Chapter 2: The Sound from Within
THE LIVING DEAD
The heavy oak doors of the chapel banged open, echoing through the hollow room. Leo burst inside, his suit disheveled, his eyes bloodshot and streaming with tears.
"Dad! Dad!" he screamed, his voice cracking with pure agony.
At the altar stood his mother, Eleanor. Clad in a flawless black dress, her hands were clasped in front of her, the picture of a grieving widow. Beside her stood a somber funeral director and a framed portrait of Leo’s father, Arthur—a man who, up until two days ago, was perfectly healthy.
Leo rushed toward the mahogany casket, collapsing against its polished wood. "I want to see my father one last time! Please, just let me see him!"
As Leo frantically grabbed the edge of the lid, trying to force it open, Eleanor lunged forward. Her hands gripped his arms with a strength born of pure panic. Her face distorted into a mask of terror.
"No, Leo! You can't! It can't be opened!" she hissed, her voice a sharp, desperate whisper.
"Why?!" Leo sobbed, staring into his mother's wide, frantic eyes. "Why are you keeping him from me?"
Eleanor pulled him close, her breath hot against his face. "Your father had a disease. A very contagious disease."
Leo froze. A contagious disease? It made no sense. His father hadn't been sick. But before he could question her, Eleanor’s eyes darted nervously toward the heavy lid of the coffin.
She was lying. Leo could feel it in his gut.
The Secret Inside
Suddenly, the chapel went dead silent. The soft organ music seemed to fade into the background.
Thump.
Leo blinked, his breath catching in his throat. He looked down at the casket.
Thump. Thump.
It was a muffled, desperate sound. A frantic scratching against the silk lining from the inside of the coffin.
"Leo, we have to leave, right now!" Eleanor panicked, grabbing his jacket and trying to drag him away. "Guards! Escort my son out!"
"No! Wait!" Leo broke free from her grip. He slammed his ear against the cold mahogany wood.
Beneath the heavy lid, the thumping grew wilder. Along with the banging, there was a muffled, suffocating cry of a man fighting for air.
In that horrific second, the truth shattered Leo's world. His father wasn't dead. He wasn't sick. Arthur was trapped inside that box, suffocating, his mouth sealed shut with thick, black duct tape, staring up into the darkness of his own tomb.
The Betrayal
Leo looked up at his mother, horror turning into blinding rage. "What did you do to him?"
Eleanor’s grieving expression completely vanished. Her face hardened into ice. She stepped back, looking at the funeral director and the two heavy-set guards rushing into the chapel.
"He knows too much," Eleanor said coldly, her voice devoid of any emotion. "Seal the casket. Take it straight to the crematorium. Now."
"You monster!" Leo roared, lunging at his mother, but the two guards tackled him to the floor.
The funeral director stepped forward, pulling a heavy iron wrench from his coat to lock the casket permanently. From inside the box, the muffled screams of Arthur grew frantic, knowing his time was running out.
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Leo, pinned to the ground, watched the wrench turn the first lock. If he didn't break free in the next sixty seconds, his father would be burned alive.
Would you like to know if Leo manages to save his father in the next chapter?
