Numb

Numb Hands

By Arianna Crescent

The old man glared at me as I placed the spray cans on the counter. As he rang them up, I could tell what was on his mind. Whatever, I thought. We'll be done before he can do anything about it.
"That'll be $5.79." he said flatly.
I handed him the crinkled bills and grabbed the plastic bag. He squinted at me, like there was something on my face.
"Have a good night, now." He called as I walked towards the door.
"Yeah." I mumbled as the chimes from the door rang.
It wasn't a long walk from the store to the cemetery, but in this weather, it seemed like forever. My hands were going numb and the constant slipping on the ice on the sidewalk was starting to tick me off. I was walking more slowly as the sidewalk got icier. Last I checked the time, it was 8:15. I'll probably get there between now and the next ten years.
My phone vibrated. It was Andy.
"u almost here? freezing!!"
"yeah calm down" I replied. I literally had to rub my hands together to hit 'send'. They better not leave because it's too cold out, I thought to myself. We've been planning on doing this for days, and I didn't walk all the way on the other side of town, only to.... I stopped on that thought. I could feel heat rushing to my cheeks. It'll be fine, I thought again. This will be fun.
About 5 minutes later, I finally saw the cemetery. It wasn't totally isolated, but it had trees surrounding most of it. I saw the guys standing around outside the gate. God, Could they be any more obvious? They all saw me walking over to them as they stood there, shivering.
"Hey." I said as I got to the gate. Joey looked at me anxiously.
"Did you bring the spray cans?" he asked.
"Yup." I replied nonchalantly.
I opened the plastic bag for them to grab a can. My teeth were chattering slightly. I almost wish I had brought my winter coat, but since all the guys were also wearing light hoodies, it was fine.
I looked around and asked, "Where's Sam?"
"He texted saying he'd be here in a min- oh, he's here."
I turned around and saw Sam walking in a fast pace towards us nervously.
"Hey guys," he said, his voice shaking. Then he looked at me. His face was pale, like he was gonna hurl. He better not cop out, I thought to myself.
"What?" I snapped.
"I gotta be home by ten ok?"
"You go home when we're finished," I said, irritated, and handed him a can. Even outside of school, Sam acts like a dork.
He looked at the can, then back at me. "Look, Nate, this is a bad idea. Can't we just get some pizza or somethin"?
"No, we're not gettin pizza," I sneered. "We came here to have some fun, and that's what we're gonna do, alright?!"
Suddenly, it got quiet. Sam just looked down at his feet, then he took the spray can from my hand.
Joey sighed and muttered, "Let's just get it over with, alright? I'm freezing here!"
"Let's." I said, rolling my eyes. Let's get started.
One by one, we climbed the fence and ended up on the other side of the cemetery. About an inch of snow covered nearly the entire place, with a thin layer of frost was placed on the graves.
We looked around for a bit before starting. It was a pretty old cemetery, but not a lot of crypts. The only few that were here were underground.
I turned and looked at the guys. "Ok, start spraying. The bigger the headstone, the better."
"We're not spraying on children's graves, are we?" Sam asked. "That's just too low."
"Nah," I replied. "Most of the children's graves are too small anyway. Now start spraying."
Sam kept his focus on me, then slowly turned away and started shaking his spray can. I turned the opposite way and headed to the first headstone I saw, shaking my can. I looked at the headstone first. It was a family plot from the 1960's. I went behind the headstone and started spraying. I was worried that the cold would affect the paint, but it seemed fine. I was trying to spare the paint, so I just did some scribbles. I looked up after I finished and saw Joey in front of me. His entire face was turning red, but I don't think he cared.
"Do anything good?" he asked.
"Just some scribbles. How bout you?"
"Couldn't think of anything, so I just wrote 'you suck' on that angel headstone over there."
"Nice!" I replied. "I bet Sam's just walking around doing nothing. I can't believe I wasted money on a spray can for him."
"It's his first time," he reasoned. "Cut him some slack."
"Why'd you even invite him?" I spat.
"He overheard me and Andy talking about it and asked if he could come. I was gonna say no, but he wouldn't shut up about it. He was almost begging me to come. I figured since he was the new kid-"
I cut him off. "If he really wanted to come, why is he getting all scared about it?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he's got cold feet." He smirked.
"Oh, you're sooo funny," I replied. That would've been even funnier if it wasn't true.
