Don’t you see? What better way to get revenge than to force someone to live, spending the rest of their life in suffering that’ll never end. Lavender will never forget what happened here, and she will always blame herself.
My head tilted as I smiled faintly. “Oh my. It seems I have taught you well, dear Crissa. And, thus, you have completed your vow. It’s a shame, really. I have grown rather fond of you.” I looked down at the collected parts, saved from all our victims. “But I have one last surprise."
What?
My grin grew, reaching my ears. “You shall see.”
A GIFT FROM A DEMON
ZETH
Montey’s torso was laid out on the floor in front of me, his abs still glorious even after death. It popped against the blood-soaked, neon confetti carpet, which looked like a firework display, celebrating my success.Oursuccess. Crissa had slithered back into the depths of her soul, waiting for me to call upon her. I wanted to finish my little surprise before spoiling it.
“Now then.” I looked back at the pieces before me. They were a wonder to behold after tasting such adventurous and marvelous meals. Now, they would make an even more stupendous reward for my dear human. “Oh yes.” I cradled Token’s meaty arms, pulling his twin's legs up to the bottom of Montey’s torso, one at a time, making sure to place them in exactly the right position, lining the tissue up. “Yikes. Maybe I didn’t think this through as well as I hoped.” I mumbled, laying out the arms against the body. “This thing sure is going to look a bit odd…though I wonder, would we be able to even call it a human?” A small squeak sounded to my right, a few rats now gathered and more were joining my little party to watch as I put my meaty puzzle together. “I guess it doesn’t matter what we call it, as long as it all fits.” I looked at the whole picture with one eye, picking at the empty socket. “Thoughthiswasn’t part of my plan.” I groaned. “Alas, I shall make it work.”
As I took in the scene before me, a splotch of red on Montey’s chest caught my attention. “Oh no, I hope I didn’t damage this one in all the excitement.” I leaned down, using my tongue to lick the substance, tasting both his juicy blood and pizza sauce. It was a combination I didn’t expect, but rather enjoyed. I licked it again, delighted to see there was no damage to the body. “Wonderful.”
From the corner of my good eye, I noticed a group of rats, dragging Tawny’s head over to me by the ends of her overly teased and dyed hair. “Ah yes, thank you, my little vermin. You’ve been so very helpful this evening.” Lightning struck outside as my hands reached out for the head of the older human and observed it in the light. “You did well in preserving this for me.” I carried the head over to Montey’s torso, admiring my little project. “This should fit perfectly right here,” I stated, setting the head into position. Only I realized something didn’t quite look right. “Shit! I knew I was forgetting something.” I quickly made my way back toward the kitchen as thunder sounded outside. The kitchen was a wreck, bits and pieces of Sybil thrown and scattered about. The once clean counter was now riddled with pizza toppings and fleshy slices, blood painting every surface from my little experiment. My furry friends had done a splendid job of cleaning up what they could, but it wasn’t nearly perfect.
Oh well. Not my problem.
I grabbed a small spoon that sat to the side of the peppers, bringing it with me as I made my way over to the employee lockers. It didn’t take me long to locate Crissa’s as I followed her scent and located her bag inside. “There you are.” I reached my hand in and retrieved the small sewing kit she kept stored in the side pouch, perfect for what I would need to do next.
Returning to the dining room, the rats scurried around the meaty pieces in the middle of the floor, lined up like a fleshy meat suit. They had begun digging their way through, hollowing out any remaining bits they needed to, allowing enough room so they could snuggle comfortably inside. I smiled, proud of how well everything had come together…literally. “Crissa is truly an intelligent human to befriend such helpful creatures.”
As the rats continued to pile through the fleshy pieces, I began sewing Ryder’s legs onto Montey’s torso, using a delicate hand. I found myself humming along to the carnival music, still playing through the pizzeria speakers overhead, looping through the same songs over and over again. The music was not familiar to me, but somehow, I’d come to know it in such a short amount of time. And the longer I listened to it, the more I found myself enjoying its eerie tune.
I punched the tip of the needle through the skin, struggling as some parts were tougher than others. I looped over my stitching, criss-crossing the thread to ensure it stayed secure, careful to not poke a rat or break the needle. Even with possessing Crissa’s body, using the fragile needles on such thick skin with clawed fingers was not an easy feat. The sewing kit was limited in the colors of thread and the number of needles it housed, and I was down to the last needle, having finished sewing the second of Token’s meaty arm onto Montey’s torso. “I do hope you vermin will be cozy in there.” The rats rustled around in the meat suit as I sewed. I could hear their nibbling and see movement in the limbs as I worked my way up, threading the bloody needle through as my mind wandered a bit.
