AfterLife
Page 26
“Don’t be.” Seth smiled at her. He quickly synced with her and confirmed that she was in fact a Mortui. “What do you do that’s so exhausting that you fall asleep like that?”
“Oh,” the woman closed her laptop and placed it in her bag. “I work for Senator Howard in Washington. He keeps me pretty busy.” She spoke to the back of the seat in front of her.
“Looks like you need a vacation.”
“That’s the sad thing,” the woman replied. “I’m coming back from one now.” She paused and made eye contact with Seth again. “I’m sorry; I’m usually more of a conversational person than this. I guess I’m still a bit embarrassed that I made a fool of myself.”
“Again, don’t be. I’m Seth.” Seth extended his hand across the aisle to shake the woman’s hand. She took it. “I won’t tell anyone else about it. I promise.” He turned his head in the direction of the conductor who was moving down the seats. “That conductor on the other hand, I’m sure he’s already told half the train.”
They both laughed.
“I’m Katherine. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Seth said, gradually moving closer in his seat toward her. It was time to gain her trust and help her through the Mortui transition. “Katherine who works for Senator Howard, the pleasure is all mine.” It was genuinely nice to meet her. It was also a sign that things were again going his way.
Epilogue
“Normally, I don’t have time for something like this and you would quickly be thrown out of here,” the senator said as he leaned back in his chair and unbuttoned his suit jacket. His face held an expression of amusement. “However, you go right ahead and tell me more of your crazy stories. I happen to have a little extra time this morning, and I could use a good laugh.”
The stories this stranger was telling him, if true, were far from humorous. He wanted to have the man thrown out of his office, but he also wanted – no, needed – to hear more. He kept his face expressionless as his mind reeled. He was already trying to wrap his head around the idea that there was a society of people called Mortuis who couldn’t die. According to this man, they had been around for millennia and were a subsect of the human race that had resulted from a small genetic evolution during the dawn of mankind. They could now be found in every civilization and every corner of the globe. He’d said that Mortuis were born alive, but that a premature death would prevent the soul from severing from the body.
As a young man, stories of the living dead had always fascinated him. Would he be feeling as anxious in this man’s presence if he had said he was a vampire or a werewolf? Probably not. It was easy to dismiss the current faddish interest in these works of fiction. This story was different. There was something about this man and his story of Mortuis that made him uncomfortable. A part of him that felt he might actually be telling the truth.
“I guarantee, Senator, I’m not here to peddle fairy tales.” The man, named Seth, sat confidently in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. He showed no signs of the nervousness one would expect from a man of his apparent age. He looked young but held himself as if he were much older. “I can also guarantee that you will come to see our time together as time well spent.”
“Okay, Mr. Apep—”
“Please, just call me Seth,” the man said, interrupting the senator.
Senator Howard lowered his eyes. He was a direct man, and that accounted for much of his political success, but it was as if something prevented him from looking this stranger in the eyes. Instead, his eyes wandered over several documents that were still waiting to be signed. He fiddled with a paper weight shaped like the statue of Lincoln that held them firmly in place. There were pens in a cup, an open calendar book, and his computer. Nothing seemed as important as the discussion he was having.
He had been introduced to Seth earlier that morning by Katherine, one of his assistants. She was hardworking and ambitious; they’d worked together for some time now and he trusted her. If she hadn’t suggested he meet with Seth he wouldn’t have. Now he wished he hadn’t, but that was water under the bridge. His immediate concern was to determine what truth, if any, there was in the claims he was making. Furthermore, if it was true, what he hoped to gain by sharing the information. If Mortuis had been around forever, there was a reason the rest of mankind didn’t know about them. It worried him that Seth wanted him to know.
“Fine, Seth. Let’s pretend, for argument’s sake, that everything you’ve just told me is fact. Let’s say there are dead people who walk among us. Let me even suspend my disbelief that you yourself are one of these Mortuis, as you call them. Are you telling me you can prove all this?”
