Contagious

The Brains of Audrey Allen

Once upon a time, I was the girl who hated seeing dead bodies.

It was my duty to save people, to present them with a miracle, to save their family years of heartache. Watching a patient being wheeled out under a blank white sheet not only killed a part of me, but it embedded a deep anxiety in me. I wasn't a perfect person; I wasn't a perfect doctor, and there were times when I hated myself for being a perfectionist. There was always something I could have done better, something that would have saved the now lifeless body that still managed to accuse me of failing at my job.

But now? Now I survived, quite literally, on seeing dead bodies. Murdered dead bodies, to be exact. My job was now to figure out who killed who and why. My new job has given me more spare time than I ever had when I was a doctor, but with spare time comes a big. Stupid. Void.

I pushed Major so far away, I'm not sure there's ever any hope in repairing what we were. Every time I thought there was hope for us, something new would shove its ugly head between us. And now that he's working for Max Rager...I'm not even sure if he's the same Major anymore.

My mom and Evan are still pissed at me. I don't blame them. From the outside, they saw that I had a chance to save Evan's life and I chose to let him die. I would be mad at me, too.

I scared Peyton off. She's finally back in town. Ravi gives me some updates when I ask, but it's quite clear that Peyton tells him not to talk about her to me. I thought she would surprise me on my birthday, but that was just false hope. No one showed up. Well...except Gilda. Funny, she's the person I know least about, yet she's the one I feel closest to right now.

Except when—you know, I eat the brains of some dead person and become them.

----

"Got a cold one for ya, hot off the press!"

Ravi's booming voice made Liv jump. She was in the backroom watching the news, though only half paying attention. She looked for chances to catch Peyton, hoping to hear a word or two that she would say to the public but would be secretly directed at Liv. But so far, Peyton was nothing but strictly professional, as per usual.

Liv glanced around the bend, just barely catching the EMT guys leaving the morgue. Ravi took control of the gurney, wheeling the covered body under a bright light and beside his metal table full of medical tools.

"Let me guess," she started, standing up and shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her white lab coat, "money, sex, and lies."

"Is there ever any other motive for murder?" Ravi asked sarcastically, snapping on his surgical gloves.

Liv pulled two gloves out of the box, "Just promise you'll let me know if the victim was a sexaholic before I do anything I'll regret."

"Can't promise anything; you'll be the one to find that out all on your own," he grabbed the top of the sheet, ready to reveal the body, when he shot her a look of disgust, "Just—try not to bring anyone here if that happens—," he frowned, "unsanitary and all that."

"I'll try my best to keep it in my pants at work," Liv shot back before taking it upon herself to pull the sheet down. She forgot to suppress a gasp of surprise when she saw the female victim's face.

"Audrey Allen. Thirty. Suffered multiple facial fractures; broken nasal bone, broken jaw, severe swelling and bruising around the eyes and mouth," Ravi rambled off what her saw physically. His finger moved along the body's throat, "Seems as though she got quite a punch to the throat. Wind pipe is completely collapsed."