What Lurks Inside

What Lurks Inside

The wagon hit a rut in the road, making Sel crack her head against the bars of her cage. Inside, the monster stirred. He wrapped his claws around Sel’s ribs. She could feel him trying to pry them apart, create enough space to slip through the cracks, but she resisted. Not yet, Sel told the monster. The monster’s growl reverberated off her bones and echoed in the hollows of her stomach. But the monster retreated, tracing one sharp claw down her sternum. Before he curled up in a far corner of her soul, lurking in the dark.

“I have to pee,” Sel said, pressing her face against the bars.

“You can piss in there,” the guard driving the cart grunted. He hawked and spat over the side of the cart.

The two guards flanking either side of the wagon remained quiet, as did the two behind and the two in front, though she didn’t know if they had heard her or not. They wore plain leather armor, scuffed and worn. Though their weapons had seen better days, they were still sharp.

Sel turned around and let her head fall back to lean on the bars. Her gaze drifted up to the open sky overhead. Such a clear blue, only a few wisps of clouds. Beautiful.

Sel sighed. People had tried to cage her in the past, to kill her. But the monster never allowed it. It was only a matter of time before he broke free, and Sel would awaken to the aftermath of the slaughter, covered in blood, the foul taste of raw meat in her mouth.

When the rotting sickness first spread through the land, people thought the immense death count was the worst part, but no, the worst part was what happened to those who survived. The rotting sickness starts in the brain, or so the healers brave enough to study the corpses say. People go raving mad, and then their insides rot, killing them. The only people left are those who are immune, or those who survived the rotting. Rotten ones.

The cart hit a bump, jolting Sel’s spine and making the monster inside her growl. Sel’s village had been a small one. When the rotting reached them, it decimated the population. Only two people were immune. Only Sel survived. Sel supposed she should thank the monster inside her for keeping her alive, but some days she wondered if she were better off dead.

When the cart hit another bump, Sel cursed. The guard walking to the side of her sneered at her. Sel winked. “See something you like?”

“Rotten one,” the guard spat.

Sel pushed her face against the bars. The man eyed the red and purple blotches all over her skin with disgust. “If you let me go now, I won’t kill you,” Sel crooned.

“You’ll be dead soon enough.”

“Shut your trap, Jorden,” the guard driving the cart said.

“Do you know how many people have tried to kill me already?”

The man grinned. “They didn’t have what we do.”

“I said shut it!” The guard yelled at Jorden.

Sel rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, you think you have some sort of new weapon or method of killing me? Don’t you know people have already tried everything? There’s no killing us survivors. The best thing you can do is leave us alone.”

“And let you spread the rotting sickness?” The man made the sign of the Mother, running a finger down the center of his chest. “No, you’ll see soon enough. You won’t survive this time, rotten one.”

The monster inside raised its head. It unfurled, agitated and spread against her ribs.

He reeks of truth. I don’t like this. Let me out.

Sel swallowed against the taste of decay rising in her throat. No.

You are a survivor, Sellion. Survive.

Sel cursed under her breath again because the monster was right. The only thing she had left to fear was death. Sel would survive. She always did. It was the only thing that mattered anymore. Perhaps the only thing that ever mattered.

As they reached the town, the guards paused at the gates, waiting for them to open. It took some time to raise the iron portcullis and then pry the heavy wooden doors open. Sel’s foot had started tapping. She didn’t want to unleash the monster on an entire town. Perhaps she could still convince them to let her go, or find a way to escape that didn’t involve giving control to the monster.

If only Sel hadn’t been caught in the first place, but the trap had been well hidden. Neither she nor the monster had sensed it. She’d been so hungry. It had clouded her judgement. Foolish, she chided.

I’m still hungry. The monster said, as if Sel needed reminding. Fresh meat was the only thing she could stomach since surviving the rotting. Nothing else would stay down. She mostly survived on rabbits and birds, but the deer had been too inviting to resist.

The guards drove the cart through the center of town. People stopped and gawked at her. Sel drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around herself, but that didn’t stop the harsh words from entering her ears or the rocks hurled. Several stones made their way through the bars to pelt her.

Inside, the monster growled, pushing against her ribs. Sel escaped. She hummed the song her mother used to sing. A rather dark tune about a babe left in the woods and taken in by wolves, only to be mistakenly killed by a hunter one day. The monster withdrew, lulled by the familiar tune.

We survive. The monster mumbled before falling into a deep slumber.

