The Unseemly

Chapter 11 - The Autopsy

Chapter Eleven - The Autopsy 

Landon Stonebrooke gazed at the violated corpse of his only son. It had been a couple months since he had last seen him, but he recognized him all the same, chunks of missing skin and all. A father never forgets his son, he said to himself. Landon was an Algebra teacher at Granite Bay high school and well-liked by teachers and students. His wife Judy was the guidance counselor, and she as well as respected throughout the district. So, it was a shock when they heard their son Jason had run away from home, especially coming from such a loving household. That had been the truth about his household-- he swore it on the bible. He and his family would attend church every Sunday, and they believed in God. Jason was such a happy kid; there was nothing out of the normal that would make him run away, Landon said to himself while he overlooked Jason's body.

"Where did I go wrong with you, son? Were your mother and I not good enough for you or something?" Landon says, running his fingers through what's left of Jason's hair still (which wasn't very much).

I'M WITH THEM NOW, DADDY, Jason whispers as he begins to sit upon the old rusty autopsy table. THEY NEEDED ME, SO THEY CAN COME VISIT. His head leaned sideways, almost falling off completely. He ripped the blanket which covered his battered, naked corpse and swung his sewn-up legs over the table and onto the floor.

"This can't be real; this can't be real," Landon whispered to himself repeatedly. "I'm just tired, that's all," he says, wiping his eyes.

OH, THIS IS REAL, THERE COMING DADDY AND THE SEER CAN'T STOP US. ALL OF THEM WILL DIE. Jason's voice was distorted at this point, and Landon Stonebrooke knew this was not his son. His son was dead and not this monster, which slowly walked towards him, body falling apart.

"You're not my son; where is my son!" he yells at the corpse. He trips over an empty autopsy table and tumbles to the ground. Jason's body moved closer and began to reach for Landon.

I'LL, SEE YOU SOON. OH... BEFORE I FORGET, TELL MOTHER I'LL SEE HER IN A FEW HOURS says the chewed-up Jason.

Landon wakes up to the coroner asking him and his wife if they were ready to view the body. He mentioned a lot of touch-up work he still had to do, and this had to do for now. Honestly, they didn't care. They just wanted to see the body, that's all. Hoping and praying to God that it wasn't there, Jason. That it was someone else little boy on that table and not theirs. Landon knew how grim that sounded-but it was the truth.

As they walked down the narrow hallway, the lights flickered and buzzed loud, it seemed as if Landon had been in a tunnel, and the only thing he could see was the door ahead of him. This one measly door that would prove if his son is really dead. Judy gripped his hand as hard as the day she had the day Jason was born. This can't be real, he thought. It's just another dream. I'm going to wake in bed next to my wife, and Jason will still be--missing. Not dead. The coroner crept approaching the door-that damn door. Sheriff Jenkins confirmed it was Jason, and that's what scared him most. Peter Jenkins' daughter Barbie, he thought her name was, had been in the same grade as Jason.

"Are you ready, Mr. and Mrs. Stonebrooke?" The peculiar man gently pushed the door open and led Landon and Judy Stonebrooke to an autopsy table with a large white sheet covered by a body.

"Honey, I don't think I can do this. What if it's really our baby. If it is, I'm not sure what I'll do." Judy said as she looked down on that retched table.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, babe," Landon told his wife.

"Let's just get this over with; he's been missing for so long already." she had said sadly.

"Okay, Mr.?" Landon asked.

"Mr. Grimsley, Arnold Grimsley." the man said, putting his hand on the thin white blanket. He gradually plucked the blanket, starting from the bottom. A couple toes were missing on his right foot. Chunks of skin were missing, and when Judy noticed that his penis had been bitten off, she damn near threw up on Landon. She managed to hold it back but couldn't hold back her scream once the face was revealed. That face was the face of Jason Stonebrooke.

"What the hell happened to him?" Landon shrieked.

"Here's the report." Grimsley handed him a piece of paper, at the top in bold letters said Autopsy Report. "I prefer not to read this out loud; it contains graphic content which I feel uncomfortable sharing."

"Uncomfortable?" Judy says, laughing. "You put makeup and play dress up on dead people for a living, and you look like Count Dracula, but telling me what happened to my fucking son makes you uncomfortable? She said, snatching the paper from Landon's hand.

"Calm down, sweetie. He's just doing his job," Landon says to his wife.

"I am calm! I'm here looking at my dead son's chewed up body who's been eating by God knows what, and Dracula over here can't do his fucking job," she screams at her husband.

She began shaking historically and chuckling uncontrollably. Her laugh turned into a strange gurgling sound that sounded like cats fighting out in an alleyway. She grabs her chest and falls over on her son's body--still shaking. Jason's body spills off the autopsy table and crashes onto the floor. As his body hits the floor, a thundering crack fills the air. Landon jumps back, unsure of what to do. He hears something rolling towards him then feels something hit the top of his shoes. When he looked down at his feet, Jason's gray dead eyes were staring straight into his. Landon could have sworn the head had winked at him before his body hit the old hard floor.