“That. Is a Bone Giant. Get inside, Cara.”

The Bone Horrors joined together, fusing into the towering figure. It wasn’t bipedal. It looked almost like the very thing it was made of. Only—deformed. A monstrosity. Cara hesitated. But this time the [Knight]

shoved her. His fingers froze her clothes.

“Hide.”

“But you—”

The [Knight] held his sword in one hand. He gripped the coffin’s lid with the other hand. Behind him rose the colossus. Cara looked up as she was pressed against the body in the coffin. She saw the lid being dragged back into place.

Not once did she see Dalius’ eyes flicker. The [Knight] saluted her and turned as the light and sound vanished. His last words remained, though.

“This will not take long.”

——

She was lying on a corpse. Inside a coffin, in the darkness. Preserved it might be, dusty rather than molded due to lack of air and dried—but a dead body nonetheless.

Cara began hyperventilating—then tried to stop inhaling anything. There was air in the overlarge casket.

Enough to keep her alive. But the madness of what was happening—

“Soldiers stayed in trenches. Crawled through the dead. You can do it. Dalius won’t take long. You can—

do this.”

She whispered to herself. Cara inhaled, forced herself to exhale, inhale again. She counted the seconds, heard another thump, a triumphant roar.

“Level 40? He’s another kind of monster. That boy could take down the Cyclops.”

Cara tried to smile. She—this was not the time for music. She wasn’t about to damn well sing in here.

But maybe—

The body was underneath her. Every time she moved she felt it. Cold, pallid flesh. Don’t think—don’t move—

The lid was too close to her head. Cara could barely move her arms, for all the casket was large enough to hold them both. She slowly, slowly, reached for her pocket.

Her phone. She needed music, light—something. Cara was panting as she heard Dalius roaring. Another crash—no, a thump—

Rustling. Something bit at her fingers as Cara reached for her iPhone. She shouted, a scream of horror and jerked her hand out of her pocket.

The undead mouse came out with her hand. Cara smashed it into the wall, ignoring its teeth.

“You damn mouse! Die!”

She crushed its bones, reveling in the small victory despite the pain. Cara inhaled, shaking—

Sudden light filled the casket. Cara jerked. Because it was not her iPhone. She didn’t know where it was coming from. Then she saw.

Two glowing eyes. Burning flames in the eye sockets. Not the rat’s. Far larger. Yellowed fire filled the corpse’s empty eyes. Cara stared in horror as below her—the zombie began to move.

“No! No, no, no—”