Excerpt from Mr. Morbus
In the sky, storm-clouds dance together, casting off electric spider-webs and rattling homes and store-fronts alike with its booming claps and sorrowful howls. On the ground, winds push their way through every open space, creating a symphony, complete with beating window shutters and whistling pipes. Even though nature’s orchestra is playing, the town of Brady Falls sleeps. The windows have been shuttered for the night and the people dream of other places – places without storms.
On Main and Cherry, a carriage works its way around the cobbled corner. The driver, donned in a black long-coat and matching, hat hunches over the reins. He turns onto Main Street and travels half a block at a snail’s pace, working his way against the wind. With a pull on the reins, he brings the carriage to a halt in front of a large building and dismounts. When he opens the side door of the vehicle, a tall figure steps out into the wind and rain and stands on the cobbled road, staring up into the flashing sky. Without turning around, the Tall Man holds up a wad of wet bills. The driver snatches them from the Tall Man’s hand and mounts the carriage. As the carriage pulls away, the tall man enters the building.
Inside the building, a row of handcrafted chairs line each side of the lobby. Intricate in design and finished to a gleaming shine, the chairs were upholstered in some kind of animal hide, dyed to look like a zebra’s coat. At the back of the lobby sat a long, unmanned, counter that looked to have been crafted by the same woodworker who created the chairs. A wicker basket containing a single envelope marked with ‘Mr. Morbus’ was sitting on the corner of the counter. The Tall Man picked up the envelope and slit it open with a single slash of his fingernail. He tilted the open envelope and a brass key with the number five engraved into it slid into his open palm. Holding the key up in front of his drawn-in, withered face with gnarled, dead-gray fingers, he smiles as a flash of lightening lights up his face. It’s a sunk-in face – smooth and dark and devoid of healthy flesh. His red eyes gleam maniacally as he begins to laugh.
