The shock of the discovery disabled her. The ragged circular form that had been hacked through the car's paint down to the bare metal underscored the ugly, terrifying truth that was impossible to dismiss. Jack had days, maybe only hours to live. 

"Those little bitches," he snarled. "I'm gonna kill that kid!"

She closed her eyes to momentarily clear her head. When she opened them, the O was still there.

He started the car. "Come on. Get in. Or maybe you don't wanna see this." He put the car in gear.

"Jack, wait! They didn't do it. For real. I promise you."

"Yeah, right."

"How would they even know this is your car?"

As he thought about it, she squatted at the driver's door.

"The same thing happened to Packer." Her voice cracked.

"Huh?"

"One night after a basketball game, he went out to the parking lot and there was a big O, just like this one, scratched into the hood of his car."

Jack shifted his car into park.

"Less than a week later he almost died."

"What's the O supposed to mean?"

"Ouroboros. The ring. The snake swallowing its tail."

Color drained from his face.

"We need to end this before..." She couldn't bring herself to say the words.

She was startled by a barking dog behind her. The chocolate lab dragged its flustered owner toward Jack and Lyla, its eyes on a grouping of trees across the parking lot.

"Rudy!" The girl dug in her heels, struggling to get him under control. "Rudy! Stop!"

The dog barked viciously, teeth bared, its hackles raised.

Though she couldn't see anyone, Lyla felt a presence by the trees.

"Rudy, leave it!" The girl shouted. "I don't know what... He's never done anything like this before. Never."

The growling and protective barking intensified. Rudy was in attack mode, nearly pulling his owner to the ground. She stumbled forward, wrapped the leash around both hands and yanked the dog toward her. "What is wrong with you?" She tugged again. "Ewwww, that smell," she covered her nose. "Must be a dead animal over there somewhere."

Lyla's nostrils filled with the odor of rotting flesh. She turned away, repressing her gag reflex. 

Jack buried his nose in the crook of his elbow.

The dog lunged, growling and snapping, thick white strings of saliva swinging from its snout.

"Rudy!" The girl pulled the lab toward her. "Come."

Reluctantly, the animal obeyed, keeping its eyes focused on something they could not see. 

"What's the matter with you?" she scolded as she jogged away, her dog growling and looking back warily the whole time. 

Lyla trained her eyes on the target area as she walked around to the passenger door. "Something's over there," she said, getting into Jack's car. "It's Keenan."

The repugnant odor grew stronger. "God, that smell." Jack winced, driving out of the parking lot.

"Don't take me home," she said. "Let's go."

"Where?" He knew the answer. "Now?"

"Didn't you hear what I said about Packer?"

"I can't go right now. How am I gonna do anything with this?" He gestured toward his sling.

Her temper flared. "You were gonna fight some skaterboi, and now you're too injured to drive?"

He didn't respond.

"I can't ask Darcy or my dad to take me out there. It needs to be you and it needs to be right now! Before it gets dark."

"Seriously? Right now?"

"How do you not get this? We can't wait. He's coming for you."

She unzipped her backpack, pulled out the tattered envelope, and unfolded the page. "This is the letter from Clarisse." She read. "You must find the burial place of Keenan Ames and open the casket to expose the remains. You must cover the remains with salt. Every bit of the corpse, especially the bones. You must not skip the salting. The salt purification is the only way to break the attachment of the spirit to his body."

Jack shook his head.

"You must soak the body with gasoline, kerosene or lighter fluid. And you must burn the body. The remains must be completely burned. If the fire goes out or someone interrupts the incineration, the demonic spirit may remain."

"Jesus. Do you know how insane that sounds?"

She replied, "Yeah, it's totally insane. But I think she's right."

He lowered his head, emitting a discouraged sigh. After a long pause, he said, "Do you even remember how to get there?"

"I remember. Every. Single. Mile."

........

Few words were exchanged on their way out of town. She could feel Jack's anxiety expanding until it nearly pinned her to the window. Concerned about getting caught checking him out, Lyla kept her eyes on the scenery. She didn't need another lecture. Especially not now.

She texted her dad and told him she'd be a little late, using Darcy as an alibi. 

Dad: She's driving you home, right?

Lyla: Yeah. Definitely.

Dad: I'll come and get you if she changes her mind.

Lyla: Okay.

She hadn't seen another vehicle for miles. When she noticed a road sign she gestured. "Old Henderson Pike. Make a right."

The narrow strip of asphalt twisted and dipped along the hilly terrain. She remembered the sensation of isolation, the haunting feeling of exposure and vulnerability.

As Jack steered around a curve, he slowed at the sight of a line of orange traffic cones. The cracked and crumbling pavement bore a temporary patch. Gravel crunched beneath the wheels as the car forged ahead.

"We're almost there," she said.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I remember this."

It wasn't long before they discovered the tight dirt and gravel pathway branching off to the left and ascending the face of the precarious hillside. At the summit, a cluster of oak trees reached into the gray sky, leafy branches hungry for a breeze. A distant blackbird cackled.

As Jack steered his car to the side of the road, Lyla had already extracted the drone from her shoulder bag. She switched out the battery with a fresh one and attached her phone to the controller. She shouldered the door open and jogged a short distance away from the car, setting the drone on the ground. The fragrance of the early autumn air rode in on a cool breeze. She returned to the car where Jack waited, hoping that her flying skills were equal to her ambition.

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

Great timing, Darcy.

They took a quick survey of the area and, finding no one in sight, Lyla exhaled a long breath then launched the drone. The controller shook in her trembling hands as they watched the phone screen. The drone provided an aerial view of the rugged terrain as it climbed. As it rose above the summit Jack said, "They put up a fence. Looks like a metal fence, maybe eight-feet tall."

She set the drone to hover.

"With fence spikes. Holy shit. Nobody's climbing that fence."

Her phone buzzed again.

"Where's the grave?" she asked, sending the drone lower, circling the graveyard.

"There," said Jack, tapping the phone screen. "That's a new marker." He looked around anxiously. "So, let's get the hell out of here before someone hears it."

"No pressure," she groaned. Lyla nearly directed the drone into a tree while turning it around, then steadied her nerves and concentrated.

"I think I hear someone coming," said Jack, looking down the road.

Again, her phone buzzed.

What's so important?

She heard it, too, a rumbling engine in the distance getting closer but she dared not take her eyes off the drone. It seemed to take forever to descend to the base of the hill.

"Looks like an old Cadillac," he said as he climbed behind the wheel.

Her stomach flipped when she remember the gray Cadillac parked in front of her home the night of Rose's surprise visit. The drone made a hard landing, bouncing onto the road.

The engine chugged like a locomotive as the vehicle came into view behind them.