Chapter 55

The flow of blood slowly ceased, but the torment still remained. She gripped on to what remained of her arm and clenched as hard as she could to bear with the pain. Though the wound burned hot, Anya’s body began to feel cold. She struggled but was eventually able to pry herself up into a loose kneel. All color receded from her face except for the dark bags the surfaced under her eyes. Her hair, like a damp brush, painted her cloak and skin in crude streaks of red as they swayed along with her breathing.

“Where… where… am I…?” She spoke in a raspy voice in between bouts of heavy breathing. She turned her head toward the wall and observed the mold from where she fell. Within the cavity were countless tiny hairs that protruded from its surface; they wiggled unceasingly as if they were desperately searching for something. Her eyes then shifted to the detached arm that was burrowed into the fleshy wall. Despite losing its host, the shriveled limb occasionally twitched as if it had a mind of its own.

Anya fought with her body as she attempted to stand up; her efforts were laced with grunts and fumbles, but eventually, she was able to get on to her feet. The benches that previously blocked her vision now revealed a harrowing sight. With a brief glance at her surroundings, the child discovered that the creature was not just limited to the adjacent wall, but the entire building. A layer of meat covered almost every surface except for the ceiling and parts of the ground. If it were not for the exposed masonry, the girl would have thought that she had been swallowed by some creature.

Her eyes then hesitantly returned to her flesh-cast. There was no way she could recover her arm from the wall. It had already fused with whatever organism inhabited this place. The surface of the arm stretched to a point where it resembled leather rather than human skin. Slowly, she backed away from the wall, just the thought of such an ill fate made her sick to her stomach. Anya turned around and search for the exit only to find that the doorway had been overtaken by the pinkish growth. The way the various parts of the organism melded with the structure suggested that the creature had been a resident of this place for a very long time.

On the other end of the elongated room laid a similar disturbing scene. Atop an elevated platform, a large, pulsating blob of muscle and skin was suspended slightly above the ground. The flesh ball was attached to both the ceiling and floor of the stage by twisted braids of veiny tentacles. There was no consistency in the pattern, but it seemed too complex to be formulated without thought. The organism expanded and contracted regularly, resembling the rhythms of a beating heart. With each convulsion, the tentacles would quickly bloat before returning to their original size, as if fluids were being squeezed through them.

The child continued to scan her surrounding, hoping that it would provide a clue to her situation. After all, the only thing she could remember, besides the dreadful dreams, was the strange whispers that led her to this place. Suddenly from behind her, the girl heard a long and irritating screech. It reminded her of the noise one would hear when a chair is slid against the ground; the sort of high pitch noise that would make one cringe. She turned toward the direction of the sound and instantly felt dizzy. Her body was ready to give, the girl wanted nothing more to just collapse. However, she fought this urge with all her might as she knew that once she fell, she may not have the strength to get back up. When her vision finally steadied, she searched for the origin of the noise. One of the benches seemed to be misaligned with the rest as if it had been moved. It was not long before another squeak sounded and a second bench was slowly displaced.

Something was approaching her, and judging by the rapid succession of the sticky noises, the creature crept closer by the second. Startled, Anya immediately began to hobble away in order to gain distance. Although her legs were uninjured, her weakened state forced her into a limp. Anya’s steps were unbalanced and sluggish, but the child held on. She searched for an exit or just anything she could utilize to keep herself safe. Unfortunately, all she found was a new terror that further tested her sanity.

There were faces within the walls. At first, she thought she was just seeing things, but now she was sure of it. These were human faces.

Like her arm, their skin was dry and stretched, flattened to a point where most of its features had been diminished. A few of them were still attached to bodies that had mostly sunken into the fleshy surface. The majority, however, were reduced to faint patterns within the walls. The girl made a quick glance behind her and saw her pursuer.

It moved like a worm and was as thick as her leg. The slimy creature compressed itself into a misshapen cylinder before its tip jetted out and pulled the rest of its body forward. The child quickened her pace, but the slimy creature was still gaining ground.

Just then, one of the faces that lined the wall began to morph, bloating like a balloon. The previously flat feature inflated and bubbled as if it had suddenly come to life.

Startled, Anya shrieked before briefly pausing and staring at the face in apprehension, unsure of what was to come. The face, now fully formed, began to swell its cheeks. The child glanced back and saw that the worm-like creature came ever closer. She had to press forward, no matter what awaited her. The girl knew that there was no escape from this place as all of the potential exits were cut off by the strange organism. Higher up were windows that remained relatively free of the obstacles, but to scale the wall with one arm would be impossible. Not to mention that it required contact with the wall infestation.

