“Hey Navy, are you done yet?” I ask “Yeah, just gimme a second would ya?” “Well hurry it the fuck up, don’t nobody like being down here.” I’m not sure why, but I never liked being in the basement. When we moved in four years ago, there was a strong and violent aura surrounding my throat. Its suffocating presence only grew stronger each day. By year one mom and dad were at each other throats 24/7, year two big sis fucked her teacher and got pregnant, year three mom and dad were gone. It’s not like they died, I actually would have preferred that, they were just gone. August 18, 2021 was the day they vanished. The night before we celebrated my and Navy’s 18th birthday, we had gone out to a gun range; shooting a 12 gauge shotgun, a baretta, Smith & Wesson M & P 2.0 and let me tell you, it felt amazing. Afterwards, we went out to eat, then home but.. When the sun rose and I went to greet my parents, they were gone. Their cars, important paperwork, clothes.. Phones.. We’re all left behind. It’s been a year since their disappearance, and I want to see if the ouija board could help us get closure.
“Hey hey you shit fucks, guess whos got SNICKITEY SNACKS!” Navy yells coming downstairs. “Not to be THAT guy, but don’t you think that’s not the best thing right now?” Roi asks. When her words began reverberating around him, he slightly bit his trembling lip, did a small hop and continued to place down the group snacks. As much as I’m suffering, my brother seems to have been on a rapid decline since they disappeared. He’s almost like a festering volcano of sadness, grief, and pain ready to explode at every moment. Every time I asked him to talk to me, to join my therapy sessions, he always turned it down. Of course I forced him to talk, but all he did was get violent, or he just shut everything about the incident down.
“Oh shut up, you know you was fuckin hungry.” Xander sternly states. “Alright, you got me, what do we do?” “WEEEEEELL according to Reddit, I need everyone to place your index and middle finger on a fourth of the planchette. Then we’ll all move our hands in a circle to welcome our presence to the spirits, say hello and start asking questions until we get someone. Usually you’d say ‘Hello, is anyone there?’ When you get a hold of someone, you ask if they’re good or bad.” “Sounds easy enough heh…” I say nervously. After taking a group deep breath, we followed the instructions to the letter. After Xander said “hello, is anyone there?” There was a long silence, one that was full of doubt and fear. To be frank, I think I hope this is a big hoax, that it’ll all be a funny inside joke.
“Maybe they’re asleep,” Roi mocks. “You do know it’s not wise to mock sports, yes?” Xander advises. “Just give it some time, I’m sure they’ll reply.” I say in confidence. “Well shit” Navy says throwing his hands up, let’s take a break. We got shnacks, video games, board games… doors with locks on them.. wink wink nudge nudge.” “Mmm, why don’t you show Roialty proper respect, and I might let you finish.” She says in third person. “Oh but your highness,” he says, gripping her neck. “You may be a queen, but tonight not only will you be taken by a lowly commoner, we’ll be ravaging each other like wild animals.” A strong scent of lust began filling the room and in an instant, Navy grabbed Roi’s hand and sprinted to his room. Now look. I’m not saying I’m jealous of my brother, but I am. He’s able to just talk to people and express himself, but I can’t find the courage to ask Xander out, let alone fuck.
“They’re really going at it huh?” He says with a chuckle. “Yeah..” I responded awkwardly. The quiet room was filled with moaning, grunts, loud and thumps”. “Hey so, crazy idea.” He says leaning in close. “What if we, I don’t know, follow suit?” “Oh God yeah.” I say lunging in for a kiss. His grip was tight as we fell deeper into intensity and passion. What followed was about 30 minutes of deep love making that ended in both of us leaking passion on the floor. As we cuddled in our mess, I must have drifted off to sleep at some point because when I opened my eyes, I was walking down a corridor covered in black ink. Every step is a thick, squelching mess. It clenched and pulled me deeper with each painful step, with ink rising high enough to reach my chest. The rising pressure began condensing my body, against the opposing tides while I clawed and screamed for help. There’s no ledge nor a floor under me, it feels like I’m being dragged to the deepest parts of the ocean. No matter how hard I struggle, how loud I shout, no one helps. Why? Was it something I did? Something I said? At this point, the abyss was at my chin and I had just about given up. No matter how hard I struggle, or how much I climb, There’s nothing for me.
