• The rain pounded on the back of the girl's hood as she sprinted across the cemetery. Her black rain jacket glistened in the light of the full moon. Her legs and feet were caked in mud from the puddles she had run through, but it didn't matter. She had to get there as soon as she could. The girl was clutching a large book tightly to her chest and her grip around the tome grew ever tighter as she thought of her mission. Her small lungs gasped for air as she continued quickly towards her goal. A small yelp escaped her lips as the girl's big toe slammed into a large rock sticking up from the soil, causing her to trip. She caught herself with her other foot instinctively just before she hit the soft and soaking wet earth. It was a good thing, too. The worst thing that could possibly happen right now is losing the book she held onto ever so dearly. If it had fallen into the mud she was kneeling in now, there was no way that she could read from it. She had been doing her best to protect it from the rain, but she was only human and most of the pages had taken in a great deal of moisture. She was sure that the writing was still legible though, so it was okay. She stood back up and quickly glanced in all directions in an attempt to gather her bearings.

    It was surprisingly difficult for her to do this. She was so short that she could barely see over the tops of the gravestones unless she was on her tiptoes. It was even harder for her to pinpoint her location because she had never been here at night before. The graveyard looked much different during the daytime. She squinted her eyes and peered through the rain as best as she could while slowly spinning in a circle. I must be getting close. She thought to herself. I know it's around here somewhere. Her eyes continued to scan the bleak scenery before her, each slab of stone looking exactly like the last. Then she saw it. It was barely recognizable. When she was last here during the day, the marble angel was a beacon of light in the vast fields of generic stone. Her beauty screaming out against the oppression of her hopeless surroundings. She knelt down beside two elaborate gravestones. Her hands were lovingly held out to their inhabitants with promises of everlasting happiness and eternity in paradise. Tonight however, her appearance told a different story. The raindrops sliding down her face gave the impression that she was weeping uncontrollably. She held out her hands to the dead knowing full well that there was no point. They were gone forever, and there would be no helping them. The angel knew through her great wisdom that the situation was entirely hopeless. When she saw this, the young girl glared at the statue. Her hands began to shake with fury. You're wrong. Her inner voice stated with ferocity. I can still help them. This isn't over! She forced herself from her trance. The time for thinking was over, she had to take action.

    She quickly approached the statue and without a second thought held the tome between her legs and removed her rain jacket. She hastily spread the coat on the earth in front of the gravestones and placed the book in the center. As she knelt down in front of it, her worn jeans instantly became drenched in the cold mud and her once black shoes were now entirely covered in brown. She quickly opened the book to the place she had marked with a piece of scrap paper and leaned over the pages to protect them from the rain. Her hands began to shake as she used her forefinger to direct herself across the page. She gently bit on her lower lip as her eyes darted all over the paper apprehensively. If she made a mistake, it could cost her everything. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. After a few moments, her eyes opened again. She gazed down at the book with conviction in her eyes. It was time.

    The page she had marked had two words in bold, dark letters at the head of the page: Erigo Mortuus. The girl’s eyes narrowed as she read these words. The ends meet the means. She thought in an attempt to convince herself. The child thought back to nights where her parents would take turns reading her stories in Latin. They always told her than learning a second language would pay off someday, and it looked like they were right. They have taught me so much, The girl mused. But I have a great deal more to learn. I'm not ready to let them go yet! Below the heading was a relatively short paragraph, but it was in very large handwritten font. She quickly cleared her throat before reading. Her mother always warned her to stay away from this book. She often told her daughter that she would give it to her when she was ready for the responsibility, but that hadn't happened yet. Needless to say, the girl was nervous.

