Page 26 of Grave Danger

“Well, a lot has gone on this morning,” Cody said. “And I am going to start by saying that I did not use the zee word before Ollie.”

“Oh, hell. All right, let me use the bathroom and wash up, then we can talk.”

When Demetrius returned to the table, he found his food waiting. After taking a large, grateful bite of his salad, followed by a couple swigs of iced tea, he sat back and gestured between Cody and Oliver.

“So, what happened?”

Cody and Oliver took turns explaining how they’d met up and been attacked in the woods, as well as the discovery of a second grave missing a body.

“Another damn zombie?” Demetrius said, and when Cody shushed him, all four of them looked around to make sure nobody had overheard their conversation so far. “What the hell is going on around here?” He looked at Cody. “And still no sign of the mayor?”

“Nope.”

“Did you tell Lucia?”

Cody snorted. “Yeah. And she told me to fuck off.”

“Do you think she went to check it out?”

“I hope so. But not sure what good that’s going to do us.”

“Dammit.” Demetrius was quiet as he took another bite of salad, lost in thought. “There’s gotta be some kind of explanation for this.”

“Most of the movies blame any zombie uprising on some kind of virus or something,” Dave said.

“Zombies?” Margie stopped on her way past their booth, two plates balanced on each arm. Between the two open buttons of her blouse, Demetrius could see the St. Christopher’s medal she always wore, and which she’d loaned him a few years ago for protection against Nicolae.

The entire diner went silent, and all heads swiveled to look at their booth.

“Um, we’re talking about a video game,” Oliver said, even as a blush gave his cheeks a pink glow. “Something new Dave’s been playing.”

“Oh.” Margie shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I thought you were talking about that social media war the cemeteries are having.” She smiled then blew a lock of hair out of her face. “But, I never can tell with these two around. Could be actual zombies.” She tipped her head toward Demetrius and Cody before hurrying off.

Conversations around them slowly resumed, and Dave made a face before whispering, “Sorry.”

“Dude, you need to be more careful,” Cody whispered back. “Lucia will kill me if she even suspects I leaked any of this.”

“Killing you would be kind,” Oliver said. “I think she’d probably neuter you first.”

“Hey, she’s got it out for you, too, Ollie.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Demetrius said in a low voice. “Let’s can the zee word talk for now.”

“What do you think Margie meant about the social media war?” Oliver said, then pulled his phone from his pocket. He tapped the glass and scrolled a bit. His eyes widened, then grew even bigger.

“What?” Cody said. “What’s going on?”

“Where’s Buford Heights Cemetery?” Oliver asked.

“Outside of town,” Demetrius said. “Opposite side of town from Eternal Rest. Buford heights is out near Parson’s Pines where Amelia and your grandmother live.”

“Well, they’ve heard about the bodies going missing at the other place and have started posting ads all over social media.” Oliver placed his phone in the center of the table and they all leaned in.

Want to stay dead and buried? Pre-arrange your funeral at Buford Heights and rest assured you’ll stay at rest.

“Oh my God,” Demetrius said. “That’s really… That’s just not right.”

“Look at all the likes and shares it’s gotten,” Oliver said. “They know what they’re doing.”