Piper did as she was told and rolled their metal cot to the foot end of the dead man’s recliner. The closer she inched, the stronger the smell became. 

“I know kid, it’s nasty, but it’s gotta get done.” Nichols pulled the velvet colored cot cover away and threw it onto the floor, unbuckling the black straps attached to it. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just-”

“It’s alright. You’ll get more used to it the more you see it. Now do me a favor and tie the toe tag around his big toe.” Nichols handed Piper the already filled out tag from her pocket. Piper took it into her gloved hand and reached forward, trying desperately to avoid touching the corpse’s grotesquely long toenails. She tied it as tightly as she could in her state of distress and stepped back, waiting on Nicky’s next instruction. Nicky laid an unzipped body bag across the top of the cot. 

“What we’re gonna do, is we’re each gonna grab an ankle. He’s a big guy and he’s been down a few days. So his skin might slide off. If that happens, don’t let go, grab on tighter and keep pulling.” 

Piper grimaced at the thought. 

“When we pull him he’s gonna slide outta the recliner, onto the cot, on top of the body bag. That’s when we’ll zip him up, buckle him in, raise the cot up, cover him, and get the hell outta here. Sound like a plan?” She asked, running her tongue over her front teeth. 

“Yeah.” Piper nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” 

“Let’s do it.” 

They each took a hold of one of the man’s ankles. Piper on the left of him, Nicky on the right. 

“1…2…3! Pull!” Nicky exclaimed. 

They pulled with all their might, Piper straining as she did. Just as Nicky had warned, the man’s skin began to slide off in Piper’s hands. 

“Oh god!” Piper cried. 

“Yep!” Nicky replied. 

Piper kept pulling, trying desperately to keep her cool and ignore the slimy, squishy texture under her fingers. As they pulled the man a gurgling sound escaped his throat and stomach acid began to pour out from between his lips, worsening the smell that was already so thick in the stuffy apartment. He slid relatively easily from the recliner to the cot, leaving a large black stain on the brown fabric of the chair.