I filled the tub with cold water and when it was about halfway full I stepped in it, wincing at the bitter coldness as it hit my feet. I slowly lowered myself into it, wincing again as each new part of my body met the coldness. My thigh felt immeasurably better the second it was submerged in the water. I decided I’d sit in there for about 20 minutes and let it soak and wash the grime off and then get out.
I’m pretty sure I fell to sleep the second my head hit the back of the tub.
It was dark, everywhere. A bitter wind ravaged my face and I turned around and around, in circles, trying to find a way to shelter myself from it. But it came at me from all directions. I put my arm up to shield my face but even then it felt like it was coming through my sleeves. I was in the middle of a forest. There were trees everywhere, reaching up to the sky with their dark branches. I leaned on one to catch my breath and try to find a way out of the wind, but even that did no good.
I touched the tree but my hand came away covered in redness. The tree was bleeding. Even as I touched it I could feel the brittleness of the bark and the skin of the tree shattered in my hands, sloughing away like the boiled skin of a pig. More blood ran down from the tree and covered my hands. I pulled away from the tree in disgust, wiping my hands on my coat, trying to clean myself, but my hands were stained with it. No matter what I did it wasn’t coming off.
Both my hands were stained with the blood of the tree.
A full moon hung in the sky. It appeared to cover at least a third of the night sky and almost seemed like I could just reach up and touch it, but I didn’t want to. Something about it frightened me. It seemed to be mocking me.
Ignoring the cold and the blood on my hands I began to walk. I picked a direction at random. I had no idea where I was or where I was going but walking seemed like an excellent idea. I needed to get out of this place. I know they say that when you’re lost in the woods you should just hunker down and wait for someone to find you but in that place I was afraid of what might find me. There was something wrong about that place.
I don’t know how long it took me to notice but by the time it finally registered I realized I’d been hearing it for quite some time. There were steps in the forest matching mine. Creak for creak and stomp for stomp. I only noticed it because every so often I’d put my foot down and hear a twig break; only I hadn’t stepped on one.
I stopped, surveying the forest, but could see nothing. The moon still hung fat in the sky and its light shone everywhere but it didn’t seem to actually illuminate anything. I stayed unmoving for what seemed like forever and still there was nothing. It was only when I’d finally decided to start moving again that I heard the snarl behind me. I whirled around with a cry but there was nothing there. Thank God. Then I heard the snarl again. Behind me, of course. Rancid breath blew softly past my ear.
I whirled again and standing behind me less than a foot away was Mason Smith. He was covered in boils and sores and rotting flesh. Even as I watched a hunk of skin fell off his face onto the ground with a sickening plop. He grinned at me and the muscles in his cheeks gleamed wetly as he silently reached for me again. The skin had pulled away completely from his fingers leaving the bones exposed. The bone shone in the moonlight as the naked claws reached for me.
I cried out and fell to the ground. He stared at me, arm still reaching out for where I’d been standing. Something crawled over me and I looked down at my body, crying out in disgust as I saw the maggots streaming from the ground to crawl on my flesh. I slapped them off in panic and scrambled to my feet again, running back in the direction I’d come from.
I ran, breathing heavily. The air seemed so thick and I was so tired. I couldn’t hear him behind me anymore but I knew he was still there. Watching and waiting. Smelling the blood that coated my hands.
Wait! What’s what? I could see a campfire in the distance. Not too far ahead, actually. Thank God. Maybe I’d get out of here yet. I ran even harder, feeling my chest burn with the exertion. My throat was sore and dry and every inch of my body was pounding. I needed to stop and rest but I knew there was no rest for such as me.
I stumbled into the clearing and saw my friends by the campfire. They were sitting with their backs to me but I could see their shoulders and head moving as if they were talking to each other. I would recognize them anywhere: Fannie Mae with her braids and her father’s coat and Barrett towering over her. I breathed a sigh of relief and ran past them, stopping a couple feet from the flames. The warmth felt so good on my face and hands. I was chilled to the bone and beyond and it felt like I’d never get warm again.
Fannie Mae grabbed my hand and squeezed gently. Barrett put his hand on my shoulder. It felt so good to be with my friends again. I basked in the warmth of the fire as I leaned back into their cool embrace. I turned my head to thank Fannie Mae and apologize for ever being mean to her and that’s when I finally saw her face.
Her right eye was missing and a strip of flesh hung loosely down her cheek. A quick tug would take care of it ripping it free. Her mouth was open and her tongue was missing. Only a rotten piece of flesh lay where it used to be. Her other eye rolled wildly in its socket and I couldn’t tell if it was looking at me or not. But I could feel her gaze resting heavily on me nonetheless. Her hand still squeezed mine gently.
Barrett looked even worse. His face was nothing more than a grinning skull. All the flesh was missing; having been eaten away by God knows what. His very big, very white teeth grinned at me gently. It was surprisingly recognizable as a Barrett grin even with his face gone. His clothes hung on him in tatters and I could see wounds covering most of his chest and body. Knife cuts and slashes, small holes as if from a gun and even what looked like pockmarks from a shotgun blast.
I shuddered helplessly, feeling the warmth of the fire being leeched from my flesh. I looked beyond them and saw Mason Smith not 20 feet away. He was just standing there watching his children do their work. Barrett’s fingers dug into my shoulders and with a wrench and a tearing sound he pulled away a hunk of flesh. Waves of pain rolled through me. I felt dizzy and heavy and my breath was coming in quick gasps. Only Fannie Mae stepping forward kept me from falling into the fire.
She put her arms around me in a tight hug and pressed her cheek against my chest. Gripping me tightly with one arm her other hand snaked down to my pants, undoing my belt buckle. Doing what I’d always known she wanted to do and pulling my pants and underwear to the side so that she could grip my penis. Her cold, dead hand caressed it gently and then cupped my balls. I was, not surprisingly, repelled by this and my penis hung limply in her palm and tried to shrivel up inside my body.
I almost didn’t feel the pain as she yanked gently and tore my equipment from my body. Endorphins rushed through my head and I felt lightheaded as I rose above the pain. She raised her hand to her face and I could see my penis lolling gently in her palm as she slipped it in her mouth. She didn’t even bother to chew it, just raised her head back and let it slither down her throat. Then she cradled me in her arms again.
My legs could no longer support me and she and Barrett gently lowered me to my knees. They kneeled next to me and both hugged me tight. They were done with whatever feeding they wanted to do from me. I could feel the change begin to work its magic in my flesh. Darkness skittered across my vision and shadows flitted just out of