“I can prove it right now, right here, if that’s what you want, but there’s really no need.” Seth said. “You already know it’s the truth. You living beings, or antemorts, as we call you, have an instinctual knowledge of our existence. Why do you think people are afraid to look into the eyes of strangers, or avoid the gazes of those they pass? It comes from an intuitive need to protect yourself from us.”
The words startled him. He’d been avoiding Seth’s eyes ever since he’d entered the office. Senator Howard leaned forward in his chair and placed his arms on the desk. As he moved forward, a stream of sunlight fell on his face from the window. He automatically squinted his eyes, then fought it. He wouldn’t give the illusion of weakness to the man sitting opposite him. He looked him directly in the eye. “If this is true, I have two questions for you. How will this information help me, and what do you expect me to do with it?”
“I have a few ideas.” The man sitting on the other side of the desk slowly smiled. “Let me demonstrate what a Mortui can do. I need someone to work with, perhaps someone less valuable to your organization?”
Senator Howard mentally studied the personnel list of those working in the office, considering who would be willing to participate without asking too many questions. There was that promising new intern. He made a call to have the boy sent in, and a few seconds later, the young man entered the room.
The senator greeted him. “Hi Doug. I’m hoping you can offer your assistance to me for a little experiment we want to conduct. Are you up for it?”
“Absolutely, sir,” Doug said, closing the door behind him. He approached the desk.
“Fantastic.” The senator pointed to Seth. “This is Seth. Just do whatever he asks you to do.”
Doug looked expectantly at Seth. “Doug,” Seth said in a calm voice, “we’re having a little discussion about my eyes. Can you tell the senator what color you think they are?”
“Sure. That’s easy enough,” Doug said, approaching Seth. He looked into Seth’s eyes and a few seconds later he was lying on the floor next to Seth’s chair.
Senator Howard jolted back from his desk in shock. “What’s wrong with him? What did you do to him?”
Seth smiled slowly, but without emotion. “He’s dead. That, senator, is how Mortuis stay alive – we feed off the life force of the living. We don’t need to take all your energy, and feeding doesn’t always result in death. However, today I thought for the purposes of providing the ‘proof’ you feel you need, this might be a little more convincing.”
The intern’s lifeless body was more than enough proof of the existence of Mortuis. The senator could no longer hide his emotions. “What do we do now?” He looked at Seth.
“You’re going to call for help since you have a dead intern on your floor. The last thing you want is to have people start asking questions about a boy’s death in your office. Cause of death will probably be determined as cardiac arrest, a brain aneurism, a blood clot, or any number of other things they make up when they can’t explain a sudden death. Then, once you’ve dealt with the body, you and I can get to work.” Seth stopped and looked down at the body lying next to his chair and then back up at the senator. “I understand, Senator, you are the Chairman of the Committee that oversees the Armed Forces?” It wasn’t really a question. “I’m sure you’re in contact wit
h some very important people. I’m also sure you can see the value of eliminating enemies as quickly and effortlessly as I’ve just eliminated your intern. Your connections and influence combined with a new technology I’ve been developing could result in a working relationship that will suit us both.”
Several seconds passed as the senator processed Doug’s death and what was now being asked of him. He pulled himself together and forced a smile. He’d lost control of the situation, he knew that, and regardless of whether or not he wanted to admit it, Seth had the upper hand. His only option was to play it off until he knew more about these Mortuis and what they were capable of doing. He was a politician and this was what he did best; he put on a show. Feeling as if he were making a pact with the devil, he said, “I can see where your skills could be extremely valuable, Seth. I know some very important people who would be interested in what you have to say, and being the generous man that I am, I’d be more than happy to go into partnership with you.”
“Perfect,” Seth said. “Absolutely perfect."
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About the Author:
S. P. Cloward grew up in Utah across the street from the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
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Table of Contents
Prologue: De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum—Say Only Good About The Dead
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue