Heartland Junk (Part II): Sanctuary by Eli Nixon Page A

into the pit and felt my mind drawn to the void of Vitala, whatever the fuck that was. Something had touched me that day that had never quite let go, as if it was marking me, tracking me, a monstrous creature saving me for the right moment. To consume. To devour.
                  In the cozy den in River House, taped to a chair, I began to sink again.
                  The whispers came first, familiar now like old friends. They beckoned me into their midst with a warm furor. Welcoming but insistent.
                  Cold, frigid darkness crowded my mind with icicle fingers, an Arctic stream leaking into the folds of my brain. Even as I sank lower into the maelstrom, my psyche split into two streams of thought.
                  Yesss, this is right.
                  Fuck! I'm going too far. Is this too far? Christ, get me out of here.
                  Just a little lower, a little closer...so close to the end...
                  The whispers enveloped me like cemetery ghosts. The lights in the den dimmed, flickered. Rivet was leaning in close, watching me, waiting for the right moment to dose me when things went too far. The shadows under his cheekbones intensified in the dimming light; his eyes sank deeper into his sockets. In the doorway, Jennie's body withered to skeletal proportions. Her face took on the same hideous hardness as Rivet's, leering at me. An abomination.
                  Only Abby's eyes remained normal. They burned with anxious intensity, drilling holes through my skull and out the other side. I had the feeling that she was watching my transition from an internal vantage point, following me into the hellish pit to observer the transformation first-hand. She knew something of my pain at this moment, my mixture of longing and revulsion.
                  Consume the flesh. Live in Vitala.
                  Yes...it seemed so nice. Unconsciously, my teeth chattered slightly. Rivet's grotesque face leaned away at the movement. Had this creature been my friend? It was a monstrosity, fit only for death. If it would not become part of the same whole as I, it must die.
                  My teeth snapped again, harder, jarring my whole head.
                  "Come...come over...Rivet, come here," I stuttered.
                  "That's enough," Jennie said. "Dose him, Rivet."
                  "No!" I cried. "A little more. We have to be sure."
                  They would let me go home. They would not stop me now.
                  "Let's give him another minute," Rivet said. "He's right."
                  "The fuck do you mean he's right?" Jennie shouted. "He's gone. Christ, look at him! Bring him back."
                  Their words washed over me, senseless and inane. Why couldn't they see how petty their bullshit was? Their bickering and fighting and fucking, on and on, an endless cycle.
                  They could come with me, if only they weren't so distracted by themselves. If only...
                  That's far enough, Ray.
                  The whispers had become an insectile frenzy that filled the room with buzzing, white noise, but that one voice cut through the cacophony like a shaft of sunlight through the clouds.
                  My eyes shot to Abby. She nodded.
                  "Give it to me," I rasped. "Quick."
                  Rivet had a glass of my homemade hooch ready. He moved to tilt my head back. I gnashed at his fingers.
                  "Fuck off, Ray," he snapped. Avoiding my teeth, he gripped my chin and jerked until I was staring at the ceiling. Something warm and bitter poured into my mouth. I shut my lips against it. Shook my head violently. Snarled.
                  I choked on the liquid, gagged, then