A Delicious Proposition

There was a time when Cora loved her husband, David, or at least she thought she did. Like a twisted kind of Stockholm syndrome, she had convinced herself that her captor wanted nothing but the best for her. For years, she yielded to his commands. Suffered his verbal degradation. Eventually his words evolved into violent physical abuse.

When she looked into his eyes, she saw her own loathing staring back at her. Courage came to her slowly, in shadows and whispers. When he knocked her down, she would get back up instead of laying helpless on the floor. His commands soon fell on deaf ears, which only infuriated him more.

The cycle continued, ever onward. Cora was at her breaking point, unable to rationalize his actions any longer. She felt the cracks forming in her psyche, and her resolve began to deplete.

In the dark and silent living room, Cora sat alone in a worn-out chair as she confided in an unseen presence. She lamented the multitude of scars etched upon her heart and soul by David. The room seemed to absorb her words in this quiet confession. She spoke of the resentment that had grown like a malignant vine, strangling the love and trust that once bloomed in her heart.

"You deserve to be free from him," a voice whispered from the shadows. "You must break the chains that bind you."

Cora's brow furrowed as she digested the words.

"Dispose of him," it urged, locking her into a moment of solitary catharsis.

It was late, nearly 2AM, when David stumbled through the front door that night. He reeked of booze, fumbling with the light switch before realizing that Cora had been waiting in the living room, calmly smoking a cigarette in the house. She knew he hated that.

“The fuck are you doing up?” he slurred.

“Waiting for you,” she replied, her voice laced with sarcasm. “I was worried.”

“You think you’re funny. Put that shit out,” David spat back at her.

“I’m not finished yet.” Cora took a long draw from the cigarette and let the smoke flow outward into the air. She stood up and pushed past him into the kitchen.

David staggered after her, his knuckles white hot as he pulled back for a swing. His inebriated movements made him easy to dodge. Cora sidestepped him as he collapsed onto the sink. She blew smoke into his face as he struggled back to his feet.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” he shouted, taking another swing.

In the muted light of the kitchen, she saw a flash of something dark in her husband’s eyes. A swirl of smoke between his irises, black as a starless sky. He immediately dropped his drunken stupor, standing to his feet with a renewed confidence.

“What’s going on with you?" she asked in a desperate moment of clarity. "Listen, I’ll let you go to sleep, and I’ll put this out.”

David plucked the cigarette from her hand and pressed it down onto the counter, grinding ash from the lit end until it was dormant. His eyes wandered back to Cora, both of them now filled with swirling miasmas of darkness.

“You stupid bitch, I hope you’re happy. Nothing can save you now,” he said, his voice alarmingly sober. “I’m all you had in this world. I said I’m going to kill you, and I meant it.”

Cora’s eyes darted to the knife block on the counter beside her. Without hesitation, she dove for one of the steak knives. She wrenched it from the block, but David threw it to the side, sending the rest of the blades tumbling across the counter.

He charged forward, outstretching his arms toward her. “Go on, you spineless bitch! I can see it in your eyes, you don’t have what it takes!”

He came towards Cora. She backpedaled until her back was against the fridge. Her sweaty hand gripped the steak knife tightly at her side. She couldn’t make herself look away from that darkness in David’s eyes. It frightened her, but she could also hear whispers of its influence. She felt compelled to defend herself, to use the knife before he could overpower her.

“Stop, David! Don’t come any closer!”

He painted his face with a sinister grin. His footsteps didn’t cease. He was nearly close enough to wrench the knife from her hand.

“Admit it. You secretly want this. Deep down you know that you deserve everything that’s coming to you. Deep down, you know you’re still just the white trash slut that I should have left to rot in your daddy’s trailer!"

At that moment, Cora felt something snap inside of her mind. It was a flash of color, a pristine moment of clarity as his words sliced to her core. He lunged at her one last time. She raised the knife and drove it down into the soft flesh by his clavicle. The serrated blade made short work of him, leaving nothing but the handle exposed as blood poured from the wound.

