Ren stood, not knowing what to do with his hands, in front of the makeshift gravesite with Mantel beside him. They stared down at the dirt mound. Ren’s bottom lip trembled at the thought of what Mantel suggested.

His resolve faltered when Mantel bent down. “I’m not digging with my bare hands.”

Mantel looked up. “Did you think I was?”

He shook his head in disbelief. “As if I was going to touch her body. There’s no telling what bugs have got her now.”

When Mantel stood back up, he wiped his forehead with his sleeve. “Follow me. I know where to get the stuff.”

He stalked off in the opposite direction the Hunters had gone. Ren was a little shocked that he was so composed. He had to race to catch up to him.

“What? Did you have this planned?” Mantel stepped over a log with grace Ren wished he had. 

He stepped over the same long with as much grace as a new fawn. The tip of his shoe caught the bark and almost threw him face first into the dirt.

Mantel looked back just to snicker at him.

Asshole.

“Not exactly,” he said while staring straight ahead.

Ren put his hands out to steady himself as they went over a few rocky feet of terrain. Mantel was a lot better at this than he was. His feet were fighting against him and it was harder to see anything when the trees were blocking most of the moonlight. He’d been raised in these woods, but he hadn’t ever ventured this far out before. Things were getting harder to distinguish. The underbrush had been left to its own. It looked as if no one ever came out here.

It might be true since no one from town had the mind to come out to the forest where he and his mom lived. There was no point for them to. Everything they could possibly need was in town. 

The walk gave him the time to think about Mantel. He was a curious person. He was unlike others, more than just being a vampire in general. He was spoiled, richer than most by the look of his clothes, and spoke his mind. There were a lot of kids in school that did the same, but Ren thought the reason why it bugged him so much was not because he wasn’t human but because he wasn’t vampire enough.

It was a war he couldn’t win with people. Mantel made it seem like he was a bug. And he didn’t understand why that made him feel like he had to prove something to him.

They finally came to a path naturally paved into the ground. The trees seemed to avoid it, bending in the opposite direction, and the plants didn’t dare grow along it. Mantel took the lead, marching onward as if he were the general of an armed force. 

Ren let out a snort.

He guessed Mantel inherited the walk along with his absurdly handsome looks and unfriendly manner.

The walk was silent except for their shoes on the ground. Ren’s hushed breaths were louder than anything else. Mantel didn’t say anything. Ren would have found comfort in it if he wasn’t unsure about this whole ordeal.

Mantel stopped. He turned to Ren.

“Wait here.”

He didn’t give Ren the chance to argue. He sprinted away, leaving Ren behind at the edge of the trail. The forest engulfed him and he vanished from sight.

A gust of cold wind blew over Ren. The moonlight casted shadows of the trees along his body. He shivered.

It hit him then that he was in this deeper than he first thought. There was no way he could go back to a “normal” life. Mantel was just one piece of the puzzle. The Hunters were up to something and Ren was involved in this even if he didn’t want to believe it. 

The girl’s murder wasn’t going to disappear if they burned her body. The killer wasn’t going to be erased.

Mantel was back. He had a shovel and a red gas can.

Ren frowned at him.

“I’m fast on my feet,” Mantel said and then walked past him.

Ren swallowed the words he was going to say and followed Mantel back the way they’d come. They were faster this time. The clearing came up shortly and the boulder where they hid came into view.

His heart quickened as he remembered how Mantel’s hand had felt on his skin. Warmer than he imagined, but he shouldn’t be imagining any of his body parts on him.

He shook the thoughts away, taking the shovel from Mantel’s hand. He watched Ren handle the shovel with more care than what was needed for an inanimate object. Ren chalked it up to nerves.

“I’m good at digging,” he said despite the small voice telling him to shut up. He matched it with a nervous grin.

Mantel raised a brow. “Well, then…”

He gestured to the burial site. His white teeth glimmered as he matched Ren’s own grin, only his reminded Ren of a Cheshire Cat. 

There was a split second where he thought about shoving the shovel right back at him. But he swallowed down the anger. He would be giving Mantel what he wanted. All bullies wanted a reaction and he wasn’t going to give in after all this time.

He slammed the shovel into the soft ground.

They should have done it this way last night. Instead, they’d clawed their way through the dirt, digging as deep as they could. 

His face burned as he worked his way down to her. The dirt flew by, but he was too aware of Mantel watching him. Mantel stood beside him, arms crossed, and a piercing gaze on his face. Ren couldn’t tell if he wanted to make him squirm or if he was merely waiting for him to get finished so he could set her body on fire.

