The Dead Parade Read Online Free PDF Page B

He saw Johnny grin.
    Then the balloon turned red and popped. James was suddenly gone.
    Mathew was confused. He didn’t see James leave the room. He didn’t see him run for the door, or disappear, or fade away. In one moment James was there, and in the next moment the reality of the situation had been altered. It seemed possible that James had never been there at all. The room had darkened and the edges of Mathew’s perception felt crusted with a metallic tinge. Like the fabric––the very molecules of the room and everything that was within it––had become alive. And was moving. Slowly. Twisting and turning, changing Mathew’s visuals while keeping everything miraculously unaltered.
    He heard the walls creaking around him. He heard voices in the distance that sounded like crying. And there was an odor. He couldn’t put his finger on it but it reminded him of soda in the can.
    Motion stood still.
    Mathew saw another balloon, a red one. As he reached for it time began rolling again. He watched events happen through the eyes of James. He watched Johnny kill himself. And although time was rolling along now, rolling faster with each implicit second, this was the hang-time between life and death, between here and there, between this world and the next.
    Johnny had a never-ending river of blood pouring from his chin. And while the blood bubbled he lifted his head and smiled through a mouthful of jagged teeth fragments.
    He said, “Mathew,” his voice sounded unrefined and deep. “He’s with us now, child. James is with us. Soon enough, you’ll be with us too.”
    And with that, Johnny laughed. But his laughter sounded a lot like screaming.
     
     
    16
     
    James drove past crosswalks and driveways and a house his parents considered buying when he was just a boy. He soared by small homes with large yards and trees that were older than the town. He drove under a bridge that was under construction and through an intersection with a STOP sign clearly posted near the corner. He entered a subdivision that was just being developed. Most of the houses were still empty. Unsure of the situation, he looked over his shoulder and gazed into the backseat. Like the houses in developing subdivision, the backseat seemed to be empty too.
    The fake leather steering wheel slid through his fingers and James snapped his head around faster than his eyes widened. The car accelerated, the engine revved. The seat shook beneath him. The radio turned on and off.
    If he didn’t know better, he’d swear the car was haunted.
    James slammed his foot on the brake pedal again and again; it was no use. The pedal went up and down but the car wouldn’t respond. He put a hand on his face and rubbed his eyes. Long moments of dread rolled through his mind. There was an intersection with a stoplight getting larger by the second. The light was green. James closed his eyes and held on tight, wondering if he was about to die. The car ripped along and a few seconds later the intersection was behind him. But it wasn’t over, not by a long shot. There was another intersection coming and without a doubt, another one after that. He drove in a straight line and a squirrel ran in front of the car, did a little dance, and went back the way it came. He zipped past a kid that was tossing a plastic football in the air while leaning against a corner mailbox. Up ahead a green light was changing to yellow.
    A bee squashed against the window. It was big; might have been a queen.
    The speedometer read: 79 MPH.
    The light changed again: RED.
    I’m jumping out of the car, he thought. Oh mother of mohair and shit on a stick… help me! I’m jumping out! I’m jumping out of the car!
    He grabbed the door handle and pulled hard on the lever. He strained his fingers but the handle didn’t budge. There was no escape.
    “ FUCK!”
    The crossroads drew closer.
    James pulled on the handle again. The corner was less than 100 feet away now and he was going to drive right through