already ordered us pizza."

They stopped at a corner street by a perimeter fence that led to a large yard that had not interacted with a lawn mower for a long time now. It was the only house on this far end. The nearest neighbors were at least three blocks away. A barely visible pathway hidden in the creeping grass led to a large house that was proud of its age. The graying stone walls were weathered and covered in moss. The sliding Capiz windows were slowly being torn away, already missing numerous tiles. The two-hundred-year-old ancestral home is said to be as old as Lawton itself, and no one can contest that.

"I’m really just glad it’s not as noisy as it was before. The last time something this big happened, reporters were everywhere in town. The police, the mobs. It was a riot. Now everything is contained at the school. I heard a journalist snuck past the gymnasium while you guys were at practice."

"Saw him. That guy was persistent. Everyone was briefed about not interviewing any of the students. Heard he’s been kicked out of town." Morgan sighed. "He made a scene, and we had to postpone practice. We’ll have to do weekends now too if we want to be in shape for the solidarity match by the end of the month."

"Oh, team captain duties, huh? My boy Morgy ‘bout to rule the basketball courty!"

"Please stop speaking like that," Morgan said, looking at Matt with indignation.

"Yeah, I don't wanna do that anymore either." Matt shook his head and led the way, walking through the sea of wild grass while he dove into his backpack for his keys. They almost reached the door when a roaring noise echoed from the streets as a blue Jeep came speeding up and turning straight on the lawn, destroying the fences.

Matt walked up to the car, looking less perturbed than he should be considering the damage to their property. He looked into the window at a figure of a man slumped on the wheel, and with a deep heavy sigh he said, “What’s up doc?”