This week, Chuck Wending has challenged us to – CREATE YOUR OWN MONSTER

Chuck Wendigs Flash Fiction Challenge

Here’s mine:

Party Guest

When Charli arrived, she had brought a guest.

“What the fuck is that?!” James squawked.

“Ew” exclaimed Angie, “It’s leaking.”

“Mind the carpet; Charli!”

Kay ran to the kitchen and pulled a stack of old newspapers from beneath the sink. She placed them hastily around the thing that stood there all sad-eyed and wriggly. “Just, keep it still for a moment Charli,” Kay shouted, as she arranged sheets about the creature. Angie pulled herself into a small ball in the corner of the sofa, fear and disgust writ large on her face.

I took a suck on the pipe that James passed me. James stood and swayed over to within a couple of feet of Charli and the thing. He squinted at it through a drug induced haze, taking in the drooping tentacles or antennae, whatever the fuck they were.

“Where did you find it, Charli?” I called.

Charli plonked herself down into the nearest armchair; her left leg dangling over the arm.

“Back of the supermarket, I was seeing if there was anything useful in the dumpster-“

“You disgusting beast.” Kay said.

“For my art, Kay, for my art!”

James, Kay and I stood in a semi-circle around the guest. For it was clear that this was a living creature, despite its complete dissimilarity to any living form I had seen before. There was a strange translucent quality to the skin, it seemed to glow slightly. Every so often, a slender section of its form would extend tentatively forwards, its end wriggling like it tasted the air.

“Looks radioactive,” James said, taking a step back.

“Look!” I pointed excitedly, “It’s antennae thingy moved! I bet you hurt its feelings.”

“Feelings?” James snorted, “It looks like a fucking slug.”

“Or a sea cucumber.” Kay said.

“It’s a monster.” Angie said quietly, but no-one took any notice. No-one ever took any notice of Angie.

“It’s got teeth,” I said, “Look, you can see them through its skin; oh my god it’s gross.” The creature seemed to turn its huge-wet-eyed gaze on me. “It’s staring at me!” It was freaking me out. I sat down to roll a joint, “What are you going to do with it Charli?”

“Me?” she sounded surprised.

“Ye, you found it, so I reckon it’s your responsibility.”

“No way; it eats too much.”

James and Kay took a couple of steps back, “What do you mean it eats too much?” Kay asked suspiciously.

“It was eating out of the dumpster; boxes, crates, old fruit and veg, a piece of linoleum; y’know, all the crap.”

I sat up, “But what do you mean by, too much?” I was beginning to think it was a really bad idea that Charli had brought this thing to our party.

“It emptied a whole dumpster before it even saw me.” Charli said. She was tipping her head left then right, as if deciding which angle she should paint the thing from. “Then it grabbed a cat off a wall, and ate that.”

“Whoa!” everyone exclaimed.

Kay had backed into the kitchen, “Get it out Charli! Now!”

“Ye, Charli, before it eats one of us!” James stepped backwards over the coffee table littered with party detritus.

“I kind of like him.” Charli said.

“Him?!” Kay squeaked.

“I dunno, just looks like a him.” Charli took a long toke on the joint I handed her.

I exhaled after holding my breath for too long. “Looks like a gummy sweet.” I croaked.

The translucent monster flicked some part of itself, as if irritable. It shuffled on its wide damp base and turned its three antennae back and forth as though seeking something out.

It didn’t take us long to eat it. And it did taste like Gummy Bears, but not so sweet.