The next day, to my immense displeasure I ended up passing by Ellie on my way to the store, I was afraid that if she noticed me that this frivolous interaction would inevitably become another pointless story she would feel the need to share to the rest of her pose, so naturally I did my best to avoid her notice. Unfortunately, I failed at this almost immediately. My red hair makes me hard to miss.
“Liz…” Ellie Webster's voice sounded behind me but I ignored it.
“Liz! Hey Liz!”
Oh great, what now?
“Was I not clear enough with you before?!” I turned around.
She remained silent for a few moments, seemingly unsure what to say. Her expression looked uncharacteristically grave.
“Scarlett passed away.”
“What?”
“She committed suicide, the day before yesterday.”
…holy shite…
Well christ, that isn’t my fault!
She killed herself cuz her hair and teeth fell out?!
Did she not know about wigs?! Or dentures?
“hey! Did you hear that?!” she asked, an uncommon temper rising from beneath her usually placid mood.
…
“Did you hear that?” I replied.
“hear what?”
“the sound of me not giving a fuck.”
She looked as if I had just punched her.
“This isn’t a fucking joke Liz a person is dead.”
“Aye, and? People die all the time, you want me to cry about all of them too?”
“What is this? This isn’t like you?”
“Like me?! As if you know anything about me!”
“how can you-?”
“-You think I’m just gonna forget about everything she did just because she's dead?! She was a shite stain in life but now because she slit her wrists she’s suddenly a saint?! she wasn’t worth anything more now than when she was alive!”
…
Her expression seemed to flash through a myriad of emotions.
“God you’re such… a fucking loser!”
Her face was stretched into a fierce scowl, the likes of which I had never seen directed upon me, let alone by her.
“W-what did you just say?!”
“I said you’re a fucking loser Liz. You think she was worthless? Less than you? What the fuck gives you more worth than anyone else huh?”
“e-excuse me?”
“You heard me!”
I was taken aback by her sudden uncharacteristic aggression.
“-What's so great about you? You weren’t smarter than her, she had better grades; you don’t have better social skills, obviously! And if you were under the delusion that you were more attractive, let me dispel that here and now; you aren’t.”
Rage surged through my brain and I opened my mouth but my dry throat choked.
I was at a loss for words. I was closer to screaming out loud than conjuring any kind of retort.
“SHE HUMILIATED ME! in front of everyone and no one cared! You all went on being her friend like it was nothing! Why the hell would you expect me to suddenly cry for her now?”
“God, You complain about why no one fucking likes you? Why on earth would they? You’re such a miserable cunt! it’s a wonder those two even tolerate you-“
“-tolerate me?! Then why did you never leave me alone?!”
“Because I felt bad for you! I pitied the insufferable bitch who was too smug and too stupid to figure out why no one wants to be around her! And I'm pretty sure those two feel exactly the same way.”
Words were fighting over the tip of my tongue and yet no comprehensible string of them came forth.
I just stood there speechless.
Ellie shook her head and turned to leave.
But before she could…
“OW!?”
She yelped as I plucked a hair from the back of her head and spun around angrily.
“There was a spider on your head.”
Ellie struck me with a slap on the right side of my face.
I resisted the urge to retaliate with anything more than a cold glare.
Her palm still stinging on my cheek, She shot me an disgusted look and stormed away.
I’ll show you who’s less than me.
I honestly don’t blame Scarlett for killing herself, if I lost my hair and teeth I’d probably do the same. There is no more dreadful fate than the endless bulging stares of contempt that the common public reserve for the marred, invalid and condemned, or worse still; of those of pity.
Well, if I permanently lost them, that is, I’d at least wait to see if it grew back first… I suppose the teeth are a done deal but you could still get them replaced, if you could afford it, and she probably could, her parents are reasonably well off. But even if she wasn’t, it's kind of a premature reaction isn’t it? Was she that certain it was permanent? Or was it just an ‘in the moment thing’.
Maybe she didn’t deserve death but either way, you won't catch me shedding any tears at her funeral.
I was originally going to let things go, she was the one who chose to disturb my buried grievances.
As for Ellie, she’s had this coming for a long time.
There is nothing, nothing in this world I despise more than being looked down upon by those who are less than me.
“Hey pot demon, I need another curse, can you do that?” I spoke into the black cauldron.
I wasn’t actually sure if the hand would show itself without me even lighting the fire but it did.
“of course, with the necessary materials.”
“I already have the hair-…” I stopped, as the hand rose from the water. I noticed for the first time that it had fingernails now and not grotesque elongated claws like one would expect on the end of such dreadful appendages but ordinary short and rounded ones, manicured even.
The six fingered pale hand covered in slime was freaky in and of itself but the nails were so out of place it became so much more uncanny.
I was sure it didn’t have any the first time I saw it but… during the last time I couldn't say for certain.
I was tempted by the urge to inquire but I suppressed it.
I don’t think I want to know.
“As this is your third request I will require a proper sacrifice of flesh and blood.” It spoke.
“what?! you mean-? Like a full animal?”
“The entire of a lesser animal. or an organ from a greater one, rich with blood”
“that’s not too bad I guess… there weren’t dead animals near the pot so I might have to buy a rat from the pet store.”
I’d feel bad about it but they’re bought to feed other animals anyway…
My train of thought was cut off as my attention was drawn by the approaching sound of what I assumed to be a chainsaw somewhere close behind me.
What the-?
A kestrel officer on a quad bike drove along the inside of the fence and turned towards my direction when he noticed me, driving up the hill.
Shite!
“Hey.” He said coming to a halt in front of me. His uniform was the same striking crimson they all wore.
I spun around to look at the pot, but the hand had hidden itself.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Coward!
“I’m looking for a missing person, a middle aged man, brown hair and a mustache, have you seen anyone like that?” he asked.
“n-n-no I haven’t sorry.”
“Alright, thank you. Please inform kestrel information services if you do.”
Wait, is that it?
He looked like he was about to drive off again but he stopped and turned back to me.
“You do know you aren’t supposed to be here right?” he asked
“o-oh- dear really? I-“
“-Did you miss the big red signs?”
“w-which ones would those be?”
He rolled his eyes.
“We’re not lifeguards you know, we expect you to take some responsibility for your own safety. But lingering around here is just tempting the call.”
“Call?”
“The call of the Field? Haven't you heard it in the PSAs?”
“I thought that was just for contractors?”
“Well they experience something a lot more compulsive but even ordinary people will just drop everything and go running off in there, we get missing reports every-...” he stopped. “you get the picture.”
“Wasn’t that was just a new style of suicide? not anything specific to the Field itself.”
“Considering how unusually popular it has become, that seems unlikely.”
“I see.”
“We don’t have the resources to go chasing after every single lost sheep. So If you go missing, dont expect anything more than a cursory search.”
“oh, w-well cheers for the h-heads up I’ll definitely remember that.”
“I mean it, go home, do something else with your time.”
He nodded and drove off on the quad bike, continuing along his original path by the edge of the fence.
Phew…that could have gone a lot worse…
I had heard that Kestrel vehicles had all been retrofitted to function without electricity, allowing it to operate within the Field but as a consequence of this, they made an incongruous amount of noise that allegedly undermined their effectiveness deeper in.
Makes me wonder why I didn't hear that thing sneak up on me?! that encounter could have been far worse… What if he had seen the hand? And me speaking to it? Would that pot demon be able to do anything? What’s it actually capable of besides cursing people? Would it be able to prevent Kestrel from yanking it out of the cauldron and into a glass jar?
hmmm…
Well… I honestly can’t believe he just let me go. For an authoritarian military they sure are… relaxed.
Walking away I realized that I had forgotten to light the fire beneath the pot, I guess that wasn’t a requirement after all.
To my immeasurable discontent, the pet store was closed on Sunday, meaning I had to either wait or find a different source.
Impatient as I was, I messaged the group chat once I returned home to see if they knew of any alternatives. I wasn't optimistic but I didn't have anything better to do.
L: I don't suppose you guys know where I can get a fresh and disposable or recently dead animal?
H: wtf?!
L: It's for my weird aunt's art project, she insisted.
H: I thought you didn’t get along with your family?
L: I don't but she’s a smoker and I can hear death crawling down her throat when she coughs. Figured now's the best time to curry inheritance favor.
H: …
L: don't you ‘...’ me! I’m the one who has to deal with these maniacs! Why should I not at least reap some slither of benefit?
J: My uncle breeds stoats, you can probably have one.
L: Actually? That sounds perfect.
H: I thought stoats were pests in this area?
J: They are.
H: Then wouldn't breeding them be illegal??
J: It is.
H: Then why is he doing it???
J: revenge on the HOA
H: What the hell????
L: HAHAHA
L: where is his place?
J 63 Reuben street.
L: Can you meet me there in an hour?
J: yes.
L: Thanks.
I met Javinka in front of her uncle's house, she gave me a small wave and led me down the side. The building smelt unusual though not altogether unpleasant. I could hear rustling coming from underneath the foundations.
What the hell is up with her uncle? Revenge on the HOA? As much as it amuses me this kind of thing is pretty unhinged. Perhaps this family precedent for mental derangement is why Javinka’s parents are so easy on her. The only reason mine even let me make cosplay is because someone once paid me a check for a commissioned work.
Javinka put some food in a cage and put it up to a hatchway at ground level built into the wall of the house. She shifted the hatch open and after a short while a stoat entered the cage.
She shut the hatch behind it and locked the cage. Realizing it had been tricked, the stoat began to make angry hissing noises.
“Uncle says it's fine if you wanna kill it but you have to do it humanly.”
“A-aye of course, Cheers, I’ll owe you one.”
“Yes…” she said in a weirdly off putting manner.
“What is it?”
“You know what I want…” said Javinka, looking at me expectantly with her dark eyes.
I sighed. “Absolutely not, I already said I'm not making it for you.”
“What if you just made part of it?”
“And what will you say if someone asks where you got it?”
“I’ll say it's passed down from my ancestors.”
“I can think of three good reasons why no one would ever believe that!”
“Historically speaking-!”
“-Shut it, I'm not putting my neck on the line like that ok? Ask me for something reasonable.”
“No one would find out.”
“They would, one way or another.”
Javinka pouted.
“I’ll treat you to some Italian takeaways, how's that?”
She scrunched her face, still displeased.
“It’s free.”
“Fine.” she conceded.
“Good. I'll return this cage when I'm done.”
What incredible luck!
Maybe not actually, waiting until tomorrow to get a pet store rat wouldn’t have been much of an issue but still.
I picked up the cage and headed back towards the pot.
Now how am I actually gonna do this ‘humanely’? My dad doesn’t have a gun… and even if he did he’d never let me use it.
Should I just knife him? But how do I do that without opening the cage?
I bet there’s some tutorial online about how to euthanize animals like this… can’t you use carbon monoxide or something to kill yourself painlessly?
There has got to be a simple and humane way-
“OW! JESUS!” it stuck its jaws through the bars and bit my finger.
Though its teeth were small they had dug quite deep, the hole in my finger was overflowing with blood.
Fuck me! this thing might rabies or stoat AIDs or some shite!
Why didn’t I wear gloves?!
“Ok that’s it, I was gonna be nice about this, but you just pissed me off. Quick and dirty it is.”
It was fortunate that Javinka's Uncle's house wasn't too far from the fence, carrying this all the way across town would get me put on a list. Bringing it over the fence would be tricky, I had considered simply throwing it over the fence but that might wreck the cage or even set it loose. Taking it slow and steady, carrying the cage as I climbed was the safest course of action, making sure to keep all parts of me out of range of its jaws.
Until I finally reached the caudron.
If I needed another curse I was planning to use some finger nails but I hadn’t got around to actually clipping them, fortunately still I had the old milk tooth in my wallet. What good foresight that was.
I dropped it in the pot along with her hair.
“Demon of the cauldron hear my beseechment! Lay a curse upon my enemy! May her skin be left to peel, her flesh to rot and her bones to be gnawed by vermin. May her soul cower neath the shadow of death till the day it claims her. May she finally meet the ends of a god that does not exist and may its memory be scarred into her brain so that she never forgets that her place in this world is beneath me!”
I opened the cage and shook it over the pot.
The stoat clung to the bars of the cage with its teeth and scurried its feet against the bottom.
“Get in, you stupid thing, you’re just making it worse.” I shook it harder but it held fast.
Damn it.
“Hey, would you mind giving me a- a hand here?”
The sickly thing rose out of the pot and gently grasped the stoat, the shock made it let go allowing me to yank the cage away as the creature was brought into the water.
From inside the pot the stoat let out a hideous scream. A scream like nothing I ever thought it was capable of making.
I was anticipating some kind of abrupt cutting off maybe followed by a crack or crunch or something but it just continued to shriek, I couldn’t even hear it thrashing or struggling,
“God just kill it already!” I yelled but it didn’t seem to hear me as the dreadful noise continued.
I covered my ears for what felt like several minutes before it abruptly stopped, leaving a deep unnatural silence in its wake.
Jesus Christ.
“What the hell did you do to that thing?”
“The sacrifice has been accepted.”
“That wasn’t what I asked?”
“…Do you really want to know?”
“I…I’m not sure…”
“then perhaps you ought not to ask.”
…
Jesus.
“So it's done?”
“Yes, the second curse acted faster than the first, I expect this one will swifter still.”
“Why is that?”
“I have grown more facilitated to your emotional transmissions.”
“alright, fine by me.”
…
I cleared my throat.
“There's one more thing I want to ask you.”
“And that would be?.”
“on Halloween night, Why did you only come to me? Why didn’t you visit my two friends? Was it because you had my blood?”
“Who said I didn’t visit them?”
“What?”
“It's true your blood made you easier to track but your associates left traces of their own that night, i was able to follow those instead.”
“So then you-?” I started but it raised its palm to silence me.
“I did peer into them, but I did not reveal myself. They were unworthy of my capabilities, unlike yourself.”
“unworthy how?”
“because they would have rejected my offer out of hand for one reason or another, but more so because they lacked that… depth of emotion that is only found in the most wonderful and most wretched of specimens.”
“You lurk in that fetid pool, covered in slime like some dysgenic amphibian and you call me wretched?”
"I don't believe I specified which of the two you were..."
I glowered at the thing.
“but regardless, I am not beholden to the same criterion as you, or the rest of your kindred.”
“For something inhuman, you sure talk like one.” I retorted.
“Speech is not a uniquely human capability, a parrot can speak, so can a machine.”
“A Parrot can mimic a few words and phrases but it will never understand a fraction of what it speaks, a machine is an artificial construct that is purposed only to say what it was created to say. Neither are truly capable of cognizant conversation, they aren’t equivalent comparisons.”
“True... what are you attempting to insinuate?”
“I’m saying that for a thing that has an awful lot to say about 'humans' you don't don't seem terribly far from being one yourself.”
It remained silent for a few moments, I almost wondered if I had offended it.
“You know, there's a palpable irony in how so many of you believe that the demise of man will come from greed or pride or some such techno-industrial overstepping. but it wont.” it pointed its finger at me. “It will come from his insistence on anthropomorphizing everything he sees.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“It means you are all so in love with your own reflections you fail to notice when it holds up the wrong hand.”
“No what I meant was-? So then what exactly are you implying?”
“I’m merely giving you valuable advice, had you a care to listen. Whatever impressions you hold of what I am; if you could see through this water you would hold them no longer.”
“Ach, whatever…”
I gave a curt farewell to the pot and returned home, meandering for the rest of the day in my bedroom.
That thing said a pretty ominous statement about anthropomorphizing, it has me distracted from my final victory over Ellie.
The downfall of mankind will come from seeing inhuman things as though they are human? Is that something I should worry about or is that in the sun exploding category of existential threats? If it was referring to itself it wouldn't have told me to begin with...