“Caspian,” I tried to yell out but it was barely a whisper. “Mothman….Brandon.” They wouldn’t hear me, probably not even if I could yell. Tears burned in my eyes, falling down my face.
“Now, now. No need to cry. I’m here. I’ll save you. Why don’t you try screamingmyname?”
“What are you?” I mumbled. He could see ghosts. He claimed he used to be some type of witch. His body seemed to be mud or slime.
“I’m an anomaly but my name is Makwa.” A tendril tried to wiggle between my lips again. Everything hurt so bad. I was so tired. I wasdying. I felt it. Iknewit.
And I didn’t want to die.
“Will it hurt?” I asked, mumbling the words in desperation.
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
“I’ll heal?”
“Yesss,” he said with excitement. I felt the slime tighten as it dripped around me everywhere.
“Will I still be me?” I asked and he was silent for a while.
“I will not take you over but I will live with you,” he said.
“No,” I whispered.
“Ava,” he reprimanded. “You choose death?”
“I don’t want to die,” I whispered lifelessly. I started to fall asleep, my mind was just at the cusp, tilting over into the depths of rest. Such a deep, deep sleep. The muck shook me awake and I screamed as my head crashed with pain.
“Accept me. Now!” He roared.
“I can’t think,” I mumbled, already starting to fall asleep again.
“Well you must!” He shouted. “I won’t let you die! Not here in this damned tomb. Notever! Accept me!”
“Stop,” I whimpered, his words disturbing me. Death felt so close.
“You’ll never be alone again. You’ll never be weak. Doesn’t that sound thrilling?” His words were rushed, desperate, andconvincing. Mud slid over my hand and I whimpered in pain as it teased the splinter. It reminded me that if I died, this still wouldn’t be over because ghosts would be there to take me away.
“Okay,” I gasped in panic. “I… accept.” What choice did I have? I felt my sluggish heart slow even further, felt the beats keep skipping and pain curling in my rib cage.
“Yesss,” Makwa hissed in delight and the word seemed to echo endlessly. I felt the mud-like liquid shudder all over then a tendril of slime teased the seam of my lips, working it open.
“Don’t worry, it’s just a kiss,” he said with a sinister growl, anticipation thick in his words. It made me feel dread because it was clearly a lie, the velvety pretense abandoned. The tendril slid over my teeth and gums then settled on my tongue, sliding back to my throat. It tasted like ash and dust. I gagged and tried to jerk my head to the side but the amorphous monster was holding every part of me, making sure I couldn’t move as he kept me suspended in this tomb.
He groaned, shuddered, and delved deeper. The slime grew thicker in my throat until it felt like I was swallowing a pole. I couldn’t breathe. I gagged again. I thrashed. I tried to scream. Makwa moaned as my throat contracted around him.
He tightened his form around my thighs, sliding around, brushing between my legs.
“I think I love you, Ava,” he moaned and I felt the rubble of the words gurgling deep inside me. Then he began to laugh deeply, entertained with his own words. He kept going deeper, too deep. I felt him everywhere. I felt him down in my chest, brushing past my hurt ribs and all the way down to my belly, filling it up.
Pain seared through me, tears slid down my cheeks.
“I like the way you look when you cry,” he said in delight. “Don’t worry, it’s all going to be okay now. You and me as one. You and me,forever.”
It felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside. I could feel him sliding into my ears, sliding over my eyes, pulsing between my legs as if it meant to find and fill every orifice it could invade.
What had I done?
8