Cora froze as her husband fell to his knees, his blackened eyes boring holes into her own. As his lifeforce drained from deep incision, that evil grin remained etched on his face. She felt dizzy as David gargled and struggled to catch his labored breaths. The room transformed into a hazy whirlwind around her.

“The darkness,” he spluttered, “it will find you. And it will consume you.”

With those final words, he fell to the floor. As her husband’s life ebbed away, the smoky remnants of life left his eyes and coiled around her.

Cora knew she had to escape. Fear seized her by the throat as she fled the scene, knocking over and breaking several things on her way out in a halfhearted attempt to portray a break-in. She drove for hours, the relentless darkness giving way to the soft, ghostly light of dawn.

At last, I am finally free…

Cora found herself in a shabby motel room, the kind that advertised "cheap rates" and boasted a dim, flickering sign. The room was a fortress of solitary weariness with faded wallpaper and creaky floorboards. Amidst the incessant hum of a flickering overhead light, she sought refuge from the chaos of her world.

As she lay there, the cirrus of a recurring nightmare began to slither its way into her latent mind. Her breaths quavered. Faint waves of relief made their way into the cracks of her broken heart. Her marriage had become a basin of violence, leaving her gasping for emotional oxygen. Her late husband had gradually transformed into a wrathful presence that casted misery over her life.

Cora sat up on the edge of the bed, as her heart galloped in her chest. The room was filled with a thick, strange smoke that appeared from the four corners of the room. As it swirled around her, it united into an blackened, diaphanous entity that hovered just inches before her face.

Its limbs extended towards Cora with hypnotic grace. A low voice penetrated her mind, “Cora, open up your mind,” it urged. “Share your pain, tell me your deepest longings.”

“Wh-who are you? What do you want?” She stammered.

The creature hoovered in front of her, caressing the air around her. It began to slowly extend its tendrils toward her face. Each one slowly made its way into her eyes, mouth and ears. “I want to make all your dreams a reality, my dear,” it responded, reaching into the deepest crevices of her subconscious. “You have endured so much suffering. Feed me your pain, Cora. I can offer the escape you seek.”

Visions revealed themselves in rapid succession. Cora longed for love, for adoration. Her needs revealed themselves in a harem of men and women. Images flashed through her mind of lavish parties, surrounding herself with bodies eager to serve her.

Voices of strangers reverberated through the chambers of her fragile awareness. Whispers of longing and dedication flooded her senses, locking her in a trance. Soft hands explored every inch of her; their mouths followed with a fervent hunger. Her skin tingled under the lingering pressure of their fingertips. She threw her head back, outstretching her arms to offer her body entirely to the lovers surrounding her.

Two women knelt before her. With deliberate intensity, they tore into the flesh between Cora's legs. They sunk their teeth into her tender skin. Their tongues danced across the smooth surface of her loins; sticky strands of wetness connected their lips to her trembling body. As the women savored the juices that flowed from Cora, their moans reverberated between her thighs.

As she ventured deeper into the experience, the vision began to distort. She found herself no longer being massaged by gentle hands and soft lips, but in the living room of her father’s dilapidated mobile home. Instead of vehement lovers, she found herself restrained by her father to her right, and her uncle on her left. Her skin stung from the vice-grip of their grimy hands as they clutched her arms and wrists.

A figure with hollow eyes and messy hair stood up from the sordid couch in front of her. She recognized the Dealer right away. His eyes bore into her with a harsh insolence. He became even more invasive as he reached out and firmly grabbed her chin. With a lascivious leer, he leaned in closer, taking in a deep whiff of her hair. He then ran a rough, cracked hand between her shivering legs.

“Yes, I believe she will do just fine,” The Dealer hissed as he fished two baggies of white dust from his pocket, tossing them to her father. The nightmare became a suffocating blackness that enveloped her. With every ounce of mental fortitude, she fought the oppressive memory, like a trapped animal seeking escape. Rest came to her as an old friend as the creature retreated into the shadows once more.

