The Chrysalis Effect

----------(Shining Armor’s perspective)----------

“H#Y!” the wriggling mass of flesh burbles, “G$Hsy%3whY&Xtr1p%3?”

“SK%guj!%~? &YGo^#1sGjisKIREs5#OsK473?”

“H#h#. K$5GiVe52fdf%^#CADA+CE. HI#~TG^Sk5tI#GR3NSTLY.”

Three such creatures sit around the table in front of me, slurping filthy sludge from their cups as they trade whines, growls and sounds that I can’t describe.

“H#YiST50ST3rngTHzTOVEN#V4rBNSK1^pkzb4?#?!”

“adN. tTH79HRRM3N1S&8$RZ20SnoW$dyz??!?$$”

“L1ttKnD6FScRed. ;k’ azS8L35fff^$%kn1JZ.”

By listening carefully, I’m able to grasp the gist of their conversation and respond when it’s required of me. This is necessary to avoid arousing their suspicion. However these creatures may look, they are my friends, apparently.

I wish that I could still deny it, but I gave up on that a long time ago. Night after night, I went to sleep praying for an end to this nightmare, only to wake each morning to the same twisted hellscape as the day before. I know now that I have to blend in, that I have to act like one of them. Such has been my life these past three months, and so it will remain until the day I die.

“B&UWRbl;;/tO2jUtSK#N6@@@”

“NTv9yd1ff:*fMS76;4%73#411&^#anG2St!@@”

Judging by its tone, this one must be that guy… my best friend, but I don’t remember its name. And the one next to him, squealing more than the others, is probably Cherry Blossom. Which means the one next to me is Cadance, though I can no longer see any trace of her once-attractive features. I try my best to ignore the rotten stench of excrement that issues from her quivering flesh.

“MVFKNfgda#@%mf@*Fmckxvzm#@SDFzxcv32!!!!”

“GRGHRGWn6Td2Ca15#0m3cHnSKT888###”

“W#BTT?IfW6MKN3LTsk62bFN%@%#$%#!GDF”

Everything has changed. Well… almost everything. By some cruel trick of fate, my relationship to the world alone remains the same, as if an insane architect took the blueprints of my life and rebuilt it out of blood and gore. These monsters and I were part of the same college club. We studied together, ate together – we even went skiing together every winter break.

Now these are now but painful memories of days that will never return. If only no one recognized me, I might have been able to disconnect myself from the world. It would have been comforting, in comparison, to believe that I had been abducted by aliens, or that I had stumbled through a gateway to hell. But no, this is beyond a doubt the city where I was born and raised, the society that I was part of for twenty years. Save that I, and I alone, can no longer see it that way.

The world as I knew it is gone. I have no place to call home.

“SDJsdafj3t493074t34#$(fjdkfa###”

“TYK#^t3m4T34,Rg4533j&Ig45uje@@@”

“F$Gf43HG#*$G#G3G#G834g43g8FM^^^”

Anyway, I can tell that whatever they’re talking about is of no importance to me. I decide to keep quiet while pretending to listen.

But just then…

“hEy, SHiniNG,” one of the flesh-beast says as it swivels it’s bloodshot eyes towards me. “WhAt dO yOU THinK?”

“…..About what?” I try desperately to suppress my loathing and behave normally, but my hoarse voice ruins the attempt.

“UH, wE’rE TAlkING about THIs Year’S skI TRiP. YOy’Re COMiNG ToO… RiGHt?”

A slimy hole near the top of the creature writhes nauseatingly as it vomits some semblance of words. That must be that guy’s face – or what I would have seen as such three months ago. Unable to stomach the sight of it, I avert my eyes and give a neutral answer. “I don’t know.”

“YoU have oThEr pLAns?”

“Not really.” These were my closest companions. My friends. One of them had even wished to be more. How many nights have I spent crying in loneliness, lamenting the friends who no longer exist?

In three months my tears ran dry, and now there is only loathing left in me. Surrounded by hideous creatures that I can only assume are my best friends, Cherry and Cadance, I spend each day trying to act as I always have. If I fail at this, I’ll surely be sent back to the hospital. Only this time, I’ll be locked away forever.

No matter what, I won’t let that happen.

“I mEAn… iT’s Not like physical activity COulD Affect YoUR InJuRIeS, RIght?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll ask the doctor during my check-up.” That’s it. I can’t look at them or bear their screeching any longer. I jump to my feet, desperate to escape.

“hEy, SHiniNG!” A spray of stingy slime from the cilia around its voicebox flies at me. I tried to cover myself, but it’s too late to keep the slime from splattering across my face like the yolk of a rotten egg. I’m about to lose it. I want to grab a chair, a desk – anything within reach – and use it to smash the life out of this creature, ending it all.

I barely suppress the impulse. I mustn’t let on that something’s wrong. However they look to me, this is their world. I’m an outsider here. “Like I said, today’s my check-up. I’ve got to go.” Struggling to put on a smile, I reach into my wallet, pull out the first bill I find, and put it on the table without even looking at it. I don’t care about the change. I just need to get out of here – now. “Later,” I mutter hastily, and flee the cafeteria.

I’m not crazy.

----------(School Cafeteria)---------

---------(Your Perspective)---------

“Hey,” says Cherry, “why don’t we go somewhere we can skate for this year’s ski trip?”

Cadance frowns at the suggestion. “Skate? But why go to a ski resort to skate?”

“Haha. Give her a break, Cadance. It’s all she talks about these days.” You support Cherry with a laugh. Her impromptu suggestions are nothing new, and it’s your role as her boyfriend to provide back up. You’re a good match for each other, Cadance thinks. Sometimes it makes her jealous. “I mean, she’d seriously never gone skating before I took her the other day.”

“Hey! Is it really that strange?”

“Now many people start skating in their twenties, you know,” you say as you take a sip of your coffee.

“I was scared when I was little. Those shoes looked like big knives! But you picked it up just like that? That’s pretty amazing, Cherry.”

“It’s a lot like skiing. You keep your weight forward and use the angle of the shoes to steer,” you instruct a bit.

“He made it sound so easy; I figured I should give it a try. And it was fun!”

So it was a date. Cadance feels a stab of envy. You and Cherry enjoyed your time together, as normal lovers do. That’s certainly not something that should arouse jealousy. It’s just that her luck in love has been bad. “Oh… well, I want to see Cherry skate too.” Cadance keeps her voice upbeat, trying to cover up her internal conflict.

She knows that it’s wrong to envy her friends. She too would be spending time with the man she admires, if not for the terrible tragedy that befell him. His real misfortune. Her “bad luck” doesn’t begin to compare.

“So, how about it? If we make the next ski trip a skating trip too, it’ll be twice as fun!” Cherry said with a huge smile on her face.

