“Forget the autopsy.

We bury them today.”

Chapter 6 — The Box

The darkness I woke into was a different darkness.

It was heavy, and close, and it pressed against my open eyes.

My fingers moved against a rough surface.

A deep ache throbbed behind my temples in time with a heartbeat that felt slow and far away.

The air I dragged into my burning lungs was thick and stale and smelled of varnish and cold soil.