The autopsy
The icy winds rattled the windows of Amity Park's mortuary house one late night and despite its gloomy atmosphere and the howling winds shrieking within the halls there was a strong sense of festivity, the entire lobby was neatly decorated with all manner of Christmas paraphernalia, Santa Claus cutouts were plastered against the walls and doors followed by bright lights hanging from the ceiling, music was emanating from the radio on the counter though most importantly was the large well-decorated tree on the corner with dozens of colorful spheres and empty gifts around the base.
The reaper sat on the couch eating chips while reading a magazine that he took from the pile on the coffee table, with a loud yawn stood up and headed towards the vending machine by the lobby where he saw the clerk peacefully napping over the desk, even with the Christmas music playing in the background couldn't keep the clerk from sleeping. Armed with a few pastries the creature returns to his place.
"For me, the funerary house is like going to the beauty salon, you get your hair and nails done, there's a skin treatment, and sometimes even tailor-made clothes if you want to be well dressed for the afterlife." The reaper said. "Though on rare occasions there are those who refuse to part from this world and also refuse to stay alive."- the robed figure added.
The sudden ringing of the desk telephone woke up a young boy, Sidney Pointdexter who found himself dozing off despite it only being ten o'clock, not many seventeen-year-old boys would want to be working at the city morgue much less taking the night shift at the reception and though he wasn't in direct contact with the corpses, there was an eerie feeling knowing there were dozens of dead people a floor below. The graveyard shift was rather easy as there were hardly any costumers after nine and most of his activities consisted of answering the phone but that didn't mean there weren't people arriving with dead people in the dead of night.
"Angel grave mortuary house, you kill 'em and we chill 'em!"- Sidney said with a cheerful voice.
"Beg your pardon!"- a female voice said on the other side of the line.
"Mrs. Manson! I'm so sorry! I thought it was one of my friends"- The teen tried to correct himself but the woman on the other side wasn't in the mood for his shenanigans. "Yes! Your husband's body is ready for transportation."- he continued. His face is red with embarrassment.
Not a second after hanging up the phone was that the main double door opened allowing for a police officer to march in accompanied by two paramedics dragging a trolley which made the teen stand up as he checks his dossier. Sidney was sure to not be expecting anyone, before he could utter a single word was that the night doctor and the mortuary's owner, Bertrand patted the teen on the shoulder. Despite working mainly on civil cases such as natural deaths or accidents, doctor Beltran was also a medical examiner and pathologist for the local police department albeit only ever taking low-priority cases.
"What do you have for me tonight, detective?"- Beltran asked with bemusement.
"Got you a Christmas present, a john doe. Probable OD, found him in the old Fenton Works behind a wall in the basement, don't know how he got there."- the detective said. "M. E's short-staffed with the holidays, just need you to confirm the cause of death."- the police detective added.
According to detective Aragon, the victim had been found sitting on an old wooden chair covered by many red flowers within a secret room in the basement wearing a paper crown making it possible someone played dressed up with the body, it was nothing short of dumb luck that the crime scene was even found in the first place as detective Aragon chased down a petty purse snatcher to the old abandoned Fenton Workhouse, unfortunately, the location was a known junkie spot, therefore, was considered a possible overdose case which according to Amity Park P.D. was deemed low priority.
"Where do you want him, doctor?"- one of the paramedics asked.
"The service elevator is over there just around the corner, it only goes down," The man said pointing to the end of the hallway. "And next time use the backdoor, you're killing me here." The man added with a smirk.
Pointdexter gulped down as he saw the body bag pass in front of him, normally these cadavers were brought in through the backdoor but the officer claimed there was a whole "mountain" of snow covering the driveway, Poindexter had seen all manner of cadavers being pushed down the hallway for the last year but hadn't grown accustomed yet to the sight, their regular clientele consisted of natural deaths, suicides, and car accidents, every so often arrived an overdose victim.
"Excuse me, doc, may I accompany you?"- Sidney asked seeing that it was closing time. "Perhaps I could be of assistance this time, I mean your assistant is out for the holidays and I would like to help out." The boy continued.
Sidney wasn't a gore freak by any means nor did he have any questionable fetishes, on the contrary, his interest was purely scientific, he had been longing to enter medical school as soon as he finished high school hence why he chose to work at a funerary out of all places, with a little convincing managed to get a sort of apprenticeship position as part of his salary which suited the doctor just fine as he enjoyed being a mentor, Sidney also considered this to be a good way of getting ahead start.
"Sure, just make sure to lock up, I doubt anyone is going to be coming around tonight, not with this blizzard." The doctor said as Sidney turned off the computer and most of the lights saved for the logo.
(XXXXX)
There was a strong apprehension as he walked into the autopsy room, the boy wasn't sure why he expected to see dozens of bodies in trolleys spread across the room, the first time that he walked in, most were already waiting in the coffin room ready to be transported to their final resting place, a few more were inside the mortuary cabinets patiently waiting for their turn on the autopsy table. No bloodstained tools on the tables or hanging on the walls, Sidney shook his head cursing his love for horror movies that made him think there would be bodies hanging around like in a butcher shop.
Instead, everything was immaculate and pristine, the floor was squeaky clean though there was a strong scent of formaldehyde in the air which made him a little uneasy, with a little luck Sidney might convince Beltran to hand him a recommendation letter so he could apply for a scholarship. The doctor instructed his new temporary assistant to put on some scrub, a surgical mask, and gloves from the cabinet before coming near the body, so far, the teen had been an observer though recalled vomiting the first he saw a corpse and passing out the when Beltran cut the body open.