“But you can skate at a skating rink, can’t you? Why go all the way to a ski resort?”

“I don’t want to skate indoors. I want to skate outside, on a late or something,” Cherry figures.

“That sounds fun, but won’t it be crowded?” While speaking, Cadance sneaks a sideways glance at the young man sitting next to her.

Although the conversation has involved only three people so far, there are in fact two couples at the cafeteria table. Cadance’s boyfriend – though there’s still some doubt over whether he could be called that – is beside her, as expressionless as a statue.

“Hey, Shining. What do you think?” You ask the one sitting across you, who is as silent as a library. Perhaps you sense Cadance’s pain, is your usual quiet and considerate way.

“…..About what?”

The cause of Cadance’s distress – Shining Armor – responds to your sudden query with a vague, mumbled question of his own.

“Um, we’re talking about this winter’s ski trip. You’re coming too… right?” You speak gingerly, as though probing a tumor. A few months ago, you would hesitate to rebuke Shining for his attitude. Your long acquaintance has forged a strong and honest friendship. But now…

“I don’t know,” Shining responds bluntly, his downcast eyes and sullen demeanor making clear that he has no desire to break his silence.

“You have other plans?

“Not really.”

Even you, Shining’s best friend, can’t communicate with him as before. What hope does Cadance have of breaking through his shell? The scars left by the events of that late-summer day are still deep all these months later. Each one of the four bears them, not just Shining. “I mean… it’s not like physical activity could affect your injuries, right?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll ask the doctor during my check-up.” As though that answer drained the last of his patience, Shining bolts out of his chair.

“Hey, Shining!” Even you can’t keep your voice from rising as you try to stop Shining Armor from leaving.

Shining reacts swiftly, throwing his hand over his face as though to shield himself from something terrifying. Maybe some spit flew inadvertently from your mouth, but that sort of thing happens during everyday conversation. Shining’s reaction is beyond the pale.

“Like I said,” Shining snaps, making no attempt to relieve the discomfort of his friends, “today’s my check-up. I’ve got to go.” Even as he tosses money on the table to pay for his coffee, he acts like he’s touching something filthy. “Later.” Shining stalks out of the cafeteria, almost as if he’s running away.

Cloaked in heavy silence, the remaining three lower their gaze to the table, where the abandoned hundred dollar bill sways forlornly. Shining’s coffee is untouched. I can’t take this anymore,” Cherry says with a sigh, but you shook your head reproachfully.

“Shining just needs a little more time,” you say to her as you look at Cherry with an assuring gaze.

“But it’s been three months! What’s with his attitude?! I feel like I’m going crazy hanging around him!”

“Hey, I don’t understand what he’s going through either. I don’t think any of us can.” You look down at the table again. “Can you imagine losing your whole family like that? That’d screw anyone up.” You sigh at that thought. “It could have happened to anyone,” you remind yourself about that terrible day, as if that news you’ve heard was only yesterday. A tractor trailer flipped over on the highway, crushing the family’s car into a twisted scrap. They said it had been difficult to tell the bodies of Shining’s parents and her sister apart. For a while, it had looked as if there was no hope for Shining either. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was able to leave the hospital and return to a normal life. “He was worse when we went to see him in the hospital, remember? He was terrified of us, like he didn’t know who we were. He even had to be tied to the bed, he freaked out so bad. I’m just glad he’s made it this far.”

“There’s still something strange about him. What’s with the way he looks at us? It’s like we’re not even human!”

“Cut it out, Cherry,” you say forcefully, probably less out of empathy for your friend that out of consideration for Cadance.

While your kindness makes her happy, Cadance also knows that she mustn’t take advantage of it. Shining is the victim, just as you said. He’s the one who most deserves sympathy.

Cadance’s feelings for Shining Armor are her problem, and no one else’s. She doesn’t blame Shining for not giving her an answer after she worked up the courage to ask him out. In fact, she thinks even more fondly of him for his serious consideration of her feelings than she would have had he treated their relationship casually.

Apparently, the fact that Shining did not reject her was enough to make them a couple in yours and Cherry’s eyes. They’ve had plenty of fun at Cadance at Shining’s expense since. The truth of it, though… is that he still hasn’t given her an answer.

After revealing her feelings for him, Cadance didn’t see Shining again until a week later, and then she could only stare at his broken body through the window of the ICU. And when he was finally released, after fifty days that seemed an eternity, he was somehow different.

She’s starting to doubt that he even remembers what she confessed to him before the accident. Now winter is coming, and her feelings hang forgotten in the cold, lonely air.

---------(Hospital)---------

Dr. Chrome Regios has never had a troublesome patient. “Has there been any change since your last visit, Mr. Shining Armor?”

“No, nothing to speak of.” His voice is hard and flat, his words tossed carelessly into the air. It’s like he’s speaking to himself in an empty room.

Chrome is a surgeon, not a psychiatrist, but even she can sense the thickness of the wall he has erected between himself and the world. “Any nausea, dizziness, or hallucinations?”

“No.”

While Shining Armor appears to be looking at Chrome, his gaze is actually aimed a fraction down and to the side. He’s only superficially engaged in the conversation, when in truth it does not interest him in the slightest – perfect rejection.

Realizing that she can’t interview him like this, Chrome sighs and sets her chart aside. “Mr. Shining. The procedure you received at this hospital was the latest in experimental neurosurgery. We explained this before, didn’t we?” Treatment of subdural hematoma through the use of micromachines, a procedure available in Canterlot exclusively here at the C University Science and Medical Center, had been the only way to save Shining Armor from a cerebral contusion that should have been fatal. “With any experimental treatment, there’s always the risk of unexpected complications.”

“Of course.” Shining Armor’s lips twist slightly in what might be a bitter – or mocking – smile, but it’s gone before Chrome can discern its meaning.

“Normally, I would never say anything to frighten a patient… but there have been reports of serious neurological disorders post-surgery. We must continue to monitor your condition carefully.” Hence these weekly check-ups. If only he would take then a little more seriously.

“How was last week’s MRI?” Shining asks abruptly, as if to catch Chrome off guard.

MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging – is a way for doctors to examine the brain in detail without opening the patient’s skull. Surprised by Shining’s uncommon technical knowledge, Chrome recalls his profile.

“Oh, that’s right. You’re a medical student, aren’t you?” From what Chrome learned, Shining Armor was once a C.A.T participant and was aimed to be a policeman, but she didn’t know why he’d suddenly decided to switch to his course of study to medicine three years earlier. She never really probes into the personal lives of her patients outside of the main conflict she’s at currently, especially when she’s only been reading his file and only learned about his switch of studies from his friends.

