Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
“You sure, you’re okay, Lena?”
I blinked and looked over, noticing Cameron watching me from behind his protective goggles. A circular saw was in his hand.
I’d been staring into space again. My gaze hyper-focused on the chest cavity in front of me. I’d been so out of it the last couple of days.
“Yeah, sorry. I’m good,” I said, not so confidently.
He studied me a second longer before turning on his saw and cutting the corpse.
My eyes drifted to the lights on the ceiling. I was dead tired, my sleep practically non-existent the last few nights.
I still hadn’t heard a word from Trish even as I tried her number every night.
Yesterday, I got a call from my dad saying the police were still looking into new leads.
Mom came home and immediately started getting other family members involved.
She and Dad finally made an official campaign.
There were going to be flyers all through the city.
Friends, coworkers and family were all going to pitch in to find her.
Dad even paid for a billboard just off the freeway.
When word spread about my sister missing, I started getting a lot of messages from school friends, so much I could barely keep up. Eventually, I had to make an official post on my socials letting people know I was going to be slow to respond.
Then there was Dom. He texted me back once after the bar, only to assure me he was still searching on his end. But he felt aloof, never responding when I texted back.
I tried not to think about it even when it bothered me.
With everything going on, it was hard to focus on work, but I was determined to stay for my full shift. I even told Jana I’d work late to make up for the days where I fell short. I didn’t want to sit at home and mope anyway.
Time went by in a haze as I helped Cameron, taking samples, moving from one side of the room to the other, going through the motions.
When the clock hit six-thirty, Cameron dumped his gloves in the trash and washed up. “That’s it for me,” he said. “You staying late?”
I nodded.
“See you tomorrow?”
“You bet.”
He gave me a thumbs up before slipping out the door.
Alone now, I drifted over to a chair next to a now empty metal bed and sank down. My legs were aching already and I felt a headache coming on.
Still, not wanting to leave so soon, I decided I’d clean up and do some paperwork.
Just a little break. Nothing crazy.
I shut my eyes for a moment, letting my head fall back, hoping a little rest would make the headache go away…
The door to the autopsy room swung open, making me look around with a start. Jana came rushing through, pushing a gurney with a body on top inside.
“Lena, good you’re here.” She brought the gurney around. The body was covered by a sheet. A fresh victim. “Can you get to this one tonight? It’s important.”
I fixed her a confused frown. She wasn’t supposed to be here till tomorrow. “Uh, yeah sure. Are you staying tonight?”
“No,” she said. “I’ve got to go actually, business meeting. Talk to you later.”
Before I could say another word, she left.
I sat there for a moment, trying to process her sudden entrance. And since when did she have business meetings this late?
My gaze drifted over to the body. So much for paperwork. I got up from my seat and walked over.
“Looks like it’s just you and me,” I said. I put on a fresh pair of gloves, then moved the gurney over to the metal bed. It shouldn’t take too long to tag. Then maybe I could take a real break.
Carefully, I pried the sheet off and let it fall.
I stared at the corpse and almost collapsed.
Trish!
She stared at me with a white film over her eyes. One side of her face was caved in, her skull cracked.
A strange sound broke from my mouth, like a shocked cry. My world was spiraling.
No. No, no, no, this couldn’t be real.
I couldn’t look away, I couldn’t stop seeing her mangled body.
Then she moved.
Slowly, she rose from the gurney, her head bending to one side. Like a doll being puppeteered, she turned to me, blood spilling out of her head.
“Lena,” she whispered.
I screamed, stumbling back into a tray table, tools clattering to the floor. She got up from the gurney and came toward me. I couldn’t move. When I looked down, I saw my legs were bent the wrong way.
I jolted awake mid-scream, practically jumping out of my seat. Frantically, I whirled around and searched the room.
I was alone.
Panting, I felt my body shake. I looked over at the clock and saw it now read nine-thirty.
“Fuck,” I breathed.
Quickly, I cleaned up my station and headed for the locker room. I yanked off my work clothes and pulled on a pair of pants and a T-shirt before throwing my bag over my shoulder and slamming my locker shut.
