Life Sentence: Two Tales of the Living Dead Read Online Free

eyes on the barrel. She lowered it to her side.
    “I trust you’ll make that call now, sir?” she said.
    He did, having her daughter released, then giving the phone to Shana. Out of Daniel’s earshot she spoke to her daughter.
    “You’ll be well compensated—” he began when she returned, and for the first time since they’d met, she interrupted him.
    “I know. I’ll be very well compensated. And, as soon as I’ve set you up in the safe room, my employment is at an end.”
    He understood and said as much. She called a pair of guards to come for Boros’s body and detain his assistant, then called in two shamans who’d been part of the research team and, as such, knew Daniel’s secret and would be tending to him during his recovery. The four of them set off for the room that would be his temporary home.
    “There’s one last thing I’ll ask,” Shana said as they took the elevator to the basement. “You promised to release the other subjects—”
    “Excluding the two successes. I may still need them.”
    She nodded. “The others, though . . .”
    “Can have their souls released immediately. And there won’t be any more. I presume that’s why you killed Boros.”
    She nodded and he felt a small prickle of disappointment. Had he really thought she’d done it to protect him?
    She handed him a form authorizing the subjects’ release. He arched his brows, surprised at the formality, but she met his gaze with a level stare. She didn’t trust him, and he’d earned that mistrust, so there was nothing to do now but make a clean break of it. When they reached the basement lab, she faxed the signed forms to the records department.
    Outside the safe room, Shana slid her card through the reader, coupled with a retinal scan. The electronic door whooshed open. Daniel walked in and looked around. He hadn’t seen the work they’d done to prepare it. He hadn’t even told Shana what he’d wanted. But it was exactly as he’d expected—a storage room converted into a luxury hotel suite.
    The shamans hurried in to help him sit, then retreated behind Shana. She hadn’t said a word since the elevator. He supposed he couldn’t expect more, under the circumstances, so he made a call, wiring a million dollars into her account, and she waited in silence until she received confirmation on her cell phone. Then, with the shamans flanking her, she closed the door.
    Daniel was just settling onto the bed when the speaker overhead clicked on. It was Shana.
    “The records department has received the fax on releasing the zombies. I’m going to do that now, before I go.”
    Daniel smiled. There was no need to tell him that, but it was obvious she couldn’t bring herself to walk away. As angry as she was, she had a good job, and she’d hoped—expected—he’d try to convince her to stay.
    “How much, Shana?” he asked.
    “Sir?”
    “To stay. What do you want? More money? A bigger office?” He chuckled. “An assistant of your own?”
    “No, sir. I was simply calling to confirm that it’s all right for me to release the zombies.”
    He sighed. She was going to be difficult. “Yes, yes. Release them. Now about—”
    A whoosh cut him short. He glanced at the door. It was still shut.
    “You!” snarled a voice behind him.
    He wheeled to see a section of the wall had opened. One of the zombie subjects stood in the opening, squinting at him with its good eye, the other shriveled.
    “You did this to me,” the zombie said, struggling to speak through rotting lips.
    “No,” Daniel said slowly, carefully. “A scientist—”
    “You don’t even remember me, do you? But I remember you. Sitting there, barely paying attention, busy talking on your cell phone as you sentenced me to this.” He waved at his rotting body.
    Daniel looked up at the speaker. “If this is your idea of a lesson, Shana—”
    “No sir,” her voice crackled. “ This is my idea of a lesson.”
    Another zombie appeared behind the first. Then a