“The kind of anomaly you’re worried about should show up on the MRI, right? Did you find anything?”

“…..No.”

“There was nothing – not the slightest hint of abnormal activity. For a procedure with such a low rate of success, the results have been nothing short of miraculous. However, something still bothers Chrome. She can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something beneath his guarded exterior – some terrible weight on his soul, perhaps. But if it is an inorganic problem, then there’s nothing she can do as long as he refuses to explain it.

“I’m fine, doctor. I’ve lived on my own for three months without any problems. What could go wrong now?”

“Please, you know that continued observation is required after these difficult surgeries. You have to trust us a little more.”

Shining sighs. “I suppose you’re right. I do want to trust you, Doctor. Can I come to you with anything?”

“Yes, of course,” Chrome answers, smiling to cover up her irritation. Shining Armor asked exactly the same question during last week’s visit.

“Well then, let’s pick up where we left off. Have you learned anything about Dr. Moonlight Shadow?”

“……” Unable to answer, Chrome hardens the mask of her smile. As before, the patient is inquiring about someone whom he has no business knowing. “If you don’t mind me asking, what does Dr. Shadow have to do with your treatment?”

“You just told me to trust you, and now you’re keeping secrets?”

Chrome is used to patients treating her with hostility during her life as an alchemist and a doctor. After all, some degree of paranoia is natural when dealing with someone who holds your life in her hands. In Shining Armor’s case, however, she doesn’t see the shortsighted impatience that other patients exhibit. His demeanor is perfectly calm, almost like a detective questioning a suspect. “He left this hospital some time ago. I never had any contact with him myself.”

“Do you know why he left?”

“Yes, I believe it was personal,” Chrome answers smoothly, her earlier hesitation is gone. Having decided at the outset to lie, she has no trouble doing so with a straight face. “But why do you keep asking about Dr. Shadow? Do you know him?”

“Did you know that the doctor has gone missing?”

“No.” Chrome realizes that her answer may have been a little too quick. She should have acted more surprised.

“I’ve recently become close with a relative of his. It was her who asked me to find him.”

A relative? Chrome considers this with a frown. “I didn’t think Dr. Shadow had any relatives.”

“Oh, who told you that?”

“I… heard it from a nurse,” Chrome replies, remembering that she just claimed to have had no contact with the man.

“I see. So the doctor was famous enough for nurses to gossip about him?”

“He was an unusual man, I hear.”

“But no one knows why he left the university?”

“Ngh…” Chrome falls silent, knowing that this isn’t a topic she can brush away with a smile. Shining Armor seems to have finally grasped her mood; however, as his strangely stiff tone softens a little.

“Doctor, I absolutely must find Dr. Shadow. There’s a girl who’s lost without him. Can’t you help me?”

“Isn’t this something the police should handle?” Although she makes it sound like the most obvious thing in the world, the suggestion is actually a risky gamble. If Moonlight Shadow’s disappearance becomes a police matter, then the university will be investigated. Everyone who was involved in the incident will be at risk of exposure. And of course, that includes Chrome herself.

She knows, however, that Shining Armor is unlikely to go to the police. First of all, his excuse is obviously a lie. They already made sure that Shadow had no relatives who might come looking for him, which is why they could bury the truth of what happened. But then… how did Shining Armor, a mere patient, learn about Moonlight Shadow? “I’d be happy to help, but there’s been no word from Dr. Shadow since he resigned last April. I can only assume that he’s gone on an extended vacation.”

“……I see.”

Expecting resistance, Chrome is surprised when Shining Armor backs down. She’s still worried about his condition. And the mysterious link between his and Moonlight Shadow is only making her more uneasy. But as long as he doesn’t open up to her, there’s nothing she can do. After a brief pause, Chrome writes “Progress good” on Shining Armor’s chart for today.

“About next week’s appointment. How does four o’clock again sou-“ Before she can finish, Shining Armor is gone.

----------(Hospital Hallway/Streets)----------

---------- (Shining Armor’s perspective.)----------

It looks like someone sprayed the walls with pig guts from ceiling to floor. What color should the walls of a hospital be? White, of course. And to the creatures of rotten flesh shambling around me, I’m sure this hallway looks just as white as it should.

I know, intellectually, that the walls are white. I know that the flesh beats are really human. I’m the one with the problem, and it’s because I’ve accepted this, that I’m able to lead something to approaching a normal life.

Even if my university’s medical department is nowhere near as good as Canterlot University’s, I’m still a medical student specializing in neurology. I have a basic idea of what has happened to me, though it’s hard to believe.

This isn’t a pathological condition. It’s probably some form of Agnosia unlike anything that has ever been studied before.

The flesh-beast called Chrome Regios said that other patients had developed neurological disorders after receiving the same treatment I did. So I guess I’m just another failure. It makes me want to laugh in that know-it-all doctor’s face. That said, I don’t blame the doctors who operated on me. After all, I do owe them my life. I know as well as anyone how low the chance of success was, and that I had no other hope of survival.

I was unlucky. That’s all there is to it. The point is that my condition isn’t treatable. Just like someone adapting to a hearing aid or wheelchair, I have no choice but to adapt to this nauseating scenery. Streets bloodied like an insides of a person’s stomach, poles like a twisted parts of intestines, sky as dark as a bottomless well, blood and guts everywhere I look that resembles buildings, plants and such is truly like hell on earth for me.

Of course it’s hard. It wasn’t easy to resign myself to this fate. But now there’s more than just despair. Even for me, there’s a glimmer of hope. Keeping my eyes on my feet to see as little of this horrifying world as possible as I hurry home.

(Streets)

I live in a quiet suburban neighborhood, in a house that’s much too large for me alone. My parents, even unluckier that I was, died in the accident three months ago. I couldn’t even go to the funeral for being in intensive care. I had to sell my father’s business, but at least that left me with the house and enough money to live on for a while.

Of course I’m sad, but the accident had took more from me than my parents. In fact, being on my own has probably saved me. If they were still alive, my parents would never have allowed me to live with some strange girl, after all.

(Shining Armor Residence)----------

“Welcome home!”

As I open the door, a bright voice greets me from the kitchen. The voice is beautiful and clear as a bell – human. Its sweet sound washes the day’s cacophony from my memory. “I’m home, Alice.” Even the patter of feet coming down the hallway is music to my ears. Nowhere else in the city can I hear such footsteps. Only in this house, with Alice, I’m so privileged.

“You’re late. I was a little worried.”

“Sorry. I had to stop by the hospital today.”

“Oh, that was today?” In her smile – in the inquisitive tilt of her head – is everything that I have lost.

Since my accident, this girl is the only person I’ve met – perhaps the only person in the entire world – who does not trigger my cognitive disorder.

