Blurb: Ghost sightings are frequently accompanied by terrifying incidents, and those who attempt to defy the cyclical nature of life and death may occasionally pay the price with their lives. Reversing death is a risky experiment performed on a deceased body inside a lab, fearlessly, but what happens when the dead rises?

“We are deeply saddened by your loss.” Sasha McDonald, Ross Dillard’s colleague at the Human Research and Science Centre in Ottawa, Canada, said as she emotionally cuddled him.

“I know. She was a wonderful lady, and I don’t think I would ever want to love someone as much as I loved my wife, Brittany.”

Ross and Brittany met while attending the same university and later became lovers. Ross then got down on one knee and got her to accept a ring of proposal on her finger while they were in a boat in the middle of the lake. After the couple wed, their parents threw a large party for all of their friends and family members. Although Ross’s father, Chris Dillard, was aware of Brittany’s family’s precarious financial situation, he was happy to accept her as his daughter-in-law. Brittany was a great chess player who had won many intercollegiate tournaments, and Chris also loved playing chess, so he was overjoyed when his son married her. The couple was too young and had no intention of having children for a year. Ross planned his marriage only after his mother committed suicide, believing that his wife would bring happiness into the house and provide Chris Dillard with company while he was at work.

Sasha McDonald was an exceptionally bright student in her class, and after graduation, she had no trouble landing a job at the prestigious institute, where she worked for three years as an assistant to one of the renowned scientists, Dr Alban. However, when her boss retired, the faculty of the centre decided to promote Sasha to his position. She cheerfully continued Dr Alban’s ‘Reverse Death’ experiment. Sasha quickly advanced to an admirable level and was on the verge of realising her experiment. The trial’s concept was to inject stem cells into clinically brain-dead people’s spinal cords. Protein injections, electrical nerve stimulation, and laser therapy to the brain were administered to the dead. The goal was to stimulate the growth of new neurons and encourage them to communicate with one another, replenishing the brain.

Ross, a scientist’s assistant at the same institute, was aware of her experiment and was more confident than his colleague that she would succeed one day.

            “I’d like to speak with you separately.” Before they stopped cuddling, Ross whispered in Sasha’s ear. Sasha looked into his eyes, unsure of what he wanted to discuss.

            “Sure, whenever you want. Please get in touch.” Sasha said as she wiped away Ross’ tears. Ross nodded in agreement and comfort as she walked away. Ross, his friends, and his parents left the cemetery quickly. Brittany was immobile in her grave.

Brittany, when she was alive, noticed her father-in-law returning home late at night, heavily drunk, with his clothes soiled in freshly dug mud every day. His odour was sometimes unbearable, like decomposed human flesh. She noticed his father-in-law’s clothes were stained with blood from the aisle of her first-floor apartment one day, as if he had fallen on a freshly mutilated corpse. But she ignored him so late at night, assuming he had fallen into some drain because of his daily heavy drinking. Brittany’s marriage to her husband was still not promising, interesting, or satisfying after a year. She never understood why Ross felt so lethargic in bed. For intercourse, he seemed to be less interested in his wife.

Ross called Sasha on her cellphone two days later.

            “Hello, Ross!” “How are you doing?” On the phone, she chirped. Through the line, her soft voice stimulated every nerve in Ross.

 “Are you available in the evening today?” He inquired.

“Of course, I’m available after work.” She reverted.

“Good. Can we meet at the same café at 8 p.m. tonight?” He made a proposal.

“What’s the harm?” Sasha said before hanging up the phone after they exchanged a polite goodbye.

Ross sat in his café chair at 7:45 that evening, well aware that he was early. He liked the café because it had been his wife’s favourite place to meet before their marriage. He waited for Sasha to arrive.

            “It’s half-past eight o’clock. Where could she be?” He wondered as his desperate eyes scanned the expensive wristwatch he always wore. He shifted his gaze to the entrance, then to his side. The café was directly on the beach. Ross looked out the window. Mild salty water waves rolled in, hit the shore, and rolled back. His gaze was fixed on the sea, and he remembered his wife, Brittany, and how she loved the sea, how she ran away from it, and how she laughed when she was caught by a massive wave that submerged her insides before throwing her up. Sasha’s hand on Ross’s shoulder jolted him awake from his reverie. He turned his head slightly upward and to the side to see his colleague standing there, smiling. Sasha looked stunning in a red leather thigh-length skirt with a tucked-in white shirt and red bellies heels. Ross smiled and rose from his chair to hug her. She was just as friendly in return. They parted ways quickly, and Ross drew a chair for her. Sash slid her toned hips into the chair before Ross pushed it under the table a little.

            “So!” She inquired.

“Please bring fresh lime and chocolate doughnuts for the lady and an espresso for me.” Ross gave his order to the waiter, who quickly left because he had too many customers that day.

