Frenzied Read Online Free Page B

tipped over on it. Strange-looking roots and odd powders were scattered across the surface. Behind where she had been sitting, a bloody heart was pinned to the table with a dagger stabbed through it.
    She shot a glance at Ben. He was still standing by the door with his hand on the light switch. His eyes were wide, and his face was pale as if the blood had drained out of it. He shook his head and frowned at the strange room.
    “Seriously, what the fuck is going on in here?”

L ucy watched Ben as he picked up the books from the floor and peered at the titles. Then she scanned the room, unsure of what to think. It looked like a scene from a horror movie.
    There were two desks facing each other. One looked like any other desk with a monitor, an inbox and a plaque on it labeled, ‘Colin Ketis—Manager’. The second table was adorned with an array of strange items; a bloody heart being the worst of them. There was a brown leather pelt covering the table with strange markings branded into it. In the middle of the table, the heart was impaled by an old-looking, wooden-handled dagger. Surrounding that were bowls of herbs, roots, black candles and pieces of animals; teeth, bones and fur tails.
    “This is insane.” She broke the silence.
    “And the creepy keeps on coming.” Ben nodded and held up a book titled, ‘Norse Mythology: Odin’s Warriors.’ “I think we should read these.”
    “You think
this
killed all those people?” She gestured around the room. She didn’t believe in myths. They were bedtime stories for the superstitious. Even though her memories were still a blank slate, she was certain she was a logical person who believed in science.
    “Something killed them. And just look at this room. We’ve got to assume it’s all connect—”
    A loud scream outside the room silenced him. They both turned to face the door.
    It was a woman screaming. “Help me! Someone p-please …”
    Lucy winced at the wailing. Whatever was killing people was going to hear her and come running.
    We need to help her, and shut her up!
    She turned to Ben. He was frowning at the door. “We need to help her,” he said.
    “We can’t go out there. That creature will be there by now.” She felt guilty as she said the words. The woman’s screams continued, breaking off with sobs.
    Ben stared at the door, his jaw set in determination. “We have to.”
    She nodded. He was right. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she left her to die. “Okay.” She picked up the mop pole from the floor and gripped it in her hands. “Let’s go.”
    He glanced at her, and then the table behind her. “I’ve got a better idea.”
    He pulled the dagger out of the heart and wiped the blade off on his jeans. “I’ll go get her while you stay here and find out more from these books.”
    She scowled and placed her hands on her hips. “Why don’t I go get her, and you read the books?”
    “Because you can’t pick her up. We don’t know how injured she is. I can carry her back here faster.”
    It did make sense, but she realized that on some level she was a feminist. She hated the idea of being the little woman who hid behind a big strong man. But it was more than that. She hated the idea of Ben going out there alone.
    What if he doesn’t come back?
    “I don’t want you to go.”
    “I’m going either way. The faster I get going, the less chance of that thing getting there before me.”
    She frowned. He was right again, but every essence of her being was screaming for him to stay here with her.
    He lifted her chin and brushed a kiss over her lips. “I won’t be long. Stay here, and lock the door if anything but me comes back.”
    Lucy nodded. Her throat ached, and she couldn’t form any words. It felt like a goodbye.
    He turned and peered through the glass pane for a moment. Then he opened the door, brandishing the knife as he stepped out into the hallway. He gave her a reassuring smile before closing the door behind him.
    She