Bogleech.com's 2019 Horror Write-off:
Point of View
Submitted by Kacper Pruszyński (email)
I woke up in a dark tunnel. It was humid and warm. This place had shape of claustrophobically
narrow tube. Surface of it was wet and resilient. From one end I felt pungent smell which I
instinctively wanted to follow despite identifying it as coming from something dangerous.
From other end gentle blows of wind passed
rhythmically. I couldn’t remember anything but somehow I was feeling like this
was normal as if I was born mere moments ago. I was really hungry. Fighting
with urge to mindlessly crawl in direction of odor I tried to get up but I wasn’t
able to do that so I started to think what to do next. I quickly got to
conclusion that it’s pointless to lay here and wait and I thought that there is
something suspicious about this scary and strangely enticing smell so I decided
that I should check source of a wind first. It turned out that I wasn’t able to
move in any other way than by slowly creeping ahead. My body felt heavy and I
was seeing only darkness. Sound of wind was gradually becoming more loud. After
some time I started to realize that ground beneath me was similar to my own
body so I must be inside some gargantuan monstrosity. I ignored my hunger, fatigue
and unexplainable desire to turn back. In that moment my mind was screaming
only one word: "Escape!".
When I was crawling as fast as I could immensely
terrifying observation slowly found its way into my single minded consciousness.
Whole tunnel was tilting. I grabbed hold of its protuberance with all my strength
and waited. Slope was rising insanely fast and in matter of a moment I was
dangling above dark hole directly beneath me. My whole body adhered to fleshy
surface. I felt motion this whole giant being must have started to shift. World
around me started to tremble. Gusts of wind from above became stronger and
irregular. From darkness below horrible, unintelligible noises were coming out.
Terrifying creature clearly became awake. After that bright ray of light came
from above. I became completely blinded. Shaking, sudden sounds and bursts of
light continued to appear frequently. Once my eyes became somewhat accustomed
to light I noticed that tunnel had sickening reddish pink color. I managed to
not fall but I couldn’t climb any higher.
After some time of this harrowing
experience I remembered my hunger which was only increasing this whole time. I
tried to ignore it but slowly I’ve come to realize that only food I have access
to is this hideous flesh that surrounds me. With disgust I started consuming matter
surrounding me. Taste was absolutely revolting but I couldn’t stop myself from
eating more and more. Even after I stopped stuffing myself with this grotesque
mockery of meal colossus still was moving and emitting noises. Only long time
after that giant returned to rest. I didn’t dare to move until I was completely
sure that this being stopped its mysterious activities.
Mercifully after
traveling short distance tunnel started to expand into space with dome like
vault. I crawled across what I realized later was large, meaty outgrowth. Now I
could see mysterious, hard, white slabs blocking further patch. From behind
them light was slipping into this strange place but more dim and pleasant than
flashes I’ve seen before. After a while of searching I’ve found gap between them
and come outside. I had fallen down and found myself in completely new position.
Area that I found myself in was larger than I thought whole world was. It was stretching
at impossible lengths way beyond my limited senses. Countless objects with
alien shapes and patterns were lying around without any understandable reason.
Light seemed to pour from other, perhaps
even vaster space. This place is dry. I don’t have strength in my parapodia to
move from here. Even if I had its so huge that I would certainly die before
finding some moisture. I don’t understand what all of this means. I don’t…