“You wanted to speak with me.” Sasha inquired.

“Umm... I am at a loss for where to begin.”

“Hey!” Sasha reacted by keeping her hand over his. “What is it you cannot discuss with your friend? You know we are not only colleagues but also good friends.”

“Hmm...!” Ross exhaled a sigh. “I know, but what I want to talk to you about might make you think I have gone insane.” Ross cleared his throat of the sore.

            “Don’t hesitate. Just say.” Sasha persuaded him.

“Alright!” Sasha’s face appeared slightly blurred to Ross, so he blinked twice to clear his vision. “How far have you reached in your ‘Reverse Death’ experiment?” he inquired.

 “Very close. However, we are looking for some bodies to work on.”

            “Hmm…!” Ross was overjoyed. The waiter who arrived with their order cut them off before they could have a serious discussion, and before they could move their hands from the table, he began to place their order on the table.

            “Do you need to get somewhere quickly?” Ross reacted angrily.

“I’m sorry, sir, but there are a lot of guests today, and I’m the only one here to take care of them all. I need to expedite everyone’s orders.” He responded.

 “But take care not to spill orders on your customers.” Ross expressed his displeasure. The waiter walked away, giving him an ignorant look.

“What a stupid creature?” Ross muttered.

“Ignore him. Let us return to our discussion.” Sasha shook Ross’s hand again, this time to get him to look at her. Ross’s gaze quickly shifted to the lovely lady in front of him.

            “Why don’t you use Brittany’s body?” he asked, stirring his Espresso and peering inside his cup. Sasha was astounded by his inquiry.

            “Have you lost your mind? Do you realise what you just said?” Sasha moved her face closer to Ross’s, whispering. Because she was so close to him, Ross could smell the fragrance of mint breath from her mouth. Sasha enjoyed using a mint-flavoured mouthwash. Her eyes widened and her face flushed with rage as she looked at him. Ross stared at her; his brows raised. He reclined in his chair.

            “I meant she’s already dead. You’re looking for a body, so I’ll let you borrow hers. If you succeed, I will get my wife back, but if you don’t, we shall bury her again.”

“You are completely insane, Ross. This isn’t as easy as you think. Permission is required to plough out the body. How would you explain to the cops why you want the body?” In hushed tones, Sasha cried out.

“You leave everything to me. Simply accept the proposal. You know how much I loved my wife, and if your experiment can bring her back to life, you would help not only yourself but also me.”

            “That’s odd.” Sasha murmured to him as she swallowed a mouthful of Doughnut. “You know our centre would not agree to this.”

“That is your decision, and I believe the institute would welcome having a body for their miraculous experiment to take final shape, and I will not charge the institute any money.”

Sasha paused for a moment before shifting her weight in her chair after taking a sip from the straw of her fresh lime. She looked at his friend saying nothing. Ross’s eyes were welling up with tears, and she could see them. Sasha realised how much he missed his wife. However, things were not as simple as Ross had hoped. Sasha took his hand in hers and tightly fisted it before saying,

            “OK, let me talk to the superior tomorrow and I will let you know.”

Ross smirked as he wiped his eyes with the tissue. Sasha stood up to leave. She walked away with her red purse dangling from her shoulder, cuddling Ross and wishing him luck. Ross paid the bill and then left from there.

A week later, Ross’s phone vibrated violently on the wooden table in his room.

“Hello, Sasha.” Ross had been waiting for Sasha to call him for over a week. His heart pounded inside his chest, unsure of what he would hear from her.

“Listen up, Ross. The institute has agreed to let me work on Brittany, and they have also spoken with the police. The authorisation to unearth her will arrive soon.”

“What exciting news! Thank you for all of your help, Sasha. However, I would like the institute to sign a contract with me.”

 “Contract, what contract?” Sasha’s surprised voice echoed down the line.

“Once Brittany is awake and up on her legs. They will have to let me take her home.” Ross said.

“Ok I will talk to the management and get back to you.” Sasha disconnected the call and Ross left his phone on the desk before walking into the washroom.

“Oh, damn the phone!” Ross mumbled as he wrapped the towel around his body and opened the door latch to rush towards the phone, which vibrated vigorously on the wooden desk yet again. 

“Brittany?” His voice became stuck in his throat. He choked and suffocated; stumbled and took several steps backwards until his calf muscles brushed up against the low-rise bed’s edge. He thumped on the spongy mattress, which sucked him in for a few inches before springing him back to his original position. While his gaze was fixed on the screen that read, ‘Brittany, my loving wife,’ the vibration in his hand continued. Ross threw down his phone and dashed toward the cabinet. He quickly opened the boards and yanked out the drawer. Brittany’s phone was dead in his drawer. The battery ran out, and the screen went black. When he ran his fingers across the touch dial, nothing happened. Without illumination, there was no life. He shifted his gaze to his cellphone on the bed, which had long since gone silent. He sauntered towards the bed on wobbly legs. With trembling hands, he picked up his phone and pressed a key to turn it on. He immediately went to the ‘Missed Calls’ log. When Ross noticed the Brittany’s, name was missing from the display, he was taken aback.

