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Chapter XXXVII pgs. 244-245
Jasper and Dakota were tired. Delivering the body for cremation and picking up a package for Dr. Heckleweit were their last tasks for the day. After that, it was beer, pool, and, if they were lucky, company for the night. Jasper pulled a fat ring of keys from his pocket, and jingled them looking for the one belonging to the lock on the shed’s door. Meanwhile, Dakota rolled a dolly from the truck bed onto a hydraulic lift gate, then lowered it to the uneven crushed-rock path. “Come on, already. It’s way past quitting time, and I’m starving.”
“Don’t stroke out, man,” Jasper answered. “I’ve just about got it.”
From inside the box, Johanna heard the door creak open. The squeaking was loud, like a peacock’s cry, and Johanna startled from the sound. “Help! Help! I’m in here.” She thought she was screaming, but no sound came out. She thought the words, but could not make the sounds. A noise, she thought. Any noise. Her left hand rested on the bottom of the casket, and she scratched the cardboard with her nails. Her hands were weak, as weak as her voice. She scratched again.
“Do you hear anything?” Dakota shivered. He didn’t like being around cadavers.
“Probably mice.”
“Let’s just get out of here.”
“No,” Johanna’s mind yelled, but her mouth stayed quiet. It was too hard, too foggy. She tried to move her arm, but it stayed limp. She heard the men shuffling about the shed, and she heard the locker door click open. With all the strength in her body, she willed her hand to scratch the cardboard. She opened her mouth to scream. A groan, almost silent, finally escaped her throat.
Dakota jumped. “We’re out of here – right now.”
Without bothering to load up the dolly, they picked up the coffin that Maria had left in the meat locker and hauled it out to the waiting truck. Johanna heard the sound of the door pushed shut, and the noise of the lock clicking into place. “Please, help me. Help me.” Her mind thought the words, but her throat stayed silent. She heard the motor grumble to a start, then the sound of tires spraying gravel. And the sound grew smaller and stiller as the truck drove into the distance. And then there was nothing - the inside of a box and nothing else.
Chapter XXXVII pgs. 244-245
Jasper and Dakota were tired. Delivering the body for cremation and picking up a package for Dr. Heckleweit were their last tasks for the day. After that, it was beer, pool, and, if they were lucky, company for the night. Jasper pulled a fat ring of keys from his pocket, and jingled them looking for the one belonging to the lock on the shed’s door. Meanwhile, Dakota rolled a dolly from the truck bed onto a hydraulic lift gate, then lowered it to the uneven crushed-rock path. “Come on, already. It’s way past quitting time, and I’m starving.”
“Don’t stroke out, man,” Jasper answered. “I’ve just about got it.”
From inside the box, Johanna heard the door creak open. The squeaking was loud, like a peacock’s cry, and Johanna startled from the sound. “Help! Help! I’m in here.” She thought she was screaming, but no sound came out. She thought the words, but could not make the sounds. A noise, she thought. Any noise. Her left hand rested on the bottom of the casket, and she scratched the cardboard with her nails. Her hands were weak, as weak as her voice. She scratched again.
“Do you hear anything?” Dakota shivered. He didn’t like being around cadavers.
“Probably mice.”
“Let’s just get out of here.”
“No,” Johanna’s mind yelled, but her mouth stayed quiet. It was too hard, too foggy. She tried to move her arm, but it stayed limp. She heard the men shuffling about the shed, and she heard the locker door click open. With all the strength in her body, she willed her hand to scratch the cardboard. She opened her mouth to scream. A groan, almost silent, finally escaped her throat.
Dakota jumped. “We’re out of here – right now.”
Without bothering to load up the dolly, they picked up the coffin that Maria had left in the meat locker and hauled it out to the waiting truck. Johanna heard the sound of the door pushed shut, and the noise of the lock clicking into place. “Please, help me. Help me.” Her mind thought the words, but her throat stayed silent. She heard the motor grumble to a start, then the sound of tires spraying gravel. And the sound grew smaller and stiller as the truck drove into the distance. And then there was nothing - the inside of a box and nothing else.
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