Chapter 9 The Black Box

• Present Day
• Like a thunderous bolt shattering the stillness, the alarm clock blasted off at 4: 00 am, stirring its owner wide awake. With a frustrated groan, Serena rolled over to the edge of the bed. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and staggered to the bathroom a few feet from her bed, where she searched and groped in the dark for the screaming alarm clock.
• She found it where she had left it, blaring with a jarring sound, and killed it with a violent slap. The early morning became instantly still as it once was.