Jack was sitting in his home late at night. The window in his room was indented with a sitting area. He rested there, head leaning against the wall watching the rain pound against the window. It was a big storm, thunder and lightning constantly lighting up the house. Outside the wind was blowing branches and trash down the street. The big oak in their front yard had already lost a rather large branch. Jack blinked suddenly when a massive crack filled the air. That lightning bolt must have stuck pretty close.
The door to his room slammed open as his little sister Elizabeth ran in. She was so small, even for her age. Launching herself into his lap, her body began racking with sobs of fear. No words needed to be spoken for Jack to know that her fear of lightning was acting up again. He wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and pulled her head into his chest. Stroking her velvet soft hair, they sat there together until the shaking stopped. Looking down Jack could see that his baby sister was fast asleep, face a mask of peace, safe from the storm. Another crack filled the air.
The candles lighting the room went out, filling it with darkness. Even light from the moon went out. It seemed that the room was suddenly absent of any light or sound. Moving his arm around, Jack tried to wake Elizabeth, but found her gone. She had disappeared.
"Elizabeth." He said quietly and urgently. Where had she gone.
"Elizabeth!" this time his voice was strained. He shifted his head side to side trying to see anything in the darkness. Then he froze. What happened to the rain? He looked towards where the window was, but still couldn't see a thing. Fear and dread filling him he screamed out,
"Elizabeth!"As his mouth gaped open, he could feel something fall in, covering nearly his entire face. It felt like plaster and wood. Was there a hole in his roof? Maybe the storm had shaken something loose. When he didn't get an answer from his third call for his sister, Jack tried to sit up. His head immediately slammed into a flat piece of wood lying above his head.
"What the..." Reaching up above his head, Jack's hand found solid wood. The fear he felt increased, and he was sure he should have felt his heart thudding out of his chest. Only he didn't. Thrusting his hands to either side, he again felt wood. What happened to his window? What happened to his sister? What happened to him?
Panicking at being in such a tight space, Jack's hand began to slam into the wood above head head again and again. He could feel a dull throb every time his fist landed, but it was nothing like how he remembered. Pushing the thought to the side for the moment he punched once more as hard as he could in the small space. Feeling the wood give slightly, his hope rose, until dirt began to pour in, landing all over his face. He froze again in sudden realization. He was in a wooden box, surrounded by dirt. He had been buried. Alive. A scream ripped out of his throat. What was going on?