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Authors: Mary E. Pearson

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BOOK: The Rotten Beast
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The next day Jenna and Ethan come again, this time with a visitor. Ethan's cousin Jared is here visiting from Texas. I haven't washed my hair in four days. I wish I had known. I try not to stare but he has the most vivid green eyes I've ever seen, and the surrounding scenery isn't bad to look at either. They stay and talk for an hour, sitting on the lawn, though I do little more than shrug and grunt. Jenna pulls clover and makes a chain she drapes over Ethan's neck. Jared smiles and my stomach twists as if it's turning inside out.

When they leave I walk up the porch steps to go inside, but I stop and glance at the brown paper bag still sitting at the end of the porch. Surely by now the beast is rotten. I look inside, and yes, sure enough the small piece of skin I peeled away is brown and shriveling. I pull the peach out. The flesh is softening. It won't be long now. I sit down on the porch step and stare at it. And wonder. I only want one tiny taste before it spoils. How could one little piece of fruit make me give in?

I sniff the flesh where the skin is missing. It's a scent like no other, like summer, sweetness, and decadence all wrapped into one small round package. I take a bite and it's every bit as heavenly as I imagined, two perfect tastes made even better. I savor each mouthful, slowly rolling the chocolaty flesh over my tongue, but it's soon gone, and then I lick the juice that has run down my fingers.

My fingers.
I look at them. Sticky and sweet. Sometimes I forget that they were all made in a lab. My chest squeezes with a fleeting pang of guilt, and I lick each and every finger all over again.

And that's when I know. It's happened. And this is only the beginning.

I'm giving in.

I'm being taken over.

Just like Jenna said, when I least expected it.

And I hardly care.

 

THE END

 

Copyright © 2011 by Mary Pearson

Art copyright © 2011 by Sam Weber

Books by Mary Pearson

The Fox Inheritance

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

The Miles Between

A Room on Lorelei Street

Scribbler of Dreams

David V. God

BOOK: The Rotten Beast
4.8Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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