Orpheus - Haunting the Dead.pdf - Dice

HAUNTING THE DEAD
SETH LINDBERG
i cannot help myself not in control yet it was too much (have
seen cities on fire, armies on the march, innocents put to the
sword) pulled back will be overtaken will be used will go
mindless have seen too much (nations falling to disease and
plague, souls rising from carts carrying the dead) cannot
stop seeing never stop seeing will have me they will have me
they will—
Anders shook his head, trying to banish the thoughts
all around him, banish the pain, concentrate on the
task at hand. He tried to shut his eyes but realized he
couldn’t, that now, now he could see all around him….
Behind his back, Tom put the device on the wall of
the bridge, then began firing shots into it. Once he had
emptied the clip, he tossed the thing into the river.
The King of Eyes flickered slightly, and its voice
modified, it seemed to revel in its freedom. It did not
stop itself from assaulting Anders, though.
Anders, it said, your name is anders i miss her i can’t
stop thinking about (the horses entered Jerusalem, ankledeep
in blood from the slaughter on the mount) her but you
but you but you do not stop me I must I must you see she is
rising I must I must I must I must…
Anders broke off his song and began screaming in
agony as the pain laced through him now completely.
But he heard another voice mixed in with the babble.
“I’m here,” the voice said.
“Lila,” he replied.
“Remember your promise.”
Don’t look back. But how? And why? Did she not
want to see him, or was it—was it a defense to keep from
being destroyed by this thing’s madness? It felt like his
senses were pushing out, overwhelming him.
“I can’t,” he said. “I… I don’t know how.”
“Try,” she said calmly. “Trust me.”
Failed Kundalini yoga classes. Meditation, never
his strong point. But he searched through his painstricken
mind and found something, anything to grasp
on to. He focused on Ben, Ben’s face. Kept singing
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