Bogleech.com's 2017 Horror Write-off:
Air
Submitted by Anonymous
I took a breath of fresh air.
My gelatinous body, formless and sickly blue-green, like mold, surged up onto the beach, smelling of sulfur and rotten grapefruit.
With a thousand "eyes", as a simpler being might call the colorless orbs that drifted through my protoplasmic flesh, I took a look around, and I saw the sand my gooey flesh rested on, I saw the rocks beneath me, tearing into my flesh like knives, tearing flesh like paper and spilling the smell of sulfur and charcoal everywhere, and with a million mouths, I took a breath of fresh air.
As my body was battered against the rocks, I took note of the two elongated appendages forming from the scabrous wounds encrusting certain parts of my body. They looked similar to those of an amphibian, however they were plated in bluish green chitin, similar to an insect and they smelled of motor oil and mold. As I observed this my mouths fused together into a large toothy feeding orifice located in my chest, which then grew and spread until I was nothing but a huge mouth with chitinous limbs crawling around on the beach. And with a mouth big enough to cover my entire body, I took a breath of fresh air.
My body began stretching and contorting, deforming into strange, unrecognizable shapes until suddenly stopping. Several spiracles opened up on random parts of my body, releasing steam the color of burning amber that smelled of rotten wood and burnt chalk. My midsection surged up, tentacles flaring out into long limbs while my lower appendages supported my upper body. Chitin began to grow over the tentacles as they began to become solid. The chitin pierced some of my flesh, tearing open my tentacles and spilling orange fluid everywhere, filling the air with the smell of amber and wet paper. As I shrieked in pain my mutilated tendrils split open into three fingered hands. Some of my mouths migrated to my back, flesh merging and warping until they sealed themselves shut as heavy bluish chitin began to grow over the rest of my body, forcing a humanoid appearance. I suddenly felt some of the teeth stab through the flesh and chitin on my back, growing out into keratinous spines. I began to grow sensory hairs all over my back, and I could now feel things I never felt before. Tastes, smells, Noises! So very many wonderful new things! Finally, most of my body was plated in bluish green chitin and I had taken on a humanoid appearance. Finally there was one last thing to do. Betwixt my shoulders a protoplasmic blob of flesh surged up, a long stalk-like neck growing slowly. Finally a large fleshy rotund bulb grew at the end of it and my new head was plated in the same beautiful bluish green chitin. All my eyes migrated up towards my head, situating themselves in a star pattern.
...
But there was....
A problem.
I could not breathe; I had eyes, but no mouth. I tried to call out, tried to scream for help, but I could not make a sound. No one could hear me scream. I began slowly asphyxiating, dying in the sun with no one to witness my end.
....
...So
I dug my claws into my face until they pierced through. I bled and it hurt. But I did not care. All I cared I about was surviving.
So I tore open my entire face, pulling out sinews, shattering chitin and tearing muscles ...
And Took a breath of fresh air.