Orpheus - Haunting the Dead.pdf - Dice

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CORRIDORS
spreads quickly through his body and she lowers him to
the ground almost tenderly.
“Shhh,” Victoria says, pulling away from his throat
and then stroking his hair. “No need to speak. I don’t
want you to hurt any more of my children.” Ed feels his
lips moving, but no sound comes out.
“You’ve been quite the distraction, young man,”
she says, standing over him. Ed can’t feel his arms or
legs. “I thought you might have been something of
power sent against me, but I see you’re just a spirit with
a bit more volition than most. No matter. There’s so
much to be done, and you’ll make excellent food.”
Ed makes a gurgling noise.
“Why?” Victoria . “Because the strong devour the
weak. It’s the only law that continues beyond death.”
Reading, Pennsylvania, Downtown
February 11, 12:43 a.m., Seven Months Ago
The streets are empty, devoid of most traffic this
late on a weeknight. The fog gives a halo to each
streetlamp. Ed speeds up as he turns onto Adams
Boulevard, wanting to get home and put this night
behind him. Ed feels as if his car is traveling down an
endless tunnel of mist. After weeks of cajoling and
prodding, he finally convinced that half-pretty substitute
teacher to meet him for a drink. She stood him up,
and now he’s horny and lonely. He misses his ex-wife
and tells himself tomorrow he’ll call her, even though
she’s told him not to, even though the sound of her
voice will leave him depressed for days.
Something is in the road, a dark shape against the
fog, and Ed just has time to take a breath as he pushes
down the brake pedal. It’s like a carnival ride as the car
swerves and spins across the slick pavement, the antilock
breaks failing. Over the course of three seconds,
Ed tumbles through constellations of streetlights and
neon signs smeared into stars by the foggy air. And
somewhere, silhouetted against the light, is a dark
animal shape, a black creature with yellow fangs and a
blood red tongue. Was it lunging at him? Then the car
HAUNTING THE DEAD
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