MicroHorror

The sea was angry and I, negligent. My thoughts were on my lady across the sea and the suitable attire I should don to greet her in port.

Immersed in thoughts of sinful vanity I too late became aware of the jagged spires of undersea mounts just visible in the rise and fall of the waves, tickling the surface like the crowns of undersea kings. My fevered spinning of the wheel proved fruitless, a desperate attempt born of panic to avoid the unavoidable.

The initial impact wrenched savage groans from every wooden seam an instant before Poseidon unleashed his fury. Wind, waves and jagged rock splintered wood, shredded sail and utterly destroyed what was a proud vessel only moments before.

Shrieks of terrified sailors were howled into the tempest. Then of a sudden I was cast with my shipmates onto unforgiving spikes of saw-toothed lava. Oh, Holy God! The screams of my mates gutted my very soul. I joined their screeching agony as sea and rock conspired to separate body and soul in the most ghastly fashion. Their screams subsided one by one till mine was all that remained to mingle with the crashing of the waves.

My own tortured cries continued as sea and jagged lava committed one atrocity after another upon my helpless body and then I, the cause of it all, borne by bits of hull and waves tinged red with the blood of my companions, rode the winds of fate to this deserted shore.

The sea has exacted a terrible toll. Arms and legs sprawl shattered with white spears of bloody bone protruding. Internal things that should remain hidden lie shamelessly exposed through jagged abdominal tears. Undamaged purple arteries pulse in plain sight, laid bare to sand, sea and sun. I marvel at the forces that permitted them to remain intact when the least damage would have ended this ordeal quickly.

The shock of trauma is wearing off. Agony is devouring me in huge gulps. Death, why do you tarry? Draw near, rest your hand upon my brow and still my anguished mind. Let not the night find me still coupled with this hideous pile of bloody flesh, bone and pain.

And yet in my mind a seed of fear sprouts. After death has claimed its victory shall I soar with angels in heaven? If so, praise God! But I recall my shipmates’ howls of terror and know I deserve nothing better than the eternal torments of Satan’s hell.

Dear God, choose between the two and be done with it! Aaaghhh! Christ! Stop tormenting me! My God, it is too much! Up through the sand damned vermin emerge to dine on my defenseless flesh. Flies and other winged demons alight on my face. They find their way into my nose and ears where they crawl, crawl, CRAWL! They seek the open wounds and–damn them!–deposit their eggs. With revulsion comes the knowledge that maggots will soon be devouring my mangled limbs. The damned hideous devil-crabs creep from the sea to find my immobile legs with shattered bone and exposed muscle and pinch off bits to eat and fight one another over scraps till the gulls catch them unawares and send them scurrying back to the sea. And the gulls, oh Jesus! One flies off with the ring given me by my beloved Cindy, flies off with the ring and the finger which it adorned! God of mercy, end this! Take me! Something please take me! Cindy, my love. You wait across the sea. Cindy… you wait.

What is this? A stillness? A curious peace and warmth envelopes me. The light of my eyes fades as the agony of nature’s predations recedes in the distance. The restless sea stirs uneasy. Lonely waves tumble ashore, stranding water that hesitates and swirls before returning to the sea, dragging my soul with it to the deep abyss.