The Last Guardian Rises (The Last Keeper's Daughter) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Mamma. “Fucking A, that’s my baby, able to chew up solid iron.”
    “There’s no corrosion, no disruption in the rock.” Andy leaned closer to peer inside the room.
    “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that looks like a coffin.” Jason’s heart raced just like it had when he was ten and trapped in an elevator, alone.
    “Why would anyone put that down here?” Andy asked.
    “Maybe it’s something left over from when they mined this area before?”
    Andy shook his head. “No, this area wasn’t mined.” He pointed over to the left. “There’s the coal vein. This wasn’t on the geologist report.”
    Jason could almost see his reflection in the iron wall.
    “I think I can squeeze through here.” Andy was angling his shoulder through the opening created by the mining machine bits.
    “We should call this up.”
    Andy turned back to look at him. “We’re too far down to make contact now. I have to take pictures.”
    “Why?” Goose bumps rose on his arms.
    “Cause management will want to know why we didn’t reach our target for the day.”
    “Just take the damn picture then,” Jason snapped back. “They don’t pay me enough for this creepy shit.”
    “Is that a chain?” It was like Andy hadn’t even heard him. He’d already wedged his big body through the tear in the iron wall and was standing inside the room. “Man, this is cool.” He had his phone out taking pictures. “Stop being such a whiner and get in here.”
    “Stop fucking around!” Jason yelled. “We need to get out of here.”
    “Oh shit. I think it moved.”
    Jason took a step back from the opening. “What moved?”
    “The chain.” Andy looked back at him, his eyes wide.
    “Run!” Jason panicked. “Now!”
    It was too late.
    Too terrified to move, he instead waited for his life to flash before his eyes. That was what was supposed to happen, right? But he had no thoughts of his wife, or of his baby girl who he hadn’t met yet, or of his parents. Instead, he just stood there and watched as Andy was yanked into the coffin. There were no screams, no cries for help, only a gurgling sound that his mind could find no cause for. He was still standing there when a skeletal hand shoved the top of the box to the side and threw what was left of Andy to the far wall. He watched the lifeless body of his partner slide down, leaving a bloody trail, and then collapse on the floor. 
    Jason blinked a few times; maybe this was a strange dream. Nope, when he opened his eyes Skeletor – that’s the name he’d given the thing sitting up inside the iron coffin – was still there. He knew he should feel something, but he did not. He should move, but he could not. The fight or flight part of his brain felt disabled or removed, and now he was left with only a numb sensation. Jason wondered if he’d gone insane, or if maybe the air down here was poisoned. I’ll be next, he thought, and like Skeletor had heard his thoughts, he turned his skull and stared at Jason through empty eye sockets.
    A tingling started in Jason’s right eye. No pain, only a warm fuzzy mass behind his eyeball, which seeped into his brain until he felt lightheaded. It continued down his neck and throughout his limbs until he stood there with a dumb smile on his face.
    Skeletor cocked his head to the side. He stepped out of the coffin. Jason saw him fully now. He was a corpse, not a skeleton. There were internal organs, muscles and tendons pulsing, growing, and stretching around his bones. Before his eyes, Skeletor was taking on form and flesh. The tingling sensation became a warm vibration sending shudders throughout his body. It intensified until his teeth rattled together so hard he thought they would shatter. His body shook like he was having a seizure and desperate to steady himself, he reached out to lean against the wall. A deep searing pain incapacitated him. He was no longer in control of his body. Something was inside him, moving, searching, with what felt