Page 78 of Eat Me Alive
It’s my responsibility. I have to go first. Without a word, I inch into the crawlspace. It’s not dark inside like I feared, but thebrilliant glow of violet here hurts my eyes. I scoot more and rise to my feet, finally seeing the thing before me.
It’s a tree, but I can’t make sense of what species it is. It is as wide as a wall, tall enough I can’t see where it ends. The leaves have a pale sickly violet glow while the bark pulses the same light.
There’s another thunderous growl—and one thing is for sure—those sounds originate here. The closer I look, the more I see. The curls, knots of the periderm become a gruesome display. I am experiencing pareidolia—the very human tendency to see faces on inanimate objects.
But pareidolia doesn’t show you your childhood monster’s face. His bulbous stomach. I gasp and back away, nearly knocking over Winnie.
“That explains the weird vibrations! This place needs some rain!”
“Rain. Again. How do I make it rain in a place that hasn’t rained in decades?” My voice has become shrill and panicked.
“You serious?”
“I am for fucking real.”
“This place is a hundred percent magic apart from the boat and that pump. I’m just an engineer, I’m sorry.”
Thoughts slam over me as an urge to stuff anything down my mouth overcomes me. I look at Winnie, and she is unappetizing at best. She carries with her the stench of metal. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
“You okay, lady?”
I drop to my knees, and she jumps up and climbs over a vine, hooking her legs to keep her up.
“What are you doing?! You’re sniffing around like a dog!”
Her voice is giving me a migraine. I snarl and breathe in the ground. My hands feel every pound underneath. Every slam cuts me farther away from coherence. I need something in my mouth, down my gullet,NOW.
A glowing fungus catches my eye and I practically stumble over and shove them into my mouth.
“Bloody hell, lady! Are you all just fucking insane here?”
As it goes down my throat, her words echo…
Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here? Are we all just fucking insane here?
My body caves, and I feel like I am falling down a gutter of memories. All buried, but no matter how much you bury the past…
“It will always come back.” I pant as I attempt to wipe the cold sweat off my forehead. I’m incredibly weak, but my sight is clear. I feel like a child again as I watch the bark. The patterns.
It’s him. The monster is petrified into the tree.
I blink and I’m eight years old again. I’m back in my room with the monster, shuddering as I fight the fear when he turns off my capybara night light.
“You’re already a big girl, you shouldn’t be having night lights.”
I’m afraid to make a sound. My teeth make hair-raising grinding, rubbery noises as I clack and grind them together. Like that thing who ate the monster inside my room, but it doesn’t do that to hold back a scream. It does it to let the monster know it’s there. Like a twister of black gums and sharp tenterhook teeth, it engulfs him, slicing through his skin until he is all but adipose and guts.
The mouth swallows his skin first before the rows of teeth whip along his pathetic body and stab, grind him with hypnotic precision.Twist, crunch, twist, crunchuntil there is nothing to twist. Until all that’s left is a bloody room and me hidden under my blanket, shaking.
Before the thing that ate the monster leaves, it glows, telling me not to panic. A ghost-like figure turns on my night light, and as soon as it’s on, it’s gone, only leaving blood.
Barely conscious in a feverish haze, I realize Winnie is hauling me out of the cave, calling for help.
I have to close my eyes…
Datu
My sweet dreamer is ill. She suffers the same affliction as Sateva. The irrational need to feed on anything they lay their eyes upon.
