(A rough outline of a story)
Watches kids through bars around playground everyday before work. They’re pure. Teacher walks up, rotting. He knows the kids.
Catches bus to work. Watches rotten people with disgust.
Bum on park bench makes him feel awkward: personal decay.
At work, rotting manager, yellowed computer plastic, squeaky chair, lost documents.
Girlfriend calls about going out to club tonight. Says will meet there. Has to run errands and get ready.
Food at grocery store: sickly fluorescent lights, wilted vegetables, moldy bread, rancid meat.
Getting ready to go out. Staring in mirror at self rotting. Lots of beauty products. Very fastidious about appearance. Uses lotion on loose patch of skin at back of jaw bone to keep it from tearing more.
Out at club with girlfriend and her friends. They’re all younger and not as rotten as him.
Laying in bed with girlfriend watching her sleep and rot.
Can’t sleep so gets out of bed. She wakes. He tells her he can’t sleep and will “call you tomorrow”.
Late night bus ride home. Bus lit greenly at night. Sees same bum on same bench. It’s morning.
Walking up to apartment sees kid he knows in hall on the way to school. No one around invites kid in or kid comes in.
Kills kid.
Kneeling over kid, blood pooling. Feels like walking through a door.
Staring at kids body and untainted flesh, thinks about food.
Works all day cutting, cooking, disposing, stewing, and eating parts of body. Hides rest under floorboards. Falls asleep exhausted.
Wakened by knock at door. Distraught mother looking for kid. Tells her he hasn’t seen him. Reflexively wipes at corner of mouth.
Wakes to hissing and whispers. In dimly lit room sees small, sinewy shadows moving around the apartment. They’re crawling on him, too. Can’t get them off. Takes a shower and washes them away. They drain in the tub with muted whispers and shrieks.
In hallway outside apartment bumps into neighbour. Can see shadows gnawing at her, crawling on her. But the shadows on him are smaller than the ones on her. He feels electric.
Walks quickly to work followed by whispers. Doesn’t look at anyone. They’re bodies and faces are all being gnawed and eaten by the shadows.
The homeless man on the bench looksâ like he’s absolutely infested. He doesn’t touch anyone at the bus stop. Gets on bus and stares at the work crowd, all covered in shadows. Rotting faces staring back. Driver snaps at him to take a seat. He stands making sure no to touch anyone.
Work sucks. Rotting everywhere. Manager’s face is covered. Manger asks where he was yesterday. He didn’t feel good. Calls girlfriend and cancels plans for the evening. Goes home sick.
Walking by school. Sees another kid from the building walking home. Tells him to be careful because kid went missing yesterday. Walks kid home. Invites him up.
Thinking a more kid might help the whispers go away, but can’t kill him. Sends him home. Hears whispers underneath floor from where he hid the other kids body. Pries up floorboards. Will eat some more of him instead. Probably still good. Rips open black plastic he wrapped kid in and sees writhing shadows devouring the body.
Jumps up and watches shadows crawling around apartment, slithering. Watches small shadows moving on häim. They seem bigger than they were earlier in the day. Washes hands in kitchen sink, but they won’t go away. Decides to kill himself. Slits wrists with butcher knife. Hissing as his blood hits the floor and pools. Shrieks as massive shadows come up through the floor swimming in the blood. Sees shadows from all over apartment moving towards him. Coming from the ceiling and the walls. Weakened but can’t get away. Crawls to the bathroom so he can bandage the wounds. Sees himself in the mirror crawling on the white tile, blood pooling all around him, shadows writhing around. Collapses there on floor. Watches self in mirror being attacked and devoured by the shadows. Claws at self but can’t get them to go away. Errant hand leaves a streak on the cabinet. Leaves two more (code for girlfriend).
The End