            “Hey! Ross.” A cracking sound pierced his ears, coming from downstairs, from the living room. His hand dropped the terrifying cellphone to the ground. The cover, battery, and back frame had all separated and become disorganised. He rushed out of his room, staring at his broken phone. His heartbeats were as quick as a horse’s. Ross, drenched in sweat, answered his father’s call. From the first-floor aisle, he looked down.

 “Yes, dad?” he inquired.

            “I’m off to a party with some old school friends, and I’ll be back late tonight.” Chris Dillard told his son Ross agreed with a head nod and thumbs up gesture. Chris rushed to the front door, dressed for a night out in a perfect party outfit. Ross knew where his father was rushing. He returned to his bedroom after shouting from behind for his father,

            “Don’t go to her again. Last night was enough.” Chris Dillard nodded his head in agreement. A ‘click’ sound of the main door confirmed his father’s departure. Ross picked up his cellphone after reassembling all the parts that had scattered on the floor after the drop. Scared to his core, marrows frozen, and pale-yellow face, he lay on the bed with his phone in his hand. He dialled.

            “Sasha.” As his colleague answered the phone, he said.

“Yes, Ross... is there anything urgent? I am in the middle of a project.”

“A strange thing just happened.”

“What?”

 “I received a phone call.”

“What’s so unusual about it?”

“The name ‘Brittany’ was displayed.”

“What?”

 “That’s right, and I’m not drunk.”

“Ah... ha... ha...ha...” Sasha burst out laughing. “No, I didn’t mean that. But this is extremely odd. I believe you think about her more than you should.”

            “That’s possible. But I’m pretty sure that was her name on the screen. And it’s no longer in the ‘Missed call’ log.”

 “That makes perfect sense. This means there was no Brittany on the phone, and you must have dreamt,” Sasha said simply, which seemed too casual to Ross. He sighed loudly over the phone, which Sasha heard.

 “Ok… ok. Let me meet you at your house at 7:30 p.m. after work, and we will sit and talk.”

“Cool.” Before disconnecting, Ross thanked his friend.          

That evening, Ross lit a few candles on the dining table, dimmed the lights, and played a slow instrumental song in the background. Ross had ordered Sasha’s favourite dishes from a nearby restaurant. He was expecting Sasha at any moment. Ross sat back on the couch, his hand on the TV remote. When his cellphone in his trouser pocket vibrated, he was about to hit the TV with the remote’s infrared rays. Ross reached into his pocket and took the phone out. He examined the screen, which read ‘Jr Scientist Sasha.’ He pressed the answer button quickly and held the phone to his ear.

            “Hi! Where are you?” Ross asked.

            “Help me!” Sasha screamed thorough the phone.

            “Sasha!” Ross shouted. “Sasha!” He shouted repeatedly. “What happened? Where are you?”

            “Ross, my car’s mechanism has failed and there is no brake. I am driving on the highway at 110miles per hour. The steering has solidified and the hand brake is jammed.” Sasha cried over the phone.

            “You keep the call going on I will dial 911.” Ross dashed to the landline and dialled 911.

            “How may I help you?” The lady from 911 responded.

            “There’s a girl out there on the highway with jammed mechanics in her car. Please help her.” Ross spoke in a hurried tone.

“May I take down the license plate number?” The women inquired.

“I don’t know what the car number is. Please notify the police to spot a fast-moving red car, Chevrolet. She’s moving north-east.”

 “All right, we found the car on our monitor and notified the patrol. So, don’t worry, she won’t be sleeping next to Brittany.” said the lady.

Ross’s receiver slipped out of his grasp, brushed the mosaic floor, then shot up and hung around the pet table. His entire body shook with fear. He didn’t know what to do. The swaying receiver echoed,

 “Hello... is anybody there?” Ross could lift the receiver by the tangled cable while composing his trembling hands.

“Yes, I can hear you,” he said, holding the receiver to his ear.

 “When is Brittany’s grave planned to be dug?” The lady on the other end of the line inquired.

            “W... who... who are you?” he inquired.

The phone line rang with a menacing laugh before Ross could answer. Soon, his ear was vacuumed by the humming sound of the phone. Ross did not move, and the landline receiver was still in his ear. He screamed in response to a hand on his shoulder hitting the ground with his face first. He quickly whirled around to face his captor.

 “Brittany!” He yelled at the top of his lungs.

