Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled outside the home of Aurore, part-time student at Epoch University in Megaton City and part-time psychic to those who could afford it (gotta pay off those student loans somehow).
The rain increased making it sound like thousands of little feet scurrying along her roof. The lights flickered, but Aurore was deep into her studies. As she pondered question 42, a chill blew down her spine. An uneasy feeling of being watched filled her bones.
She turned to look at the window. All she saw were beads of rain racing down the windowpane. She turned back to her math book and nearly screamed. Written all over the pages in blood red lettering was “Say it.”
Aurore’s eyes widened in fear. She slammed the book and threw it as far as could. She panted heavily. Ever since last month’s eclipse, those words have haunted her. She knew the words It wanted her to speak. She knew what would happen if she dared to utter them. Even thinking them or writing them could spell disaster.
Finally, her breathing slowed. She opened her eyes. She screamed.
Written on the walls in blood-like ink was “Say it.”
***
Meanwhile at the PAWS Morgue…
The medical examiner transferred his recorded words into a formal report. A John Doe was found near The Docks. The body was well preserved, probably helped the cold water. However, it was a little too well preserved. It didn’t look like any animal or bacteria touched it. The skin still had a pinkish look to it. The eyes showed no signs of discoloration. If the doctor took a guess, the person was killed minutes ago; but even if the person was killed minutes before the body was discovered, it should be showing some signs of decay by now.
The examiner cleared his throat as another round of thunder trembled through the semi-new building. He felt an icy wind give birth to goosebumps along his arms. He made a mental note to contact maintenance so they could fix that draft.
“The strange state of the body prompted its transfer to PAWS for further study,” he mumbled as he wrote the final parts of his report.
Something fell.
The noise made the old medical examiner jerk a little. It was more from annoyance than fear or surprise. After working in various morgues for 40 years, he’d grown accustomed to strange noises, most were easily explained.
The examiner wondered what tool fell, which meant picking it up and cleaning it; or in some cases, discarding it and having to replace it—which usually came with a mountain of paperwork.
The noise came from where the body lay. With it covered in a white cloth, it momentarily made the examiner think of a ghost on vacation, laying on the beach instead of an examination table.
The examiner huffed as he stood. His old bones creaked and popped. Though his body protested at times, he still moved with the speed and grace of a man in his 40s. The examiner located the offending object and bent down to retrieve it. Fortunately, it was nothing of great import, so it required no cleaning or replacement.
The examiner stood back up only to meet the face of John Doe.
The examiner let out a gasp as he stumbled backwards.
Lightning flashed outside, making what little light that came through the small window (the morgue was in the basement, of course) into a strobe light. The body of John Doe dangled his feet off the table. Thankfully, the specter seemed modest enough to keep the blanket covering him.
Once John Doe was fully off the table, he turned his head towards the doctor. Dark wisps of energy leaked out from the body’s eyes like gassy tears. The tears swirled around his body transforming the cloth into clothing and healing all the cuts from the examination. As the dark wisps vanished, John Doe’s eyes became a malignant red. His face twisted into an evil sneer.
John checked his body over. He chuckled. “Well, Professor, it looks like I finally found a use for you.”
The creature inside of John Doe’s body spied the medical examiner half cowering against the far wall.
John chuckled. “Don’t worry, Old Man, I won’t eat you. You’re past the expiration date.” John laughed as he twirled into a black cloud and flew out through a vent. His laughter echoed through the building.
The medical examiner fainted.
The black mist exploded out of the building’s exhaust and soared into the night sky. It briefly became John Doe again before growing large wings with dark feathers. Tentacles spewed out of the area around his mouth. Spikes grew along his scalp like a mohawk.
He sniffed the air. “Ah. I haven’t smelled fresh air in over 8,000 years. It’s nauseating.”
He flew off into the night sky surrounded by lighting.
Joe Rover 