Mortis et Amor em Rosa

Chapter III : Open Sesame

What I saw made me scream in a way that would've made the staunchest man look twice. It was truly the worst sound I have made in my life, which paled in comparison to what I saw before me.

Lying there, on a platform, was Rose. She was completely naked, and had been strategically strapped down with restraints. Next to her, a furnace blazed, with someone tending to the flames, feeding coal to the machine, as the room boiled with the heat.

Rose's screaming elevated, her face, usually calm and full of confidence, was a patchwork of fear, confusion and pain. The man turned and saw me standing at the door. He didn't even flinch. "Ah, have you come to join us for the main course, my friend? Sadly, dinner isn't cooked yet" He said, almost apologetically.

As I stood there, letting these words sink in, he burst out in a hearty guffaw. Then, quick as a flash, he was next to me, knife to my throat.

"Are you a cop? Did she call you here?" He barked.

"N..no sir," I said. "I'm not a cop! Don't k..kill me, s..sir! Please!"

He relaxed a bit at this, a cruel smile tugging at his scarred mouth.

"Very well, you must be with her then! Tell you what, you keep quiet about this, and I let you have the leftovers of my meal. Sound fair?" He questioned.

"Excuse me? What do you mean, s..sir?"

I was sure that in my current state, I had misheard him. Surely he hadn't meant what he said?

"What, you thought I was joking about the food? No, young man, I never joke about food, especially with such fresh..ingredients on the table! Ha!"

His maniacal voice jarred me. Where a normal, sane human being would've turned and run away, I stood there, rooted to the spot, unable to move a muscle. I don't know if it was fear, or disgust, or..fascination, even. All I know is that I couldn't bring myself to move away, no matter how much I wanted to. Or did I?

I stood there, still as a statue, as the cannibal sharpened his knives, as he stabbed at Rose, as her blood spilled over onto the floor. Her screams were numbed in my ears now. I could feel nothing, I could hear nothing. I could only watch, helpless, disgusted, terrified, fascinated; as he cut her open and proceeded to feast on her insides.

He didn't kill me, but I felt dead inside. Hollow. A part of me, my one great love, was now gone. I watched her getting torn apart by a monster, and did nothing.

The next few days were a blur. There was a funeral, but no one could know what really happened to Rose, and so I was the only one present.