Eaten

I was never scared of anything during the daytime, but at night, the creepy-crawlies wreaked havoc with my mind. I lived in a tightly packed community in the boonies. From my back window, I could see the glamourous shimmer of dazzling city lights in the distance, but this was still the boonies.

So far, I'd lived a boringly regular life if I were to be my own judge. I went to the local schools, swam in the same local rivers, ate at local restaurants, and enjoyed occasional local festivals like everyone else.

Despite my home being remote, the community was vast. Along with a massive grid of homely houses, it had buildings that were unusual and impressive for its remoteness. We had our own everything, so we seldom went to the city. Even the main river that flowed through the big city actually starts somewhere in the middle of the massive forest that enclosed us.

You would think that we would grow up and venture to the city like in the movies, but no. City folks were strange, and we did not like strange much. Everyone who has left the village had returned without ever leaving again. That's enough proof that there is nothing to covet in the city.

Still, it is my dream to write movies to be watched in the big theatres of the city. I want to be a famously mysterious novelist and script writer. Noone would know where to find me, but everyone would love my movies.

I was getting carried away with my fantasy when I felt a searing pain on the underside of my upper arm.

"Ouch. Really, Tianna?" I stared at her in mock-disbelief. She pinched me again and I pulled away groaning. She's lucky she's a girl.

She ignored my whining, "What are you writing?" she asked with a not-so-subtle hint of mockery. "For a boy, you love books though."

The hint of an accent I could not place would occasionally overtake her speech. I often wondered where it's from. She's a transfer student that arrived in our town in the past year. She didn't share much about herself but still, we had gotten close in that time, annoying sibling type of close.

I turned away from her, but she wriggled her way under my arms and snatched the book.

When she skipped backwards, she almost fell over her too-long uniform. I reached for her instinctively, but my concern for her dissipated as her teasing laughter grew to grate on my nerves. She held the book open inches from her face and continued walking backwards.

"'…The monsters crawled form beneath the bridge and oozed into the gully...the birds squawked, hidden in the tress...it was all so uncanny'....tee hee. Greg, you are uncanny. Isn't a story supposed to be at least a little bit believable? I wonder what really go on up there."

She tapped on her head with one eye closed as she said that. I lounged at her at the same time she through the book up in the air. I had was wide open for one of her 'playful' assaults as I positioned myself to catch my novel in the making. The final school bell sounded, and her impending not-so-gentle palm strike stopped halfway. She looked at her watch before galloping full speed in the direction I would almost swear she was coming from.

As she ran, she called out something to me. I could not hear clearly over the cacophony of students chatting as they left their classes to head home. I barely caught the words "wait"," clubroom" and "home together." My heart raced a little bit. Something weird always happened every time I followed her home. For a moment I considered not understanding her request since I really did not hear it all.

Once, when I walked her home, nineteen dogs chased me all the way to my home. I swear it was twenty, but one fell down an open drain along the way. Another time I followed her home, I ended up on a strange street with no sound – like the community was on mute. She laughs at the things I write and call me weird but most of the more outlandish material I write about are records of my experiences after I walk her home. They may or may not be a tad embellished for entertainment purposes.

The anxiety she inspires in me is enough to make anyone reconsider being anything more than an acquaintance with her. But she's all I've got, my best friend really. Before she transferred to my school, no one ever talked to me so when she took a liking to me, I was ecstatic. I mean, at first, I thought she only spoke to me because she was a transfer student who didn't know better. But after we hung out a few times, we sort of clicked. And yes, I'm in the friendzone but she's so aggressive that I don't mind. Friendship is all my anxiety can handle with Tianna.

Today we hid from our seventh period class. We both hated accounts lessons- the teacher was so easily distracted. All the idle students had to do was say 'soccer' is better than 'golf' and Mr. Wright would forget his 'lesson plan' to prove them wrong. I preferred to relax under the old oak tree in the far right of the football field. It helped that over-grown bushes hid anyone at that side of the field.

After a little over half an hour, I decided to go searching for Tianna at Cadet club, but no one was at their usual spot. I went to the barracks where they usually changed back from their cadet uniform to school uniform, but there was no signs of anyone actually being at that part of school at all recently. That's when it hit me. Something weird was happening again. I turned to run back to where I had been originally but a loud "caw" from a giant crow made me stumble and fall smack on my face.

"Relax Greg," I soothed myself. "This is a school, there are no dogs here and you have not lost your hearing."

I forced myself to walk at a regular place. The whole time, I fought to swallow the increasingly painful lump in my throat. My heartbeat pounded at a deafening volume in my ear. After what felt like forever, I made it.

 I got back to the tree where I last saw Tianna, I breathed a sigh of the relief. Only then did I realize I was holding my breath. The last few students were heading home from their various clubs. I asked a few for Tianna. Erica and Justine, two of Tianna's classmates, looked at each other before looking at me as if I were strange. They both insisted Tianna did not show up at school today. I did not press the issue. Did she skip all her classes? This did not make sense. We both disliked accounts and would occasionally skip it but Tianna was generally diligent in her lessons.

 I decided to head to her house. Maybe we had missed each other, and she headed home thinking I was gone. As I threw my bag over my shoulder, I heard her voice.

 "Weirdo," she called. "I told you to wait for me. I'm going to go get my bag."

I did not see her, but I knew her voice better than anyone else's. Still, I wasn't willing to stand there like a statue waiting so I followed her voice into the gymnasium. It was dark and the emptiness caused my shoes to echo with each step on the wooden floor. I heard other echoes of footsteps and assumed it was hers.

 I followed it and called out, "Tianna!"

An eerie cackle responded. This was too creepy. I stopped and backtracked quickly. I didn't stop until my back hit the door directly after it slammed shut. The double thud made the gymnasium feel extra empty. I wrestled with the door's old handle until it fell to the floor with a clank. Did I accidentally lock myself in? My mouth flew open, and my eyes grew wide. What was happening? I banged on it and called frantically as I peered through the keyhole. The maintenance guy was out there. He didn't seem to hear. He passed me at least two times without seeming to hear me shouting and banging at the door. On the third time he passed, he looked me dead in the eye through the keyhole, smiled and put a finger to his lips, shushing me. I went wild screaming on top of my lungs. I even threw some metal chairs I found on the podium at the door.

 The maintenance guy's smile widened as he mouthed, "Monsters like to eat in silence."

 "Monsters?" I mouthed in response.

 My body froze as I realized that my hairs have been standing on end for a while. Now that I was quiet, I heard distinct breathing behind me. I turned slowly. Barely believing I was in a horror movie. This can't be real. In seconds, I was face to face with a vision only possible in the worst nightmare.

"Why me?" I cried as my bladder involuntarily relieved itself.

 I thought about all the ways I could have possibly gotten out of this situation. My mind was blank. The blood raced with renewed vigour to my eardrums like violent waves crashing and clotting till I felt my head fill to the point of near explosion. My knees failed me. Was I fainting? Thick, stinky slobber from the beef-brown beast fell like goo and covered my body. I coughed hoarsely as some got in my mouth. It tasted like earwax. Coughing it up did not help; all I got was a round two attack on the back of my tongue. The last thing I saw before its anciently wrinkled, greasy face descended on my limp body, was its elephantiac body vibrating to an intense rhythm.

 The monster's yellow eyes and enormous mouth grew closer and closer, all the while vibrating in the most ridiculous way. In one surprisingly fast swing, the monster engulfed me in its mouth, and I suffocated a little in the stench of its breath. No scream came. I whimpered pathetically as I died a horrific death. This beast had at least three rows of razor-sharp teeth that pierced my body in the rhythm it was vibrating in. Wait, why is it vibrating? I lost consciousness when I felt my body being pierced the third time.

***

 The vibration must have followed me into death.

 When it stopped, my mother said very sternly, obviously annoyed, "Greg, for the love of God, get up. You're going to be late for school...again."

 I did not respond. I just stared at the alarm clock. It was one of those alarms that did not stop unless you got up and turned it off yourself. I had placed it across the room to force myself to get up and turn it off in the morning. It didn't work. As a result, it had been alarming for fifteen minutes straight.

 When I saw the time, I jumped out of bed and into the shower. My mother had long since disappeared to get back to her own bed. She worked night shift, so she was always asleep when I left for school. I got dressed in a jiffy and headed to meet Tianna at her house. I had to tell her about my bizarre dream.

 When I got to her gate, I let myself in like I always did and banged at the front door repeatedly. An old man with a crumpled, disgruntled face unlocked the door slowly. His eyes drooped and his dented right cheek sagged in the direction of his unlit wet-looking cigarette. I imagined he slept with it there. That would explain his breath.

 "What do you want?" He growled, barely containing his annoyance.

I did not know him. Maybe he was a visiting relative. I asked for Tianna. He told me there was no one at the house by that name. I insisted and he slammed the door in my face.

Walking back through the small iron gate, I was thoroughly confused. I had been following Tianna home for at least half a year. I dismissed the geezer and headed straight to school for which I was late. Tianna must have left extra early today. A sinister growl from behind low bushes stopped me in my tracks. At least four giant bulldogs were crouching low. I was already in range. They launched each other at me. Wait, what? No, they all jumped at me at incredible speed, completely in sync. There was no time to hurl a single thing at them. They chomped my body all over as I screamed in agony. I was being mauled. It felt like I was being chewed by a giant monster. A surprisingly familiar stench assailed my nostrils and I almost passed out. My eyes had been tightly shut as I screamed in agony.

***

 When I thought I could take no more, the chewing stopped. I was sure I would wake up now. I did, but my body was limp, mangled on the floor. What was going on? A click-click of multiple locks let me know an enormous door close to me had become unlocked. My body made repeated short spasms because of the pain. I was bloody all over, and I could not move voluntarily. Trust me to not only pass out, but to also dream when I'm being eaten alive. It would be nice if death would hurry. I'm pretty sure my body useless now: plus, I'm exhausted.

 "This one wasn't it either," I heard Tianna grumble loudly.

She sounded both disappointed and annoyed. Through bloodied eyes, I saw her wipe something dripping dark red from her mouth. The sound of her footsteps turned from barely audible to not there in seconds. The beast was gone too, like it disappeared. Did I imagine it all? My mangled body evidenced otherwise.

"I'll clean this mess up," came a gruff reply. "You'll have to start working on another prey tomorrow."

 "Over a year feeling him out wasted. He had the scent. Crap!"

 I heard nothing after that and saw nothing until the caretaker's aged, blurry face appeared before my eyes.

"Tough luck, kid," he said to me softly before he started vibrating in a familiar rhythm.