Escape was infeasible, this organism would not allow it.

Anya’s attention then turned to the beating flesh that laid at the far side of the structure. She could not be certain that the convulsing organ was the ‘heart’ of this hostility, however, the situation left her with little options.

Other faces began to bloat on the wall as well, which prompted the child to hastily move. Anya advanced toward the stage as fast her weakened legs would allow her, distancing herself from the wall as more of the faces began to animate themselves.

Stop fighting…

The whispers from before had returned. Anya looked at the wall and saw that the faces had begun to motion their lips.

Why fight…

You can be happy…

Just let us, we can make you happy…

The pain will be gone…

No more suffering…

Anya tried to ignore the voices, but they rang through her mind, threatening to drown out her own thoughts.

Join us, we are happy…

No one will cry…

You are making a mistake…

Smiles all around…

The closer she approached the ‘heart’, the louder and more intense the whispers became. To some degree, this comforted the girl as it implied that the creature was getting desperate.

You do not understand…

Anya shuddered as a chill went down her spine. The voice had suddenly changed in tone and before she knew it, the room had become dead silent.

You cannot understand...

Without warning, an overwhelming number of wet popping noises overcame the sound of her steps. The child instinctively made a quick peek to which she deeply regretted. All along the wall, the faces burst one by one. From their orifices and lacerations excreted an uncountable number of the worm-like creatures similar to the one that chased her. They stretched and ripped the leathery skin of the faces as they made their appearance. Yellow pus discharged from the wall’s surface as the worm-creatures wiggled from their cavities.

Anya wanted to vomit.

The scene disgusted her and she could feel the contents of her stomach revolt, but the girl kept going. Anya knew she could not stop, the thick sounds of the creatures emanated from all around her. For just a second, the horrifying image of her festering and blistering body flashed her mind, reminding her what would become of her if she falls. The girl covered her mouth and fought the mixture of nausea and dread that threatened to overtake her.

“Just a little bit more,” she mumbled to herself.

All around her, the creature approached. With every step taken, the ‘worms’ would close the gap by inches. The moment she came within arms reach of the creature’s ‘heart’, she stabbed it with her bladed tail as hard as she could.

The organ reacted with a series of violent convulsions as the still undesecrated wall-faces screamed in unison. Though the yelp was shrill and painful, the worm-like appendages did not yield. Realizing that she was running out of time, Anya retracted her tail for another jab. All the while jamming her fingers into its lacerations in an attempt to inflict more damage. The girl did not have the raw brutish strength required to rip open the wound, thus she clawed it from the inside, ripping off pieces of muscle fiber as she extracted her hand. With each tug and with each pull, she felt more and more of her stamina diminish.

Gak! Anya screamed as she felt a piercing pain upon her leg.

She looked back and saw that one of the creatures had reached her and is burrowing itself under her skin. The intense pain quickly dulled and numbed before she no longer felt entire portions of her leg. Anya continued to attack the creature, this time using her teeth as she became ever more desperate. The girl could feel her vision fade, blotches of white began to hinder her sight as the flesh-worm tunneled up her leg. Even with her fading consciousness, she continued on with her strikes, each one weaker than the previous. As more of the creatures found their way into her skin, her mind began to blank. With each passing minute, the child became less aware of her surroundings. Her legs eventually gave in, collapsing upon itself as her head slid down the bloodied surface of the creature’s ‘heart’. Though she laid on her side, her hand still clawed at the organ’s flesh as her tail softly grazed at its surface.

Anya looked down at her shriveling legs through the large rips in her clothing. Beneath her skin, small streaks of pulsating intrusions inched up her thighs, leaving bruised and concaving skin behind it. Her breathing began to falter as if her lungs were collapsing in upon itself, resulting in sessions of painful heaves.

She could feel it.

The strange organisms wriggled into the back of her neck. Each new addition brought with it a pain magnitude more intense than the last, eventually dissipating into nothing as the numbness arrived. With what remained of her strength, she held onto her tail by the bottom of the blade and slammed it against the creature’s heart. As the tip of the blade pierced the flesh, Anya’s hand loosened and fell to the floor. Her eyelids slowly and gracefully closed despite her objection. She listened to the sound of her uneven breathing. Before that faded into nothingness as well.