The sudden ring of the service elevator startled Poindexter who turned around quite frightened as he saw the doors opening allowing for a young woman with bright red hair to walk out, he couldn't help but feel like a fool for thinking that Beltran's assistant Penelope Spectra was a zombie as the gloomy ambiance was getting to him. The teen cursed his love for horror movies that were playing tricks on his mind due to the morbid surroundings.
"This is a pleasant surprise, I thought you were going to be spending the holidays with your boyfriend?"- the pathologist asked.
"That was the plan but the snowstorm suddenly turned into a blizzard." The redhead woman said. "No way my scooter was gonna make it through that, could barely see an inch from my nose and the bridge was a no-go. Had to cancel everything."- Penelope complained, cursing that her car was in the workshop.
The woman then turned over to Sidney who was dressed in scrubs and ready to participate in the autopsy, a smile grew on her face as she had seen him reading medical books with great interest along with observing several operations recently. The teen had also been most interested in the Beltran's redhead assistant despite being way out of his league, he couldn't help but ogle at the woman dressed in a red business suit, a color that was seemingly her favorite, her red hair was short and styled in a manner that resembled horns for a lack of a better description, she was ready for a date judging by bright purple shade on her eyes and bright red lipstick.
It was then that Penelope's eyes shifted to the body resting on the slab which made her raise an eyebrow, the woman sighed loudly as she removed her jacket leaving it on a nearby rack before putting on some scrubs and gloves claiming that she might as well collect some overtime seeing that the blizzard wasn't going to end anytime soon which made Beltran chuckled. All of the redhead's plans had gone down the drain, there was no more candlelight dinner or fine wine instead there was a dead body and a scalpel.
"What do we have?" the woman asked as she slide on a pair of surgical gloves.
"Possible OD."- Beltran replied as he opens the body bag.
"Not bad…"- Penelope replied upon seeing the victim's face. "He's quite hot for a stiff." The woman commented.
"I know it's a holiday but show some professionalism."- Beltran teased as Penelope giggled. "Good evening, my name is Doctor Beltran, this is my assistant Penelope Spectra and our apprentice Sidney Poindexter, tonight we shall be conducting an autopsy to find out your cause of death." The mortician said as he put on the surgical mask and latex gloves.
The two coroners proceeded to remove the clothes off the corpse but quickly noticed there was a thick layer of dust as they cut and heard a crackling sound as if the clothes were very old and hardened with time which they found most odd as it would take years for that to happen. Poindexter blushed madly it was the first time he ever saw a naked person outside his computer even if it was a boy made his heart race for a moment as he could swear to be looking at a doll's face due to how handsome he was, Sidney didn't have any strange necrophiliac tendencies but couldn't stop himself from ogling at the body out of morbid curiosity, silky black hair and fair skin, little too thin for his liking.
On closer inspection, he noticed there wasn't a spot on his skin, not even a birthmark, much less any indications of a violent death giving more weight to the overdose theory, stranger even, was that the John Doe wasn't malnourished or underweight, no bruises or scratch marks around the arms, as was typical among drug addicts making Beltran think the kid was a first-time user and couldn't handle the dose. Beltran began examining the body moments after turning on the voice recorder.
"Unknown male between the ages of twelve and fourteen, the apparent cause of death seems to be a drug overdose but there are no puncture wounds on the arms nor irritation around the nose, no visible indications that he was a user, there also seems to be solidified dust on the face and hair," Beltran said as he turned off the recorder. "I never did like working kids… hard to believe he was a user."- the man added.
"Addiction isn't uncommon among homeless kids."- Penelope retorted. "Especially if they're being abused or worst, pimped out."- Penelope added.
"He seems too well-fed and cared for to be homeless, there are no visible signs of physical abuse or sexual activity." The doctor replied as he picked up a red petal trapped in the boy's hair. "Sanguis Flos… best known as Blood Blossoms, said to wear off evil spirits and ghosts and be a powerful deterrent against witchcraft," Beltran added as he examined the leaf's unique green dots, an indigenous plant from Amity Park often used as a homemade remedy.
It was then that Penelope Spectra brought her flashlight closer to John Doe's face as she opened his eyes, the first thing to notice was that he didn't have any burst blood vessels nor were his pupils dilated as was common among OD victims, she then preceded to examine his teeth in search of damage in hopes of finding more information leading them to the kid's cause of death. The woman gave a soft gasp more out of impression than shock upon seeing the corpse was missing his tongue, further examination told her that it had been cut from the roots which took both doctors by surprise as there should be more damage, and yet his teeth were pearly white and perfectly lined almost as if he didn't put up a fight.
"There seems to be some healing taking place, he was alive when his tongue was cut."- Beltran commented as he looked closer at the wound.
The fingers didn't have any discoloration and there were no visible puncture wounds on the arms or legs, and no irritation on the nostrils that indicated he consumed drugs leaving both doctors confused. Beltran was starting to believe the teenager didn't die by overdose nor that he was even a user for that matter, cutting out the tongue was a common practice among organized crime as a means to scare off "rats" but there weren't any other signs of violence as such individuals would be beaten and tortured beforehand.
"Too young to be a snitch… why would anyone cut his tongue out?"- Penelope asked.
"I don't know but this isn't an OD, let's see what his inside tells us."- the man added.
Poindexter nearly fainted upon seeing the doctor casually slice the skin open with a scalpel making the form of a Y, not a drop of blood came out and yet the man dropped the tool on the floor upon pulling the skin apart, all three watched in stun silence at the pentagram carved under the skin just over the ribcage, never had either doctor seen something so bizarre in their entire career, it made no sense as the skin was intact.
