Hey, if you enjoyed my first novel Dead Body Girl and wondering if there's some more wacky Kari adventures, the answer is Yes! I'm currently working on book 2, but it's just not ready for release yet. Don't worry, it's coming soon! But until then here's a little sneak peek of Dead Body Girl 2: Mad House Shadow. Please keep in mind that this novel is still in the editing process, so there might be some changes to the first episode before it's officially released. Though this may be a little rough around the edges, please enjoy!

I woke up in a bed that wasn't mine.

To be fair, I'm not sure it was anyone's. Hospital beds aren't really owned, they're just kind of borrowed.

I had been in enough hospital rooms to recognize the standard sanitary drab look.

I knew it was the middle of the day not because of light coming through a window, there wasn't any, but by the light setting. They always turned the lights down to "Useless Dim" setting if it was night. And if it was morning, the lights would be on and there would be the sounds of all the staff bustling around, getting patients ready for the day.

It was pretty quiet here.

Wow, afternoon, huh?

Last thing I remember was whooping Mortis Rex's ass, and that had definitely been in the middle of the night, so I had been asleep for like hours.

I lifted and inspected one arm and then the other, I looked fine. In fact, I felt fine. I felt a hell of a lot better than I had been last night, that's for damn sure.

Hmm, I am kind of hungry though.

Maybe I should buzz a nurse with the call button?

Nah, my back's a little stiff from laying around too much, I might as well get up and move around. A little walking will do me some good.

Maybe the nurses will just point me to the cafeteria so I can pick out what I want to eat, instead of getting whatever they think would be good for me.

Probably vegetables.

I was grumbling a bit by the time I waddled out to the nurse’s desk just a few paces down the hall.

See Uncle Jiro, even the thought of veggies put me in a bad mood.

Not wanting to take any chances, I started with what I really wanted.

"Hey, could you point me to the cafeteria? I’m kind of hungry. I feel fine, so I think I can walk there, no problem."

The nurse at the desk glance up at me then back down at some paperwork. She paused than whipped her head back up to stare at me, her eyes popping wide open.

"M-Miss Kari? Y-You're up?!"

That was a weird reaction to a simple question.

I tilted my head to one side.

"Yeah, so what?"

She stumbled over her chair a little bit, as she hurried to stand.

"You're awake!"

I slowly nodded.

"Yup."

She scurried around the desk over to me. She was kind of flapping her hands around, seriously flustered.

"H-here, let me get you a chair. You should rest."

What was she talking about? I had literally just gotten out of bed, why would I need to rest?

As she zipped around grabbing a wheelchair tucked into a little supply nook and scooted it over to me, she was tapping at her delicate little headset and hurriedly talking to someone else.

"Regina, Miss Kari is up. Page Dr. Michaels immediately. No, I didn't get her up, she's up on her own, talking, and everything."

Umm, of course I got up on my own and am talking, I'm not even hurt. Why aren't you focusing on the more important thing of me getting food?

One by one more nurses showed up, all of them seemed overjoyed that I was awake, all reassured me that the doctor would be there soon, all insisted that I had to sit in the stupid wheelchair even though I didn't need it or want it, none of them brought me food.

Yeah, by the time the doctor finally showed up a few minutes later, I was not a happy puppy. My arms were crossed over my chest, my mouth was pressed into a grumpy little frown, and my head was tilted to one side ala Jiro's patented thug style.

The doctor was kind of young, I was used to more old people, and he had a huge smile when he strolled into the little waiting area in front of the nurse’s desk. Honestly, he looked kind of fake. He swung his arms open wide as if he was swooping in to hug me.

“Miss Kari! I hear you went on a little adventure.”

A little adventure? What the hell was he talking about? Did he mean going toe-to-toe with Mortis Rex? It’s not like I had a choice in the matter.

He squatted down in front of my wheelchair, grabbed my chin and started turning my head this way and that, and then started talking to the nurses surrounding me, as if I wasn’t even there.

“So, you said she walked on her own? Is this about the time of day when she would be gotten up for her walk? Maybe she’s just repeating routine? It could also indicate more use of higher brain functions, or at least some connection.”

After ignoring me, he then up and whipped out a flashlight and shined it right in my eyeballs!

Needless to say, I flinched the hell away from that shit.

“Holy shit! Warn a girl when your going to blind her!”

The idiot doctor with the flashlight fetish nearly fell on his ass, he leaned away from me so fast.

