Decomposing Head, Page 2

  She had to get home.

  From seemingly out of nowhere, a large man emerged and wrapped his hands around her. The colossus demonstrated a brute strength the likes of which she’d never seen as he hoisted Rose effortlessly into the air. Terrified, but determined to reach her safety zone, she launched herself towards the giant, biting down and tearing a chunk of flesh from his neck, causing him to drop her to the bed below.

  The room had flown into a scene of complete and utter anarchy. Voices everywhere, too numerous for Rose to count, added to the commotion as she tried to make her escape. A woman, almost as enormous as her first attacker, rushed towards her. Out of instinct, Rose whirled around, clawing wildly, tearing the female giant’s face to shreds, and forcing her to stumble backwards. It was now or never.

  She had to get home.

  Rose dug her fingernails into her mother’s skin and pulled herself up the screaming woman’s leg, dragging her umbilical cord behind her as she climbed.

  Just a little further, she thought to herself.

  She had to get home.

  The Returning Nightmare

  S.R. Tooms

  It’s time again. Back I go… I know they’ll be watching me. I just know it! Thirty or so of the creatures, all sitting there staring intently. Those buggy, wide eyes bulging like over-sized baseballs from their small unsightly pinheads. I’ll hear the dull chatter emitting from those grotesque, drooling mouths. Alien, foreign noises – disgusting and putrid. I can’t believe I’ve resigned myself to this fate for so many years to come. But what choice do I have…?

  They’ll point at me when I’m not looking, they’ll snicker at every move I make, they’ll write horrid things on the wall. Uncontrollable things! I can’t do anything to stop them. One raise of the hand or swat of the stick or negative word from the mouth will surely spell my doom. Why, oh why, have I resigned myself to this…?

  I walk into the room doing all I can to compose what little sanity I have left. I turn to face my captors.

  “Good morning and welcome back class, my name is Mr….”

  The Cannibal

  Vincent V. Cava

  People might say I'm quite disturbed. You see, I have a bit of a hankering for human flesh. Cannibalism seems to be frowned upon by most people, but I can't help myself. It's not just the taste that excites me; it's the thrill of the kill. I would describe the whole experience as…what’s the word? Intoxicating. Ah yes, that’s it. Hunting and devouring the flesh of my fellow man is the most exhilarating and intoxicating thing I have ever had the pleasure of knowing – far better than sex in my opinion. When I’m out and about, indulging in my…hobby, I feel like a lion on the Serengeti stalking my prey. Take this poor bastard I'm noshing on for instance.

  I hid out in his home, lulling him into a false sense of security. Just when I was sure his guard was down, I struck with the might of a fierce predator. Now I'm chewing on his intestines while he watches and groans in agony. Oh what a fantastic kill this will be! I love to listen to my prey's last words as I grind on their insides with my teeth.

  "He...Hep..." He struggles to speak. I'm sure the terror and pain are too much for him to handle.

  "Help?" I laugh. His innards dangle down my chin as if I had a mouth full of spaghetti, “I’m sorry, but no one can help you now."

  "Hep C...I have Hepatitis C."

  …well fuck

  Giver

  S.R. Tooms

  My husband has always been a taker. Take. Take. Take.

  Come to think of it, he’s been that way since we first met years ago. Like a child that barges into the room and demands, “I need this!” while retrieving an object. You ask them “What for?” and they reply you “Can’t tell you!”

  I didn’t mind then. It seemed to be one of those cute traits you see in new people. But over time, his habit of taking has certainly taken its toll on the relationship among other things.

  Not only that, but last year he took from my mother too. A bit extreme? Taking from your wife is one thing… going after her mother? A little out of hand! But sure enough, he did just that! I let it slide because he didn’t continue for too long – mother couldn’t assist him sufficiently anyway. So naturally, it’s back to me!

  I don’t mind much. A good wife should help her husband, shouldn’t she? So when he walked toward me with the rusted spoon and seated me down in the old wooden chair that he always uses, I wasn’t concerned. I smiled happily right before he placed a warm, kind hand on my forehead and proceeded to plop out the last of my two eyes.

  Ouch!

  It hurt a little, admittedly. I reached up with my stub of a right arm to rub the pain away.

  “I’m not sure I can give much more,” came my desperate confession through a sob or two, knowing how disappointed this would make him.

  Feeling another warm hand on my shoulder, and through the darkness surrounding me now, he said, “That’s ok, dear. Our little Sarah will be home from school soon.”

  The African Bowana Spider

  Vincent V. Cava

  “Dr. Tweed, so nice to finally see you again. I trust you have many stories to tell me about your adventures deep in the heart of Africa?”

  Dr. Tweed beamed with sheer delight as he greeted his colleague at the door. A red bowtie attached to the top of his khaki blazer gave the fellow an eccentric yet scholarly appearance. The old man squinted through his bifocals while beckoning Robert to the table where two cups of hot tea had already been poured.

