GORE/HORROR/MATURE THEMES WARNING.
The night we met, it was storming. The wind blew my hair all over the place. The rain saturated my old tee shirt that I do mistakenly thought to put on. Did I know it was going to rain? NO, but I didn't care. I walked inside the massive, closing book store with one goal. All I needed was the books. I had decided to go after the first edition Twilight books they had on extreme sale. They were easily $5 apiece and I didn't want to pass that up, my inner MySpace days were crying for the endeavor.
You were the clerk?? I guess that's what they would call you. Regardless you were helping me look for the books when I had notice your skin. Crystal clear, with not a mark on it. Your arms seemed to be hairless, which wasn't concerning since it was a thing to shave your arms. We kept searching until I found the full set. My eyes were huge with excitement. My entire weekend off was planned to devour each and every page once more as I did in middle school. When we up at the counter for me to pay, you let out a laugh.
"It's funny that you'd come in here and buy these awful books in 2018."
"Well, my middle school self is screaming for attention this weekend obviously." I gave out a nervous chuckle, not used to the socialization for people in the store normally.
"So what's next? The Vampire Diaries books? Anything other blood sucks you want to get into?" I was shocked, you were actually interested in something. Someone was actually interested in what I was doing.
"Excuse me, no. That TV series is ESPECIALLY cringe worthy. I DO NOT want to know what is going on in the books." The laugh that followed this was more fun laugh. You rang me up and I was happy to glance at your name tag. Iris. Something unique and extremely beautiful. I liked it.
"Well, if you ever need someone to entertain your inner Twifan you can text me." You wrote your number on my receipt. "I am Iris, by the way."
"Rynola, but most people call me Ryn." I smiled politely as I began to leave, making sure to tell you to have a good night as I ran out and to my car in the storm.
Over the first few months, we got to know each other. A small little text here turned into long lines of messages about what we wanted in life. You were sad that the store was closing, but happy you were able to take a better position elsewhere. You had always dreamed of being a librarian and that was slowly coming true. I had told you about how I worked from home for customer care and how I dreaded it most days. The people were entitled and extremely rude to say the least. You understood, working in retail.
We had known each other for four months when I had approached you about hanging out. We had stopped for coffee with each other once but the big city between our suburbs always scared us both. I hated to drive, and you hated to go out during the day. I understood that being nocturnal myself. You agreed, nevertheless, and came to my home an hour after I had been off. It was 7:45 pm when you knocked on my door. Three knocks, which I had later known was the thing you regularly did.
"Come in!" I was giddy, to see your face again. To be close to you again. The Snapchats and the occasional FaceTimes were getting a bit lonely. I had developed some kind of fascination for you. A crush, if you may. I opened the door widely and you smiled as you entered.
"I am so glad we could see each other again." You handed me a single rose. My face turned pink and I took it from your hand with grace. "I have missed that quirky smile of yours." WHAT. I was now the shade of the crimson rose you handed me as I shut the wooden door behind us both.
"Of course, it's been a while since we've seen each other physically. Our schedules clash way too often." I slipped the flower into the empty vase I used for decoration before we both plopped down onto the couch.
"They do, way too often." Your voice was so smooth. It was almost like fresh chocolate pouring from a fountain of wisdom. I could listen to you babble for hours. "I decided though that since we've grown so close, it's time we talk about some things." I nodded, unsure of what we hadn't already talked about. We had spent hours prior to this meeting on the phone, texting, talking about everything.
"If you're about to give me the secret to your flawless skin, please. This has been my sole purpose to be your friend." I laughed then, standing to my feet and going to grab us both something to drink. Your favorite was OJ and I had bought some just for you. I poured us both a glass and returned to the couch. My body faced you as I handed you the purple plastic decorated in pink flowers. "Only my best glasses for you." I joked.
"Well, actually. I am going to give you my secret." You took a long sip, the air eerie between us. "Well, I don't know how to explain this. It's serious." Your body turns as mine. You are looking at me dead in the eye.
"Should I be scared?" My eyes are wide and staring back into yours. At this moment for the first moment I noticed your eyes were grey, a stone grey. I adored it just like every other feature of you.
"Yes?? Maybe. Let's just get it over with..." You took a deep breath and I could feel the cold air come back to me. "I am a cannibal."
