جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 25

The other townspeople started trying to talk some sense into Sophie.“Sophie, Mr. Carter has known your family for years. You can’t talk to him like that.”But Sophie’s eyes were already red.“Mr. Wade said this is the best place for Uncle Tim to be laid to rest, and that it’ll be good for everyone in Willow Creek too. Why won’t you just agree?”Without waiting for Mr. Carter’s answer, she grabbed a shovel and started digging.Mr. Wade stood nearby with his hands clasped in front of him, quietly chanting something under his breath.Mr. Carter looked like he was about to have a heart attack.“That girl is unbelievable!” he snapped. “No respect for anyone. I never should’ve asked Ryan’s mother to call her and tell her to come back!”Mom couldn’t hold back either and stepped forward to give Sophie a piece of her mind.Sophie ignored them both.She just kept digging.Watching her, I felt increasingly uneasy.I couldn’t explain it, but the girl in front of me barely felt like th

Even Arthur pointed out that the casket was missing the evergreen sprig Willow Creek families traditionally placed on top to keep the dead at rest.“If a storm rolls in before he’s buried, we could have a serious problem,” he said. “Especially if there’s thunder.”A shiver ran through me.I had read about that in the book the blind old man had given me. According to the old superstitions, certain things had to be done to keep a body at rest.So what the hell was Mr. Wade trying to do?Lightning suddenly split the sky.A few seconds later, another flash lit up the hill.The young men carrying the casket immediately started looking nervous.Mr. Wade’s face tightened.“Start digging. We need to get him in the ground before the rain starts.”Everyone hurried forward.Even people who didn’t believe much in superstition knew that a storm breaking during a burial was supposed to be a terrible omen.I followed them, but something suddenly tugged at my pant leg.I stumbled and near

I was going to suffocate to death in that casket.No.I wasn’t going to die like this.I tried to scream, but all that came out was that same eerie, unnatural laughter.I pounded on the lid with both fists, only to realize that whatever strange strength I’d had earlier was completely gone.Before lowering the casket, some of the men had been so worried about Uncle Tim getting back out that they had piled extra dirt over the grave.Damn it.No wonder Mr. Wade had chosen such a terrible place to bury him.This whole thing had been aimed at me from the start.I lay there in the darkness, completely helpless.There was no sound from outside anymore.All I could hear was my own breathing.The air inside the casket grew thinner and thinner.My eyelids grew heavier and heavier until I finally blacked out.When I woke again, thunder rumbled overhead.Was it raining?A moment later, cold water began seeping into the casket.Boom!A deafening crack of thunder shook the ground.