Chapter 3

Scream

It was perfect. The place had everything he had imagined: parrots screeching out replies to comments; monkeys dancing up in the canopy; tropical fruits flourishing with life; sleepy sloths snacking on citrus’ sweetness; and hovering bees buzzing their hellos and goodbyes. It was perfect.

“Wow!” Callum muttered, watching the world go by. He wandered further into the jungle, lost in thought. SCREECH! At first, he thought it was a parrot, but clouds gathered in the sky, and his thoughts shifted. There was the strange noise again… Everything seemed normal: Nothing moved. The strange noise again…

Something moved. A deep, squelching sound. “Mud.” he guessed. The squelching, sounded black. A deep, onyx black. A deep, pollution black. The deep, squelching sound. It was a deep, pollution black. Something was wrong. Wrong. Wrong in a deep pollution black.

Gurgle. Squelch. Squelch. Callum turned, but was greeted by a cold silence. Squelch. Squelch. This time, he was not greeted by silence, but by a deep, pollution black monstrosity: It’s head, no face, but an ugly, black, flower, with petals lined with small, serrated fangs; huge hands hosting large talons; and a muscular, black body bulging and oozing. Horrified, he ran.

SCREECH! And the beast was thundering behind him. He ran, past the towering trees, past the parrots, past the rose, but only to see the only exit gone. Only deep, pollution black ooze.