When I was younger, perhaps around 7, I had a birthday party at my house. This was my first time having classmates over, as I was quite shy, and so I was excited by the concept of making new friends and hopefully even making company a regular occurrence. For the first few hours of my little shindig, everything was going according to plan. Some of the more popular girls had arrived, and were having a blast playing outdoors in our in-ground pool. I went inside the house to grab a tray of iced tea to share with my new gal pals, when suddenly I heard screaming. I’ll never forget Alison Jacob’s horrified shriek, or how pale her face looked when I dashed outside to see what was going on.
Apparently, Alison had been dared by a few of the other girls to open the outdoor entrance to the cellar where my father worked. My father, who happened to be a mortician, took a lot of pride in his work. He spent countless hours on his creations, and was well-known for being a quick and effective worker. He would often have to work on holidays, and even sometimes my birthdays, as death is a very unexpected thing. Alison sat on the ground in front of the cellar door, unable to move as her eyes spouted tears like a faucet and her jaw hung open as if it had a broken hinge. Through the door in plain sight, stood my father over a corpse, who sprung up and shut the doors immediately. He emerged from the front door of the house almost seconds later, apologizing profusely and trying to explain what had happened to Alison in the best way he could, but it was no use. Alison, as well as all of the other girls, called their parents and went home. Many of them even took the birthday gifts that they had gotten me with them when they left. It took everything I had to forgive my father, but I loved my parents dearly, so all was well in time. Blood is thicker than water.
Here I am about 7 years later, fine without those girls. I’m a Freshman in high school, and was lucky enough to make some new friends who knew nothing of my home life. Their names were Fionna and Flora and they were twin sisters who had moved to my town less than a year ago with their parents, who were seldom seen. The girls were taller than me by at least four or five inches, and had long dark hair that was usually tied back in a braid or two. They always dressed in long skirts and baggy shirts that looked like hand-me-downs although they had no other siblings. We hung out a lot behind this abandoned farmhouse in our town that they always told me was close to their house. They were honestly pretty funny, but in a dry way which was something that I could appreciate. I spent most of my lonely junior high years reading sarcastic books and watching documentaries, so I could appreciate their wit and intellect. I trusted them because I had nobody else besides my parents.
But recently things started changing. A little over a month ago, I was hanging with Flora and Fionna in our usual spot behind the farmhouse, smoking a cigarette they had stolen from their parents. We were having a deep conversation about the human body, something that often came up. Fionna told me that she wanted to study medicine, so I had just always figured it stemmed from there. Today’s discussion regarded the strength of evolution and how our bodies had come a long way in many, many years.
“Do you smell that?” I gasped, clenching my nose. There was a terrible odor, one vaguely familiar, but much stronger than ever before. Flora squinted, stood up, and vanished behind a tree. Fionna turned to me and shrugged before our eyes flashed back to Flora who reemerged and waved us over.
We obliged, and when we arrived behind the tree, I was forced to cover my mouth again in disgust. Flora had found, what appeared to be, the corpse of some sort of animal. A deer maybe? It was mangled and hard to decipher quite what animal it could have been. I remember seeing long white bones, and what appeared to be a skull, but many pieces were broken off and it had mostly turned spherical. I asked what it was, and Flora confirmed my suspicion that it must be a horribly disfigured deer. We sat in silence for a while before Fionna said, “Isn’t it strange to think of how our ancestors used to eat these creatures a lot? What about before the existence of fire? Raw meet must have been digestible, and diseases must have been avoidable…” She didn’t take her eyes off the deer. It was an interesting point, and I nodded, although I knew it wasn’t quite that simple. “The human body is so intriguing… One time Flora and I took a bite of a dead cat we found in the woods.” She looked at me like she was curious to see my response. “That’s disgusting and dangerous.” I said, still covering my mouth and nose. “Time for your initiation!” Fionna said, and without warning reached toward the corpse and broke off a small bone, almost resembling a clavicle, with small chunks of meat stuck to it. “One bite.” “No way!” I exclaimed, pushing it away. But somehow, they convinced me. It was probably due to my desperation to fit in and be a part of something, like I never had in the past. It was probably because I just wanted to be liked. It was probably because I trusted them. The meat was chewy and tough, and I hated every second of it. I spit it out. “That doesn’t count!” The twins shouted in unison— I hated it when they did this.
I sighed and took another bite. It wasn’t quite so bad this time, probably because I knew what to expect. I That night at home, I had the uncontrollable urge to vomit and so I did. Several times, actually. So many times that my parents noticed and made me tell them what had happened. Horrified and disgusted, they demanded that I did not see Flora and Fionna anymore. “Those girls are something else.” My mother said, taking off her diamond wedding ring and handing it to me so that she could wash the dishes. “You’d do better for yourself if you didn’t hang out with them. You smell like cigarettes.” Defeated after arguing for what seemed like hours, I agreed not to see them anymore. That night I heard my parents on the phone with the twins parents, and they were definitely not pleased. It eventually turned into a screaming match, and my parents hung up.
