Read The Adventures of Lazarus Gray for Free Online Page B

They encase themselves in those
rocky exteriors to survive the rigors of space. I first learned of
them a few years ago when a man sold me several of the creatures,
still in their capsules. I cracked one open and imagine my surprise
at what I found: a tiny little monster with an insatiable desire
for the kind of moisture found only in living things. After I
witnessed its habit of burrowing behind the eyes of its
still-living victims, I came up with the idea of surgically
implanting them, making them far stronger."
    "And to what purpose? Just
to show how sick human beings can be?"
    Pemberley knelt in front of
her, holding her hands in his. "You’re the prototype to not only a
new form of life – a melding of human and aquaas – but also the
first of an entirely new type of soldier. Imagine a whole army of
men and women who can kill without guns or knives. All they’ll need
is their eyes."
    "I think I’ve heard
enough."
    Pemberley stood up quickly
and whirled about. Morgan Watts was pulling himself in through the
window, a pistol clutched tightly in his right hand. "Morgan
Watts?" Pemberley asked in shock.
    "I’m flattered you remember
me, Doc."
    "I remember everyone. I’m a
genius."
    "And a modest one, to
boot." Morgan waved the gun at Pemberley, indicating he should step
away from Wilma. He did so and the girl looked at Morgan in
confusion. "Don’t worry, doll, I’m getting you out of here. I work
for Lazarus Gray and if there’s any man alive who can get that
thing out of your head, he’s the one."
    "It seems like you have the
upper hand," Pemberley admitted. "I should warn you that I have an
armed guard outside who is twice your size and three times as
deadly."
    Morgan was about to reply
when he heard a series of thumps from downstairs, followed by a
gasp that sounded disturbingly familiar. In a split-second he
realized what was happening: Samantha had managed to find her way
inside and come toe-to-toe with the guard that Pemberley had just
described.
    In that moment when
Morgan’s attention was divided, Pemberley sprang toward him. The
crazed doctor batted aside the hand holding the pistol and he then
proceeded to throw a haymaker punch that caused Morgan’s entire
body to snap around. Pemberley then slammed Morgan’s head into the
wall hard enough to chip the paint.
    As Morgan fell to the
floor, groaning in pain, Pemberley snatched up Wilma by the wrist,
holding it so tightly that the girl whimpered in pain. "We have to
get out of here," he hissed. "I have plans for you and I can’t
afford any of Gray’s minions getting in the way."
    "Please," Wilma cried,
"just kill me! I can’t go on like this!"
    Pemberley laughed then, a
maniacal sound that so frightened the girl that she fainted in his
arms. "No death for you," he hissed through grinning lips. "You
won’t be so lucky, my dear."
     
    ***
     
    Morgan Watts felt something
cool and wet press against his forehead and he winced in pain. He
opened his eyes to find himself on a couch, Samantha perched beside
him, looking concerned. "Where’s Pemberley?" he asked, trying to
sit up but quickly laying back down when his head throbbed in
agony.
    "He’s gone," Lazarus Gray
answered, stepping into view. Eun was right behind him, the young
man looking troubled and more than a little angry. "We arrived a
few moments ago and Samantha filled us in as much as she could. You
ran into the doctor himself, I presume?"
    "I did. He had the girl
with him, too. The one with the Phantom Eyes. I heard him talking
to her. She’s got some sort of monster in her head
and--"
    "We know all about that,"
Eun said, smirking a bit. He always liked knowing more than Morgan
– it was a competition between the two. "Do you know where he’s
taken her?"
    "No. I know he said he had
some kind of plans but that’s all I could hear before I blacked
out."
    Lazarus turned away, having
already examined Morgan. He knew that the man was going to be
hurting and unsteady for a bit more but there