Doctor Beltran used a magnifying glass to further examine the carving, he quickly noticed that it was a burn mark most likely made with a red-hot piece of metal which made no sense as there should be a massive scar, there was also a V-shaped hole as if he had been stabbed by a long-sharpened object. It was an obvious murder case, yet there were no superficial marks, not even a single scratch to be seen anywhere.
"Is that normal?"- Poindexter asked pointing to several cuts under the skin, some of which resembled figures.
"No… these cuts… it's like he was stabbed multiple times."- the man replied most dumbfounded.
"More like someone played jigsaw with him, those are symbols if I ever saw one."- the redhead coroner added.
The doctor took the saw and cut the ribcage without even batting an eye, the sound of cracking bone echoed within the room making Pointdexter feel nauseous, Beltran's main focus was on the heart, just as he suspected there was a large gap made by a long sharp blade that pierced through. Sidney nearly vomited once Beltran moved the organ around making disgusting sounds as blood and other fluids poured out, the man then inspected the lungs which were blackened and charred as if the victim had been in a terrible fire. The intestines had been stabbed and even sliced at certain points, the liver was in no better condition, and the stomach had been stuffed with Blood Blossoms. Never had Beltran or Penelope witnessed such brutality before, though more intriguing was the lack of superficial wounds.
"How can you do this to someone without leaving a single trace on the body?"- Penelope said looking down at the boy's lifeless eyes. The pupils are completely gray
"I have no idea but this is officially out of our area of expertise, let's go upstairs and have our Christmas dinner while I call the station so they can take over."- Beltran replied despite being overly fascinated by the case he knew better than to try and go over the proper authorities.
"If it weren't for that hole in his chest, I could swear that he's sleeping."- Poindexter said leaning in closer to the kid.
"Any closer and you two are gonna be kissing."- Penelope teased.
Poindexter frowned at the joke as he followed the two doctors back to the reception where he noticed the blizzard had picked up even harder making the windows rattle ever so violently, both the dark and snow made it impossible to see more than a few meters away, the parking lot was invisible at this point. No one in their right mind would dare venture into that icy hell, it was no wonder why Penelope returned to the funerary house.
(XXXXX)
There was an eerie silence broken by the sporadic rattling of the windows as the redhead coroner and the receptionist ate their dinner at the employee's lounge while Beltran headed to his office to try and get hold of the authorities. The howling winds made Poindexter most uneasy as he constantly looked from the turkey sandwich courtesy of the good doctor to the elevator at the end of the hallway, Penelope stood up and headed for the coffee machine, the dead teenager still lingering in her brain.
"It's useless. The storm must have knocked down the lines or something, I can't get a hold of anyone."- Beltran said as he sat down. "There's no internet either."- the doctor added.
"I knew I know that guy!"- Poindexter suddenly said tossing the chair to the ground as he stood up.
"An acquaintance of yours I presume."- Beltran said slightly dumbfounded.
"No… not exactly. You know I'm big into urban exploration." The teen said excitedly.
"I was not aware of that."- the doctor replied nonchalantly as he prepared himself to eat.
It was then that Poindexter ran out of the lounge straight to the reception only to come back minutes later with his backpack and cell phone talking about sneaking into Fenton Works one night along with his friends, the boy then produced the laptop from his backpack that he uses during the night to stay awake just in case there was work to be done though constantly found himself falling asleep on the job.
"Take a look at that"- the desk clerk said showing a picture he took.
Both doctors, people of reason and science looked dumbfounded at an old sepia-colored family photograph, there was a large man dressed in antique work clothes whom Poindexter assured was Jack Fenton thanks to the names being written on the back side, next to him was a woman with short hair dressed in similar clothes named Maddie Fenton, just a few steps away stood a younger girl, presumably the daughter, Jasmine Fenton and finally, the boy resting the autopsy table in the basement was nonother than Daniel Fenton.
"There has to be some sort of mistake, it can't be."- Beltran retorted. "I'm more than sure this is a huge misunderstanding; Fenton Works has been abandoned since I was a kid and that was a very long time ago."- Beltran replied.
"From 1930 to be precise. The Fenton family suddenly went missing…"- Pointdexter replied but was cut short by his boss.
"Let me stop you there, kiddo. We all know the story about them being devil worshipers and what not."- Beltran said putting his hand up. "Even if that is Daniel Fenton, he should be nothing but bones by now. This is just some bizarre coincidence, the poor soul down there died recently, so I'm gonna go downstairs and work on him before the cop takes him back for proper examination. It's the correct thing to do."- the man added.
With that said Beltran left the lounge and headed to the elevator, unlike his college, Penelope was far more interested in knowing about the mystery surrounding Fenton Works, the place had been an urban legend that almost everyone in town know about, the classic haunted house on the hill, according to legend the Fenton Family were big into the study of the paranormal, strange chanting could be heard in the dead of night, and one day simply vanished leaving all their earthly possessions behind, some were stolen with time but no one dared to buy the place even after their memory faded away.
(XXXXX)
Doctor Beltran is a man of science, therefore, didn't even consider the possibility of their John Doe being Daniel Fenton who had gone missing nearly a century ago, but had to admit the idea was most intriguing, if he truly is Daniel then he would have undergone a unique and extremely advance form of mummification never before heard of, though he was sure it was all nothing more than an astronomical coincidence just like when someone finds an old photograph that resembles a famous person.