    "Orior oriri ortus , captus of barathrum!" She started. A harsh breeze blew against her side, as though attempting to deter her from continuing. "Utor meus ops effrego vacuus vestri compes quod iacio lemma!" At this point, hurricane force winds suddenly erupted. Water droplets pelted her from the side stinging her face and arms. Her hair was blown into her face, forcing her to stop speaking momentarily. She had to wipe away the strands before carrying on. "Vindicatum quis est vestri quod ago iterum!" She was near the end of the text now, but the the winds were so harsh that she could barely hear herself speak despite the fact that she had raised the volume of her voice to a deafening roar. "Orior oriri ortus! Orior oriri ortus! Orior oriri ortus!"As soon as the last word she spoke left her lips, all weather had ceased. It was as though someone had flipped a switch. There was no wind, no rain, nothing. Only the light of the full moon stayed to keep her company.

    The child couldn't remember the last time that she'd felt so exhausted. She had put as much emotion and strength into her voice as she could while reading and was thoroughly out of breath. Her chest heaved as she stared unblinking into the gravestones Remaining water droplets from the recent storm dripped from the tips of her hair and nose. A few minutes had gone by, but to her it seemed as though an eternity had passed as she knelt there, patiently waiting. That's when she heard it. At first it was a faint tapping, but before long she could hear the loud pounding and cracking of wood beneath her feet. The girl’s eyes widened with excitement. It worked! Tears of joy were brought to her eyes. They're back! The soil in front of the headstones began to cave in as the earth beneath it was scraped away. Almost simultaneously, two hands tore through the dirt and were slammed to the earth for leverage. Dual figures began to pull themselves from the moist soil. First they raised themselves up as far as they could using their arms, then they forced a leg out of the dirt and used it to vacate the earth entirely. There they stood in silence just in front of their headstones. The woman was wearing a long pink dress, which was now covered in soil. Although she was buried in high heels, they must have been lost during the process of her rebirth. Her bare feet were soaking in mud from the earlier rainfall. Her long black hair was strewn all about her head covering the vast majority of her face. The man wore a very formal black suit with a red tie. Despite the fact that he was covered in filth, his outfit was still in fairly good condition. The young girl's tears streamed down her face. She simply couldn't contain her happiness. Not even a week ago her world had fallen apart, but now everything would be okay. They could be a family again. Her parents still hadn't said a word, but they didn't have to. The man and woman opened their arms wide, looking from a hug from their daughter. The girl couldn't take it anymore, she had missed them so much.

    "Mommy! Daddy!" She exclaimed as she sprinted toward them as fast as her legs could carry her. She ran full force into her mother, clutching her around her waist. Her tears soaking into the pink cloth. The woman’s arms wrapped around her daughter, pulling her in close while the father slowly approached and gently pulled them in for a hug. For the child, this was the perfect moment. She just wished that she could stay in her parent's warm embrace forever.

    The girl smiled and inhaled deeply. She regretted it almost instantaneously. The stench that filled her nostrils was one of the most nauseating and repulsive things that she had ever experienced. Her eyes watered as she gagged and pulled her head back in an attempt to fill her lungs with fresh air. She instinctively tried to push away from her mother, but she couldn't budge. Her parent's grip was too strong. The girl's heartbeat began to quicken, something was wrong. Her parents still hadn't said a word to her. She tried to wriggle free from their embrace, but it was no use. With eyes wide, she looked up into their faces. They were so pale. Her parent’s eyes were locked into their daughters, but there was nothing there. Their eyes were cold and gray. Soulless and dead. The child’s eyes were now wide with fear. Her entire body began to convulse with terror as she realized the horrible truth. These things weren't her parents! The spell she had cast was not to bring her parents back to life, but to animate their corpses! The girl screamed and tried fiercely to break free from from the ghoul's grasp, but as she did so, their grip got stronger and their embrace became tighter. It was getting difficult for the child to breathe. The undead were acting as a vice, slowly and mechanically crushing her. The girl desperately tried to scream for help, but nothing came. Her vision began to blur and she started to pass out. The last thing she saw was the marble angel. The beautiful woman held a hand out to the girl giving her a warm comforting smile and the child returned the expression. When her eyes began to close shut for the last time, she could swear that she heard her parents calling out to her.