Chapter 4 - THE HIDDEN FREQUENCY
The room fell into a dead, absolute vacuum of sound. Even the grandfather clock seemed to hold its breath.
Leo looked up at Marcus, his eight-year-old face entirely calm, carrying the terrifying wisdom of someone who knew a secret the adults were too blind to see.
"That's the sound," Leo whispered.
Marcus lunged forward, his hands clawing toward the casket lid, desperate to slam it shut before anyone else could process what was happening. "The boy is delirious! I'm closing it—move!"
"Don't touch her!" I screamed. I threw my entire body across the edge of the polished wood, blocking his arms.
My mother and Aunt Martha stood frozen in absolute horror, watching us fight over the casket like wolves over a carcass.
"Marcus, what is that noise?!" Mom demanded, her voice shaking violently. "What is inside my daughter's casket?!"
"Nothing! It's a medical device—it's a pacemaker regulator malfunction from the hospital!" Marcus lied frantically, beads of sweat breaking out across his forehead as he tried to pry my hands loose. "Let me close it, Sarah, or I swear to God I'll call the police on you!"
Bzzzzzt. Bzzzzzt.
The vibration came again, sharper this time, accompanied by a faint, muffled electronic trill that sounded unmistakably like a cell phone alarm set to vibrate on high frequency.
I looked down at Rachel. At that rigid, terrible navy blue dress. At the way her hands were folded unnaturally across her stomach.
With a sudden surge of adrenaline born of pure fury, I reached down, grabbed the stiff fabric of the dress at her waist, and pulled.
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The seam ripped open with a loud, tearing sound, exposing a pocket that had been crudely sewn into the lining by someone who didn't know how to use a sewing machine properly.
Inside that pocket rested a small, black burner smartphone. Its screen was lit up brightly in the dark, flashing a missed alarm and an unread text message.
