WARNING: Graphic content.
You woke up, your head pounding sharply. You had been running through the forest to escape the mad man who was trying to catch you, all part of a sick and twisted "game" he had set out. The feeling of nausea swept over you like the waves of an ocean, drenching you in the awful sensation. There was a foul, horrendous odor around you, clinging to your nostrils and throat, wedging itself into your lungs and not showing any signs of wanting to leave. You gagged slightly, bile making its way up from your churning and aching stomach. The feel of ice cold metal against your back told you that your body was on some sort of table, and you felt your heart pounding against your ribs. This had to be a dream. It just had to be. There was no way that this was really happening to you, there couldn't be any possible way. You lifted your head and made an attempt to sit up, but something held your limbs down tight on the metal platform you rested on. You saw your body was bare and naked, exposed to the harsh cold. You shivered violently and your teeth chattered. You yanked with a sharp movement of the wrists and shoulders, but to no avail. There were thick leather straps holding your sore, raw wrists and ankles to the hard, freezing table. Your ears strained against the silence and they made out a sound on the floor around you, a rattling, shuffling, squeaking sound. All mixed together as though it were an eerie, ghostly symphonic orchestra, playing out the music of Hell itself. The squeaking soon was distinguishable from the pounding in your head and the voices screaming at you in sheer, immense horror. The sounds of rats, hundreds maybe, all squealing and screaming from inside the steel wire cages that kept them imprisoned. You too knew the feeling of being trapped like an animal. Hell, that's the situation you were in at that very moment. Trapped and restrained like a filthy animal, ready to be gutted or experimented on. Somehow, the horrific stench of rat shit and sweat and other substances seemed to be growing worse and worse by the second. Your spine ached and a chill climbed along it slowly, like a demon stalking its next victim slowly, leaving a trail of ice behind it. The pit in your stomach seemed to be getting deeper and more noticeable. You yanked and tugged on the restraints as hard as you could, but nothing happened other than a horrible pain in your flesh, and deep scarlet blood dripped from your joints. There were small tack points in the restraints, and they had cut into you firmly. A cry escaped your throat and tears welled up in your eyes, leaking down your pale and scraped cheeks. You heard a loud bang and you saw a figure in a dimly lit doorway. They walked over to you and you saw a large, grotesque mask staring at you. It was a hideous, disturbing rat mask with horrid beady eyes.
"Ah, you're awake!" The high raspy voice was sickeningly cheerful and they sounded as though they were a smoker. And a heavy one at that. You struggled more and the person limped towards you, fingernails yellow and long from years of neglect. Their hands were sickly pale and scarred and scabbed and worn. Callouses were embedded into the knuckles and palms and fingers. You screamed for help, but to no avail. The voice laughed and you identified the figure as a male.
"Well, isn't that ADORABLE! You can't find help here, young one. You can't escape," he said gleefully. "Even if you could, I'd never let you. You see, my babies haven't eaten in days. They're very hungry, yes," he laughed. The rats were screeching and squealing louder than before now, all of them trying to get to their master. "They have learned that I bring them food. They know you're going to please them. My babies will rip your flesh from your bones and tear away at your delicious organs while you watch!"
You felt sick to your stomach and you tried breaking free again. The horrendous hands picked up an old but sharp looking dagger from a shelf nearby on the wall. "Once they get a whiff of your sweet, sweet blood, they will not stop until all of your meat has been consumed." The blade dug into your skin and dragged along slowly. You gritted your teeth and arched your back, a loud groan of agony ripping its way from your chest and throat. The man laughed again and blood gushed from the gaping wound in your wrist. He leaned across you to mirror the action on your other hand and the rats squealed even louder.
"Can you hear that? Can you hear how excited they are!? My babies, run free! Run free and feast until you can no longer consume this tender flesh! Feast until your little bellies are filled with this sweet delicacy!" He spoke loudly and slammed a fist on a button on the wall. The latches of the cages all swung open fiercely and the sound of hundreds and hundreds of little paws pitter-pattering on the cold stone floor was deafening. Within a matter of seconds, you felt something clamp down on your hand and pierce the skin. A cry escaped your throat and a large, fat grey rat sat there gnawing away. You attempted to shoo it away but it just dug deeper. You felt another sharp pain, this time in your knee, which was scraped from falling during the chase in the woods. You struggled more and sounds of loud agony arose from your throat. More and more rats dug into your limbs, ripping away at the delicate flesh.
You felt a horrendous pain in your abdomen and your body tensed up. You looked down and saw a white, filthy rat ripping away at your lower abdomen and you screamed. Blood gushed onto the table as more climbed up onto you, sinking their disease-ridden fangs into your skin and muscles. You felt weak and the pain was overwhelming. You felt claws and teeth grinding against bone in your limbs, especially in the hands and feet. Your vision began to darken and blur around the edges and you felt a pain beyond any other. A few rodents had burrowed into your middle and were climbing inside you and tearing at your vital organs. The worst pain imaginable struck you and you screamed and choked. Blood splattered from your mouth as you gagged and coughed as two or three rats dug into your stomach and lungs.
You felt light and horrible, painful yet numb. You couldn't move or breathe any longer, but you could hear and feel and see. You saw a rat climb onto your face and dig its claws into your cheek. A jarring numb type of pain ripped through your head and blood spewed from your eye where the rat bit down. You felt them crawling around inside your body and you felt one slowly claw its way up your insides, inside your chest and throat. It had somehow managed to crawl into your esophagus through your insides. Your vision blackened as one rat clawed its way out from inside of your throat, ripping your flesh open. Your body shut down completely and you moved no more. The Rat Man laughed softly and watched as his children feasted on your corpse.
"Enjoy your meal, my babies."
