The New Flesh

Finally, after months of searching, It had found her. Her scent was unmistakable. After all that time, It still remembered her smell so very well. It followed the underground sewer lines leading up to Her house. Her scent permeated from the water that flowed through them. She must be taking a shower.

She will be surprised to see me, It thought. It felt a twinge of excitement. It remembered back when She used to play with It. They would play so many great games. She would disappear behind her hands and spring out and surprise It. It tried that once with the family cat, Muffins. Muffins scratched It, so It twisted Muffins’ head off.

It thought that game was hilarious, but She did not. It laughed, as red fur stuck to It’s fingers, but She screamed. It hated when She screamed, so It scratched Her face and bit Her. She had to wear white things on Her face that gradually turned red and had to be changed every few minutes. After that day She cried a lot and kept Her distance away from It.

She would stare at it for long periods of time, not holding It or loving It like She used to. Often She left It to fend for itself for days at a time. She would just stare, with tears on Her face as It cried for food. One day It was so hungry, It snatched up a mouse that scurried past Its cage and ate it whole. She threw up and ran from the house.

She brought a man home with her later that day. He wore black clothes and a shimmering gold cross. She told It to be good, and not to bother the man, but It did not listen. He wanted to flick his water on It and say those strange words. It became angry when the man started shouting words from his book. He came too close to the crate and It snatched out one of his eyes. It loved the taste of him and wanted more, but the man ran screaming from the house.

She cried a lot that night as She took It for a ride out in the country. It enjoyed the fresh air. She said that She was going to play a game with It. She threw It’s crate into a sewer drain and drove away.

For months all It had to live off of was rats and snakes. It loved the way they squirmed as they slid down It’s throat. Looking back, It enjoyed that game very much. Leaving It somewhere so that It could find its way home was fun. Now that It has found Her, the time has come to play another game.

It scratched at the front door but could not reach the doorknob. All the windows were too high to reach. There was only one other option.

It opened the back hatch of the minivan by balancing on the rear bumper. It crawled to the front of the van and climbed into the front seat. It pressed the trunk button allowing the hatch to close itself and then It slid out of the seat and into the floorboard behind the driver’s seat. It settled in for a short nap.

It remembered that playing peek-a-boo with Her was such a fun game before She was too afraid to play anymore. In the morning, It is going to surprise Her. It is going to grab Her around the neck with Its claws. In the morning, It is going to play a new game with Her.

"Fun and Games"
Copyright: © 2009 Brian Barnett

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Brian Barnett lives with his wife, Stephanie, and son, Michael, in Frankfort, Kentucky. To date, he has published over thirty-five stories since he began publishing in November 2008. He has been published by MicroHorror.com, Static Movement, The Monsters Next Door, Sonar4 Ezine, Blood Moon Rising, Flashshot, Flashes in the Dark, Dark Fire Fiction, Burst Fiction, The Daily Tourniquet, Yellow Mama, The Lesser Flamingo, and The Short Humour Site.