Pantomaniac

Chapter 2

Zulkefli opened his eyes. His chest moved up and down. His back damp with sweat. His forehead thick with perspiration. Zulkefli stared at the ceiling, refusing to move for he feared that the slightest motion would summon the mime in his dream.

That went on for minutes.

Until his eyes felt heavy. Gradually, he allowed his lids to shut. His breathing slowed and he drifted back to sleep.

The familiar smell of smoke re-entered his nostrils except this time, there was no smoke. He scanned the area. Nothing was really visible to his naked eye. All he saw were vague shapes and they were...floating? Kef shut his eyes and shook his head, willing for the vision to come into focus.

But it didn't.

The moment Zulkefli opened his eyes, whatever space he was in started swimming in a swirl. His eyes felt like they were melting down his face. He grabbed his cheeks, pressing on them with his fingers.

Bending over, Zulkefli fought the urge to spill his guts. That was when he heard a clattering sound. Through his teary eyes, he looked ahead and saw, or what he thought he saw, a man with his back towards him. Slowly, Zulkefli stood up.

As he did, the man started turning around. It took only a few seconds before the man "jumped-cut" himself, like a video editing effect, and faced directly at Zulkefli. He had something shiny in his hand. So shiny that the reflection pierced through Kef's eyes, forcing him to shield them with his arms. How could that be, when the entire area was dark?

The man's lips curled. As he smiled, a set of teeth became visible. But they weren't white. Oh, no they weren't. Blood, thick red blood dripped from the tip of each tooth.

Zulkefli gasped.

Then the man raised the knife and waved it at Zulkefli, almost like a greeting. Zulkefli started shaking his head. No..no! What was he doing?

At that moment, a child came out from behind the man. This child too had a mime mask on his face. But something was poking out of the hole where his mouth was. A tongue. His tongue. Was the kid really sticking out his tongue at Zulkefli? What the hell was happening? Zulkefli felt the insides of his stomach spin again.

Like an obedient child, the boy walked and stood in front of the man, whose knife was still being waved in the air. The moment the boy stopped moving, the man coiled one arm around the boy's neck, gently pulling him backwards until they appeared like a pair of father and son.

Zulkefli was about to walk forward and confront the man when he saw him lowering his arm, the one with the knife. Zulkefli's eyes followed the movement, never leaving the tip of the knife, not even for one second. With every growing moment, the knife only got nearer and nearer to the boy's face. The man did not stop. He kept bringing the knife even nearer, until the blade finally rested on the boy's skin.

Still, he did not stop.

Slowly, he slid his hand down the boy's face until the knife was on his tongue. Zulkefli staggered backwards, shaking his head over and over. No. He did not want to watch what was about to happen. He wished for the ground to swallow him whole.

As the knife rested on the boy's tongue, the man tilted his head, all the while smiling at Zulkefli. He leaned forward, letting his chin rest on the boy's shoulder. Zulkefli saw the blood from his teeth drip onto the boy's shoulder, giving it a smear of red. The man's smile grew wider and, in one swift movement, he pressed the knife on the boy's tongue, slicing it in half!

"Noooo!!!"

The front of the tongue fell onto the ground. It rolled towards Zulkefli like a log. He could not move. His heart had stopped breathing. The sliced tongue hit his shoes. Shaking, Zulkefli looked at it. The next thing he knew, the tongue flew off the ground, heading straight for his face.