Ross turned to face his wife, who was covered in mud and half-decomposed. He came face to face with a female creature. She had been eaten by termites, and various parts of her body were swollen and oozing pus and blood. The hideous, hole-filled exterior. Insects crawled inside the holes. Her clothing was torn. Legs and hands twisted and bent in strange directions. The whole body shook with rage. The eyes stuck out from the skull so far that they looked like they might drop to the ground at any moment. There were no teeth, no nose, just a thin slit for lips. Ross crept backward on his elbow as she approached him slowly. His long frame was struggling under the grip of an unknown fear. As a snail crawls on the ground, Brittany’s lifeless body dragged both of her legs one step at a time. She waved her arms as she walked. She suddenly pulled one of her hands out of the socket, letting it fall to the floor. Ross screamed as he pulled his body further away from her to escape as soon as possible. The hand crawled along with the creature. Ross’s phone suddenly vibrated, causing him to shake. He didn’t care and continued crawling until he hit the wall behind him.

            “Let the dead live peacefully, buried… your father…!!” The snarling voice from the creature echoed inside the house.

“That’s the end.” Ross closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.

Moment later, Ross opened his eyes; feeling no commotion. Sasha stood in front of him.

“Hey, dude!” With a smile on her face, she said. Ross sighed, relieved to see a human face after long.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing down there?” She inquired. “And why do you look so spooked?”

While she assisted Ross in reaching his legs, he wasted no time in telling her everything. They strolled to the couch holding hands. Before going into the kitchen to prepare coffee for the two of them, Sasha made Ross sit on the couch. Ross gently massaged his temples with his thumbs as he cupped his hands around his head. He understood that Sasha’s cry for help was a hallucination. A minute later, Sasha came back to him with two coffee mugs. Ross, who was still holding his head in his hands, was directly in front of her as she sat on a singlet couch.

“Look, Ross, I believe you are missing Brittany a lot and have become obsessed with the prospect of her return. But this is non-scientific and can never happen even you know this.” Sasha said to her friend as she sipped coffee from her mug.

“I understand and agree with you. But my mind takes me to the next level of thought, where I begin to feel her presence around me.”

 “Bereavement hallucination, as science calls it.” Sasha said, smiling at her friend. Ross nodded in agreement; as a scientist, he understood what it was.

 “We got permission from the police, and we can start digging tomorrow morning.” Ross was informed by Sasha.

“Excellent. Thank you very much. What about the agreement?” Ross inquired as he reclined on the couch, feeling somewhat relaxed and free of the unexpected jolt of fear.

            “They agreed, and here is the contract.” Sasha handed Ross a two-page contract. “You must sign them and return them to me prior to the excavation.”

“Yes, ok. I’ll just read the clauses for a minute.” Ross said this while pulling a pen from his shirt’s chest pocket.

“There is nothing much to read.” Sasha said.

Ross agreed to the terms of the contract, which included the special right to return his wife’s body to him if her death was successfully averted. Ross handed them to Sasha without reading the remaining points, which to him seemed pointless. They were folded in half and placed inside Sasha’s tote bag.

Ross sat on the couch in the living room the next morning, wondering where his father could be.

 “Must be very drunk and haven’t yet awoken. He is also not answering his phone.” Ross muttered to himself as he sipped his coffee from his mug.

“I need to contact Sasha and find out when she wants me to arrive at the cemetery.” He stood up to retrieve his cellphone, which he had left on the top of the television case. He dialled the number.

“Come on... come on... We’re on our way to the cemetery and will be there in two hours.” Sasha told Ross.

Ross quickly changed into his blue jeans and white T-shirt after rushing into the bathroom to straighten himself out. He hurriedly slipped on his white Nike shoes and descended the stairs. The newspaper entered through the front door. He decided to look at the headlines.

“Still, there is time. The drive to the cemetery only takes 30 minutes.” Ross held the newspaper in his hands as he sat on his couch. He glanced over a few of the headlines. He was drawn to the second page’s broad headline, “Necrophilia-ridden, apprehended by cops.” Ross was concentrating on the news. As he read the details, he was astounded to see the name of his father, Chris Dillard.

“Shit.” He slurred. “I warned him to stay away.” Ross tossed the newspaper aside and caught his head with his hands. He sat there for a while not knowing what to do next. After a while, he sighed heavily and checked his wristwatch.

“It’s time for me to leave.” He rose from the couch with a spinning head.

“Dad or Brittany first?” He was unsure of himself. “Dad, I’ll take care of him later. Brittany first.” He left through the front door. His quick legs carried him to his car. He quickly drove toward the cemetery. The digging had already started and was halfway done when Ross arrived. Ross came and joined them. He was welcomed by all the employees, and Sasha gave him a hug. The coffin was soon stroked by the spade. With their hands, they all started to pull the coffin out of the pit.

“Police observed that the burial appears to have been dug recently. The mud was quite malleable, and also the coffin doors were unlocked,” Sasha informed her friend Ross.

“What? How is that even possible?” Ross inquired.

