Tandem of Terror Read Online Free PDF Page B

ate.
    Then a divine inspiration came upon me. I
found a way to continue my writing for the reminder of my days. It
is not a pleasant way and the first time I did it was the hardest.
His name had been Nathan Sorel according to the label on his tank
and his dog-tags. I am sure he did not mind as my knife slipped
into his skin and I drained his blood in my helmet. It was not ink,
but it would do. So I hope you will forgive any messiness in these
words. I have done the best I could with what was available and
least now my art can continue until my final breath. When you find
me, please take my body home to Earth.
     
     

 
     
    Scritch, Scritch
    John Grover
     
    Belcher House
    Ever since she could remember, Lisa Moore
wanted to live in Belcher house. When she was a little girl she'd
walk by it on her way to the library and stop to stare at it. She
loved it from the first time she set eyes on it.
    The largest window in the home, shaped like
an arch, had red velvet drapes hanging across it. They were always
drawn. On one side of the manor stood a turret with three windows,
ivy grew around it in a spiral. It reminded Lisa of a castle. The
estate had a regal look and feel-- -she'd always been drawn there
for some reason. Her imagination conjured grand parties there that
only the town's wealthiest would attend.
    Eleanor Belcher was the last of her family to
keep residence in the home. Taken ill, or so the stories in town
were told, Eleanor retired to her bedroom at the top of the turret
and never left the house. Her maid, Millie, ran all the errands and
tended to her every need. No one in town ever saw Eleanor and she
didn't accepted visitors, at least not any longer. Lisa couldn't
understand why, when recalling Eleanor Belcher in town she'd
practically looked like a movie actress, a golden-haired goddess
with porcelain skin and a radiant smile. She had classic beauty
that never seemed to fade.
    Once, Lisa was able to steal a peek inside
the house. She learned through the grapevine that Eleanor and Mille
were out of town on vacation. One of the few they ever took. Lisa
made her way to the house and discovered the curtain that shrouded
the front door's window curled to one side. It allowed just a
glimpse inside.
    Lisa skipped up the front steps and peered
in. All the sunlight would allow her to see was the red carpet that
filled the hallway and washed up the spiral staircase. "I'm gonna
live in this house someday," Lisa said to herself.
    She did just that.
    Just six months ago, Eleanor Belcher passed
away. She spent all her years as a spinster with no children or
extended family. It was not long before the bank put the house on
the market.
    A twinkle shimmered in Lisa's eye and her
husband Chris knew he was in trouble. He was a city lawyer and made
a very comfortable salary but worried that they couldn't afford
such a lavish house?
    " Please, Chris," Lisa
begged. "You don't understand what that house means to
me."
    " What does it mean to you?"
Chris quipped, his voice dripping with sarcasm, his mouth twisted
into a grin.
    " Cut it out. Let's just
look."
    " Just look?"
    Well, if the price is right..."
    " Lisa, it might be way out
of our price range. I don't want you to get your hopes up. You'll
sulk for months."
    " If it's meant to be it's
meant to be."
    " Right."
    " We'll drive up to my
hometown and stay at a B&B. It'll be fun, an
adventure."
    " Okay hon, if it'll make you
happy."
    " Yes!" Lisa jumped into his
arms and smothered his bearded face with kisses.
    When she saw the estate, nearly twelve years
since the last time, her heart almost broke. It had gone into such
disrepair. After Eleanor died the town cleaned the house of its
contents and auctioned her belongings off.
    The house sat vacant for months. The velvet
drapes were replaced with shades. The paint on the outside cracked.
The yard grew wild and unkempt. Gutters were broken. Roof shingles
were missing but despite all of this and, thankfully because of it,
the house was the