Addicted to the Dead

by Shane McKenzie

  Someone cackled from across the street in another alleyway. A man and woman, their laughter echoing through the night. Worm stretched his neck and peered their way, saw a limousine pull in and bathe the alley in its headlights. The couple fucked up against a dumpster, clearly not worried about being seen by whoever was in the vehicle, and Worm knew they had scored. Every bit of him pulsed with jealousy, and if it didn’t hurt so bad to move, he would have stomped their fucking skulls in just like that last woman, cut them wide open, and rummaged through their innards until he found the meat.

  “I know you’re hurtin’ too. Just like me…I can tell. We can help each other out, don’t you see?”

  Worm didn’t respond as he continued to watch the man and woman fuck and scream with laughter as the limo drove further down the alley. It didn’t take long before one of Fleet’s SUVs pulled in after it.

  “Motherfuckers.” It nearly killed him, but Worm struggled to his feet, used the wall for support as he shambled away from the tumor man and toward the SUV.

  “Where you goin’, homie? Hear me out, come on. You won’t be sorry, I s-swear.”

  A broken bottle lay just at Worm’s feet, and he bent down, scooped it up. He turned toward Tumor Man and pointed at him with the jagged end. “I told you to leave me alone. Whatever fucking plan you have…I don’t give a shit.”

  Then Worm turned back toward the other alley, took a deep breath. The pain let up some, but not much. Just enough that he could walk on his own. From across the street, one of the doors on Fleet’s SUV swung open. Worm hurried his pace and squeezed the neck of the bottle. He prayed it was Chaz or Clarence, and if it was, nothing could stop him from twisting that broken glass into their faces, digging out their noses and lips.

  And after they’re dead, after I kill them, I’ll fucking feast on their meat. I’ll wait until they come back, and I’ll eat them whole!

  But it wasn’t either one of them that stepped out of the vehicle. Even with the weak lamplight illuminating the alley, it was enough for Worm to see the black skin with patches of pink all over. Calico strolled down the alley toward the limousine and out of Worm’s sight.

  Shit.

  As scared as he was, Worm nearly ran over there anyway. He knew there was some kind of deal going down, and if Calico was involved, it was a big one. Someone important, one of Fleet’s big time clients.

  I’ll just fucking make a grab for it. Once they bring the goods out, I’ll snatch it and run. And if they catch me, they’ll kill me. Either outcome is better than this shit.

  But as he stared, only able to see the back side of the SUV, its taillights bleeding red light over the surrounding concrete, he knew he didn’t have the courage. The sounds of the man and woman fucking still echoed out from the alley.

  “Fuck! Fuck everything!” Worm threw the bottle against the wall and shattered it, grimaced as his shoulder twisted with fresh pain.

  “How long’s it been, homie?”

  The man’s voice was right behind him, and Worm stepped away before turning to face him. “Why the fuck are you still here?”

  “How long? Since you last had a piece?” He scratched his face, scraping his cuticles across his forehead and down his right cheek. Flakes of skin peeled off a couple of the bumps and oozed fluid and blood. The man groaned, looked about ready to fall over, then leaned his back against the wall, hugged himself again. “Me? I’m going on three weeks. Three fuckin’ weeks with nothing. I can’t take this shit no more, you know what I mean?”

  A man screamed from across the street. Worm figured it was Calico doing what he did best. The guy was a maniac, pure and simple. Worm never really understood why Fleet wanted the guy around. Sure, he was a cold-blooded killer, but Fleet had plenty of men to watch his back. Worm figured it was a pride thing—Calico was the best and Fleet wanted nothing but. Worm knew it was only a matter of time before the crazy bastard turned on Fleet, carved the old man up real good. Worm only wished he could be there when it happened.

  “It doesn’t matter how long. Just leave me alone so I can die in peace.”

  “I know where we can get all the meat we can eat. I just…I’m scared to go alone. That’s what it is, all right? You ever b-been out to them woods before? The woods on the other side of town?”

  “No.” Worm shoved past Tumor Man and stomped back toward his spot. A few heads popped out of hiding places as he approached, all with the same hopeful, desperate look as Worm. When they saw it was only him, they disappeared again, some sighing and others weeping.

