The Unknown

You were sitting on your couch in the living room late one night when you heard the creature return. Your back door creaked softly as it opened and closed. You heard the familiar slithering, cracking, fleshy sounds from the other room as it had apparently been successful at its last hunt. It'd been living with you for a few weeks now, traveling farther and farther to hunt for fresh meat. You'd had an agreement that it wouldn't kill anyone local, since that would cause too many problems. You heard it slithering behind you, and a dozen tortured voices spoke at once from one fleshy orifice somewhere behind you, whispering softly. "What form?"

Muffled screaming and gunshots rang out through the small police station on the other side of the door, small and large caliber. Grown men screaming in such primal horror and pain that it made your stomach churn and blood turn cold until their voices were silenced. Muffled thumps and wet noises, closer now. The door to the interrogation room was ripped off its hinges with a shriek of metal and an explosion of concrete. The head and shoulders of a young woman appeared at a surreal angle from behind the frame, a look of pure relief on her face. ”Oh darling, thank goodness, there you are.” A dozen soft voices sighed at once “One moment, dear, and we’ll get you out of here.” She smiled sweetly. The woman’s body then shuddered and was swiftly pulled out of sight Within seconds, a lanky teenage girl with a frazzled ponytail and a gap toothed smile entered the room wearing a bloody, tattered police uniform, grinning as she pulled you to your feet. “C’mon papa, let’s get you home!” Sweet little voices cried out. She then paused and glanced at the hallway, then back up at you with a troubled smile, the first time you’d ever seen this creature nervous. “..just don’t look? Okay? Keep your eyes on mine papa.” She said, her little hands cupping the sides of your eyes gently, your focus on her as she walked backwards with you. You had a vague sense that her torso was twisted around as she walked. The rest was a nauseating, stomach turning nightmare that thankfully was over rather quickly. Flickering lights, vague shapes piled on the floor that may have been people once, now mangled beyond recognition. Your feet slipped and squished on and around chunks of fat and entrails. The coppery stench made your head spin. All the while she gazed into your eyes, trying to keep your focus on her while soft, sweet voices tried to keep you calm. “They shouldn’t have taken you from me, papa.” The creature spoke softly with a sweet little smile, its gaze burning into yours as its voice dropped several impossible octaves. “I’d devour this entire planet for you.” She said with a mimic of a blush, kissing your cheek happily as you stepped through the emergency exit, out into the fresh air “Yay! We made it! Let’s go home.” A chorus of high pitched teenage girls cheered into the cool night air.

It was a lazy summer day, and the AC in the window rattled to life, trying its best to keep the house cool from the sweltering heat outside. You were in the living room, sipping a cold drink and watching something on the television as you relaxed on the couch next to your “daughter”, who was sitting upside down, her head and long curly hair hanging off the cushion as she chatted with you. She was in the form of a teenage girl, wearing the shirt and shorts you’d bought for her, tapping away curiously at your cellphone. It was quite a wholesome, heartwarming sight, if only you didn’t know what this thing really was ”Like I was saying,” the girl continued the conversation you were having “..it doesn’t hurt when I change into things. The human equivalent would feel like.. stretching yourself after you just wake up.” The voices of several teen girls explained, one eye on the phone as the other swiveled around to gaze up at you, giving you the feeling that you had her full attention.