True, her skin seems too white, and the color of her eyes and hair is probably different in reality. But even so, her form is undeniably human. And it’s not just her appearance and her voice, but also her…

As I bend down to take off my shoes, Alice wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me gently into her tiny bosom. Her skin truly human, not cold or slimy, and from her hair wafts the sweet fragrance of a young girl. In the entire world, only Alice is pleasing to my five senses.

And what’s more, she smiles at me – embraces me. She knows that she is my salvation, and for some reason is happy that I need her.

If I had not met Alice – If I had been all alone in this twisted, filth-ridden world – I would no doubt have succumbed to madness. It is no exaggeration to say that Alice alone is keeping me alive. “What did you do today?”

“I worked on the living room. The painting’s half done! And now I’m making your dinner like I learned from the TV.”

“Sounds good.”

“it’ll take a little longer. Can you wait?”

“Sure. I’ll do some more work in the living room.” After I see the humming Alice off to the kitchen, I step into the living room.

I realized one day that if the natural colors of the world were sickening, all I had to do was paint over them with colors that seemed pleasant. I went to the hardware store and bought every color of paint I could find, then Alice and I tried different combinations until we found one that worked.

After painting the bedroom from ceiling to floor, I was finally able to get my first goodnight’s sleep since the accident.

Then we first started on the living room, Alice, unsure what to do with the curtains, just painted carefully around the windows. Without a moment’s hesitation, I tore the curtains down and painted over the glass itself.

There’ll never be anything out there that I’d want to see, and as long as we keep the storm shutters closed the neighbors probably won’t think anything of it.

“Dinner’s ready!” Alice called out.

“Can you bring it here?”

As she enters the living room with a tray of food, Alice sniffs the air. “The paint smell doesn’t bother you?”

Now that she mentions it, I suppose the smell of paint thinner must be building up in this closed room. It doesn’t really bother me, though. There are far worst smells outside. “Does it bother you, Alice?”

“No, I’m fine if you are.”

Alice sets the food on the table. Unfortunately, either its color nor it’s smell is at all appetizing. Not that food elsewhere is any different. “Thanks, Alice.”

As has become routine, I steel myself and methodically transport the food into my mouth. The taste is as gut-wrenching as I expected, but it’s not Alice’s fault. I’m sure she made it exactly like the cooking show said. It’s just that my taste buds can’t accept it.

“It’s not good?” She asks hesitantly.

“Well…no…” Lying won’t make Alice happy. She knows about my condition.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make something different tomorrow.”

“Sorry. You always go to the trouble of cooking but I…”

“It’s fine. If I keep trying, maybe I’ll find something you’ll like.”

In my current state, eating is nothing more than an unwelcome duty. As much as I hate it, I need food to survive. If I stay alive, then perhaps one day, as Alice says, I’ll be able to taste something delicious again.

I met Alice, didn’t I?

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“No, I already ate.” In all the time we’ve been together, Alice has never once eaten with me. I don’t know why she refuses to do so. It makes me a little sad.

Still, I’m not about to push the issue, not when she’s putting up with all the problems I have. “By the way, I asked about your father again.”

“About Dad?”

Doctor Moonlight Shadow, Alice’s father, is her only relative. Alice has asked me to unravel the mystery of his disappearance. “They still wouldn’t tell me anything. I get the feeling they’re hiding something.”

“I see…”

I expected Alice to be a little more dejected. “You haven’t given up, have you?”

“No,” Alice responds with an unreadable expression, “it’s not that.” She gives a little shake of her head, then smiles at me once again. “Thanks for all you’re doing for me, Shining…”

“It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done for me.” I thanked her for the mean and set my utensils down next to the perfectly clean plate. As wretched as the taste was, thinking of the care that Alice put into it gave me the strength to finish every bite.

“Is it bathing time?”

“Yeah. Will you wash my back again?”

“Sure!” Ever since Alice moved in, it’s been like having my own wife.

--------(--------Alice… Why are you so good to me?

“Ahh…haaa….” Alice’s slender hips bounced up and down with an insatiable hunger, each decent thrusting my manhood deep into the embrace of her hot, tight womb. “Yes, yesssss! Ahh… hot… deeper!” Who could imagine that her seemingly incorruptible body would ever glisten with the hot sweat of passion, or feast on pleasure with such bottomless lust?

Alice, my darling Alice. Is this really what you want? Why do you go so far for me? What am I, that you can give yourself to me body and soul?

“More, Shining! Harder! It’s so deep… ahhhhhh!”

Is this merely sympathy? Do you pity me, the exile from society? Is that enough for you to surrender yourself to such mad desire? Are you so lusty?

“Yesss… please… give me more… more! I’m… going crazy… uhhhh!!!”

Her eyes, as she gazes down upon me, are devoid of twisted or sinful desire. There are only the melting flames of ecstasy. Her beautiful, carnal moans and undulating body seem impossible, dreamlike, and I can’t help but wonder if even the pleasure that’s burning me from head to toe is but an illusion.

Needing to touch her, to reassure that she’s real, I raise my hands to her small breasts and seize them like my life depends on it. “Ah!” Alice convulses, screaming like an animal. As I roll her sharp, pink nipples through my fingers, she throws her head back and gasps for air. “Ahhhhhh, yes! Shining… I’m going to pieces!”

Alice is here. She’s with me, now. Only in this moment is her existence certain. I can believe only when I’m joined with her. “Shiniiiiing… Inside… Please, come inside… I want you in me…”

I nod and accelerated the pace of my thrusts. Alice’s gasps rise in pitch as her mad dance of passion reaches its peak.

“I’m coming!!! Shining! Together… Togethreeeeer!!”

No matter what cruel fate might await me, Alice, there is nothing I fear more than losing you.

“Aaaaahhhhhh!!!” As Alice climaxes, convulsing and wailing, I surrender to her tight embrace and unleash my boiling seed into her womb. “Aaaahhhh… So hot… Shining….”

Alice collapses atop me, still smiling, and I wrap my arms around her. The feeling of her soft, sweat-soaked skin and the warmth emanating from her body reassure that she is still here.

“…….Shining? Are you crying?”

I realize that my cheeks are wet with tears. “Why, Alice? Why do you go so far for me?”

“Shining…”

“I don’t understand it… I don’t, but I’m losing myself to you more every day. I can’t live without you, Alice.” I wrap my arms tighter around her, praying that out bodies will melt together and never again be apart. “Tell me, please. What must I do to keep you with me? How can I repay you?”

“Keep holding me,” Alice whispers into my chest. “I want you to make love to me. I want to stay like this forever. I won’t leave you, Shining Armor.”

“Why? Why me?”

