Deadman Walking
It was easy to see that this was where the bodies the mortuary received were kept on ice. Their breath became apparent as the chilled air caused their wet forms to shiver. The ankles of their pants had gotten soaked in their slogging trek across the flooded stretch of highway. To find themselves in a place like this was one wholly unexpected, yet a circumstantial incident that left them to hide away from the wild assault.
“What happened to Uncle Jonas?” Jon was baffled, concerned, but he was mostly frightened. “First those druggies now Jonas?” He looked to Nathan who had become unnervingly silent.
Leslie was getting pretty concerned too. “Don’t forget about those ones out in front of Mac’s.” She recalled. Jon looked to her and nodded, urging her to continue. “They acted the same as the ones out there. You think they’re on the same thing?”
Kaitlynn looked up. “Bath salts maybe?” She’d suggest. “I intern at the hospital east of Outertown and have been seeing a lot of similar stuff in the last week, but something else weird...” The others looked to nurse in training, though Nathan seemed to have a far off look as his thumb habitually tapped on the music player. “Nate...?” She looked over to him, only to follow his gaze and startle at the figure skulking in the corner and was finally noticed.
Standing across from them, on the other end of the room, was a man who looked older, if not about the same age as them. He was about six and two in height, hunched over with loose clothing that made his true height normally difficult to discern. He had pasty skin, as if he hardly went out. Black hair with streaks of pink and blue was greased down and over one eye giving him a self made style of emo few recognized in town as a statement of fashion. He wore a loose, black shirt with a skeleton motif over which he wore a contrasting, white lab coat. He stood there staring at Nathan, a saw in one hand and his other gripped over the edge of the drawer he had pulled out before the unexpected intrusion of teenagers. Laying in the bed of the freezer drawer was a black bag in which one could easily assume a dead body rest.
The man’s face scrunched up at Nathan’s unblinking gaze. “I was honestly expecting you to scream...“ The nasally voice pointed out as the others came to the front.
“Mortimer!” Kaitlynn yelled, causing everyone to wince from the echo. Embarrassed she would flinch and present her greeting again, more softly. “Mortimer...“
The others sighed, leaving the man to speak up. “Repeating yourself more quietly isn’t going to undo what -- nevermind. What are you numbskulls doing in here? What part of employees only can’t understand from the sign?” The others had failed to observe any notices on the door, as they were running for their lives.
“Uncle Jonas!” Jon spoke up. “He attacked us!”
Mortimer stood up, pushing the drawer closed before he moved to set aside the saw. “What?” he quickly peeled off the latex gloves he was wearing to handle the bodies: before disposing of them on his way to the back windows. Though frosted over there was a measure of visibility from their side. “....I knew something was going on...“ he watched as Jonas hobbled around outside, seemingly talking to himself.
Nathan looked away from the drawer before looking over to the mortician. “What were you doing --?”
Mortimer brushed some of his hair from his face. “Curious fellow, aren’t you?” The man stared at Nathan a moment with his sunken expression before moving towards the other side of the room. Mortimer began to push one of the metal filing cabinets towards the entryway. “Less questions, more help.” he grunted,nobly for the others to hesitate. "You know those gunshots came from out there, and not in here, right?"
The group quickly worked together to push the cabinet in front of the door before Mortimer thumbed the door towards the stairwell in the back of the room which led upstairs. “We’re partially below ground. Let’s head up.” As Mortimer turned the metal cabinet jumped as forceful banging started behind the door.
“You in there?!” It was the voice of one of the hooligans from moments ago. “Come on pretenders! I know you’re one of them!!” The banging became harder, the cabinet jumping against the force as the man madly banged on the door.
The group wasted no time heading up the steps behind Mortimer. Pushing open the door at the top off the stairs they would find themselves in the mortuary’s offices. The man shrugged off his lab coat, dropping it to the floor and reached out to grab his hooded jacket. It was charcoal in color, complementing his dark outfit. The banging became louder and louder, Nikki closing the doors behind them only for the noise to stop. The group stood silent, the sound of the rain could be faintly heard from inside the insulated building. Mortimer pushed open the door on the opposite side of the office. Nothing of note was in the room. A desk, file cabinets and an AC unit built into the wall keeping it cool. The mortician hesitated before pushing between the group. He reached over to pull open a drawer on the desk before grabbing a letter opener which he secured in his jacket pocket.
“Let’s go, numbskulls.” Mortimer was not much of a people person, but he was hardly abrasive.
“Mortimer,” Kait called out. “What’s going on? I thought Charlie came by to find you?!” She seemed concerned, mostly confused by his lackadaisical regard toward the situation.
The man would lead them through the office into the lobby of the funeral home. This room was wide open with a single door at the other end. It was quite large, as it was meant to house a mourning family as they gathered after a funeral service or during a showing of the dolled up body. Mortimer was training to prepare bodies. He had been a senior at the college and grew quite intrigued by the dead and processes of decomposition. He was the head of the Occult Club before Leslie took over. The woman in question had been quiet, following the others, leading up the back of the pack. She urged Nikki to the middle of the group as the fretting wrestling maniac watched their tails.