The murky water parted, unwillingly, and let out a sickening, squelching pop as an odd, too long head rose out of the depths. Grey mottled skin sagged under the weight of the groping liquid. Tiny rips and tears appeared along what the onlookers assumed to be the cheeks of the thing. With slow, labored steps the thing pushed its way up, fighting the tendrils with each and every movement. It’s long face finally cleared the surface, bulbous lips parted in a pained glower. It groaned, the tendons standing out in its elongated neck as it fought the pull of the viscous waters.
With a low, menacing growl it threw itself onto the coarse sand. Dark spittle dripped out of its open mouth as its long, deformed naked body shook from the exertion. Its twisted muscles spasming intermittently as the murky water released its grasp.
More loud pops followed as 4 more figures emerged, breaking the glassy surface with yelps and yips. One was headless, a thick, sinewy neck that flexed with the effort of escaping the grip of the liquid. Another was eyeless, mottled skin sunken into the open sockets. The third was oddly shaped and lumpy, face and body bloated like that of a drowning victim. The last to emerge was the most human looking one, apart from how odd it was that they were smiling with their eyes closed as they emerged. They all collapsed next to the first, twitching like beached fish.
The Faifekau spread their semi-circle, each member marking which figure they would take responsibility for. Bright fluorescent lights flickered to life behind them, flooding the steadily darkening strip of beach with its incandescent glare. A soft glow emanated from the beached figures as they began to rise, nakedness ignored by the tense members.
“Intruders. We are members of the Conglomerate. We will accompany you all to a suitable space until one of the Named come to speak with you.”
The lanky one snarled as a clump of skin detached from its lower jaw, hanging loosely as if it were a mask.
“Bugs,” it hissed, speaking languidly through its clenched teeth. It spoke in an odd, halting cadence, as if it weren’t completely sure of the rules surrounding common speech. “Who, do you think, we are?”
One of the beings behind it stepped forward, the headless one, and opened the nub of its neck. The folds of the desiccated skin parted, revealing rows of teeth. It let out a high pitched shriek, spraying a thick, gooey spit. It’s naked skin flushed red as the maw extended and swallowed the closest Faifekau whole.
Mana sprung to life, soft lights leaking out from beneath the black uniforms of the Faifekau as the intruders sprung to action.
Screams filled the still night air, short and shrill before quickly dying off. Slurping and crunching followed, the sound of frenzied feeding breaking the night time calm.
---
Taha watched the carnage from his nesting spot, gleefully giggling to himself. His stomach jiggled as he jumped back and forth, reveling in the macabre tapestry the intruders were busy painting. He gnashed his teeth like a rabid animal, saliva running out of the corners of his lips as he watched the helpless Faifekau get torn to shreds.
“If it was me,” he muttered, propping his oblong head in the palm of his large hand. “I woulda let them live a little longer. Just so they could scream a little bit more.”
Hopping up onto the ledge, the little man tip-toed back and forth, eyes never leaving the sight of the massacre. It was obvious he didn’t want to miss a single moment. He began swaying back and forth, gyrating his hips and causing his bulbous midsection to bounce and wiggle.
The intruders ate and ate, ichor splattering all over their disfigured bodies. They ate, completely oblivious to their odd audience. Taha danced and danced, a sadistic smile revealing his perfectly groomed, sharpened teeth. They glinted maliciously as he sashayed under the incandescent beam.
Like an old cartoon character, he began tap dancing to the beat of the intruders feast. The calloused soles of his bare feet rapped against the dusty paved road as if he had metal attached to them.
One by one, the intruders noticed the odd little thing dancing in the light. The headless one burped, skin flaps parting and showing bits of meat and bone stuck between its many teeth, as it turned its attention towards the spectacle.
“Little man,” it rattled, voice reminiscent of dried bones scraping against one another. “Are you here to greet us?”
Taha continued his dance, wide smile growing larger. His head ballooned and grew, giving off a disquieting glow from his eyes and teeth. The street light flickered before bursting as darkness drenched the little dancing man. His growing eyes and mouth illuminated the blank features of the intruders.
The perfect-smiling intruder stepped forward, a disconcerting smirk still plastered on his face even with the sticky blood painting his lips a deep red. His eyes were little more than slits on his face, like the slits on a doll mask.
“Are we to be punished?” His lips pulsated but didn’t move to the rhythm of the words as his voice emanated from behind his face, muffled and distant.
“No one said anything about punishment,” the rhythmic tapping stopped as Taha spoke. His gaze bounced from one intruder to the next. “But compensation will be expected. Faifekau aren’t easy to groom.”
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“Why would we pay you fakes for anything?” the bloated intruder mumbled, it’s voice bubbly and uncomfortably jovial.
Taha chuckled. It made the intruders shiver as the odd thing before them laughed.
“Say what you like, but you’re on our turf now. There are no choices. You are only allowed to agree.”
His already large, glowing face grew to immense proportions, blotting out the night sky as his pock-marked visage encompassed the entirety of the intruder's vision. None of them cowered, standing tall as Taha’s immense nose hovered over them.
The first one to emerge, the lanky intruder, shook violently as his emaciated, elongated body grew. He stretched out a bony hand and placed it on Taha’s nose. His sinewy body tensed as he began to push. Letting out a loud groan, the intruder’s long legs sunk into the coarse sand, burying him up to his knees.
Taha’s enormous nose shook the intruder’s bony grip off. His mouth opened, revealing rows upon rows of shiny serrated teeth. The rest of the mouth was pitch black, undulating shadows constantly moving. He shut it with a rumbling snap, engulfing the intruders and taking a large bite out of the desolate beach they’d been feeding on.
---
Coarse sand coated their ragged bodies. They blinked, at least those with eyes did, and found nothing different. Darkness occupied every sense. A warm, wet wind hit their faces, reeking of decay.
“Intruders,” Taha’s voice bounced around them. The intruders all heard him speak from different areas, each one turning to a different spot. “Welcome to my little corner of the island. I bring you here to impress the value of following the rules. And to offer some help.”
“Why, would we accept, help from you? You are not, semya,” the lanky one answered. He spoke with confidence, straightening his stooped form so he stood at his full height.
Taha began chuckling, slow at first. Then it built, increasing in tempo until the space was filled with a cacophony of mad cackling.
“Why wouldn’t ya accept help? Are you stupid?”
“Silence, fake,” the bloated one screamed over the din, voice shrill and childish. Despite the darkness they were still able to see one another perfectly. The bloated face turned red as it yelled into the cavern.
“Tsk, tsk. You palangi’s always get so bristly,” Taha chided. A loud whoosh blew the intruders in different directions as a huge hand landed on the bloated one. The intruder crumpled with a slimy splatter. The hand rose and disappeared into the darkness and the rest, hackles raised, ran toward the spot where their companion had been.
They found nothing. No body, no entrails, nothing.
“Ugly one, return my sister,” the perfect faced intruder said. The smile on their face turned into a frown, creaking and cracking painfully. The slits for eyes stayed the same.
“Oh? That was a girl? Man, she’s ugly. Fine, here.” A loud snap filled the air and the bloated intruder collapsed behind the group. The figure gasped, half submerged in a filmy slime as they scrambled to their feet. It began whimpering as it held onto it’s closest companion, lips sucked into its bloated face.
“What have you done?” rattled the eyeless one, tongue hanging out as it spoke. It’s body, nearly devoid of muscle, tensed. Every sinew grated as it prepared itself for something.
“Nothing,” Taha answered, voice once again bouncing around the tense group. He chuckled once more, causing the bloated faced intruder to jump and whimper more. “I just showed her what real death looks like. Want me to show the rest of you?”
Without waiting for an answer the perfect faced intruder and the headless one were flung into the darkness, disappearing before they even had a chance to let out a scream. They disappeared with a loud pop, blinking out of sight as the remaining intruders rushed forward. They roared in the darkness, all except for the bloated one, as they began thrashing about.
“Release them,” the lanky intruder growled as he jumped forward, leg muscles expanding before launching himself through the darkness. Another pop and he was gone.
The eyeless one stumbled backwards, the tucked flaps of skin in its eye sockets shaking as its body jiggled from the effort. With a loud pop, it disappeared before it hit the slimy ground.
The bloated intruder whimpered, covering its tiny eyes with trembling hands.
Taha’s insane cackling bounced around the distended space as a rancid wind assaulted the quivering figure.
---
Wet splashing jolted the lone intruder from its sullen reverie, rocking back and forth on their haunches with their eyes tightly shut and hands covering their ears. Spiteful, pained wailing filled the air. Some high pitched, like an air raid siren, and others so low it was hard to tell what noise was being made.
“Good, good, you all ready to talk without being rude now, yeah?” Taha’s voice rang out, causing all the intruders to stiffen. Their cries ceased, quickly replaced by the wet plop-plop of footsteps. None dared look up, choosing to keep their eyes tightly shut or averted.
Taha waddled by them, dragging a long nail along the bare backs of the intruders as he passed.
“It’ll be hard to talk this way, so I’ll do this,” he snapped, a small spark like flint and tinder being ground lit up the space for a brief moment.
The intruders tense bodies loosened as their hands dropped from clutching their heads. Their previous fear seemed forgotten, if only momentarily.
“So, I’m here to help you all. Get acclimated, settled, whatnot. Ya hear? Call me a fake one more time and I’ll tuck you all into those little spaces again. Let’s get along from now on.”
The lanky intruder’s face twitched, some of his previous haughtiness trying to push itself back up. But his long face twisted into a grimace as a shock ran through him, little electric pinpricks wriggling randomly just beneath his skin. The bloated intruder, large head trembling, whimpered as it saw its brother seize and stiffen.
“Am in your heads too, so be careful my little uglies,” Taha let out another disgusting cackle as the wet plopping of his footsteps increased.
“Now, I think you’re all in a better mood to talk. So, let’s talk about how I can help you and you can help me. Sound good?”
The smiling intruder, lips twisted into an odd mix between a smile and a frown, nodded vigorously. Little lights danced behind the slits where his eyes should be.
“Good, good. So, here’s the deal. You all get to participate in the Advent tournament. And, Nima willing, you’ll get to kill one of us. I will tell you how. All I need from you all is an affirmative.”
As one, the intruders nodded. The headless intruder bobbed its whole upper body up and down to show its understanding.
“Good. Now, why am I gonna help you when there’s no merit? Because, I want to. And you’ll kill one of the people I hate most for me. In exchange, follow the rules and act like good little kiddies and you’ll get to enjoy some delicious meatbags, courtesy of the Tu’i.”
“Why?” the lanky intruder asked. Its voice was rough, grating like the coarse sand they’d been standing on but lacking the previous fire. “Why would one of you f-Tu’i help us when we’re here to kill you?”
“Cause,” Taha laughed wildly, his bulbous stomach jiggling. “You won’t be able to kill one of us without my help.”