The elevator suddenly came to a stop taking the man by surprise. Darkness overtook the interior as the doctor cursed the maintenance workers for not doing their job properly, not even a week had gone by since they lay their hands on the lift. Just as he was about to press the call button and hope either his assistant or Poindexter could answer was that he heard breathing, as if someone was breathing directly into his ear, a pair of glowing green eyes manifested even in the pitch dark. The lights came back on revealing that he was completely alone. The doors opened with a ding.
"Just my mind playing tricks on me." The doctor said as he gazed over the alleged Daniel Fenton. "But if you are him… how come you like as if you died a few hours ago." The man added, his hand running down his cheek.
As Beltran continued his examination noticed a few more stab marks on the torso near the heart added to the many lacerations on the abdominal region, if he had to make an educated guess, it was as if Daniel had been attacked multiple times, though what intrigued him the most were the strange carvings that resembled symbols but couldn't make out, something religious without a doubt, he was sure that if he peeled off all of the skin would end up finding even more.
"Hey…"- Beltran heard a whisper from behind.
"What is it?"- the man asked as he turns around expecting to see Poindexter.
There was no one behind him, the morgue was empty which made him feel like the first time he was left to work alone in the middle of the night. A shadow in the corner of his eye caught his attention but it was the slight movement of the cadaver storage door that froze his blood, surely, his eyes were playing tricks on him as they once did when first started working as a mortician, nevertheless, made his way armed with a scalpel and a mallet, it wouldn't be the first time that a junkie broke in searching for drugs or items to steal. Graveyard robbery wasn't in fashion anymore but there were those willing to keep the tradition up.
Many bodies rested within the storage on descendent lifts covered by a blanket ready to be transported to the autopsy area or their final resting place, the doctor carefully walked around ready to defend himself from any wanna-be thief looking to score an easy prize. Beltran felt a chill run up his spine as he looked at the reflection on the doors of the polish steel mortuary cabinet, a hollow formed in the pit of his stomach upon seeing the silhouette of the cadavers sitting up still covered by the blankets. He had this nightmare many times before, the dead coming back to life.
Slowly but steadily and ready to strike was that the doctor turned around only to see the corpses still in their horizontal position, unmoving. Beltran jumped in utter and terrible shock upon seeing a person peeking through the small square window on the door, the scalpel and mallet fell off his grip as both legs lost all strength. Fury cast away his fear as he refused to be scared away like some little schoolgirl.
Beltran slammed the door open clutching tightly to the mallet, eyes darting all around in search of the trespasser, he was ready to severely scold Poindexter if he was playing some childish prank for not taking his theory seriously, but there was no one in view, just his client Daniel Fenton who remained on the autopsy table with his chest cut wide open, all the organs in full view, a few more cadavers could be seen. Nothing seemed to be disturbed or moved the medicine cabinet remained closed, just as he left it.
Soft whimpering drew his attention towards the second autopsy table where one Jeremy Manson had been prepared for the afterlife, all his fluids and waste already removed, his hair combed to his favorite style and makeup had been applied to make him look alive, they were only waiting for the tuxedo to arrive though there was a delay due to the blizzard, it was surprising how much his wife was willing to spend on her late husband.
The mortician could swear Jeremy was sobbing as impossible as that sounded, Beltran carefully approached the body fearing there might be an intruder trying to trick him but after walking around the autopsy table couldn't see anyone and yet continue hearing the soft crying which forced him to approach the cadaver. There was nothing wrong with Jeremy, his makeup was pristine and both eyes remained closed, and the mouth was sewn shut.
Beltran sighed loudly as he sat down in front of Daniel's corpse wondering if he was overworking, it had been years since his last vacation, the man turned his attention towards the young deceased boy, his empty eyes and expressionless face were one that the doctor had seen countless times and he no longer felt anything in particular, though seeing it on a teenager who had barely lived always made him feel sorry. The man played some classical music on his smartphone as he got ready to get back to work, a surgical mask covering his smile.
"My apologies but until I can get a hold of the proper authorities, I'll continue with your examination and hopefully determine your cause of death." The mortician said as he turned around to take his forceps.
"I appreciate your attention, good doctor."- a soft yet unworldly voice said.
Beltran jumped from his chair knocking down the tray with all his tools, his head moved all over trying to find the source of the voice, it was no figment of his imagination as he heard it clear as day, someone was in the autopsy room with him, someone alive. The doctor challenges the intruder to present himself while holding a scalpel, upon seeing there was no one with him made his way to the archive office just past a door at the end of the room. Very rarely did Beltran drink on the job but after such a scare, he needed a drink. His hand shook as he focused his attention on the dead teen.
(XXXXX)
The ticking of the clock hanging over the family room wall followed by the buzzing of the vending machine was starting to get on Penelope's nerves as she had unwillingly traded her candlelight dinner and exquisite wine for a simple turkey sandwich and cheap coffee, to make matters worse the blizzard hadn't decreased and knew she would have to stay the night much to her dismay. Her eyes were glued over the window begging that her boyfriend wasn't foolish enough to go out in the middle of the night despite having called him before returning to the funerary.
With a loud yawned was that Penelope walked down the dimly lit hallway ready to continue with her work, her high heels echoed throughout the corridor guided by floor lights that did very little to illuminate her path, her eyes set over the few paintings that Beltran bought years ago to make the funerary less intimidating, most were of children playing in large gardens, of families having picnics and the occasional poster with motivational phrases, the woman stood in front of a portrait of a mother and daughter sitting on a tree branch, for a moment could swear they were glaring at her. Surely, the lack of proper illumination
Penelope hastily headed to the lift as she tried to avoid looking at the paintings on both sides of the wall, each one seemingly following the woman with their glaring eyes, she had walked this corridor many times but this was the first time she felt in danger. Their expressions were rapidly turning to one of anger, she could swear it was as if the people in the painting were about to leap out and attack her, rather than waiting for the elevator, Penelope took the stairs, it was just a short flight down.