Nothing about this evening was how I intended to aid Crissa in her revenge, but in the end, it came together beautifully, much like this little project—the perfect result of our alliance. I had become rather fond of her, and this final gift was my offering to her.
The last of the rats nestled their way into Tawny’s head as I began to stitch it in place with the green thread from the kit. I’d purposely saved this very color for last, knowing it was Crissa’s favorite. There was something about this human vessel that had stuck with me, even in the end. She was far more unique than all the others, leaving an impression I could never forget.
Almost done.
Humming along to the carnival tune, my clawed fingers carefully tied a tight knot at the end of the thread as I finished attaching Tawny’s wrinkled head to Montey’s torso. “There!” I stood and backed away from my little masterpiece, watching the rats shuffle under the skin, settling into their spaces as I watched them with glee. A wide smile graced my face as I slowly circled the skin suit, admiring my work. I examined each part of this new body I had built, curious as to what dear Crissa would think, especially with me including Tawny in the final creation. She hadn’t been a part of the original revenge contract, but Crissa never specified her victims, and this skin suit needed a face. Not to mention, Crissa always did admire how kind the older woman was. I just hoped she’d enjoy looking at it as it was now
I guess there is only one way to find out.
As I leaned down closer to the new skin suit, I could feel my dark essence begin to peel away from the inside walls of the vessel I was occupying. Like Velcro ripping from the inside of Crissa’s flesh, it was slowly retreating to my soulless core, just as I had expected. With her vow completed, and revenge fulfilled, there was no reason to keep me seeded within her. “I must hurry before it’s too late.” I reached for the same spoon I grabbed from the kitchen, now sitting on Montey’s chest. Snatching it, I straddled his torso and lined the spoon up to the socket of Tawny’s eye that lay wide open. Her dead eyes stared up at me as the spoon squelched between the bone and the gelatinous eye, popping it free from the loose muscles. I tossed it in the air and caught it in my mouth like a cherry. The eyeball popped between my sharp teeth and the delicious, thirst-quenching juices from within filled my mouth. “Mmm,” I hummed, allowing myself a moment to savor the treat. I had indulged in so many delicacies and delights this evening, but even this was a splendid taste. I moved on to the other eye, mimicking my previous actions, but biting the eyeball in half this time, admiring the taste a little longer as the gooey sensation rested on my tongue. I glanced back at the wrinkled woman’s face, soured by the look of it. “This simply won’t do. My gift for dear Crissa must have eyes.” I grinned. “Good thing I planned ahead, right fellas?” I tickled at the side of the torso where some rats were still settling into place, a collection of muffled squeaks barely audible beneath the flesh. I reached my hand into the pocket of my shorts and pulled out Lavender’s little eye. “So blue,” I stated, holding it up to the dim, neon lights of the pizzeria, admiring its color. “It shall be just right.” I began humming again as I shoved the eye into place on Tawny’s face.
“Now, for the final piece…something I never planned, but worked out just right.” I reached in the other pocket of my shorts and grasped the other eye. It had been the only true casualty of this event. Crissa’s eye. Looking down at the small oddly shaped ball in my hand, I noticed that my claws were now gone, and my smile fell. My time was fleeting, and I truly was slipping out of this vessel. I needed to hurry before it was too late.
Crissa’s voice began whispering within my ears, growing into a loud ringing that pierced them. Her voice continued to develop until I could hear a low shouting of my name.
“It seems our time is up, dear Crissa.” Lightning flashed as I popped her eye into place on the meat suit, and all of the rats stopped shuffling under the skin. “It has been a pleasure…” I collapsed over, feeling myself drift from my vessel for the last time.
CRISSA
“Z-Zeth?” I groaned, feeling my limbs tingle with the same sensation you get when they fall asleep.“Hello?” I opened my single eye, remembering how I had lost the other. It scanned my surroundings, adjusting to the dull light. I realized I was still inside the Bip Top Pizzeria. But this time I was alone. “Zeth? Hello?” I looked next to me and gasped, “Oh my god!” I scrambled back on my hands and knees, hitting my head on a nearby table. “What the fuck,” I breathed, staring at what was lying next to me.
What the hell is that?
I could only describe what I saw as a Frankenstein’d body, sewn together with random bits and pieces of humans, sitting in a chair, slumped over. Its head remained tilted to one side, its lids wide open revealing two unmatched eyes that stared blankly back at me.
“Cri-s-s-s-s-a.” A low demonic voice left the body, and I recognized it immediately. It was the same voice I had heard in my head too many times to count. The same voice that had haunted my dreams and filled my brain, comforting me through these past couple weeks.
“Zeth?” I leaned closer to the body, poking its chest. Squeaks sounded from inside the patched corpse, causing me to jump back.
