The Diners

1st Serving

The light of the late evening filtered through my bedroom window; motes of dust danced in the rays of dying sunlight. My body feels wrong. It somehow feels heavy and light at the same time. I keep trying to lift myself out of bed but can’t find the strength. Has this happened before? No of course, not…right? I shouldn’t have eaten at that diner; I knew that gravy looked and smelled weird. I must be paying the price for eating that slop. Then I felt it, something was coming up. I tried to will myself up, I needed to get to the toilet. But my body wouldn’t move no matter what I did. I strained my neck as hard as I could and my head started to move. Even if I couldn’t get to a toilet at least I could spare my bed. The mess could be dealt with tomorrow when I felt better.

I managed to get my head moved over the side of my bed; I could see the cheap laminate floor of my room. Then it started, bile began forcing its way up my throat. My mouth was forced open by a torrent of brownish green vomit. It shot up my throat and out of my mouth like a waterfall. A puddle quickly formed at the side of my bed and was running all over the floor. I tried to breathe but fluid mixed with mucus began to pour out of my nose. Alarmed I tried to flail and move out of the bed, I needed to find help. The bile began to turn color to a crimson red, I could feel the blood draining from my body. Panic was ebbing as I felt weakness come over me. I could feel something large forcing its way up and out. I tried to clamp my mouth shut, something slimy and coppery slithered into my mouth.

Then a massive convulsion forced my mouth open, there was a loud splat. I stared in horror at a pile down on the floor. Meaty innards lay in the massive puddle of bloody vomit. Another convulsion and I felt something else eject itself from my body. My body was self-destructing, evicting all of my vital organs and fluids against my will. I didn’t have any time to think about why this was happening, I could feel my body deflating as it was emptied. Then a sound caught my attention. The sound of feet moving towards to me, I tried to move my head to see who it was. Maybe it was a worried neighbor? Or hopefully an EMT or police officer coming to perform a wellness check? My head wouldn’t move, I could feel something moving in my head. Then it was in my sinuses, pressure was building but I didn’t feel any pain. The last thing I saw was feet wearing black dress shoes splashing into view. A hand reached down and plucked a bit of intestine from the floor. Then my brain was forced out of my nose and everything went black.

2nd Serving

I woke with a start. Sweat ran down my face, my chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. I looked around my room. Dust motes danced in rays of orange sunlight. I patted myself, my body felt full, and everything was where it was supposed to be. I scanned the room, there were no puddles of bloody goo or strangers in sight. I fell back on the pillow and breathed a sigh of relief; I tried to catch my breath. It had been a nightmare. I chuckled lightly; it was just an absurd nightmare. My chest was starting to hurt. I should’ve been able to catch my breath by now? Though it has been harder to breathe ever since I explored that cave. I think I inhaled too much dust. I looked over at my nightstand, on top of it sat a strange rock I had found while caving.

That rock, more like a figure or an effigy with its weird grooves and edges. Strange areas of perfect smoothness. The more I stared the more it seemed to have form, intentional design. A ridged back, multiple limbs, an uncanny face. It seemed almost familiar. Like I had seen it before, but where? Had an ancient tribe carved it and left it behind for me to find in the modern day? Perhaps. It was covered in dust, dust that seemed to float up and off of it. Dust that had will and agency. Dust that moved to find its way down my throat and into my unsuspecting lungs. I shook my head, I felt dizzy. Did I even like caving? Where was this cave? When did I go? I chuckled slightly; I must be more tired than I thought. I needed to get some good sleep, then everything would fall into place.

Still, I should be breathing normally by now, right? I sat up, my chest was feeling tight and my lungs burned. Something dribbled out of my open mouth as I heaved and gasped. I wiped my mouth and coughed, there was no air, I couldn’t breathe! I fell out of bed and slammed onto the floor, hacking and retching the whole time. I could see some kind of mist coming out with every cough. What was it? I coughed into my hand; I could smell copper. My hand was stained red. And still, I couldn’t breathe. I coughed, I wheezed, I cried out in pain and horror. And with each cough more of my life left my body. A bloody mist hung in the air and settled down around me.

Water, I needed water. I stood and stumbled to my bathroom and turned on the faucet. I thrust my mouth into the stream of cold tap water. I slurped it greedily, I felt it dribble down my chin and run down my throat. Then I coughed again, water mixed with blood was launched from my mouth staining the wall and mirror. I began to feel weak, slowly I slumped to the floor as I continued to cough. My throat felt raw, I could taste blood in my mouth and feel it run down my shredded throat. There was a sound I could hear just over my cough…some kind of chittering? It was coming towards me, slowly getting louder.