"Mental note, next time take the client elevator or stairs."- Penelope said feeling her heart about to break through her ribcage.
Penelope quietly walked into the autopsy room while taking disposable scrubs from the cabinet along with a pair of gloves, Danny's corpse was still in the same place they had left him, and further to the right was Jeremy Manson, it took the woman a few minutes to find her boss in the archive room, a nearly empty bottle of scotch next to him, it had taken the man a whole year to drink it.
"This kid is fascinating… from a scientific perspective. Come!"- Beltran said as he stood up guiding Penelope towards Danny. "His stomach and trachea were filled with Blood Blossoms, after cleaning the cuts under the skin I discovered there are religious symbols, but not any kind, these are used in exorcisms and witch burnings… pretty cool."- the mortician added.
"And you know all this because…?"- Penelope asked.
"My predecessor had a morbid taste for the occult," Beltran replied with a soft chuckle. "Wanna see something freak deaky?"- the man said pulling some muscle aside.
"Impossible. Those can't be third-degree burns. He would have to be nothing more than charred remains, no way he's this intact." The redhead spoke.
"Doctor Beltran… I need some assistance up here… there are some weird people and they're freaking me out"- Pointdexter said through the intercom making both morticians jump on their spots.
Beltran removed his surgical mask and excuse himself before making his way to the elevator but stop for a moment, instead opting for the stairs which Penelope found most odd, on the other hand, had she been summoned upstairs would have walked down the hallways past odontology and the family recognition room taking the client elevator. She did wonder who was crazy enough to venture into the middle of a blizzard. Furthermore, why would Pointdexter leave them outside? Surely, he had his reasons.
The hallway was dark and cold which made him reconsider his energy-saving policies, more so, as his favorite paintings seemed oddly menacing under such dim lights. The first thing he noticed upon reaching the front desk was Sidney standing by the glass door, the blizzard hadn't decreased in the least, much on the contrary, it was far worse than before making the windows rattle.
"Doc… there's something seriously wrong with these guys."- Sidney said without even looking back.
Beltran looked through the frosted glass window at nearly a dozen people standing just a few meters away from the funerary, even with the snow running around could tell each one holding some sort of a green light in their hands that flickered and waved with the icy winter winds, the man felt the same dread as his clerk upon laying eyes over the strangers which made him check the door was locked even if common decency told him to walk out and ask if they needed help.
"How long have they been out there?"- Beltran asked looking at his receptionist.
"Don't know, I only noticed them about ten minutes before calling you."- the teen replied as he looked at his cell phone and confirm it was still without a signal. "How can they stand that cold… whoa!"- Poindexter yelled before falling on his ass.
Standing at the door was a hooded figure with long red locks that protruded from the void that composed her face, even without a face they knew she was watching them, try as he might Beltran couldn't make out heads or tails from the stranger other than being female due to the bosom which made him most uneasy, at their position and lighting should have already made out a face. A frosty gloved hand pressed against the glass, and a pair of glowing green eyes could be seen all of the sudden from the blackness.
"We give out eyes to better see him… we give our tongues to better praise him… we give our hands to better serve him."- a female voice said clear as day despite the brutal storm.
Both screamed as dark green tentacles came out from the black void clasping unto the window, Sidney nearly passes out for the second time in the night. This was enough motivation for Beltran to close the shutter, he was no stranger to addicts and other poor souls but this girl was beyond terrifying. The mortician then told Poindexter to follow him to the office where he once again tries to call the police.
(XXXXX)
Just as Penelope approached her scalpel towards Daniel's heart was that a metallic object fell scaring the woman who let go of her tiny blade. Her attention was concentrated on the cold storage door, she was sure the noise came from there, her first thought just like with Beltran was that an intruder made his way either running from the blizzard or was desperate to get a fix even with the terrible weather.
"I shouldn't be here… I should have been at a fancy restaurant and on my way to a good hotel with my boyfriend half drunk." The woman said as she loomed towards the door picking up the scalpel. Her blood ran colder than the storm outside upon entering the cadaver storage and seeing the black silhouette of a girl with long hair, the lightbulb burst upon flipping the switch leaving only the dim emergency lights, her worst fears were coming true. "Excuse me, miss, you can't be in here, we're close and this is private property." Penelope tried to sound tough but was failing badly.
The redhead walked closer while keeping her scalpel hidden to avoid stirring any unwanted violence, the intruder suddenly looked over at Penelope, her eyes shining the brightest green the mortician had ever seen almost as if they were two lightbulbs, it was then that she moved her head and saw all the cadavers sitting upright still covered by the blankets. If it was a prank it had to be the most elaborate one ever, though quite late for a hazing just by a decade or so.
Penelope closed her eyes for a mere second, upon opening them again saw the light was on and all the cadavers were back to their resting positions, the intruder was nowhere to be seen. The woman lost all strength in her legs making her fall to the ground, she couldn't believe to have hallucinated, and after taking a few deep breaths was that she made her way out of the storage room, she then stopped dead in her tracks.
"Sweet Nocturne who art in heaven."- Penelope said incredulously.
With soft and calculated steps Penelope walked around Danny's autopsy table unable to believe what she was seeing, her eyes transfixed over Jeremy who lay on the second table. Her legs were starting to shake and her heart rate increased dramatically upon observing a giant monstrous caterpillar wriggling over the table, the skin was dark green with red rings at every intersection, and tiny round paws wriggled around leaving only the man's head remained glued on one of the extremes.
