It took William less than a minute to crack open the back door into the funeral home. It wasn’t a problem since security was minimal. ‘Now, we feed,’ he said to Michael. He was starting to get excited and his sense of smell led him to the embalming room. He discovered three bodies stored in the refrigerators. ‘Two males and a female,’ he whispered.
He quickly examined the bodies. Two had been embalmed, one hadn’t. They were fresh. William knew about necrology, including what went on in funeral homes. The embalming process involved draining blood from the veins, then injecting a formaldehyde-based fluid. Tubes connected to pumps were inserted into the carotid artery and the jugular vein. The next step involved emptying the internal organs of their fluids. After that, much of the work was cosmetic. The jaws of the dead were wired shut. The lips were arranged and sealed with some kind of glue. Eye caps were placed under each eyelid to prevent the eyeballs from sinking into the head. William pointed to a centrifuge, which was used to drain bodies of blood and other fluids. He began to laugh.’We won’t be needing that tonight.’
All his senses were heightened. He felt larger than life. His night vision was excellent. Nothing more than the illumination from a table lamp would be needed.
He walked to the last of three stainless steel tables and took the unembalmed body in his arms. He carried the dead, a woman in her early forties, to a nearby porcelain table.
William looked at his brother and gently rubbed his hands together. He took a deep breath. They had raided funeral homes before, and though it didn’t compare to a fresh kill, prey was prey. Besides, the dead woman was a fairly good physical specimen for her age. She was attractive and compared favorably to the female they had attacked and fed upon in San ............