The guards parked the wagon in the center of town. A tall woman Sel assumed to be a town leader of sorts and a healer, evident by her dark robes and mask, approached the guard and held a hushed conversation. Then the woman moved to stand in front of Sel, facing the growing crowd.

“The Mother bless us today as we destroy this cursed rotten one.” A great cheer rose from the crowd.

“Hey, I don’t want to hurt any of you, just let me go.”

The woman ignored her and continued. “Our great Mother has given us a means to end the rotten ones once and for all. Bear witness today to the dawning of a new age. One of hope and future prosperity.”

“I’ve heard all this before, I’m telling you it’s not going to go well for you.”

The woman turned to the healer. “Administer the cure.”

The healer approached the cage, withdrawing a metal tube with a long needle. Sel shook her head.

“Whatever that is, it’s not going to work. You are just going to make him mad, and I can’t stop him once you do that.”

As the healer drew near, Sel backed away, but the guard yanked the chain attached to a shackle around her wrist. It wrenched her arm, nearly dislocating it as she slammed into the bars, straining to pull her arm back inside. The monster woke. A deep growl rumbled in the pit of her stomach reverberating off her bones. It rose and rumbled out of her mouth.

The guard glanced between her and the healer and nodded.

The healer grabbed her arm and lined the needle up. “Don’t do it,” Sel grit out between the growls she could no longer suppress. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

The healer looked at Sel, only her eyes were visible. They seemed almost sad. “You won’t,” the healer said, and the needle pierced her skin. She pushed down a plunger, and Sel felt the monster rip out of her. Sel screamed as her ribs burst apart. Unleashing the monster within.

Survive.

Rend.

Tear.

Eat.

Fight.

We must sur—what is this? The monster looked down at the needle and device protruding from his arm.

Pain.

A searing pain spread up his arm. He was being burned. He wrenched his arm free.

The masked woman stumbled backward.

The monster howled. How dare they try to kill him? To harm Sellion. They would regret it. He wrapped his clawed hands around the bars of the cage and pulled. He pried them apart until he could squeeze through.

Screams arose, and people—prey—all around began to flee. The fear tasted good. He licked it from the air and howled again. He reached down and grabbed the chain. The guard still foolishly held the other end. He wrenched the guard forward.

The guard fell down and released the chain. He scrambled back to his feet and unsheathed his sword. The monster snarled. No weapon could fell him. He stalked forward.

The burning in his arm increased. It spread up and up across his shoulder and to his chest. He gripped at his chest and his entire body started convulsing.

Pain.

He collapsed to the ground, spasming.

No. No. It wasn’t possible.

“It’s working!” Someone yelled. People surrounded him, not close enough to touch, but leering overhead.

He retched. Throwing up black bile.

He rolled onto his back, still convulsing. The pain radiated through his entire body.

And then, a dull numbness spread. The monster stilled. Staring up.

The sky is so beautiful, he thought.

Sellion, I did what I could to keep us alive, but I have failed us.

I am… sorry.

__

Sel’s throat was dry and tasted bitter, but not of blood or meat. She blinked and tried to raise a hand to rub her eyes, but found her arms were bound. She shook her head, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The room was brightly lit with several blazing torches. She lay on a bed, strapped down with rope. A table across the room bore glass bottles filled with liquids, bowls filled with herbs, and tools and instruments of various sizes and shapes.

A masked healer sat at the table writing. Sel tried to speak, but her throat was dry so it came out a rasp. Still, the healer’s head shot up and she quickly rose and moved over to Sel.

“You’re awake!”

“How are you feeling?”

“W-water?” Sel managed.

“Yes, of course,” the healer said and brought a tin cup to Sel’s cracked lips.

“What happened?” Sel asked.

“We cured you,” the healer said. “At least, that is how it seems. You will of course, have to be monitored for a time to ensure it but…” the healer’s eyes glistened and tears fell, she reached for Sel’s hand and grasped it. It had been a long time since Sel felt the touch of another person. She flinched but the healer didn’t seem to notice.

“I think we’ve finally done it.”

Sel realized she felt hollow. Something inside her was missing.

The monster.

He was gone. Her entire body ached. She couldn’t shake the feeling she had lost something important. Something vital. It was like a limb had been severed from her. A phantom lingered where the monster used to reside. She felt… empty.

“Think of all the people we can save,” the healer gushed. “Oh, thank you, Mother,” the healer’s head fell onto Sel’s hand and she wept.

Sel cried too. But she didn’t know if it was for the same reason as the healer.