Fan Fears: A collection of fear based stories by Michael Bray Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael Bray
police, but she could hear them shouting. She was face down on the floor, head to one side. In front of her, Ashba’s wallet lay open, the photograph of his wife and children spattered with tiny droplets of blood. She waited for her heart to beat again, but it didn't come. Darkness swallowed her, and with it came silence. Colleen Cassidy had taken her final breath.
SIX
She felt the warmth on her cheeks and opened her eyes.
She was in a hospital bed hooked up to an army of machines which were monitoring her vital functions. Colleen looked around and saw the face of Naomi swimming into focus.
“What happened?” she asked, struggling to recall.
“You’re a fighter, what more can I say?” Naomi said, wiping a tear from her face.
“Ashba...” as she said it she could see him, gun in his mouth, psyching himself up to put that last few pounds of pressure onto the trigger.
“Relax, you’re safe. In the hospital in case you didn't guess.”
“What happened to him? What happened to Ashba?” She was desperate to know, had to be certain he was dealt with.
“Also in the hospital. Not this one, though.”
“He survived?”
“Thanks to you. He lost some teeth and has a shattered jaw. He also badly damaged his tongue so we don't know if he will be able to talk again, but he lived. He’s under armed guard now. He’ll go to jail for what he did. It was attempted murder.”
“How did I survive, I mean my pacemaker....”
Naomi nodded and held her hand. “It’s fine, it’s been removed. The paramedics had to open you up and give you heart massage to keep you going until a repair could be made. You’re going to be alright.”
“How long has it been?”
“A few days. The police have been hovering around. They want to talk to you about Ashba, but you wait until you feel ready, got it?”
She nodded, unsure what she was feeling. It was relief, happiness, sadness and yes, still a little fear. Although she was glad she had helped to stop Ashba from taking the easy way out and ensuring he would pay for his crimes, there was a part of her that wished she had let him die. The world was a much better place without people like Ashba in it, and she supposed one day he might be free to walk the streets again. What would happen then? Would he come for her? Would he try to finish what he started? A facially deformed mute, hell bent on vengeance?
“Hey,” Naomi said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Things are going to be fine. Things will work out now. If you can survive through this, you can survive anything.”
Colleen didn't speak. She turned her head towards the window and looked out at the cloudless blue sky. She wouldn't close her eyes. She knew she would see him if she did; that haggard, leering face of a man who blamed her for everything he was and for everything he had lost. She knew she would never again sleep with a light off, or hear a sound in the empty house without thinking it was him, her disfigured former doctor lurking in the dark and waiting to get his revenge. Although Naomi didn't see it, a single tear rolled down her cheek and kissed the pillow where she lay. The nightmare for her wasn’t over. It was just about to begin.
FEAR SUBMITTED: Faulty pacemaker / Evil Cardiologist
FAN FEAR THREE:
CRAWL
(Submitted by Becky Narron Heath)
****
This was one of those submissions where I was given mostly free reign to write whatever I wanted. When Becky stated her fears, she was quite happy for me to do my own thing with it. I thought about it for a while and devised this story. This one was really good fun to write, especially trying to work within the claustrophobic nature of the story itself, which was a bit of a challenge, to say the least.
***
She remembered the explosion, and then there was silence. For a while, she was sure she was dead, and her mind was only changed when she felt the pain in her legs and chest. She tried to recall what had happened,
SIX
She felt the warmth on her cheeks and opened her eyes.
She was in a hospital bed hooked up to an army of machines which were monitoring her vital functions. Colleen looked around and saw the face of Naomi swimming into focus.
“What happened?” she asked, struggling to recall.
“You’re a fighter, what more can I say?” Naomi said, wiping a tear from her face.
“Ashba...” as she said it she could see him, gun in his mouth, psyching himself up to put that last few pounds of pressure onto the trigger.
“Relax, you’re safe. In the hospital in case you didn't guess.”
“What happened to him? What happened to Ashba?” She was desperate to know, had to be certain he was dealt with.
“Also in the hospital. Not this one, though.”
“He survived?”
“Thanks to you. He lost some teeth and has a shattered jaw. He also badly damaged his tongue so we don't know if he will be able to talk again, but he lived. He’s under armed guard now. He’ll go to jail for what he did. It was attempted murder.”
“How did I survive, I mean my pacemaker....”
Naomi nodded and held her hand. “It’s fine, it’s been removed. The paramedics had to open you up and give you heart massage to keep you going until a repair could be made. You’re going to be alright.”
“How long has it been?”
“A few days. The police have been hovering around. They want to talk to you about Ashba, but you wait until you feel ready, got it?”
She nodded, unsure what she was feeling. It was relief, happiness, sadness and yes, still a little fear. Although she was glad she had helped to stop Ashba from taking the easy way out and ensuring he would pay for his crimes, there was a part of her that wished she had let him die. The world was a much better place without people like Ashba in it, and she supposed one day he might be free to walk the streets again. What would happen then? Would he come for her? Would he try to finish what he started? A facially deformed mute, hell bent on vengeance?
“Hey,” Naomi said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Things are going to be fine. Things will work out now. If you can survive through this, you can survive anything.”
Colleen didn't speak. She turned her head towards the window and looked out at the cloudless blue sky. She wouldn't close her eyes. She knew she would see him if she did; that haggard, leering face of a man who blamed her for everything he was and for everything he had lost. She knew she would never again sleep with a light off, or hear a sound in the empty house without thinking it was him, her disfigured former doctor lurking in the dark and waiting to get his revenge. Although Naomi didn't see it, a single tear rolled down her cheek and kissed the pillow where she lay. The nightmare for her wasn’t over. It was just about to begin.
FEAR SUBMITTED: Faulty pacemaker / Evil Cardiologist
FAN FEAR THREE:
CRAWL
(Submitted by Becky Narron Heath)
****
This was one of those submissions where I was given mostly free reign to write whatever I wanted. When Becky stated her fears, she was quite happy for me to do my own thing with it. I thought about it for a while and devised this story. This one was really good fun to write, especially trying to work within the claustrophobic nature of the story itself, which was a bit of a challenge, to say the least.
***
She remembered the explosion, and then there was silence. For a while, she was sure she was dead, and her mind was only changed when she felt the pain in her legs and chest. She tried to recall what had happened,
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