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Kieren woke to a hot, inescapable panic flooding his body. It made no difference whether his eyes were open or closed, the darkness surrounded him, swamping him in fear soon followed by claustrophobia. He found that he could not raise his arms any further than half a foot above his body, his knees instinctively moved upwards only to be met with a loud thud as they were prevented from moving any further by a solid surface.
Assessing the situation with a mind far from mentally stable was a hard thing for Kieren to do, but he soon came to the conclusion that he had, in fact, been buried alive.
Kieren decided he didn't wish to remain six feet under for the rest of his life, or was it his second life ? The events leading to his death were hardly joyous and not something he wished to recall, especially not when-Ah he thought to himself I can't have been buried alive because I- but he couldn't bring himself to finish the thought.
The only way of escape seemed to be to push his way up to the surface, though the prospect of being trapped in the dirty, grimy earth was even less appealing (though it was surprising that anything could be worse) than being trapped in a claustrophobic coffin. He briefly considered the idea that maybe someone would come and rescue him, but then he realised that no one above the ground could possibly know he was awake beneath their feet.
He knew he would have to save himself, brushing off the thoughts that told him he would be undoing his own work. He began to push upwards, pressing the palms of his hands to the lid of the coffin even though it seemed impossible to move. But then it started to give a little and a thought popped into his head that was neither helpful nor very healthy.
I wish they had just cremated me like I wanted them to, then I wouldn't be stuck in this mess. But, that was hardly fair on them. His poor family who had to deal with the unexpected loss of a son, the shame of the very child they brought into the world chosing to leave it. He told his mind to shut up again and determinedly pushed the depressing thoughts to the back of his mind.
He carried on pushing until the lid opened properly and the damp, rotten earth spilled into the coffin and submerged Kieren like a huge tidal wave. Now for the worst part, the digging. Resentfully, he pushed up his arms through the soil and began to move himself upwards with a combination of pushing and pulling. Finally, after what felt like hours of digging, something changed. He felt the wind and the rain on his fingertips - hope sparked within him, and for once - just once - in a moment of pure serenity, his thoughts simply stopped.
He managed to dig himself out fairly quickly, fuelled by the rush of adrenaline pumping through him. The clock chimed twelve as he tentatively rose from his graveside and Kieren found himself alone in the graveyard. He felt overwhelmed by all the senses that hit him in that moment, the moon in the sky, and an incredible storm blowing. He felt it all pushing into him as he stood alone by his overturned grave. That feeling, he thought to himself, it was like what being born must be like. Only now there's context. Everything else, up until this moment was fear. Even when I was alive. Just different levels of fear.
And then it was gone. Replaced by an insatiable hunger, impossible to control, and he could not wait to get started.