The light is blocked in an instant. I scream to be let out, hammering my hands on the wood as the lid scrapes into place. I try not to panic as I hear nails being hammered into the wood above me. I’m already hot from my breathing growing ragged, my heart pounding. The muffled voices are growing fainter as I hear soil being tossed on top of the coffin.
I scream again but all I get in return is a sore throat. I slam my fists into the wood, panic taking over. Nothing happens but more soil, the sound growing duller and then I can’t hear anything at all.
My heart beats so fast my chest is in agony. The coffin seems to be shrinking around me, the cheap wood unrelenting, splinters digging into me as I scrape at the with my nails.
How’s it come to this so fast? How could I have been this stupid? How did love get me here?
He told me he was bad news but I never thought it could end like this. I’m on the verge of hyperventilating but I think back to how I felt when I held his business card, how it comforted me, and how he comforted me after the attack in the alleyway. I try to channel that feeling.
Is Enzo alive? I have to believe that but even if he is, how could he possibly hope to find me?
I’m going to die in here. I know I am. There’s no way I’m telling them the location of the negatives. I hope Enzo gives them to the FBI so Blizzard gets arrested and charged. I might be dead but at least he’ll get justice for what happened to his mother.
I don’t know how long I’m here. Time stretches out in front of me as I fight the overwhelming panic that keeps bubbling up. I’m trapped underground with no way out.
My fists are bloody from slamming into the wood above me, my nails ragged from clawing pointlessly at the planks. When I kick out, all that happens is a few sprinkles of soil get between the joints, drifting down onto my face and making my fear grow even larger.
I don’t want to die down here. I want to see Enzo one last time. I want to tell him I love him. Why didn’t I tell him when I had the chance?
I cry ugly sobs, my face a mess as I tell myself to stop it. Keep calm. What would Enzo do? He’d wait until they dug him up and then fight his way out. He wouldn’t panic. He wouldn’t cry. He’d be strong. You can be strong too.
I keep talking to myself, not realizing I’m doing it out loud as much as in my head. The ramblings keep going even as my throat dries up. I try to slow my breathing down, not wanting to use up the air in here. I’ve no idea how long it will last. Will I be alive when they dig me up?
A long time later, maybe an eternity, I hear something that isn’t my shallow breaths. I listen hard. Is it my imagination? No, there’s something out there. A scraping sound. Is that the soil being dug out? Is that Enzo come to save me? It must be. He’s come for me like I knew he would.
I start praying, thanking God for another chance at life. The sound grows louder until there’s a definite thump of a shovel hitting the coffin lid. The screech of nails being pulled loose one after another. I call out. “I’m in here! Save me, Enzo!” My voice is hoarse but the words are clear enough.
He doesn’t reply. Can he hear me? There’s a scratching sound and then the lid is shifting, rising, moving. The sky is lighter above me, blindingly bright despite the gray clouds swirling. At least the rain has stopped.
I wince, holding my hands above my face. Is it tomorrow? Has a whole day passed already?
“Thank you, Enzo,” I say as hands lift me into a sitting position. I hear the sound of a zipper undoing and I frown. Seriously? Is that what mood he thinks I’ll be in right now?
I squint, my eyes finally adjusting to the light enough for me to see what’s in front of me. It’s a pair of pants and a hand rummaging inside to pull out a tiny cock. I look up and I’m not looking into Enzo’s face.
“Howdy,” Tom Blizzard says, licking those sweat-covered lips of his. “Thought we could have a little fun now Umberto’s gone.”
I scramble back in the coffin, hitting the wall of dirt behind me. “Now,” Tom says, shaking his head. “I like me a fighter so if you want to claw at me and scream and all that shit, you go right ahead. Won’t change the fact you’re going to swallow everything I’ve got to give.” He sniggers. “I know you want to. All women do.”
“Get the fuck away from me,” I say, lashing out with my hands as he comes toward me.
He claps his hands together in excitement. “That’s it, you play the game. Makes it so much hotter when you give in.” He reaches into his jacket and shows me the butt of a gun, not bothering to pull it out. “Just so you know, I could cripple you and still fuck your mouth.”
“You’re an evil bastard, you know that, right?”
He throws his head back and laughs. “That’s what Fiona said to me when I got started on her. Took her tongue out to stop that whining when it got too much.”
“You sick fuck.”
“You want to know what’s sick? I got harder with each bit of her I chopped off. She was still alive when I came. I think. Hard to be sure by that point.”
He laughs some more. “Lot of women in this cemetery because of me. Killed a few and kept a few like I’m going to keep you. Just dig you up when I want some relief. The best part is when you’re underground. Weird that, isn’t it? I get to work glad-handing and schmoozing and fundraising and the whole time I know you’re under here, trapped so long that when I come to let you out, it comes as a relief. Reaches the stage you yearn for the few minutes you’re sucking me off. Means you’re out in the fresh air with the sun on your back. Doesn’t last though. You’ll start whining like you are now. I know how long your air supply can last though. The more you whine, the longer I leave you until oops, I come back and you’re not breathing anymore. Then maybe I’ll go see that friend of yours. Maisie, isn’t it? Met her last time I was at the diner. She forgot my salad dressing, dumb bitch.” He starts stroking his cock as he talks, his eyes darkening. “You’re going to take this and then I’m going to put you back in there until next time I’m bored.”
“That comes near me, I’ll bite it off.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll treat me nice and swallow what I’ve got to give and I’ll bring you some food next time. Maybe a light. You so much as graze me with a tooth and I’ll take your eyes out and then you’ll still swallow. You’re a whore, Chloe. You want this, I know you do. Same as all women. I understand women, you see. That’s why they vote for me. Now keep still and open your mouth. Didn’t you see my ads? A Blizzard is coming.”
I start laughing. It seems to be the one thing he wasn’t expecting. “What are you laughing at, bitch?” he asks, stroking his cock slower, more unsure of himself. “You think this is funny?”