Skinless

Chapter 8

The factories were long abandoned. Early 20th-century brick structures with high window lines, mostly filled with broken glass. Once they were the pride of textile production, now a scar on the city. Inside, the cement floors housed as much dirt and dead vegetation as the empty lots that surrounded them. Few internal walls and not watertight, the wind had little trouble finding passageways through. Maddy was correct, not a place you want to spend winter in.

Chris made it a point to offer me his hand when the footing became precarious. I made it a point to prove that I didn't need it. My stubbornness made him smile, and I found I enjoyed what it did to his face. His smiles always found his eyes, crinkling the skin on the outsides in an attractive way. The man was handsome. The fact that he wasn't threatened by my independence made him all the more appealing.

"Hear that?" Chris said as we walked through the third factory of the day. He was pointing at what looked like an office with walls that went up a third of the way to the monstrously tall ceiling. The door stood open, partially off its hinges, though it blocked our view of the inside. I heard a soft droning almost a moaning sound that could have been animal or human.

"Hello," I called out and received no response. We moved closer, and I called out Willy's name, hoping for a bit of luck. It was met with silence, so I slowed as I approached the door. Chris bumped into me, his eyes more on the door than what was in front of him. I pushed him back and put my hand over my holster. "Police," I said as I entered the darkened room.

The first thing I saw was the back of a kneeling man in the center of the room. His body was visibly shaking, hands hidden in front of him. I moved to the side, looking about the room as my eyes adjusted to the lower light. I held up my free hand, trying to halt Chris from entering but he ignored the gesture.

"Sir?" I called out as I circled the man. I stopped when I saw a prone figure that had been previously hidden by the darkness. It lay motionless before the man. I drew my weapon. "Police," I repeated, "show me your hands." The man turned his head toward me, and it caught the light. Bloodshot tearing eyes met mine. He was shivering in fear, his arms wrapped tightly across his chest. My training kicked in. "I need to see your hands, sir," I ordered, raising my weapon toward him. Chris moved out of my line of fire, but deeper into the room.

The bearded man slowly raised his hands to shoulder height, empty palms toward me. It exposed the 'G' on his coat. His shaking didn't lesson, and he began to sob. I looked down at the person on the floor, and my stomach lurched. Its eyes were lidless, staring at me as if alive. The skinless muscles of its face were clearly visible. I saw a slow rising and falling in the chest cavity - breathing. One of its arms was laid across the floor, exposing the innard workings of his hand.

"What happened?" I yelled at Willy. My weapon was stiff, pointed directly at him. The coincidences were piling up, and he was at the center of them. I saw no blood on him, but his presence alone flew in the face of mere chance.

"He won't die," Willy moaned, new tears streaming down his cheeks. "We prayed to God to take him."

"Back away, sir," I ordered. Shaking, Willy scooted back on his knees toward the door, hands till raised. I stepped between him and the body, looking about the floor for any bugs. There was nothing I could see in the dim light, but that didn't mean they weren't crawling about. Willy seemed unharmed, and that gave me some confidence.

"I ask again. What happened?"

"We don't know. We found him this way," Willy said between sobs. Chris moved toward the body, squatting down near the head. He laid down his yellow tool box and leaned in toward the face. I heard him gasp.

"Still alive," Chris whispered. He looked at me as if I might have some solution. I holstered my gun since Willy remained whimpering on his knees, no signs of an imminent threat. Using my phone, I called 911 to request an ambulance that would most likely be too late. Then I called the captain and was assured help was on its way.