Talia rolled her eyes and headed to her car. First, they dropped off Ednah’s Pinto because she didn’t want to be seen driving her own, so she drove Talia’s.
When they arrived at the funeral home, the building was covered in an off-colored white brick with small windows lining the front.
A single car sat in the parking lot, and Ednah let out a groan, “Well, it was a good try.”
Talia looked up and down the sparse street. The funeral home was a lonely building surrounded by even lonelier trees. She knew she could do the job quickly. “I’m going in.”
“What do you plan on doing if whoever’s in there catches you stealing Shea’s brain?” Ednah appeared worried with her lips pursed and wrinkles deepening.
“Murder, if I have to.”
“That’s a joke, right?”
“What do you think?” Talia smiled and grabbed the dirt-covered shovel from the backseat, along with the ice chest she’d packed. Then she pulled a ski mask over her head and put on a pair of black leather gloves.
At a quick pace, she moved toward the door and knocked rapidly. Several moments passed with no answer. Precious time was slipping away from her. She walked to the grime-covered window and whacked her shovel through it. A ripple of glass rained down between the ground and the inside of the building. She knocked the remaining pieces out, but small chips still nicked her arms and body as she slid inside.
Right as she pulled herself through and lifted the shovel from the floor, the door flung open. Without thinking, she leaped forward and swung the shovel at the interloper’s head. A frightened gasp escaped her mouth as the mystery man slumped to the ground.
“Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Maybe I did kill someone on this pursuit.” Talia was the real intruder here, but it was her reflexes that did it. She quickly fell to her knees and pressed her hand at the man’s throat. A pulse beat beneath her fingers. Not dead—thank God. Heart pounding, she rolled him to his side and hastily tied his wrists and feet together with the tape sitting on the desk. The man had gray hair, sunken cheeks, and wore a smock over a long-sleeved collared shirt.
If the man had died, Talia didn’t know what she would have done, because her number one concern was getting to Shea’s body. She plucked up the ice chest from the ground outside and moved toward the door.
Peeping her head around the open door, Talia didn’t know which way to go. In answer, she took the first hall she saw. Pictures of flowers painted the walls, as if the hallway itself was a cemetery. Eventually, she came to an iron door and opened it. Inside, a row of metal stairs led to what she assumed was the basement.
“This must be it,” Talia whispered.
A bright light sprinkled across the room, making her eyes squint. Her body stilled and grew rigid when her gaze connected with the silver table. There lay Shea, only him, and no one else. His eyes, always filled with love, now closed forever. His pale skin, once warm, now cold, was already withering. Or maybe that was her imagination. Without touching him, she knew his body was stiff, his skin and everything buried underneath would have no warmth. He looked cold. So incredibly cold, she thought. And that left her feeling even more alone.
Once her plan worked, neither would be alone any longer.
A long, clear tube was connected to his right leg. Lifting her mask, she scampered toward him and ripped the tube out and tossed it to the floor.
Talia’s eyes filled with tears as she stared at her lover on the table. She’d find him a new body. Heart pounding harder, she hurried and set down her ice chest.
Talia had come prepared with tools but the things in the room would work much better. She reached for the bone saw with a sharp circular disk on the end and pressed the yellow button. The metal wheel made a loud buzzing sound, filling the air of the room. If she stuck her finger to it, her digit would be gone in an instant. It was perfect.
Turning the tool off, she stepped behind Shea and pressed her hand to the side of his freezing face. From behind him, she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “I know you’re still in there, so please hold on,” Talia whispered.
When she flicked on the tool again, the loud noise filled the room once more. Talia was not a surgeon, but she’d been around long enough to know how to cut something open. However, the task was messier than expected.
As blood dripped and oozed from the incision, she second-guessed herself for a moment, not knowing if she was making a mistake by not attempting to use his old body instead. But she knew Shea, and he wouldn’t want this tired body for eternity.
The sound of metal hitting skull only drove her determination further. Once Talia came full circle, she slid off the top portion of the skull, exposing the extraordinary brain. She couldn’t help but stare in awe. She’d never seen such a beautiful sight—such a small and wondrous tool could hold so many things. Dreams, nightmares, thoughts, memories, precious, so many precious words exchanged between the two of them.
With careful precision, she pushed her hands in and disconnected the brain as best she could. Talia slowly pulled it out and cradled the organ, studying each indention. From the outside it still looked utterly healthy and perfect. She didn’t know if she had done it right, but she made sure to keep it whole.
Bending her left knee, she set it inside the ice chest, along with the bone saw, and quickly closed the lid. Turning away from the body that had grown to give Shea so much pain, Talia dashed out of the room. She wouldn’t look back at her lover’s body, because the one part of Shea that was truly him was inside the box she carried. His heart was still in his chest, but his true heart that contained what he felt for Talia was buried in the lovely organ she had with her.
Because a small amount of pity washed over her, Talia went out the way she’d come in to check on the man she’d injured. He was still resting on the floor, breathing heavily. To give her more time, just in case, she left his hands and feet taped. Someone would find him, and it wasn’t as if he couldn’t find a way to slip free if need be.
Talia crawled through the window, leaned in, and grabbed the cooler and shovel. Behind her sat Ednah in the driver’s seat, watching her like a hawk. When Talia strolled up, the old woman leaned over and threw open the passenger side.
Taking a seat after placing the shovel in the back, she held onto the cooler tightly, afraid it might disappear if she stuck it behind her or in the trunk.
“Thanks for not helping,” Talia said with a small smile.
“You’re lucky I’m here.” Ednah put the car in drive and glanced at Talia’s gloved hands. “Also, you’re filthy.”
Talia looked down at the red—so much red. “It’s blood.”
“And it’s filthy…”
“We need to find a fresh plot.” Talia stared out the window, watching trees wiggle under the wind’s strength. “That funeral home didn’t have any spare bodies at the moment.”
“And what if we dig someone up and he’s not up to par physical wise, huh?” Ednah snapped.
“This isn’t a blind date!”
“It kind of is.”
Talia looked down at the box in her lap and rested her cheek against it. “I’ll take anyone as long as Shea’s in there and he doesn’t have to hurt anymore,” she whispered, unsure if Ednah had even heard her. All she wanted was to feel Shea’s hand gripping hers like it used to.