Shock Treatment by Greg Cox Read Free Book Online Page A

you idiot!” Rita crouched atop the massage table, which was now an island of refuge surrounded by a sea of hissing menaces. Meanwhile, the banded snake’s jaws were still clamped onto her neck. “Don’t just stand there! Do something!”
    Heather glanced longingly at the door. She inched toward the exit. “Maybe I should get Madame Alexandra?”
    â€œDon’t you dare leave me!” Rita snapped, close to hysterics. She started to reach for the snake herself, then yanked her hand back, afraid to touch it. The pain was getting worse by the second. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand it. “Get it off me!”
    â€œO-okay,” Heather stammered. Mustering her courage, she darted forward and grabbed onto the vicious creature’s tail. Rita screamed as the snake’s fangs were painfully ripped from her body. Heather yelped as well as she flung the snake against the nearest wall. It smacked against the plaster, then slid down onto the floor with the rest of the snakes. Heather scooted into a corner to get away from the swarming serpents. Hisses and pops assailed the women’s ears.
    Rita’s hand went instinctively to her throat. The torn skin was wet and sticky. Blood trickled from a ring of ragged teeth marks at the base of her neck. Her fingers came away from the wound. They were red at the tips.
    I don’t understand, she thought. That’s never happened before.
    A tingling sensation seemed to spread from the bites. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Was it just her nerves, or was she starting to feel faint? She found it hard to swallow.
    â€œOh crap,” she whispered hoarsely. “Get a doctor. Call 9-1-1!”
    Heather tried to calm her. “Don’t worry. It will be all right. None of our snakes are poisonous.”
    Rita wasn’t so sure of that. Her vision blurred, double vision splitting Heather into shimmering blond twins. A cold sweat broke out over her exposed body. Her eyelids drooped. A trickle of drool leaked from the corner of her mouth. She suddenly felt weak and lethargic. The damn migraine came back full force, squeezing her skull like a red-hot vise. She panted raggedly, finding it difficult to breathe. Her arms and legs went limp and rubbery. Nausea turned her stomach. She could barely keep her eyes open.
    What’s happening to me?
    The door slammed open. Two Madame Alexandras burst into the room. “What’s going on?” she demanded. “Why all the shouting?” Her exotic features reacted in shock to the serpentine chaos in the Cleopatra Room. Loose snakes darted toward the open door, while Heather cowered in the corner. Rita swayed unsteadily atop the massage table. Blood dripped from her wounded throat. The room started to spin around her. Blackness encroached on her vision.
    â€œIt bit me,” she whimpered. “It freakin’ bit me. . . .”
    Rita tumbled off the table onto the floor. She collapsed atop the warm ceramic tiles.
    Hissing furiously, the snakes slithered away from her body.

4
    J IM B RASS WAITED outside the makeup trailer while Jill Wooten changed into a jumpsuit under Catherine’s supervision. He suspected that Jill was probably happy to get out of her blood-splattered attire. Chances were, she never wanted to see those clothes again. Brass knew the feeling. He still remembered the day he had accidentally shot Officer Martin Bell during that firefight six years ago. He had never been able to put on the jacket he’d worn that day again. Too many painful memories. Eventually, he’d tossed it in the trash.
    Good riddance.
    He loitered at the foot of the steps, wishing he had put on a heavier coat. Dawn was hours away and they still had several more principals to interview, not to mention the rest of the TV crew. He figured he was going to be here past sunrise at least. In the meantime, the temperature had to be in the thirties. His breath frosted before his lips. He