The Hand That Feeds: A Horror Novel Read Online Free PDF

and foreboding with Alex’s door closed.
    Angela sat up , her eyes focused with John’s. The silence continued for several minutes then a new sound arose. Long, slow scratches came one after another from the inside of Alex’s door. John had no desire to see what was making the noise, but he wasn’t sure how long he could keep Angela away. Calling the police seemed like the wrong thing to do, but he wasn’t sure what other choice he had.
    “Let’s just have a look,” Angela said in a calm voice.
    John studied her face. She was in fact , too calm. She’d pulled her hair back and wiped her face off. He had to be careful with her, he knew. When she was out of it, she was capable of terrible things.
    “ John, we can do this,” she said. “We’ll do it together. We have to check, he’s our baby.”
    He recognized her manipulation. Angela always got her way. One way or another, he would do what she wanted. All he wanted was for her to be okay. He couldn’t lose both of them.
    They crept down the hall on their hands and knees. The scratching grew louder. Two distinct shadows formed in the space beneath the bedroom door. Alex was standing there and both John and Angela knew it.
    They r eached the end of the hall and stopped. Angela looked over at him with pleading eyes. John’s mind screamed at him to back away and he had to force himself to reach for the doorknob. He felt the cold metal with his fingers and paused. The scratching on the other side of the door stopped before he turned the knob.
    John froze. He and Angela sat at the door for several agonizing minutes, listening for anything. John could hear his heart beating over everything else. The next sound they heard was something hitting the ground. It was far enough from the door not to break the light underneath. A moment later, something slid across the floor. John held his breath until it came to a stop.
    Angela reached for the doorknob, wrapped her hand over John’s , and turned. Hesitantly, they pushed. A rush of stench engulfed them as the door opened. Angela turned away; John had to put his hand over his nose to keep from gagging. He kept his eyes on the room, waiting for anything to move. Both of them stepped through the doorway and the sight of blood smeared on the hardwood floor struck them. Small handprints dotted the maroon colored mess. 
    Chunks of dark brown fur clung to the floorboards. A hacking gag from Angela pulled John’s eyes to the corner of the room directly across from the door. There on the floor lay the remains of Rex. There was little left to identify the animal. All that remained was a mix of blood and exposed organs dotted by patches of soaked fur.
    “My , God,” John said.
    The smell intensified once he could see the remains of the dog. Nauseous, his head spun as the aroma of death filled his senses. He wanted to get back out into the hallway as quickly as he could. He couldn’t fathom what was happening to his son, and the only thing he knew for sure was that the thing that awoke on Alex’s bed, wasn’t a boy, it was a monster. He felt his legs shaking beneath him and he couldn’t make them stop.
    His concentration was broken. A new sound crept across the bedroom floor and grabbed a hold of him. John recognized it at once. The low, guttural growl was the same as it had been when Alex lay on his bed. John felt Angela’s fingernails dig into his arm. He looked down at her hand and back up at her face. She wasn’t looking at him. Her face was pale and her eyes widened beyond their limits.
    John found himself unwilling to look. He knew she’d found where Alex was and John wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He was more willing to leave the room and never open the door again. Slowly, he forced himself to follow her stare. He turned on his heels and gazed back at the small bed. It took him a moment to see them. John was drawn down to the dark space underneath the bed. What he found there would haunt him every time he closed his