Chapter Twenty: Turn the Page

Ahmed Patel was in the final stretch of his forensic pathology fellowship. He'd seen a lot over the last year, but he'd never once heard a sound come from inside one of the cadaver lockers. Until now. Something—someone?—was banging on the locker door: from the inside. Bewildered, he opened the locker, hoping it was nothing but a prank from colleagues he'd soon leave for a career of his own.

Opening the locker was a mistake.

The mild-looking corpse rose and grabbed Ahmed by the hair, sinking its teeth into his throat, smiling as the young man died between its jaws.

Sighing, Jamie let Ahmed slide to the floor and stretched, cracking his neck, glancing down and running his hand over the stitches in his torso with distaste. No time for that now. It can wait. He rose lithely and checked each locker label until he found the one he wanted, pulling it open.

"Hello, my love." He smiled down at the corpse.

Margot didn't respond. Jamie traced the bite on her cheek—it would definitely scar. He bent as if to kiss her, parting her lips and breathing not life but undeath into her, awakening his blood that now stagnated inside her.

Retreating, he waited, wondering how long he had before the next intern or examiner came by. Margot didn't stir. Maybe, he thought unpleasantly, maybe it didn't take.

He turned back to the intern, stripping him and stealing his clothes. Blood had soaked through his shirt; Jamie covered it with one of the spare white coats hanging up by the door. He buttoned it up and examined himself. Good enough.

Something shifted soundlessly behind him, he felt it disturb the dead air. Turning, Jamie grinned at Margot, who sat up, her dead eyes fixed on him.

His dead eyes gleamed at her in return. "How do you feel, baby?"

"Hungry," she croaked.

Then she lunged at him.