After a second of windmilling his arms, he finally jabbed a finger at me.

“She talked!”

Why was this such a shock to these people? Do their patients never talk to them? Maybe that’s a personality problem and not the patients problem? Maybe they shouldn’t be going around shining lights in people’s faces?!

After that, he insisted on testing me out like I was his new toy or something. I had to state my name, what city I was in, what was the date. He kept feeling up my neck as I talked. Then he had me lift my arms one by one, had me stand up, take a step forward, take a step back, sit back in the wheelchair, get up from the wheelchair. Over and over again, he had me do this shit. The whole time I had an audience of nurses staring at me like I was the freak show of the century. At no point did someone offer to get me some food.

After all that, they just wheeled me back into the same damn room I started in. All that shit, and I still didn’t get anything to eat. I swear, why did I even bother getting out of bed?

When food was brought to my room (Finally) and all I got was soup that tasted like dirty water and jello that also tasted like dirty water.

Hmm, maybe I’m not so hungry?

The only thing good that happened since I woke up was the nurse mentioning, after dropping off my dirty water meal, that they had contacted my family.

Great!

Once someone shows up, I’m going to make them find a vending machine and get me a whole arm load of real food, like Toaster Tarts, or those giant soft cookies that came in foil packets, or chips. Yeah, chips weren’t a bad option.

Hmm, I really hope it isn’t Jiro that shows up first, he’d probably insist on going down to the cafeteria to get some nasty veggie sticks for me or something.

Before I had much time to even think about it, I heard a soft tread at the door.

When I lifted my eyes to the sound, Noah was there. He just stood there staring at me. He didn’t have his shocked bunny eyes on, it was more like he was stunned, his face frozen between one breath and the next.

Whateve’s, I’m HUNGRY!

“Noah! Noah! You gotta help me. I am literally starving to death. You need to ransack the nearest vending machine for some snacks.”

Noah barely moved his mouth when he spoke. His voice not even a whisper, just a puff of breath.

“Kari?”

Noah was definitely acting kind of weird, but I was focused on the goal.

“Okay, I want you to be looking for things like cookies, and snack cakes, and uhh, maybe candy, but I’d rather go with chips.”

Noah blinked twice, his eyes looked a little red around the edges.

“Kari?”

I was jabbing my finger at Noah with every key point.

“You can just skip the veggie packs or the sandwiches, or like the protein shakes they sometime stuff in there to trick people into eating healthy shit.”

Noah’s trembling hands came up to cover his mouth. Tears finally over flowed from the corners of his eyes and were trailing down his face.

Woah, seriously, what was up with Noah? Did something really bad happen? Was the family okay?

“N-Noah, you know what? Don’t worry about the snacks, I’m g –“

Before I could even finish, Noah had bolted across the hospital room and tackled me into his arms. He shoved his face into the crook of my neck and was shaking me so hard, I was worried about my neck getting injured. It took me a moment to realized he was crying that hard. He was shaking from head to toe and just straight up sobbing on my shoulder.

Holy shit, what happened?!

“Noah, Noah, shhhh, shhhh. It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.”

Of course, I knew this was all lies. I didn’t even know what happened, I had no clue if things were going to be okay or not. But damn, seeing Noah like this nearly had me in tears too.

He just kept sobbing.

“Kari, Baby, you’re back. Kari. Kari. My angel.”

I was still juggling with trying to get Noah calmed down enough to tell me what happened, when Jiro showed up a few minutes later.

Jiro’s reaction was toned down by about a thousand, but I could still tell that he was super upset too. His forehead had a tense, pinched look. His mouth was pressed into a thin line. His jaw was all clenched up and his eyes definitely look a little watery.

Oh gods, seriously, what happened?

I noticed too late that there wasn’t a little bundle of sunshine being toted around in Jiro’s arms. She could just be at day care, or . . .

Shit, shit, shit, is Tina okay? Is that what everyone is freaking about?

Jiro trudged across the room and wrapped both me and the weepy Noah up in his arms.

Really? Noah too? That wasn’t like Jiro.

My voice was a whole lot more warbly than it had been a moment ago.

“Is everything okay? Did something really bad happen.”

Please let Tina be okay. Please let Tina be okay.

I felt more than saw Jiro shake his head.

“No, everything is alright now, Kari. You’re back, and everything’s going to be alright.”