“We’re not sure... We’ll find out later.” One cop said. The moment the plank of the coffin was tossed aside, Ross screamed. He surprised everyone, including Sasha. Some offered their condolences, hoping he wasn’t able to see his devoted wife in that state. Ross, however, noticed a different thing. When Brittany got to his house, she was in the same state. The same spots on her dress were precisely where it was torn. Sasha comforted him. Carefully taken out of the coffin, Brittany was then carried on a stretcher in the direction of the police ambulance. Ross followed the group as they headed toward the institute. A cloud suddenly burst, and rain started to pour. Though while inside a car or home, it is always pleasant and dry to listen to rain, but here, the rain turned into a rain explosive. Everyone looked up at the sky. They had never heard or seen of anything like it. It appeared as if the sky had turned cruel to the mother earth. It appeared a huge bucket full of water had been dropped directly on the vehicles. And with “Sheeting”, the situation quickly turned worse. The wind gusts forced the rain to fall like a sheet of water.

Ross noticed on his car’s roof that it began on one side and hastened to the other. After a while, raindrops started to slowly roll down the glass as Ross and the others listened to the soft taps of rain on the window and the brush of rain on the grass outside. The view outside the window was hazy because of the water lines. There was a raging noise as thunder and lightning struck the sky. The ambulance’s brakes screeched as someone dared to cross the street without signalling. Ross slammed into the ambulance from behind after losing control of his vehicle. His car’s hood popped open, and the engine began to spew smoke. Ross banged his chest against the steering wheel as he puzzled why the air bag did not inflate. The police and others watched him through the windows of their cars and made brow-raising gestures to see if he was alright. Ross gave them all the thumbs up after observing no significant harm. He was instructed by the police to leave his car parked on the side of the road and enter the ambulance. Ross entered the ambulance. In front of him, a white sheet covered Brittany’s body. He wept for her cherished wife. The ambulance’s tyres once more began to move. Under the white sheet, the corpse’s hand poked out and touched Ross’s knee. He averted his eyes. The finger scraped against his knee. He screamed loudly, which caught the police’s attention. He quickly revealed his wife’s face to check on her condition. The body remained still.

The body was brought inside the institute as soon as the ambulance arrived. Ross followed. Returning to his office gave him a sense of relief. The staff rolled the gurney into the laboratory. As instructed by Sasha, who was in charge of the experiment, it was put on a bed. The police were asked to leave after being thanked for their help.

More researchers gathered around the body, and a plan for starting the procedure was devised. The 3-stage procedure was finally decided upon, with the first stage involving the injection of stem cells purified from Brittany’s own fat or blood into the corpse, followed by the second stage involving the injection of a peptide formulation into the spinal cord to promote the development of new neurons, and finally, a 5-hour regimen of nerve stimulation and laser therapy to prompt the formation of connections between neurons to be carried out after an hour of waiting. Additional researchers examined the behaviour and EEG for signs of treatment efficacy.

            “It’s a lengthy process,” Ross exclaimed.

            “Yup.” She said this while hiding her face behind a mask. While the scientist got involved in their project, Ross decided to take a break and left the lab, strolling toward the cafeteria. He had fallen asleep in his chair at 1:30 a.m.

In his jeans pocket, his cellphone vibrated. Ross quickly dug his hand out and extracted it.

            “Yeah, Sasha?” he inquired.

            “Come meet your adoring wife.” Sasha said happily on the phone.

Ross’s heartbeats were faster than his breathing. He sneezed as he approached the cafeteria counter and asked for a bottle of soda. He fizzed the contents by vigorously shaking the bottle and letting the liquid sprinkle over his face.

            “Refreshing.” he muttered. Ross walked out the door wiping his face with tissues as he creased his clothes and tucked his shirt into his jeans. He perceived his legs to be heavy. If she still had the same partially decomposed face and body, he imagined how much he would love Brittany once more. Before moving the planks, Ross waited for a while outside the lab door. His feet felt heavy, and his palms were perspiring. Finally, he walked in. Every scientist cheered inside as Sasha stood in the middle with a proud grin on her face. Ross had got close to her from the left, so she turned to face him. She gave him a hug. Ross paid it forward.

            “I did it.” Sasha spoke into his ear. Ross moved away from her and gave her a half-grin. He hesitated to shift his gaze toward his wife because he was afraid to look at her.

            “However, we discovered human sperm inside her.” Sasha said, as they parted ways.

            “Oh, my goodness, Dad? If I believe what I read in the news.” Ross mumbled inaudibly.

Brittany sat half-way on the bed, her eyes closed, her face and body disfigured.

            “She can’t talk or feel anything right now; no emotions,” Sasha explained to Ross, “Adding that it will take about a week to get her to talk and feed her emotions. You’ll have to wait until then. We’ll graft her face and body together later to rebuild her,” Sasha said as Ross walked slowly towards his wife, his eyes still lowered.

