1 Expiration Part 1

The wind howled in the black sky above, whisking hazy clouds across the sky and moon which caused an eerie glow to be cast down upon the forest. Brown, brittle leaves tumbled across the dirt road as the sound of footsteps could be heard scraping on scattered pebbles. Out of the loom of the trees and light, gentle fog, two figures could be seen creeping down the road. Both held grimy, dented shovels. Their hair was disheveled and dirt smeared across their faces.

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Asked one of the two boys.

The other boy glared back, "For money. What do you think?"

"I was just about to go home with a girl! We can do this sort of thing any night."

"Bentley, I don't think you could get a girl to even talk to you, let alone look at you."

"Very funny Hudson. It's not like you've been with any girls either."

"Are you so sure about that?" Hudson asked with a sly smirk.

Bentley huffed, "Whatever... So what exactly are we digging up today? You didn't exactly specify a plan."

Hudson looked down at his brother, "Don't you mean who? Well, to answer your question, we're digging up the recently deceased Colton McCoy."

Bentley furrowed his brow, "Colton McCoy..." he put the tips of his fingers to his lips before speaking again, "You mean the wealthy boy a couple years younger than us that died from unknown causes?"

"Yes him... although I don't think he was too wealthy."

"Still, they probably buried him with a couple valuables," Bentley said with a slight smile.

Hudson only hummed in response. After a moment more of awkward silence, Bentley asked, "So how are we going to get past the guard this time?"

Hudson sighed, "Probably just knock him out."

Bentley looked down at his shovel in concern and confusion, "Wouldn't that hurt?"

Hudson looked down at Bentley to meet his eye.

"And we've never knocked out the watchman before..." Bentley continued.

Hudson smiled half-heartedly, "Don't worry, we're not going to knock him out with our shovels. And besides, this is the last run we'll have to make for a while."

"Really?"

Hudson shot him a smile, "Yeah."

The brothers kept walking for a few minutes until a tall wrought iron fence appeared in view. With determination, both boys adjusted the newsboy caps upon their heads and sauntered up to the fence in determination. They stopped at the fence and faced each other, Hudson beginning to squat a little.

"Be careful of the spikes," Hudson whispered.

"I know!" Bentley whispered back.

Hudson clasped his hands together as Bentley grabbed hold of Hudson's shoulders for balance. Bentley placed his left foot into Hudson's hands, making sure Hudson was ready. Hudson nodded, and then in turn Bentley. Hudson hoisted Bentley up to reach the top of the fence, holding fast to Bentley's foot. Bentley gripped the top of the fence, stomping his free foot on the fence to get a leg up. Thrusting himself over the spiked iron, Bentley fell onto the other side with a thud as he rolled.

"You okay?" Hudson whispered.

Bentley looked back at Hudson over his shoulder, "Yeah I'm good."

Bentley stood, and adjusted his hat as he watched Hudson climb a tree next to the fence. Moving across a large branch that hung over the fence, Hudson dropped safety next to his brother. Without a word to each other, they moved back towards the fence, reaching out their arms through the gaps to grab their shovels and a burlap sack. They then quietly snuck along the southern wall to the main gate. Hudson led the way while Bentley followed in the rear, occasionally looking over his shoulder and into the cold darkness of the night. They soon neared the tall intricate gate, and Hudson slowed down, hiding behind a tree and putting his arm out to stop Bentley as well. About twenty yards away sat the graveyard watchmen, tired yet weary of potential grave robbers or the delicate ring of a bell that hung over all the graves*. Hudson slowly reached his hand down into the burlap sack and produced a glass capsule. Bentley gave his brother a questioning look, and all he received in return was Hudson holding an index finger to his lips. Hudson rose from his squatting position with the vial in hand. Taking aim, Hudson hurled the vial towards the watchman. The capsule crashed and shattered into sparkling shards at the watchman's feet, who then jumped from his seat with a startle. The watchman tried to yell at the perpetrators, but a gas emerged from the broken vial and seeped into his lungs. The watchman crumpled to the ground unconscious as if he melted. Hudson picked his shovel back off the ground and set off towards the maze of worn, dark, and grimy headstones. Bentley followed suit, jogging slightly to catch up with his elder brother, "Is he gonna be okay?"

Hudson never slowed his pace as he answered, "He'll be fine."

"But how long will we have till he wakes up?"

Hudson sighed in annoyance, "I don't know. So we need to hurry as much as possible."

Hudson scanned the inky gloom, looking for his prize: McCoy. After a while of searching, the two boys discovered the fresh grave of Colton McCoy. The brothers then simultaneously dug their spaded shovels into the fresh dirt, making a neat pile next to the grave. They were both in for a long night.

***

Tall walls of dirt surrounded the boys as they approached their buried treasure. With a half-hearted plunge of his shovel, Bentley's shovel struck a hard surface with a thud. Bentley and Hudson looked up at each other with wide eyes. Hastily, Hudson bent down and hurriedly brushed away the dirt, Bentley following suit. When the brothers stood back up to admire their work, they saw the anticipated reveal of a dark-wood coffin. With Hudson on one side and Bentley on the other, the boys unlatched the lid. They then wielded their shovels once more and jammed them in the slot where the lid met the coffin. Using their shovels to pry open their prize, the lid unsealed with a crack, and creaked when the brothers slid the lid off to the side. The contents of the coffin seemed to emit its own sort of nauseating chill that gently stroked the boys' cheeks with its piercing arctic fingers. Within the neatly upholstered white walls of the coffin lay the figure of a boy in a pressed suit and neatly combed black hair. Bentley reached forward and began to pry the jeweled rings off the boy's fingers.

Bentley shivered at the touch of the pale hands, "I don't think I'll ever get used to this sort of cold."