I didn't know what to say after that. I stood from my seat and walked to the small kitchen, not far from you. I sat my glass in the sink and put my hands on the edge. I took a deep breath as you had before. I was confused, scared, and at the same time kinda okay with it. I wondered a few things. Did you kill people? Was there a cannibal cult? Was this the key to a good, eternal life? I then re-approached the couch and seen you look at me with weary and as if you were ready to flee at any moment. I pushed a smile across my lips and nodded.
"Well, do you kill people?" I am surprised as you were that this was my first question for you. You just shrugged, not really knowing to say for a moment.
"No, I don't. I have a friend from the morgue that calls me when they get a fresh body. If I need to eat, I get what I can from it before they prepare it for a funeral or incinerate it." You were quite with this answer, and I nodded. That made me feel a little better about it. "I have been this way my entire life. My mother passed it down from her mother and if I ever procreate, I will pass it to my children. Our blood line since has had perfect skin and never murdered to my knowledge. The best part is that we are in a world of people who are constantly dying." A nervous chuckle after that, I nodded again.
"Okay, so what about blood thirst? Isn't the blood gross after someone dies? Do you get blood thirsty? Are you some kind of secret Edward or something?" I was more eager to learn than scared of you at this point. "Also, are you going to eat me?"
You actually laughed this time and shook your head. "I am not going to eat you Ryn, I would never. How about I show you the next time I need to harvest? We can go together." Then you slipped your hand up my arm, stopping to give me a reassuring rub. It was the first time our bare skin had touched and chill bumps crept down my spine.
"Sounds good." Is all I replied. While I was extremely scared, I was more intrigued than anything. The rest of the night was a success and when you left, I kissed your cheek. You returned it and I was sad to see the clock was at 3 am by this time and I had work in less than six hours.
Your visits to my home became weekly after that. Every Tuesday night we'd watch something, talk about our work, and just get along so well. I had grown even more attracted to you. You were a lovely being and honestly I couldn't keep from falling head over heels for everything you presented. It wasn't until our venture to the morgue where when I knew you were serious about the cannibal thing.
You insisted to drive, shaking with excitement. I complied and rode in the passenger seat of your Lexus with fright. My eyes stayed on the road as I took in several little land marks in case this went south. We arrived in no time and I was noticeably scared at this point. We got out of the car and you interlaced our fingers. "It's going to be okay." You reassured me. We went inside, did the harvesting, and then came out with the body parts and a few blood bags to go with it. Next we were en-route to your "place." The place where you would take the "feedings" as you called it. It was some abandoned farm to say the least, something you'd pull from a horror film.
We approached the barn and we entered together once more, hand in hand. I couldn't get enough of your grip. It was mesmerizing to say the least. You had a whole area laid out, tarps for easy clean up. It was like a murder scene out of Dexter, the table in the middle as well. You sat the parts on said table and pulled off your coat. Then the rest of your clothes followed. Your perfect, nude physic appeared in front of me. I gulped. I wasn't at all skinny, but fat with a lot of body image issues. "It's okay, you don't have to." You reassured me once again. As you began to dive in and eat the meat raw, I reached for a bite. You gave me this look that could kill.
"What?" I asked promptly as I reached for a slice. You shrugged and just gave it to me, encouraging me to take a bite of some dead person's leg. I closed my eyes and slipped that one piece into my mouth with ease. I pretended it was pork as it went in. It tasted so good as it touched my tongue that I began to follow your lead in the feast. Soon we stood together naked, eating on some dead human that probably had a good life at one time. You were impressed as I was at the end when we had finished the parts off. We sat on the floor then and stared at each other in a food awe. You then grew a smile and grabbed the blood bag from the table. Your long arms able to reach without moving.
"This is how I have perfect skin." You began as you popped the bag open and began to rub the blood against your cinnamon skin. I followed lead as well on this, and you scooted closer. And then closer to help me rub my face and arms and knees and thighs. "I am in love with the shape of you, every single flaw and curve you have. Your mind, your body, your soul. It seems to need to be connected to my own." And I felt that connection and got so close to you our legs overlapped. I could feel your heat against mine.
"As I am you."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The gore themes have always appealed to me and I really want to write more on this. If you have any opinions or would like more of the story, don't be afraid to pipe in. All criticism welcomed. Hope you enjoy.
xx Skar