Page 54 of Dead End

“October, stop. Send him back.” Michael grabbed my waist and backed us away as the dead body sat up, the white sheet pooling around his waist. Then he turned his head towards us, his bones cracking together from rigor mortis.

“This isn’t me! I’m not doing this!” I cried out, beyond terrified, as the dead man opened his mouth, tearing the stitching inside his lips. He let out a long, drawn-out, pained moan that stopped me in my tracks, with Michael panting behind me.

“He’s coming… So close… Always watching and always waiting. He’s coming for you,” the dead male said in a haunting voice, so croaked and broken after not speaking in a long while. It was hollow, as if he were empty.

Michael stepped in front of me and ran a black clawed finger over the snake tattoo on his torso, chanting a spell under his breath, “Et serpens imperium...”

I peered around him, bracing my hand on his tight back, and felt his body twitch as his snake tattoo started slithering out of his skin. Its head slid down Michael’s torso as the rest of its body detached itself from his skin. The snake hissed as it zigzagged towards the dead guy, slithering up the sides of the metal death box and making its way to the corpse, wrapping around his neck with wisps of black smoke coming off the snake's long tail.

“Who sent you?” Michael spoke in a voice that sounded far away, his gaze not once looking away from the corpse jerking on the metal slab like it was having a seizure.

“He’s been watching you, October Grimm. He’s always watching. Right behind you,” John Doe said, his voice pitching low with a croak that turned into a bone-chilling moan, growing louder as his mouth gaped open wide. Then he slumped on the slab and lay still as death under Michael and Albert’s power.

I spun around, feeling like someone was watching us, and only came up with an empty morgue.

“Michael, can we go now? He’s gone… I felt him leave. I just need to get the hell out of here.” I shivered violently, rubbing my arms to gather some warmth as I watched the body lie completely still. Then I quickly shoved him back inside the drawer with a relieved breath.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here; the guys will want to know about this. I have a bad feeling this is connected to your attack. Come, Albert.”

Michael wrapped me under his arm and walked out the swinging door with me tucked close to his warm skin, looking left and right. Albert followed along behind us on the ground, watching our backs. I was glad he decided to leave him out as we walked home. I just couldn’t shake off the suspicion we weren’t alone, and I knew the feeling I was having was the same one I had a year ago on Halloween night.

“Explain it one more time, pumpkin, but go slower,” Auntie Fe said, placing a steaming cup of tea in my hand and wrapping a blanket around my shoulders.

The aunties knew the second I got home that something was wrong. I couldn’t stop shivering, and apparently, it looked like all the blood was drained out of my face, leaving me pale as a ghost. Their words, not mine. Auntie Pip shooed us into the living room and pointed at me, commanding me to sit by the fireplace. Michael sat beside me, with Jason on the other side of the plush, dark red loveseat. Norman was still as a statue, staring into space, but I knew that look meant he was plotting revenge.

“Yeah, I’m really confused. What were you doing in the morgue with Michael?” Maddie asked from her spot on the coffee table, completely obvious from the wide-eyed look I sent her way.

“He—I mean, we were, um, studying. Yep, he was helping me try and connect with the dead, but it didn’t work out so well.” I looked towards Pip and Fe. “I didn’t raise any spirits, Aunties. This didn’t even feel... It was off, almost like the body was empty and someone was pulling its strings.”

When Fe and Pip both gasped, everyone turned to them and watched as they started pacing, passing each other every few seconds, sending each other worried, heavy looks.

“It could only be one thing. It’s—” Auntie Pip snapped her fingers and stopped to stare at her sister with an expression I couldn’t place. It was scary yet sad, and she was wringing her hands together as her eyes filled with tears.

“Unsanctioned magic,” Fe whispered, padding over to hold Auntie Pip in a tight grip.

“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” I was about to start pulling out my hair.

The aunties whispered quietly together before facing us. Jason grabbed my hand in a gentle grip, and he offered a tight smile as Michael pulled me closer into his side.

“There's a lot we can’t explain because we don’t have proof yet, but I will tell you this... The magic you felt tonight is forbidden, unsanctioned magic that goes against our sacred laws because it’s unnatural. We have darkness in all of us, and magic can be used for both darkness and light, but raising an empty shell is simply letting evil in. What you encountered was a creature using necromancy magic the wrong way—for their own gain. Most likely, they weren’t even necromancers themselves.”

I couldn’t believe it. How was it even possible, and why leave the message for me? Who was this creature toying with me? That’s what kept running through my mind as I sat there, lost in my thoughts, until Norman stepped forward with his fists clenched at his sides.

“Does this have anything to do with October’s parents? The man on the road?” Norman asked in a gravelly voice, sounding like he was about to tear something to pieces. Grief was shining through his expression and anger. So much anger.

For a moment, it made my gut twist, realizing how torn up the guys really were over my parents’ deaths. They really were like family.

I glanced at Jason with a lazy glare, wondering when he would tell the others details about the night that still gave me nightmares. I knew he would say something to the guys if I didn’t tell them, but I would have liked to be the one.

“I had to, and I’m glad I did. This is getting ridiculous, especially with a target on your back. I’m only trying to keep you safe,” Jason grumbled, stroking my knuckles as he stared back at me, trying to make me understand. Which I did, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

“Have to keep my girl safe.” His inner voice sounded full of obvious love and fierce protection.

“We don’t know,” my aunties answered at the same time, but they kept glancing at one another as they both started wringing their hands. “But we think it might.”

I leaned forward with my head between my knees, taking deep breaths, on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack.

“Okay, that’s enough for tonight. It’s been endless studying and wondering how to survive in this strange world of magic and danger. We are very proud of you all for how far you’ve come, so we have a surprise for you out back. Save figuring it all out for another day, and for now, let’s have some fun!” Auntie Fe said in delight, her eyes shining and her inner child peeking through.

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