Chapter Text
All was silent, there was no rain, no wind, not even the distant squealing of children or the murmuring of traveling adults. Just Alex and her own misery. She spent most of these quiet, fall nights outside, wandering around the small town, weeping to herself about the life that could’ve been.
She was going to have it all, she was going to spend the rest of her days with her family, her closest loved ones, but no, fate wouldn’t allow it, her family wouldn’t allow it. She shook her head, furrowing her brows. If there was anyone out here tonight, she wasn’t about to let them see her wallowing in her own sorrow.
The woman took a sharp turn to the left, dipping into the nearest alleyway. Her form sank into the darkness, peering out into the light of the dimly lit street. Alex covered her face as tears started to well up in her eyes. It had been like this every night for almost a year now. She couldn’t help it.
Her gaze fell to the dirty, trash littered ground beneath her. Salty droplets joined the litter as she wept pitifully. She remained quiet, though, not wanting to gather any unwanted attention.
Understandably so, as she stuck out like a sore thumb now. A black, inky substance covered the right half of her pale, freckle-covered face and her left arm. The darkness had eyes of its own that she couldn’t control.
It was the result of some stupid decision she had not so long ago. Now she looked like some sort of eldritch freak. All because I thought they cared about me like how I cared about them. She must’ve never loved me.
Her clawed left hand reached up to her face and rubbed away the pooling bunch of snot and tears. Alex’s breath hitched in her throat, cutting through the quiet night for a split second. She expected silence to follow, but instead heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the alleyway.
Alex strained her ears, her dark eyes desperately searched the space in front of her. Nothing. Just her and the dark alley that yawned out before her. At the very end, however, there was a street light perfectly illuminating the ground beneath.
If her mood hadn’t been so sour, she would’ve shivered upon seeing such an eerie sight. But no, not tonight, not when she was like this. And so she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, collected herself, and stood up. She had to do something productive tonight, even if it was just cleaning up her dinky little apartment.
There it was again… those footsteps. Heavy, earth-shaking, rhythmic almost. Alex looked up slowly, dreading the worst. Was it some sort of animal? No, there weren’t any animals this far into town! Did something fall? No, why was the sound continuing. It was getting closer now.
Her eyes shot up, adjusting to the darkness.
Oh no.
A figure stood at the end of the alleyway. It was large, no, massive. Piercing eyes watched her from afar, pinprick pupils stared into whatever was left of her cursed soul. Their shoulders were broad and their head were adorned with horns. Whether they were actually attached or not, well, she wasn’t quite sure.
Maybe those nasty monsters I made that deal with sent this creature after me. Alex pressed her back against the frigid, brick wall behind her. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut, but they were glued to the figure that was now slowly approaching her.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Did she want to die? Would she be okay with dying right now? Again, she wasn’t fully certain. Was she going to die, though?
The figure’s massive grin that glistened in the dim light confirmed her suspicions. Was she going to fight back? Or let this beast do as it pleased?
“Excuse me?” She whimpered out, “Can I help you with something?” Her voice wasn’t as sing-songy as she had hoped and was instead strained from her crying.
The figure didn’t speak, but instead continued sizing her up.
Geez, how big was this creature? Was it a creature?
Despite her situation, she peered at his face. Aha, it was a mask, well, at least it wasn’t some sort of demonic entity coming to finish the job. Wait, why was he just staring at her… and, was he drooling‽
It clicked in her head.
The TV, the news, there was no way, but those eyes , they were just like the ones in the mugshot! She could’ve swore!
And then, he spoke.
“Did you know, the gender and age of a person can contribute to how they taste?”
Southern drawl, loud, deep, she felt the rumble of his voice within her chest. It sent a sensual shiver down her spine.
So yes, I am going to die tonight. For a moment, she thought to the black mass now covering half of her face and her left arm. Unless, you can save me, little one. She turned back to the cannibal, “No… very interesting.”
The man leaned in, his eyes widened as more drool practically poured from his jaws. He reached down, towards his waist and pulled out a filet knife. Alex gulped, her saliva getting stuck in her throat.
She had pictured a situation like this plenty of times, one where she was cornered. In her head, she would’ve been resourceful and would’ve easily evaded her attacker, but now, here, in the real world, she was glued in one spot, frozen in time.
“Just do it.” No. She didn’t just say that, did she?
The man paused, tilting his head a little. “If you insist,” He practically cooed. In a swift motion, he brought his blade up to her upper arm and slashed through it with ease.
Alex felt an immense, searing pain crawl across her right shoulder. A wave of cold washed over the rest of her body as she slid down against the wall. Crimson rivers flowed freely from her stump, her breathing grew more labored and the tears returned. She tried to grab at her arm, but found nothing.