With each return of the dark entity, its demands intensified, growing into a parasitic addiction that craved an ever-increasing dose. During one particularly restless night, a violent gust of wind tore open the door. Her eyes filled with timorous tears as the darkness materialized. It slammed the door and silenced her screams by wrenching the sheet from under her and wrapping its corner tightly around her throat. Her eyes bulged as it whispered cruel and manipulative commands. Its intentions took hold of her like a ravenous vine threatening to consume her very essence.

"Yield to me, Cora," the voice demanded. "Surrender to the pleasures I offer, or your torment will be relentless. Your freedom depends solely on your submission. Deny me, and your anguish shall know no bounds."

Trepidation gave way to morbid curiosity as Cora felt a pull she could not resist. The ghostly appendages slithered across her skin with a domineering finesse. Sensations ignited beyond anything she had ever felt. In the travail of their embrace, Cora's emotions surged and her inhibitions surrendered to the creature’s edacious touch. It wormed its way into her body and her mind, each stroke exacting its toll and leaving her gasping for more.

"Your husband reveled in your misery, Cora. The scent of your pain and longing is irresistible," its whispers oozed with cruelty. "But I am your salvation. He manipulated your needs, but I have traveled the cosmos to fulfill them beyond all comprehension."

Over time, the creature's influence over her grew stronger and she allowed her body to transform into a wellspring of sensations for it to feed on. Cora's cravings evolved into grotesque scenes that left her trembling in their wake. Her connection to reality cleaved, and she lost herself in the ever-tightening grip of the monster's embrace.

The entity's voice penetrated Sara’s thoughts, “Let me reveal to you a world beyond your most deviant of daydreams. Accept this gift: a vision of escape that transcends the mundane reality to which you so desperately cling.”

“Show me,” she whispered breathlessly.

The dream-like vision of a palace materialized as a marvel of decadence. Its splendor surpassed anything Cora had ever seen as she floated through the winding passageways. Glistening chandeliers cast a golden glow upon the walls. The room was filled with the scent of exotic perfumes and the tantalizing aroma of sumptuous dishes.

Each room she entered held a new delight. In one chamber, she discovered a grand banquet hall. The table was a mosaic of exotic dishes, interspersed with grotesque creations from unfathomable origins. Strange fruits seemed to pulse with sinister intent. The guests—phantom figures bathed in silken attire—beckoned to her. Their eyes, both dark yet ablaze with insatiable lust, converged upon Cora with a ravenous hunger, drawing her into their enticing embrace.

The change in behavior before her was nothing short of primal chaos. As they ate the fruit, their bodies began writhing and contorting as the effects took hold. Groans bellowed throughout the room as they became intoxicated by the fluid. They tore off their clothes with savage abandon, their bodies shimmering with an unnatural luster. Mouths descended upon the oozing flesh of forbidden fruits. The room reverberated with the sound of moaning and wet squelches as they fed.

Blood flowed freely as they began biting into each other's flesh, revealing strange tissue under their glistening skin. One man seized a woman by the hair, wrenching her head back as he poured a dark, viscous sludge down her throat. Her body began to writhe as others approached her, ripping open her skin and lapping up the excess fluids.

Above the chorus of delirium, a voice cut through the madness. The man’s smoldering gaze locked onto Cora. His voice was low and guttural. “Come, my sweet,” the words dripped down his chin like a crimson embryo. “Join us in this feast of the senses. Come feed, Cora.”

Cora fled in terror, running into a dimly lit corridor, the moans of the perverse feasting fading behind her. The passage continued to wind and turn, filled with ominous shadows that seemed to reach for her as she raced into the dark recesses of the castle.

She soon found herself drawn toward a grand, ornate door. Its surface was adorned with carvings of bodies entwined in a gruesome orgy. Her pulse quickened as she pushed it open and stepped into a room unlike any other.