As soon as I got outside, I made straight for my Jeep. The night was humid, the parking lot dark save for a single orange light in the center. I hardly looked around as I grabbed my keys and unlocked the door.
Throwing my bag inside, I stopped for a moment, my hand shaking against the side of the car.
“Not real…not real,” I repeated to myself. It was only a dream, that’s all. Trish was still out there. She had to still be out there.
Taking a few deep breaths, I tried to calm my nerves before sliding into the driver’s seat. As I went to slip my keys into the ignition, a shadow blocked out the orange light.
“Long night?”
I jumped, head snapping to my left where a man stood at my door, looking at me.
“Ex-excuse me?”
He took a slow drag from the cigarette before he smiled at me. Even in the dark, I noticed the single silver filling.
I went still, my heart leaping to my throat. The man from the bar took another hit, the smoke drifting above his head, looking like a demon’s halo from the light behind him. His smile dropped if only a little. “Come out and we’ll talk.”
My body wouldn’t move. I stared at him and realized he wasn’t alone. More shadows drifted around behind him. More snakes slithering in the dark.
My phone was in my bag. No way I’d get to it. I couldn’t close the door because he was blocking it.
“Come on, sweetheart.” He went to take my arm, and that’s when I moved.
I lunged for the other side of the car, toward the passenger door. He grabbed my leg and yanked me back.
I screamed, kicking at him. I heard him call to the others and multiple hands grabbed me, pulling me from the car.
I tried to scream again, but a rough hand went over my mouth.
Biting was no use against the biker gloves, but I tried anyway.
I struggled in their grip, until one of the men had me in a lock, arms bent behind me, my body firmly against theirs, forcing me away from my car and out into the darker side of the parking lot.
I couldn’t see how many of them there were, but I saw most of them had their faces covered, only their eyes visible.
My screams were muffled as I writhed against him, trying to break free.
“Bitch won’t stop,” one of them said.
“Here, maybe this will help.” An arm swung out, slamming right into my stomach.
Pain flooded my senses, and I couldn’t breathe. As I choked, the man who held me dropped me. My knees buckled, hitting the concrete, sending a spasm up my legs. I wanted to cry out but all I could do was gasp for air.
As I kneeled hunched over, a hand gripped my hair and pulled my head back, forcing me to look up. Tears stung my eyes as I gazed at the man from the bar, his smile gone, his face now etched with disappointment.
He clicked his tongue at me, as he flicked ash from his cigarette on the ground next to me. “This could have been a lot more civil. We could have had a nice conversation back at the bar about your sister.”
I couldn’t make any words, just a pathetic sound.
He laughed. “She’s alright,” he said. “At least I think.” He shrugged.
He took another hit of his cigarette as he looked around the lot.
“She had this air about her too, just like you. That snobby, kind of bitchy I’m-better-than-you air.
But lovely body, I have to say. Beautiful.
” He blew out smoke as he lowered himself to my level.
“I think she liked getting into trouble. Too much for her own good. Now she’s paying.
And I don’t think it’ll do well for her sister to follow in her footsteps.
So, take this as a warning. Don’t go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. ”
He rose and stepped away, and I thought that was the end of it. Until the other men were surrounding me.
One shoved me to my side, then together, they attacked with feet and fists. A foot knocked into my face, making my head fly back. The pain in my stomach worsened with each blow. Then someone stomped on my legs so hard I thought I was going to pass out.
I think I did pass out if only for a second. Because one moment they were over me and the next they were scattering as a flood of white lights overtook the lot.
As I lay on my side, I tried to lift my head, the light blinding me at first. It was a set of headlights. And a group of people were coming my way.
A pair of men charged ahead, their faces covered by masks. Red and black faces. One with a smile, grinning ear to ear, the other with an angry frown.
My vision blurred in and out, but I heard the shouts of men, and the sounds of shattering glass piercing my ears, followed by a gun shot or two.
Everything started to grow distant, the sounds fading away, the dark setting in. Only the masks came into view as the pair closed in around me.