            “Wait, a second. Do not get too close.” From behind, Sasha issued a warning to Ross.

Ross studied his wife’s expression. Nobody else saw what he saw. Tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on her lap. Ross took a couple of steps back. His articulation appeared to have been hampered by an unknown force.

             “She’s weeping,” Ross said as he turned toward Sasha, his lips dried.

            Without glancing at Ross, Sasha said unemotionally, “It’s not possible. She is without feelings.” She started preparing the tools she would need for the rest of the experiment. Ross moved a little closer to Brittany. Her expression was read by him. Her pupils shifted to her husband, and she moved her lips. Ross quickly backed off, going so far that he tripped over a silent trash can. He passed out. Others rushed to assist him in standing up again. The lights started to flicker suddenly. Everyone turned to face the lights and raised their heads.

            “What exactly is going on?” Sasha yelled at one of her helpers. “Go out and look. We need complete control to keep the process going, or everything will be ruined.” Except for the two Scientists on Sasha’s experiment team, all of her assistants sped out of the room.

            “She moved her lips and her gaze. She had something to say to me.” Ross screamed, spellbound, as he leaned against the wall behind Sasha. “I noticed it. She also had tears in her eyes.” Ross spoke as if he were in a trance.

             “Stop talking nonsense.” Ross was yelled at by Sasha. “She doesn’t have any eyes, and she doesn’t have any lips.”

            “She had it. I saw it.”

            “Please get him out of there.” Sasha gave orders to one scientist.

            “Ross, go home and rest; return in the morning.” Ross, like a good child, decided to leave the lab. He came to a halt at the door and returned his gaze to Sasha.

            “I don’t want her this way. You should put her back in the grave.”

            Sasha walked up to him, her jaw clenched. “Have you gone insane, Ross? You want me to leave everything and obey you after all my years of hard work that are now bearing fruit for humanity.”

She nearly howled at Ross, “If you don’t leave now, I’ll have the security throw you out.”

             “So, it was for your name, fame, and acclaim, rather than me?” After the emotional setback, Ross spoke with a heavy throat, almost crying, sensing his friend’s intention. He was overcome by emotion.

            “Don’t be such a sensitive child, Ross. The amount of appreciation, offers, and money I would receive from this is beyond my wildest dreams. You should go home and come back tomorrow.” Sasha said, her face flushed and her teeth clenched.

            “You cannot talk to me like this. I still own her.”

            “No, you don’t, anymore. Remember the contract which you signed without reading is enough to separate you from her ownership.”

            “Possibly. I understood everything. Still, I will not leave my wife here with you all like this. Either I take her home with me or I bury her.”

            “You freely agreed to donate your wife’s body to the lab for research, as the contract says,” Sasha growled.

             “You can’t do it.” Ross looked into her eyes, which were not those of a friend, but of an overzealous professional scientist who would not back down from betraying a friend, and he knew he couldn’t help himself. Even the law could not help him because he had signed a contract.

             “And your signatures are on the papers,” Sasha said with a cunning smile as she folded both her arms over her breast.

            “However, I will not abandon her here. And if you think you can stop me, try.” Ross said to Sasha, bending slightly because he was much taller than she was. He swayed his fist in front of her face, tightly clasped.

             “Oh, you want to get into a fight?” Sasha took a few steps back. “Call the cops,” she yelled without looking behind her.

Ross reached out and slapped Sasha with his long arm. She was propelled through the air by the force before coming to rest on the ground momentarily lost consciousness but soon came to. She was helped on her feet by her coworkers. To ease the pain, she gritted her teeth and pressed firmly. Sasha pulled out her phone and made a 911 call. Approximately halfway through the connection, the lab’s temperature abruptly dropped. The icy cold weather made everyone burr.

