Content

Cover Page

Ryan's Taxidermy and Kidnapping

A Short Horror Story

Written By;

Alex Harmony Sage

Dedication

Thank you to my family, my friends, and my future in-laws.

Words: 11,030

05/06/2021

Derry, New Hampshire 03038

Table of Content

Table of Contents:

Chapter One; Popped
Chapter Two; Gardening
Chapter Three; First Night
Chapter Four; Nutrition
Chapter Five; Freed
Chapter Six; Perfect
Chapter Seven; Stand-Off

Chapter One; Popped

It had taken an hour just to get there, but she had finally made it. ‘Ryan’s Taxidermy and Animal Preservation’ was a small shop on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. The only other vehicle in the lot, assumedly, was Ryan’s. Macy pulled in next to him and parked.

She took a moment to breathe before collecting the blanket her pet was wrapped in. She got out of her car and locked it up behind. She paused to peer at her reflection in the window. Evidence of her tears were still fresh on her face. She positioned her rabbit in the crook of her arm to adjust her makeup and brush her dark curls from her face. Satisfied she didn’t look as distraught; she approached the building.

As she reached for the handle, she noticed it was a chunk of polished amber, with a spider encased within. Neat. She turned it and entered, a chime announcing her presence.

“Morning. Welcome to Ryan’s taxidermy; I’m Ryan. Looking for anything specific?” she turned her attention to a thin and pale man. He was covered in tattoos of animal skulls and random bones. His hair was overgrown, sitting messily atop his head.

“Hi Ryan, I’m Macy. I was hoping I could get my rabbit taxidermized?” she asked, wondering if that was even the right word. He looked her up and down, almost as if he were irritated, before gesturing for her to follow him. He led her to the register counter.

“Was it a pet?” he snipped, turning on the computer that sat next to the register.

“Yes, her name was Miss Honey. She never got bigger than ten pounds,” she had to take another deep breath before the waterworks broke loose.

“Okay. And what do you want me to do to her? Soft-mount her? Mount her? Clean the bones?” she placed the blanket on the counter, unsure. While he waited for an answer, he less than gently unraveled the blanket. Miss Honey flopped with a thud onto the counter. Macy shut her eyes as a pang of hurt flared in her stomach and chest. What was the deal with this guy?

“Soft-mount please. And I would like to keep her bones. My friend wants to articulate her for me and put her in a display case,” she managed to find her voice.

“Mm. She’s not frozen. You just . . . wrapped her up and drove her here?” he asked, disgust dripping from his words. She swallowed, feeling embarrassed and out of place. She had no idea what she was doing.

“Er, no. I found her this morning and just . . .,” she let her sentence trail off rather than simply repeat what he had said.

“So, did you call and make an appointment, Macy? Because your name is not in my system, nor do I recall speaking to a ‘Macy’ on the phone,” he asked, letting Miss Honeys leg thud to the counter as he turned his attention back to the monitor.

“Appointment?” she squeaked, holding back from stroking her baby. Ryan sighed and leaned forward to run his hands down his face.

“This is how this usually works, ma’am. You call me, you tell me what it is you have, and what you want done with it. After that, I quote you and set you up in my system for an appointment. You freeze your critter until then, and we go from there. Just showing up with expectations that because you’re new to this I’ll help you out?” he picked up the blanket with a thumb and his index finger and dropped it into the garbage at his feet, finishing the point of his sentence. He pushed the rabbit back towards her with a pen. She tensed her jaw.

“Fine. I’ll take my rabbit and that blanket back and sort this out at home,” she huffed. He stared at her. She simply stared back, getting irritated herself. He didn’t have to be such a prick about this, and why did he throw out that blanket?! He had no right.

“Uhm, can I have that blanket back?” she asked, attitude seeping into her voice.

“Sorry, I’m not picking through the trash,” he shrugged.

“You’re joking. It’s literally right on top of the empty can!” she raised her voice, leaning over the counter to point at it.

“I’ll be happy to set you up an appointment and- . . . ma’am, this is employees only! You need to step back!” he warned as she walked around the counter and unhooked the chain. She dropped the chain and walked over to the trash to fetch the blanket. Before she could grab Miss Honey, Ryan had a hold of her back legs. Macy grabbed her by the front shoulders, refusing to let go.

“What are you doing?! Let me go!” she shouted.

“You need to leave!” he shouted back, tugging hard. She tugged even harder, and Miss Honey couldn’t take it. Her eyes popped out of their sockets, her tongue and some meat poured from her mouth, and tissue was pushed from her anus.

Macy screamed and let go, horrified at the shape of her baby. Ryan let go, and the body fell to the floor before rolling under the counter. Ryan grabbed the blanket from her and wrapped it around her throat, pulling her up against

Imprint

Publisher: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Publication Date: 05-08-2021
ISBN: 978-3-7487-8218-6

Dedication:
Thank you to my family, my friends, and my future in-laws.

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