Read Online Morning Is Dead by Andersen Prunty - Free Book Online

back inside and be quiet. Maria will be around shortly.”
    Clarence looked at the archer. He pointed to the house on the other side of the garage and whispered, “There are people in there. Sleeping people.”
    Alvin’s heart thumped. Yes, this man knew about all the sleepers too.
    “You’re just imagining them, Clarence. There’s no one in there. You live alone, remember?”
    “Maybe Maria’ll be in there?” he asked hopefully.
    “You’ll have to go in and check, Clarence.”
    “Okay.” Now he sounded kind of excited as he turned and walked toward the house.
    The archer and Alvin continued down the alley.
    “Where are we going?” Alvin asked.
    “My place.”
    After the exchange with the Maria-shouter, Alvin was under the assumption the night people shared houses with the sleeping daytime people. If he was able to get back into his house, he wondered if he would find April asleep. No, that was ridiculous. He’d just seen her a couple of days ago. The same night that strange man had appeared. And he had just fought with that strange man only moments ago. So they weren’t asleep. Unless April was dead or in trouble. Which Alvin still felt was a distinct possibility.
    Alvin stopped. “I really need to go back to my house.”
    “I told you. It’s useless.”
    “I have to try.”
    “You can spend the rest of your life trying. It won’t do any good. Look, I might be able to use your help. You help me and I’ll help you. Okay?”
    “Help you with what?”
    “I’ll tell you. But I have something for you to see first.”
    “Are there any sleepers at your place?”
    “No. It’s just me. Why?”
    “I’m just curious about them.”
    “Why?”
    “I’m not sure. Have you ever tried waking one of them up?”
    “Nope. I figure they’re asleep for a reason. Here we go.” The archer stopped at a long, low structure.
    “This is your house?”
    “This is part of it. Most of the house is underground. This is my warehouse. I call it the Shucking Room.”
    “The Shucking Room?” Alvin imagined corn.
    “You’ll see.”
    The archer pulled a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the barn-style door, sliding it back. He stepped into the structure and flipped a switch. Harsh fluorescent lights blared down from the ceiling. The light stinging his eyes, Alvin tried to make out what it was he was looking at.
    “Are those...”
    “Rades. Yeah.”
    There had to be ten of them. They weren’t moving. They were lined up in two rows, dangling from large hooks. There was another row of empty hooks hanging from the ceiling, coated in dull green.
    “What do you do with them?”
    “You’ll see.”
    “Do you mind if I wash up?”
    “Go ahead.”
    The archer motioned to an industrial sink in the back corner.
    The archer slid the door closed and snapped a padlock shut around a short chain. The floor of the Shucking Room was smooth concrete. The air held an ozone tang like before a storm.
    Alvin walked back to the sink. He turned the faucet on warm and splashed it over his face, trying to clean out his cheek and forehead wounds as best as possible. Once the water dripping from his face was clear, he switched it to cold and splashed some of that on his face to try and revive him. He pulled his t-shirt up and wiped his face with it. He began walking back toward the archer.
    The archer grabbed something like a metal cane, wrapped it around the top of one of the hooks, and pulled it toward a stainless steel slab. He donned a pair of thick rubber gloves that came up to his elbows and, grabbing the rade beneath the arms, lifted it off the hook. It made a sick meaty sound. He sat it on the slab. Then he took several steps, grabbed a large metal drum on wheels, and dragged it beside the table.
    “Can you bring that over here?” he nodded toward a metal canister, about the size of a soda can. Alvin grabbed it and brought it over.
    He sat the can-thing down beside the larger barrel. Then he remembered the piece of paper Ben