He opens the jar and starts pouring the contents into her vagina.
A mix of peanut butter, honey, and maggot eggs, diluted with some milk to give it a lighter consistency.
My mother starts screaming as the liquid makes its way inside her womb, the honey sticking to her uterine walls, the eggs embedding themselves in a very warm and welcoming environment—the perfect place for them to grow to adulthood. Due to gravity and her position, no corner of her uterus will remain untouched.
I signal Nero, and we both retreat for a few hours—enough time for the eggs to start moving.
When we come back, my mother is in tears, her skin red and hot. One quick look and I can see some larvae moving around.
It's not a coincidence, as I'd had someone harvest these eggs for a while now, playing with the temperature of their environment to ensure they would be ripe for Mother's enjoyment.
"Please," she whimpers when she sees me, but I just shrug.
This is just the beginning.
I wonder how it feels to have your body invaded by foreign objects—moving, squirming inside of you…
As I watch the agony reflected on her face, I can't musteranypity.
She tried to kill my little tigress, and that's enough for me. Already, I don't know if she can ever forgive me for what happened that night. If I'm being honest with myself, I doubt the drugs had beenentirelyresponsible for my behavior. Not when I've been repressing my desire for her for so long, scared of the intensity of emotions she awakens in me.
And now? It happened, and I barely remember it.
I nod to Nero, and he takes one of the smaller cages, opening it to reveal a couple of starving rats. Taking them by the tail, hepushes them slowly into Mother's body, the rodents wiggling their way inside her vagina in search of the sweetness of the peanut butter and honey.
Already, Mother starts screaming in pain, and I guess they're biting more than their fair share, nibbling at her walls.
The entire time, the rats are ravenously eating at her insides, and I watch the agony inscribed on her face.
More… she deserves so much more…
But I don't have time for that. Not when my wife is weak and feeble, recuperating from a bout of poison.
Phase two done, Nero begins phase three.
Using an instrument resembling a scalpel, but longer, he starts cutting at Mother's uterine walls, leading directly toward her intestines. The liquid from her womb flows freely into the newly empty cavity, and with it, the rats burrow further inside her.
Her voice is ragged, almost out of power. But she's still awake.
I light another cigarette, releasing a cloud of smoke as I study her features. She's resilient, I'll give her that. But it's only helping me and what I have planned for her further with phase four.
Her eyes are half-closed and glazed, and no matter how strong she is, she can't take rats literally eating her entrails while she's alive.
Mother's entire body starts convulsing, and the corners of my mouth pull up slightly at the sight. The rats should be well on their way to her major organs by now.
Well, if that doesn't kill her, then hemorrhage, sepsis, or even a heart attack from the pain might.
"And now, Mother, I believe my wife is waiting for me at home. I'll be sure to send her your regards, especially when I get her pregnant with our first child," I say, bringing my hand up in a mock salute, but her almost-dead eyes barely react.
Satisfied with the turn of events and knowing that she won't last much longer, I instruct Nero to let me know when she's finally died and to throw her corpse in the Hudson afterward. It wouldn't be fair to exclude aquatic predators. Everyone should have a go at her.
Hmm, was I too easy on her? Maybe I should have auctioned parts of her body on the dark web.
It's late when I finally make it home, and Ana informs me that Allegra is asleep in her room, recovering from the traumatic experience of having her stomach pumped. I ask her to keep me updated, not wanting to intrude where I know I'm not wanted.
37
ENZO