Her eyes moved up to meet the man again. His snapping jaws were wrapped around her arm, hungrily biting into it as if it was his last meal. She watched him as her breathing finally settled. The black, eye-covered mass on her body slowly shifted over to the poorly-amputated appendage.
It went to work immediately, slowly repairing what the maniac had done.
Alex kept her eyes locked onto the man as he slowed his chewing. She breathed in… one, two, three…. And out.
“What in tarnation?” His voice was quiet. “How did you-”
Alex shook her head, “Long story.” She held out her other arm, “If you really want to hear it, you’re going to need another snack.”
The man was taken aback by her statement, his eyes widened even more, and his grin grew even larger. “I think I’ll take you up on your offer, Lamb.”
She smiled lightly and pressed her head against the wall. Her arm was almost back now. Thank God for her regenerative abilities, right? Speaking of her abilities, the man was now leaning down in front of her, his teeth snapping. Without warning, he latched onto her like a ravenous leech.
There was no way in hell that this dude was Human. Not with how big his teeth were or how strong his bite was. Alex let out another cry as her left arm was taken by the cannibal. As he pulled away, taking most of her meat with him. Thankfully, her other arm was fully healed, meaning the mass could shift its attention to the now missing arm. It rolled its eyes at her, annoyed by her actions in a pitiful attempt to get this rabid man to listen to her sob story.
“Sorry.” She mouthed to the mass.
“Now,” The man spoke, still chewing his food, “What’s that?” He gestured towards the mass, which was now glaring at him.
Alex swallowed again, she struggled to catch her breath. “Could-” She croaked, “Could I at least know your name?”
“Bob.” He complied to her request, “Bob Velseb.”
She had totally heard that name before. Was he a celebrity? A criminal? Or had she made it all up in her head that she had heard such a name? It was entirely possible at this point.
Alex’s eyes fixated on the mass slowly repairing her wounds. Bob watched as well, still gnawing away at her other arm. It was almost gone now. Damn, he ate fast!
She sucked in another labored breath, “Okay, the mass, you want to know about it, right?”
Bob nodded, his eyes still locked onto the eye-covered sludge.
“Her name is Bessie.” Alex explained, “And she came into my life about a year and a half ago.” Bessie’s eyes moved to stare back at her. “This town is a strange place, but I’m sure you already knew that.” Another breath in, “I caught wind that there was a cult or some sort of ‘evil group’. I was a tad bit interested because I had also heard that there was a ritual that could bring an entity into our world, one capable of healing the summoner and those around them. If used correctly.”
Alex ran a hand over Bessie, she was incredibly cold to the touch. She waited for any input from Bob, but he just kept observing the mass.
She decided to continue, “My mom was very sick. It wasn’t unusual for her to be in the hospital, but they had told her that she would need open heart surgery and that it was highly likely that she wouldn’t make it.” Alex frowned, the memory as clear as day to her. Her mother, who she had loved so dearly, was stretched out over a hospital bed. A plethora of wires stabbed into her skin, her eyes were so dull and lacked life.
“I loved her, more than anything. So I approached the Cult, I wanted to find a way to save her, even if it meant sacrificing myself in the process. She was my everything,” She paused, her breath hitching, “They didn’t accept me because they knew I only wanted their knowledge for my own gains. But, I did manage to grab one of their books.” She stroked Bessie again, “There was a ritual inside. One that I needed. It would summon a beast from distant lands to aid you. It said in the text that the creature would heal any ailments you had and that those strong enough could heal others with it as well.”
“I see,” Bob finally spoke.
“I completed the ritual, offering up my own body as a host. Sure enough,” She gestured to Bessie, “It worked. I even tested it out on myself.” Alex shuddered, “But when I returned to my family, to my mother, I found that she had gotten better without the surgery. And my family rejected me after finding out what I had done to myself. They referred to me as a Demon.”
“After all I did for her.” Alex reeled. She brought her knees to her chest as she fought off more tears. “So I’m living on my own.” Bessie wiggled, “Well, almost on my own.” She didn’t dare look up at Bob.
“Hm,” He hummed, “That’s quite tragic.” He reached out and wrapped his massive hand around her arm. “So was that why you were so willin’ to give me your arms?”
She nodded, “I don’t have much use for them anymore,” She let out a laugh and Bessie rolled her eyes, “And Bessie keeps me going. So I really owe her.” It was getting late now as a light chill set in. “I should get going.”
Bob stood up and wiped away the accumulating drool on his chin. He put away his tools and watched Alex curiously as she stood up. Her legs trembled as her breathing steadied for the final time that night.
“It was nice meeting you,” She told him awkwardly. Do I shake his hand or-
“Likewise, Lamb.” His voice was deep as he eyed her.
Does he want more? She had no idea if she had enough energy to offer up more of her flesh for him. “H-have a good night…” Alex started walking away. He didn’t pursue her, thankfully.
