The Ink Shall Never Fade - Part 2
The horror begins
Read Part 1 first…
Sarah was startled awake as the car bounced over the numerous potholes in the rutted dirt road. The sun was sinking lower through the forest as an early evening mist crept in and around them.
“What the fuck?! Where are we? What happened?”
Susie glanced at her. “You passed out, you scaredy cat. She had to help me get you into the car so we could go home.”
Sarah sat up and looked around, feeling groggy and strange. Her arm tingled and burned a little. Pushing up the sleeve of her shirt, she saw an intricate scaled design winding around her wrist and forearm. It crept higher and disappeared above her elbow. Iridescent colors sparkled in the last light of the setting sun through the windshield.
“Fuck. I see she took some liberties with the design.”
Susie looked at her arm and quickly returned to watching the road ahead. “What do you mean? I think it looks amazing.”
“It does. But it’s not just a touch-up of my old ink. She created something completely new.”
“Are you pissed? I can go back if you want.”
Sarah sighed and leaned back in the seat. “No. It’s ok. It is beautiful. I’ve never had colors like this on me. I’m tired. I just want to go home.”
Susie nodded and continued driving back to the city. It had been a long day for both of them.
Finally, she reached Sarah’s place and pulled next to the curb to drop her off. “Hey, I know that was pretty weird. I hope you’re not mad at me.”
“No, I’m not. You did warn me that she was a strange one. The ink is amazing, so I’m not gonna complain. See you tomorrow?”
“Yep, see you at work!”
Susie pulled away and disappeared down the dark street. Sarah watched the taillights recede into the distance and turned to go inside. She just wanted a glass of wine and a cozy chapter from her latest book. Going to bed early sounded really nice right now.
She unlocked the door and slipped inside. A furry rocket dashed across the living room and slammed into her. Golden fur danced in a twisting circle and whimpered with joy.
“Hey Bella, my good baby girl! I’m sorry I was gone so long. You hungry?”
Bella pranced around before racing for the kitchen. Sarah followed to make her favorite nighttime kibble and pour a glass of wine. She wasn’t really feeling hungry. That strange tea had made her stomach a bit sour.
Wine in hand, she went upstairs to get undressed and slide under the blankets. She reached for her Kindle as Bella danced into the room and circled her doggy cushion next to the bed. Adoring eyes gazed at her favorite human, and her tail thumped quietly to signal her bliss of reconnection.
With heavy eyes, Sarah started reading. A sip of wine, another page, and long blinks growing longer. Within a few minutes, she set her glass on the nightstand and put the Kindle down. Turning off the bedside lamp, she pulled the sheets up under her chin and drifted off.
A whimpering sound awakened her. Her fuzzy mind couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality. Was she still asleep? Where was that sound coming from?
She slid up to sit back against the headboard and reached for her glasses on the nightstand. Fumbling in the darkness, she finally found the switch on the lamp and peered around the room. The soft whimpering continued from the floor next to the bed.
“Bella? What’s wrong honey?”
The dog’s tail twitched weakly, and her golden sides heaved. She seemed sick. As Sarah reached for her, she noticed a coiling tendril snaking across the carpet and disappearing as it burrowed into the Bella’s thick fur.
What the fuck?! How did a snake get in here???
Panicking and feeling disgusted, she grabbed the scaly body and pulled hard. But it was lodged firmly and only made Bella yelp in pain. Sarah threw back the blankets and rolled out of bed.
As she unsteadily stood on her feet, she felt a painful tearing and tugging from her forearm. She stumbled backward, and the pain increased as poor Bella was dragged across the floor by the writhing, pulsing coil.
With gut-wrenching horror, Sarah finally realized the same coil was embedded deep in her forearm. Trickles of blood streamed to the carpet below. Bella was silent now. Her body was no longer quivering. The only motion was the disgustingly sensual pulsing and dancing motion from the umbilical connection between them. It was now swollen and flushed red. With a nauseating wet pop, the tendril slid out of the dog’s body and retracted across the carpet, leaving a slimy bloody trail.
Sarah screamed and fell backward. Kicking with her feet, she pushed away from the nasty thing, but it continued to wiggle and slid back into her forearm with an excruciating ripple under her bleeding flesh. Within seconds, the iridescent flicking tip had retracted deep into a hole in her arm and the wound puckered shut, sealing tight with glistening ink-covered scar tissue.
She slapped at her arm, clawing and tearing. But all trace of the creature was gone. Shaking with shock, Sarah twisted her arm back and forth and flapped her fingers. The pain was gone, and all that remained was the wonderfully rich inks dancing before her weeping eyes.
“What the fuck?! What the fuck? What the fuck!?!” She moaned the words over and over again.
She crawled across the floor to Bella and cradled the body in her arms. The dog’s head hung limply, and her drained remains felt oddly light.
Sobbing and whimpering, she gently laid Bella back on her soft cushion and snatched the phone from the nightstand. No answer. She called again and again and again.
Finally, a groggy voice answered. “Sarah? Do you know what time it is? For fuck’s sake…”
“You fucking bitch!!! What did she do to me?!?”
The voice turned cold. “What are you talking about? You sound crazy. Are you drunk?”
“Crazy? Oh, you’re gonna fucking see crazy if you don’t come over here right now! Stop playing games with me. I’ll call the fucking police!”
“Calm down. Ok, ok… Give me a minute. Don’t do anything stupid. We can handle this together. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
The line went dead. Sarah stared at her phone for a few seconds before tossing it on the bed. Pushing herself up, she pulled on some clothing and went downstairs.
Her hands shaking, she poured more wine and downed it in one gulp. She tilted the bottle to drain the last of the ruby liquid into her glass. Glancing at the counter, she made a selection and tested the point against her fingertip.
It would do.
She took a deep breath and placed her forearm on the counter. Carefully, she pressed the knife into the spot where the tendril had sucked back under her skin. Nothing happened.
She gritted her teeth and pushed harder until the sharp point pierced her skin. A drop of blood emerged and trickled down her forearm. Hmmm…
Suddenly, a whistling shriek ripped through the air, and a glistening tendril erupted from her forearm. It coiled around the blade and flung the knife across the room. Then, with a sickening twisting sensation, it retracted back into her arm, and the twitching tip slipped back under her skin. The scar sealed over again, looking like the puckered mouth of a diseased starfish.
Sarah rushed to the kitchen sink and vomited. Wine flooded out of her stomach and into the drain. Grabbing a nearby dishtowel, she wiped her mouth and turned back to the counter to retrieve her glass.
She slid another knife from the block, turned away, and walked into the living room to wait near the front door. Susie should be here any minute now.
The gleaming steel glinted in her hand as she repeatedly stabbed it into the arm of the leather chair. Raising the glass to her lips, she prepared herself for what must be done…
Dang it, dude. Making me fall in love with the sweet doggie like that...that is f'd.
(translation: great job.)