Hell on Earth (Life of the Dead Book 1) by Tony Urban

Author:Tony Urban [Urban, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Packanack Publishing
Published: 2016-11-07T18:30:00+00:00

23

Mina stayed in the hallway while the nurses and doctor rushed into the room and conversed in their alien, medical jargon. The commotion lasted about five minutes and when they fell silent, Mina knew what was up. She’d had plenty of experience with bad news in her life and it got to be that you could see it coming.

The doctor, a Middle-Eastern man with shoe-leather brown skin stepped out of the room first. He rested his palm on Mina’s shoulder. “I’m very sorry. We did all we could,” he said.

Mina nodded. “It’s all right.”

He moved on with a brief, consoling smile. The nurses shuffled out in a row after him and reminded Mina of ants. The last nurse in line paused.

“You can go in with him now,” the nurse said.

“Do I have to?”

“Excuse me?”

Mina shook her head. “Nothing. Sorry.”

The nurse looked at her quizzically before following her co-workers down the hospital hallway.

Mina hesitated, then re-entered the room. Sprawled on the bed was the body of her dead father, a blue sheet pulled up to just under his chin.

She reclaimed her seat beside the bed and wondered what happened next. Were there papers that needed signed? Was she supposed to call a funeral home? She needed an instructional pamphlet or maybe a book. What to Do After Your Daddy Dies for Dummies.

Mina thought Google might provide some answers and took her cell phone from her pocket. Upon turning it on, she saw there was no signal, so she moved to the window to try there. She stared out onto the soulless, industrial city as she waited to see if the phone might decide to work.

With her back turned, she didn’t see Vernon sit up in the bed. The sheet slid off him to reveal the wiry white hair that dotted his bony torso in random patches. As he swung his legs over the side of the bed, the sheet fell to the floor.

Vernon stood up, his tighty whities, which had long ago stopped being tight or white, stood out in stark contrast against his dark, exposed skin. He meandered toward his daughter who still stared down at her phone.

Reflected movement in the glass caught her attention. She assumed - hoped - it was someone coming to tell her they needed to take the body to the morgue and she could go home. When she turned and saw her dead father looking straight at her, surprise was an understatement.

Vernon’s gray eyes had lost the rage that filled them in life. A vacant, yet desperate stare had replaced his hate. He took a step toward Mina, then reached for her. Mina stepped back and hit the window, her bony elbow made a tiny tinking noise against the glass.

“Daddy?”

Vernon’s mouth fell open but instead of words he exhaled a ragged gasp and drool spilled out of his mouth in thick, opaque strings.

He reached again for Mina and this time his clumsy hands caught the neckline of her blouse. His fingers clawed at the fabric and the top button popped off.

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