Life Changing

WARNING, THIS IS HORROR. At least, it gives me nightmares!

A Writer’s Cramp entry: 24 hours, under 1,000 words

Prompt: Write a story or poem about receiving a gift and having it unexpectedly change your life.

Life-Changing

I'd lined up with thousands of hopefuls. The sky was drizzling; clouds hung darkly overhead. I was shivering, but a radio ad had promised a life-changing gift.

The woman in front of me had twin toddlers who kept stepping on my feet. The first three times, I'd smiled at the fair-haired imps. When they apologized lispingly, their dark brown eyes looked as sad as cow eyes, but soon the stomps on my white tennis shoes escalated.

Their ferret-nosed mother seemed oblivious. She was reading a romance novel, the kind with a long-haired, bulging-muscled he-man on the cover. The woman wore no wedding ring, and the wads of fat surrounding her belly kept her coat from completely closing. The fact that she kept stuffing not only herself but the twins’ mouths with candy and chips probably foreshadowed a bleak future for all of them.

Of course that was none of my business. I had my own vices, like the cup of java in my hand I was sipping slowly, hoping to make it last.

Behind me stood a couple of blue-haired, angry-mouthed teenagers plugged into ear pieces of heavy rock. Both girls were chewing wads of gum and mouthing swear words. The line behind them streamed well past the doughnut shop, where I’d gotten my coffee, clear down the sidewalk to the closed theatre where a ripped and faded poster still advertised “Annie.”

I turned back, jerked my foot to the right, and managed to avoid another of the twins’ giggly foot squashes. Their mother looked up, sighed a dreamy, otherworld smile at me, and plunged back into her book. A drop of rain pounced off my nose.

And the line moved forward!

The twins forgot their interest in my formerly white tennis shoes, the mother put her book away, the teens behind me pushed forward.

“I wonder what this life-changing gift will be,” someone said.

“Who cares if we get something for nothing,” came the response.

“It fuckin' better be worth it,” said one of the gum-chewing teens.

The line moved quickly as strange-looking officials in shiny silver suits handed each person a wrapped present. The conveyer belt from a parked vehicle was rolling out gifts as quickly as they could be doled out. I stepped forward and held out my hand.

They gave me a red and gold package, a rather smallish box compared to the others', but by that time I hardly cared. Whatever it was, it was mine, and I no longer had to stand in the rain, foot-stomped and chilled. I whirled away, heading back to my flat.

At home, I changed into dry clothes, put the kettle on, and waited a bit, just to savor the fact that I'd gotten the present. Stupid people to give things away, I laughed. Then I patted my back for being so smart as to get something for nothing.

As I sipped the instant coffee I’d made, I stared at the mystery box. What could it be? Something heavy – like a book, maybe, but it was oddly shaped for that -- too thin, too elongated.

I shook the box. Nothing rattled. Strangely, I thought I heard something – a sound similar to the soft mew of a kitten. For some reason that frightened me. I set the box down and drank the rest of my coffee.

How silly I was being. Why didn’t I just look? Why was my heart suddenly pounding, my hands clammy, my brain screaming, “No, don’t open it!”

Ruthlessly, I grabbed the package and tore off the layer of striped red and gold wrapping paper. The box was sealed by tape too strong to slice with my fingernails. I scratched at it until I could pull it off. Then I sat back and stared down at the box. It moved!

I had to know what was inside. I slipped my finger into the opening in order to pry the lid off. A tiny pinprick on my index finger, hardly felt at the time, alerted me to the fact that whatever the box contained, it had claws. But the box was already open by then, and what sprang out, wreathed my face in delight.

The creature was adorable. Long whiskers on its chin, eyes soft and brown, fuzzy-coated, warm, and cuddly -- it was everything I’d ever desired, though I’d never known I wanted it. I held the tiny animal up against my chest, then gently lifted it to my cheek. The rabbit/mouse/kitten thing kissed me with a small, scratchy tongue. I laughed.

The pinprick on my finger had begun to burn. I knew I should put antibiotic on it, but I couldn’t put the creature down; it needed me. Its tongue still licked at my cheek, and it was making soft, mewing noises.

“It’s all right, baby,” I cooed.

Maybe it’s hungry, I thought. But what did such a strange, little creature eat?

My finger was throbbing. I shook it, but the pain was steadily rising, spreading out into my arm.

“Poor baby,” I cooed again, as I tried to disconnect the creature's mouth from my cheek.

My arm began to ache. The fingers on my other hand were tingly. My chin had gone numb. Suddenly I felt fuzzy and weak.

“Time . . to . . .let. .. go . . .baby,” I said through a fog of pain and confusion, but the baby wouldn’t let go. Its teeth sank into my cheek. Sharp teeth. Fanged teeth.

I sagged back against the couch. The room was spinning. My grandmother’s picture on the wall was fading in and out. I closed my eyes to rest a moment.

Pain in my chest pounded at me. I inhaled raspily. My cheek was on fire. I could only draw shallow breaths.

There was no air. No light. Only PAIN.

One white tennis shoe, dark from the imprint of toddlers’ feet, fell to the floor with a subdued plop, but the baby alien ignored it and continued to chew.

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999 words