Nineteen
Caitlin heard Leon talking to her as if in a dream.
In this particular dream, he, rather than herself, was in danger. Unable
to speak or to move, she had no way to warn him to move back out of harm's
way.
The caterpillar struck at him, and Caitlin wanted the
dream to go away, except that it wasn't really a dream. She was vaguely
aware of what was happening. She could see it happening.
The caterpillar stabbed him with its tongue. Now, it
inched closer to its victim. It retracted the excess length and bloated
itself as it fed. After a time, it began to pee clear water that dribbled
between the boards to the stall below, somehow filtering the nourishment
of the body and ridding itself of excess moisture.
Caitlin wanted desperately to crawl away and die in
peace while it was preoccupied. She sensed the hunger would return if she
abandoned the caterpillar for even a short period of time. The
caterpillar had poisoned her and taken her prisoner. It had made her its
slave, although she could not imagine why.
Even though Leon's body was within her field of
vision, her mind blinded itself to the image of his face blackening and
caving in. Her eyes refused to see. Her ears refused to hear. She
withdrew her consciousness and dissociated. Her sanity was at stake. So
close to death and madness, she could see for the first time what hellish
things they truly were.
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