Ren closed his eyes for a moment. Her face kept creeping in. No matter how hard he tried to push it away—the memories of last night and how hard she’d screamed—they were always there. Waiting for his guard to lower.

He gave one hard shove into the dirt. Sweat dripped down the side of his temple. He wiped it away and tossed the dirt to the side. Every time he sunk the shovel into the soil, he wanted to quit. He wanted to throw the shovel on the ground and run until his legs gave out.

There was nowhere for him to run to. He couldn’t return home without the ring and he couldn’t leave this forest until he made sure it wasn’t buried along with her.

The Hunter Society was back.

He took a shaky breath as he replayed the men’s words. If what Mantel said was true—about the men being part of the HS—that meant trouble for him. It was just another reason for him to leave for the Mines. His mom would get over it. After he graduated, there wasn’t anything she could do.

The last shove hit something.

He swallowed down the bile pushing at the back of his throat. There was no question as to what he hit. He just hoped it wasn’t her face.

Mantel grabbed the shovel from him. “Move aside.”

He was more than happy to let Mantel take over. His hands shook as he watched Mantel shovel out dirt pile after dirt pile. He moved faster than Ren, working as if he’d done this before.

Ren tried to not think about it. It wasn’t any of his business. He was only here to get the ring and help get rid of her body.

His heart skipped. Hiding a body. He’d really gotten into some deep shit.

Mantel leaned the shovel against a tree.

And there she was.

She looked almost the same, only now covered in dirt and paler. The bugs had descended, eating away at her skin, but she looked more or less the same.

His stomach twisted as he took in the state of her. That’s what he’ll end up like. What they all will end up like.

Mantel stood back. He gestured for Ren to walk over.

Ren didn’t have the energy to glare at Mantel or to do anything but stare down into the hole. This was why he was here. To get the ring. No one else was going to find it for him.

He took a deep breath and hopped down into the hole. His feet landed just beside hers. His gut wrenched as he saw how close he’d come to landing on her shin. As he moved between her legs, he bent at the waist. His hands ran along her pale body, skimming over her clothes. Each touch made him more nauseous. He wasn’t sure how long he could do this before he just puked everywhere.

After he was done searching her body, he searched the dirt next to her.

Nothing.

His heart sunk.

He climbed out of the sad excuse for a grave and stood.

He could feel Mantel watching him again. Mantel knelt at the edge of the hole and uncapped the gas can. Ren made sure not to look as he turned around. This was Mantel’s part. He didn’t need Ren’s help with that.

With his back turned, Ren listened as the gas poured out onto her body. Mantel gave the can a hard couple of shakes, getting out every last drop. There was a click—from him recapping the can—and then a rustle as he lit a match.

Ren couldn’t hear when he threw the match or when it struck her gas soaked body, but the intense heat and the ripple of the flames couldn’t be mistaken. Her body smelled like ash before long. Before that though, it smelled like burning meat.

Ren covered his nose with his shirt.

Mantel stood next to him, holding the gas can.

Ren’s eyes flickered over the rising flames. They got bigger and bigger and then, they dwindled. Ren stepped back when the heat started to become too much to handle.

The ring was still missing. He wasn’t sure if he was ever going to find it again.

For another night, he spent it with Mantel and with a dead body. When the flames died out, they covered the ashes and bones with dirt.

The moon was still high in the sky. He still had enough time to sleep off the numbness and try to figure out a new plan. 

Mantel grabbed the shovel and the gas can.

He looked Ren straight in the eyes. “Don’t come back again. This ends here.”

Ren wanted to snort, but he couldn’t find the strength. “And the HS?”

Mantel narrowed his eyes. “Forget about them. What happened last night never happened.”

Ren didn’t ask about what he should do about the ring. Mantel made it clear what his stance was on HS and the dead girl. He wanted to pretend that it never happened. Ren should be doing the same. Though, he wasn’t sure he could forget any of this.

The moonlight hit Mantel’s face once more. Ren pushed down the feeling rising in his chest. It felt too much like the force that urged him to kill.

Mantel began to walk away.

“I never got your name.”

He kept walking. 

“Ashton.”

Ren didn’t know why he asked.

Ashton Mantel.

Ren silently saluted him in his mind. It didn’t have the affect he wanted. Mocking was what he was going for, but instead, it felt like he was saying goodbye to a part of him.

Ren walked home, stumbling, as all the feelings he’d been pushing away came rushing to the surface. They attacked him at all sides and he was too weak to fight them off. Thankfully, he’d wasted his tears when he lost the ring. His eyes still stung as he looked up at the moon.

All of this won’t matter come morning.

The only thing he lost was the ring and perhaps his mom won’t notice.

Perhaps.