“I will have the…” Claire frowned at the menu before tilting it to let me get a better look.
“The K’Nais’iil’toreamiune cut.” I told the waiter. Claire twirled a strand of her hair.
“Lovely, and I assume the madam would like her steak to be biologically bound?” The waiter smiled, showing his stained teeth.
“Yes please.” I spoke for her. The waiter gave a small nod, then proceeded to draw a small syringe from his pocket.
“Woah woah wait! What?” Claire yelled. “Does the madam not want her steak to be biologically bound?”
“W-what the hell does that mean?” she turned to me, a look of bewilderment on her face.
“It’s just to make sure there’s no complications,” I placed my hand on her shoulder, “like turning into a mound of eyeballs or something.” I patted her back, smiling as the waiter drew a sample of her blood.
“And for you sir?” He placed the syringe onto a platter on the table. I scanned the menu. Normally I have the soultorn cut, but I was feeling adventerous. I tapped one of the options.
“I’ll try the Eai’n-m’ru’nn steak please.”
“Excellent choice sir,” the waiter took out a second syringe and drew my blood. He placed it on the platter with Claire’s and picked it up, “your meals shall be with you both shortly.” The waiter gave a slight bow and left.
Claire frowned again as the waiter left and looked at the menu again. She flipped it over, twice.
“Do they not offer any drinks here?”
“Ah, no. You actually can’t have any liquids for two days after eating here. Else you’ll be transported to the dimension the cut came from. Trust me it’s not fun.”
“This ‘joke’ better be a good one.” She crossed her arms. I furrowed my brow.
“Joke?” Claire then called me some variation of hilarious, then took out her phone.
Unbelievable. She was already taking out her phone on our second date? I spun the salt shaker, watching the green granules shaking around. The granules screamed as I shook them out onto my hand and popped them into my mouth. The second they touched my tastebuds I instantly felt a million fireworks go off in my brain. I slammed my hand down onto the table, startling Claire.
“WOO! Damn…”
“Are you oka-” She was cut off by the waiter humming as he approached, our meals on each hand.
“That was quick.” She said under her breath.
“Here you are madam, sir,” He grinned as he laid our meals in front of us, “If there are any issues, please do let me know. And of course, enjoy.” Claire raised her hand.
“Uh, mine’s purple.”
“Yes, that is the natural color of the K’Nais’iil’toreamiune when cooked.”
“Alright!” Claire threw her hands up in the air, which I felt was a bit dramatic. Once the waiter left, she peered at my steak.
“What… color is that?”
I shrugged.
“No point letting it get cold, dig in.” The steak started to glow as I cut. It seemed to slide apart into strands as I cut further. I twirled the steak up like spaghetti, and took a bite.
I plummeted through the endless sky, screaming in pain as the air itself caused my skin to sizzle. An impossibly long claw impaled me through the stomach, making me gasp. I couldn’t even see the bottom of the claw and what it was attached to. I frantically looked around, the clouds were a pure black against a white sky, moving slightly too fast to be of this world. The clouds began to part, as several rows of… something emerged. Teeth. Teeth stretching down into the mist below. The teeth stretched along the horizon until they were no longer visible, fading out of my range of vision. I craned my head up from my place of impalement, but I could only see the very tip of the top row of teeth, unable to see the face of the entity. As the gaping abyss closed in around me, shutting me off from the sky, I caught a glimpse of the inside of the mouth. It was lined with eyes.
I opened my own eyes, back in the steakhouse, my plate now empty. “Gotta say, that fills a hole,” I patted my stomach. Claire twitched in her chair, yellow froth dripping from her mouth.
The doctors told me she had lost all control of her body, all voluntary movements were now impossible. She’d be bedridden for the rest of her life. I sighed as I pulled out my phone in the car park, opening up tinder yet again. Does anyone else keep having this issue?