The doctor exchanged glances with the nurse. Something unspoken passed between them, and neither looked happy. In fact, all the colour fled from their skin.
“What is it?” Lewis demanded. “Tell me.”
“I’m afraid we lost your son this morning, Mr Sheringham.”
Lewis choked as his throat restricted. He felt like he was heaving, but nothing came up. It took a moment for him to catch his breath, but his stomach continued to convulse. “Y-You said my son was… doing f-fine. You said he was… stable.”
“And he was. He was during mightily well, in fact.”
“Then what the fuck happened?”
“I’m afraid there was some kind of IT issue in the early hours of this morning. It caused the ventilation machines to switch off, causing the oxygen levels in the incubators to drop. We lost a dozen babies here last night, and over a hundred infant deaths in the state of New York. Our entire trust used the same software. I’m afraid it—”
“Are you… are you telling me that-that-that a fucking software glitch killed my son?” Lewis’s temples throbbed, so swollen with blood that he thought his flesh might burst and spurt blood into the air. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
Doctor Owens took a step back and put his hands up. “Now, Mr Sheringham. We did everything we could to save your son. If we hadn’t intervened after your wife’s death he never would have even been—”
Lewis struggled with his tightly-fitted sheets until he was able to toss them aside. Then he focused on that stupid-moustache on the face of the doctor who had taken away his family. He wanted to kill the man, and then the nurse. He launched himself from the bed, roaring like an animal.
I’ll kill them all.
He crashed to the hard tiles in a lump, his elbows, head, and hips rattling in agony. His body was weak and useless, legs jerking, only half under his control. His attack had failed miserably.
From the floor, Lewis glared up at the startled doctor who was now looking down at him in horror. “I will rip your goddamn face off.”
“Denise, go and get the orderlies. I’m going to need some help here.”
“Right away, Dr Owens.” The nurse rushed away
The doctor knelt beside Lewis, genuinely sad, but also seemingly afraid. “I have no idea what you must be going through right now, Mr Sheringham, but I only wish to help. I promise you that.”
Lewis sneered, body still trembling with rage — anger that Sarah and his child were gone. Sarah, his best friend and most important part of his world.
It can’t be true. This man is lying to me.
He’s a monster.
Lewis tried to launch himself off the floor but his body wouldn’t obey. His legs flopped like fish and his left arm scrubbed like a baby learning to crawl. Then he heard that soft whirring again. Suddenly he was lunging forwards, propelled by his right arm.
Or what he thought was his right arm.
But it couldn’t be.
What the hell is that?
The doctor leapt back, narrowly avoided the snatching metal fingers that clamped down on the thin air where his neck had been. Lewis slumped onto his face and turned his head, taking in the sight of the shining metal and twisted wires emanating from the flesh on his elbow. Some piece of machinery had been attached to him. His real right arm was missing.
What the…?
Suddenly his mind filled with horrific images of blood and splintered bones. He heard his own screams and saw the faces of his co-workers. He still remembered nothing of any car accident, but he remembered vividly another incident that had left him irreversible damaged. “I-I lost my arm at work. It’s been missing for two years.”
Dr Owens swallowed, making his prominent Adams Apple bob up and down. “Well, it appears you found a replacement, Mr Sheringham. Do you have any idea where you go it? I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s the most advanced piece of medical technology I’ve ever witnessed.”
“It’s why I came here,” said Lewis, part of his memory returning to him. “I came here to get this arm — but now my family is dead.” He glared at the robotic appendage and suddenly hated it even more than he hated the doctor leaning over him. If he had never come here to get it, Sarah and their unborn child would still be alive. It wasn’t a rational thought, but right now Lewis was unable to in ways that made sense.
All he felt was anger.
And loss.
So much loss that it threatened to swallow him whole, and then leave a crater in the earth a hundred miles wide. It was all consuming, and it continued to swell.
I wish I was dead.
Also by Iain Rob Wright
Animal Kingdom
AZ of Horror
2389
Holes in the Ground (with J.A.Konrath)
Sam
ASBO
The Final Winter
The Housemates
Ravage
Savage
The Picture Frame
Wings of Sorrow
The Gates
Legion
Extinction
Defiance
Resurgence
TAR
House Beneath the Bridge
The Peeling
Blood on the bar
Escape!
Dark Ride
12 Steps
Sarah Stone Thriller Series
Soft Target
Hot Zone
End Play
Other
Diary of a flummoxed father
Iain Rob Wright is one of the UK's most successful horror and suspense writers, with novels including the critically acclaimed, THE FINAL WINTER; the disturbing bestseller, ASBO; and the wicked screamfest, THE HOUSEMATES.
His work is currently being adapted for graphic novels, audio books, and foreign audiences. He is an active member of the Horror Writer Association and a massive animal lover.
www.iainrobwright.com
FEAR ON EVERY PAGE
For more information
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iain.robert.wright@hotmail.co.uk
Copyright © 2020 by Iain Rob Wright
Cover Photographs © Shutterstock
Artwork by Stuart Bache at Books Covers Ltd
Editing by Richard Sheehan
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