Masters of Taboo Presents: Cannibalism, Digesting The Human Condition (Limited Edition)

by Biro, Stephen

  “Bring usssssss moooooore.”

  Tiffany’s eyes shoot open and she gasps for breath, choking. She sits upright in her bed shaking and covered in sweat. This is the worst nightmare she has had since her procedure last week. There’s still some discomfort in her lower abdomen from the scraping against her uterus. She gets out of bed wanting to get to the bathroom, but it seems she’s already relieved herself. Her purple pajama pants are soaked with urine and so are the sheets.

  Stripping the bed, she then peeks out of her bedroom door to make sure nobody is around. Rather, she’s making sure her mother didn’t get any extra energy and make it off the couch in the living room. She sneaks down the hall and into the bathroom. After getting the water as hot as she can take it she jumps into the shower.

  Standing under the flow of hot water she doesn’t move until she’s convinced every inch of her dark brown skin has been touched. Washing herself she takes care not to rub her vagina too roughly. Once she’s out of the bathroom and dried off she puts on a sweater and jeans and ties her long micro braids into a ponytail.

  Out in the living room her mother sits on the couch watching TV. Tiffany didn’t expect her to be doing anything else. The last time her mother was rushed to the hospital was because she had chest pains. When they weighed her she was well over four hundred pounds. That was almost a year ago and since then she seems to have outgrown her favorite seat.

  Hoping to simply walk out of the house without any confrontation, Tiffany walks quietly down the hall toward the kitchen. It doesn’t work. Her mom’s head full of short uncombed hair turns toward her with a snarl.

  Well, look who finally decided to wake the fuck up.” She says seeming to spit venom with every syllable.

  Tiffany walks into the living room and stands looking down at her mother.

  “How are you doing, mom?” She asks really not wanting the answer.

  “I’m fine. How are you? Is the murder business wearing you down?”

  “I’m just tired. Not sleeping too good….”

  Her mother leans forward a bit and stares up into her eyes.

  “Baby, that isn’t nothing but your sins against God weighing on your soul. Get used to it cause you gonna be carrying that weight on your shoulders right into hell.”

  Tears begin to form in Tiffany’s brown eyes as they become blood shot.

  “You are an evil bitch! How could say that to me?”

  Her mother’s eyes widen as her anger boils over. She doesn’t get up, but her fat arms do enough moving for the rest of her body.

  “Don’t you dare speak to me like that again! After all I’ve done for you and this family. Ungrateful shits! All of you! I gave up my life for you. It was a damn good life too. Lost my looks to my beautiful daughter and what does she use God’s gift for? You whore around and murder babies!! You are no better than the whore that stole your father away!”

  Tiffany can’t take anymore and doesn’t want to give her mother the satisfaction of seeing her lose composer, so she quickly walks out to her silver Honda Accord and speeds off. She’s on her way to a local eatery when Ebony calls her phone. Ebony is her best friend and has been since middle school. They favor each other in the looks department as she too is dark skinned and a bit petite, but she prefers her hair straight as opposed to the braids that Tiffany keeps. Even though Tiffany’s ex-boyfriend, Tony, is the one who insisted on an abortion Ebony is the one who took her to the clinic and stayed with her as she cried herself to sleep that night.

  Tony had classes and basketball practice which, apparently proved to be much more important to him than the welfare of his girlfriend going through such an invasive procedure.

  Ebony meets Tiffany at the restaurant and sees that her friend has already ordered.

  A half-eaten steak meal sits on the edge of the table while she frantically chews on a rare burger.

  “Damn, you’re one hungry bitch.” Ebony playfully chimes in.

  Tiffany ignores her and continues to eat the burger. Two guys sitting a few tables down point and laugh. Ebony sits across from her friend and eyes her suspiciously.

  “Are you okay?”

  Tiffany shoots her a quick glance.

  “I’m so fucking hungry. I haven’t had an appetite all week. I can’t sleep. I think there’s something wrong with me.”

  Ebony becomes flooded with compassion.

  “Oh girl, there’s nothing wrong with you. After what you’ve been through you got to give yourself some time. Have you talked to Tony since then? You need all the support you can get.”

  Tiffany sits straight up and wipes her mouth on a napkin.

  “Fuck him. Between him and my mother I can’t handle any more Goddamn support.”

