Ghost Reaper Episode 2 by Drew Adams Read Free Book Online

Episode
2
    Oh
death, what canst thou place before me now?
    (Journal
of Lamentations)
    The
boy looked human for the first time, a whimper escaped his lips, he
pushed long black bangs from his eyes and stepped behind the counter.
He was ignoring Chad completely, which suited Chad just as
completely. Standing there for what seemed an eternity, the boy
finally knelt by the bloody body, prodded it with the gun, raised and
looked nervously out the windows to the parking lot.
    "Oh
man," he groaned. His gaze turned to Chad.
    The
jig was up. No escape this time. He closed his eyes and waited for
the blast.
    None
came. The kid stripped the wiring from the register, hoisted it from
the counter and left with it on his hip.
    His
heart, which had been residing in his throat slowly slid back into
place, but it didn't stay there long. When he glanced toward the
bloody body, there was someone standing over it. It was the man, but
different. He looked better, less disheveled, and his apron was
clean. No, not just clean — bright — perfect.
    “ Who
are you?” he asked.
    Chad
couldn’t answer right away, his heart had leaped back to his
throat. There was no menace in the tone of the man’s voice. Just
bewilderment.
    Realization
was sinking in fast. Conclusions rushing into his head that stretched
way beyond his beliefs or ability to comprehend. Nevertheless, he
found his voice. “Chad...Chad Dowdry.”
    “ Glad
to meet you, Chad Dowdry, I’m...was... William Bentley...you can
call me Bill.”
    "Bill...ok...Chad
works for me. You just got shot."
    The
man displayed a rueful smile. "You don't miss much, do you?"
    "Well...what
are you doing standing there? I mean...shit...you just got shot."
    "You
already said that," Bill answered. "Maybe you're not that
sharp after all."
    A
light bulb went off in Chad's head. He understood now all too well.
It was the kind of thing one was tempted not to embrace with total
confidence. No pain, no injuries, people ignoring him, running him
over. A lot to take after a near fatal car crash.
    Apparently
more than near. I'm dead... toast... gone to the big
...whatever...I'm not in Kansas anymore that's for sure. So this is
how Dorothy felt. Well, at least she had Toto.
    "Sorry...uh...damn..."
his voice trailed off.
    "Yeah,
not real happy about it myself. I thought it would hurt, guess I
ought to be thankful."
    There
were few things in Chad's life he felt thankful for and a really big
one had just been taken away. Of all the things to wonder about, his
next question seemed kind of ridiculous. "Why isn't your shirt
all messed up?"
    Bill
looked down at his shirt, lifted it from his chest and shrugged.
"Good question." He looked down at his body. "That
one's messed up pretty good."
    Chad
walked behind the counter. Bill's corpse, his chest and shirt ripped
apart and bloody, lay motionless, the man's eyes open wide, gazing
past the two of them. He wondered what his body looked like, then remembered the car bursting into flames. "I
was in a car, hit a ledge on the way down a canyon. Never saw my
body. I didn't feel any pain either, just a jolt."
    "Bummer."
    "You
can say that again."
    "Bummer,"
Bill repeated.
    Chad
couldn't help but laugh. "You're in a pretty good mood for
someone with a basketball size hole in his chest."
    Bill
looked down again. "Him...not me...I feel pretty damn good
considerin'."
    "Considering
what?"
    "That
hole in my chest."
    "You
don't have a hole in your chest."
    "Are
we gonna do this all day?"
    "Who's
on first?"
    The
older man smiled, "You're alright, Dowdry, I always felt that if
you couldn't laugh at yourself...well...I guess this is the ultimate
test of that. What are ghosts suppose to do anyway?"
    "Drag
chains, scream out boo, how the hell should I know? My clothes aren't
messed up and I have no cuts, scrapes, or bruises. What the hell kind
of after life is this?"
    "You're
not going to let go of that are you?"
    "No,
it's bugging me."
    "Ok...maybe
our life force, or energy reforms itself