“Because you’re all alone,” She says softly, gazing up into my eyes. “All alone… just like me.” The sorrow in her voice resonates with my own. There is a deep loneliness in her eyes, a loneliness from which now springs boundless affection. “You’re all I have. In the whole wide world, only you will embrace me. My precious, Shining Armor.”

Now I know. No matter what horrors this world unleashes upon me, All I’ll ever need is Alice.

----------(The next day…).----------

----------(Classroom)----------

Cadance is determined to talk to him today. Nothing will happen as long as she hesitates. It will only prolong her suffering. The time has come to show courage once again.

Cadance’s fourth period on Thursdays is biology. This is her one chance to see Shining Armor. As a required course with many students, the lecture is held in a large hall that can seat well over two hundred. But since the room is usually only half full, it is rarely difficult for Cadance to find the seat she wants.

Cadance prefers to sit near the center, where it is easiest to hear the professor. Most of the students congregate in this area for the same reason. Shining Armor usually sits beside her, although given the ambiguous state of their relationship, she knows better than to take this for granted. Still, she tries to save a seat whenever possible.

The classroom isn’t crowded today, so Cadance is able to set her bag on the seat next to her without inconveniencing anyone. But when the professor arrives at the usual time to start class, there is still no sign of Shining Armor.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Cadance scans the room furtively. Shining is there, sitting alone in the far back corner. Did he miss Cadance when he came in? No, he couldn’t have. And besides, no serious student would willingly sit so far away from the front. Feeling miserable. Cadance slides her bag back over to herself.

----------(After Class)----------

Shining is out the door the moment class ends. Cadance barely manages to catch up to him before he disappears down the hallway. “Shining Armor!”

Shining Armor jerks at the sound of his name. You would think she just screamed at him. “What?” He turns to her and asks reluctantly.

Now that they’re face to face, Cadance is painfully aware of how much weight Shining Armor has lost. His sunken eyes and protruding cheekbones are a far cry from the features familiar to her. She wonders whether he’s under a lot of stress, or perhaps not getting enough nutrition. Maybe it’s both. He definitely looks tenser than he should – afraid, even though of what she can’t imagine. His eyes move restlessly from point to point, and he refuses to look Cadance in the eye. It hurts to see Shining Armor this way. What could have changed him so? Today, she reminds herself, rekindling the flame of courage in her heart.

“Um, I want to talk to you about something. Do you… have some time?”

The courtyard is empty and silent. No one is willing to sit and chat in the cold November air.

“So what is it?”

Don’t you remember?! Cadance almost blurts the question, but manages to keep her composure.

“You’ve been acting strange lately. I’m worried about you.”

“Well, a lot’s happened.” He smiles like it’s nothing, but even that seems stiff and forced. He’s even standing precisely one pace farther away from her than he used to.

“Is that really all?”

“What more do you want?”

Cadance manages to keep from flinching at the harshness of his tone.

“It’s like you’re struggling with… something.”

“Ngh…” Rather than an answer, Shining Armor grinds his toe into the dead grass at his feet. Fearing that her determination might flag, Cadance lets the words come as they may.

“It’s like there’s a terrible weight on your shoulders, and it’s slowly breaking you. That’s how you look to me.”

“Oh really,” Shining mutters through clenched teeth, no longer trying to deny it or chance the topic. This is an even clearer signal of rejection than his prior evasiveness.

But Cadance’s determination is strong. Today, at least, she won’t back down. “Its times like these,” she implores, trying to convey the sincerity of her feelings for him, “That you need your friends.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I Feel rEAlLy bad ABoUT Your PareNTs. But yoU’RE Not aLONE. You Have yOUr BeST FRiEnD [Your Name], aND ChErRY, anD… you HAVe ME.”

Cadance can no longer stop the words pouring from her lips. She fears that if she doesn’t unleash the feelings pent-up inside of her, they will be lost forever.

“I THiNk wE cAn HlElP you. SO You DoN’T hAVe To Deal wITh IT alL bY YOuRSELf. EVEN iF We caN’t DO aNYthIng, just TALking To Us mIGht make you Feel bETTer. I Want tO help YOu! wE aLl DO! SO please, tell M—“

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Stop it!” Shining Armor shouts, silencing Cadance’s entreaty.

She promised herself that she wouldn’t back down, but Shining’s expression is terrible enough to shatter her resolve. The look in his eyes is not anger, or any other warm-blooded emotion. It’s hate – murderously cold hate.

“Come to think of it, I never gave you an answer, did I?”

He remembers…

He remembers, yet still he’s treated her so coldly.

That’s all the answer she needs. If his words stab any deeper, she might as well die.

“I never saw you in any special way before. When you asked me out, I wasn’t sure how to respond. I didn’t know how I really felt about you then.”

“Shining…”

“But now I can give you an answer. I’ve had plenty of time to think it over, you know. I hate you, Cadance. I don’t even want to look at you.”

Don’t cry, Cadance tells herself, but too late to stop the tears pouring from her eyes.

“I suppose it’s too much to hope I never see you again. We do go the same school. So just make this the last time you speak to me, okay? Your voice makes me sick.”

“How can you be so cruel?” Cadance whispers in shock and despair, to which Shining Armor twist his lips into a malevolent smile.

“You should really try thinking for yourself once in a while. I bet you were just egged on by Cherry and my so called best friend [You] weren’t you? Well, you can play at love all you want, but leave me out of it.

Even after shedding tears in front of him, she absolutely refuses to let him hear her cry. And disgrace would be preferable to breaking down here.

So… she runs, fleeing breathlessly from the courtyard with Shining Armor’s cold smile at her back.

At that same time… Two girls who were watching and eavesdropping nearby witnessed and heard everything those two were talking about…Maud and Pinkie… one of Candance’s classmates in History. Pinkie felt sorry for the rejection and humiliation that Cadance had gone through after trying to help that no good person… “Gosh… who in the world is sadder than Cadance right now?” She asked her sister beside her who was watching idly at the guy and gave a snort.

“Me… watching this,” she replied, then turned and walked away.

Pinkie wasn’t sure what to do next, but to follow her sister to their next class… this wasn’t their business to begin with. Not even her cheery mood will ever get Cadance to smile at this point… So for now, she leaves it be.

Cherry was the first to catch sight of Cadance and Shining Armor leaving for the courtyard. Reluctant to interrupt then, but still unwilling to leave them alone, You and Cherry ended up watching the whole thing from the shadows.

“That asshole...”

Throughout the exchange, Cherry was clearly itching to jump out and punch Shining Armor in the face. Knowing her temper, you kept a firm hold of her arm until the end. If he hadn’t, she might very well have done it.

Shining Armor leaves after Cadance, his every step seeming to take an act of willpower. You sigh heavily into the once more empty courtyard, but the bitter taste in your mouth will not go away.