  “Robert my good man,” he began, “Yes, yes, of course. Join me for some tea and I shall regale you with a tale regarding the most curious creature this old man has ever had the pleasure of coming across in all his years gallivanting around the globe.” A friendly exchange of smiles and a pleasant handshake later, the two men had taken their seats.

  “So Doctor, tell me about this mysterious creature of yours.”

  Dr. Tweed’s eyes lit up like a pair of bright blue sapphires, “Ah yes. The African Bowana Spider – named after the indigenous people who reside in a section of the jungle where the creature originally hails. It’s a massive arachnid! I dare say, the thing is about half a meter in diameter, but that’s not even the most interesting tidbit about it – ”

  “Good god, man!” Robert gasped. “I beg your pardon Doctor, but I’m finding it quite hard to swallow that your interest in the tremendous girth of this spider would be eclipsed by an even more fascinating factoid?”

  The old man’s lips curled into the slightest smirk upon hearing Robert’s retort. “Oh, but eclipsed it is my dear friend. Perhaps you’ll understand once you hear this remarkable anecdote.

  On my 21st night exploring the Dark Continent we found that one of our pack mules had begun to demonstrate bizarre and erratic behavior. The beast had started to crow and moan as though it were suffering from some sort of horrible illness. Our guides had previously warned my party that the primeval forest we made camp in was rife with poisonous asps, adders, and mambas, among other deadly serpents, so naturally I hypothesized it had fallen victim to the bite of one of the jungle’s venomous vipers. However, upon further examination I could find no evidence of teeth marks on the animal – no wounds, no pricks, not a single thing that would indicate it had been attacked.

  “Sounds like quite the conundrum Doctor.”

  “Indeed it was. Even more curious was the fact that though I found the animal’s behavior to be somewhat unnerving, many of our party’s guides appeared to be downright terrified! At the sight of the mule’s predicament, a few of them even ran off from our campsite and into the darkness of the untamed jungle by themselves, the fools! I loaded my rifle in order to put the creature out of its misery as it was now writhing on the ground and seemed to be suffering quite considerably, but before I had the chance to pull the trigger my eyes witnessed a truly incredible sight. “

  “No Doctor, you aren’t about to say – ”

  “Oh but I am! Out of the animal’s mouth crawled The Bowana Spide
r!”

  Dr. Tweed took a sip of tea. Robert could tell by the old man’s reaction that it was still a bit too hot to drink. “Like I said before, it was colossal! Now, while I haven’t quite figured out how the giant thing was able to contort its body enough to crawl its way out of the beast’s jowls, I do have a theory about what it was doing there in the first place.” Tweed paused a moment for dramatic effect, reveling in the mystery of his account.

  “Well? Out with it then! I must say, good Doctor, I am absolutely enthralled by this story of yours. You must tell me what happened next!”

  “As it turns out, this particular species of arachnid has become quite feared by the natives, hence the reason why some of my party’s guides had decided to take their chances out amongst the ferocious wildlife and poisonous flora of the jungle instead of staying at camp once they realized what was behind all the ruckus. The remaining guides insisted that I shoot the spider, but you know me Robert, I’m a man of science! What kind of academician would I be if I ended the life of such a spectacular specimen? An arthropod of such astonishing peculiarity must be studied alive!

  Robert interjected once more, “But Doctor, you still haven’t explained what it was doing inside the Mule’s mouth?”

  “Have patience my good man, all will be revealed in time. You see, the natives believed the spider to be some sort of soul sucking demon – one that feasts upon the very life force of a man, bleeding him dry until he becomes nothing but a useless withered husk. Obviously, any educated bloke like myself would dismiss such silly notions as nothing but foolish superstitions, but I do believe these primitive myths were on to something. Nevertheless, there is always scientific explanation for these things.

  From my brief encounter with the creature, I have gathered that the eight-legged goliath has evolved the most extraordinary of survival tactics. It appears that the spider entered our pack mule through its oral cavity. From there, it may have in some way attached itself to the beast’s nervous system, granting it full access to the mule’s movements and vocal patterns; essentially rendering the animal a useless puppet. What I’m saying, Robert is that this creature was wearing our unfortunate ungulate like a hat on Sunday and all of us were none the wiser! I have since postulated that the arachnid made itself at home in the body of its hoofed host, feeding off its cerebral spinal fluid just long enough for it to plant a revolting sack of eggs.

  Robert’s eyes widened with interest, “What an intriguing yet horrifying creature Doctor! Haha! Perhaps the guides who fled into the night weren’t as foolish as you say? Could you imagine what would happen if a thing like that was on the loose here in England? People would be in quite a panic!” He and the old man shared a chuckle.

  The Dr. took another sip of his tea, “Could I imagine, Robert? I dare say, it already is!”

  Dr. Tweed’s head suddenly cocked back in a violent manner. Terrible gagging noises emanated from his throat as blood began trickling from his eyes, ears, and nose. Eight long spindly legs emerged from his mouth.

