Wake Up Dead - an Undead Anthology by Adam Millard, Guy James, Suzanne Robb, Chantal Boudreau, Mia Darien, Douglas Vance Castagna, Rebecca Snow, Caitlin Gunn, R.d Teun Read Free Book Online Page A

basement door, unlocking and opening it, and then descending out of sight.
    Skye did not dare move, not knowing how long he would be down there and waited instead for his return. He emerged a few moments later with a box, which he carried over to the incinerator and placed upon the ground, just within her view. There were small shapes within it, flattened and shrivelled, and Skye only barely managed to suppress a cry when she realized that they were dead animals, more than should have easily fit within the box. They did not look the way a euthanized creature should look, but instead appeared to have been drained of all fluid. These bone dry corpses would burn quickly and easily, incinerating in a flash.
    Her hand over her mouth, Skye watched as Dr. Taurian tossed the withered little bodies one by one into the crematorium. He then ignited it and flinging the empty box aside, he re-entered the clinic through the back door. Once he was gone, she stepped out and glanced around. There was no way of preserving the evidence that he had discarded in the incinerator, probably fully ablaze by this point, but Skye noted that he had left the basement door unlocked. Perhaps, she thought to herself, she would find more examples of his strange practices there. She crept over to the basement door, and pulled it open.
    It was dark inside, the faint light from the back of the clinic extending only a few stairs in. Skye had no idea where the inside light switch would be and she started to descend very slowly and carefully, feeling around at the walls as she went.
    Without warning, there was suddenly a painful blow to the small of her back that propelled her forward, like someone landing their foot there with a full force kick. Flailing her arms out in an unsuccessful attempt to grab at an unseen railing, or anything that might be extending out from the wall, she found herself plummeting. When she finally collided with hard cement floor in the blackness, she felt bones crack and break, and excruciating pain. In the shock of the moment, the world faded away.
    Skye came around a few moments later, still in complete darkness and horrible agony. She tried to call for help out, but found that she could barely draw in a breath, and her scream came out only as a whimper. She heard quiet footsteps on the stairs behind her, as someone descended into the basement with her.
    “Help me,” she pleaded, with her voice barely more than a whisper. “I’m badly hurt. I’m sure that I’ve broken something, maybe even my back. Please, you have to help me.”
    Skye heard the person approach her and kneel beside her on the floor. Her potential saviour leaned over her, and she felt the person’s breath on her face. It was not warm as she was expecting, however – it was icy cold.
    “So, this is how it has to be, Ms. Henshaw. You could not leave well enough alone.”
    She recognized that voice, with its velvety tone. Skye flinched at the sound of it, and yelped as the sudden movement launched another searing pain through her body.
    “What are you going to do to me?” she whispered hoarsely.
    “I never wanted to hurt anyone, understand, just live my life in peace. I fed when I had to, and then this beautiful solution was presented to me, an optimal situation considering my background and skill-set. But you had to meddle didn’t you? And now look at how things stand. Pity – I liked you, and more than just because you smelled so...delicious,” Dr. Taurian’s mouth was next to her ear now and Skye could hear him inhaling. Terrified, her heart pounded in her chest and her mouth had gone dry.
    “What?” she gasped, little more than a squeak.
    “They weren’t enough, you know. I was always so hungry. I needed more, or I might slip again. I didn’t want to slip again. I was hoping the expansion at the city shelter was the answer, but you wouldn’t let it rest, and now you know my secret.”
    He paused and she felt a tongue flick out and lick at her