Grave by Charles L. Grant

Author:Charles L. Grant [Grant, Charles L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Horror
ISBN: 9780812518436
Google: Lpq3HAAACAAJ
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 1988-11-01T07:20:50+00:00

A

centipede scurried from beneath the headstone and into a tangle of white-blond. It paused, drew in on

itself, extended, moved on. Josh's scalp twitched, and the insect broke onto his fore-head. Paused again.

Moved slowly down toward one eye until a hand swept up and over and Josh jerked to a sitting position,

shuddering, hugging himself against a sudden cool wind that set the trees to soughing, the weeds husking to

themselves in soft straw laughter-He looked down and saw the centipede vanish into the canopy of grass.

It took him a moment to realize what it was, another before he felt as though his skin were covered with

miniscule creatures searching for ways to burrow to his blood. Immediately, his hands began brushing

across his arms, his chest, tugging hard through his hair while he prayed he would not feel something move

beneath his palm. Slowly, then, he drew on his clothes . There was no sense in looking for Andrea; he knew

she was gone . The clearing felt empty, and he seemed to remember a pair of lips against his ear, a

whispering, a telling: Dad will miss me I have to go. Of course, it could have been a dream, just as the

way she had forced him back onto the headstone had to have been a dream . He groaned, and rubbed at

stiff muscles beside his neck. A dream was the only way to explain what the woman had done.

With legs spread to keep his balance he buttoned his shirt. The jacket, lying at his feet, seemed a long

way down and he waited until he was sure he wouldn't lose his balance before reaching for it. Groaned

again, and winced at the tracks of scratches that pulled on his back. Hell, he thought, not knowing if they

were the result of the rough stones or her nails. Hell. ,

They had coupled swiftly and without speaking that first time, a second lovemaking that began

imme-diately the first was done. Neither time did she give him endearments, and so taken was he by the

ferocity of her strength and the intensity of her concentration that he gave her none, could not remember

even thinking any. There had been moments when he'd thought himself engaged in wrestling bouts, others

when he cried out almost savagely because it seemed the only way to force release of the pressures that

welled within him like the approach of the tide.

Cried out. Struggled . Sank when it was done into a stupor that eventually sidled into sleep .

An owl questioned. Josh shook his head, vigorously and once, and glanced about him, closing his eyes

tightly and snapping them open to clear his vision.

No. No dream.

The graves were still back there, and still curiously blank.

He took a hesitant step toward them before he realized he was squinting . An upward glance, and the

foliage above had locked into a grey haze punctuated by black . He frowned, and stared at his watch .

Slapped at his wrist when he saw the timepiece had stopped just after four . By the sky, then: it was near

dark, and he must have been asleep (or unconscious) for nearly .

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.