you talking about?" Katie said to the journal, her frustration on the rise. It was the last
entry and, like the others, it told her very little.
Katie tossed the journal onto the desktop and thought about what she had read. "You found somethingand put it in the freezer," she said to herself, chewing at the end of her fingernail. Her eyes scanned thereception area, and she bolted to her feet. "All right, let's take a look, then." She hadn't seen a freezer,although most veterinarians kept large units to store deceased animals, tissue samples, and otherspecimens.There must be one around here somewhere,she thought.
She moved away from the desk and strolled down the hallway past the examination room. At the end ofthe hall was a door that she had originally thought was to a maintenance closet. Katie grabbed hold of thedoorknob, turned it, and found herself looking down a flight of wooden steps that disappeared into thedarkness of a cellar.
She felt for a light switch along the wall and, finding none, used the cool stone for a guide as she carefullydescended. At the foot of the stairs she could just make out the iridescent shape of a lightbulb thatseemed to be suspended in the darkness. She reached out, fumbled for the chain, and gave it a goodyank.
The bulb came to life, illuminating the cool storage area dug out from the rock and dirt beneath thebuilding's foundation. She recognized Kevin's mountain bike, ski equipment, and even a canoe, but it wasthe freezer in the far corner that attracted her interest. Plugged into a heavy-duty socket beneath a graymetal electrical box, the white unit sat atop some wooden pallets, humming quietly.
Maneuvering around winter coats hanging from pipes, Katie approached the freezer. She stood in frontof the oblong unit, feeling a faint aura of cold radiating from the white box. Her fingers began to tingle inanticipation as she slowly reached for the cover.
"Let's see what spooked you, Kev," she said in a whisper, lifting up the lid. A cloud of freezing air billowed up, and she breathed the cold gas into her lungs, coughing. The distinctive aroma of frozen dead things filled the air, and she took note of the red biohazard symbols onthe bags lying along the freezer bottom. She leaned into the chest, reaching down to pick up one of the bags. It was covered in a fine frost, masking its contents, and Katie brushed away the icy coating so she could see within the thick biohazard container. The thing inside the bag stared back with eyes frozen wide in death.
"Holy crap," Katie McGovern said as she studied the specimen through the plastic bag. A creeping unease ran up and down the length of her spine, making her shudder. "No wonder you were freaked out."
interlude two
Stevie Stanley huddled in a dark corner of his mind, trying with all his might to hold on to the things thatmade him who he was—those pockets of recollection, moments that had left their indelible marks on hisfragile psyche. But the excruciating pain was systematically ripping those memories away. One afteranother they disappeared: the blue, blue sky filled with birds; the black-and-gray static on the televisionscreen; the yellow dog running in the yard with a red ball in his mouth; Mom and Dad holding him, kissinghim. And Aaron—his protector, his playmate—so beautiful.
So beautiful.
Seven Archons surrounded the child's writhing body and continued the ritual that so often ended with thedeath of the subject. Stevie fought wildly against his restraints as ArchonJaldabaoth painted the symbolsof transfiguration upon his pale, naked skin, muttering sounds and words that a human mouth could nevermanage. Archon Oraios stabbed a long, gold needle into the child's stomach and depressed the plungerto implant the magical seeds of change.
The sigils on Stevie's flesh then began to rise, to smolder—to burn. The boy screamed wildly as his bodywas racked with the painful changes. Archon Jao placed a delicate hand over the
entry and, like the others, it told her very little.
Katie tossed the journal onto the desktop and thought about what she had read. "You found somethingand put it in the freezer," she said to herself, chewing at the end of her fingernail. Her eyes scanned thereception area, and she bolted to her feet. "All right, let's take a look, then." She hadn't seen a freezer,although most veterinarians kept large units to store deceased animals, tissue samples, and otherspecimens.There must be one around here somewhere,she thought.
She moved away from the desk and strolled down the hallway past the examination room. At the end ofthe hall was a door that she had originally thought was to a maintenance closet. Katie grabbed hold of thedoorknob, turned it, and found herself looking down a flight of wooden steps that disappeared into thedarkness of a cellar.
She felt for a light switch along the wall and, finding none, used the cool stone for a guide as she carefullydescended. At the foot of the stairs she could just make out the iridescent shape of a lightbulb thatseemed to be suspended in the darkness. She reached out, fumbled for the chain, and gave it a goodyank.
The bulb came to life, illuminating the cool storage area dug out from the rock and dirt beneath thebuilding's foundation. She recognized Kevin's mountain bike, ski equipment, and even a canoe, but it wasthe freezer in the far corner that attracted her interest. Plugged into a heavy-duty socket beneath a graymetal electrical box, the white unit sat atop some wooden pallets, humming quietly.
Maneuvering around winter coats hanging from pipes, Katie approached the freezer. She stood in frontof the oblong unit, feeling a faint aura of cold radiating from the white box. Her fingers began to tingle inanticipation as she slowly reached for the cover.
"Let's see what spooked you, Kev," she said in a whisper, lifting up the lid. A cloud of freezing air billowed up, and she breathed the cold gas into her lungs, coughing. The distinctive aroma of frozen dead things filled the air, and she took note of the red biohazard symbols onthe bags lying along the freezer bottom. She leaned into the chest, reaching down to pick up one of the bags. It was covered in a fine frost, masking its contents, and Katie brushed away the icy coating so she could see within the thick biohazard container. The thing inside the bag stared back with eyes frozen wide in death.
"Holy crap," Katie McGovern said as she studied the specimen through the plastic bag. A creeping unease ran up and down the length of her spine, making her shudder. "No wonder you were freaked out."
interlude two
Stevie Stanley huddled in a dark corner of his mind, trying with all his might to hold on to the things thatmade him who he was—those pockets of recollection, moments that had left their indelible marks on hisfragile psyche. But the excruciating pain was systematically ripping those memories away. One afteranother they disappeared: the blue, blue sky filled with birds; the black-and-gray static on the televisionscreen; the yellow dog running in the yard with a red ball in his mouth; Mom and Dad holding him, kissinghim. And Aaron—his protector, his playmate—so beautiful.
So beautiful.
Seven Archons surrounded the child's writhing body and continued the ritual that so often ended with thedeath of the subject. Stevie fought wildly against his restraints as ArchonJaldabaoth painted the symbolsof transfiguration upon his pale, naked skin, muttering sounds and words that a human mouth could nevermanage. Archon Oraios stabbed a long, gold needle into the child's stomach and depressed the plungerto implant the magical seeds of change.
The sigils on Stevie's flesh then began to rise, to smolder—to burn. The boy screamed wildly as his bodywas racked with the painful changes. Archon Jao placed a delicate hand over the
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