Her heart raced. Screams were trapped behind her barely parted lips; only a strangled sound escaped. Her body felt distant, unresponsive, as if paralyzed by potent drugs.

Outside, the van carrying what appeared to be MacKenzie’s coffin halted on a bumpy cemetery road. The driver’s door slammed, followed by the scraping noise of movement. As her coffin was carefully unloaded, MacKenzie’s anxiety peaked. She yearned for rescue, for the sound of laughter that would signify this was all a sick joke.