Dana grabbed his heaviest jacket from his closet and shoved his phone into his hoodie pocket. He nodded at Kalen as his younger brother carried his midnight snack to his room, then he eased down the stairs and out the front door without incident.

Greg and the rest of the guys were waiting for Dana at the end of the street. Dana couldn’t make out any of their features through the frost-covered windows, but he knew it was them because the crew cab’s headlights flashed once, signaling to him just as Greg had texted that he would.

Dana shoved his hands into the fleece-lined pockets of his jacket and hurried to the crew cab. He passed by a street lamp on his way. The light offered was meager, but it allowed him to see the wispy smoke that his breath created as he came closer to the truck. It also allowed him to make out Greg’s features as the larger male opened the driver’s side door and stepped out of the truck.

Greg stepped aside and held the door open as Dana slid in beside Ricky. Dana was thankful the heater was on full blast and he took his hands out of his pockets so he could hold them in the path of the warm air. Ian and Shane offered their greetings from the backseat of the crew cab. Ricky, however, remained silent even after Dana greeted him. The dark-haired young man only offered a nod of his head to indicate he’d even heard him.

“Glad you could join us, Mitchell.” Greg said as he slid in beside Dana and slammed the truck’s door shut. Cranking the vehicle, he pulled onto the street.

“So,” Dana finally said. “Where are we going?”

Ian laughed. “We’re going to teach some Indians a lesson in respect.”

“W-what!?” Dana wasn’t sure he liked that idea.

Greg laughed, probably at the squeak in Dana’s voice.

“Don’t worry.” He said. “It’ll be fun.”

Judging by what they said, Dana had assumed their idea of fun would have been egging or toilet papering a few houses or vehicles. Nothing big. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t have been more wrong.

A fearful sense of apprehension started when Greg turned off of the main street and onto a tree-lined side road. He felt dread settle into the pit of his stomach when Greg brought the truck to a stop in front of what appeared to be a very old graveyard. The larger male put the truck in park and turned off the engine.

“Alright, here we are!” Greg said and Dana heard the excitement in his voice as he reached across Dana to open the glove compartment. “Get those flashlights, would ya, Ricky?”

“Where is here, exactly?” Dana asked, watching as Ricky handed a flashlight to Greg. He kept one for himself and then tossed another into Dana’s lap. Dana fumbled with it as he watched Greg open the driver’s side door. Somehow, he had a sneaking suspicion he wasn’t going to like whatever it was they had planned.

“A cemetery used mostly by the Métis.” Shane said as he pushed open his door. Dana sat frozen to his seat as the other lads filed out of the truck.

“What are you doing? Come on!” Greg said with a chuckle. He grabbed Dana by the arm and bodily hauled him out of the truck.

Dana watched in horror as the other three guys began to unload the back of the truck, taking out the contents they’d stored there. Gas cans, shovels, a pickaxe…

“W-what are we going to do, exactly?” Dana asked, stumbling as he nearly tripped over what he hoped to have been a root.

He watched in dawning horror as Ricky uncapped a gas can and proceeded to pour oil on a couple of tombstones. Everything became covered with thick black gunk. The names on the tombstones, the flowers, and the other offerings left behind for the deceased.

Aghast at the sight, he took a step back, intending to flee but not really knowing where he was going to go either. It wasn’t like he could walk home. He wasn’t familiar with the area and it was pitch dark beyond the insufficient light put forth by the flashlight in his hand. He’d freeze to death before he got halfway home. His cell phone was in his pocket, but could he hold out in the cold long enough for his dad to come and find him? Could he even figure out where he was so he could provide his dad with enough information to go on?

Dana had wanted to do something to past the time, but desecrating grave markers just wasn’t it.

Dana turned to face Greg. He wasn’t really sure what he was going to say, but anything he’d intended to say died on his tongue as he watched Greg lift the pickaxe they’d taken out of the truck. The larger male swung it a couple of times in the air as if testing its weight, then with a hefty swing, he brought the tool down against a tombstone. The granite chipped away and the stone fell backwards under the force of the swing.

Dana felt like he was going to be sick to his stomach. He stumbled forward, hand outstretched. He grabbed the sleeve of Greg’s jacket before the young man could again lift the hand tool.

“W-what are you doing? Stop!” Dana cried, finally finding his voice.

“What’s wrong?” Greg asked, his brow furrowed. Dana suddenly realized the other guys had also halted in their own acts of vandalism to look at him.

“T-this just ain’t my thing.” Dana said.

Greg turned toward him. “It ain’t?”

“No!” He squeaked out. Clearing his voice, he tried again. “I mean, you can get in big trouble for this kinda thing...”

“Is that so?” The larger boy’s gaze suddenly darkened. He calmly sat the pickaxe on the ground, leaning its handle against an unmolested headstone. Greg reached behind him and Dana blanched when he saw what he held in his hand. A handgun, probably police issued. Had Ricky taken it from his dad?

Dana felt terror grip him by the throat when Greg lifted the gun and pointed it straight at him.

“Well, if it’s not your thing, maybe I should just get rid of you then? Keep you from talking.”

Dana took a stumbling step backwards, but he knew even if he tried to run, he wouldn’t make it very far. Suddenly, Greg laughed and Dana wondered how he could have ever liked the sound of it. Greg’s laugh was terrifying.

“I’m just fucking with you.” Greg said as he lowered the gun and proceeded to shove it in his waistband. “We’ll end this for now. C’mon. Help put this stuff we brought back in the truck and we’ll all head to my place for a bite to eat. How bout it?”

Dana tried to keep his voice steady. “I’d l-like to, but my dad’ll have my head if I ain’t home when he wakes up.”

Greg watched him thoughtfully as he helped load the last of the gas cans in the back of the truck. “Your dad doesn’t know you’re with us?”

“He wouldn’t want me out on a school night.” Dana replied. Then he added quickly. “Kalen, my brother, agreed to cover for me but he’ll squeal if my Dad finds out I’m not at home.”

“Could’ve just told your old man we’re playing video games.” Shane suggested.

“That’d make it worse.” Greg said as he slapped Shane on the back of the head. It was a good-natured move and one that stood completely counter to the look on Greg’s face as he’d pointed that gun at Dana only moments earlier. Dana couldn’t suppress the shiver that worked its way down his spine. He wanted to go home and then forget Greg and his buddies ever existed.

“You cold?” Greg asked. “Get in the truck and turn on the heat.”

Dana did as he was told and waited for the other four guys to pile inside the crew cab.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, however, when a loud cracking sound issued. Five heads immediately swiveled to face the direction it came from.

Dana squinted his eyes, looking past the dim light from his flashlight into the darkness beyond. Drifting snowflakes obscured most of what lay up ahead on the winding road from which they’d come, but when he finally spotted it, Dana felt his blood chill in his veins.