“What’s wrong with him?” Even you can’t forgive Shining’s treatment of Cadance. However, the first thing that he feels is confusion, not anger.

You had known Shining Armor since long before college. Shining was never this cruel before. There’s no question now that the accident changed him.

“Are you just gonna let this go?” Cherry asked you, looking quite disappointed that she hasn’t intervened earlier.

“I don’t want to, but what can we do?”

“Something besides watching!” Cherry shouts, her face red with fury. “I won’t be satisfied until I give him a piece of my mind.”

“That won’t make Cadance feel better.” You sigh at her.

“But it’ll make ME feel better!”

Cadance and Cherry are best friends, just like you and Shining Armor. In fact, it was the relationship between you and Cherry that brought the other two together. Cherry’s anger is only natural.

“I’m going to talk to him alone. You don’t have to come.”

“You serious?”

“Take care of Cadance for me, will you? She’s probably really hurt. She’ll need someone to be nice to her after she’s done crying.”

“Wait, shouldn’t we change jobs?” You asked, hesitantly, since you knew you’d be better of talking to Shining. But Cherry thinks otherwise.

“You know how I am. If I try to comfort her, I’ll end up making it worse.”

You smile at that fact. “Yeah, you’ve got a point.”

“Hey!”

“Anyway, just go easy. Okay?” Ending the conversation before Cherry’s mood gets any worse, You head off to find Cadance.

--------(Shining Armor’s perspective)----------I feel awful, miserable – but also refreshed. I’ve finally crossed the line. I knew it would come crashing down like this sooner or later. Having become unable to feel anything but disgust for other people, there was no way I could hope to maintain the relationships I’d had before the accident.

Today’s incident will definitely get back to Cherry and [You], and everyone will be convinced I’ve had a major change of character. Honestly, I don’t care anymore. At least I probably won’t be committed for this. I just need to avoid acting any stranger than I already have.

If this puts a rift between me and the others, good. The thought of all the stress I’ll avoid brings a smile to my lips. I’m fed up with them sticking their noses into my life. It’s like they don’t care that they make my gut turn just by being near me.

I’ve been terrified of them until now, but today I struck fear into one of them. In that sense, it’s something of a relief… but I’m not entirely without remorse of what happened.

The person I just demolished with the verbal equivalent of a nuclear bomb used to be my friend Cadance. Even is my senses don’t believe it, my mind accepts the theory. I don’t have any particular grudge against Cadance herself, and I didn’t want to hurt her.

In retrospect, perhaps I should have just ignored her outsight.

Cadance was an attractive girl. I certainly didn’t think badly of her. To be honest, though, I was annoyed when Omi and his boyfriend tried to stick us together. It felt like they were toying with me, and Cadance seemed totally oblivious to the fact that she was dancing to their tune. Her cluelessness was irritating.

Still, I knew that none of them meant any harm. Back then, I didn’t have any reason to hurt others just to get my way. If having a casual relationship with Cadance would keep out circle of friends together, I was willing to make that compromise.

Now, however, there’s no room in my heart for such forbearance. If merely talking to someone is an ordeal, then how can I be expected to show them kindness? Who am I, Fluttershy?!

These ruminations have left me exhausted. I want to return to Alice as soon as possible, but thinking about the packed trains and crowded downtown streets between here and home saps my spirit.

Catching sight of a bench, I sit down and close my eyes to the horrors of the world. I can’t do anything about the stink or the noise, but at least I can calm my nerves enough to rest….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I regained consciousness in the Canterlot University hospital ward, the world was as dark as it is now. I had not yet recovered my sight, even though my eyes and optical nerves were undamaged. It must have been an aftereffect of the accident.

Blindness was a shock, but now I know that my suffering then was nothing. After all, my senses of hearing, touch, taste and smell were all fine at the time.

The real horror began when my sight returned.

The one small mercy was that I was able to come to terms with the accident and my neurosurgery while still blind.

I panicked when I first saw the nightmarish hospital and the bloodcurdling shapes of the doctors and nurses, but I soon guessed the cause.

It chills me to think of what have happened if I had recovered my sight along with my consciousness. Suddenly awakening in what can only be described as hell, I would no doubt have lost my mind instantly.

Soon, my disorder spread throughout my sense of touch, taste and smell. As it turns out, sight exerts tremendous influence over the other senses.

The taste of my food, the feel of my bed sheets, the fragrance of my get-well flowers – all became as unbearably foul as my eyes said they should be.

Eventually, when even the doctors’ voices became unrecognizable as human, I decided to kill myself. I didn’t believe for a second that I could live in this new world.

At least, not until I met… Alice.

One night, while thinking of a painless way to die, I found myself succumbing to sleep. Drifting between the nightmares in my dreams and the nightmares of the reality, I didn’t notice her enter my room.

The next time I knew, there was a face staring down at me from next to my bed. The face was not covered in pus, or slime, or earthworm-like feelers. It had smooth white cheeks, round eyes, a lovely little nose – all things I had never expected to see again. The face was that of a girl, about roughly fourteen years old, undeniably human and positively glowing with beauty.

“Ahh…” I sighed in admiration, savoring the first peace and joy since regaining my sight.

She had not expected such a reaction, apparently. “Aren’t you afraid of me?” She asked. Looking at the clock, I saw that It was exactly three in the morning – no time for a young girl to be alone in the hospital. Perhaps she expected me to mistake her for a ghost.

But I would not have cared if she had been a ghost. Either way, she was a godsend. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“My name is Chrysalis… But you can call me Alice.” She said with a bright smile. “I’m looking for my dad.”

I assumed that she was the daughter of a late-shift doctor or another patient. It was unusual, but not unthinkable for such a girl to be wandering around the hospital.

“It’s no fun if you’re not scared.”

“Wait!” I cried, desperate to keep her from leaving. It was only after she turned around that I realized I hadn’t thought of what to say next.

“Well?” Her beautiful eyes drew me in, healing my soul to its core. Through the white haze clouding my mind, I struggled to form a coherent sentence.

“I shouldn’t do this to a girl, but you’re the only one I can ask.” No longer concerned about propriety, I let the words come as they willed “Will you let me hold your hand?”

Alice looked confused at first, but then she smiled like she’d just found a new toy. Her smile was brighter than my memories of the sun. “You’re strange,” She said holding out her slender white hand. “No one’s asked me anything like that before.” Ever so carefully, as though catching snowflakes, I placed my palm against hers.

I could feel her human warmth and the softness of her delicate fingers. She was there, just beyond the palm of my hand. Thinking back on the joyful tears I shed then, I know that this is the moment I was saved from my fate. “This is the first time in weeks that I’ve touched someone and felt them as human.”

