Issue Three

KATIE JONES
way through the oncoming crowd. His
feet hit the pavement and he took off,
stumbling every once in a while,
steadying himself and regaining balance
as he zigzagged in and out of traffic, car
horns blasting as the crazed man ran
on. At one point, he tripped, chin hitting
the concrete, pain radiated through his
jaw, and as he pushed his face back
from the pavement, his eyes locked onto
a chunk of meat, the size of his fist that
was stuck to the filthy
concrete. Springing back up, he
sprinted down an alley way, and
rounded a corner, fists beating
frantically on the front door of an old,
weatherboard house.
The door opened, and Alice answered,
a veil covering her face. She screamed
at the sight of Terry, the flesh of half his
bottom jaw was missing, and ivory
coloured bone glistened before her, the
row of his bottom teeth revealed to her
eyes. She grabbed at his wrists, with
her own hands and hung on tight,
pulling him inside when she realised
who he was. Terry looked down to find
that the tips of her fingers were nothing
but protruding bones, the flesh had split
and peeled away.
He followed her inside and she slowly
reached up and took off the veil,
breathing slowly before turning to face
him, her neck was almost bare, vertebra
exposed here and there, and black,
necrotic tissue was all that remained of
most of her once beautiful face. Her
bulging, brown eyes had sunk back into
the sockets in her skull and her hair was
coming out; bald patches speckled her
skull on the right side of her head.
Tears welled in Alice’s eyes and rolled
down her rotten flesh as she spoke, her
voice raspy and crackling, barely
audible, “What have you done?”
Terry looked away, staring at his palms,
dry flesh clinging to nothing but tendons
and bones, “I’m sorry, Alice.”
He sank to his knees, and his body
shook, sobs echoed off the walls, the
fabric of his clothes hung off him like
sacks as he wasted away before her
eyes. She knelt down beside him, lifting
his head and studying the grotesque
face before her, “I love you,” she said.
Alice leaned forward, gently kissing
Terry, the flesh of her lips meshing with
what was left of his, and the skin flaked
and peeled as their mouths
moved. When she pulled back, black
gunk was smeared over the teeth that
permanently smiled through Terry’s
jaw. They held each other and silently
waited. Their organs failed, as enzymes
and bacteria caused membranes and
walls to rapidly decay and their bodies
were filled with a mixture of soup. Skin
swelled and peeled, gas burst free of
cracked flesh and the flies were drawn
to the scent of decay. They held each
other as their bodies became revolting
mush and dry bones, blooming into
flowers of grotesque remains.
When they were found, they were
nothing but skeletons hidden under a
pile of clothing, holding each other
close, the smaller one wearing a ring on
her finger, the larger one adorned with a