hole IV

He tugged and pulled, but could not gain enough purchase to free himself from the hole.  The pain was maddening. His mind went haywire, picturing the flesh from his hand and forearm peeling away and absorbed into the earthy soup.

He couldn’t pull out and continued to dig into the earth.  More frantic, he started further away from the hole and dug toward it.  The earth still regenerated itself, engulfing his shoulder. Soon, it would mound up and ensconce his head; he could already feel a plug of mud in his right ear.

The boiling abruptly stopped, the air went catacomb-cold instantly and all fell silent.  There was no evidence that his ears even had the capacity to take in sound.

Faint crying drifted into his exposed ear; an infant’s choking cry, a child’s cry of pain, then a man’s sobbing.

Choked at first, the crying cleaved the silence. Within seconds, it became so loud he could not stifle it with his arm covering his ear. Cramming mud into his ear lessened it, but his head soon ached.

His mouth hung open in a silent scream.

March 30, 2012 | Categories: fiction, Writing | Tags: earthy soup, fiction, horror, mud, silent scream, surreal, writing | Leave a comment