My coughs were getting weaker but not stopping, my once healthy pallor was now pale and sickly. It felt as though my lungs had been shredded like paper. I let out another mighty cough, a bloody mist was expelled along with fleshy shrapnel. I was soaked in water, blood and tears. The pain was excruciating, was that chittering getting louder? Something skittered into the bathroom, I could hear it but didn’t have the strength to lift my sagging head. Blood dripped from my nose and eyes as my sinuses were torn by the force of my coughs. It dripped to the floor which was now slick with bright red. The air was thick with a metallic stench and that red mist still hung in the air. A shape moved into view.

A black, chitinous thing with long disgusting antennae moved and sat in my lap. Its feelers tickled me as I lay there getting weaker and weaker. The coughs were getting less frequent and less blood and flesh was being expelled. I felt faint. That thing, what was it? It almost looked like that weird rock I’d found in the cave. My mind was cloudy and dim, I could hear something wheezing. Was that me? No, it was that thing. It pulsed and moved like a breathing chest. With each breath I could see red mist being sucked into it. A strange tongue flicked out, licking up the slick redness and bits of flesh that coated the floors and walls. I gurgled and it looked up at me. Its eyes, human. Its face, insect. My world became dark.

3rd Serving

A scream ripped from my throat as I bolted up in my bed. My sheets were wet with sweat and piss. Shame burned my face as I got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. I looked around my room as I did, all was well. The light of the sinking sun shone through my blinds; it was eerily quiet. Something about this was not right, a strong feeling of déjà vu came over me. Then the smell of my own urine hit my nose, I needed a shower. I quickly stripped and hopped into my grimy shower. I turned the water on, piping hot, and just stood there enjoying the cleansing heat. I soaped myself up and rinsed off. I watched as the white soap suds flowed down the drain. I felt calm again, but I didn’t know if I could get back to sleep again. Maybe I’ll see if any of my buddies are online. I turned the water off; the air was heavy with hot steam as I got out of the shower.

Then I noticed the stench, a strong smell like sewage. I crinkled my nose in disgust, was the toilet backed up? I checked; it wasn’t. I followed my nose and realized the shower was the source. I poked my head in and sniffed, I wanted to hurl. Then I noticed the water, it was oily and smelly. Not again, I thought to myself, it does this every now and then. I sniffed myself; I stank too and my skin felt slick and oily. I grabbed a towel and started to dry myself off. I felt the towel slide over my naked skin, but I still felt wet and oily. I dried harder and harder but the sensation persisted. Frustrated I looked down at my body and stopped. At first it didn’t register then it hit me all at once. My skin was gone. I could see red glistening muscles contract as I moved my body. I looked at the towel, my skin was there, I had wiped it off.

I screamed and threw the towel into the shower; it landed with a soft plop into a puddle of disgusting water. The pain hit me all at once, my exposed nerves screamed and so did I. Terror welled in me as I watched skin slough off my body and fall to the ground. I scrambled to grab the bits that had fallen off, then I remembered the bits in the towel. I stumbled into the shower and hastily snatched the towel up. Then I carefully peeled the skin off of it, as I looked down, I could see more of my flesh falling off in small and large chunks. Small rivulets of blood flowed from them and down the drain. The drain gurgled and sputtered as it greedily accepted the gift. I tried to gather my flesh but then realized that the shower was as good a spot as any to keep it for now. I tried to come up with a plan, but I could feel more and more of my skin flake away. My feet burned and I realized that the soles of my feet had come off when I stepped into the shower. I could see them sitting on the tile floor.

I carefully sat down and reached over to grab them. I gingerly peeled the soles off the floor and set them with the rest of me. The gurgling came back, louder and deeper now. It almost sounded like…a cough or like someone swallowing saliva. It came from the drain, then a rattling from above. I looked up, the shower head was shaking violently, so was the bath faucet. I stood trembling wondering what was happening when a sudden loud moan startled me. I slipped and fell forward onto my face with a wet, meaty slap. I cried out in agony as my raw muscle hit the wet surface of the shower floor. My face was near the drain, a simple hole with a metal cover. Holes in the face allowed water to go down the drain, it should’ve been attached with screws, but the cheap landlord never got around to doing that.

Moans and groans emanated from below the cover; I knew that sometimes I could hear my neighbors through the pipes. Were they also experiencing this horror? Maybe I could communicate. Quickly I slid the cover aside, the pipes continued to rattle and bits of skin flaked away from me. I looked down the drain and stopped, I could feel bile rise in my throat. The drain should have been a simple copper pipe, but it was not. Instead, I was staring down a fleshy throat that pulsed and moved with each moan. Then water burst from the shower head and bath faucet, drenching me with cold, oily discharge. The liquid stank and I could feel my skin wash away with it. The liquid seemed to break down my skin into a kind of weird goo that flowed down into that disgusting throat. I backed away in horror and scrambled out of the shower. The little pile of skin had broken down and was flowing slowly towards the drain. The drain gibbered in joy as it received a feast.

