Bury Me Alive

CHAPTER ONE

“Hey, Maria”, Chase greeted and loped an arm around her shoulders as they rushed up the front entrance to school.

“Oh, Hey Chase. What’s happening?” She sounded distracted and he noticed that she had some paperwork that was working its way out of her already over-stuffed three ring binder and before it could drop out of her arms and fall apart on the cement stairs, he grabbed it away from her and clutched it tightly in his left arm as he trudged to their lockers which happened to be side by side. Thank gosh for small miracles! Once she got her locker opened, she took her binder back and quickly thanked him.

“No big deal, but what’s with all the paper?” he pointedly asked. Blushing a little as she pushed her glasses back up nose, Maria told him of her college applications she was working on all week and one in particular that she was praying would accept her.

Maria was the smart one in their group, having never gotten below an A, she was going places, but as for Chase, well he was B average and crazy for film and movies, so he planned on getting into a prestigious film school after he graduated, but he needed to finish his application which required a phenomenal short film that would knock their socks off! He just didn’t know how he was going to pull it off – hence Maria, and maybe with a few of their friends’ ideas he might be saved - he was open to anything at this point!

“Well, you’ll get in, I got faith in you! Besides you’re like the smartest one in the group, you shouldn’t have to worry about anything.”

Just then their other friends stopped by, Lisa, Brad, Allen, and Chad. The whole group was here and they all seemed very excited. Chase knew that everyone was putting their best foot forward to get into the college of their first choice, and it seemed to him that maybe they did it without having to try their seconds. This was rare, but not unheard of and it unfortunately put pressure on him to aim just as high even though they would never judge him for it, but he would have to live with the fact that he wasn’t good enough to get into his very much desired prestigious film school, USC School of Cinematic Arts.

“Well, how goes it?” Chase greeted them. Smiling Brad was the first to respond eagerly, “I got in to my first choice, Yale! I am so excited and my parents are just over the moon about it. We are leaving this weekend to look at the campus and where I will be staying.”

“Dang! Brad, you just went straight to the top huh?! That’s awesome, I am so happy for you!” Maria exclaimed while hugging him and he couldn’t keep the wide smile off his face.

“Thanks!” and high fived the others in their group.

“So Chase, what about you? Any luck with your first pick?” Chad was kind of in the same boat as Chase, but wasn’t trying to go to the top, even though he was also into film, he still wasn’t sure if that was what he wanted to do for a career. Since he was also extremely good at numbers, finance maybe was more his forte.

“Yeah, I submitted everything and now they want me to submit a short film that will somehow impress them and I am having some sort of film block? So I need ideas and quick!” The last part may have sounded a little desperate, but he was willing to try anything.

“Wow man, usually you’re on top of that. What happened? New competition?” Allen asked shocked. Chase always had it together when it came to film and what to film, but lately with the school year end approaching and then pressure to get into his first and only choice, seemed to be causing him to slip and it usually wasn’t his style.

“I don’t know, I was taken aback when they came back with this last requirement. I think there might be another contender for the spot, but I was too nervous to ask. I didn’t want to be disrespectful or appear ignorant, if you know what I mean.”

“Well, Chase, I have complete faith in you and know you will nail it, just don’t over think it too much and you’ll be fine.” Lisa shot him a megawatt smile as she patted him on the back. Lisa was the ever optimistic friend and always kept a positive light on things, no matter how bad or depressing a situation seemed to be, she would greet it with hope and positive reinforcement until it was conquered. She was the best friend you needed in a time like this.

“How about you, did you get in to your college of choice?” Lisa didn’t reply right away and Chase looked at her ready to repeat the question again when she responded in a dry, but wry tone, “Oh yeah, but I have to do some extra stuff to secure it since another person who we will not name is trying to steal my spot out from under me!” and everyone looked in the direction she was glaring and saw that another senior about ten lockers down was putting stuff into her own locker before classes started and her name happened to be Kendra Williams and she was interested in the same field as Lisa, Psychology.

Normally Lisa is always positive and bright, but someone like Kendra can really try your patience and since she was also known as cheating on some of the exams and somehow using others work to get her ahead, Lisa did not like or respect her and everyone could see why.

“Don’t worry Lis”, Maria assured her, “you’ll beat her and come out on top.” Everyone then nodded their heads in agreement and gave extra encouragement as Lisa mumbled while not taking her eyes off of Kendra, “No worries, I already got it on lockdown.”

****

Classes seemed to be killer today as Chase rushed through most of the morning in a daze until the bell rang for first period lunch, which everyone in the group had and he was grateful for that since sitting by yourself at lunch was to be less than desired.

The lunch line was long as usual and when this occurred everyone decided to head off campus for a short jaunt to a nearby fast food joint. So there they all were squeezed into a booth sipping on soda and fast food while trying to give ideas to Chase for his short film since time was of the essence.

