For the next 6 weeks, Sinister will be sharing "The Cellar Door," written by our friend Radical Face . Enjoy! - AMThe first time I did it by accident.The cat couldn't have been dead more than a couple hours. I don't know what got it, but it was something with teeth. My first thought was a dog, but that's just prejudice on my part. Could've been anything. I squatted next to it, curious and kinda sad. I reached out to poke her and my fingers instantly tingled, all electricity and swirling blood, but it wasn't unpleasant. They felt warm and fuzzy, like they'd been filled with soda pop left out in the sun.When I touched the cat, I felt the warmth move out of me and into the corpse. I was suddenly cold, my veins full of icicles, but I was fascinated and didn't let go. Before my eyes the wounds closed up, stitched by an invisible hand, and I felt my heartbeat match with hers. I have no name for what I felt. Probably because it was a bunch of things all at once. When I could no longer stand the ice cubes under my skin, I pulled my hand away. For a moment, nothing happened. I watched her and rubbed my arms and wondered if I had imagined it all. Then her eye moved and met mine, and she yawned and stood up.Mom didn't let me keep her. She shook her head, making a face, and said it looked half dead. I was disappointed, but her comment made me smile to myself. I enjoyed secrets. They made me feel important.I think the cat being freshly dead is the only reason it worked so easy. I quickly learned that the more rotten something was, the more it took out of you. I tried to bring back road kill a week after. Even giving it everything I had only brought the flattened raccoon back long enough for him to whimper, claw the air and return to the other side. I thought I was gonna vomit, the sides of my eyes going dark and my mouth filling with saliva, but instead I fainted. I woke up a half hour later, still nauseous, head pounding, and realized what I'd done -- that I'd only called him back long enough to feel pain and fear one last time.I didn't talk much for the rest of the week.