When the cellphone connection was lost, the previously steady lights started to flicker once more. The tubes and bulbs started to burst one by one. The tools trembled and dropped off their stands. Wall-mounted equipment toppled off its hinges and landed on the floor. A disturbance could be heard inside the room. Everyone assumed an earthquake was to blame. They all attempted to leave the room, but the door clasped shut. Nobody could open it, and it appeared to be stuck. The instrument was lifted into the air and crashed into the wall before the scientists could reach it. They hurried to the hotline to request help by dialling the security room. The CCTV systems went dark. Nobody knew what had happened. Ross stood up with no difficulty, but Sasha and the other two scientists had trouble doing so. He didn’t seem to be affected by the spell, or the uproar didn’t seem to be directed at him. Hearing a grunting voice, Sasha and the others turned their heads toward the bed. As Brittany turned her neck toward Sasha, a crackling noise was made. The researchers scratched their heads in awe. Sasha was equally enthralled. Her normal thought process was hampered by many fuzzy ones. She glanced at Ross for a split second before turning back to Brittany. By this time, the corpse had thrown off the white cloth and revealed her entire body. Every bone in her body cracked as she shifted positions on the bed. Her tense position might have been fatal for a living being, but she handled it like it was nothing. Without bending her knees, Brittany jumped out of bed. As soon as her feet touched the ground, they moved away. Sasha, who was stunned, only saw the whitest of eyes staring at her. The EEG monitor flew and stroked one scientist on the head, submerging him in the pool of his own blood as he tried to break the glass of the exit door. Inside, Sasha and one scientist were confined. Slowly, Brittany moved forward. She moved blood-hungry like a zombie. Sasha moved to one side as the scientists in front of her leaped to the opposite, letting the dead pass. Brittany giggled despite having a cut lip. She knelt down and drank the blood from the ground. For her, there were lots of them. Ross was in a trance and kicking himself for trying to stop her from dying. While Brittany licked the blood, one scientist seized the surgical scissor and charged at her. Ross screamed out of control,    

            “Brittany.” The scientist plunged a scissor into her chest before she could turn to look at her side. The flexible body of the woman was cut by the scissor. She gave him a smile before seizing his throat. He was drawn up to her offensive-smelling mouth. He closed his eyes. She yelled. She let her teeth fly open like a dinosaur. He was bitten by Brittany, who also struck him across the face. The man cried out in pain. Sasha came to his aid and charged Brittany with a fire extinguisher cylinder. Her body was doused in ammonium phosphate. The other man, who was covered in the chemical, was still being chewed on by Brittani. She leaped to her feet, then sprinted toward Sasha. She swayed the cylinder in the air to hit her. The metallic cylinder stroked her face. Her head detached from her body and rolled on the floor. Ross screamed,

            “Brittany.” He sobbed into his palms.

Sasha swung a venom-filled syringe at the ghost as soon as she had the chance. Ross intervened, though, and grabbed her by the neck. Sasha struggled to escape his tight hold as Brittany’s headless body moved closer to them. The syringe was snatched from her grasp by Ross. Sasha was made fun of by the head, which was lying on the ground, before it topped Brittany’s body. She then turned her attention to Sasha, who was still resisting Ross’s hold. At her, Brittany hissed. Her decrepit face got close to hers. Sasha wrinkled her nose at the offensive breath. She fixed her gaze on Brittany. She had obvious terror in her eyes. For a moment, her soul eluded her body. She believed something could exist outside of science because she was so terrified. Sasha’s face darkened in colour. Brittany hissed.

            “Why did you wake me up?” Brittany snarled.

            “Your husband wanted you to come back.” Sasha replied in a voice that was almost whispery because she lacked the energy to speak normally. She felt Brittany’s hand press against her chest. Sasha screamed in pain. As Brittany applied more force, the hand soon broke her rib cage and entered her body. She collapsed with her head bowed in Ross’s arms because of the agonising pain. For her heart, Brittany reached out. Before swallowing it, she gave her heart a moment of attention. Ross remained motionless, observing everything. After them, he knew it was his turn.

Brittany’s focus shifted to her husband. Her corroded teeth were visible as she growled. Only rage erupted from her eyes; there were no other emotions, such as love. Her eyes were as radiant as a coal in flames. Ross had just dropped Sasha’s lifeless body on the ground and was backing away when she limped toward him.

            “I’m your husband, and I adore you. I wanted you to come back with me.”

            “And, therefore, you let your father rape me in the grave, every day?” She snarled.

            “I know nothing about this.” Ross screamed at her face.

            “But I know that you two wanted me back, dismembered, half-alive and half-dead so you and your father could sate your necrophiliac appetites.” She screamed.

            “I now understand why you avoided to get into bed with me and why, soon after we got married, you began to avoid me. You and your father enjoyed intercourse without resistance and preferred a dead than alive. You destroyed my life, and when your mother found out, she, too, killed herself. Your father killed me when he saw me looking at him with suspicion. He thought I made a guess of his soiled clothes every day, and you hid my death.”