Hudson didn't respond and only watched as his brother finished putting the rings in a pouch and moved to take the pocket watch. Bentley looked up from his work at Hudson with a concerned look, usually, his brother would help him with the pickings. Hudson only looked down at the body, waiting for Bentley to take all that he wanted. With Bentley still eyeing Hudson, Hudson leaned over the body and grabbed the pale little boy's shoulders. Hudson lifted the body into a sitting position, and that's when Bentley loosened his tongue, "I don't think there's gonna be anything of value under there."

Hudson froze, not daring to look Bentley in the eyes. Bentley looked at the boy, realizing what was happening as he analyzed the guilty gestures his brother had been portraying that night.

"Holy shit." Bentley had pieced it together, "Please tell me you are not doing what I think you're doing."

Hudson closed his eyes and furrowed his brow.

"You're not, are you?" Bentley said in a harsher voice.

Hudson sighed and continued to lift the frail body. Bentley stood and harshly grabbed hold of his brother's arm, "Tell me what's going on right now or so help me God, I will wake up the watchman!"

Hudson looked at Bentley with determination and annoyance, "We can't talk about this now. We need to get out of here."

"Hell no! I'm not leaving with some body!"

Hudson dropped the lifeless form in his hands, and before Bentley could even realize what was happening, Hudson grabbed onto both sides of Bentley's jacket and rammed Bentley into the dirt wall behind him. Bentley grunted from the sudden force and peeled open his eyes to look up into Hudson's. Hudson was furious, and his glaring green eyes could send a screaming terrified soul running to hell in hopes of finding mercy there.

"We'll talk about this later. I don't want to hear another word come out of your mouth until we leave this graveyard." Hudson growled through gritted teeth.

Bentley gulped as Hudson moved away from his face, and turned his attention back to the body. Hudson grabbed the burlap sack and began to work the sack around the boy. When he was finished, he tied the end of the sack and threw the contents up onto the grass above them. Hudson turned back to Bentley and motioned for him to help lift the lid back onto the coffin. After gently lowering the lid in place, both brothers lifted themselves out of the grave next to the motionless sack. Once obtaining a moment to catch their breath, the boys set back to work, refilling the deep void in the ground.

***

The moon was still high in the sky, interrupting the smooth inky sky with a sharp glowing white claw. The boys had already left the graveyard and Hudson had slung the burlap sack over his shoulders. Bentley walked next to his brother carrying both shovels, he was boiling.

"Alright, I have stayed silent for long enough! So tell me what the hell is going on!" Bentley yelled.

Hudson sighed, "We're bringing this body in for a profit."

Bentley glared at his brother, "I am not letting you hand over a random body to some surgeon!"

"Bentley! We need money! And besides, the kids already dead. He died from unknown causes and I should think that this boy and his family wouldn't want the same fate placed upon someone else."

"Still, no consent was given. I understand that we need to put food on the table and discovering the cause of his death might be beneficial, but I don't feel comfortable taking it to a surgeon who'll cut up the body. It seems almost like... we're violating."

"You stole all his valuables!"

"It's not like he'll need them!"

"And it's not like his soul needs his body anymore."

Bentley grumbled and continued to follow Hudson down the gloomy road to their hidden destination.

***

Their pace had slowed and Hudson's breath was labored. Bentley would've offered to carry the load, but the thing he would be carrying was a body, a body his brother had taken and that was an action that Bentley didn't exactly approve of. Through the darkness and cascading leaves, a brick barrier formed on the right side of the road. As they neared, the brick fence was worn, cracked, and covered in patches of moss. Brittle, brown, dead vines had snaked their way up from the ground and spread its now decaying leaves across the barrier and through the cracks of the wall where the brick had crumbled away. The sight of brown decay continued until a tall looming wrought iron gate emerged from the shadows. Hudson stopped at the front of the gate and placed the sack on the ground so he could catch his breath. As Hudson panted, Bentley looked up through the silhouetted trees beyond the gate. Peeking out from the dim scenery was a foreboding mansion that sat slightly up on a gently sloping hill. The roofs were steep and angular, the windows were art in and of itself, the mansion looked as though everything was adorned with elaborate architecture and gaping elegant arches. The gothic mansion was an aging masterpiece, yet it still gave Bentley the sense that he did not belong.

Hudson's breathing had finally slowed down and he looked over at Bentley, "Stay here with the shovels and don't move until I come back."

Bentley's mouth fell agape as he narrowed his eyes, "No way am I letting you go in that creepy place alone!"

"I'll be fine. But I don't want you going in just in case."

"I'm going in whether you like it or not!"

Hudson took a step towards his brother, "I'm the elder brother here. I am in charge of you."

"I'm sixteen! I'm not a child!"

"Yeah and I'm nineteen. I'm still older than you and I qualify as your guardian."

"You go through that gate then I'm going with you. There's nothing you can do to stop me."

During the argument, their heart rates had gone up, and their breathing had become more frequent. After a moment of calming their nerves, Bentley continued, "We're brothers, and we're partners. We're supposed to stick to each other's side right?"

Hudson's expression softened and he looked down at his little brother with sorrowful eyes, "... Okay, I'm sorry. But if you're going in after me then I don't want you talking as much as possible, leave it to me. And make sure not to touch anything, alright?"

Bentley raised both of his hands in the air and nodded his head in agreement and understanding. With that Hudson flashed his brother a weak smile and lifted the bagged figure back upon his shoulders. Bentley moved to the gate, and as he pushed it, it scraped the ground and the hinges creaked loudly as it was jostled open for Hudson. The brothers then set on the shrouded winding driveway up to the ominous mansion.

*Bells we're hung over graves in fear of burying someone alive. If someone were to wake up in the coffin, they could find the string and ring the bell.