He was sitting behind the security
desk and waving for us to come over. He
wasn’t wearing a costume or anything.  
     He was a friend that I'd met at a 
bar a couple years ago. I told him     
about the job here, and even           
recommended him.                       
     Every now and again, we'd hang    
out, and he's even met Beth.           
     She recognized him immediately and
waved back.                            
     We walked up to the two-way       
speaker. The whole security room was   
enclosed in bullet proof glass, or so  
I’ve been told, and that was the only  
way to communicate with anyone in      
there.                                 
     "Crim, what’s you up to,          
especially this late at night? Hey     
Beth, long time no see."               
*      "Too long, I think," Beth laughed.  
And you could tell the sentiment was   
mutual. Beth liked Axel.               
     “He’s one of the good guys,” she  
once told me, and I had to agree.      
     Maybe this was a good omen?       
     "You got that right, girl," he    
said, and they knocked knuckles through
the security glass.                    
     "When did you start working the   
grave?" I asked, usually he did the    
swing-shift watch.                     
     "Last week," Axel sighed. "They   
have this theory that if they juggle   
the shifts every once in a while, we   
won't get as bored, and that would make
us better killing machines.            
     “It makes sense to me, I guess,   
but I still hate the grave. Six months 
of hell is what I really think. Eh, but
what the fuck, it pays the bills, and  
keeps beer in the fridge."             



CHAPTER 14: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31st
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