For a while, I would see the twins and we wouldn’t say anything to one another. It broke my heart that I had lost two of my best friends because my parents were overprotective. It had been just me and my parents for so long though, that I just didn't have it in me to defy them. I was hardly rebellious out of pure love and respect. That’s when I stopped eating, out of depression I assumed. Food smelled terrible, and I had no interest in having it. I couldn’t eat chicken parmesan, cheeseburgers, salad, ANYTHING. I lost my appetite, I guess, but the funny thing was that I still felt hungry. All. The. Time.
This morning I woke up, kissed my parents goodbye and headed to school. I am frail compared to who I was only a month ago. I feel different. Paler, thinner, but hungrier than ever— yet nothing satisfies. At the end of the day, I opened my locker and found a note. It was from Fionna and Flora. They had written me a letter of apology, them and their parents both, and told me to meet them in our usual place behind the farmhouse. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to hang out with them, and that I would be breaking my parents rules, but I wanted to go— HAD to go. I had to rekindle my friendship with the twins.
I met them behind the farmhouse at around 2:30, right after school. They were instantly apologetic and I was quick to forgive. They told me that their parents wanted to apologize to me as well, and invited me over for dinner. I excitedly said yes. Not only was I friends again with the twins, but I finally got to meet their parents— a BIG step as far as friendship goes. I stepped aside to call my parents and tell them, they didn't answer so I left a message. I felt guilty and relieved all at once.
The twins house was normal-looking. It’s big and white and beautiful. I don’t know what the parents do for work, but it’s clear that the family is well-off. When I came face-to-face with Flora and Fionna’s parents, I wasn't shocked to see that they wore the same loose clothing and were pale, pale, pale and tall. They welcomed me in and invited me to sit at the table. I used the bathroom quickly to call my parents again: no answer.
I returned to the table and began to eat. They served what looked like meat dish with some sort of sauce and salad on the side. It tasted familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was quite good and I told them that. I finally remembered where I recognized the taste from. “Is this deer?” I asked. “It’s not.” The twins mother smiled, and continued to eat. They all ate very quickly and it was somewhat startling but I didn't want to be rude, so I pretended not to notice. I stared at my plate, taking bites and moving food around with my fork until I made contact with something hard. I uncovered the object and attempted to wipe off the sauce, and was filled instantly with dread and fear. My mothers diamond engagement ring.
I asked to be excused to the bathroom, the family nodded and continued eating. I rushed to the bathroom as fast as I could, holding back tears and vomit. I only stopped in the hallway, just outside the bathroom, when I heard the living room TV blaring…
“…and the body of Tyler Vargas was found and recovered this morning from behind the abandoned farmhouse on Rt. 105. Vargas was missing for…”
I slammed the bathroom door shut behind me, and immediately puked into the toilet. What was going on? I called my parents several times, but both phones went to voicemail. I vomitted again. This can’t be. How could my mothers ring end up in the dish I was served tonight? I was sure it was the same one. It had my mother and fathers initials engraved inside. I knew the answer but I didn’t want to believe it. I washed the tears and traces of vomit from my face. I was terrified, but I didn't know what else to do. I tried to play it cool and return to the table. I needed to get through dinner and get home. I needed to get out of this house and home to, what, Mom and Dad? Maybe? My heart assured me that they were home, relaxing after a long days work, but my brain knew the sick truth. It was difficult for me to look at the plate of food in front of me, but I did my best to seem interested…
Once I looked at the food, though, I was instantly locked on. Sickeningly, and for reasons I cannot explain, I took another bite. And another and another. I felt tears stream down my face uncontrollably, and I swear for a second that I caught the twins looking at me and smiling. Like the disgusting swine that I am, I finished my meal from hell and made an excuse to leave. The twins parents gave me a long hug with boney arms and headed upstairs. The twins walked me to the door. Flora put her hand on my shoulder, noticing my tears, and said, “Everything is okay now. We’re best friends, and more alike than ever before!” Her and her sister looked paler than ever before but at the same time— happier. It’s like they felt… satisfied. Suddenly, they lifted their shirts to reveal pale, emaciated looking bellies and sharp ribs that jutted out far. The skin was torn in some places over the ribs, and there were scraps of decomposing meat hanging from them. “The hunger is weaker now, but it’s ever present.” Fionna said quietly, monotone. I turned and ran for the door. I ran down the driveway. Down the street. Far away.
I returned home to an empty house, immediately cried, and lay in bed. After hours of this I decided to make moves. As fragile as I felt from todays horrific events, I was still desperate for answers so I popped up google and did a quick search. For a while I find nothing, until I come across something I had only heard of in a book as a child: the Wendigo.
It is said that a human can become a Wendigo after it has consumed the flesh of another human. I had eaten a bite of Tyler Vargas, the missing boy, a month before and hadn’t eaten much since. Except today. Today I ate my parents, and the fucked up part is that I keep feeling hungrier and hungrier, but it’s not the refrigerator i’m drawn to… It’s my basement, where father kept his corpses.
Submitted January 09, 2016 at 10:11AM by freefallout http://ift.tt/1OFIpI2 nosleep
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