Serial Saturday: Parasites by R. Minter, Part 7 – Finale

 

 

Parasites: Part Seven

 

Stale air and questionable smelling smoke mingled with the stink of sweat and alcohol. Leila spun around, seeking her best friend, her wingman, in the undulating crowd of the nightclub.

A song pulsed in time with her rapid heartbeat, driving in like spikes until her breathing grew ragged. 

The crowd packed in, closer and closer. Dancing, flailing, writhing.

Leila, a voice called, deep and husky.

Goosebumps ran across her arms, clashing with the heat of the dance floor. She knew that voice.

Darkness.

The club vanished, leaving Leila in inky, silent black. The silence dug into her ears, unnatural and dangerous.

A man appeared inches away. Leila yelled as she stumbled back. Dull thuds echoed from her footsteps.

He was taller than her, and broad-shouldered. A muscular build barely hidden behind a tight t-shirt and stressed jeans, a chiseled jaw, a self-assured grin. Everything she’d go for in any normal situation.

His grin widened as he caught her eye. “Hello, Leila. Remember me?”

Blurred images danced at the edge of her memory, full of pleasure, pain, and something more primal. “No. Should I?”

The man chuckled. Pleasant at first, then deeper, more ragged, until it cut the air.

Leila gasped, throwing her hands up as he burst into flames. Heat came from him in waves, drying her skin until it was ready to crack.

“Look at me.”

She didn’t want to. She fought her arms as they dropped of their own accord.

What stood before her was no longer a man. Deathly pale skin hung loose on a naked, spindly frame. Long claws tipped even longer fingers.

Blood pulsed in Leila’s ears. She wanted to scream, but the sound stuck in her throat, thick and prickly.

“Maybe this will jog your memory.” 

He was on her in an instant. His breath burned against her scalded skin, stinking of sulfur as his hand slipped under her chin and forced her to look into gray-filmed eyes. His grin. Too wide, full of shark-like teeth.

Leila trembled as realization hit. It couldn’t be possible. None of it should be possible.

His tongue lashed out, long and thin, wrapping itself around her cheek and the back of her neck.

She whimpered and jerked back. Sharp pain bloomed across her chin as she pulled free of his grasp. “No!”

He grabbed her wrist and yanked. She fell against his chest, the roughness of his skin like sandpaper.

“That’s not what you said Saturday night.” His voice went smooth. The contrast made her stomach turn. He leaned in, gripping her around the waist as he whispered in her ear. “You went down on your knees and begged for it.”

The scream stuck in her throat tore free as she thrashed.

He laughed and let go, sending her sprawling into the darkness.

Leila’s scream twisted into a mad giggle. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. But she did. She remembered, and that made it so much easier to fix her mistake. The child. No, the creature, couldn’t be saved. Her hesitation was gone. As soon as she saw the thing again, she’d end it.

The demon appeared on top of her, pinning her in place. “You’re mine,” he hissed. “I can hear your thoughts. I know your actions. Harm the child and you will know pain like you’ve never known before.”

Leila stifled a laugh. Pain was all she’d known lately. As long as she could kill the little demon first, it didn’t matter what happened to her. Kat would—

“Your friend lives because I will it.”

Her thoughts stuttered. “No… the exorcism—”

“A pathetic attempt at stopping the inevitable.” 

The demon pressed harder, rubbing his body across hers. Leila tried to buck, but he was too heavy to budge.

“Nuns with delusions of grandeur and a washout priest think they can change God’s plan. Feel special, Leila. You’re the mother of the end.”

Tears ran from her eyes as she turned her head away from his sulfuric breath. “I won’t… I won’t care for the creature.”

“Then your friend will die. Not quickly. Oh no. Slowly. I can make it take months. And when her pathetic mortal shell gives up, I’ll take her soul to hell. She’ll be waiting there for you.”

#

A baby’s wail shocked Leila from sleep. She lay askew on the bed, sheets twisted around her and pillow on the floor. Tears still streamed down her cheeks, the feel of the demon’s body on hers still fresh.

She propped herself up as shivers wracked through her. The baby shrieked, face deep red and 

toothless mouth open wide. It was hungry. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. She also knew the consequences if she didn’t feed it.

Leila let her nightgown, halfway off already, fall from her shoulders. Her skin crawled. Kat… I’m so sorry. You got hurt because of me. But don’t worry. I won’t let it happen again.

She reached into the cradle and brought the baby to her breast. It quieted, sucking greedily as it watched her with gray-filmed eyes.