In a Coffin

Chapter One: Best Fright in Centuries

I wander through the streets of London. The occasional lamp post glows near the cobblestone streets. Houses and shops line the roads. The rain is beating heavily on the cloak I am holding above my head. I can feel it soaking through the fabric. I am looking for someone. Anyone. I move my gaze to a head of me and not the cobblestone below my feet.

A girl is barely visible through the downpour. She looks sad. Her hand goes to pluck a black rose from the road. How odd, a single black rose, growing in between the cracks in the stone. Before she gets there the petals wither and it dies.

"It will grow back." I try and turn the situation around. The whole thing giving off a eery feel. She is startled and turns to me. A wide expression decorates her features. Bright blue eyes stare wide eyed at me.

"Who are you?" I need to know her name. I have never seen her before and wonder why she is alone in the rain with no way to shield it from beating down on her shoulders and black hair. All I know is I need to know her name.

"Who are you?" She stuns me with the response. I can only stare at her. I don't know. I don't know who I am.

"I am sorry. I don't know." I apologize turning towards her then turning back and dashing away.

XxxxXxxxXxxxXxxxX

Slowly I wake. My head feels like someone bashed it in with a hammer. Where am I? I blink open my eyes but all I can see is black. Am I blind? I squash down the growing panic and breathe. No, I am not blind, I simply am in a dark space. The slight ache in my eyes hint that even if I were in a lit area, my vision would be blurry. Stopping your heart for too long of a period is not the healthiest thing for your head. I silently curse myself. And I knew about the risks too.

I take a moment to gather and place my thoughts together, going over the basic questions, what's my name, how old am I, what was I doing before I got here, etc. My brain goes over my encounter with that man. At this thought I shiver, and I also remember my strange run in with that girl. I bite the inside of my lip in confusion and thought. The man doesn't confuse me at all. He raped me, simple, but the girl…

Slowly my brain reboots and pushes memories in my head. Mary, she's dead. Jack the Ripper is, what I am guessing, still at large. That is why I was stealing. The air feels stifling, so I force myself to will my heart to beat again, and it does. In a steady lazy beat. After a moment, I suck in a generous amount of air, gasping and burning. It takes a few breaths for me to put together that I am either supposed to be dead or I am supposed to be in an alley on the stone.

Reaching out, my hands brush against a hard, solid surface. Wood more then likely. Feeling around my sides in the little amount of space I have, I conclude that I must be confined in some sort of oddly shaped box. An oddly shaped box, made of wood. Panic rips at my throat and I begin to loose the air in my lungs. Someone must have found me...SOMEONE MUST HAVE FOUND ME, WITHOUT A PULSE IN AN ALLEY...they would think me completely dead. I push against the wood in front of me. Panic threatens to drive me mad. I can't be buried alive, I can't be! Please no!

I close my eyes and rely on my hearing to tell me if anyone is near me. It's a long shot. I could be under six feet of dirt by now. I pick up a low shuffle and water being splashed around. My breath rushes out in pure relief. Thank god.

A voice is barely auditable. So I am not able to make out the words. Then everything is silent. "Sorry m'dear. Here I will clean that up. I do apologize." I hear the voice clearly now and I can tell it has moved closer and it is male, causing a rush of fear to bolt up my spine. Going from being paranoid over a serial killer, to getting raped, then being on the brink of death, to thinking I was burried alive, and now to being in most likely a coffin with a psycho right on the other side of the door. Yeah, this just isn't my day. What if it's Jack on the other side? I clench my fists and unclench them with each breath. II can't jump to conclusions.

Then I hear the sound of fabric shifting. I freeze unable to move. The person on the outside of the box is right in front of me. I muster up all of my courage and get an idea. A stupid stupid Stupid idea.

"HELP!" I yell. At the sound of a small yelp and what I assume is a large stack of books hit the ground, I laugh. I can't help but laugh. I startled the poor guy. That was hilarious. I wipe away some tears and gasp for air. Oh god, that was awesome. I quickly shut up though. I remember he can easily kill me. Oh god, I should not have done that.

Dead for sure, that's me, if that was Jack I could possibly be killed in the next few minutes. Or he could cut out my eyes or cut my fingers off or any manner of horrid torture. Why?! Why am I so stupid? Why now, when my life is on the line? Mentally I groan and curse myself again. Good going me. Good going. You have no chance to escape now. Great.

I hit my head on the wood and sigh. Oh well, I have lived long enough. I lived a good life except for the end of it and I had a good laugh.

I wait in silence for my death to come.

Undertakers Point of view…

I look over the body in front of me. She is once more beautiful. I turn and wash my hands off in the pre filled basin. Spotting a bit of lipstick out of place on her lips and mentally kick myself for getting something so simple wrong.

"Sorry m'dear. Here I will clean that up. I do apologize." I pull a rag out of my robe and wipe it to perfection. Making sure it lines up with her lip line. I pick my guest up and lay her down in the coffin I prepared for her. Her family isn't the poorest but they are not the richest either and since I only use the queen's coin to purchase supplies, I only charged them for the dress and coffin.

"HELP!" I yelp and topple over a stack of anatomy books laying on the floor. My heart pounding rapidly for being startled so heavenly. I summon my scythe into my hand and get up in a blink of an eye, instantly in a defensive position. A grin begins bleeding onto my face, that was the best freight I have had in centuries. I am surprised to see that laughter follows and am even more surprised that it came from a coffin standing against the wall in front of me.

It stops suddenly and abruptly. I notice I must have prepared a live guest. I rush over. Sympathy fills my heart for doing such a thing. I rip the lid off the coffin and dismiss my scythe while I do.

Avery's Point of View…

I hear a hand hit the side of the box and I shrink back when I notice the lid being ripped off. Oh no. I hold my breath expecting to be killed or at least hurt. After a moment of complete silence I removed my hands from blocking my face. The man must have wanted to help me out not hurt me. Right? I open my eyes to a unique sight.

In front of me is a male. He is about my height but his back is hunched over. So, I know he is taller than me. He has silver hair down to the back of his knees, with a small braid down the right side of his torso. He is wearing a worn top hat, which has a piece of fabric hanging down his back. From his neck to the floor he is covered in an overly large black robe, the sleeves hanging down past his hands. Maybe he's even wearing multiple on top of eachother.

Plastered on his pale face is an impressive smile giving off a grin the Cheshire cat would applaud. I can't see the top part of his face because silver bangs cover it. The complete look makes me want to hug him. However I also don't want to upset him. Who knows what he'll do.

He tilts his head to the side. "I am terribly sorry, m'dear. I can't even begin to apologize that I have laid my hands on a fair lady like yourself while you were unconscious. I misunderstood you for one of me guests, I have. Again my deepest apologies. Do allow me to help you out and return you to wherever it is you need to be." He does not seem to be a threat but I am still confused about where I am and who his guests may be as there is no one else in the dark room but a beautiful young woman on the table. I gasp when the face clicks in my brain. The woman on the table is Mary Jane Kelly. I put piece and piece together. This man is Jack and I am his next victim.