"Guys!" Sam yelled. "Get over here!"
We all hurried over to the entrance, where Sam was, we was staring at us, wide eyed, and shaking.
"What's the matter?!" Andy asked.
"We gotta leave now!" he answered.
"Oh, is it ten o' clock already"? I scoffed. "I already told you, we're done, when I say you're done. You haven't sprayed one headstone yet, and I didn't waste my money just so you could be a wuss!"
"It's not that!" Sam whined. "I heard a cop car. It sounded close by. We gotta leave, now!"
"Look, Sam," Andy started. "I didn't hear any sirens. Just get one headstone, and we'll go, all right?"
Sam looked at Andy, then at me. "Please, Nate," he pleaded. Let's just go. Please?"
I let out a huge groan. "Why'd you even come with us if you were just gonna wig out!?" I yelled. First you beg to come with us, and now you're coming up with lame excuses. What's the matter with you! Did you just wanna waste our-"
"Shhhhh!" Joey motioned to us. "Hear that?"
We all stood quiet for a minute. Then, I could hear it. We all could. Sirens. The sound got closer with every second. We all knew they were heading towards here. I looked at Sam. He had a relieved look on his face.
"Told you I heard a cop car."
"Shut up." I spat. "Everyone scatter!"
We all ran in different directions. I headed to the back of the cemetery near the woods. Somehow, as I was running, the sound of my breathing became so loud that it drowned out the sirens. Without thinking, I looked back to see if any cops were chasing me, or if they were chasing any of the guys. As I turned to look back, my foot hit something, and suddenly I was airborne. With a loud thud, I wacked my head against the ground.
As fast as I could, I tried to pick myself up. My vision became fuzzy. Man, that really hurt, I thought. Suddenly, I felt something warm on my head. Oh man, am I bleeding? I panicked. It couldn't have messed up my head that much. Especially with the snow. I looked at the ground. It was a flat headstone. Great, I thought. I put my hood over my head and started running again. Now I no longer heard the sirens, but now I heard the cops, yelling and waving their flashlights. Crap. I crazily searched around for a hiding spot. I looked to the side and saw a crypt. It was under a small hill. Usually all the crypts are locked, but the door to this crypt was wide open. Why was it open? I ran for it, seeing as it was the only chance I had. I stumbled down the stairs and slammed the door behind me. I kept my hands on the door and stayed as quiet as possible, making quick breaths, not moving an inch. "Calm down," I said to myself. You're fine. I swallowed hard. I turned and looked down the hall. This crypt seemed bigger than I thought. The hall was stretched into pitch blackness.
Silent as the dead, I thought to myself.
I looked back at the door. I could hear mixed sounds coming from outside. I could just barely make out what was happening. I heard grown men's voices. I could hear them running around in the snow, yelling at each other.
I turned and looked down the dark hallway. Not the best idea, but better than spending the rest of the night at the police station. Still have my spray can too.
I started walking down the hall, and I could hear constant dripping, like a leaky faucet. I couldn't tell if it was from whatever was inside, or if it was my head. It started to worry me. Sure, I was safe from the cops, but what if I pass out or something? I turned around, but I didn't see any blood on the floor. The snow must've been seeping through from the ground. Even though it was pitch black, I could see the fog from my breath. How is that even possible?
I started to feel dizzy. My breathing became so heavy I thought I was going to pass out. I started walking slower as the hallway became so dark, I might as well have been sleeping. Then, the smell started to set in. Gross, I thought. Although, what did I really expect going into a crypt? All of a sudden, a flicker flashed before my eyes. It looked like a flashlight. I stopped.
"Hello?" I called. It could be the grave keeper. He probably forgot to lock the door, I guessed. No one answered, but I saw more flickers of light. I was definitely a flashlight.
"Hello!?" I called again, now more annoyed.
"Nate?" Someone, I wasn't sure who, answered. Then I heard footsteps. They got closer, and the smell got stronger. Oh, god, that smell. If I wasn't gonna pass out from my head injury, I was definitely gonna pass out from the smell. I was getting even more dizzy and light headed, and the footsteps became so loud my head was pounding.
"Who's there?" I answered weakly.
The person turned on the flashlight. It was Sam.
"Why'd didn't you say anything?" I sighed, relieved. My head stopped thumping so much and the smell started to go away. Good.
