Orpheus - Haunting the Dead.pdf - Dice

HAUNTING THE DEAD
SETH LINDBERG
Anders walked up, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Ben.”
Ben looked up, then set his jaw. “Andy.” Anders
hated that name. How Ben found out, he never understood.
Maybe he had some kind of schoolyard bully
sixth sense. Who really knew? Ben turned and put the
weight down heavily, then glanced back, folding his
arms. He looked defiant.
But why defiant? Ben had nothing to prove to
Anders. Whatever. On to the point. “I’m here to talk
about Lila.”
Just for a second, he saw Ben flinch. There was a
look on his face, just for a moment. Fear. Fear and
something else.
Ben stared down at the weights. His look grew
hooded. “Yeah. Lila. She…” He looked away. “I’m
sorry… she…” He swallowed. Words didn’t come.
Anders shifted slightly. “It’s all right.” It wasn’t. “I
just want to know what happened.”
Ben shook his head. “There’s nothing much to say.
Some ghosts, they’re just fucking nuts. You know as
well as me. They’re just inhuman. Encountering those…
it’s just a risk you take in our business.”
He’s justifying it to himself, Anders suddenly realized.
He feels responsible somehow. Anders tried to sound
soothing, calm. “There might be more to it than you
know. That… thing has gotten others.”
Ben looked alarmed. “Who the fuck told you that?”
“Tom Hayes.”
“Hayes.” Ben considered it, furrowing his brow.
“What do you know about this?”
“A little. But first, tell me what happened.”
Ben glanced over, then his shoulders slumped just
slightly. “All right.” He stopped, then glanced over,
catching someone walking into the gym. “But not
here.”
“There’s that faux-English pub a couple of blocks
down, across from Jim’s Bakery.”
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