TOXIC BLOODLINES: PARADISE - BOOK 2/4

SOMEONE HAS TO

ALEXANDER

The foul, putrid, rotting stench of the creature in our basement paired with the chemical odor of formaldehyde stunk up the whole building. Standing outside to escape the odor did not help either because it stuck to our skin and uniforms. Smoking was the only way I could tame it, but I couldn't smoke all day.

If I could, I would.

With rolling heatwaves hitting us back-to-back, the warm temperatures sped up the decomposition. Air-cons were not built to preserve bodies.

When our mad scientist had completed his autopsy and collected his specimens, we took what was left of that thing out back, far into the pasture, and burnt it.

Worst fucking idea ever.

The smell of the creature's burning flesh attracted flies and other pests looking for scraps.

The carcass did not burn all the way, and Ian feared burying it might poison the land. I suggested dumping the freaks remains in the swamp out of town. The butchers, the fish factory, the hospital, and the farmers all discarded their waste there anyway. Ian didn't approve of my idea, but that didn't mean I'd stop asking.

Walking toward Ian's office, Sara stormed passed me and got in before I did, slamming the door behind her.

"That's not good." I walked back to the lobby to wait for my turn.

Sara and Boss Man were having a heated argument. It was about the P.O.D. Sara had been on his case about it. Sara wants to get her involved, and Ian wants to keep her as far away from this as possible. I can't blame him.

The rest of us were divided, but most stood with Ian. We do not need Kimberly. We have handled everything else without her, Vampires, Lycans, Wendigos, this parasite freak would be no different.

"He's not actually going to consider bringing Kimberly into all of this?" Pete asked over the sound of Sara ripping into Ian.

"I hope not. Kimberly's a death magnet. I bet she gets involved, and more of those things show up. If it were up to me, I'd just kill all those sick people and be done with it—"

"—That's not funny," Pete gasped.

"I was just joking, but let's be honest. If those freaks are not stopped, we won't stand a chance. You saw how difficult it was to take one of them down," I argued.

Pete had a scared look on his face. "I'm sure there's a cure or some magical solution if this is supernatural," he replied unconvincingly.

"If this is supernatural? It is supernatural. A freaking spider-octopus human burst out of someone's gut," I laughed nervously.

"It didn't burst," Pete corrected me.

"Okay, so tell me how it would get out?" I asked him.

Pete rolled his eyes. "Okay, so on a scale of 1-10, how fucked are we?"

"Hmmm, I'd say Conner finding out that Elenore dropped out of college to be an actress," I laughed, remembering that day. "I miss the old dog."

Pete laughed, nodding in agreement. "Yep, that day will go down in history..." A faraway look appeared on his face. "Conner would have known what to do about this. I never got to know him like you guys did... I think he would want all of us together to fight this. I know we hate the Princess of Darkness, but if it comes down to a fight, we might need our Lightbringer," Pete expressed.