“…huh?”

“I can’t touch anyone else. I was in an accident, and as a side effect of the surgery, I can’t see people as human anymore.”

“Hmm… how mysterious. You’re interesting,” She said, winding her fingers gently around mine. “can I come back tomorrow night?”

“Yes, if course! But isn’t that dangerous?”

“Don’t worry,” She replied. “The night belongs to me.”

And so, our rendezvous began. Alice came to my room every night at three a.m., skillfully taking advantage of the duty nurse’s shift-change. I was astonished to learn that she was living inside the hospital.

“It’s so big that I never run out of places to hide,” She said, answering my surprise with a nonchalant smile. She had been living in the suburbs with her father, she told me, until one day he’d suddenly stopped coming home.

After she got tired of waiting for his return, Alice had decided one night to sneak into the hospital he’d worked. And there she’d lived for over two months, searching for his whereabouts all the while. “Don’t you have to go to school?”

“No, Dad taught me everything I need to know. I’m really smart.”

She was a strange girl. On one hand, she looked and talked like an innocent child. On the other, she was remarkably self-reliant, and at times exhibited a sharp intelligence and deep knowledge that many may have found unsettling.

I didn’t care. Alice was the only other human in a world gone mad. Her existence meant far more to me than the standards of society. “Aren’t you worried you might get caught?”

“Nope! I don’t have to worry about food here and it’s a lot of fun than staying in Dad’s house by myself.” She claims. “I looked through the patient list and found the ones who have mental problems, specially a patient named Screw Ball…” Alice continued, grinning mischievously. “Sometimes I sneak into their rooms late at night and scare them. Even if the raise a fuss, no one believes what mental patients say, they just brush it off as a bad dream.”

Her confession reminded me that the hospital was famous for its ghost stories. Who could have imagined that there was actually a real girl impishly roaming these hallways? “So that’s why you came to my room the first time?”

“Yeah, sorry. Are you mad?”

While her pranks were hardly praiseworthy, I couldn’t bring myself to scold her for the very thing that had brought us together you shouldn’t do it anymore. Will you come and talk to me instead?”

Yeah! That’s more fun for me too!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With extreme care, I was able to conceal my sensory disorder. It was glaringly obvious that the doctors had no way to cure me and the fact that I had undergone a still-experimental procedure made me even more cautious.

As a medical student, it was easy for me to imagine how the doctors would react if they discovered that I was exhibiting such unusual side effects. I was not about to become a guinea pig, a mere specimen to be examine with clinical detachment.

And so I hid my discomfort and loathing behind a mask of normalcy, convincing the doctors that any signs of stress were merely a result of hospitalization. Alice was my support. Looking to her nightly visits gave me the strength to endure my daily torture.

Hope can make an enormous difference in a patient’s progress. With the aid of my secret nurse, I recovered at a pace that left the doctors stunned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the last night before my release, I summoned my courage and asked her, “Are you going to stay here forever?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t learn anything about my dad, but it’s not like I have anywhere else to go. I guess I’ll stay as long as I can hide.” In other words, she had no reason to stay.

“Why not stay with me?” I asked timidly. The question took all the courage I had.

“Huh?”

“My family’s gone, so I have plenty of room! You won’t need to hide, and it’s not a bad place to live!”

“You want me… to live with you?”

I was too afraid to ask her what she thought of that, so I hastily offered a deal. “In exchange, I’ll help you look for your father! I’ll find him no matter what!”

“I think that’s gonna be hard,” Alice said, looking a little embarrassed. “Dad probably did something bad and had to leave the hospital. We can’t get the police involved. You’ll have to be as discreet as possible.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes! I…” Unable to control myself, I finally spoke the truth. “I can’t be apart from you.”

At first she looked bewildered, but after a few moments of silence, she said, “Give me a little time.”

That night, she left my room earlier than usual…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the day of my release, I managed to smile as I accepted the hideous, foul-smelling celebratory bouquet. The flesh-beasts calling themselves Cherry, Cadance and my [You] came to pick me up. Though they had come to see me many times during my stay, it never got easier to see my friends changed so horribly. My sudden tears of despair drew suspicion, but I managed to explain them away as tears of joy.

While we walked to [Your] car, I looked desperately for Alice amid the grotesque scenery. Even as we drove away, I kept watching the hospital fade into the distance, praying for a last glimmer of hope.

But Alice never appeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After my [You] and the others dropped me off, I paused a while to regard my surroundings. I had lived my entire life on this block, in this house. There was no other place that I could call home. But it was no longer anything that I remembered.

As I walked up the path to the front door and took in the yard where I had spent my childhood, I could feel those memories being defiled by the twisted, festering shapes around me.

Inside the house, I found nothing familiar, nothing to offer me comfort and warmth. What I had once called home was now a whole other world. “I have no home,” I whispered with a smile of self-pity. There was one last stop to make. One last nail to hammer into my coffin.

I stepped into the room that had cradled me from childhood. The walls were papered with human entrails, the bed a tangled mass of worm flesh. But one of that mattered.

There, curled up on the bed like an abandoned cat, was Alice.

As I stood there in shock, she looked up at me and in a tiny, weak voice she said, “Can I really stay?”. I responded by sweeping her into my arms, embracing her tightly so that she would not escape.

Alice did not resist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she arrives at Shining Armor’s house, Cherry first takes a deep breath to calm herself. Her anger doesn’t vanish entirely, of course, but at least now she can hear herself think. While waiting for a response from the intercom, she looks over the patch of yard that she can see from outside the gate. Even Cherry isn’t normally one to complain about other people’s housekeeping, but this is going too far.

The grass is growing wild, and there are piles of dead leaves scattered everywhere. It doesn’t just look untended. It looks like an uninhabited ruin.

It’s still light out, but every window has its storm shutters tightly sealed. Cherry guesses that they’ve been closed since morning. What kind of life is Shining Armor leading? Even if he’s living alone, he can’t neglect his housework forever.

And is it just her imagination, or does something stinks like rotten meat? It couldn’t be coming from the yard, could it?

There’s still no response, so she presses the buzzer a second time, and a third, and a forth. Finally, after this had gone on for over ten minutes, Cherry loses her patience and opens the cover of the intercom.

As she expected, the power had been disconnected. Perhaps Shining had a good reason for shutting out of the world, but Cherry can only see it as a lack of respect for others. Her anger rekindled, she pushes the gate open and stomps through the yard to the front door.

Given the state of his intercom, she doubts that Shining will respond to a knock, so Cherry decides to simply open the door and go in shouting. And if the door is locked, she’ll just have to…

*Click*

Surprisingly, the doorknob turns easily in her hand, and the enraged Cherry finds herself throwing the door open wider then she intended. Her nostrils are instantly assaulted by a choking stench.

