Read Good & Dead #1 for Free Online Page A

you knew that the play is cancelled tonight,” he said, clicking the internet icon.
    “Did she say what happened?”
    “Yeah,” Michael said, “a woman was murdered.”  His computer did not respond.  Michael walked across the room to the fridge and searched in the freezer for the bag of peas.
    “No way,” Randy said, “in the alley behind the theatre?”
    “Yeah,” Michael said flatly, “right behind the theatre.”
    “That’s crazy,” Randy replied.  There was a long silence in which Randy pondered the information in a boyish, adventure movie kind of way, and Michael tried hard to get her lily white skin and dirty hair out of his mind.
    Michael cleared his throat.  “We’re going on tomorrow night, though.”
    “Alright.  Hey, do you want to play tonight, then?  I bet the guys don’t have anything going on.” 
    On any other occasion, Michael would have loved to play D&D.  He pressed his cold palm to his forehead and stared down at his binder full of adventure notes and character sheets.
    “I don’t think so,” Michael replied, “I don’t have an adventure planned.”
    “C’mon, Dungeon Master!” Randy teased. “You gotta keep your group happy!”
    “I gotta pass my classes,” Michael said, and stay sane , he thought, as he shoved the peas under the computer and clicked the icon again.
    “You suck.”
    “Alright, you lead the next campaign,” Michael said irritably.
    “You alright, man?  I’m just picking at you.”
    “I don’t know,” Michael said with a sigh.  He didn’t like anything that was happening- it was traumatic at best, but it was lying to his childhood friend that was pushing him over the edge and into panic.  “I guess I’m still not feeling great,” Michael said apologetically.
    “Did you ‘google’ it?” Randy asked.
    “I’m trying to get my stupid laptop to work.”
    “Ah.  Peas?”
    “Yup,” Michael listened as Randy hummed the tune from Jeopardy.
    “Well, this is really boring,” Randy said after a few moments.  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.  Unless you find out it’s something contagious.  Then please call right away.”
    “Very good,” Michael said, and shut the phone.
    The internet finally came up.  Michael had wanted to be left alone, and now that he was, he didn’t know what to do.  He folded his arms on his makeshift desk and put his head down.  His mind was fighting hard to stay in denial.  He didn’t want to be figuring out this problem.  He wished he could just remember what had happened…and wished he never would.  He wasn’t foolish enough to think he could just tell the cops the truth: “I don’t remember anything from last night” would not go over well.  He knew that if he did that, he would be a suspect.  He wondered if he had left any DNA in the alley.
    He pushed thoughts of police and investigations from his mind and focused on his symptoms.  Maybe he could solve that problem, at least.  He stared at the search bar, half wishing it would just give him the answer without any effort on his part.  Okay.  I’ll just type my symptoms .  
    Cold skin, enhanced sense of smell, enhanced sense of hearing, enhanced reflexes, and memory loss.
    Google’s first few results were terribly depressing.  The first was “signs of dying”, which then listed variations of his symptoms.  The second told him he had no nervous system.  The third was a Wikipedia article explaining the senses.  Michael sighed.  He didn’t know what he expected the computer to tell him.  He looked to the right, in the ad bar, where a sparkly graphic got his attention. 
    “Take our quiz to see what kind of vampire you are!”
    Michael laughed .  Great.  Google Ads thinks I’m a vampire .  Then he stopped laughing. 
    In his mind’s eye he could see those two garish red wounds ripped into her white throat.
    “That’s not possible,” Michael said aloud, trying to calm himself but finding his voice filled with fear.