  Tumor Man was right behind him. “You know, back in the day, the dead were all over. You r-remember that shit? You could just go outside and scoop you up a corpse, no questions asked. B-but that was before…before anybody knew about the meat and shit. The dead, they didn’t want nothin’ to do with the living. So…they headed for them woods. Me and my buddies, when I was a kid, we used to go out there and watch ’em.”

  “How the fuck does that help now?”

  “That’s what I’m tryin’ to tell you, homie. Me and my buddies, we used to dig traps. Thought it was funny to see them corpses step into ’em, fall straight down into the holes we dug up. Sometimes we pulled ’em out, sometimes n-not. I been meanin’ to get out there and check, see if any are still down there.”

  Worm wanted to tell the guy to fuck off again, maybe find something to throw at him. But he couldn’t stop the tingling sensation in his chest. Just the thought of a place like that, holes in the ground filled with the dead, made his dick hard. He spun to face the man.

  “You see? I-I knew you’d want in. I’m tellin’ you, we’ll be able to eat meat every day for the rest of our lives.” He scratched his face again, bared his teeth. It took Worm a second to realize the guy was smiling at him.

  “First of all…you say you saw this place when you were a kid, right?”

  “Yep, that’s right.”

  “You and your buddies…you guys dug traps back then. Whatever corpses fell in there all those years ago, that meat is already bad by now. Spoiled meat will fucking kill you, man. The shit’s poison.”

  “Yeah I know. I get that, but what I’m sayin’ is those holes should still be out there. What if something fresher came along? W-what if there’s some holes with corpses in them, and ain’t nobody found ’em yet?”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it.” A lightning bolt shot through him then, dropped him to his knees. He ground his teeth as he waited for it to pass, but it only seemed to grow in potency. It felt like his skeleton was trying to escape his body, tearing away at his flesh from within. A scream ripped from his throat and echoed into the air, and Worm’s mouth stayed propped open as the agony throttled him.

  “I know what you’re feelin’, homie. I know. Don’t you think it’s worth a look? Just to see?”

  Worm eased his eyes open, and even the weak moonlight was like hot needles in his retinas. But he nodded, forced his shaking tongue to form the word, “Yes.”

  “I’m Jamal by the way. What they call you, homie?” Jamal sat back down beside Worm, helped him up so he could lean against the brick wall.

  “Worm. N-name’s Worm.”

  “Worm? Why they call you that?”

  Worm remembered exactly how he got the nickname. Ten years ago, he had been so desperate to impress Ted Fleet, he told himself he was willing to do anything. Fleet had filled him in about his Corpse Snuff idea, told him to find the finest girl he could. Back then, the city wasn’t nearly as bad, and though the addicts had already begun to take over, you could still find regular folk amongst them. Meatheads themselves, sure, but functioning meatheads—the people that added meat to their diets, but didn’t consider themselves addicted. These people still had some meat on their bones, still had some color to their skin.

  There was a particular girl he had his eyes on. At the Pink Monkey. It was the last strip joint in the city, which eventually burned to the ground. But back when it was up and thriving, Worm found himself there at least twice
a week, and he only had money for one girl. Her name was Cinderella, and she always wore a tiara when she danced, had the biggest, most beautiful pair of fake titties he had ever seen. She danced for him, but never spoke to him. Once the song ended, she demanded her money and moved on. Never gave Worm the time of day, and it wasn’t until he realized that he loved her that he became jealous, couldn’t stand watching her dance for other men.

  So one night, he waited for her. He already knew what kind of car she drove, already knew what time she got off. See, Fleet wanted a dead girl. Told Worm to search the streets for addicts, said he could take his pick of any meathead in the city, that they could transport her to his Detox facility, get all the meat out of her system. That way, after she died, she would wake up again, and just like that, she’d be a star in the next Corpse Snuff.

