Page 65 of Eat Me Alive
Their silly googly eyes widen, a delirium taking precedence over sanity.
The bellow, “FINALLY!!!” when I pick them up, shoving them straight into my mouth. I don’t chew, I swallow them dry. I can feel them dancing for joy in my gullet. They arehappyto be eaten. I gag, bile rising to my throat but I clamp my mouth shut and swallow it back down. They’re in my belly, still celebrating and it doesn’t help when it makes my belly ache.
Sick to my stomach, I groan and rise, careful not to jostle too much (and failing).
“Such a good girl,”The voice praises me.
I prop myself up on a tree, reminding myself to blink every now and then. Natural bodily functions are becoming hard to remember. I’m leaking icy sweat, my vision becoming a surrealistic scene. I’m unshackled from some set of unwritten rules of the universe. I’m seeing colors I never know existed.
“Oh, my god, I’m high!” Comes my scream of terror.
“Don’t fight it or you’ll have a bad trip.”The sound is a rumble in the earth.
Waves of teeth head my way, and I’m too blitzed to even move away. I just whimper, hoping it won’t hurt me.
Random words cross my mind. “Psilocybin with legs.” I gasp into the sky where I see a comet pass. I see a whole other universe in the sky before the world beats down on me. I am not doing well as I fight for sanity. For control. Have you ever been so hyperaware of everything, but your body’s drunk?
I feel the need to crawl away from the forest. Shockingly, I still remember the path I took. The teeth surround me, coiling around my ankles then twisting up like a tornado.
“You sliced my cock off, Xiaoyu. Whatever do I do with you?”The voice sounds playful like it isn’t mad of what I just did.
“You put it in my goddamn mouth while I was asleep!” Have you heard someone screech and slur at the same time? That’s me, I’m screech and slur.
Everything’s in slow motion as the rows of carnassials form into a bigger, blacker thing. It’s a mouth, but it isn’t cute and adorable like the thing in my dreams.
“Come inside me, my sweet dreamer.”
Right before my eyes is a swirl of white teeth with black, rotting gums. Like the trees, it likes to clack its teeth, but it doesn’t do it the regular way. Instead, the teeth move individually and—like dominos—shimmies one direction to the next.
“The least you can do now is let me eat you.”
Horror isn’t registering. I feel invincible as I say, “Don’t hold your breath.” I fumble for my knife and the ground tosses it through the mouth. I watch in dismay as it disappears.
“Aren’t you gonna get your knife?”
I swallow thickly. Something chokes me by the neck seeing nothingness inside. “No.” Why the hell am I even responding to this piece of shit? I look around for a space I can squeeze out of.
I groan as the very center of the gullet glows.
“Come, it’s not dark inside.”His voice is gentle as the colors change.
For a moment, I choke back tears. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. It’s not hypnosis that makes me finally step into the mouth, it’s the all-consuming urge to take a weapon. With all my reckless strength, I dig my nails into the root of a tooth, ripping it out. I cackle as soon as I find out my plan works.
With the smallest tooth in my hands, I run like a mad woman and slip out of the mouth—into freedom.
Before I step out of the treeline though, I hear hysterical laughter.
Xiaoyu
I’m very aware I’m being followed by him.
I’ve yet to sit down and evaluate, but right now, I need a safe place to stay. As I jog, I pass by a lot of animals three sizes too big. A centipede winds my way, and I see it has something laid on top of its brown platings. It makes me stop and look.
Blinking, I pick up the cloth and see it’s a dress made out of stitched up leather. It has a pattern that should ring a bell…but everytime I think too much, it slips away. It’s not a very nice one, but a dress all the same. I look down and see that I might as well be naked. My clothes are torn, covered in god knows what. There’s obviously no one except that creep with the teeth around so I slip out of my rag and into these new clothes.
“Mmmm, do you like it?”
I jump at the question.
