Okay, remember remember remember…

His name…

Her name…

Their name…

Look, their name isn’t important. He doesn’t think so at least. She never liked that name. It isn’t his name. They can do with a better name. It is not her name. Okay okay okay- New name new name- Uh… why not call him her them… Beasty…? Yeah, they like that name. She thinks it’s cute! He thinks it’s a little bad-ass too!

Okay, a name. They have a name. Beasty. 

Anyways, what were they just doing? He can never remember. She feels so stupid for not remembering. It was important right? Remember remember remember…

Ooooh, right. 

They were running from a monster.

Her lungs were already burning though they don’t think it was that long ago since they started the chase. He burst through the door of her bedroom and slammed it into the monster’s face, hearing a thump as the monster slammed into decaying the wood. The wood was splintering under her feet. His flesh was filled with tiny pieces of rotting wood. Why is everything rotting? The putrid smell of waterlogged and moldy wood came from the walls and the floor kept breaking underneath Beasty’s feet. When did their house become so rotten? It was nice just a moment ago- just yesterday- this cursed place was never nice. Okay, but it wasn’t rotten before right? Well there was that mold on the ceiling that never went away… 

Beasty takes off running again, ignoring the banging coming from his bedroom as the monster tries to escape. Ignore ignore ignore- Just keep running down the hallway. The hallway with the breaking floors and rotting walls and peeling yellow wallpaper with admittedly cute floral pattern and- wait- wait wait wait, wasn’t the wallpaper blue before? She remembers it being blue. No no, they changed it. She didn’t like the blue, remember? It was gaudy. Wait no- Beasty had thought the blue was a pretty pastel color, didn’t they? He just wanted yellow instead. Yellow is such a pretty and wonderful color. Yellow is the color of sunshine and dandelions and jaundice. 

Beasty hears the splintering of wood behind them as the door breaks.

Right right right, running from a monster. Wallpaper can wait. 

Anyways, Beasty heads towards the kitchen, knowing the door out was there. If he can just get to the door outside… then the monster will have a harder time finding them. A harder time. The monster might still be able to get her out there but it is still safer– 

God he hates getting these splinters in her feet. The wood pierces their flesh and makes him bleed. The monster would be more likely to find them with the blood… it trails and smells and makes it so so easy for them to be tracked… She doesn’t want the monster to find them. It always finds them. They always escape.

Shit, where were they again? He has already forgotten again. Right- right right right. Her house. They are at his house. They were running through the halls of his house and trying to get to the kitchen while splinters sliced open her feet. Beasty can hear the monster clawing into the floors behind them. She needs to get new floors after this. They will have to ask the monster for new floors like he asked for new wallpaper. She really liked the green wallpaper they got. Green…? Nevermind, not important.

Beasty makes it to the entrance of the kitchen before risking a glance back at the monster, seeing as it slams into the walls after breaking down her bedroom door. He had barricaded her bedroom door earlier to stop it from coming in. She had locked the door too. A lot of good that did. The monster can open locks. How could they forget the monster can open locks? It always finds a way in. Maybe next time they should add more to their barricade. Always next time. Next time next time next time-

No point in looking back. Isn’t there a Greek tragedy about that? With a lover turned to salt? Maybe she can find some salt in the kitchen and throw it in the monster’s eyes. He forces himself into the kitchen, almost instantly gagging at the smell of rotting meat. The counters were coated in rotting meat that had flies swarming around the feast and blood dripping down the white cabinets- white?? Okay the wallpaper was one thing, but those are not white cabinets. No, the cabinets were a shade of brown. Like oak. No no no- those cabinets are not oak. Why can’t they be oak? Look, they can be brown, but not oak. Oak doesn’t look like that. Beasty still thinks the cabinets are white. The white makes the dripping blood from the rotting and oozing meat more obvious. Oh shut up about the blood. That is so stereotypical. Every single horror game or story that features a kitchen that is filled with bloody rotten fly filled meat. Well yeah, because that is disgusting. Still, it is so cliche. What, like the peeling green wallpaper and rotting walls wasn’t? Wasn’t the wallpaper yellow? Beasty had like, a whole inner narration about it earlier. Yeah no, the old wallpaper was green and the new one was yellow. No, the old one was blue. 

Hey wait the monster–

Right right right. They were running from a monster. How could she forget? He always gets too caught up on the details. They are so so stupid. The monster always called her out for being so stupid. Wait- where was he again? Right right right- their house. She is in his house, in their kitchen that is full of rotting meat and flies and blood and they are running from a monster who is trying to hurt her. Right, got it. Won’t forget again.

What does the monster even look like? Beasty thinks that she should remember that. He was just being chased by it. Xe really thinks that xe should remember that- wait, pause. Where did xe come from? They like it. He thinks xe is a good way to describe her. Okay, fine. Xe, her, him, they. He already forgot about the monster again, didn’t xe?

