The Good God

A Little Slice of Devyn - Part 5

Devyn felt numb. Thousands of people? How many wound up on food, like her, or else fallen into beverages? How many had landed on the floor, directly beneath the thunderous feet of their oblivious friends and loved ones? She thought of Harvey and Katie, wondering if they had connected her with the other vanished, if her name was listed among those of so many others.

Did her parents know? Her heart dropped... Did her parents shrink? Was it something genetic? She needed more information. But the girls had ceased offering anything new, and had instead proceeded to call everyone they knew to see if they were okay.

Alyssa ran upstairs to wake her parents and younger sister, who came down and joined them in the living room. They all talked for a long time, offering no new information. Alyssa's parents called each of the girl's parents, compelling them to have the girls go ahead and stay the night, as the streets were apparently pretty blocked up from accidents, and people were advised to stay indoors in case it happened again. All except the olive-skinned girl, who left, sobbing, at the discovery that her older brother, Devyn's friend Theo, was one of the vanished.

At first, Devyn felt sick and weakened by the news. How could this have happened? Why her? But as time passed, she experienced a growing, forceful determination to live, to be discovered. If someone figured out that the missing people had not vanished after all, but shrunken, they would know to look for them. But oh God, for how many people would it be too late to save? Not important. The thing to focus on was her own survival and discovery; that was the best way to help the others.

Chelsea's mouth was open slightly, her head angled down over her cellphone as she scrolled through social media, and Devyn could see the bright screen close by. A plan came together in her mind; if she could jump down onto the cellphone, the girl might be able to see her tiny body. It would be dangerous, crazy even, and she never would have even considered it, were it not for this new demand to be found. It was worth risking her life, better than hanging around here, waiting to be swept away whenever the girl decided to brush her teeth.

She took a deep breath, lifting her hands to the metal bar of the braces, ready to pull herself out, but paused. She brought her hands together before her heart to pray:

Please God... if there is a God... and if this was your will, or whatever, I don't really understand WHY you would do this, but whatever, not judging, you do you. If you could just do me this one favor... Please. Please let this chick notice me.

She exhaled, opening her eyes to glare out towards the slightly parted lips. She climbed up over the bracket, to where the lower lip rested against them. She dug her hands into the slick flesh and heaved herself up, clawing over the round edge of Chelsea's lip.

And then Devyn's prayers were answered.

Chelsea noticed a slight tickling sensation, not unlike how it feels when an ant crawls across your foot in the grass, coming from inside her lip. She knew at once what it was; her little bug pal, from the pizza. Her dismal mood was cheered slightly as the little guy managed to claw its way from her mouth. She let it crawl out from between her lips, letting it take in a hopeful view of the world beyond her mouth, before she drew her tongue towards it.

Devyn felt the quivering motion behind her and groaned in dread, turning as the massive pink organ slithered after her, as if in pursuit. It scooped her up and descended back into the darkness, and Devyn took one last look at the outside world, at the couple of girls and Allyssa's family, lost in their cell phones, sitting stoically around the coffee table like The Last fucking Supper, before the teeth descended, casting her in darkness. The tongue rose her up towards the glistening maroon arch that was the roof of her mouth and pressed her into the soft skin, rolling her back and forth across the wrinkled ridges.

Chelsea continued scrolling through social media as she absentmindedly rolled the tiny bug against the roof of her mouth, like a single spec of soft, wriggling salt, barely able to feel it thrashing around against her tongue. There was something comforting about having the little bug inside her mouth; knowing that whatever was going on with this terrifying terrorist attack or whatever it was, she at least had complete control over this one tiny little insignificant life. Its life belonged to her, now, to do with it what she pleased. And she liked having it inside her.

The tongue quivered, and Devyn felt an all too familiar sucking sensation as she was pulled backwards, and looked down in time to see the near vertical slope of the tongue, towards the gaping black hole that was her throat, before she was careening down it with a deafening GULP.