Vince could feel it inside him. He could feel it slithering through his intestines, like a conga eel through a shipwreck, in the dark depths of the sea. It was a strange sensation, feeling the creatures ribbed body gliding though his internal organs. Vince knew that he couldn’t vomit, although it was growing harder and harder not to, holding back the spasms that were shooting up from his stomach.
..‘You’re doing well,’ said the old lady sitting be Vince’s side, mopping his chest with cold water that smelt of stale urine. She had insisted it wasn’t urine, but a mixture of special herbs and spices, but the smell still wasn’t helping his stomach. She seemed a frail old thing, black lace covering her head and face. ‘The Joonx is almost in position.’
..‘How will you know when it is?’ Asked Vince, squirming on the hard mattress the old lady had led him to.
..‘I’ll know when you know.’ She replied, picking up some tattered cords to bind his wrists. Vince had been told to let her do what she had to. When he first saw the Joonx he had nearly turned and left, but he knew this was his only option now.
..‘How will I know?’ He asked, as the old lady tied his wrists and ankles to the bed.
..‘You will know.’ She replied, sitting back in her chair, dipping the cloth in the dire liquid, and mopping his stomach. At that moment Vince felt a searing heat in his stomach, where the Joonx had settled only seconds previously. He clenched his teeth and his fists, feeling his nails cutting into the palms of his hands, but the pain was overwhelmed by that of the Joonx in his stomach. Through the unbearable heat, he could feel the slimy intruder gnawing at his flesh with its small sharp teeth. Vince opened his eyes, and saw blood seeping up through his naval, mixing with the broth the old lady had applied. The old lady was hunching over him, whispering to the Joonx, inches from his stomach. She turned to look at Vince.
..‘Sit back, close your eyes. It’s not over yet.’ She said in her soothing, grainy voice, and Vince did as he was bid. For a second he thought the creature had stopped, and he was about to speak, as the heat in his stomach grew in intensity to such a degree, that he lost consciousness.
..When Vince awoke, he was lying on the bed, his hands and feet now free. After a few seconds he realised all pain gone. Sitting up, Vince felt a stabbing pain in his stomach, and looked down to see a fresh cut, stitched up and cleaned from the old lady’s concoction and his own blood. Vince figured that was where she had to cut out the lifeless Joonx, after it had chewed away the cancer from his stomach. There was no sign of the old lady while Vince stood up and pulled his shirt on. He had paid her in advance, and she clearly hadn’t felt the need to hang around afterwards. He put on his coat, and ventured out into the cold night air, grateful to the old lady for saving his life. As he made his way down the alley, his thoughts turned to that weird creature, the Joonx, that he had swallowed, and had made its way to his stomach, where it had found the cancer and eaten away at it until all traces were gone. He had been told the creature would die afterwards, which was a sad thought. It might have been an ugly, disgusting thing, but it had saved his life.
..So Vince made his way home, knowing that he was now cancer free. Unfortunately he was not Joonx free, and in 5-6 months he would be giving birth to a new generation of Joonx. At that point, he would be praying for the cancer.
© 2008 Neal Turner
