Orpheus - Haunting the Dead.pdf - Dice

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me where I am? I mean, you’re a nurse. I really need
some help here. Maybe you could call 911 or something.”
Her severe expression softens. “You’re in room 317
of the Blue Palace Hotel,” she tells him. Then she adds,
“What’s wrong with you? Are you on medication?”
“I wish I knew.” He pushes himself back across the
floor and sits against a wall. “See I—well, it’s hard to
know where to start.” He stares at the floor, notices
some dust beneath the bed. “You know, I had an aunt
who was a nurse. She was my favorite relative. I didn’t
visit her that often, though, because of her dog. I hate
dogs, I… I’m sorry, I tend to ramble when I’m nervous.”
Ed clears his throat. “The thing is, I—have you heard
of the Orpheus Group? They’re this, sort of, research
group. Government-funded, experimental stuff. And I
think something went wrong, because…” He sighs.
“My name’s Ed, by the way.” When she doesn’t answer,
Ed looks up. The nurse is gone.
Ed stands. “Couldn’t take my company?” He looks
around the room, sees no one. “Hey, Blue Palace, that
sounds kind of familiar. What city would that be in,
what state? I’m really at a loss here, because…” Ed
passes the bathroom; the door is open. Without thinking
he walks in and tries to turn on the sink. The handle
still won’t budge. “You know, what’s with this sink, I
could really use…” Ed hears the sound of running water
behind him. The bathtub faucet is on.
A sick feeling rises in his stomach. And just before
he turns around, just before he sees her draw the scalpel
down her arm, Ed realizes that the woman he’d been
talking to has the same face, same hair as the woman
he’d seen in the bathtub. He holds a hand to his mouth
as he sees the blood spread into the water, as he watches
her body slump against the tile. And his brain is
shrinking to a pinpoint. He can witness no more, he
only wants everything to stop. And that’s when the
scene vanishes and the bathtub is empty.
When Ed can think again, he’s standing next to the
bed, staring at the white sheets. He knows now what
HAUNTING THE DEAD
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