Look, she had seen it earlier. The monster was taller than them and skinnier too. Xe remembers that it had long but unkept hair and it wore a wifebeater and- a wifebeater?? Who names a shirt like that? Oh he remembers this one. It was because the shirt got associated with husbands who would abuse their wives-

The monster screamed as it lunged into the kitchen. Beasty had paused in there for a bit too long to examine the cabinets. Oh right they were talking about the cabinets– You know what? That is enough about the cabinets actually. The monster lets out another scream as it throws itself at Beasty with its long red claws outstretched towards xer. Beasty screams as she pushes himself out of the way of the creature, claws still managing to scratch through their arm. Beasty lets out a hiss of pain as they skid across the ground, the blood from their arm smearing across the floor. Ow ow ow- 

Luckily for Beasty though, the monster slams into the wall again. Thank god the monster has no sense of balance. Well it can, sometimes, but not now. Not with that horrible smell of rotten fruit coming from it. 

Beasty scrambles up and rushes to the door that leads outside. He just needs to get out of here. She needs to get out of here. Xe slams the door open before running out into the cul-de-sac xe lives in. She knows none of the other houses around the block will be safe. He has tried them before. The monster can always get in them. The cultists of the cul-de-sac worship it. So where do they go? Where can he go? Xe thinks xe has an idea as to where she can go. 

Beasty takes

off running.

Tiny stones

road

pavement

dirt

grass

Where are they again?

Xe knows.

He knows.

She knows.

You’re not allowed to know.

Ze runs up the wooden steps of the sanctuary- Ze? Was that a typo? No no, she likes ze. Okay. Ze, she, xe, he, they. Any more? He doesn’t really like they anymore. Fine then. Ze, she, xe, he. She likes that. Anyways, ze is running up the wooden steps- why is it always wood? Everything has been wood so far. Why is xe so surprised that everything is wood? He should know the amount of wood around her because ze has lived here his whole life. At least this wood isn’t rotting. She likes that this wood isn’t rotting. Xe appreciates not having splinters being dug into her feet. Oh right. His feet are still full of splinters and are also still bleeding. Xe thinks ze tracked blood all the way here. Oops. She hopes the monster doesn’t find that. Is it still chasing zer? It has to be. It has probably contacted the extended call list by now and alerted the cultists.

Anyways, he really should stop getting so distracted. Where is she again? Right. Wooden stairs. Ze is climbing up, running up(?), the wooden stairs to the sanctuary made of old stone bricks that are NOT rotting and don’t have blood running down oak cabinets. For the last time, those cabinets were not oak- Beasty makes it to the top of the steps and opens the large wooden, and not rotting, door to the sanctuary. Xe does not bother to knock. He knows she will be let in. Ze walked through the dark and quiet halls of the sanctuary, knowing where to go. Quiet… that is much better than the screaming. 

…Did he close the door…? Ze is sure her friend will understand. Xer’s friend is so so so understanding. She is still tracking blood on the floor. Ze thinks the blood is a lovely color at least. It was crimson- crimson? No no no, it’s burgundy. Maybe it is a blood orange? Blood orange?? What sort of color is blood orange-?

Focus. She wants to find xe’s friend. Ze slinks down the halls until he finds the room xe knows her friend will be in. Once in the room, he spies zer’s friend sleeping on their altar. 

Her friend Zer’s friend Xer’s friend His friend.

Beasty can always recognize them, even as the world melts away and he starts to drown again. Their torso twisted around and around, kinda like a large twisted eraser. Their hair was black, limp, greasy, and stuck to their head. Beasty’s friend was tall too, not as tall as the monster though. They were just taller than Beasty. Their flesh was backend, charred, and cracked. Their large singular eye was closed as they were sleeping, but when that eye was opened… oh it is such beautiful colors. Wonderful beautiful colors. Like… blue. Blue is a wonderful color. Their eyes are a pale blue. Wait, wasn’t their eye brown? Brown like the divine dirt that holds such wonderful things like mushrooms and worms? Mm… Beasty would like some mushrooms right now actually. Maybe his friend would let Beasty have a taste of some of the mushrooms that were growing from their charred flesh. 

Speaking of their most wonderful eye, Beasty’s friend’s singular opens up and blinks out the sleep. They pause as they see Beasty, their head slowly cocking at an impossible angle as bones crack. Their voice reverberates out of their mouthless face. “My dear…” Their voice… their voice… their voice…thier voice sounded like grating TV static. Their voice sounded like wonderful music. Such wonderful musical TV static that grates in xer’s ears… She thinks that their voice should be on TV. “Whatever are you doing here my dear…?” His friend sits up and reaches one of their elongated arms up to rub the leftover sleep out of their eye.

Beasty says nothing. Ze cannot talk. Her mouth was stitched shut. The monster stitched xer’s mouth shut. Wasn’t he screaming earlier in the kitchen?

Her friend lets out a sigh, their wonderful green eye looking over at Beasty with what Beasty can only see as kindness. Ze thinks it’s kindness. It might be hunger. What’s the difference again? He doesn’t know the difference. 

Xe’s friend speaks again with that grating musical voice. “Right. Was she acting out again?”

Beasty slowly nods.

His friend reaches their arms out towards Beasty, reaching for xer. Beasty gladly climbs onto the altar and into her friend’s arms. Zer’s friend reaches a mangled hand up to gently pet Beasty’s head. This must be the point of having a head. Xer friend gently speaks again. Such wonderful TV static… “It is okay my dear. You can stay here until the police show up again to take you back to your mother. Come on, lay down. You need your rest too my dear.” 

And so Beasty does just that.

Edited and reviewed by Brie Goss