Winter's Child

Chapter Fifteen~Wooden Coffin

Farther East, where the light no longer conquered the dark, Elodie and Adele had their hands and feet tied. They were preparing for what neither of them could ever be prepared for. With blindfolds on, they were taken to a place neither of them could see.

Upon arriving, Elodie listened closely for any sign of where they might be. She heard what sounded like a lid being taken off of a large box. She then heard digging. The digging continued for a while until she was grabbed by the dark spirits again. She was picked up and placed somewhere, it felt like a wooden floor beneath her. Then, she heard the sound of something clicking into place as darkness surrounded her.

She tried to rise but she hit her head on a hard, wooden surface. Her brows furrowed with confusion as she shimmied to her right. Her eyes snapped open when she felt another wooden surface. She quickly shimmied to the left. Another one. It was evident then. She was in a wooden box. She kicked her feet and they hit the end of it straight away. She did the same with her head. It was a tight space. Like a coffin. Elodie's heart quickened and panic rose within her as she heard the digging again, followed by the sound of dirt hitting the top of the box. She began to writhe in an attempt to free herself. Her hands and feet were binded tightly, increasing the trapped feeling. She managed to move the blindfold away from her eyes. It didn't make much of a difference. It was still pitch black.

The digging noise ceased before long. Elodie determined that they had only covered the box with a lighter layer of dirt than she had feared. It only relieved her somewhat, for she was still locked in the box.

She continued to fling herself around as much she could, hitting her hip against the lid in an attempt at escape. No luck. She felt extremely claustrophobic. It brought back a school memory when some kids had locked her in a locker. It was the same feeling of hopelessness and uncontrollable fear. It caused tears to leak from her eyes and her breath rate to quicken, just like it had that day.

Elodie ceased her fight for a moment, listening for any signs of life. Silence. Silence was all that she heard. She wriggled her hands around, trying to free them of the tight rope. She felt the rope rubbing her hands raw but, she didn't care. She needed her hands free.

She eventually freed her now sore, tired hands from the rope and began banging on the lid of the box. The air had already grown hot and she feared she wouldn't be able to breathe for much longer.

"Let me out! Let me out!" she screamed repeatedly. It was all she had left. That desperate, panicked plead that wouldn't bring her rescue. Short breaths, short breaths, short breaths. She repeated the small mantra in her mind, focusing fully on her breathing. Suddenly, an idea surfaced in her brain.

She cried out for Adele, hoping beyond hope that the young girl could hear her. Before long, she heard a scared cry in response.

"I'm here, Ellie." It was enough to give Elodie new hope. Just a little.

"Adele! Use your file to make a hole in the wood. They didn't cover us much. Move the dirt aside and then you can breathe!"

"All right!" Adele had a new mission as she fished inside her pocket for the file she had just used to free herself of the ropes on her hands. With a new surge of energy, she began filing away at the wood directly above her head. Elodie, on the other hand, didn't have it so easy.

Elodie used her nails to pick away at the wood. They continued in their task for hours, trying to make a way to breathe again.

Adele was finished first, seeing as how she had the correct tool. She allowed a small smile as moonlight streamed into her box in a single, blue ray, highlighting a small part of her face.