Chapter 2 - THE DEAD RISE AT MIDNIGHT"Mark...?" My voice was barely a whisper, crushed under the weight of utter disbelief.
The man in the doorway smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyesâonly a cold, hollow glint that sent shivers down my spine. He lowered the crowbar slightly, his eyes tracking Rick, who was growling violently, refuses to let him step another inch into the room.
"You always were too naive, Leo," Mark spoke, his voice raspy and deeper than I remembered, marred by faint chemical burns creeping up his neck. "If you had just ignored the dog... if you had just let things be, we could have continued this arrangement indefinitely."
"You... you died! I buried you! I identified your body at the morgue three years ago!" I screamed, backing up against the kitchen counter, my fingers blindly feeling around for a weapon until my hand wrapped around the heavy cast-iron skillet.
Mark let out a soft, chilling laugh that vibrated through the dark hallway. "You identified a torso burned beyond recognition wearing my signet ring, Leo. The police were eager to close the case, and you were too drowned in grief to ask for a second DNA test. It was remarkably easy to die on paper."
"Why?!" My voice cracked with raw emotion and rage. "Why live in my attic? Why stalk me like a monster?!"
"Because you have something that belongs to me," Markâs eyes darkened as he took a slow, calculated step forward. Rick lunged, snapping his jaws inches from Markâs knee, forcing him to freeze. "The family estate. The half-million dollar insurance payout you claimed after my 'death'. Dad left everything to both of us, but you got it all because I was 'dead'. I didn't come back to kill you, Leo. I came back to take back my life. But then I realized... living under your roof, watching your every move, learning your habits... it was far more efficient."
Mark reached into his heavy jacket and pulled out a small black remote control. "And now that you know I'm alive, the insurance company will demand every single penny back. You'll be ruined. Facing fraud charges. Unless..."
He pressed a button on the remote.
A high-pitched, agonizing frequency blasted from hidden speakers installed near the ceiling shafts. Rick shrieked in pain, dropping to his knees and clawing at his ears in sheer agony.
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"Rick!" I screamed, dropping the skillet to cover my own ears as the ultrasonic sound tore through my head.
Mark lunged forward, raising the crowbar. "Unless you take my place in that grave, dear brother!"
