The Memory Thief

Fudalik was hopeful. Perched on the corner of a tall structure, he had found the perfect vantage. His entire form shifted like wind on the surface of water. Gentle and rhythmic, most times. This particular perch was a new adventure. He had grown bored of the monotonous palette of the last few meals. The aristocrats' dinner parties, while extravagant, were incredibly trite and repetitive.

The humans buzzed in swarms in the market below. He could smell the delicious variety he craved from below, forming a pastel painting of scents. He was invisible to their eyes, the perfect predator. He preferred it this way. Every so often an emotionally sensitive human might sense him, he had seen the strangest reactions, and the funniest looks of bewilderment. It brought him an odd sense of pleasure. They always moved along though, “strange brains,” he muttered.

Fudalik watched as a young female human stared at some grotesque-looking items in a stall, and it continued to stare, as its parent pulled it past. He searched through the young human’s mind, knowing what he might find. More grotesque creatures being hugged and kissed, a sweet treat it was denied, some colorful stubs strewn across the floor. Its brain was a little nugget still, but each memory was tied to such amplified emotions compared to their adult forms.

This type of meal was a favorite amongst his kind, the young were easy, brain cells multiplying and wiping away all in one fell swoop. Although personally he found this tact to be lazy and plain distasteful. What was the point of getting your fill with just a single taste, they were insatiable creatures after all. Why not explore, experience all that could be tasted. Take your time getting to know that which you consume.

Fudalik’s form rippled gently, “no, not today,” he whispered to himself, his voice akin to the sound of a soft whistling wind. Today he was on the hunt for something more classic in variety, like the comfort food that you eventually always gravitated back toward. Fudalik could smell the memories, jam-packed within each speck of the spiraling swarm. He left his perch and gracefully floated into the chaos below. He weaved between the flow of humans and the stalls packed with their food and their other paraphernalia. “Strange brains,” he thought.

Like a tuning fork causing an invisible wave, Fudalik was alert. He could see the smell he craved for this day. Like a light wisp of steam seeping out of a crack, it smelled delicious. He could see the scent, bobbing and weaving amongst so many others. He followed the human as it headed out of the market.

Two alleys and one staircase later, he was finally alone with his prey. Fudalik fed by occupying two spaces at once, the first, by cocooning the head of his prey. The second by pervading the space within the human’s brain. He could feel himself stretch through the areas of this human's brain, careful not to trigger any motion receptors.

“Hello Human, I am Fudalik. I’m looking for a particular memory. You, having lived for so long, have accumulated quite a lot of them.” Fudalik thought into the human’s brain. This was the only way the human could hear him, let alone understand what he was saying.

“You will not be able to move or speak, or form full thoughts at the moment. However, if you do wish to communicate, you could do so by recollecting a memory that communicates that message,” Fudalik said.

The Human’s brain flooded with flashes of memories. Fudalik saw the human, cold and afraid while stuck in a thunderstorm. He saw flashes of people, an old woman with a knowing smile, a young woman laughing as she bit into some fruit, a morose young man trying to reassure his father, and the faces of a handful of young children, all giggling or jumping about.

“Yes, yes. I understand. You will see your family again, Strange Brain. No need to fear. I only need to steal a memory or two. I will be on my way soon after. You won't even miss them.” Fudalik chuckled at the last statement.

Flashes flooded through once more. He saw the human shouting at the woman with the knowing smile, it was seething with anger. The human was now a young child banging on the doors from inside a small locked cupboard, tear-stained cheeks flushed with rage. Another flash followed, a memory that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The human was standing at the edge of a shallow hole, it smelled stagnant, like the wind had forgotten its own existence. The human had dragged a large limp bundle to the edge of the hole. The human was filled with feelings of exhilaration and vindication. It enjoyed this cold sense of empowerment!

“Wait, wait, wait! What was that, Strange Brain? What did you bury away so quickly? I didn't smell it on you earlier. I see! You’re a cheeky one aren’t ya, you’ve somehow learnt to drown it.” Fudalik’s outside form was rippling so fast now, a vibration stuck in place. He carefully maneuvered his second self to snake out the memory from the deep recesses of the human’s mind. To Fudalik this felt much like a challenging maze with deeper corridors at every turn. The mind did fight back, thrashing against Fudalik’s control.

The memory resurfaced. The Human was standing by the shallow grave, a limp body by its side, feeling victorious. Fudalik dug deeper, looking for the network that this memory was tied into. The woman with the knowing smile flashed to the front, she was being bludgeoned by her mate. The human was relishing this, Fudalik could all but taste it off the memory. Disgusted, Fudalik dug deeper, he needed to know. He saw so many passing flashes, so much knowledge, so much greed and so much death. Woman after woman being robbed of their lives. He saw that the woman with the smile was the first, so many more had followed after her. He saw countless flashes of it savoring the gore and the power to create emptiness.

Fudalik’s vibrations had slowed to still waters. He had encountered scum like this before, this was no new feed. He did not understand why these memories were affecting him the way that they were. He had to make a choice. The human was frozen too long and would soon be noticed. This was supposed to be a simple comforting meal, he just wanted to steal a memory of the most boring, mundane experience the human remembered. He pulsed a slow ripple, moving like a gentle wave around the side of the cocoon.

He took it all, every memory, every feeling associated with every memory. This human would be a husk of muscle memory and nothing more. Fudalik paused as the last memories flashed, the woman with the knowing smile, the woman with red lips, the woman with sparkling eyes, the woman with the mole under her eye, there were so many more. He decided to leave the human with the memory of its brutal murders, and those alone. Fudalik stole every iota of emotion associated with them, it would have no sense of exhilaration when the memories were recalled.

“I realize this might come off as hypocritical. We both steal after all. I steal memories while you steal life. I feel disgusted taking in any part that was you, but I do know that this feels right. I name you and your kind Pain Brain. Me and any of my kind that I can convince will take great pleasure in providing the same fate to any other Pain Brains we meet along the way.”

The human blinked its eyes open. All it could feel was pain.