The Body by Dean Clayton Edwards

Author:Dean Clayton Edwards [Edwards, Dean Clayton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Armoured Car Books
Published: 2016-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

*

Inside the kitchen, with the door shut behind her, the house was still and quiet. She sensed Lara - conscious but trapped in the stool in a frenzy of panic and confusion. The stool in which she now resided was sitting on the floor by the sink. More than any of the other items from the master bedroom, it appeared to be just a simple item of furniture, unassuming, even bland. It was the item most likely to be discarded in a house clearance. It didn't look like it would support someone's weight and it was too ugly even to put your feet on.

"I'm sorry it had to be you," Matilda said.

"It's not fair!" Lara said. "It was my turn! I had the body! It was mine!"

"Calm down," Matilda told her.

"Get out of it! Get out!"

"I've just got in and I'm not going anywhere, Lara, so you'd better just calm down and see what happens."

Lara continued to whine while Matilda looked towards the stairs.

"He's mine!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Matilda said. "I'm not interested your man."

"We're married," Lara whined.

Matilda regarded the impressive ring on her finger.

"Are you in love," she said. "Or just stupid?"

"I'm not stupid," Lara said.

"That's too bad."

"The others won't let you get away with this."

"Don't take sides," Matilda said. "Don't you dare defend them, or what's going to happen to them will happen to you. That's enough now."

She wasn't about to tell her to stop crying, because she knew how it felt to have the body snatched from you and to end up trapped when you'd had glorious plans in mind. At first, you couldn't help but feel cheated. Then it was up to you to do something about it, even if that thing was waiting, staying strong and waiting until you'd forgotten what time was, waiting until an opportunity to escape presented itself and then you had to remember who you were; what you had once been.

Matilda picked Lara up by one wooden leg, still sobbing, and carried her into the drawing room. She set her down in front of an armchair. It looked like it had always been a part of this room. No-one would think anything of seeing it there and since visitors seemed to be a thing these days someone might even bear to put their feet on it, which Lara might find distressing, but Matilda was sure she'd prefer that to returning upstairs.

"Now pay attention," was all she said before leaving the room.

She could feel the others too, sending their minds around the house in a kind of mutual fog of panic. Among the thoughts, she sensed Isla, calm but strong, like the signal from a guiding beacon, so Matilda was not completely surprised to find her nearby, on the stairs.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked.

"It was my choice," said Isla.

Matilda checked out her reflection. Her face was bloody and she set down the axe to rub at her face with a corner of her wet T-shirt, though it was grimy with dust and mould from having cleaned off the chest.

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