From Darkness Comes: The Horror Box Set by Scott Nicholson, J. Thorn, Tw Brown, Kealan Patrick Burke, Michaelbrent Collings, Mainak Dhar, Brian James Freeman, Glynn James Read Free Book Online Page A

Somewhere along the way, we stopped really telling people what they meant. Sort of like that joke, “Of course I love you, I told you once, didn’t I? If it changes, I’ll let you know.”
    It was another one of those moments. When I had killed myself, not even my neighbors missed me. That was mostly because they had no idea who I was. I doubt that I had said more than a dozen words to all the other residents in my apartment complex back in those days. I kept to myself and they did the same. If somebody showed up on my doorstep with a casserole when I moved in, I probably would have waited for them to leave before I scraped it into the trash. Hey! Who knows what they put in that thing, right?
    I had simply become accustomed to having nobody ask or care about my well-being. Now that I did, I don’t think that I had really been appreciating it.
    “Look,” I turned to face Lisa and give her my full attention, “I know that this might be a little bit dangerous. But that is also why you can’t come with me. Morgan warned me against involving you in this case at all, and I did it anyways because I didn’t think.”
    “What if something happens to you?”
    “First off, the house is bought and paid for, and second you are listed as my beneficiary.”
    “I don’t care about any of that!” Lisa snapped .
    “Well if you are worried about me, don’t be. I’m a ghoul for cr ying out loud!”
    “That doesn’t mean you are invincible,” Lisa shot back. “Nothing is really immortal. That is the problem with things like vampires, they think they can’t be hurt all the way up to the point when somebody drives a stake through their heart. You already know that you can’t be out in the sun, but I bet there are other ways to hurt you that we don’t know.”
    I wanted to know what brought on this sudden display of emotion. I knew it had to be more than just simple PMS. She was almost in tears…correct that. The first couple started to trickle down her cheek.
    “I f I promise to be careful, will that make you feel better?” I asked.
    “No,” Lisa said. “You won’t mean to, but you will do or say something stupid and get yourself in trouble. It isn’t a bad thing, it’s just the way you are, Ava.”
    I was almost hurt. The only problem was that I knew what she was saying. I couldn’t keep my big mouth shut.
    “So what will help you feel better?” I asked.
    “Take me with you,” Lisa insisted.
    I thought it over. I could almost imagine the little angel and devil sitting on my shoulder arguing. If I took her with me, she would feel better, but I would possibly be putting her in serio us danger. So is this what it was like being a parent? I mean, I feel responsible for her, but at the same time, I want her to still be my friend. One thing was for sure, when this whole thing was over, I was going out and buying some books on the whole parenting subject.
    “Fine, you can go, but you have to do what I say,” I conceded.
    “Okay!” Lisa was al ready zooming around to the other side of the car and shoving my bag on the floor.
    We headed for the meeting with the mysterious stranger. I tried to let my music do its magic and clear my head, but something about all of this was bothering me.
    When we arrived, I found a spot to park and turned to Lisa with as serious of an expression on my face as I could muster.
    “I will be going in alone. I want you to stay here in the car and keep an eye on the place. And I will be sitting close to a window. I want you to keep an eye on me.”
    Lisa nodded. “Just don’t forget to grab me a Cock-N-Balls!”
    For those of you who have not been to Voodoo Doughnut, you are missing out on quite an experience. They have some very creative people coming up with the names of their doughnuts. This one is a local favorite. I imagine that women order it more often. Most men probably wince at the idea of publically announcing that they would like a Cock-N-Balls. Big sissies.
    “Fine. Now sit