Uneasy Reading: 4 Horror Shorts by Jason Tucker

Dead Favors
     
    1.
    "I hate him," Martin said, partly to himself
and partly to the road that stretched and curved ahead of him
before disappearing into the green of the Adirondacks. Once he hit
that line of trees he would be closer to his old hometown of Silver
Point than he'd been in fifteen years. His stomach churned and the
steering wheel of the stolen Accord felt suddenly slippery beneath
his palms. He took a deep breath and found that he had trouble
letting it out.
    "He can't hurt you. Not anymore," Cassie
said. "We've talked about this. You are stronger now. You are
committed to doing this."
    "I know," Martin said. Her touch had brought
him back to reality, away from memories best left hidden and buried
at least for now. He was glad she was with him now.
    He exited Route 9 onto Miller's Road and
rolled down the window. The rush of air was heavy with the scent of
evergreen and freshly fallen leaves, two scents from his childhood
that threatened to unleash a torrent of painful memories. After a
moment he rolled the window back up and tried to focus on the road.
He couldn’t let them cloud his mind.
    Miller's Road wove through forests and
fields for another half hour or so until it spit Martin and Cassie
out into the small town of Silver Point. The town was just as he
remembered. Shade trees lined each groomed street, children played
in piles of dead leaves while smiling parents watched. Silver Lake
glistened along the north side of town. Nothing much had changed in
a place this small, except for the addition of a new gas station
and a McDonald's. To Martin, it was like stepping out of a time
machine and into a world best left forgotten.
    Martin turned into the crushed gravel
driveway of Cooper's Mortuary and started to get out of the car
just as an elderly man wearing half-moon spectacles emerged from
the large brick building. Mr. Cooper hadn’t aged well. His body
appeared bent and he walked with a limp, and the thin wisps of
white hair on his balding head looked as though a sharp breeze
might tear them free. He looked much older than his true age.
    "We're closed," the man said. He busied
himself with locking the door.
    "I know, Mr. Cooper. But I'm supposed to
come here to pick up the keys to the White place. I'm Martin
White."
    Cooper looked over his shoulder and examined
Martin. "Well so you are. When I sent that letter, I didn't figure
you'd actually come. I figured it would be too much of an
inconvenience for you."
    "It really is," Martin said. No point in
hiding the way he felt.
    "You know you can only stay on at the house
until the burial day after tomorrow, right? After that the house
becomes town property just like your daddy specified in his
will."
    "I'm not even staying for the funeral. I'm
just here to kill demons and free some skeletons," Martin said. He
felt Cassie's hand on his back this time. It helped him to stay
calm.
    "You know a lot of people around here don't
like you much," Cooper said. Spittle leaked from the crusted
corners of his mouth. "You abandoned your daddy. You're a thankless
son of a bitch and the sooner you're gone, the better."
    "I don't really like the town much either,"
Martin said. "All I want are the keys to the house so I can take
care of some things. I'll only be here a few days. Then I'll be out
of what's left of your hair for good." He heard Cassie giggle.
    "You are a rotten piece of work, ain't you?"
Cooper said. "There ain't much difference between you and that
tramp sister of yours."
    Martin grabbed the old man by the front of
his shirt and pushed him roughly against the door. He leaned close
to Cooper and whispered, "Don't ever talk about my sister."
    The old man's eyes didn't go wide with fear
as Martin had anticipated. Instead, Cooper grinned, revealing a
mouth without teeth. "You are a lot like your daddy. Except that he
was a fine man, and you ain't amounted to much from what I
heard."
    "Get the keys," Martin said, fighting the
urge to smash the old man's head against