“You know you could do a comedy skit or something to that effect which really works for a lot of people.”

“He could, but aren’t you more into the macabre and suspenseful in that respect? Wouldn’t be better to do something along the lines such as a murder mystery or thriller that would keep them on the edge of their seats?” Allen suggested in between sipping his Coke and munching on a french fry.

“Well I am still going for light and funny.” Brad stubbornly mumbled while chowing down on his burger. Rolling her eyes at Brad, Lisa sided with Allen,

“You should do something that you’re very familiar with and unfortunately Comedy isn’t one of them.” Chase pondered their ideas while he finished his own burger and fries since lunch was only technically thirty minutes but the girls knew some tricks to get all of them off if they were a little late getting back. Keeping the time at the fore front of his mind, he suddenly stood up, “Alright, I’m heading back so I don’t incur any suspicions and such. It’s too close to graduation for me to get detention and add it to my record, not while I’m aiming for my first choice if you know what I mean.” Laughing and snickering both guys started to rag on him a bit but he ignored them and headed back to school since he needed to get to his locker first and then trek all the way across the building to his next class so he needed to book it!

The rest of the day went by in a blur and soon they all piled into Brad’s convertible and headed over to Chase’s place as usual. At his house they were basically a fixture and his parents most of the time made extra for dinner since their studying went well into the dinner hour just like tonight.

“So, how is the college apps going for you guys?” Sue, Chase’s mother asked as she began dishing herself up while everyone else were dishing other food onto their own plates. They all looked one another before letting her know that almost everyone got into their first choice which was very rare, but not unheard of.

Sue exclaimed, “That’s fantastic!” then looking at her son and arching a brow, “and what about you Chase?” Frowning, he wasn’t sure how to exactly answer her without disappointing her since he was still stumped on what his short film was going to be about. He needed to “wow” those admissions reps, but he still wasn’t sure how. It was so frustrating!

“I’m working on it.” That was all he could say and started shoveling food into his mouth. The rest of the group just smiled and chuckled, they knew he’d eventually come through, Chase thrived on this type of drama so it wasn’t a loss and none of them worried about it, but maybe they should have.

“So,” Sue fished, “what are everyone’s plans for the weekend?”

“Well,” Lisa hesitantly ventured, “there is a Rave going on this weekend and we were going to see what that’s all about.” The others nodded in agreement and Sue just laughed, “Alright, but be careful, these types of parties can get out of hand and most aren’t even legal. It’s depends on where they are being held and such. Is this one legal? Us as parents won’t get that call to bail any of you guys out I hope?”

“Mom, I promise it’s all on the up and up and you won’t have to worry about a get out of free jail call.” Chase assured her.

Holding up her hands in mock surrender, “Alright just checking, you never know about these things.”

*****

Saturday night couldn’t have come any sooner as they all piled from Lisa’s SUV this time instead of Brad’s convertible and headed into the techno pumping and thumping club that others like them were already there and packed like sardines. Once inside, it was all decked out and the DJ had some pretty cool music going which seemed to ramp up everyone almost into a frenzy.

“This is freaking crazy!” Chad exclaimed as he looked around in fascination and excitement. It seemed everyone was letting loose and some things really should be done in private but the group ignored what was going on in the dark corners and headed for the bar near the DJ.

“I need a refreshment!” Maria insisted as she and Lisa were the first to approach the bar and put their orders in while the guys conversed and waited their turn. Upon grabbing their drinks, the girls were able to snag a place over by the bathrooms that seemed to be unoccupied at the moment. As they sat down, Lisa notice that a girl had grabbed Chase’s attention and they seemed to be hitting it off.

“Look,” she pointed in Chase’s direction, “do you think they’re hooking up?” she asked as Maria looked where she pointed and frowning Maria replied hesitantly, “I don’t know, Chase seems to be more concerned with that college admission assignment than anything else at the moment. Maybe that’s what they’re talking about?” Taking a longer look, Lisa noticed that Chase was now showing something to her on his phone and suddenly she was pointing in another direction which ended up being a small group of friends that were huddled together and talking very animatedly.

“Huh.” Lisa sat back and sighed a little dejectedly but then in the next breath, also hopeful that maybe this was the break that he needed to finally succeed in getting into film school. Allen, Chad, and Brad headed over to their table while Chase and the girl he was talking to took off in the direction of where another group occupied a table by the DJ stand.

****

While standing in line a young woman tapped Chase of the arm and asked,

“Are you in film school? You look familiar, I just can’t place you.” Her smile was dazzling while her bright blue eyes twinkled up at him. At first Chase was dumbstruck, then quickly composed himself and replied, “Trying to get into one. I have to complete an admissions assignment in order to be considered among some of the best apparently.”