Jeremy's blank eyes turned over to the mortician who took several steps back as the creature rolled on his side and landed on the floor with a disgusting wet sound, despite its short legs and permanent prone position was rather fast but Penelope proved to be faster even with high heels as she made it to the far end of the hallway where she frenetically pressed the elevator button.
"Come on, old piece of shit!"- Penelope screamed as the lift was taking forever to come down.
From the corner of her eye saw the horrible giant caterpillar leap into the air despite its size and weight giving her enough time to roll to the side, the monster landed on the floor with a loud wet thud, leaving her more disgusted than afraid as contracted its fat elongated body, it was then that the monster jumped directly over Penelope taking her completely by surprise as it landed directly on top of her, the tiny scalpel in her hand did little to nothing to the monster no matter how many times she stabbed him. Sharp needle-like teeth came out from Jeremy's mouth as it opened and rip the corner of his lips.
Penelope screamed as the monster bit her in the breasts while trying to keep the giant caterpillar from her neck which she protected with all her might knowing that if the monster bite her in the neck it would mean certain death. Without wasting any more time and taking full advantage, the monster was so close, Penelope stabbed "Jeremy" in the eye making it let go of her while shaking.
She never understood why the fire department forced the funerary to have at least one fire axe per floor as she believes the extinguisher was more than sufficient but was very glad to have one as she broke the glass. The insect monster shrieked like a pig once the redhead impaled him in the back with the axe not risking a headshot and missing leaving her exposed to the demon. The woman held tightly to the axe as the monster crawled away dragging her along and showing just how powerful it was, using her foot as leverage managed to remove the axe as it would be her only form of defense.
Green and slimy blood oozed out from the wound as the disgusting monster crawled up the wall leaving a trail of translucid slime in its wake. Penelope watched with utter revulsion as the giant worm squeezed into the ventilation shaft.
(XXXXX)
The sudden ding of the elevator forced the woman into a clumsy fighting stance as she wonders what manner of monster would emerge, she quickly calmed down and nearly dropped her weapon upon seeing doctor Beltran and Sidney walking out armed with an axe surely taken from the upper floor and a sawn-off shotgun that their previous employer kept in his office though for superstitious reasons more than safety.
It was a common tradition among undertakers born in the early 1800s to have at least one firearm at hand in the eventual case the dead decided to roam the land of the living once more, though, on more practical terms, many cemeteries and funerary homes were often targets of graverobbers, more than one mortician end up next to their clients. Beltran once considered getting rid of the shotgun but figured it made for a nice decoration though a break-in a few years ago convinced him to keep the weapon, now it was proving its worth once more.
"What the hell happened?! We heard screaming, did those maniacs get inside?!"- Beltran demanded more than asked. "Damn it to hell! They hurt you!"- the doctor continued as he put Penelope's right arm over his shoulder and dragged her back to the equipment store.
"Not as bad as it seems, just a flesh wound."- Penelope said as she sat down on a chair while the doctor searched for the med kit. "Thank goodness for the implants…"- the woman added in her mind knowing that her silicon prevented the monster from reaching muscles.
"That looks like a bite"- Sidney said as he looked at Penelope's bare chest though without any lust as he was beyond terrified.
"You're not gonna believe it but I was attacked by a giant caterpillar monster."- Both Beltran and Sidney looked at her with stern faces. "I'm not lying, I know what I saw!"- the woman added most frustrated.
"I believe you. I saw a girl with tentacles instead of a face."- the man replied as he put a patch on the wound.
"It's true, there was this chick outside the main door, no face at all just a black hole… freaking tentacles came out."- Pointdexter interjected. "We bolted out of there."- the teen added.
The sudden slamming of a door made all three go silent, Penelope feared the monster had come back for her, she held the axe tightly as fear send all the pain to the back of her mind, it was then that Sidney lay flat on the ground and crawled to the door, he peeked through the small square window trying to find the source of the noise. His answer was no better than hearing the monster was back.
One Miss Conner decided to go out for a midnight stroll, the main issue was that she died of a heart attack during her sleep a couple of days prior, even though her heart was in the storage unit as the doctor had to remove it for further studies, she found herself walking around the hallway making the teen gulped down as he saw the Y-shape scar on her chest. The teen nearly became one with the wall as the old lady pressed her face against the wall, Beltran hide behind the desk while Penelope chose to hide between the archive cabinet and the water cooler.
For many years, Sidney had fantasized about living an adventure similar to his favorite video game, Resident Ghoul, going around hacking and blazing zombies but now that he was in front of one lacked the willpower and courage to confront the undead, he wasn't the undefeatable hero. Once the old lady was heading down the corridor was that Beltran instructed his workers to head back to the autopsy room.
Sidney followed his boss into the autopsy room feeling a different kind of dread as he looked over at Danny's unmoving corpse while Beltran and Penelope argue their next course of action, going to the autopsy room was the best decision so far as they had multiple ways out that included the service lift, the stairs, and the emergency exit past the family recognition room, the main problem was the freaks outside and the blizzard that didn't seem to be ending anytime soon.
Penelope, on the other hand, wanted to wait until morning before either calling for help or making a dash for it, surely, the storm would be over by then but Beltran assure her the doors wouldn't keep any monsters at bay and seeing they had no manner of blocking the stairs or the elevator would transform the room into a deadly trap, the woman proposed moving some cabinets to make an improvised barrier.
