Cleaning up dead carcasses was Jaejoong’s job. This was his first day. His friend Jessica had specially designed a broom for him. Although he’d told her plenty of Sehunes that he didn’t need it, Jessica had insisted. Thank God! Jaejoong felt sick to his stomach. He clenched the broom as if it were life’s pinnacle. 

Screams flooded the silence. Jaejoong’s eyes went wide when the hapless Jungkook was tied to the stake. Jaejoong face was but a skeletal death mask.

A bag of rats was poured onto Jungkook. 

Jaejoong witnessed the fiends gnash through the fiend’s stomach, hands, neck before gobbling the eyes. He puked a little in his own mouth and then forced himself to swallow. He wanted to remain invisible. His eyes shifted to the silhouetted guards.

One stuck a finger into his ear and dug frantically. “Finally, he stopped screaming. I thought I’d blow an eardrum.”

“I hate this kind of vermin. They’re nothing but a leper colony.”

Jaejoong’s invisibility cloak didn’t last long.

“Clean this up will you? And shoe out these rats. They think they own the place.” An officer barked orders at Jaejoong.

He bobbed his head.

They gave him a disgusted look and finally left. When the door to the interrogation room thud, Jaejoong was finally able to breathe air into his cheeks.

“Phew! I’d be turning purple if they stayed. These runts woulda had me for desserts then.”

He clutched the broom closer and watched the rats. Their amber eyes shone with a particular malevolence. Blood stained their fur and puddled where the helpless knave lay. Jaejoong scrunched his nose. There was a terrible scent of decay. He was only noticing it now.

“Glad thing I isn’t superstitious or this woulda terrify me, aye Broomy? Whats you say we have rat soup for lunch?”

*

“Gross!” Spat Sehun when he heard Jaejoong’s story. “So he actually had rat soup?” His stomach twisted and turned at the idea.

“Sounds like little Sehunmy’s afraid of itty bitty rats,” Kai hooted with laughter, doubling over with tears streaming down his hollow cheeks.

“Shut it, Sehun’s not afraid of no mice. I ain’t gonna chow the critters. I’s got dignity. Sehun’s a gentleman.”

Gentleman. At this, both friends cackled. For a moment all was forgotten.

February’s cold breeze whistled through the bare trees surrounding them. The duo froze for a second. An owl was watching them with large eyes.

“Oi! What ya staring at?” Kai collected a handful of stones from the ground and tossed them at the bird.

“Daft owl,” Sehun muttered. He rubbed his hands together for warmth. No avail. He shoved his chapped fingers into his coat pockets. “Let’s be getting that body back.”

“Aye, I’s not liking the look of this graveyard. It’s looking kinda dead,” Kai quipped. Shovel in hand, he waddled after Sehun.

“Where did Jaejoong say he put him?” Kai asked.

“Said he put a rake with him,” replied Sehun.

“How’s we meant ter find a rake in this dark?”

Kai pulled his coat around him. The hole-ridden garment provided little warmth. It was three sizes too large for Kai’s malnourished frame. He was always tripping over it.

Kai stuck behind Sehun for security. If the boogy man, or Satan, or witch was out hunting for gravediggers they would find Sehun first. Kai planned to use Sehun as his shield and flee when it was convenient.

Sehun stopped. He peered over his shoulder at Kai. For a moment the latter thought Sehun had read his mind and was getting ready to plead, it’s all lies Sehun, I swear.

“Kai, we shoulda brought a torch. The skies all clouds. I can’t see nothing.”

Kai blinked. That was true. He couldn’t see anything either. Perhaps they shouldn’t have agreed to this at all. There could be ghosts lurking about. Then he thought of the valuables, the money he could make selling those and changed his mind.

“Let’s keep going Sehun.” Kai could sniff the dough. His sniffer made him braver. He plucked the courage to swerve around Sehun and start looking seriously.

Sehun scratched his head from under his cap. He watched Kai’s shadow flutter along until there was a loud gong. Sehun jumped 10ft into the air. Then he yanked his cap and stiffled all the giggles in the world into it. Kai had just walked onto the rake and given himself a good wallop.

Kai’s dizzying mind was frazzled. Heat flooded into his face. He jumped off the rake and pretended nothing happened. Throwing a finger at the muck he stated, “This the place.”

Sehun bounced over. The two peered at the unusual grave. It looked as if someone had gotten there before them. “Blasphemous!” Sehun cussed. “Which of Satan’s moldy toes does something like whisking off the body?”

“Bloody Mary! Coulda left the loot for us if alls they wanted was the body.”

*

Yoona hummed to herself. She was putting patches on her new dress while the spuds boiled over the fire. The sweet scent of potatoes made the corners of salivate. She pretended that she wasn’t ravenous. Jaejoong often complained she should be more like a lady. That was why Yoona was holding a needle. She didn’t actually know how to use it. 

Her twin Jessica was better at lady things. Perhaps this was because they were twins born in different months. Yoona had arrived into the world as the last few minutes of Yoona were passing and Jessica came in the new month. Twins, yet very different.

Jessica was sitting at the hearth of the fire mending old clothes. She was doing a very fine job of it too. Yoona considered giving Jessica her dress. She found all these lady chores very trifling. It was more exciting to peer out the window.

Their neighbourhood was queer tonight. Queerer than normal. Yoona observed Lisa go running down the narrow cobbled streets. Her husband Bill went stumbling after her. What really caught Yoona’s attention was that pool of mud splas