My Friend the Worm

Chapter 12 Killers

I awoke naked in my telepathic world, staring at a cracked ceiling. Getting up slowly, I could tell the room around me had regressed back to its original state—paint chipped walls, floorboards protruding up from the ground with nails exposed, everything broken and dirty.

Finding my clothes with holes, I got dressed and was not surprised to see the rest of my apartment had regressed into shambles as well. I collapsed onto the sinking frame of the sofa. Within seconds the front door flew open, making me jump.

"Ugh! Why do you always do that?" I asked the bearded woman as she flew in, pounding the floor as she went. She slammed the door after her, so hard the entire room shook. Her beard had grown back in full, but her face looked pale.

I groaned, grabbing my head which was aching. That was when I realized it was the first time I had a headache in this place. This telepathic sleep state was somehow becoming a continuation of my exhaustion in the real world, rather than an escape from it.

"Bad, bad. There." The bearded lady's eyes were huge, and she appeared to be shaking as she clamored over to the fridge hungrily. She started raiding it, maggots and all.

"Bad? You mean worse than usual?" I said, and lay back on the dusty couch. I heard her grunt in response as she continued slurping up food.

A few minutes later, I heard a clamor from the apartment underneath us and also down the hall. Bang... bang, bang, bang... BANG! It sounded like things being thrown, or stomping feet, or both. Perhaps the citizens were fighting, or going on a rampage?

Then came the shrieks. These howling screams seemed to be distant at first, and soon they were right outside my apartment—maybe just a couple doors down.

POWWW. A piercing sound like a gunshot came from below, shaking the foundation of the building.

"What the hell is going on?" I rose to my feet, looking over at the bearded woman. She stood motionless in front of the open fridge, trembling, with her undivided attention fixed on the front door. Her eyes were bugged out and I could see busted blood vessels blotching her sclera. Gray milk streamed down the sides of her mouth.

That was when I heard feet pounding up to my front door and it swung open with a thud. The bearded lady screamed in terror at the highest, most ghastly pitch, making me wince and cover my ears. My head was now ringing.

I watched the brunette pop inside the apartment, panting hysterically. She stuck her head out the door again to peek down the hallway and then slammed the door shut.

Without delay, she flew back and forth across the apartment, dragging random pieces of furniture and appliances right in front of the door. Once she had a teetering barrier of dusty pieces of wood, metal and wires, she heaved an enormous sigh and slid to the floor in a heap.

I got up and hovered over the brunette, who was still hyperventilating in a fetal position. Parts of her skirt and stockings were shredded, revealing bloody scratches. One of her frilly gray sleeves was completely ripped off and the rest of her blouse was soaked in blood. And it didn't appear to be hers.

"Hey, sweetie," I whispered as I gently touched the hand that cupped her face.

The brunette jumped up suddenly, whipping her head toward me, and I saw a thick, knife-like shard of glass in her hand. She was shaking, breathing fast like a trapped, frantic animal.

"Hey, hey!" I shouted, grabbing her wrists. "Let go of that thing!"

The brunette dropped the jagged glass, which smashed on the floor and splintered into pieces.