Disturbia An Anthology of Thrillers

By Brandy Sparkman

A collection of thrillers and horror stories mark this anthology... 
Lowry can only hope to put the pieces back together in his life. A tragic car accident robs him of both his memory and his beloved girlfriend, Amanda. As time goes on, he slowly regains his memory....He was a medical student on his way to becoming a doctor like his father before him...Returning to medical school, parts of his memory remain dark until he enters his dissection class. Believing the body on the slab is his dead girlfriend, Lowry begins suffering flashbacks of that night...Memories of himself that should be left forgotten.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trellis Publishing
• Release date: Jun 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201117337

Book preview

DISTURBIA

BRANDY SPARKMAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DISTURBIA

BLOODSTREAM

YOUNG BLOOD

PALE BLOOD

I, VAMPIRE

VAMPIREVILLE

AMY’S LAST WORDS

The rain pelted my windshield in sheets. The rubber of the windshield wipers squeaked as they attempted to keep up with the rain.

I stared at the road. My eyes blank, the visibility limited to thirty percent due to the weather. I didn’t know where I was going or where’d I’d been. Everything from that night seemed like a blur.

Space and time seemed like illusions. The trees rushed by my windows, their branches reminding me of demented, twisted fingers.

It was then that I thought about my baby sister. I’d been coming back from somewhere and decided to visit her. I was so distracted I wasn’t able to move out of the way of the fallen branch.

It all happened so fast.

One minute I drove down the road towards the hospital to see my sister before the poison in her blood claimed her life and took her away from me forever. The next, all I can remember hearing is the crushing of metal against wood followed by the rolling of my car into the flooded ditch.

My ears rang like one of those channels on the television with the high pitch noise and multi-colored bars. My eyes blurred and my head throbbed giving me the indication I’d suffered from a concussion.

The smell of motor oil and smoke filled the inside of the car. I couldn’t move my leg and could feel my arm had been broken at the elbow.

A blaring horn in my ear helped me keep conscious enough to make out the blurry red and blue lights of the police cars and the ambulances as they put me in the back of the vehicle.

It seemed like hours passed before I heard the high pitch shrieking of some sort of machine – the Jaws of Life – prying open the crumpled doors so the fireman could haul me out of the car.

He laid me on the ground and called to the medics. The next thing I knew I had a collar around my neck to support it, being covered by a white sheet and secured to the gurney by belts.

Everything hurt as I was lifted into the back of the ambulance.

Sir, we need you to stay with us. Sir can you hear me? A voice, muffled yet concerned pulled me back into reality.

There was something over my mouth. A cold sting in my arm followed by a cool flowing of liquid in my veins told me I was in the back of an ambulance.

Sarah, I muttered in a muffled voice. My sister. Sarah.

Sir, you’ve been in an accident. Can you hear me? The medic shone the bright light of a flashlight in my eyes.

Her face never came into focus and soon all went black.

****

The next time I opened my eyes, I felt nothing but dull aches in every bone and muscle of my body with the smallest movement I made. I could hear the beeping of the machines; taste the fresh oxygen being pumped into my lungs.

My arm stayed secured at my side. My lungs hurt with every small breath I tried to catch. However, that wasn’t the worst part.

For some reason, I couldn’t remember anything. How I’d gotten there, what’d happened or where I’d been going or what I’d been doing prior to winding up in the bed of the hospital.

A nurse came into the room holding a clip board. She was a petite woman wearing the traditional scrubs, only these had Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck repeated in a pattern all over them against a pale pink background. I think I saw Tweety Bird there a few times.

When she saw I was awake, she got startled and raised her hand to her chest with a gasp. Goodness Mr. Lowry, you scared me.

Mr. Lowry? Was that my name? I couldn’t be sure so I took her at her word.

As she walked over the machines responsible for making sure I still drew breath, she mumbled under her breath and made scratching noises on the board.

Looks like you’re doing alright. Your mom and dad are in the lobby, should I let them come in?

