chapter 3

So they walked through the cemetery gate and headed to a large tree that stood tall and mighty, in the middle of the cemetery.

"Well good morning to you two fine gentlemen, here to visit her grave again?" someone asked

Tony and his father turned to look at the cemetery maintenance hut. Through the thin mist, they could see a tall thin man. He wore a long black trench coat, a black shell hat, old black leather boots that had dried mud on the bottoms of them. His hair was short and red, and he had a pipe which he had made out of a bone in his mouth. He held an old shovel over his shoulder while leaning on the railing of the cemetery maintenance hut.

"Yes, yes we are." Said Tony's father

"How are you today Undertaker," asked Jack looking in the Undertakers direction.

"I'm doing fine just got here myself. Have to remove some bushes to make room for some new graves later on today" replied the Undertaker.

" Oh ok, well would you mind opening the gate so that we can get to her grave," said Tony's father to Undertaker.

"Why of course gentlemen, please follow me," said the Undertaker.

So Tony and his father began to follow him to the grave of his mother. As they walked along the path Tony caught a glimpse of something black to the left of the path. He walked towards it to see what it was. He stopped right in front of the black object, then realizing that it was a gravestone. It was a slight murky pitch black with silver letters engraved on it. "Drake Dutch-hound" it read "1991-2020 cause of death unknown".

"Hey Tony, are you coming" His dad called him from the gate that was in front of the big tree.

"Y-yeah I'm coming" Tony replied as he turned away from the grave went to meet up with his dad at the gate.

He came up next to his father as the Undertaker was unlocking the gate with his keys. Tony looked up at the tree that towered over them. The bark was black as if it had been burned, but he began to notice something about the tree, as the Undertaker finally opened the gate and they walked in Tony went over to it for a closer look. He noticed that there were light blue streaks running up through its trunk. Even stranger they seemed to be pulsating as if the tree had a beating heart.

"You coming," His father asked him from the entrance to the crypt at the base of the tree.

"Yeah, I'm coming" He replied as he slowly pulled himself from the strange sight.

"Strange sight isn't it Lad" the Undertaker pointed out with a smile.

" The tree I-It's almost like its a-" Tony was responding.

" Like a Beating black heart, oh it's been like that for a while" Replied the Undertaker.

" Something extraordinary might happen to this town soon, young lad." The Undertaker finished with a smile and chuckled silently.

"very soon indeed," the Undertaker said with a big smile as he lit his pipe.