Get caught up here:
With his legs splayed so that his back foot remained in place, Steve inched his way forward and leaned toward the toilet to peek inside. Nothing. He exhaled. Then, what was that? A finger—no, three fingers reaching up from the porcelain hole, sliding against the sides, searching fingers like peeling white worms. The toilet gurgled, bubbles briefly obscuring the desperate hand, but the fingers were still there—still searching—within the piss-clouded water. He leaped toward the door and unlatched the lock, but the door did not open when he pulled. It was as if someone were holding it from the opposite side. But why would those two men waiting in line do such a thing? He banged on the door. “What the fuck! Let me out!” But the only sound that emanated from the other side of the door was the next band striking their first chord. The toilet, the mirror, the vents, and the sink all vibrated in response. “This isn’t funny! There’s something in here with me! Help!”
Steve kept his back to the door. The gurgling had ceased—or was it only masked by the chugging rhythm of the guitars on stage. His heart kept pace with the snare drum, a fast, steady beat that tethered his panic in place.
It’s not possible. Or maybe this was all some sort of joke—a mess-with-the-old-timer gag. There’s gotta be a hole in the wall on the other side, but who…
Steve banged on the glossy black door. The music stopped. He could hear the two men outside the door. Their baritone voices, gruff, annoyed. “Hurry up, some people gotta piss out here!”
Unfolding like a broken umbrella, its pointy bones stretched over raw, pink skin.
Steve stood motionless and slack-jawed; this was no gag; this was the end of it all. Dead Man Walking.
Its soft head, dented from where it popped out of the porcelain hole, expanded back into shape. A smile sliced across its face. Steve would have screamed at the sight of its missing tooth, but he had nothing to give. His fear had taken every word—every breath.
The slap of its body hitting the cement floor as it flopped out of the toilet was too much for Steve to handle. He turned and kicked at the door over and over again, but it didn’t break or even move. On the other side of the door, he heard casual conversation, but nobody could hear him. Nobody would be coming to save him.
When Steve turned back around, the unspeekable thing was standing naked in front of the toilet, its eyes wide with delight. Its sinister smile spread across its face; each tooth looked like a Tic Tac that had been sucked on. Its tongue peeked through the gap where its tooth was missing as if playing a game of peek-a-boo.
Continue the story:
Hi all! I’ve been hard at work with
at Spare Press to get a collection of short stories out this summer, and we’re in the proofs stage—so very close! As paid subscribers, this will be included with your paid subscription (US only). When we get a little closer to a release date I’ll hit you all up for addresses, and if you want one I’ll hook you up.Love - Seany