Oceans of Red Volume One by Willow Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

Unshed tears threatened to spill over as she furiously scrubbed her hands.  A sob caught in her throat as she realized her sister’s blood had pooled and dried around her finger nails. 
    “Here, let me help,” Greg said.  Producing a small nail brush from some unknown drawer or pocket, he took her hands and gently went over each nail.
    Her body shuddered with the effort of keeping her tears from flowing.  Greg’s unusually gentle kindness had been almost more than she could stand.  She took a deep breath, and cupping her hands, splashed her face.  
    Greg stood quietly to the side, waiting his turn.  Stepping back, she allowed him to take her place while watching him in the mirror.  “We can’t do this.  We can’t move ahead with this.  If she hadn’t thought of that, she’d be dead right now and it’s all our fault.  You and I will have more body strength than she does.  On top of that, even if we go to different processing houses, how can we be certain that the same demon won’t be inserted into one of us?  The minute he sees our reflections in a mirror, he’ll know who we are.  This was a bad idea.”
    Without looking up, Greg continued washing his hands.  When he finished, he wiped his hands on the legs of his jeans.  He glanced at Shane standing in the doorway.  “Are you back with us?  Everything’s back?”
    She nodded and pointed to her head.  “Yep.  It’s all here.  As soon a s I felt the demon leave my body, everything snapped into place.”
    Shifting his eyes to Remy, he said, “We don’t have a choice.  You know we don’t have a choice.  It will be easier next time.  We won’t have to use a knife.  Shane can hold us in place.”
    Running her fingers through her hair, Remy shook her head.  “Okay, so who goes next?”
    Shane almost whispered as she spoke.  “It should be you, Rem.  It’s going to take both of us to hold Greg.  Any demon who acquires his body will already have the upper hand.”
    “And what if we get the same demon?” she asked.
    Scratching her head, she thought for a moment.  “I don’t think it works like that.  Once they are terminated here, they have to wait in line for another chance to return.  Sharelle said something about it to Kaylyn.  And something about Kaylyn having many strong bodies before this.  She was bitching about getting stuck with my body.  Can you believe she called me puny?”
    ***
    Remy waited in line with the others.  The fingers of her left hand seemed to have a will of their own.  No matter how hard she tried to remain still, they worked in continuous motion rubbing against the palm of her hand.  She had no idea why she was here, only that she needed to be.  The red-eyed guard at the gate kept meeting her eyes.  She must look as nervous as she felt, but she had no idea why she was nervous.  How did I get here?   She knew who she was.  Kind of.  But that was about it.
    “Next,” the guard said.
    The line moved forward.  Now there were only three spots between her and the guard with the eyes that seemed to know more than she did.  Drawing in a deep breath, she held it and willed her body and mind to be still.
    The guard’s eyes darted to her again.
    Remy gave him a half hearted smile and released her breath. 
    Cocking his head to the side, his eyes remained fixed on her.
    She lowered her gaze to her feet.  Seconds later, four large feet came into view. 
    “You will come with me , please.”
    Remy looked to her right.  A tall , ebony man waited for her response.  “Umm, sure.  Okay.”
    Placing a hand on her elbow, he led her around those in front of her and through the gate.
    As she entered the large brick building, the plaque by the door caught her eye.  Bio-tech Inc?  What the hell am I doing here?   She paused for a moment. 
    The second guard, walking behind her, placed his hand in the small of her back and gave her a gentle shove.  “Keep moving.  It’ll all be over soon,” he