Read Fan Fears: A collection of fear based stories for Free Online

silence between them, the only sound that of the milk as it spilled out onto the floor. She barely recognized him as the same man. He had lost weight, and a salty stubble peppered his cheeks. He looked exhausted and frustrated. She glanced to the glass patio doors and saw that they had been forced open. In the back of her mind, she realized she hadn't even set the intruder alarm.
    “You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered, backing against the counter top.
    “No, I shouldn't. But because of you, I am.”
    “I’ll scream. They’ll hear me outside.”
    Ashba twisted his lips into something that could be considered a smile. “Don’t worry, I didn't come here to hurt you. I'm not the monster you think I am, despite you ruining my life. I came to ask you why you did it.”
    “You know why I did it. You had those pictures....”
    “You illegally accessed confidential information that had nothing to do with you.”
    “You left me alone with your computer.” she fired back.
    “Not to look there. Where’s the justice? All I did was try to help you, and you do this.”
    “You had those pictures, don’t put this on me.”
    “It didn't interfere with my work,” Ashba snapped. “You’ve ruined me. My career, my life...all gone.”
    “You can't blame me for this. You’re sick, you need help.”
    “You were sick once, you needed help. And who gave it to you?” Ashba said, his voice flat and toneless.”
    “That’s not fair.”
    “Life is unfair. You will find that out very soon.”
    Colleen lurched for the knife block, and pulled out the carving knife, holding it in front of her. “You stay away from me.”
    Ashba made no effort to approach, nor was he intimidated. He folded his hands in front of him and smiled. “This isn't some low-rent horror movie. I'm not about to attack you. Despite what you have done, I’m still a respectable man.”
    “Then why have you come here?”
    “To ask you a question.”
    “What question?”
    “How do you feel?”
    The question was unexpected, and she hesitated. “What do you mean?”
    Ashba shrugged. “I mean how have you been feeling? Anxious? Lethargic perhaps.”
    She didn't answer, even though he was right. Ashba went on.
    “How do you feel right now? After all, there is an intruder in your home. A man with nothing to lose who could well hold a grudge. You’re facing off with him, knife in hand, alone and with no help. Surely that would get the adrenaline flowing, cause the heart rate to increase in tempo. Not for you, though, you feel calm. Your heart rate is still at its resting pace, isn't it?”
    It was the revelation she had been waiting for. That was why she didn't feel right. Under the circumstances, her heart should have been thundering, but was only beating at its regular tempo. “What have you done to me?” she asked, lowering the knife.
    Ashba smiled, enjoying the moment. “Remember in my office, before you ran away to the police and told them what you had found, how we were talking about your new pacemaker and all of its wonderful abilities?”
    Colleen nodded.
    “Well, as with any software driven piece of equipment, it can be manipulated if someone knew how to do such a thing.”
    Colleen dropped the knife on the floor. “What have you done to me?”
    “Two days ago, I uploaded a firmware update to your pacemaker. Its programming routine was quite small. Gradually, over a predetermined time which I won't disclose to you here, your heart rate will be brought down, decreased by the machine in your chest until it simply stops beating.”
    Colleen didn't know how to react. She was frozen, desperate to find some kind of lie written on Ashba's haggard face and seeing none.
    “Don't bother trying to seek help from another doctor, only I can change it. The rest of your medical records have been purged from the hospital records, which means new tests will have to be done. Lengthy tests which far exceed the timeline given to the new firmware. There are