“OMG! You are exactly what I am looking for! I also need to complete one more to be considered. What film school if I may ask?” At first he was hesitant in telling her just for the fact that they could be completing for the same spot, but before he could answer her, she told him her school of choice.

“Well just to be clear, I am only trying to get into the film school called NY Film Academy in Southern CA. Now how about you?”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Chase informed her, “It’s USC School of Cinematic Arts.” At her shocked expression, he went on to explain, “it’s also my first choice and I did get accepted but on a tentative basis which is,..” and the girl finished for him, “the admissions assignment.” Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he nodded at her.

Looking at the line, “Are you done here, I would love to introduce you to some close friends of mine that might be able to help you too.”

Looking in the direction to where she pointed, Chase agreed. Why not, couldn’t hurt right and he definitely needed the help!

“Sure, lead the way!” As they maneuvered around people the girl introduced herself as Lacey and of course Chase introduced himself. Suddenly as they got closer to the group, Lacey took Chase’s arm in hers and exclaimed, “Hey everyone this is Chase and guess what?! He is also going to film school. What a surprise right?”

The others in the group introduced themselves and Chase took notice that one of the people in the group look exactly like him, could even pass for his identical twin! He called himself Alex.

“Hi Alex, nice to meet you. What film school did you get into? Same as Lacey?”

Nodding, “Yup, but also required to do an admissions assignment as well, which is very strange since I was already accepted.” It did seem strange, but Chase assumed it was just part of the curriculum and went along with it. They all hung out for a few hours and that’s when Maria texted him,

“Are you coming with us since we are heading out or are you with your new friends for the night?”

Looking up from his phone, he said to the group, “Hey my other friends are heading out, maybe we can get together later and come up with a plan to do each of our assignments?”

“We’ll we are actually going to get started tonight and see how the first wrap goes, are you game?” Alex asked as the others nodded in agreement. It seemed they were also eager to start and get it done the same as him. Texting back Maria and the gang, Chase and his new friends soon left the Rave and headed to Alex’s apartment to get some gear and head to his temporary studio that his parents rented for him since he was also getting well known in the film industry. For the next couple of hours they worked on different pieces of each of their respective parts. Their plan was to use certain shorts from the same film but not the same pieces so that when each had completed their assignments, their short films would not be related to one another, just the genre. It was rather ingenious and cut out half the time it would’ve usually taken each of them on their own to finish.

The last piece Chase had decided would be done in a graveyard and Alex apparently knew a good one and where they wouldn’t get caught – it seemed perfect!

An hour later they pulled up in front of the oldest cemetery which was an hour outside of town and one that Chase had never been to. He would have to depend on Alex to get the location right. As they traipsed through the graveyard, he couldn’t help but get a strange feeling of dread and unease, but he chalked that up to actually being in a cemetery at night where all the stories ever told stated that things came out more in the night than the daytime. Shrugging it off Chase followed the group to the far end where there was an open spot that seemed to be perfect for a scene of someone either being buried alive or trapped in a coffin and couldn’t get out. It was definitely creepy but Chase let the excitement of the moment rule his emotions and didn’t pay attention to the warning signs going off in his head. He was so close to bagging this that he could taste victory!

“Alright, how do you want to do this? It definitely has to look very real and convincing, but also at the same time- only done in the movies kind of thing.” Alex advised Chase.

“Let’s dig a hole first and set the coffin inside with actual video recording someone trying to get out and such so that way the audience is right there with the character and experiencing what they are going through at that exact moment.”

“Sounds good to me.” Jack, a close friend of Alex’s commented and grabbed the shovel beside him and started to dig. Pretty soon everyone else pitched in as well and quickly a six by six foot grave was dug and the black wooden coffin placed inside with a camera set-up to record.

“Alright, this looks very creepy but really authentic as well. This is definitely going to work.” Chase clasped his hands together with glee. He couldn’t wait to start shooting!

Looking at everyone, Alex asked, “Okay who wants the honor?”

“Oh, I am going to do this shot myself Alex, not that I don’t believe anyone else is good enough, but I figure since it’s my piece, so why not do it myself. After all it has to be authentic and real for the movie-goers! So let’s bury me alive!” After that speech everyone let out snickers and chuckles, but did oblige him and he was then helped into the coffin, but if Chase was paying attention he would’ve saw the sinister and triumphant look on Alex’s face and then would’ve thought better of it.

Since he was being temporarily buried alive, they did provide Chase with a small canister of air that would’ve given him plenty of time to act out the scene and so he wasn’t worried and ignored the alarm bells going off in his head again. You can’t be afraid of everything and have to eventually trust some people. He just felt that his own imagination was getting the better of him.

