PEPPER : FOUR DAYS AGO

Ryan felt the hearse came to a stop and heard Chrissie say something. He heard Jerry's voice and then three other people. There was a flash of light – and at first Ryan thought that was the end – followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

"Ether coming through! Where do you want it, Chrissie?" someone asked.

"Cover everything."

"Chrissie, it's going to rain. This may not work," he heard Jerry tell her

"If the fire doesn't kill him, the landing will."

Ryan's heart was pounding in his throat. He pulled against his restraints. He heard liquid splash on the coffin top. The sharp alcohol odor of ether burned his nose and eyes. Suddenly the lid opened and Chrissie crawled up him. She yanked the duct tape off his mouth.

"Sorry it didn't work out," she told him.

"Don't do this," Ryan begged.

She ran her hand down his face. "You were so perfect until you cheated on me with that other woman."

Panicked, Ryan said the first things that came to mind, praying that the words would save his life. "Chrissie, I didn't cheat on you. I swear to you, I didn't cheat. Please, Chrissie. I love you. Please."

"You're lying. You don't love me. I saw her in here with you and then you left with her. I just can't have that. I can't trust a man that would cheat on me."

"Chrissie, we didn't—"

Chrissie kissed him and then crawled out.

"No! Chrissie, we didn't do anything! CHRISSIE!"

She tapped the lid, letting it slam close over Ryan.

"DON'T DO THIS, CHRISSIE!" Ryan screamed.

"Light it," he heard Chrissie say.

The hearse started moving slowly forward. He heard a whoosh and through the crack in the coffin he saw flames start licking at the wood. The hearse began picking up speed fast and he knew that no one was behind the wheel – which meant they had aimed it for something that was meant to kill him. Ryan struggled harder against the bonds, the pain of the struggle numbed by panic and adrenaline. There was a loud crash and the hearse jumped a couple times. Then there were several seconds of weightlessness before the car sharply tilted forward. The coffin fell forward, smashing through the dividing Plexiglas and into the backs of the seats. Ryan closed his eyes, waiting for the end.

It was an end that would etch into his mind for life. It wasn't really the feeling of the end as much as the sound. Everything stopped moving in one bone jarring motion. Metal groaned and complained as the hearse fell to its side. The impact of the hit sent coffin falling and the ties dug into skin, muscle, and bone. For a moment flames licked into the coffin, but only briefly. Because then the world began turning somersaults, tossing the coffin and Ryan. Shards of glass and small rocks made their way into the coffin, slicing through Ryan's skin and clothes. His head hit the casket lid several times, and he began seeing stars.

The hearse stopped rolling abruptly. The jerk against the ties and his broken bones sent excruciating pain through Ryan, knocking him unconscious. The only sounds that followed the crash was a soft hissing from the engine, and the steady fall of rain falling, a blessing Ryan never knew about as it quickly extinguished the flames and washed his wounds.

(Author's note: Read the lyrics to Butthole Surfers, 'Pepper'; the title will make sense.)