Dead Men

Rain rattled down upon the windows of an old black cab. Inside two figures sat staring at the hazy world beyond as it melted and dribbled down the glass that surrounded them. It was a dark and starless night; the few street lamps that were working provided only a slight burst of colour in the deserted residential street. The figures were those of james Cobb and Tony Silvas, neither knew much of the other, infact when they had been introduced only four hours previous all they were at liberty to divulge was names. They sat nervously awaiting the return of their third member. The cab had been driven for two and a half hours following preset satnav instructions and was now parked outside the long time residence of a Doctor James Brooks. The Doctor was a parapsychologist of some reputation according to local press and the most understated aspect of the article was that he was now one week deceased. The Doctor had lived in a small one bedroom flat on the ground floor of a rather unimpressive and poorly maintained block.

'Here she comes!' James proclaimed from the back seat of the cab. A woman was running through the downpour towards the car, coat pulled up close to her face. She reached the drivers door and pulled it open. The woman burst into the cab sending rain spray everywhere and slammed shut the door. Everyone remained silent waiting for an update.

'I can't find it!' She blurted out, sharing her gaze between her two colleagues.

'But it should be right there Sam? In a small red metal cash tin. Did you check under the bed?' James's voice became slightly shrill as if he couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. He pulled himself forwards from his seat to get closer to the woman.

Sam was much younger than the two men, she was of a slender build and tightly belted into a three quarter length trench coat. Her dark brown hair lay wet yet wavy across her face and down her neck. She was not happy.

'Of course I checked under the bed! I wasn't bloody expecting him to still be in it though! How many days has he been dead now? It stinks in there!'

The car went quiet. Sam looked across at Tony who sat in the passenger seat. 'Will you come and have a look with me?'

Tony glanced back at James whom in return raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders in a non-committal way. 'Up to you mate? We need that box though so be quick.' He said.

Tony turned back to Sam and nodded. A small nervous smile appeared upon her face and she nodded back in appreciation. The two of them exited the cab and slammed their doors in unison. Tony ran around the front of the cab to reach Sam and then briskly jogged through the rain to the porch way of Dr. Brooks' flat.
The door was ajar from where Sam had left it when she last emerged, Tony pulled it open and walked through into the small hallway.

The two of them briefly brushed themselves down trying to shed the rainwater. They stood in a narrow hallway. The floor an old parquet tile, tatty flock wallpaper rotting upon the walls, and most distinguishing of all a rank odour of faeces and decomposing flesh. Sam pointed towards a side door which sat slightly ajar. Tony responded to her prompt walked towards it, his shoes already making squelching noises as he stepped from the water they had absorbed. When he reached the door he looked back to find Sam still standing by the porch way.

'Come on then!' He whispered back to her. He began to wonder why he had suddenly begun whispering, but then considering that he was creeping around a dead mans house in the middle of the night, he thought, it was probably best not to broadcast the fact.
Sam began to tentatively walk to Tony. Again she began pointing towards the door and mouthing the words 'he's in there'.

Tony pulled the door wide open and the stench got worse. He stepped into the room and flicked the light switch on the wall. When nothing happened he flicked it a couple more times.

'It blew when I was in there, I nearly crapped myself'. Sam informed Tony.

Looking around the room he noticed a small bedside lamp and rather nonchalantly he strode over to it and switched it on. The room was instantly illuminated by the feeble efforts of the 40 watt bulb behind a stained glass Victoriana lamp. The room was as run down as the hallway. Books and paperwork lay strewn around the room. A solitary writing desk sat against a wall with only more paperwork, and a week old half eaten beef salad sandwich and a cup of cold coffee, both discoloured and looking grim. A dark wood wardrobe leaned against another wall, its doors hanging open and clothing bursting out from its overloaded innards. The only other bit of furniture was the bed.
A large single bed with a thick wooden frame, small posts in each corner attempting to make it look grander than it was. A burgundy patchwork quilt lay over the beds contents. Dr. Brooks Lay peacefully dead. The quilt was tucked up around face but the top of his head was exposed along with one of his hands that was still gripping the quilt. His skin had become tight to his bones and gone a slightly yellow green colour. A couple of flies danced around his head, occasionally landing briefly on his skin before skitting off again.

