Trembling With Fear 6-9-24

Bedtime Snack, by Catherine Berry

Nikki was swaying. Arms flopped uselessly above her head, her body felt like lead. She couldn’t quite force her eyelids to part. There was a distressed mumble, muffled, like someone talking through a pillow. Another reedy moan. Her mind felt disconnected from her body; hazy and unsure. The world tilted in the dark. Nikki fell back in a dizzying rush, hitting the ground with a heavy, barely felt, thud.

Focusing all of her energy, she managed to pry her eyes open a crack. It was dim; stray shafts of sun providing just enough light to see in the gloom. She thought it might be a cave. There was some kind of creature, like a distorted, spindly man a few feet away. Mottled skin clung tightly to an emaciated, skeletal body with impossibly long limbs; his fingers stretched into boney claws, clicking in excitement. He hunched over, dropping something onto the ground from his shoulder. It hit with a meaty thunk, limbs splayed, unconscious. It was a woman.

The Spindly Man crouched over her, long viscous strands of saliva sliding down his chin. Nikki’s mind froze in fear. Bile burned in the back of her throat. The woman gave a whimper, starting to come around. The creature leaned down, throat crackling, as she screamed. Nikki watched as the Spindly Man exhaled a cloud of foggy green breath. The woman choked and gasped as the noxious haze caressed her face, body spasming before going suddenly, horribly, still. The Spindly Man tore at his victim’s clothes as he slithered down her body. With a creaking, rattling, sound of delight, his fingers dug into soft flesh.

There was a strange relief and heartbreak as Nikki watched him consume strips of the woman’s skin. It was a small mercy she wasn’t awake to feel it. The air grew coppery as the sounds of the Spindly Man eating got wetter. Throat closed, Nikki tensed, toes curled, hands clenched. That was going to be her fate.

Wait.

Carefully, she wiggled her toes, tightened and relaxed all her muscles; she was starting to move again! Nikki glanced at her captor. There was no hope for the other person, but maybe there was still a chance for her. Nikki waited, adrenaline rising with each crawling minute, until he was gorging himself. She saw him, dripping, sloppy, and red, hands buried to the wrists in the person’s torso. Slowly, so slowly, Nikki stood up. Holding her breath, eyes fixed on the horrific feasting, she quietly crept away. Rounding a bend in the cave, her speed picked up, feet carrying her faster and faster as she headed towards a growing pinprick of white.

Nikki stumbled into the light, blinded, running full tilt, and didn’t stop. She bounced off trees and people, slipped on wet grass, fell hard, struggled back up. The pain didn’t register until Nikki was leaning against a cool marble statue, chest burning with every desperate gulp of air. Her body throbbed in time with her thundering heart. Scraped palms stung, tired limbs burned, her ribs felt close to collapse.

The sound of kids laughing and shouting broke through her panic, and Nikki realized she’d been running through a park. There must have been some hidden tunnels that the Spindly Man used for his victims. Her heart lurched like a jackrabbit. Did that mean there were other entrances? Had he noticed she was gone? Was he coming for her? Nikki looked around, desperate for help, terror rising. The bus! It was headed towards a stop on the street. She raced through the park, heedless of people shouting as she trampled a picnic, and tripped over a dog. The bus was almost at the park entrance. A little further, then she’d be free. The air left her lungs in a sigh of relief as the bus doors jangled open. Almost there. Only a few people ahead of her in line. As she reached the park’s metal gates Nikki felt a rush of tears. She was safe!

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Eyes fluttered open. Nikki stared up at the dark ceiling of the cave. Tears pooled in her ears. Her limbs were unresponsive. A shivering sob rattled in her chest. It wasn’t fair! Her hips jerked. There was a rough tugging, but her body was numb. The nerves were dead. Nikki tipped her head with a struggle, tears overflowing with a pitiful moan. The Spindly Man was crouched over her legs, hands buried in the gaping chasm that was her torso. He didn’t even spare her a glance as curled, dripping fingers scooped viscera into his jagged, stretched mouth. Rasping breaths stuttered out of her tight throat. She’d never made it out of the cave.