Alex Jeffries wrote fiction for a living. His own personal paranoias were a known constant source of inspiration for his writings. Within his own life and according to himself, there were conspiracies everywhere, and everyone was out to get him. Even in death, his paranoia had to be catered to, for Alex feared being buried alive more than he feared anything else and when he was to be buried, he wanted to ensure that he was indeed one hundred percent dead and not suffering from something that may mimic death.

Virgil Anderson, being a big fan of the writing of Alex Jeffries, agreed to get involved in the most peculiar of arrangements. He would help out with the funeral and burial arrangements of his favourite author, but his involvement would not be in the traditional sense. Someone would help out with funeral arrangements.

What it was that Virgil was to do was something that had been included as a request or, more so, a requirement in Alex's Will. Alex wanted to be kept in a hospital morgue for three days, a total of seventy-two hours after his own death, to ensure that he was indeed dead. His Will would also include a request that someone would replace him in his own casket until his burial concluded. After such time when those attending the funeral and burial had left the services, the casket would be recovered, and Alex's substitute would be released and replaced by Alex himself.

This would provide that sufficient time for Alex’s pre-death fears to be happily dealt with. If he hadn't been revived by such a moment previously requested, then he must indeed be dead. A very odd arrangement it is, though the money was there to ensure compensation for all involved with carrying out the request.

Virgil was to be Alex's substitute. He would be placed, alive and well, in the casket and brought to the church for a closed casket mass the evening before the funeral and be in the casket for the funeral itself, so when the casket was carried out of the church, it would feel like just as if Alex himself was inside it.

Nervously Virgil sat out in the hallway by the morgue, preparing himself for what was to come. He wasn't looking too well. A nurse approached and asked if he was alright. He replied that he was, but he didn't really acknowledge her at this point with his own mind being so locked on what he had got himself into.

The nurse sat next to Virgil and asked if he had just lost someone since he was sitting out by the morgue; she had no idea of what lay ahead for him. In fact, no one related to Virgil knew of what he had got himself into. He replied that in one way, he had lost someone and then continued to inform the nurse of what he was preparing to do. She thought that this was a completely mad thing for anyone to do at the best of times, never mind doing it for someone you don’t actually know but admire, though if the man she just met was happy to do what he was planning to do, then that is his choice.

A Doctor, Abraham Samuels approached Virgil and the nurse got up and continued on with her duties. The doctor explained what had been put in place to ensure Virgil’s safety. The coffin with Virgil in it would be brought to the church and remain closed for the mass the evening before the funeral and remain there for the funeral itself. It would be carried out of the church at the end of mass then brought to the burial site, where further prayers would be said before the casket would be lowered into the ground and covered over with dirt.

After the cemetery is clear at the end of the day, the casket would immediately be dug up and replaced with another casket containing Alex Jeffries, for at this stage, it should be beyond any reasonable doubt that Alex would indeed be dead, and then his remains would be buried. The coffin Virgil would rest in would be equipped with all he would need, including food and water, a breathing apparatus, and means by which he could relieve himself. Of course, Virgil knew of all this, but it didn't hurt to have things confirmed to him.

When he would be dug up, the casket, which would be his temporary sanctuary, would be brought back to the morgue, where at such time Virgil would undergo a medical exam to ensure that he is fine and well.

The doctor would even give Virgil an estimated time for when he would be released from the hospital and would continue to ensure him that he would be highly rewarded for his contribution. Virgil agreed to continue on with this plan and the doctor himself ensured that he would be the one to carry out the medical on Virgil. The nearby nurse heard everything.

The casket containing Virgil was indeed brought to the church. A mass indeed took place the evening before the funeral as planned and all was going well. The nurse who overheard the conversation between Virgil and Doctor Samuels attended the funeral and went to the burial, before making her way back to the morgue. She found it all extremely peculiar to the point where she felt that maybe things were not going according to plan. She did notice the good, or perhaps not so good, doctor at the funeral.

Her intuition appeared to be on point, for no casket was brought back to the morgue during the time of her shift. She investigated and found that there was no Doctor Abraham Samuels either working out of or from the hospital. She didn't know who to contact or talk about what she had found out. She left the hospital after her shift with the intention of informing someone, anyone, of what she knew but unfortunately for her; she would have herself an accident and be knocked unconscious.

The nurse awoke to find herself inside a box of some sort. She too, obviously enough to herself, had been placed in a casket and had been buried alive. Ironically, she had been placed right next to where Virgil had been buried, but his tombstone would have the name Alex Jeffries engraved on it.

Six months after when all of this had taken place, a book entitled 'Buried Alive' would become a number one bestseller. It would be a book written by a certain Abraham Samuels, a writer who regularly used the pen name Alex Jeffries, a writer known for writing about paranoia and conspiracy theories ...