Sam reached out a ?finger towards the dead doctor, but before she could again point out the obvious Tony sarcastically interjected, 'is that him?'

'Yes that's him.' Sam had clearly missed the jibe. 'I checked all around but to be honest I got a bit spooked, then when the bulb blew I just panicked'.

'It's ok' Tony replied, he dropped to his knees in front of the bed and began to feel around underneath it. 'You check in the wardrobe, pull everything out if you need to'. Sam did as she was asked.
A couple of minutes passed and Tony had pulled everything out from under the bed and it now lay in a pile in the middle of the room along with the contents of the wardrobe. Tony's attention was suddenly caught when Sam took in a deep breath and slapped her hand over her mouth as if to suppress a scream. 'What is it?' Tony asked.

Sam's eyes had grown enormous as she stared unblinking at the horror that lay before her. Tony turned to follow her shocked gaze. What greeted him was the rotting corpse of Dr. Brooks now sitting up in his bed looking straight at him.

'Oh'. Was all that Tony could muster at the vision confronting him. Sam had started to shuffle her way around the edge of the room towards the door, periodically making muffled gasps. Her eyes remained transfixed upon the Doctor as she felt her way with the one spare hand that wasn't covering her mouth.

The Doctor quickly lifted his gaze to the woman and sam instantly stopped dead. Her eyes and brain strained under the sheer horror of the predicament.

'Don't move.' Tony whispered over to sam without turning his head away from the corpse. The Doctors eyes returned to Tony. Slowly the doctors crusty and dried lips parted and noxious stale breath hit Tonys face. He tightened his mouth and closed his eyes as if to prevent the stench from penetrating him. The Doctors voice was quiet and raspy.
'Floor...boards' A withered arm was raised and an even more withered finger pointed to a space of floor about a foot in front of where Sam stood.
'What did he say?' Sam asked.
'Floorboards, he said floorboards.'
Sam looked at the floor in front of her and sure enough a small finger sized hole sat in the middle of one of the floorboards.
'Can you see it?' Tony asked still facing the Doctor.
'I see it'
Sam knelt down and peered at the loose board and the small dark hole in it. 'Really?'
The Doctor continued to breath stale breath into the face of Tony, indistinguishable sounds mixed with faint coughs. Tony turned to Sam and glared at her.
'Ok, I'm doing it!' She replied.
Tony returned his gaze to the Doctor to find the dead man leaning toward him. Rotting arms shot out and grabbed him by the collar of his coat and the corpses eyes widened. The eyeballs bulging, pale and discoloured yet staring straight at Tony.
'Quick!' The doctor whispered close to Tony's ear.
'I think you'd better be quick Sam!'
Sam pushed her finger through the hole and she was thankful that the board came away with ease. Within the dark recess of the floor she could she a red cash tin, and she flung the floorboard away and grabbed the tin.
'Got it!'

Tony did not respond, his attention had turned to the two shadows which had appeared in the room. One behind the headboard of the bed and one by the door of the wardrobe.. 'We need to go, now!' He called out. Sam had now also spotted the dark shadowy figures and as they slowly moved towards the Doctor they began to develop ghastly features and solidify.
'What the hell!' Sam screamed.
'Get out of here Sam, go!'
The young woman didn't need to be told twice. She clutched the cash tin to her chest and dashed for the door. She paused and turned back to see what was happening before fleeing the room and running for the waiting cab.

Tony grabbed the wrists of the corpse and pulled them away from him. The grip released as the two now fully formed figures both opened their mouths and began to scream. They each grabbed a shoulder of the Doctor and forced him back down into the bed.
'Thank you'. Tony whispered to the Doctor as the corpse again closed its eyes and mouth and became lifeless. Tony got to his feet and quickly made his way to the bedroom door. He looked back at the figures as they stood over the Doctor, neither one looked back at Tony, as they had already begun to revert to their shadowy state. Tony left the room and jogged back to the cab. Shortly after the car pulled away from the house and disappeared back up the badly lit street it had come.