“Hope to see you again soon,” He cooed, going the opposite way. Despite his bright red sweater, he disappeared into the night like a shadow. Alex didn’t stay around for much longer; she stuck to the darkness, hoping to avoid any more confrontation.
Fortunately, she made it back to her dinky little apartment with the same amount of limbs as she had left with, all thanks to Bessie, of course. She opened the door, entered, and completed her nightly routine.
And that’s when it hit her.
She had gone out for a stroll, hoping to maybe clear her mind, and she had come face to face with death itself. Or, well, maybe not quite death , but something very close. If it weren’t for Bessie, she would’ve bled out on the dirty pavement, praying for someone to find her.
“Maybe it wasn’t such a bad choice, then, huh?” But then again, if she hadn’t summoned Bessie, she would’ve been living with her family and not on her own. Fate was such a strange thing, something that she found herself bitter with almost constantly.
Nothing ever seemed balanced in this strange world.
Alex let out a sigh as she rubbed her now fully healed arms. Bob Velseb… would she meet him again? Did she want to? Well, he was someone she could talk to, and if she kept feeding herself to him, then not only would he stay away from others and have his fill with her, but she could sit and chat with him while he did so.
It was messed up, very much so, but she was absolutely desperate. She had basically spent a year and a half all on her lonesome, so having someone to talk to was nice. “As much as I love our chats, Bessie, I think I might become friends with this Bob guy.” Alex explained.
Bessie glared at her.
“I know he’s a criminal, but I could really use someone to talk to… no offense to you. You’ve really been a big help! I promise!” She squeaked.
Bessie looked the opposite way, evidently not buying what Alex was saying.
“Fine, be that way. You’re stuck with me anyways and I’m stuck with you.” As long as she still breathed, Bessie would be attached to her. Try as she might, Alex could not remove the mass through any natural means. She flipped through the book she had snatched but could only find rituals that summoned things, not ones that remove the entities.
Knives, spoons, hot water, cleaning chemicals, and brute force didn’t work either. So as far as Alex was concerned, her and Bessie were bonded together forever. “So maybe we could branch out and make a new friend?”
Another eye roll from Bessie.
“Sure, sure, I know we don’t know much about him, but maybe he’s nice?” She suggested, “Minus the whole cannibal thing, I guess.” Reading the Cult’s book must have desensitized her in some way. How could any normal person say something so nonchalantly?
Well, if he was a cannibal, then maybe there was something on the TV about him? Alex flipped on the TV, hoping for an answer. She searched through the channels, but they held no good information. Only celebrity crap and stuff about the weather. “Huh, looks like it’s gonna rain tomorrow.”
So nothing on the Television, maybe the internet had something on this big man in a red sweater. And so Alex immediately turned to her computer and went to work. Wait, what was the guy’s last name?
Beezlebub? No, Bellseb? Absolutely not. Velseb. Yes! Well, she thought that was the correct answer. She typed in his name, misspelling the last name a few times, and waited for a response.
Aha. There he was.
“Bob Velseb.” She read aloud, mostly for Bessie, “It says to look out for this guy, apparently he’s already killed three people. It would’ve been four if it wasn’t for you Bessie,” Bessies wiggled a bit in response. “Says to turn him in or report to the police.” Alex scoffed a bit, “Police, yeah right, they haven’t done anything good for me.” She ignored the terrible memories as she pressed on.
He sounded like a wild animal, one who ravaged his victims with weapons or sheer force. Or at least, that’s what Alex thought. After all, he had a whole belt full of tools and his jaws, wow, they were so strong… Those teeth, and those wild eyes.
She didn’t know if she should’ve been afraid of him or incredibly infatuated. Alex rubbed one of her arms, wincing a bit as she remembered the searing pain that coursed through them only moments ago.
He was a killer, but perhaps she could be the one to ease him to the, well, nicer side of life? “Bessie, do you think we could keep him at bay?”
She looked at her, eyes a bit wide.
“Well, if I keep feeding him, maybe he won’t be a super evil murderer anymore and he’ll just keep eating me. And then, in turn, I’ll-er- we’ll have someone we can talk to! I know it sounds crazy but I think it might work.” She rubbed her temples, a headache now approaching from her overloaded and utterly confused brain, “And if he does manage to kill me, then at least you’ll be free.”
Bessie glared.
“But I doubt he’ll be able to! There’s only one weak part of me now! And it’s the thing I wanted to fix a year or two ago,” She laughed a little, trying to push away any negative emotions. If she let her thoughts wander into the dark, she would be stuck there for the next week. She was in an okay mood, and she wanted to keep it that way. “You and I both know the heart is the only thing you can’t repair, I have no idea why, but I suppose every living being, good or evil, has its flaws.”
Alex just hoped that this decision wouldn’t be her flaw.