Zoo Semetary

I'm sorry this took so long to get up. Finals, you know. I realize this is taking away from working on my other story, but this one feels – better? I don't know. As soon as this one is over, I'm getting back to work on it. Any who, here's the next bit.

Chapter 3

Kowalski looked at Jud. Was now the time? Was what he wanted that important that it should take away from the burying of a family pet – no matter how short it had been with them?

The answer was yes. He could see it in his eyes – the importance of the object he wished to show him. Jud began walking down the Pet Semetary. Unsure of what to do, Kowalski followed. They passed the grave site. "Aren't we stopping, you know… to bury church?"

"No." Jud replied. "We're stopping a bit further." It was quiet for a while. Then they came to a set of rocky steps. Unstable and precarious, Kowalski was sure Jud wouldn't be able to make it up. Kowalski started climbing when Jud said "Look."

Kowalski looked back down.

"I don't know why I'm showing you this. Maybe I have to. I don't think I do. It's like it has some power over me, and I make up reasons. You'll end up making reasons to show people. They'll seem like good reasons, like right now, but in the pit of your stomach you know they won't be."

"Show me what? Show who what?" Kowalski was confused. Jud breathed in.

"Just – come on." Jud followed up after Kowalski. Again, Kowalski was frightened the old sheep wouldn't make it, but he pulled through. The ground up top was hard, and muddy.

"Alright – start digging." Jud said. Jud dug with his forelegs and Kowalski with his spade. The ground was rocky, and proved to be tricky in digging a suitable "grave" for Winston. It took them about half an hour, but they made it. Kowalski laid the goldfish bag in the ground, and covered it back up with dirt. Jud was silent the way back to the Children's Zoo. that was when, right outside his pen, he stopped.

"Kowalski – when you see something tomorrow, say nothing to your family. Especially Kam or Laura."

Kowalski nodded. 'Wait – WHEN I see something tomorrow?' he thought. But he kept it to himself, and returned to his habitat for some shut-eye.

….

The Next Day

Kowalski woke up. He felt like he was jolted awake, but he knew better. It takes the average being about seven minutes to fully wake up. He pulled his body over the side of the bed, and headed over to the sink he had installed in the home. He took out a glass of water, and took a sip. The sip, as it sometimes does when one is thirsty, turned into a gulp. He looked over at the empty aquarium. He spat his water out at what he saw.

It wasn't empty.

Winston was swimming in the water. He stayed closer to the top of the fishbowl, but other than that he looked fine.

Kowalski was having second thoughts. What the hell had Jud shown him last night? Laura, awake, came over to see Winston. "Oh, hi daddy. Hi, Church." she got his fish food, and fed him. Church ate it all – every last nibble. Did Kowalski hear him – growl? He wasn't sure.

He got ready twice as fast. He needed to see Jud before he went over to train.

When he got over to Jud's, Jud seemed to be waiting for him.

"I know what you're going to say. What the hell, my goldfish is alive and back in its tank." Jud said.

Kowalski nodded. "So what did?"Jud sighed.

"These grounds have certain – power. Since the days of the Mohawk Indians, they have been revered as both Sacred and Dangerous. Whether the Indians did something to the ground to make it like that, or not I don't know. My guess is that the ground was that way naturally – and it shouldn't be messed with."

"So why did we?"

"I don't know – because it always seems like a good reason, but it never is. It never is."

Kowalski could understand a bit. The grounds were magical. Magic? The stuff didn't exist. But here was proof. Proof to his own eyes, and heart.

"Also, I wanted to teach your fussy daughter a lesson. to help her get over death so that when the fish finally does die, it will seem less." Kowalski looked at a clock.

"I have to go." he said, flipping back into the zoo. All day, he tried to ignore that pit in the back of his mind. The pit that told him something wrong was going to happen. Something very, very wrong.

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