All three turned over to Daniel as he suddenly convulses, their eyes widening in utter and indescribable horror as thick greenish tentacles emerge from the hole Beltran made on the boy's chest earlier that night, that alone was sufficient motivation to leave the autopsy room. Pointdexter felt as if he was in one of the "Walking Ghouls" episodes but as a background character, the kind that dies.
(XXXXX)
"I don't see anyone; seems the freaks didn't get in," Sidney said after sneaking their way up the service stairs. The boy squatted against the wall holding his axe while mentally preparing himself to fight.
The funerary was oddly silent more so than it should be, with only the howling of the winds outside as background ambiance, none of them wanted to head into the lobby to make sure the freaks were still outside. Their first stop was the employee's locker room, none of them would last too long under the storm without at least a coat, Penelope muffled a painful moan as she put on her expensive fur coat fearful of attracting the worm monster or the faceless people Beltran allegedly saw.
All three gathered at the backdoor leading to the parking lot, they planned to reach Sidney's truck as it was the closest. The teen was begging the antifreeze would help them start the car on the first try, he then put his finger in the keychain making sure to have it ready, there was no way he would fall for the classic movie trope and have to fondle for the keys or have them fall on the ground. Beltran put his hand over Sidney's shoulder as Penelope did the same though had a hard time holding her axe but knew better than to leave it behind.
"Ok. On the count of three. Ready?"- Beltran said as he looked over to his assistant hopeful that she could run. "One… two… three"- the man half whispered as Sidney open the door.
The doctor stopped upon seeing the teen unmoving, he quickly looked up front and saw the hooded girl with red hair standing at the door frame, her long black coat covered with snow, yet remained unmoving despite the brutal winds, there was nothing between them this time. Her eyes glowed bright green sending shivers up the trio's spine, Sidney knew he had to swing his axe to escape but couldn't move his arms no matter how hard he commanded them.
Penelope screamed as long tentacles came out from the hood quickly wrapping the teen's head and lifting him off the ground, her hands held Sidney's wrist with a bone-crushing grip but the teen couldn't utter a single word as a long feeler wrapped around his throat cutting off all airflow into his lungs, the axe fell off his hands making a clanking sound that echoed within the funerary. Beltran watched in utter horror as tentacles made their way inside Sidney's head via the eyes and mouth, blood gushed out covering the floor in a matter of seconds.
The old doctor didn't dare to pull the trigger on his sawn-off, both legs froze from the utter horror that he was unable to believe or understand. Penelope was the first to burst out running upon seeing the terror at the door, she could hear Sidney's bones breaking which filled with even more dread, and the children in the paintings smiled and mocked her as she made her way down the hallway.
"Oh my god!"- Penelope screamed as she saw people with tentacles coming out from their faces standing outside the windows and the main door.
The redhead turned around to see the female monster walking towards her as her boss crawled away, her tentacles wriggling around giving her an even greater menacing aura as the monster put crossed her legs with each step almost as if she was on a fashion runway, taunting them with each step. Fear overwhelmed the woman as she sprinted towards the stairs but the sight of Mrs. conner walking the steps forced Penelope to dash into the elevator. Tears streamed down her face as she desperately pressed the button unable to hear her boss who rushed towards her, begging the woman to keep the doors open but these shut closed in his face.
Heavy breathing filled the lift as it made its way down, Penelope stood in the middle clutching her axe tightly to her chest crying her eyes out, begging to wake from this horrible nightmare, the woman was sure soon she would wake in her boyfriends' arms suffering from a hangover. Then, a warm fluid landed on her shoulder, making Penelope look with dreadful eyes as more strange fluid came down.
The woman sighed loudly moments before the rooftop collapsed allowing the caterpillar monster to fall on top of her, Penelope used all her strength and willpower to move the monster off her but was useless, she was losing badly. Jeremy's face had transformed into a monstrous form with an enlarged mouth filled with needle teeth, two more eyes had grown and the head had fully fused with the body.
(XXXXX)
Beltran stood dumbfounded in front of the elevator though couldn't blame his assistant for leaving without him, yes, they were used to dealing with death but it was the first time they had seen someone die, seeing Poindexter ripped apart in such a cruel manner was too much for Penelope. Then, Beltran heard the most horrific and painful screaming he had ever heard before coming from the lift. No words were needed as he knew his assistant was long gone, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Had he gone inside the lift along with Penelope, both would have been slaughtered by whatever monstrosity lurked within, Beltran lifted his sawn-off aiming it directly at Mrs. Conner whose blank expression showed no fear.
"Sorry, Mrs. Conner, I'll give you the close casket special and a discount."- the man said aiming his sawn-off and blasting her head clean off.
From around the corner came out the stranger humanoid with tentacles coming out from the hood, now that she was in the light Beltran could better see her. Leather knee-high boots with a black trench coat and a hoodie, her figure female, Beltran loaded the last two shells as it only had the firearm for the show, but had no intentions of fighting whatever abomination she was nor any of her cohorts, there was no manner of knowing if his gun would have any effect on the creature.
The mortician then turned around and rushed down the stairs, one thing was clear, the monsters had rallied at the lobby, and for some odd reason didn't go inside, perhaps they were merely taunting him while whom Beltran assumed was their leader roamed around, though fighting her was out of the question. With a little luck, the monsters would remain in front of the lobby while the redhead monster follows him to the basement where he could outrun the beast retaking the same route as previously planned.
Beltran aimed his shotgun with one hand down the empty hallway despite his inability to use it, only copying what he had seen in movies and other media. His steps are light and swift, though for a moment could swear people were looking at him from within the family recognition room and archives making him how many demons broke into the funerary along with their intentions, perhaps if he could give them what they want, they might just leave him alone.
