Chapter 4 - The Grave
The distant sound of savage barking sent a fresh jolt of adrenaline through my exhausted body.
I abandoned the safety of the shipping containers and bolted toward a broken window at the back of the warehouse.
I scrambled through the jagged glass, tearing my jeans and scraping my knee in the process.
I didn't stop to assess the damage, pushing myself into the dense woods behind the industrial park.
I ran until my lungs burned and the barking faded into a distant echo.
I found myself standing on the edge of a lonely highway just as the sun began to set.
A battered pickup truck pulled over when I stuck my thumb out.
The kindly old farmer didn't ask any questions when I told him I just needed a ride into town.
He dropped me off two blocks away from the city's oldest cemetery.
The text message on the burner phone had been incredibly specific.
I pulled my collar up against the evening chill and slipped through the wrought-iron gates.
Shadows stretched long over the rows of weathered tombstones.
I navigated the familiar paths until I found the freshly dug plot I had stood before just hours ago.
Carl's name was etched into a temporary wooden marker.
I knelt in the dirt, exhausted, confused, and utterly alone.
What was I supposed to find here in the dark?
"You're late," a voice whispered from the shadows behind a large stone angel.
I spun around, ready to run, as a tall woman in a black trench coat stepped into the moonlight.
She had piercing green eyes and high cheekbones that looked hauntingly familiar.
"Who are you?" I demanded, clenching my fists.
"I am Carl's sister, Elena," she said, stepping closer.
"And you need to start digging if we are going to survive the night."
She tossed a small, foldable tactical shovel to the ground at my feet.
"Dig where?" I asked, completely bewildered.
"Six inches directly under the wooden cross," she commanded.
I dropped to my knees and began clawing at the loose dirt with the shovel.
Within minutes, the metal blade struck something solid.
I pulled out a small, heavy titanium box and handed it up to her.
May you like
She smiled, opened the box, and then slowly pulled a combat knife from her coat.
"Thank you for your service," she whispered, raising the blade.
