I awoke in darkness, with no idea of how much time had passed. Hazy memories served to give me an idea of where I was, along with the scents of cheap pine and wet earth.

Joe had awakened at the morgue. How had I earned a coffin?

More importantly, how was I supposed too escape this nightmare before I ran out of air, without drowning in dirt?

Then, I noticed; I wasn’t breathing.

What if I was stuck down here forever, trapped?

Were I still human, I would have been hyperventilating and would have missed the unmistakable sound of a shovel hitting the top of the coffin. As it was, I jumped, startled.

When I recovered, I shoved the coffin’s lid up, as hard as I could. The half covering my upper body lifted easily. Standing on the dirt still covering the coffin’s other half was the woman from the morgue.

“Wonderful!” she said, clapping her manicured hands together. “I do so hate digging up dead bodies.”

“Something you do often?” I asked, feeling hysterical, and tried to tell myself I wasn’t a hypocrite.