The mortician's eyes opened in utter disgust as he saw the wriggling figure of a bloodstained caterpillar monster that his former assistant talked about squirming its way at the end of the hall, soon it crawled up the wall leaving behind a trail of blood and slime before forcing it enlarged body inside an air duct. The sounds of breaking glass forced Beltran to turn around nearly wasting away his only two shots but calmed himself down upon seeing there was no charging against him, his hand gently pushing the door knob granting him access to the autopsy room once again, seeing that he returned to his starting point make it seem like a huge waste of time.
It took all the willpower in his entire body and soul for Beltran to not fall on his knees upon seeing Daniel's body sited on his leather chair pressed against the far wall, a paper crown from Poindexter's Nasty Burger lunch was placed over the kid's head, all of the cadavers in the mortuary cabinets and coffins kneeling before the teen who reminded motionless on the chair, the Y-section showing his inners. The man had jumped out of the frying pan directly into the fire as he was then reminded of the hideous tentacles that emerged from the teen, though wondered if he hallucinated the event or perhaps was made to see such horror via magic incantation.
With the classic ring was that the service elevator doors open making Beltran breathe ever so heavily as he lay eyes over the faceless stranger who walked staring him down as she did, it was then that the mortician looks over to the lift's interior where he sees the reminds of Penelope Spectra, her body mutilated and eaten away by the fat maggot, Beltran's entire body was shaking in utter and complete fear. Upon turning around, he noticed that all the cadavers were standing upright, looking down at him with lifeless eyes.
"Please, ma'am. I'm just a day trader, I have nothing to do with this." Beltran implored as he looked over at Daniel. "Just take your king… I won't get in the way."- the man added assuming Daniel was some sort of cult leader even in his deceased status.
Long green tentacles emerged from the void within the hood forcing Beltran to unleash his sawn-off, the blast was powerful enough to send the humanoid flying backward. Taking the opportunity, he fled directly to his office hopeful the blast killed off the witch and their undead would return to their deceased, Beltran pressed his back against the door, without breaking the door or making any other sound that long tentacles phased through the wood slowly wrapping the doctor.
"Let's play… doctor."- a female voice said before pulling Beltran through the door as if he were made out of thin air.
(XXXXXX)
Detective Aragon arrived early in the morning wanting to pick up the report on the overdose victim before heading to the station yet found that no matter how many times he rang the bell or called the pathologist he didn't answer. The police officer was sure Beltran and his colleagues were inside after seeing a scooter parked in front, his theory was confirmed once he walked over to the parking lot and saw Beltran's car still parked, further down was an unknown truck most likely belonging to the front desk clerk.
It was upon reaching the backdoor that he dropped his coffee in favor of the pistol on his hips, both eyes trained over the corpse that lay over the ground partially covered by snow which he recognized as Sidney Poindexter, the police officer took a deep breath as he noticed two large holes where his eyes should be, the jaw had been shattered almost as if something huge had been shoved down.
"Sent backup to Angel Grave Funerary. Got a 10-87 and a possible 10-31."- Aragon said as he carefully walked into the funerary.
The place was abnormally silent though in hindsight never liked being at a morgue, the sight of a dark worm-like creature at the end of the hallway took him by surprise but his training prevented him from doing a panic shot. His steps were firm but cautious, the headless corpse of a naked old woman greeted him at the front desk, Aragon continued down the stairs, his gun moving around making sure to cover every possible hiding spot with his flashlight, the man stop as he entered the autopsy room, it was pitched black.
Soft breathing coming directly into his ear startled the detective forcing him to turn around nearly letting off a shot thought the flashlight fell off his hand, and the black outline of a small person could be seen walking against the wall. Aragon called out "police" as he demanded the silhouette to lift his hands but didn't comply forcing the policeman to kneel and pick up his torch without ever taking his eyes off the person. There was no one in sight even as the man shine his light all over the room but as he stood up felt he was surrounded by an unknown number of people filling him with horrible dread while backing away. It was then that he noticed
The detective turned on the lights the moment he noticed the switch on the wall, even with the whole room illuminated felt as if he was being surrounded. His attention was shifted to one of the autopsy tables that had a bloodstain cloth, Aragon's hand shook as he removed the fabric, his eyes open wide as he looked at the eyeless face of doctor Beltran.
"I see him… and now I serve…"- the man spoke before dying in front of Aragon.
It was many hours later and after a very detailed search of the premises that Aragon approached the medical examiner back at Amity Park police station wanting to know what happened to doctor Beltran and if he found any evidence leading to whoever committed the murder. Beltran's death and that of his colleagues were most gruesome, surely, the handy work of some deranged unknown psychopath though nothing came up during the initial investigation
"Judging by the angle and position, I say they're self-inflicted… did you say he spoke to you before dying?"- the ME asked. Aragon quoted the exact Beltran said before passing. It was then that he opened the cadaver's mouth. "As you can see, he doesn't have a tongue. It's a perfect cut." The ME added before moving on to Penelope.
Moments later, Aragon found himself walking towards his car holding the report, nothing made sense. One alleged suicide, an animal attack though the ME couldn't determine the kind of animal and murder. The detective sat down, and just as he sat down noticed a young boy through the rearview mirror sitting in the backseat, his skin was oddly pale making his black hair stand out even more, he wore a white polo shirt with a red dot along with blue jeans, strangest of all was the paper crown over his head.
"Can I help you?"- The detective asked but the boy put a finger over his lips. Aragon turned around completely to see him, face to face but there was no one sitting behind him. "Fuck me all night and sally… I think this job is starting to get to me."- Aragon continued as he started the engine.
The end.
