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ALL SOUNDS FADED AWAY AS they lowered me down the dark, dank hole There was a jolt when the coffin hit bottom, then the rainlike sound of the first hand-fuls of soil being tossed upon the lid

There was a long silence after that, until the grave diggers began shoveling the earth back into the grave

The first few shovelfuls fell like bricks The heavy dull thuds shook the coffin As the grave filled and earth piled up between rew softer, until finally they were only farawaynoises, as they patted the mound of earth flat

And then co to the earth settle, ih the dirt I’d thought it would be scary but it was actually quite peaceful I felt safe down here, protected fro about the last feeeks, the flyer for the freak show, the strange force that had made limpse of the dark theater, the cool balcony where I had watched Steve talking with Mr Crepsley

There were so many important moments If I’d one to the shoouldn’t be here If I hadn’t stuck around to see what Steve was up to, I wouldn’t be here If I hadn’t stolen Madam Octa, I wouldn’t be here If I’d said no to Mr Crepsley’s offer, I wouldn’t be here

A world of "ifs," but it o back in time

But I couldn’t The past was behindover et the past and look to the present and future

As the hours passed, ers first, which curled into fists, then slipped from my chest, where they had been crossed by the undertaker I flexed the the itches out of ood Open or closed, it was all the saht pain My back ached fros, and heart having been out of the habit of beating hurt My legs were cramped, my neck was stiff The only part oftoe!

It hen I started breathing that I began to worry about the air in the coffin Mr Crepsley had said I could survive for up to a week in my coma-like state I didn’t need to eat or use the toilet or breathe But now that my breath was back, I became aware of the s it up

I didn’t panic Panic would asp and use more air I remained calm and breathed softly Lay as still as I could:the ti track of the nu silent songs to myself and told stories beneath my breath I wished they’d buried uess there’s notthe dead

Finally, after what seemed like several centuries stacked one on top of the other, the sounds of digging reachedquicker than any hu at all, but rather sucking the soil out He reached me in what must have been record time, less than fifteen minutes As far as I was concerned, it wasn’t a moment too soon

He knocked three ti it It took a couple of minutes, then he threw the lid wide open and I found ht sky I had ever seen