The walls were draped in deep, velvety reds. The air was thick with a potent scent that was an aphrodisiac to her senses. The room had a delicious aura of danger and secrecy. In the center of the chamber stood an enormous four-poster bed, its canopy adorned with sheer fabric that billowed in an unfelt breeze. Cora hesitated briefly before surrendering to the allure of the bed.

As the room began to envelop her, the line between pleasure and pain blurred in a dance that grew progressively frantic. The palace became a prison as the parasitic alien began to drain her body in the motel room.

Suddenly the castle walls had transformed into canvases of gore and suffering. Twisted figures writhed in torment, their faces contorted in anguish. The chandeliers that had bathed the room in a warm glow, now emitted a pale, dim light that cast elongated shadows. The air that was once fragrant with enticing aromas, was replaced with a nauseating stench of decay.

As she reclined on the bedding, the creature's wispy feelers, cold as the grave, began to ensnare her body with uncanny grace. She moaned as waves of pleasure coursed through her body and set her senses ablaze.

The shadows took on unnatural forms that seemed to mock and sneer at Cora. They writhed and contorted upon the walls, their shapes taking on that of twisted, ghastly creatures. Dozens of sinuous restraints tightened their grip on her. Her limbs were spread until her skin became taut, and every orifice was exposed. They penetrated every opening in her body as she descended into the taboo delights, allowing it to consume her from the inside out.

Some of these figures appeared as straggly shapes that stretched and coiled like serpents. Others seemed to mimic the outlines of faceless, humanoid figures, their limbs twisted into contorted poses. These ethereal specters cast revolting silhouettes that danced spastically across the room.

Cora remained transfixed as the shadows descended upon her. Their devious voices came in whispered murmurs as they groped and tore at her body. A barrage of limbs made their way across her chest, gripping her neck, ripping open her flesh and tugging her nipples. Rough, putrid tongues scraped along her skin, eagerly feeding on the blood that trickled down her pale skin.

One by one, the figures had their way with her. Their mutilated forms and evil grins taunted her mercilessly. They whispered vile comments in her ear, their voices like demons from her past, mirroring her deepest insecurities.

“You’re fucking pathetic, Cora,” one of them hissed, its voice emulating her father. “You’re just like your filthy, whore mother. Nothing more than a walking currency.” The words coiled around her throat like barbed wire.

Some of the figures would stroke her body with a deceptive sensuality before abruptly shifting into acts of humiliation. Another figure, taking on a blasphemous, undead form of David, regarded her with soulless eyes. Its flesh was pallid and rotting, with patches of decayed skin revealing glimpses of yellowed bone beneath.

“Remember how you begged for my love? You crave this shame don’t you?” A dry, coarse hand slid across her inner thighs as its formidable breath stung her nostrils. It brandished a stiff, mangled phallus that tore its way deep inside of her with incredible force. It glared into her eyes, tightening its fingers around her throat. Each putrescent thrust sent her to the brink of insanity. Its hand grazed her jawline and two decomposing fingers slid to the back of her throat, stifling her screams.

As Cora lost herself in the sensations, she could feel the creatures’ jaws closing in on her, biting chunks from her very being. They gnawed and tore at her, their sharp, jagged teeth sinking into her flesh.

Each bite was a horrifying paradox, agonizing and ecstatic. As pieces of her essence were torn away, she could feel her own vitality draining, leaving her powerless. Crimson streams trickled from her nose and her mouth.

Cora's whines quivered as she weakly attempted to fight the delusions that the entity wove around her. Its chilling touch was electrifying. It teased her senses with a spectral dexterity that kept her body on the precipice of apex.

"Stop resisting. You know this is what you need,” it cooed in her ear. “I followed your pain and suffering through eons. An alluring scent, a delicious proposition."

Tension began to grow violently within her as she gave in to a bone-rattling orgasm, a rapture of the mind and soul that left her spent and breathless. Her limbs quavered as dense, sinuous shadows retreated from between her legs, out of her throat and mouth, and vacated her body.

