Don't be silly, ghosts aren't real

Cedric, an 18-year-old first year college student, sighed as he approached his destination in his father's old '08 Toyota Camry. Dimming the headlights as he pulled into its gravel carpark, he waved as he saw his other friends, who had already arrived some time earlier and were lounging about on the provided benches outside a small, old church.

Cedric normally wouldn't have been out of the house at such a late hour. Under normal circumstances, he'd probably have been enjoying a game of Halo or Valorant. However, his friends had gotten caught up in a game of chicken, and someone had decided that spending an hour or two in the large, pre-World War I era graveyard on the outskirts of town was an excellent way of proving their mettle.

Now, Cedric certainly wasn't cowardly or faint-hearted, but he didn't suffer from an urge to constantly one-up the others. He also really wasn't enthused by the idea of spending a few hours in a godforsaken graveyard. Unfortunately for him, his best friend Ethan had decided to volunteer both of them for this challenge, and had spent the subsequent hour cajoling him into actually attending the meetup instead of just locking himself in their dorm room and spending the night on his computer. So there he was, with a group of rowdy boys, outside a graveyard at the Devil's hour on the night of a new moon.

Ethan's lithe, lean frame approached Cedric as he switched off the engine and exited the car. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come."

"Well, you promising to get me the newest Call of Duty title really helped."

"That's only if you don't chicken out. You gotta stay in there at least as long as I do."

Cedric grinned. "It's as good as mine, then."

"Enough yapping," called Adrian from the rickety, rusted wrought-iron gate. Adrian was gangly, a 20 year-old, 6 foot 5 teen with long limbs who sometimes projected the air of an uncoordinated giraffe. He towered over the rest, and was nearly a whole foot taller than Cedric. "Time to put up or shut up."

"Ladies first," Ethan gestured. Adrian rolled his eyes and slipped past the gate, the rest of the boys slowly trooping in after him.

The cemetery was... dismal. Many of the plots were untended, and the lit lampposts did not extend their light generously. The trees leaves overhead added a rustling, background whisper to an otherwise quiet, slightly eerie atmosphere. As they boys made their way through the cemetery, they came across a quiet, dimly-lit clearing among the graves, and decided that it was as good a place to stay as any.

As it turned out, having 6 teenage boys just sitting around and staring at each other in near-total darkness was far less scary than they'd envisioned. It was also far more boring.

"This is stupid," George, a slightly pudgy boy complained. "Can we go now?" Privately, Cedric agreed with the sentiment. There really was nothing impressive, or even scary, about the graveyard. He could see the other two boys, Keith and Ivan, nodding their heads as well.

"Sure," Ethan said. And then under his breath, "wuss."

"You can't tell me you're not bored," said someone. "It's been an hour of nothing."

"Feel free to head out," Ethan jibed. "The gate's right that way."

"Look, I think we can all agree that this has been a big bust. Let's just call it a draw," Adrian yawned.

Ethan's eyes gleamed. "Fine, but on one condition," he challenged. "Each of us has gotta do a dare, otherwise this entire night would be pointless." There was a little grumbling but soon enough, everyone acquiesced.

"I'll go first," said Adrian.

"Second!" called Keith.