Brittany continued to advance toward Ross. She wailed with her head raised to the ceiling, as if she wanted to call forth more of her evil allies from the earth. Once more, the lab got freezing. Ross turned around as his wife approached in the chilly air. A sudden gust of wind blew through. The windows slammed violently, creating a setting ideal for gruesome murder. Brittany continued to move forward until she lost a body part and bowed to the opposing side. The room began to smell like rotten, pungent pus, and Ross felt bile start to rise in his stomach. Brittany had her mouth open and a little wonky. Thick, dark blood gushed from her body. Her head jerked at an odd angle to one side. With her mouth open and poised to eat her husband whole, the creature that resembled Brittany advanced. Finally, Ross ran into the wall behind him. His clothes were drenched in sweat despite the subzero temperatures inside. Before Ross could make a quick break for the open window, he felt bony hands grab his thigh and pull him down. He fell to the window sill after tripping. His field of vision turned completely black. To stop the bleeding, Ross applied pressure with his hand to the wound. He knew that the monster in front of him adored the colour red. He couldn’t even get his eyes open. Ross used the last of his energy to open. He ultimately did. He tried to get his eyes back on the room, but something greasy and wet was crawling down his thighs, making him lower his gaze. His thighs had been pulled down to his toes by Brittany, who had dug them deep with her long nails. Ross was screaming in the room, but Brittany didn’t appear to hear or care. She bent over and inhaled the hot blood that was dripping from the exposed flesh. She took a seat and spoke after doing so. A green tongue slurped the blood-red liquid. When Ross kicked her, one of his legs became free. Ross was pinned to the ground by Brittany’s weight, which had suddenly increased significantly. She slithered on top of him. He was staring at her pus-filled, crooked, cracked, and foul-smelling face. Ross tried to hold his breath while trying not to sneeze. Anywhere he could find on Brittany’s body, Ross started punching her. Over Ross, Brittany raised herself up.

             “I called you on your phone, but you didn’t speak to me,” she howled into his eyes, her voice gargling. She let out a yell. The pitch of her voice shook the surrounding air. Ross continued to peer into her eyes from beneath her.

             “I came to our house to kill...” She growled in pain. The venom-filled syringe pierced her neck. Ross pressed harder inside, allowing all the venom to seep into her body. Brittany rolled to one side and collapsed.

Ross sat on the ground for a few moments before taking his phone from his pocket and dialling 911. When the police arrived, he explained everything and asked them to rebury the body legally.

The next day, Ross paid a visit to his father in prison.

             “You knew the cops were on the lookout for Necrophiles.” He moved his face closer to his father’s until only the iron bars stood between them. “I warned you.” His tone pitched high with anger.

            “Once was enough for both of us. That night, our Necrophilous encounter with Brittany was a blast. I noticed she blinked her eyes while you played with her. If you had waited, we could have both brought her soul back to life in a semi-decomposed body. The strategy I devised would have worked well, but you ruined everything. You turned her into an evil. You enraged her.” Tears welled up in his eyes. “With the unresisting body, you could have been a little softer. But you ate her breasts?” With his teeth clenched tightly together, he said it.

            “She was a good woman. She could not bear to see her husband betrayed by Sasha, but her soul that we ruptured turned her into an evil with no remorse even towards me.” As he walked out of the prison meeting hall, Ross said. Chris kept his stare fixed on his son as he walked away. He sat in the corner of his cell.

Later, Chris Dillard screamed, “Argh! Ah! Ah! Help!” The fear in his voice overcame the agony. The corporal who was on duty ran over to him. His stomach had been torn apart by a female shadow who dug her hand inside of him. The prison wall was breached by the shadow as the officer whistled in fear, but before anyone else arrived.

            “Wow... what a beautiful sunny day!” Ross thought to himself as soon as he stepped onto his house’s terrace. He opened his mouth wide and spread his arms to inhale a large amount of fresh oxygen that swayed across his face. A moment after, Ross overheard huge cries from a neighbouring house while feeling rejuvenated. He dashed downstairs and soon arrived at the house where the piercing scream had come from.          

            “What happened?” he asked, grabbing his neighbour’s biceps and jolting him to look at him.

             “Good day, Ross!” He greeted. “My sister passed away just now. That’s my mother yelling. She preferred her to me.”

             “Aha! I see!” Ross presented his unhappiness. “How old was your sister?” he inquired.

            “Turned thirty last Sunday. She had been sick for a long time.” Ross’s neighbour whispered. Ross’s face lit up with a small grin.

             “My day has been made.” He muttered. “Young and dead at thirty.”

Ross helped others get the dead ready for the burial by waiting as a good neighbour. The coffin arrived in the hearse van. He and the other men made their way to the back of the van where they removed the coffin and set it next to the body of the deceased. Ross stayed and opened the coffin lid for their convenience while others went inside to bring the body outside and place it in the coffin. As soon as he unbolted the coffin, he drew his body back and stumbled on the paved cement floor below. The shock was too much for his terrified soul to handle. Sasha lay inside with just a small socket of an eye open. He hurried over to the coffin and fastened the lid. He gasped hard for breath. Ross watched in disbelief as his peer was fixed to the coffin. His entire body shook with fear. He looked around him. Everyone was focused on getting ready for the funeral. The coffin began to shake erratically, and the lid detached from the hinges. His leg was being held by a skeletal hand with a hanging piece of decomposed flesh. As Ross was being dragged, he passed out once more. Ross screamed for help, but his voice went unheard. He appeared to be there alone with the coffin. He began hitting the hand with his other leg until his frame got trapped inside the coffin and the lid fell shut.