A pale, afflicted creature entered the sewer passage, the toxic gases fuming from the sludge at its feet. The thing was an echo of humanity and had obviously not seen the light of day in some time. Its skinny frame was painted a collage of different colors- feet green with sewage, eyes, and nose yellow with pus, teeth orange and black from lack of hygiene, and skin pink and swollen from sitting in feces for too long. The thing slid along whispering to itself, every word preceded by a twitch of its head. Overcome by a sudden need, it pressed itself against a closeby cement wall and violently scratched its boil-covered back. Snapping back into focus, it stopped, sniffing the air as a smile spread across its hollow face like ripping flesh, eyes widening with recognition.
"Hello again," the creature wheezed with its scratchy voice, eyes twinkling.
A dark figure suddenly appeared from the shadows, and the creature's grimace-like smile only grew wider. The figure was clothed in a skin-tight black suit, holding in one hand a pair of plastic blue gloves and a surgical mask while the other hand rested on a satchel at its side. The figure removed its face covering, something like a ski mask, to reveal the angular face of a woman. She was quite stunning actually, with a dusting of freckles and gleaming mane of crimson hair, woven into one long braid. A delicate grin endowed itself upon her face, shining glory unseen upon the horrific monstrosity before her. A euphonious voice reverberated throughout the hallway, smoothing everything it touched with its buttery acoustic.
"Hello again," she replied, echoing the words of the beast. "Are you in the need of a pick-me-up?" she queried.
"Anything from you," the creature replied, adoration and gratitude manifest in its eyes.
A sad look entered her expression and she softly smiled, suggesting, "Well how about you come here then?"
Quickly donning the surgical mask and gloves, she removed an amber colored vial, labeled, "TOXIC," and a lighter hidden in the messenger bag at her side. Then wrapping the pale, diseased creation in her arms, she caressed its forehead in a motherly fashion, whispering loving words into its ears, an Aphrodite to a Medusa.
Finally, she uncapped the foreboding vial and held the lighter to the bottom, waiting for a cloud of vapor to appear inside. Holding the vial up to its nose, she whispered, "Breathe deeply sweetness," and with a reverent gaze, it inhaled.
Almost immediately, the thing started convulsing, eyes rolling back into its head and ripped fingernails clawing at its throat for any possible chance of air. With one final rasping attempt at a breath, the creature looked up at the woman, pleading with its eyes and reaching for her loving embrace. Seconds later, the sound of struggle stopped.
"Goodbye, my child," the woman whispered, and with a grazing kiss on the forehead, she was gone.
Touched by the cold kiss of death, the creature was frozen in a statuesque fashion, a silent scream contorting its face into a final grimace.
YOU ARE READING
Silent Screams
Mystery / Thriller24 victims within the span of seven days.... all having the same symptoms, the same chemical compounds found in their body, the same cause of death, and the same horrified expression haunting their corpses. The kicker, however, is that all four are...