  Vibrations

  S.R. Tooms

  I still have in my possession the full and complete text conversation transcript which took place between “Ty” and myself. I will include it here just as it took place, leaving out and editing nothing. I have heard nothing more. It’s been one week since the incident. I have told no one, but now I think it’s time to tell someone.

  Last weekend a good pal of mine informed me he’d be heading out of town to housesit for an older, friendly couple he knew. They lived a ways north of our city in a thicket of woods. Big tall foresty area. He and I had driven out there months back for no particular reason. The two of us putted around until well after dark. It always gave me the spooks. All those trees. All that seclusion.

  But I didn’t think much of his plan. Sure, go help out a friend I told him. It left my weekend free to do some reading or other such solitary acts. Catch up on the porn backload, who knows. Friday night rolled around soon enough and off he went, zooming away to the rural countryside (I always imagine seeing red and orange leaves whirling around behind the car). I sat down, and with several bags of candy for companions, began to watch a few of my favorite funny films.

  About an hour later I heard an intense vibration nearby (the shock snapped me upright). Oh, that’s right. My phone. It was a text message from him (I’ll refer to him as Ty in these exchanges for simplicity).

  Ty (7:05pm): Hey there, finally made it out here. Nice and spooky just how you like it.

  I read it with a smile, shaking my head.

  Me (7:07pm): Good to hear. Enjoy the boringness of nature and all that while you’re out there.

  Ty (7:07pm): Oh I will be sure to. What are your plans tonight, hotshot?

  I decided to tell him a lie, why not. He’d left me without a wingman after all.

  Me (7:10pm): I’ll probably head out to the bars and see how much poon I can snag before the clock strikes midnight. And then go another round *stunner shades*

  Ty (7:11pm): Good luck with that. The last time you got any poon it cost you $90 an hour.

  Me (7:12pm): Say hi to the trees for me.

  What an asshole. He didn’t text a reply. For me, it was back to the movie and fatten-up snacks. The perfect combo. Nearly three hours passed before I felt the vibration again. Yep, him again.

  Ty (10:01pm): It sure does get dark out here fast. Maybe the trees block out some sun.

  I hadn’t noticed the time. It was getting pretty late. After dark at least. But what did he expect at this hour.

  Me (10:02pm): Don’t tell me you’re getting spooked, ol’ boy!

  Ty (10:02pm): Bored out of my mind is more like it. They don’t even have movie channels out here and I forgot to write down their internet passcode.

  That would be a bummer, I thought. No internet and no quality TV? Left to watch mediocre filth or… enjoy nature?

  Me (10:05pm): Can’t jerk off to the sunset or hooting owls?

  Ty (10:05pm): Very funny. We’re not all as desperate as you are.

  Ty (10:05pm): But really… it’s sooo boring! Send one of those poonhags you’re gaming over here.

  His sarcasm and lack of faith in my womanizing all but dripped from the phone. Asshole.

  Me (10:09pm): Do you want the fat one or her toothless skinny sister?

  Ty (10:09pm): Why not both? Lol

  Ty (10:14pm): Hey lol you didn’t actually send one did you?

  I looked down at my phone, not able to control my rolling eyes.

  Me (10:16pm): Nope... Why?

  Ty (10:16pm): Oh… I just thought I saw something in the yard. But it’s kind of dark to tell.

  Ty (10:16pm): Let me know if you do, okay? ;)

  Me (10:18pm): I will certainly let you know if I send any blubbery bitches out to your woodland fuckpad.

  I figured the boredom must really be getting to him. He’s not normally a jittery guy. Oh well, at least it gave him something to do. My only desire was to watch this comedy without being interrupted!

  Yet another vibration…

  Ty (10:24pm): Seriously. Did you? Is that you?

  I popped a gumdrop into my mouth.

  Me (10:26pm): Huh?

  Ty (10:26pm): Don’t fuck around. Is it?

  Me (10:27pm): wtf are you talking about

  He seemed concerned enough that I even put my movie on pause. Several minutes ticked by without a single hum.

  Ty (10:32pm): Oh nothing… It looked like someone may have been running across the side path.

  Me (10:33pm): Was there?

  Ty (10:33): Probably just a shadow. I turned on the porch light and didn’t see anything.

  Me (10:34pm): Maybe a raccoon or stray dog

  Ty (10:34pm): Yeah most likely

  A gumdrop stuck to the inside of my upper right molar. I ruminated how scary that would be. All alone by yourself off in some strange, unknown house. You don’t know the neighbors, you don’t know the town, you don’t know anything. Maybe you live next to b
igfoot. Hah, that’s a good one. Even I giggled at the thought.

  The laffytaffy started to shake. I jumped a little. Oh right, my phone… underneath them… idiot.

  Ty (10:41pm): Fuck

  I started to reply but before I could finish, another text came popping up.

  Ty (10:41pm ): Dude something just hit the side of the house

  Me (10:42pm): What? What did?

  Ty (10:42pm): I dont fucking know man something just smacked the wood like a really big thud

  I gulped slightly, having difficulty swallowing the final bit of candy in my mouth. Suddenly a barrage of texts flooded in.