For a moment he was frightened, thinking he must have somehow gone blind. Then he realized that wherever he was was very dark. So dark, he could see nothing. Absolutely nothing, not even his knees, which were drawn up right in front of his nose as he lay on his side on something very hard and cold.Everything around him was cold, and musty-smelling, like an old basement. No place in his father’s house was as dark and cold and bad-smelling as this place, whatever it was. They didn’t even have a basement. Or a cave, which was kind of what this felt like.He was not in his father’s house. Jeremy shivered as he realized that. Was he dead, then? Was this hell, or purgatory? Was his mom somewhere around? But no, she would be in heaven. If anyone deserved to go to heaven, it was his mom.He lifted his head, meaning to look around. The sharp pain that ricocheted through his skull made him dizzy and nauseous. His head hurt. How had he hurt his head? Had he fallen?Then, slowly, memory returned.
