UNINVITED

UNINVITED Part 6

As Miss Larson screamed in my ear, interrupting my reading of "The Tome of Valmiki", I faintly heard what sounded like a dragging sound on the floor behind us. Ignoring everything else, I whipped around.

Impossible!

The horribly mutilated body of Roger Price shifted its limbs grotesquely and slowly lurched up to a standing position by jerking its frame left and right.

Unlike how I clumsily dropped "The Tome of Valmiki", I flawlessly caught Miss Larson's body as she placed a hand to her forehead and fainted next to me.

As I lowered Miss Larson to the ground, I watched in horror as the flesh around the reanimated corpse's head began to peel back. Along the spiral cut lines, the scalp, face and flesh of Roger Price's head spiraled downward, similar to the peeling of an apple, before falling onto the plastic sheet.

What the hell?

I felt the bile rise in my throat as I muttered a silent prayer of thanks Miss Larson didn't have to witness the ghastly sight of Roger's flesh falling off his head. Reaching into the small of my back, I retrieved my "partner" as I stood. Assuming a firing stance, I brought the weapon forward.

Ignoring me, the bone-white skull, slick with blood and gore, stared unblinkingly at Miss Larson laying at my feet, the unmistakable look of malice in its lidless eyes.

"Mine." The animated corpse grumbled in an evil voice, still glancing down at Miss Larson's unconscious form.

"Nope." I replied in defiance, aiming at the creature's chest. "Not yours."

Ignoring me, the thing took a stumbling step forward and repeated itself. "Mine."

Moving my trigger finger from the side of my weapon to the trigger, I slowly squeezed as I aimed at the thing's heart. The creature took another step towards us and I released the pressure on the trigger, reluctant to shoot the thing which used to be Roger Price in the chest.

Besides, could bullets even stop a reanimated body?

"Mine."

Do something, Nash!

Focusing on protecting Miss Larson, I rushed forward, placed my shoulder into the bloody corpse's midsection and tackled the thing to the ground.

At least that was my plan.

Instead, my foot slipped on the long pile of flesh which used to cover Roger Price's head. As my foot slipped, I pushed the corpse backward instead of down. Before I even realized it, the window crashed open and I inadvertently pushed the deceased Roger Price out of the third story window.

That works too.

"What happened?" Miss Larson mumbled as she sat. The noise of the breaking window no doubt waking her.

From outside the window, looking down into the darkness, I answered her. "You fainted."

"I don't faint. I'm a medical student." Miss Larson protested as she stood. "Hey, where's Roger?"

"I shoved him out of the window." I answered, still peering down, trying to catch a glimpse of the body.

"You pushed...? What the hell is that?"

Without even turning around, I knew what Miss Larson asked me about. "His face. Roger came back to life and his face fell off."

"What? How? What? Is that a gun in your hand?"

"Look, Miss Larson, I hate to be so blunt with you." I turned around to address the woman face to face. "But something paranormal and quite dark is happening..."

A noise from outside interrupted me and I resumed sticking my head out of the window and staring down into the darkness. Miss Larson joined me and we both stared at the impossible sight of Roger Price's corpse climbing the slick, wet walls of the bed and breakfast up towards the broken out window.

"What the...? Do something, Nash! Stop that thing!"