Fossil Lake: An Anthology of the Aberrant Read Online Free PDF Page B

do that. Well, maybe happy wasn’t the right word. It just felt right. Jess knew it made her a freak but she didn’t  much care. Rifling through the equipment, she unearthed a tarp and shovel. Dragging the equipment from the vehicle, she set it on the ground next to the animal.
    Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention. An engine roared. Headlights cut the gloom with white hot menace.
    “Damn it!” Jessica froze in the middle of the street as the car barreled toward her. “Slow down!” She waved her arms at the motorist, but the car just kept coming.
    It slammed into her, and everything slowed down to a crawl. Air rushed from her lungs as her eyes met the driver’s startled gaze. Her body crumpled against the windshield and bounced off the hood, landing on the pavement. The loud crack of her skull hitting the pavement barely registered.
    Jess lay in the street watching the red tail lights speed by and fade into the distance. Was this how the dog felt as its life drained out? Wracking pain turned to blinding numbness as cold crept into her body, dragging her down into the darkness. Into silence.
     
    *     *     *
     
    “I don’t know, Virgil. She’s kind of a mess.”
    “We need someone to do the job. Unless you’re volunteering.”
    “No.”
    “I didn’t think so.”
    “Is this protocol?”
    “She doesn’t belong here. Send her back. She’ll do it.”
    “Fine.”
    The voices stirred Jessica from the quiet warmth and she snuggled in deeper. “Dad … turn down the TV. I’m trying to sleep.”
    “Jessica. Time to wake up.”
    Irritation spiked through her. “Dad, come on!” Jessica growled, sitting up. “Please, just let me sleep ...”
    Blinking, her eyes becoming adjusted to a cold bright light, she found herself staring at an imposing gray haired man in white robes. A younger man with a shock of dark hair, in similar garments, stood next to him.
    “You’re not my dad,” she said.
    “No.” The older man smiled.
    She rested on a white bed of something that looked suspiciously like clouds. No freaking way. She raised her sore arm and gingerly touched the back of her head. It hurt. A lot.
    “Ow.” When she drew her hand back, it was covered in blood.
    “Don’t worry,” he told her. “You won’t feel it for long.”
    Jess frowned. “What happened? Where am I?”
    “Time to go back. Good luck.”
    She barely had time to register his words, and then she was falling.
     
    *     *     *
     
    The wind whipped through her hair. She screamed, gravity pulling her down. Faster. The pavement rose to meet her, coming closer and closer. Inches before she would have connected, something froze her fall.
    Her back began to itch and burn. “Ow!” She flexed her muscles and something shifted behind her. She turned, expecting to see someone.
    Nothing. Wiggling her back, she rotated her shoulder blades to try and dislodge the uncomfortable pressure. Out of the corner of her eye she saw muddy gray feathers expanding into huge fans. “What the fuck?”
    “Nice wings,” said an unfamiliar voice.
    “What?” Jess looked around and saw she was on the same lonely stretch of highway next to Fossil Lake.
    It was almost like she had never left. Her car was still there, lights carving a path in the darkness. The body of the beagle rested next to the tarp. She trudged back toward the dead animal and tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that her world had completely shifted off its axis.
    The sudden sharp memory of the car hitting her made her gasp. Horrified, her eyes scanned the street and found her own body lying in a heap on the concrete.
    Am I dead? She reached down and pinched the pale flesh of her arm. Pain radiated across her skin.
    “Okay, not completely,” she said. “Um. Okay.”
    Now she was hearing voices and blacking out with freaky visions. God, that’s my body on the street! She stood there, gaping. This night was getting better and better all the time. God, she