"Sorry." He mumbled. His eyes widened when he saw the blood on my hand. "What happened to you?"
"I, uh, hit my head on a headstone." I answered sheepishly. "Hurts like hell. How'd you get in here anyway?"
"There are a few entrances to get into the crypts. I found one of the doors wide open."
"Why are the crypt doors wide open?" I asked, frustrated.
Sam just shrugged. "Don't know."
"Well I guess we're stuck here for a bit. Let's look around."
He gave me a worried look. "Fine."
We walked down the halls. They were a lot longer than I thought. I looked at Sam. He didn't really look scared to be here. He just kept a straight face and kept walking. I was still a bit fuzzy, so I was falling behind a bit.
"Did you see Andy or Joey?" I asked.
"No. I didn't turn to see them." He replied. "I just kept running."
"Why did you run into the crypt, though?"
He shot me a dirty look. "Man, I just freaked. I was looking for a place to hide. Why did you run in here?"
"Hey, I fell behind. I didn't have a choice. You could've ran outta here. Why did you go in the-"
"Wait." He said. We both stopped as Sam turned on his flashlight. From what I could make out, there were coffins, grave markers, and names engraved on the wall. They were all organized nicely, but not for long.
"All right!" I said, as I shook my spray can. "This is perfect. Come on, Sam." I turned around, not to see wide-eyed Sam, but instead his eyes squinted, eyebrows, arched, and jaw clenched.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Sam demanded.
I studied his face carefully, and tried my best to be reasonable. "Sam, meet me halfway here. If we're going to be here for a while, we might as well make some use-"
"Shut up!" he screamed. "Just shut up okay! Why do you wanna do this so badly, huh!? Why is it so important to you to destroy whatever left these people have!?" Can't you just leave them alone!?"
Now I was mad. "If you were gonna be such a pill about doing this, why'd you agree to come? What's your deal, you freak!?"
"I came to convince you to stop! But no, you just HAD to put graffiti all over the cemetery, cause you're a tough kid, right?! If anything, you're the one being a pill! God, why do you think I called the cops on you!?"
I was wrong. Now I was really mad. "You idiot! Why would you do something so stupid!?" I could feel my face getting red and tears welling up in my eyes. I started breathing through my teeth. Because of him, the cops were after me, my friends were wherever, and I'm stuck underground in a room full of corpses. "I could kill you." I said bitterly.
His face suddenly softened, and he walked over to me. Then he took my bare hand. His hands, I thought. They weren't hot or cold or sweaty, or anything, really. They were...numb. Like they weren't really there.
"You couldn't kill me," he answered quietly. "No one can."
For that split second I felt some sort of bliss. I forgot about my head, forgot about the cold. I just felt at ease. Unfortunately, it was only in that moment. My head started thumping so badly, it was like being punched over and over. I became even dizzier and...oh no... the smell. It was even worse than I could've imagined. In my blurred vision, I could barely see a thing.
"Sam?" I called. There was no answer. I called his name again and again, and still no answer. I could honestly say that I was glad I passed out right then and there.
I flickered my eyes open, and felt a strain of lights. It took me a second to realize that I was in the hospital. I looked to the side and saw Joey sitting next to the door. "Hey, man." He said. "You okay?"
"What happened?" I mumbled.
"Well, the cops got me and Andy. You should've seen him-he was screaming and kicking like a baby!" he laughed. Anyway, we were waiting in the cop's car, and they found you blacked out at the children's plot. I guess you hit your head on a flat headstone, or something."
"What happened to Sam? I asked, eagerly?"
Joey frowned. "Who? How hard did you hit your head, man? We don't bring anyone else with us, you know that."
I slowly nodded my head. "Yeah, I remember. I guess I hit my head pretty hard. Wait, who called the cops?"
That old geezer who works at the convenience store." Joey grumbled.
"Oh."
"Well, besides your head, we just got community service to do. Cops said if they got us again they were gonna send us away. We gotta cover our tracks better. So my guess is that we'll wait a while then we'll-"
"No!" I cut him off. "We're not goin back, you hear?
Joey looked at me, confused. "What are you talking about? Of course we're-"
"No! You can go back, but I won't, you got it!?"
The room got quiet. Joey looked at me like I was nuts, but he calmed down.
"Okay. We won't go back."