I stood up shakily, exhausted and in pain grabbing onto the sink to steady myself. Then I saw myself in the mirror. A disgusting skinless visage stared back at me with blood shot eyes. I’d left bloody footprints and handprints all over the bathroom, the pain was unbearable. I looked down trying not to vomit. The drain in the sink was a fleshy pulsating tube, a sigh escaped that unnatural throat and its rancid breath washed over me. I vomited into the sink; the throat moaned with pleasure as I fed it. Then I heard it, a voice, coming from the sink. I looked down, the throat quivered and a strange voice rumbled out of it.

“MoRe…PleAsE…ThANk YoU.”

That did it, I felt my legs give out and I fell backwards. The last thing I felt was my skull crack against the toilet bowl.

4th Serving

I sat in my bed drenched in sweat, watching dust move through the fading sunlight. I’d definitely been here before. I could remember pain, horror, and disgust all together. But I couldn’t remember the cause of these feelings. Something was going on, like I was the butt of some kind of inside joke. After a while of sitting in my bed mulling on these feelings I shook my head. Nightmares, I just had vivid nightmares, I’ve always had bad night terrors ever since I was a kid. That’s all that was happening, vivid nightmares and weird dream logic coming together.

That’s right, I had bad food at the diner, the apartment always had bad water, and of course the weird rock from the cave just planted creepy ideas in my subconscious. Add a healthy dose of horror movies and weird fiction, bam, a recipe for waking nightmares. But…was I awake now? I scanned the room nervously, nothing. I inspected myself, nothing but a rash on my arm. I dashed to the bathroom mirror, just my average face. I breathed a sigh of relief and plodded back to my bed, suddenly exhausted. I crawled into bed, I suddenly felt hot and sticky. It was hard to breathe and my whole body felt heavy. Maybe I should have got myself a glass of water? I lifted my arm and prepared myself to swing out of bed, then something hit me with a heavy splat. Confused I looked down at my chest, it looked like there was melting ice cream on my chest. Then I noticed the ice cream had a hand…and fingers…my hand and fingers. I looked up, my fore arm was gone.

I stared in confused terror as pus and gore oozed out of the end of my arm. My flesh and skin were melting into an unrecognizable slop. I tried to open my mouth but my lips fell back into my mouth, I felt as they and my tongue fell back down my throat. I turned my head to the side, a soupy mess of gore, mucus and other fluids spilled out of the orifice that was once my mouth. I could feel my whole-body sagging; my whole being was melting like a candle. Flesh and bone merged, coalesced. My brains dripped from my tear ducts; my eyes slithered from their sockets. Somehow, I still lived, I don’t know how but I was still conscious and aware. God I could still see through my eyes! Why? Why was this happening? How is this happening? Is it happening? Please make it stop! A shadow moved over me.

No! No more! Please! I can’t talk, please help me…please…don’t eat me. A disgusting bloated horror splashed down into me. I couldn’t see any mouths, or eyes or anything on its glossy green skin. It was a simple mass of flesh, but it had an aura of sinister intent. Hair, cancerous tumors and pulsing veins covered its entire mass. It sat down with a plop and then I felt the sensation of movement. Then I realized, it was drinking me through the pores of its skin somehow. It was absorbing me, slurping me up like soup. It was silent as it consumed me, I could see its veins bulge as it sucked me up. It’s just a nightmare I told myself.

Endless Servings

More nightmares. More nightmares all the time, it’s all I see, it’s my whole life. Dust motes dance in the rays of a dying sun. I’m being deboned, then flayed, then fried. I’ve been dissolved and then absorbed. Drained, squeezed like an orange. By things with gangly limbs, insectoid proboscises, needle teeth and impossibly wide mouths. My blood paints the wall and soaks the carpet. My innards are slurped like noodles. Horror is all I know. Is this my life? Has this always been my life? Memories come and go; there’s no time to think or rest. I see someone, or something, we talk and then what? A deal was struck? Or I was taken? Or chosen? Maybe my whole building was chosen? Is this even my apartment?

Then I snap back, some stinking aberration has its disgusting paws in my guts. Dust settles on the cheap linoleum floor. The orange rays of a strange sun give no warmth. It scoops out my intestines, swallowing them whole. Darkness. Snap back, some leech like thing sucks me dry. Darkness. Snap back, eyes are plucked out, nose and fingers removed then consumed. I hope and pray that it will stop, but I know it won’t. Something has its long bony fingers in my mouth. Teeth are plucked and crunched like hard candy. Maybe eventually I’ll stop thinking, become comatose. Maybe. But no matter what my body will always be here, ready to be served.