What’s that smell?!

As Cherry stands petrified on the threshold, the cowbell hanging on the inside of the door chimes loudly. A moment later…

“WeLCoMe HOMe!”

Cherry can’t believe her ears. The voice she just heard could not have been human, yet its intonations were too complex for any animal she can imagine. “Is someone there?” she calls out to the end of the hallway from which the voice came.

There’s no response. Instead, she hears the sound of something soft and wet flopping its way deeper into the house. “Ngghh…”

Finding it difficult to place a meaningful image to the voice she just heard, Cherry stares blankly at the empty vestibule. There’s nothing there. – Not even any indication that Shining had been inside the house recently, which can only mean that he’s still outside somewhere…

The house should be empty… But then, what was that voice just now?

Her anger had vanished as if it were never there. Nevertheless, Cherry sets feet into the hallway, leaving the door open so that the cowbell won’t ring. The floor creaks, setting her nerves on edge. Cherry herself isn’t sure why she’s acting like a burglar, but something tells her to make as little noise as possible.

The potency of the stink inside the house makes the whiff she caught outside pale in comparison. It’s sickening, like rotten fish guts. Has food been left to spoil in the kitchen? She hears a bubbling sound up ahead.

Stepping gingerly on the creaking floorboards, Cherry makes her way to the end of the hallway. She finds rooms to both sides of her – one lit, the other dark – and chooses to look into the lit room.

It’s the kitchen, lit by what must be the only window in the house not covered by a storm shutter. The sound she heard was the pot boiling on the stove, and on the chopping board next to it laid a butcher’s knife and some half-diced carrots. A perfectly normal household scene, with the light of the setting sun making everything the color of decomposing fruit.

Something’s wrong. Who was cooking here? And where did they go? “Is anyone here?” Cherry calls, regretting it immediately as she realizes that her voice is shaking. As her words echo vainly through the silent house, she begins to feel foolish and defenseless.

Suddenly she feels something cold seeping through her pantyhose. She timidly reaches down to touch her feet. Her fingertips come away covered with a viscous, olive green slime, like the filthy water from a tank long clogged with algae and dead fish. The whole floor is covered with it. It must me the source of the stench.

Cherry now wishes that he hadn’t left her shoes in the entrance landing and just wore them inside, manners be damned.

When she looks back ruefully the way she came, she realizes that her current position is not visible from the entrance. This kitchen must be where that strange voice came from.

*gurgle…*

The next room is probably the den. As she expected from the closed storm shutters, its pitch black inside. Cherry wants nothing more than to flee this house, but that would mean turning her back to the darkness. And that, she simply cannot bring herself to do.

Moved by some irrational compulsion, Cherry sets foot into the den. It’s too dark to see anything, and the stink is far worse than before. She slides her hand along the wall, feeling for the light switch. Finding it much sooner than she expected, she flips it on like it’s her last hope.

As soon as she turns on the lights… her eyes met a scene she’ll never forget.

Colors. Colors!! So many colors!

The purple of entrails, the brown of rotten met, the crimson of fresh blood, the yellow of fat – these colors, and more that cannot be described, cover every inch of the room in maddening array. The colors say all that needs to be said about the painter’s hatred, malice and insanity.

Cherry’s legs give out from the shock, sending her to the floor. Slime immediately soaks through her jeans, its cold tendrils creeping up her legs, crotch, and… HER NECK!

Her hand flies to her neck, where it is greeted by another drop of chilly slime. Above her, something is dripping down on her head.

Making perhaps her worst decision of her life, Cherry looks up. The predator clinging to the ceiling, poised to leap upon its prey – she sees it in every detail.

Her mouth and nose are sealed before she can scream, and her belly is torn open as something enters to feast on her innards. By the time she feels any of this, Cherry has already gone mad.

----------(Shining Armor's Perspective)----------

I bit the bullet and tried to take the train, but the rush hour crowds were so bad that I had to get off halfway and walk. I’m running pretty late. Is Alice worried? I hope she’s not mad.

When I entered the yard, I realize that the front door had been left wide open. Light from the living room is seeping out into the hallway, and I hear what sounds like someone smacking their lips. There’s also a tantalizing fragrance in the air. Is it Alice? I consider calling out to her, but decide to enter in silence instead.

Something smells strange, though not unpleasant. The aroma is quite soothing, in fact. It reminds me of Alice’s hair.

At first, I’m surprised by what I see in the living room. The floor is covered with what looks to be some kind of grass – probably the source of the herblike smell – and there are fruit or vegetable-like balls of varying size scattered everywhere. “Alice?”

“Ah!”

Alice turns around, her eyes wide with surprise. She then looks away sheepishly, like a child caught at some prank. “What are you eating?”

“This is, um, well…” She stammers, so flustered that I suddenly feel bad for sneaking up on her. Remembering that she has never eaten in front of me before, I realize that she must be quite embarrassed.

“Can I have one?” I scoop up the closest fruit-thing and pop it into my mouth, ignoring Alice’s attempt to wave me off.

It has a strange texture, soft and pliable, like a peach or a pear. When I bite into it with my back teeth, a succulent juice fills my mouth, combined with a sharp, strong fragrance. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. “How did you make this? What did you use?”

“It wasn’t hard… I just took it apart and melted it a little to make it easier to eat. It’s practically raw.”

“Oh?” I pick up a different lump, this one consisting of fruity flesh around a hard core. Tearing a chunk off in my mouth, I find that it has a similar taste to the last one.

“Hey, are you okay? That’s a…”

“Yeah, even I can eat this. In fact, it’s good!”

“Really?” At first, Alice looks dumbstruck, but then she burst out laughing. “So this is what you like! Now I feel stupid for going to all that trouble.”

“Is this what you always eat, Alice?”

“Yeah, though it’s been a while since I’ve had one so big. I usually catch them in the nearby park.”

There’s an impressive nature preserve not too far from here. I’ve never heard about fruits like these growing there, but – well, of course. They only look like fruits to me. They’re really something else.

“Sorry, I already ate the best parts.” Alice looks down at the left overs.

“That’s okay. There’s always next time, and now we can eat together.”

“Yeah!”

Alice seems happy. I’m happy too, of course. Eating with someone is much more fun than eating alone, and it makes the food taste better too.

“There’s still plenty left. It’ll keep chilled for two or three days, though it won’t taste as good.”

“Then we’d better start putting it away.” Sealing the small fruits in tupperware and the large ones in pots and bowls, Alice and I store the remaining food in the refrigerator. Thinking of tomorrow’s dinner fills me with anticipation.

I feel that, little by little, I’m starting to regain the joy of living. Alice will guide me. With her, I can live on.