Mom? Dad? I pondered. Sure, I nodded with hesitation. Yeah. Okay.

The man and woman whom I assumed to be my parents walked in, both with swollen eyes indicating they’d been crying.

My mom embraced me. Tyler, thank God you’re safe.

Um, I’m sorry but I don’t recognize you. You say you’re my mom. Could you tell me something about myself to help me remember?

The woman jerked back, staring into my eyes. She moved from me to go talk to the nurse and demanded a doctor be called into the room.

Within minutes, a local resident came into the room. A stethoscope decorated his neck. Thin rimmed glasses struggled to stay up on his nose covered in beads of sweat.

He took a flashlight and shone it in my eyes. Tell me, Mr. Lowry, do you remember anything? Anything at all?

I shook my head.

Ah, I see. Well, you did experience some severe head trauma. It’s possible some of your memory got lost.

Will I get them back? I asked, shaken at the thought of never remembering anything about myself.

The doctor shrugged. It’s hard to say. It’s a miracle you didn’t suffer any permanent brain damage. None that we could see. Take some time. Do some things that feel familiar. It could help.

Within a week, I was released from the hospital. My mom and dad helped me get back to the place I once called home. It was a small apartment in the higher end part of Miami but I barely recognized anything.

Are you going to be okay, Ty? My mom kissed my cheek.

I’m not sure. I can’t remember some of this, I walked into the kitchen and turned on the water. A brief memory of someone cooking flashed across my mind. I think I can manage. Thanks mom.

I bid the two of them goodbye but only after I stopped them, compelled to ask about my sister. My mom’s lowered; tearing eyes gave me the answer I looked for.

My sister was dead.

****

For the first few days in my apartment, I felt like I’d been abducted and taken to an alien world. It all seemed familiar, yet so strange.

I found a picture of a brunette with beautiful copper skin, bright brown eyes and a smile that warmed my heart the moment I looked at it holding my shoulders. Another showed us on the beach taking a selfie.

Who are you? I thought, knowing in my mind we were close.

The feeling only got stronger when I saw women’s clothing in the closet and lingerie in the drawers. Boxes labeled with her name littered the master bedroom. From what I could see, we were in the process of moving in together. I couldn’t help but wonder why she hadn’t visited me.

On the desk next to my computer lay a letter from a university addressed to me so I opened it. Inside, an offer to return to the pre-med program stared back at me in large gold and purple letters.

To keep myself busy and try to settle back into a routine, I got online and used the information scribbled in pen on the student portal to look through some of the documents, professors and classes I was taking prior to my accident.

The more I delved into the life I held, the more I began to feel like myself. My professors emailed me letting me know how sorry they were about my accident and my missing girlfriend.

A thought struck me. The woman in the photo must’ve been someone special to me. She wore a ring around her finger. The small object brought about a feeling of anger for reasons I didn’t understand.

Panic struck me when a name came crashing into the forefront of my mind: Alice Chambers. Her name added to the anger already there but also a great weight of sadness and guilt.

She didn’t visit me in the hospital but I had text messages on my phone from a few days ago. She’d begged me to talk about something, her words desperate but I either hadn’t been able to answer them or just plain refused to.

All I knew was she was special to me and I had to know what happened to her. I picked up her photo, ran out of the door, down to my car and to the police station.

****

I didn’t know how but I found my way to the police station. The woman at the front desk blew a large pink bubble of gum, popping it and drawing it back into her mouth.

Excuse me, I said, panting. I need to file a missing person’s report.

A passing officer stopped by the desk. I can take this Agnes, He addressed the woman. Come with me, sir.

I followed him to a small cubicle and sat in the chair next to him. All around us, officers at similar cubicles answered phones, hauled thrashing criminals to their holding cells or spoke to people at their desks.

Okay, so, first, what’s your name?

Tyler. Tyler Lowry.