When I opened my eyes, I was still trapped in ink, but a figure was standing before me- no that’s not right. He was towering over me. His legs, well more like treerunks, had long talons on his feet and were covered in gorgeous feathers. From head to ankle, he was draped in silky patterns littered with black, white, purple and pink. His beak looked as if it weren’t there, like it was devoid of any previous pigment. His eyes were sharp and assertive, as he stared my soul into my prison. I’m not sure if his eyes are black with white spots, or if there’s an infinite cosmos brewing within him, ever expanding and creating someone like me. Someone small, smaller than small, smaller than an atom, someone so insignificant that when we die, we’ll only be consumed by the infinite nothingness, as it’s done so many times. How can we be cogs in a machine, when all were born for, is to die? How could there be more to life when you’re born to die? Why can’t anyone say what the meaning of life is? Why can’t?-
My thoughts were halted by the behemoth standing before me as he spoke. “Shush child.” His voice was elegant and sweet, almost sorrowful. The bass in his voice made something rattle down my spine. “You’ve done nothing wrong, in fact I’m here to let you know that I’ve come to answer your prayers.” His figure knelt down to my level and extended a hand to me. “All you have to do is take Daddy’s hand”. Maybe I was desperate, but my body reacted before I knew what was happening and I felt it’s smooth hand lock with mine. Smooth wasn’t the word, it’s orgasmic. After he pulled me out, he hugged me tightly. Like.. they used to.. is this their love, coming back to reassure me that they’re safe? That they love me? In a matter of a few brief moments, I drenched his chest with my tears and he stayed silent. There was no judgment, no malice, only the loving embrace of a father.
“Why do you weep so?” He asked worriedly. “I..I’m alone.. everyone I ever get close to, hurt me or leave me. Blame me for their fuck ups. BLAME ME FOR THEIR LIES! leave me to die… I’m so fucking tired of fighting… if you’re going to kill me, just do it.. no one will notice..” “Is that truly your thoughts child?” “I-I-I…” “As I thought. Are you sure it’s not all your pent up pain and aggression?” While squeezing him tighter, I nod in response. “Nu-uh, words child.” He strictly states. “Yes..” “What if I helped you?” “But.. but aren’t you just me? Some made up dream that means next to nothing?” It was hard to tell due to his owl appearance, but it looked like a passionate smile covered his face. “Yes darling, I’m merely a figment of your imagination, humor me” “Okay daddy”I say with a small giggle. “With your permission, I’ll satisfy your hungering void” “W-what would you do?” “If you trust me, you won’t ask questions”
Biting my lip, I buried my face in his feathers and mouthed the words ‘you have my permission’.. when I looked up at my new companion, he was different. Feathers with split tips, pitch black body, and black glossy eyes. It was as if the void I had been ensnared in was looking back at me, waiting and salivating at the thought of eating me. It was a ceaseless void that ate the space around me, and drank the color to wash it down.
When I opened my eyes again I knew it was real, due to Xander pressing against me. His tight embrace felt warm and safe as he quietly snored in my ear, though something felt off. No matter how many times I scanned the dark room, I didn’t see anything, there was no sign of life in this lust filled room.. then I got to the corner closet. For a brief moment in time, it felt as though the incomprehensible void was staring at me, blinking. Somehow, I felt something staring a hole in my soul, rendering me a helpless lamb lured to slaughter. I’m not sure how, but I felt it shuffling quietly closer to where I was. Its pace never quickened, and its eyes never broke the staring contest we were in. There was a motion sensor light that reared its presence into existence. A creature standing at least 8’ft hunched over to fit its giant body in the darkness. Its arms extend out four feet and protrude from its back, tipped with what looks to be blood stained talons. Extraneous limbs pushed into its malnourished torso, wriggling and writhing out of desperation. The pitch black creature reminded me of the owl God… ‘daddy’.. it can’t be. This creature before me has a jaw that extends to the breasts, riddled with saliva drenched teeth.
