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the blade hovered above his swollen toe. finally he gathered enough courage and quickly moved the knife downward. the skin only offered slight resistance, then gave way to the blade. the hiss of escaping gas startled him. reflex quickly retracted the blade. almost immediately, the hissing stopped and his toe looked deflated. the gas had given the toe form, now it had none.
the pain was gone.
he pinched the empty toe between his finger and thumb feeling for something, any thing, maybe bone but there was nothing. he tried to look into the hole but it was too small. he cut the hole larger, there was no blood. a few off white pebbles fell out of the hole and rolled a few inches across the floor. he assumed the pebbles were once bone.
curiosity over ruled common sense and he made an incision further up his foot where it still had form and volume. small soft shapes and a thick mucus pushed out of the incision. he pulled a noodle like form from the hole and examined it. it was warm, soft, and yellow. it greatly resembled macaroni and cheese, except it smelled very bad.
realization that the self surgery may not have been the right thing to do, he quickly packed the noodle back into the incision and closed the hole with a bandage. he gathered the pebbles and put them back inside the empty toe. he inserted a straw into the hole and re-inflated the toe and sealed it with super glue.
tomorrow he would call a doctor.
the dent in the yard was about the size of a softball and nearly eight inches deep. a trail from the dent to the open door of my house was visible. the suppressed grass blades pointed to the door. there was a barely visible path from the door to the couch. listening closely i could hear labored breathing and an occasional sloshing sound.
the darkness behind the couch cloaked what appeared to be a ball of some sort. perhaps my son's softball. a softball that wheezed and slightly trembled. a flashlight was needed.
the beam of light caused it's eyes to close. it clenched it's eyelids so tightly, it belched. spittle ran down it's chin and soaked into the carpet. it looked sort of like a small head, but it was almost perfectly round. no torso, arms, or legs. it rolled forward a few inches to avoid the light.
it was an unattractive little head, but it did not frighten me. it seemed harmless enough, i mean with no body, arms, or legs what kind of serious threat could it pose? that being said, it wasn't really something i wanted in the house. i doubt it would share the litter box with the two cats.
i moved the couch aside and reached down to pick it up. i didn't know what i would do with it, perhaps just throw it into the sky and hope it returns to the place from which it came. as my hand gripped it, i was surprised how soft it's flesh was and how easily the flesh moved around a solid skull form a half an inch or so under the flesh. i tried to lift it, the flesh distorted but the skull inside did not move. it felt as if it was nailed to the floor. two hands would be needed. i lifted with both hands and was shocked. the head easily weighed over 200 pounds. only an inch off the floor i dropped it. the face was not amused. i remembered a back pain brochure that illustrated the proper way to lift heavy objects. i straddled the head, back straight with slightly bent knees. i tried to interlock my fingers underneth the fleshy orb.
just then the doorbell rang. i left the head so see who it could be.
a boy stood at the door holding a box of oversized nestle crunch bars. "hello sir, i am part of the candy for college program, i am visiting your neighborhood looking for sponsors..."
just then i heard a rolling sound from behind me. the sound grew in volume as it neared. the face of the boy verified what i feared was happening. the little head rolled onto the boys left foot. the boy dropped the crunch bars and screamed. he tried to retract his foot but the weight of the orb was too great.
i looked down just in time to see the head dislocate it's jaw and expand it's mouth to easily grip the boy's ankle. the grip turned into a bite, and inside of a second or two the head bit clean through. the boy immediately fell to the ground and into shock. the boy trembled as the tiny head expanded just enough to devour him much like a snake swallowing an rat. i can safely say it was probably the most horrific thing i have ever seen. amazingly the volume of the boy was being compressed into the softball sized creature. that sort of explained it's incredible weight.
moments after it's lips closed over the boys scalp, a tongue darted out and cleaned it's lips of any remaining scalp hairs. then the head put it in reverse and rolled back into the house and under the couch. i picked up the box of crunch bars, sat down on the couch and turned on the tv remotely.
man, i love crunch bars.
the devil drives a chrysler k car.
scorpions danced on his dashboard to a tinty strain of tejano music. it was loud, really loud, and distorted. the factory stock speakers were blown long ago. several cracks in the windshield distorted incoming light causing his flesh to appear as if it was melting. the dub wheels protruded well beyond the side panels, and tripled the value of the car.
the passanger's massive head wounds were wrapped in stained and dirty strips of cloth. the unraveling cloth danced wildly outside the open window. his fully reclined seat provided easy access to a churning margarita machine that consumed what little space was left in the back seat. it pumped a cool blue slushy mixture into a tiki style glass.
he was not driving as fast as i assumed the devil would, in fact he drives only slightly faster than you. i was also surprised he did not have a toll tag, he stopped and each toll both but always had the correct change.
how do I know all this? we both were traveling south on the tollway last night.
how am I sure it was the devil? the old english style decals on the rear window spelled out "el diablo".
the cats in my mind move quickly
very agile in a small space
circling and leaping
never touching as they pass
constant motion