Once he was buried and he could hear the dirt being piled on the coffin, Chase took a deep breath and then started to act out his part. At first it was a little difficult since he needed to be aware of how much air he was wasting when screaming to be heard, then after a few minutes he felt that he got what he needed and then yelled for the others to dig him back up, but only absolute silence met him. Panic quickly took over and Chase started to claw at the wall of the coffin above his head but soon realized that the wooden coffin wasn’t made of wood, but very hard plastic! What the hell!

“Hey, I am done with the scene, dig me up please! My air is starting to run out! Anyone?!” Pounding with his fists and then trying to with his shoulders, Chase eventually realized that with the amount of dirt piled unto the coffin, it was more like hundreds of pounds extra he couldn’t break through.

“Crap I am slowly being suffocated alive!” Reaching into one of his pockets, he search in vain for his cell phone and then realized that he left it in his jacket pocket when he discarded his coat topside before getting into the coffin. Damn rooky mistake!

About twenty minutes later, his air ran out and Chase sadly realized that no one was coming to his rescue and his life started to slowly flash before his eyes. Giving up, he then closed his eyes as one silent tear slowly ran down the side of his face. This was definitely the end.

****

“Hey sorry I’m late, did you guys finish the scene?” Lacey asked breathlessly. She was supposed to be here much earlier but got assigned babysitting duty at the last minute until her parents returned home and then headed straight for the cemetery.

“Yup,” Alex commented in a dry tone as she watched his face twist into a cruel and sinister smile that got her back up instantly. The others quietly stuffed the equipment they had brought with them back into the large SUV and didn’t dare look at Lacey.

Stormy up to him, she demanded angrily, “What did you do Alex?!”

“Well, Lacey, he did say that he “wanted to be buried alive to make sure everything looked authentic and real", so how could we not oblige him?” Instantly her face went from indignant to horrific as she began to back away from him, “You can’t leave him there like that! That’s monstrous and you know it!” Stepping around him, Lacey was about to enter the gates to find Chase, when Alex’s voiced threat stopped her.

“He is dead already Lacey, and besides when you call the cops how will you explain this? The others already have their alibies cemented and you were the one to introduce him. Also no know saw me from where I was sitting, so I will never come into question. And don’t forget, I didn’t go through all this plastic surgery to have it back fire because you had a change of heart!”

Suddenly looking at the others she noticed that they were wearing gloves where their finger prints couldn’t be lifted and she knew the equipment was brand new because even though Alex paid for it, she was the only one to touch it with her bare hands. That included the coffin as well as the camera. Damn! He had it all figured out.

“Why did you decide to take Chase’s identity? What did he ever do to you?”

Smiling cruelly at her, Alex fingered Lacey’s long dark red hair as he explained,

“Last year, I was involved in a car accident that burned over thirty percent of my body and that included my face. Chase was at the wheel, so I decided to return the favor in a way, but I also decided to use his identity as well. I have to say it has been very fortuitous.” Looking back at the cemetery Lacey softy asked, “How long has it been since you left him there?”

Bending down to look deep into her eyes, Alex asked, “Do you really want to know since there is nothing you can do about it?” Closing her eyes in defeat, Lacey again took once last look at the gates then turned to get back in her car. She had to ask though,

“What about his friends, what do we tell them? Especially when he comes up missing? And don’t tell me that they didn’t see all of us, maybe not you in particular, but what about the rest of us?”

Tapping his chin in mock thought, Alex replied nonchalantly, “I have his jacket and cell phone, I will return it to his room to make it look like he arrived home and then disappeared on his own. It’s not too hard since I had all year to think and plan this out. Trust me Lacey, it will work. Hell, my mom isn’t a homicide detective for nothing and my father isn’t one of the best prosecution attorneys in the state for nothing either. Even though they also will never know, but you get my drift.”

****

One year later…

The cemetery was full today due to another unfortunate death and plenty of cars and then the black limousine carrying the grieving family to the site wound around through the lane and parked not too far from the fresh grave.

Hopping out a little girl around five years held onto her mother’s hand as they quietly made their way to the grave site.

Looking around with curiosity since she had never been to a cemetery before, she noticed not too far from the path to her right lay a large patch of ground covered with beautiful flowers. Grabbing her mother’s attention the little girl pointed to the flowers,

“Can I pick some for Nana to add to her grave?”

Nodding, they both went to where the small patch was and discovered that they were “Forget Me Knots”.

“How interesting,” her mother stated with awe and the little girl looked to her mother confused.

“It means darling that these flowers were planted because someone obviously loved and respected this person a lot and promises never to forget them. It is really rather very sweet.” Gently they picked a small bundle and proceeded to their loved one’s grave unaware of the person they left undiscovered under the small patch of flowers.

Later that afternoon as she has always done in silent testimony, Lacey made sure the flowers were properly cared for and had vowed that she would eventually get justice for Chase, even if it took all of her life she would see it through.

****