Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

joined like cher r ies w ith a stalk of ar ter y. Cassy was ther e sometimes, pulling one of
those slick, feeble hear ts fr om its stem w ith her teeth like an animal at its
after bir th; swallow ing it; feeling it beating inside her belly.
With the mor nings, w ith consciousness, these dr eams w ould fade. In per ipher y,
in the last puffs of sleeping, they w er e r emember ed only by the uneasiness they left
behind -? the leviathan was never seen, only the distur bance in the water after its
sounding. Ever y mor ning Cassy w ould wake to this uncanny sense of loss, like the
face of a childhood fr iend that memor y couldn?t conjur e. Ever y mor ning she w ould
wake befor e Adam w ith a name almost upon her lips and then daylight beat its way
into her thoughts. Ever y mor ning she w ould watch him sleeping, listen to him
br eathing, and keep the feeling fr om him once he aw oke. She let him sleep.
*
?You look tir ed,? Adam said, looking into Cassy?s dar k eyes; ?w e can go another
time.? She shushed him.
?I told you I?d come,? she said. ?I want to come.?
?You still not getting a decent night?s sleep?? he asked. Above them, the number s
on the station?s clocked flipped over w ith a loud clack and the milling cr ow d began
to shuffle on their feet expectantly. He cr aned his neck dow n the tr ack to see if he
could spot their tr ain and slipped his hand into her s. He liked the way that it fitted
ar ound her s so comfor tably. She let her head sag onto his shoulder and he said to
her , ?Rest on the tr ain if you want.?
The jour ney seemed shor ter to Adam this time. Per haps because he was eager this
time to shar e his new s at his mother ?s gr aveside. He didn?t want to keep Cassy in
the cemeter y too long, so if she per ked up a little he?d pr obably suggest a str oll
thr ough the tow n or a pub lunch. If not, then he?d get her home nice and ear ly.
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