Page 9 of Malice

“I will.”

She leaves and I dig into the basket, choosing a peanut butter cookie to munch on as I sink into my chair again. The house is weirdly silent, but I’ve lived like this for a while, choosing to keep distractions minimal so I could listen for sounds of someone breaking in or snapped tree branches at my windows. Chester made me a paranoid mess, but I’m determined to put that part of my life behind me. I survived, I’m still alive, and I plan to make the most of my second chance.

Sleeping in my own bed feels amazing. Even the familiar creaks and groans of an old Victorian house are comforting after the clinical setting of a hospital. It takes a bit for me to find a position that doesn’t make my rib cage scream, but when I do, I sink into my bedding, grateful to be alive.

I’ve often wondered what happens when we die, especially when we weren’t good people. I wasn’t raised with religion, and being gay, was never called to seek it out. I endured enough bullying in a small town; I wasn’t about to intentionally go to a place where people hated me just for existing.

Besides, I didn’t need the comfort of an unseen force. The tangible world is all that makes sense, but still, I sometimes wonder if we really do go somewhere when we die. Are there places for good and bad people? I hope there are and that Chester is burning for eternity. Or maybe he has a stalker. That would be cool.

I close my eyes, hoping sleep comes easy. The moon is high in the sky, casting its silvery light through my window and across the bed. Shadows of the big oak outside dance in the wind. My body relaxes after days of tension and I exhale slowly,surrounded by peaceful silence, with only the chirp of a few crickets outside.

My mind is blessedly blank for the first time in nearly two years. I don’t have to worry about him now.

Hudson.

What was that? It almost sounded like my name.

Huds…

I sit up abruptly, flinching with pain, and look around my bedroom. It’s empty. Of course it is. No one is here but me. Well shit. I guess I’m not as relaxed as I thought.

I lie back again and settle under the blankets, but my eyes are wide open. It takes a few minutes for me to convince myself that what I heard must have just been my mind playing tricks on me. It’s quiet again, except for the occasional creak orwhooshof leaves blowing outside.

I drift off again, the tug of sleep dragging me under. I’m safe.

It’s just gonna take my mind a little while to realize it.

Chapter 5

Aster

After reading a ton of books, I stand and stretch though I find that it does no good. I’m strangely numb, and even though my brain feels a little hazy, my body is fine. How long have I been reading anyway?

I look for the door, realizing there isn’t one. How do I get out of here?

“All done?” It’s Farnsworth’s voice.

“I think so, yeah.”

“Perfect.”

I jump slightly when he appears in front of me, then I realize I’m not in the room anymore but back where I first encountered him. One of the figures in black is beside him, holding a clipboard.

“What’s the first rule for a society member?”

Okay, we’re jumping right into the quiz.

“Uh, the living are on a need-to-know basis.”

“Good. What’s your story?”

“I’m a medium.”

“Excellent.”

The figure is checking off items as I speak.

“What special tools does a society member have in their arsenal?”

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