“Come now darling, you didn’t think I was really good, did you?” He says in that same warm, father tone. My heartbeat began racing as he was hastening his pace. In the midst of my panic, I managed to thrash Xander up to help me. “W-whats?” He says sleepily. “SHUT THE FUCK UP, WE GOTTS GO, NOW!” I bellow as I drag him out of bed. “Oh no no no no. Tell me what the HOLIEST of hells is going on here.” “I will, just hold on”.
After fast walking to a nearby room, we hid in a deep closet and shut both doors behind us.
“Mmmm”. The creature says in an annoyed grumble.”child, I don’t think it’s fair that you are doing this to me. I haven’t eaten in ages.. you don’t want daddy to starve, do you?” Every time he spoke, I felt it rattle my bones and reverberate in my ears. My heart wouldn’t slow down, and I feared it would give out on me in the coming moments.
“Are you going to fill me in on what the fuck is going in here?!” He says quietly. “When I was asleep, he came to me in a dream. He said he’d satisfy my hunger, I didn’t think this is what was going to happen”. “Where did it come from?” “I don’t fucking know, he just appeared”.
After a stunned silence, the beast seemed to have taken a different road. The walls and ceiling. Its talons made its previous motion seem immobile. Somehow it managed to squeeze its giant body in the vent and tap away. Xander and I felt it would be best to stay silent, grab Roi and Navy, and get out. I pulled out my phone to look at the cameras to track its location, while trying to wake up Navy and Roi.
“Psst, psst” I whisper yelled through the microphone. “Navy, Roi, please wake up. We have to get out”. His foot shuffled but he and Roi stayed fast asleep, basically on top of each other. But my warning was to no avail, as the creature emerged from the inky depths of his closet. Xander and I silently watched the scene unfold. I’m not sure if it was morbid curiosity, or we were frozen in shock. Either way, the creature had one goal, disable movement. In one swift motion, the beast slashed all four ankles that were bared before him. Their shrieks of pain were followed by punctures of the torso multiple times, forcing chunks of flesh and bone, snapping and splattering over the bed. The massacre pulp that is Roi and Navy die reaching for help. Reaching for us. Not knowing what else to do, we sprinted to the front door to escape this feeding ground. Right as we approach the door, Xander falls, landing on his hand and snapping his fingers like twigs.
“Hmm?” It says in a deeply confused tone, staring at me. Xander’s cries for help were softly snuffed out by him going into shock on the floor. “Well darling, it seems we have ourselves a little issue. Since I made my deal with you in the manner I did, I cannot kill you.” He pauses.”but you can kill me. By killing yourself.”
“Why are you telling me this?” “Because I cannot kill you, you are my anchor to this world. With that said, since this fellow seems to be someone you’re close with, how would you like to see him die?” “W-what are?-“ he did not let me finish my sentence, as he punched me in the chest, just hard enough to knock the wind from my lungs. My painful gasps of air were coupled by the sight of Xander being held by all of his limbs, ripped to shreds, and thrown down a viscous blending gullet. He left nothing of Xander, no speck of blood. No flesh, no body.
“It sure is a shame I couldn’t taste you, I’ve heard tales that it’s possible under the right circumstances, but I think I’ve grown to like you. If you promise to feed me one human every two years, I promise to leave you be, for the remainder of your life.” “I..w-wh..i..i” my mouth trembled as I lay helpless on the ground, living in my own bodily fluids. “Listen child, it’s either live a life of solitude and sadness, due to me devouring everyone and everything in this world, or you feed me one morsel every two years of your bloodline’s life.” I guess I don’t have a choice here… “i..acce..pt” I say through pained breaths. “GREAT!” He shouts, like a giddy child, before disappearing in the darkness.
It’s been 11 years since then, and the beast kept his word. I feed him one human every two years, and he leaves me alone. It’s not the best relationship, but it works. To my future family, I’m.. sorry I cursed you with this. I hope you’ll forgive me.
Your mother, Carliah