Time lost all power and meaning. Cora lay on the dingy motel bed, frail and emaciated. The horrid alien loomed over her. It was no longer a silent predator but a physical presence. Its limbs transformed from mere shadow into oozing, black tentacles that emanated from a mass of wet, pulpy flesh.

Each viscous extremity ended in a gaping maw. Rows of jagged, obsidian teeth glistened in the blinking light. Its appendages, now slick with the fluids of her flesh, slithered into her body with perverse purpose, puppeteering her organs to sustain its own ravenous hunger. Trapped in a catatonic state, Cora could still feel every agonizing moment, every unnatural movement within her body.

The parasite’s cravings became her own. Her consciousness melded with its appetite. The experience was an abhorrent merging of two beings into a disturbing, symbiotic union. The room was overcome with unspeakable dread.

The sounds in the room were repugnant and visceral. As the creature's mucous tendrils plunged deeper into her, they emitted a wet, slurping noise. It tightly wrapped itself around her body to feast. Cora's irregular breaths were punctuated by occasional moans of pain, her voice barely a sigh. Her once-vibrant green eyes had glazed to gray, the spark of life within them fading into a desolate void.

The air had a toxic, metallic scent that permeated every corner, like a lover's breath turned foul. The monster continued to feed on her with relentless determination, it whispered one last promise into her vacant mind.

"You are mine, Cora. Neither death nor oblivion will offer you reprieve,” it purred, sealing her fate. “We are now forever entwined. Your body needs me for its survival, and your pain sustains my own. Welcome to your eternity of suffering. An eternity marred ever by the trauma that corrodes your soul."

Suddenly, a portal opened beyond Cora’s peripheral vision. The man from her memories known only as the Dealer appeared, holding a bag of white powder. His demeanor had transformed, and he was no longer the bedraggled drug dealer from her past. He exuded an unsettling aura of sophistication and cleanliness. His disheveled look had given way to a meticulously groomed appearance, with a tailored suit that seemed to ripple with dark energy. His eyes, once devoid of life, now held a peculiar sharpness as they gleamed with a sinister intelligence.

His eyes fixated on Cora's lifeless form, and with a cruel smile, he ran a finger across her cold skin before dipping it into the bag. As his finger made contact with the powder, it instantly turned pitch-black. His grin widened, and he commented, "I chose well this time, didn't I?" With a wicked curiosity, he sampled the black powder, and his eyes flashed a chilling shade of gold as he tasted it.

More men stepped through the vortex, their features obscured by rubber suits and gas masks.

"She's ready,” the Dealer informed them. “Make it quick."

The men carefully lifted Cora's unresponsive body with ease, and maneuvered her through the swirling portal. They cautiously transported Cora through the abyssal depths, handling her with extreme care to avoid direct contact. As they left, the Dealer remained behind.

Three police officers burst through the door with guns drawn, demanding to know his identity. Without hesitation, he took a fistful of the black powder, cupping it in his palm. With a menacing smirk, he blew the dust into their faces. The powder collided with their skin, and their authoritative demeanor dissipated.

The officers began sobbing uncontrollably, begging for mercy, crying for their mothers as they collapsed. Their bodies hit the floor with a sickening, bone-snapping crunch. Limbs contorted unnaturally, much to the Dealer’s amusement. Their eyes bulged as they writhed in agony, reduced to husks of despair.

With what little willpower they had remaining, the officers turned their guns on themselves, welcoming death as an escape from their anguish. Their carnage painted the room in a canvas of violence. Blood splatters and clumps of gray matter adorned the smoke-stained walls.

Satisfied with the chaos he had sown, the Dealer opened another portal and stepped through. He arrived in a dimly lit warehouse filled with hospital beds. Cora and her parasite were placed onto one of them, surrounded by innumerable women bearing similar creatures.

He mused with satisfaction, "Mother will be pleased with our progress."