  But Worm only wanted Cinderella. When he brought her to Fleet, he came clean. Said that he knew this girl, said that he wanted to be the one on film with her. Said that he loved her. It was Worm’s idea to kill her in the film. Told Fleet it would be more dramatic that way. “I’ll start on her while she’s still alive, then kill her while I’m fucking her. Then she’ll wake up right there on film, still being fucked.”

  Fleet had raved about the idea. “And you say you love this girl?” Fleet had said. “You’re a slimy son of a bitch, you know that? Think I’ll call you Worm from now on.”

  And the name just sort of stuck after that. Worm could barely remember his birth name anymore. Sometimes, Worm still thought about Cinderella. She was the only woman he ever loved, though he could admit now that he didn’t truly know what love meant. And he fucked her on film, both alive and dead.

  He looked up at Jamal and shook his head. “Can’t remember where I got the name.”

  “That’s cool, man. So…so we doin’ this?” Jamal looked to be holding back his cries of pain.

  Worm nodded. “Can’t get any fuck…fucking worse than this, right? But one more th-thing…”

  “What is it?”

  “Why are you asking me? You don’t know me for shit. Just come stumbling out of nowhere, and just lay your plans out on a str-stranger?” Worm squinted and glared at Jamal. “What’s the deal with that?”

  Jamal just shrugged, rolled his eyes. “Told you, I’m scared to go by myself.”

  “So why not ask someone in better shape than me? I’m not stupid, man, I know I look like shit. Seems to me you’d want someone who could watch y-your back.”

  Jamal snickered, then clenched his fists and screamed. The back of his head slammed against the wall and spittle flew from his thick, quivering lips. He went silent then, let his head droop, chin resting on his bony chest. Worm thought he had fallen asleep for a second until the man groaned.

  “I don’t n-need nobody to watch my back.” He strained to turn his head and look at Worm. “I need someone as weak as…as me. That way I know you don’t try and f-fuck me out there. Know w-what I’m sayin’, homie?”

  Worm nodded, stood up with a grunt, then reached out for Jamal’s hand. “Well let’s go get this meat…homie.”

  ***

  The walk felt endless. When Worm didn’t think he could take another step, he leaned up against a nearby building and panted. His bones felt ready to shatter, muscles ready to slough off in pulpy clumps. He remembered the woods, had seen them before. But it had been at least ten years since he even thought about leaving the city.

  “We have to be close now, right? How much farther?”

  Jamal, who looked just as winded as Worm, smacked his lips, swiped his nails across his face again. What boils had managed to scab over were now open, crying red and oily tears. “Come on, man. Just over this hill here. Gotta push on…can’t stop now.”

  Worm nearly suggested they offer a blowjob for a ride, but decided against it. There weren’t many cars just driving around the streets anymore, and the ones that were more than likely belonged to Fleet.

  “Can’t we just rest for a second? Let me…catch my breath. Legs feel ready to disintegrate right now.”

  “I’m tellin’ you, we’re right here, man. Let’s get movin’.” Jamal didn’t wait for Worm as he continued his trek toward the outskirts of town.

  Fuck me. Worm took a deep breath, clenched his hands into tight fists, and followed. Going up the hill was torture, but Worm kept his mind on the reward. If there really was a corpse, just one, trapped in a hole somewhere, it would be worth it. Hell, even if one of the old ones was still down there, he might take his chances with it. He thought he’d eat the cheek meat first, work his way down from the head to the feet. He’d take his time, wouldn’t get greedy and waste it. Had to make it last.

  His mouth watered and his cock began to swell again. He reached down to massage it, but it was more pain than pleasure, so he crossed his arms and joined Jamal at the top of the hill. The man just stood there, staring off into the distance. A quivering smile stretched his bumpy face, and when Worm stood beside him, Jamal elbowed him in the side—which felt like getting stabbed in the ribs—and pointed toward the countless trees.

  “There it is. Didn’t I tell you? All…all we gotta d-do now…is, is find my spot.” He spun his head toward Worm at the same time he patted Worm’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I know where it’s at. Never forgot, been thinkin’ about it for years, you know what I mean?”

