Descending Road - EATERS by Dana W. Paxson

EATERS

1560 4D

She says, “This isn’t stat, little cock, not yet. The eaters are quite slow, so we’ll have lots of time.” Her long powerful body oozes down past me like a huge snake, and she squats down and opens the door as my grip loosens on the rungs, and she lets me slide slowly past her, controlling my fall with the pressure of her torso and legs. She gives a soft grunt of pleasure as I finally drop free and crumple into a heap on the smooth metalled street. Landing beside me, she eases Jackie B‘s gun away and snaps it onto her low belt.

Big hands grab me and drag me through a door. My eyes stare off at a low table beside a heavy chair. On the table is Armana‘s crystal globe with the seedfish in it. What is that doing here?

“Do you like my little gift? Caladrina offered it to me for repairing the damage you did. You’ve cost me a lot of metal, Little Wire Man.” Rask‘s voice is as smooth and heavy as honey. “You’ll have a long time to think about that. You’ll be in my art gallery. Help him see, Harrin.”

The big hands grab me again, drag me through another door, and fling me on my face in the dark. My nose throbs and starts to bleed. The lights come up, the hands seize my head and lift it back until my neck nearly breaks, and I see a room full of sculptures.

They’re men and women, locked golden in stat. Some are coupled together in sex, some are embracing like dancers, and all their faces wear the expressions of the most horrible agony, beyond despair and death.

“It’s all in the timing,” Rask‘s voice croons. “To get the right facial expression, I have to stat you just as the paralytic wears off. The little eaters go into stat too, but it only slows them down a lot. They’ll be hard at work when you get your gold coating, but then they’ll take their time.”

The hands drop my head onto my burst nose. The pain makes my heart stop for several seconds.

She’s right about the eaters. The biojector loaded them into my right arm, and that’s where the itching starts to spread up toward my shoulder. It gets worse and worse, turns to flame, and I know this has no end.

Essa. At least she went quickly. I wonder about my ma — no, she’ll be fine, with smooth Armana taking her metal and making her feel good about it. They’re both survivors, they’ll get along fine. But Nadienne, what about her? What if Rask decides to drag her back here too?

Nothing for me to do but hurt. Maybe if I’d had pyro this wouldn’t have happened. I don’t know. I try to beat back the flames in my arm and shoulder with my mind.

There’s one chance. Just when the stat is about to hit, Rask will want my face looking like all these others. Maybe I can get just a few seconds.

The burning mounts higher and higher, spreads into my head and chest and down into my belly and spine. If I could move, I’d scream worse than when Ma pulled the stat off me. I lose track of time, making the seconds and hours look like all one thing.

“He’s about ready. Bring him into the stat room.” She’s right, because my neck twitches. While she watches, hand on Jackie B‘s beamer butt, her cocks stand me under the hemisphere and run a suspension loop under my arms and across my chest, keeping me upright while I burn in hell.

My limbs start jerking uncontrollably. “That’s good. Why don’t you show us how you feel, Tomas?” My facial muscles writhe. I clamp the scream inside.

It’s as if I’m a woman not wanting to give birth. No matter what I do, the scream will come out, and all the shit with it. Voluntary breath comes back, and I suck in more air, and then I hear my ma’s voice inside my head. The jerking stops.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	EATERS 1560 4D She says, “This isn’t stat, little cock, not yet. The eaters are quite slow, so we’ll have lots of time.” Her long powerful body oozes down past me like a huge snake, and she squats down and opens the door as my grip loosens on the rungs, and she lets me slide slowly past her, controlling my fall with the pressure of her torso and legs. She gives a soft grunt of pleasure as I finally drop free and crumple into a heap on the smooth metalled street. Landing beside me, she eases Jackie B‘s gun away and snaps it onto her low belt. Big hands grab me and drag me through a door. My eyes stare off at a low table beside a heavy chair. On the table is Armana‘s crystal globe with the seedfish in it. What is that doing here? “Do you like my little gift? Caladrina offered it to me for repairing the damage you did. You’ve cost me a lot of metal, Little Wire Man.” Rask‘s voice is as smooth and heavy as honey. “You’ll have a long time to think about that. You’ll be in my art gallery. Help him see, Harrin.” The big hands grab me again, drag me through another door, and fling me on my face in the dark. My nose throbs and starts to bleed. The lights come up, the hands seize my head and lift it back until my neck nearly breaks, and I see a room full of sculptures. They’re men and women, locked golden in stat. Some are coupled together in sex, some are embracing like dancers, and all their faces wear the expressions of the most horrible agony, beyond despair and death. “It’s all in the timing,” Rask‘s voice croons. “To get the right facial expression, I have to stat you just as the paralytic wears off. The little eaters go into stat too, but it only slows them down a lot. They’ll be hard at work when you get your gold coating, but then they’ll take their time.” The hands drop my head onto my burst nose. The pain makes my heart stop for several seconds. She’s right about the eaters. The biojector loaded them into my right arm, and that’s where the itching starts to spread up toward my shoulder. It gets worse and worse, turns to flame, and I know this has no end. Essa. At least she went quickly. I wonder about my ma — no, she’ll be fine, with smooth Armana taking her metal and making her feel good about it. They’re both survivors, they’ll get along fine. But Nadienne, what about her? What if Rask decides to drag her back here too? Nothing for me to do but hurt. Maybe if I’d had pyro this wouldn’t have happened. I don’t know. I try to beat back the flames in my arm and shoulder with my mind. There’s one chance. Just when the stat is about to hit, Rask will want my face looking like all these others. Maybe I can get just a few seconds. The burning mounts higher and higher, spreads into my head and chest and down into my belly and spine. If I could move, I’d scream worse than when Ma pulled the stat off me. I lose track of time, making the seconds and hours look like all one thing. “He’s about ready. Bring him into the stat room.” She’s right, because my neck twitches. While she watches, hand on Jackie B‘s beamer butt, her cocks stand me under the hemisphere and run a suspension loop under my arms and across my chest, keeping me upright while I burn in hell. My limbs start jerking uncontrollably. “That’s good. Why don’t you show us how you feel, Tomas?” My facial muscles writhe. I clamp the scream inside. It’s as if I’m a woman not wanting to give birth. No matter what I do, the scream will come out, and all the shit with it. Voluntary breath comes back, and I suck in more air, and then I hear my ma’s voice inside my head. The jerking stops.