Horror Business Read Online Free Page A

wave of relief rushes over me when I realize I can make it home, with my dog, before the sun completely sets. I run to Brock but stop before reaching him.
    He exposes his fangs. The hair on his back, stiff.
    He growls at something behind me. Cursing my obliviousness, I turn to see what he’s looking at.
    A pile of sewer rats, ravaging each other. A mound of rot.
    I step forward. No, not rats, but a dog. What I thought were writhing rodents is actually the mangled and inconsistent fur of a single dog. All of its legs work independently in some grotesque form of reanimation. I shudder.
    The smell hits me. I taste it in my mouth.
    I pat my leg. “Let’s go Brock.” Let this creature die in peace. My dog doesn’t move.
    The decaying animal stands, balancing on unsteady feet. I jump back and feel a breath get caught in my throat where it swells and burns.
    The creature stares at me with one eye while the other hangs out of a socket, stuck to the dried blood on its face. There are three gashes on its side that are deep enough for me to see ribs. The animal sits there with a worried smile, panting and whimpering. Its good eye rolls around and tries to focus on me.
    “Run,” I say, mostly to myself.
    The creature’s sad whimpering stops. A growl grows in its throat. The sound is like choking, like dry heaving. It knows I won’t help it. Its lips curl back and reveal sharp teeth, surprisingly intact.
    “Run!” I yell, and the thing lunges at me. I feel snapping at my heels. A silly aside thought reminds me not to slip on that root.
    I slip on the root. The ground arrives hard.
    I turn to face the thing, ready with fists clenched and enough adrenaline running to face the demonic nightmare that has somehow escaped a horror movie.
    Brock lunges. The animals intersect in the air.
    Cue a heroic overture.
    They become a furry, vicious yin-yang. I hoot. The battle snarls on until there is a very large, very heartbreaking yelp as the ball of dog separates.
    My dog stands.
    Brock, assessing the damage, gives me a confused I-did-all-right-didn’t-I? look and licks the wounds of the other animal. The creature breathes, slow but rhythmic. I call my dog over to me. My hero looks at the conquered thing one more time and limps over. I get up to inspect my dog. There is a shallow wound on his shoulder. It doesn’t look too serious. I wipe animal blood on my jeans.
    “Let’s get you home, boy,” I say, hugging him. I part the tall grass and let Brock lead the way, but not before checking behind me one more time. The other creature rests on the ground. I enter the tall grass and, despite Brock’s injury, we run the whole way home in darkness.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    Later that night, I clean Brock’s injury and give him half of a leftover burger that’s been sitting in the fridge for ages. He eats savagely, more so than usual, snarling and drooling and looking up at me for more once he’s finished.
    Before I go to bed, I do the rounds of the house to make sure the lights are turned off. My parents went to sleep a long time ago. Right before I turn off the porch light, I see a dark shape across the street sitting on the sidewalk. It’s dark, but a sedan rushes by, and I see the glint of eyes reflecting from the waning taillights. It’s the rotten dog.
    Just staring and smiling.
    In the morning, it is gone.

Script: Fade In
     
     
    The following is an excerpt from the movie script titled “Horror Business,” written by Jason and Brian Nightshade.
     
    INT. DETECTIVE SAM RAIMI’S office, day.
     
    SAM RAIMI, the senior detective, sits at his table for yet another day of work, feet up on the desk. His hair is disheveled and his tie is loose. Around his office, there are pictures of violent crime scenes (dismemberments, decapitations, mutilations, etc.) He reads a copy of the day’s paper, drinking coffee. LT. CRONENBURG knocks on the door, startling RAIMI and causing him to spill it on himself.
     
    RAIMI
    Motherfucker! (He looks