  Worm didn’t know if he fully believed this guy, but it didn’t really matter anymore. Staring at the trees sent vibrations of hope throughout his body. A tickling sensation that was a nice change from the constant pain. Fuck it felt good to see trees. Standing there looking at the sea of wood and leaves made him wonder why it had taken him so long to just walk out of the city. Compared to the never-ending gray and black he was used to, the green was breathtaking.

  Worm felt rejuvenated, and he breathed in as much air as he could before another coughing fit took him. He spat a wad of beige phlegm to the asphalt, wiped his mouth. “I sure hope you’re right about this.”

  “I can feel it, homie. Ain’t no doubt in my mind there’s some corpses down there. We just gotta go claim they asses.”

  The men stared at each other for a minute, both smiling, both practically drooling at the prospect of filling their bellies with meat. Worm started walking first, headed down the hill and toward the green.

  Jamal caught up with him, then took the lead. The air was different once they entered the forest—cleaner and sweet smelling. Not like the thick, trash-infused oxygen up in the city. Worm ran his hands over the rough bark of the trees as they moved through them, opening and closing his fingers over the stickiness of the sap on his palms.

  Jamal checked over his shoulder every few minutes, as if to make sure Worm was still following. His smiles became strange, almost a nervous grimace. He kept fumbling with his hands, shoving them into his pockets only to pull them back out again, hugging himself then letting his arms fall to his sides.

  “You all right?” Worm said. After what had to have been over an hour, they both agreed to take a short break, and Worm leaned up against a tree, reached up and tore a handful of leaves away. He sniffed them, then ripped each one to pieces, let the green confetti flutter from his fingertips.

  “Yeah…yeah, I’m good. Just anxious, know what I mean?” Sweat coated Jamal’s face, made the bumps look greasy. “Told you, man, been thinkin’ about comin’ back out here for years. Guess I can’t believe I’m finally doing it.”

  Worm tossed the leaves, put his hands on his hips. Waves of withdrawal hit him like an acidic tide. His stomach tightened, and before he knew it, white bile shot from his mouth and splashed into the dirt. The act of vomiting was excruciating, and each time he heaved, it felt like his torso was being tied into a knot. He stared at the frothy white soup as it bubbled and oozed into the earth. Just watching the cum-bile mixture turn black as it soaked up the dirt caused him to heave again, but there was nothing left in his stomach to spew.

  “Let’s get movin’,” Jamal said. “I can…
I can feel one comin’ on too.”

  Worm turned his head and looked up at Jamal, but couldn’t make the man’s face out through the lenses of tears. Uncurling himself and standing induced a scream, and it felt like his spine would snap clean in half. But he stood, leaned his shoulder against a tree as he caught his breath and collected himself.

  “You str-straight, homie?”

  “Yeah…yeah, I’m good. Let’s do this.”

  Jamal strolled over, wrapped his arms around Worm’s torso, and helped him off the tree. Worm wanted to push him away, but was actually thankful. Just going from leaning to standing was a chore, and now he had to continue hiking through the fucking woods.

  Eye on the prize, Worm. Just think about that meat between your teeth.

  Jamal took off, moving faster than Worm thought possible in their condition. Worm struggled to keep up, but managed to stay close enough behind that he never lost sight of the other man.

  If you can suck dick and swallow a stomach full of nut for a hit, you can take a motherfucking walk.

  And walk they did. They weaved through an infinite amount of trees and bushes, getting deeper and deeper into the wooded labyrinth. Worm began to feel dizzy, disoriented. Almost like he was in a dream. He stopped a few times and watched as Jamal worked his way through the forest, wondering if he should give up now and turn back. He thought he could probably find his way back to the road, then follow that to the city.

  Jamal stopped, turned. “What are you doin’, man? We’re almost there! You hear me? We’re almost fuckin’ there!” His smile was so wide, Worm thought he could count his teeth even from that distance.

  “How do you know for sure?” Worm grimaced, clutched at his stomach. “All this shit,” he said as he swept his arms, “it all looks the same. How can you tell we’re any closer now than when we started?”

  “I already told you, homie. I never forgot about my spot. Been on my mind every day. I can picture it perfectly.” Jamal’s tongue slipped out from between his teeth and spun over his lips.