September 8, 2017Light slithered in through the spaces, glaring through like slow shattering glass, swallowing the shadows and severing the stillness. Cavernous echoes conquered the perfect silence, causing a chasm betwixt confusion–correcting errors once despised, reverberating the recalcitrant stares inside the windows of a coffee house sidewinding with snakes; the emptiness expanded as glaring tiny screens pacified the creatures once mistaken for people. Their talons taunted my soft, pink flesh. Small rectangled tables riddled the building and shifted from one wall to the other–seating the reptiles to their rancid feast.
The pungent stench from heavy breathing–salivating and repugnant mouths ajar, filled the spot and sent my eyes searching for the exit whilst , as much as I possible could under a sweaty brow, conceal my terror. The vile vermin snarled and reached for one another, locking tongues lasciviously, shlopping amid scraping sounds of jagged teeth. Boxes and cups fell from the shelf all designed with minimalist ideas of art concocted to appeal to the cockeyed masses. I haven’t tried that brand of coffee, I don’t think, I thought as the empty packages pummeled to the ground.
“Your drink looks tasty,” one of them said with a ten inch tongue dripping across the table in which we sat.
“It is,” I replied with a difficult swallow, “would you like a drink? I don’t need to finish it. Truly, I want you to have it.” The heart, I thought–If I could take a shard of glass and pierce him right in the heart!
“No, that’s quite all right, son. You enjoy, okay.”
“Is it okay if I leave?” I belted after some hesitation.
“Why are you asking me? Are you sure you’re okay? You’re looking a little peeked, now that I’m taking a closer look. Maybe you should call someone to come and pick you up, bud. Got any friends you can call?”
“I thought I had some. Maybe.”
“Well, where are they now?”
“They all turned out to be reptiles. Shit–sorry.”
“Oh, sheesh, we’re not all bad, for crying out loud. Hell, let me buy you another drink…I recommend you get it with steamed blood this time. It’s to die for.”
“Well, I could give that a shot, I think. I should live a little.”
“It’s tough at first, I know. Believe me, it gets easier.”
“I hope so, ” I said reclining and wiping the sweat from my brow.
“I promise, I used to be just like you…then I simply gave in. Nobody wants a trouble-maker you know.”
“Yeah, I guess so. I’ll take that drink now–extra hot.”
“Atta boy…man after my own heart.”
∞
