...
You don't know where you are.
Consciousness returns in fragments. First the smell — damp earth, fresh wood, something chemical underneath. Then the touch — rough fabric against your neck, your shoulders pressed against smooth walls, too close. Your hands rise. Touch wood. Above you. To the left. To the right. Everywhere.
Six surfaces. All close.
You cannot sit up.
The darkness is total. Absolute. Not a millimeter of light. Your eyes are open — it changes nothing.
Then the heat. Suffocating. The air is heavy, already breathed, already used. Your lungs search and find only warm emptiness.
You understand.
You are buried.
Panic rises — your heart accelerates, your breath becomes short, jagged, your fists strike the lid that does not move, that will not move —
And then.
A vibration.
In your right pocket. A phone. You pull it out by touch. The screen lights up — a brutal, white light that blinds you after the darkness.
You blink. The image stabilizes.
The screen displays:
- A single saved contact — "THE WRAITH" — No other number. No emergency calls. Nothing else.
- Time: 03:47
- Top right, a full battery icon — bright green — accompanied by the number: 100%
You understand immediately. As long as this screen stays on, you have light. When the battery hits zero... nothing left. Darkness. For good.
There is only one number to call.
Only one person who knows you are here.
You press the contact. The phone rings. Once. Twice.
Then a voice picks up. Cold. Metallic. Distorted. Not quite human.
"Hello."
🔋 100%