Lowry? he exclaimed. As in the Tyler Lowry we pulled half-dead from a car not a week ago?

You know me? I replied.

I was one of the responding officers. Regis Detlav but you can call me Buck. Yeah, me and my partner were in the vicinity. I’m very glad you’re doing better. Now, tell me about your missing person. He pulled out a notepad.

I took the picture and showed it to him. Her name is Alice Chambers. She’s twenty-six. We live together but I haven’t seen her since I got home.

Buck took the notes as I described the situation. He responded by asking if anyone else had reported her missing to which I responded by telling him she didn’t have much family left. Her parents died in a boating accident, her sister from leukemia and what little she did have either abandoned her or acted like she didn’t exist.

Alright, we’ll begin our investigation. I would ask when the last time you saw her was but I know you’ve been suffering some amnesia. Give us some time. We’ll do what we can.

Buck’s reassurance wasn’t comforting but I didn’t have any other choice. I had no idea when I’d seen Alice last or what we’d been doing before the accident.

I do know she didn’t visit me in the hospital so she must have gone missing prior to my stay at the hospital.

With nothing more I could do, I left the station to go to the beach.

****

The picture of us at the beach helped me as I tried to find the spot it was taken. I went to the seaside bar to see if anyone remembered seeing me or Alice.

Yeah, I remember you, The bartender commented as he replaced a glass. You two were really tight. She flashed a really nice diamond ring and bragged about you giving it to her.

A diamond ring. I remembered from the photo. So, we were going to get married. Can you tell me where we went? I can’t seem to remember.

The bartender raised a scrutinizing eyebrow. Well, let’s see. She did mention going to a bonfire happening on the beach. I went with my girlfriend, myself. To my knowledge, the two of you danced and then left.

I thanked him and walked down the beach staring at the sand to try and trigger some sort of memory.

Though soft, I swore I began to hear the echo of Alice’s laughter in the back of my mind as I continued to walk. Sadness made my heart grow heavier with each step.

If only I could remember what happened. Did I say something? Did we fight? I raised the heel of my hand to my head.

The sound of rain on the windshield, the squeaking of the rubber of the windshield wipers and then, anger. I’d been angry when I was driving. Angry and sad.

****

The following morning, I went to my first pre-med class, not wanting to waste any more time. The police hadn’t called me about any updates and I decided pacing the floor wasn’t doing anything so I found it best to stay busy.

Alright, we’re going to start this new semester with a bang. First, I’d like to express how glad I am to see you back Mr. Lowry. We’ll talk after class about getting you caught up.

Thank you, Professor Stevens. I replied with a slight bow of my head.

A gurney wheeled into the room with a plastic bag I recognized as a body bag from my years of watching forensic files and shows on TV.

My gut sank into a swirling pit of nausea. The thought of seeing an actual cadaver made my palms begin to sweat with anxiety and excitement.

Okay, I want to make this clear, if this disturbs you in any way, you are free to leave the lab but know it will hurt your final score. Professor Stevens said, unzipping the plastic.

I stumbled back the moment I saw the body. It was Alice. Her hair lie matted and spread out on the cold metal table.

This poor girl was found dumped in a drainage pipe outside of the oil plant. There was nothing to identify her body so she was labeled a Jane Doe. Now, can someone tell me what the first step is..

I cut the professor off. She’s not a Jane Doe! That’s Alice Chambers! She’s my girlfriend!

The entire class turned to stare at me. I felt my heart beat so rapidly I thought I was going to faint.

The professor ended the class and took me to his office to help me calm down. Tyler, how do you know that girl?

I told you, she’s my girlfriend. I filed a missing person’s report on her yesterday. She hadn’t been home since I got out of the hospital, nor did she visit me.

Professor Stevens offered me a bottle of water from the mini-fridge behind his desk. Alright, take your time. I know you mentioned in your email that you’d been suffering from amnesia. What can you tell me? Think carefully.

I closed my eyes tight. Loud voices rang in