  Before Ebony can respond Tiffany lets out a loud belch. Several heads in the restaurant turn and Ebony frowns up and then waves the air in front of her face.

  “Jesus Christ that’s rotten, Tiffany.” She says with a hand covering her nose and mouth.

  “Sorry, nothing agrees with me anymore.” Right then she grabs her stomach as it begins to cramp and heave.

  She runs to the bathroom and barely makes it to a stall before waves of undercooked beef flood out of her mouth and into a toilet. Huge chunks of meat that have soaked in stomach acids rise up and out of her causing a mini storm in the toilet bowl. Then there is no more to throw up. Vomit and public toilet water have splashed onto her face and now drip off slowly as she dry heaves. Looking down into the toilet she hears a baby crying. Tiffany looks around to see if anybody else has come into the bathroom, but she’s alone. That’s when she realizes the cries sound muffled. Forcing her gaze back into the toilet she hears the cries getting clearer.

  The thick vomit that floats on top of the water moves as if something is shifting it. The spew bubbles in the middle and a small face emerges. Its skin is gray and damp. The eyes are open wide but the color has faded and glossed over. Two thin lips part, stretching slime between them and out of the tiny mouth comes a shriek so loud that Tiffany is forced to cover her ears. The baby’s cries seem to blast from inside her head and echo around in her skull. She tries to back up but slips and falls on her ass. Right in front of her at eye level the baby continues to rise upward from the toilet as it screams. Vomit falls off of its fragile body as it stares into Tiffany with those sightless eyes. The darkness of those eyes pulls Tiffany in causing everything around her to go as black as the pits that stare her down.

  Ebony rubs Tiffany’s shoulders as she signs her discharge papers at a local hospital. The doctors didn’t find anything wrong with her. She simply fainted, but they did give her a prescription to help with nausea. The registered nurse that saw to her had perfect bedside manner until she asked about medical history. When she was told about the abortion last week the older woman became very short tempered and looked at the two women like they were the scum off her shoes.

  The friend’s head back to Ebony’s tiny apartment where Tiffany falls asleep on the couch within seconds.

  Since not having time to eat at the restaurant Ebony goes into the kitchen to cook. The oven is preheated and a pot of water is placed on the stove to boil.

  Tiffany awakes feeling refreshed. She stretches and looks around for her friend until she smells something in the kitchen burning. Rushing to the stove she sees that all the water has boiled away and the pot is burning. She turns off the eye and the empty oven that’s putting off enough heat to turn the place into a furnace. Turning around she sees Ebony staring out the window with her back to the room. Her body is shaking and tiny sobs can be heard.

  “Ebony what’s wrong?” Tiffany asks while fanning smoke in the room.

  Ebony’s head snaps around sending her hair into frenzy. She obviously didn’t hear Tiffany come into the kitchen. Tiffany moves closer, then stops short when she’s sees Ebony’s face. Her voice catches in her throat and she backs away. Underneath sweaty hair Ebony’s face has lost color and grayed. The skin is rubbery and seems to have been p
ulled as tight as possible over the skull. Her eyes are glossed over but they search eagerly for Tiffany. All her teeth are gone and her voice comes out sounding as if she’s reverted back to being a toddler.

  “Mommy? Mommy? MOMMY”!

  Tiffany backs away as her friend scampers toward her closing the gap and blocking any exit. Grabbing a large knife from the counter Tiffany holds it in front of her desperately waving it between the two. Ebony stops and an eerie smile cross her face exposing the toothless gums.

  “You’re getting it mommy . . . give me back my body . . . you took mine from me, but I’m still here. Can’t you feel me there?” She points at Tiffany’s stomach. “Feed me, mommy. Give me back what is mine!”

  Tiffany swings the knife again and connects with Ebony’s right bicep. The skin opens slowly as a gash forms and blood drips then flows from the wound. Ebony keeps smiling with that dead childlike face and begins to shriek in laughter. Every second it becomes louder. Echoing in Tiffany’s head making her ear drums throb in pain. She cries out in desperation before plunging the knife into her friend’s throat.

  The knife slips right into her mouth and down into the esophagus. Ebony gags and her body convulse, but the laughter continues.

  Tiffany brings the knife half way out and drives it back in, stabbing her over and over again. Thick damn near black blood shoots out of Ebony’s mouth in geysers covering Tiffany and the nearby walls. More blood waterfalls down her chin covering her clothes and the floor beneath them. The gagging becomes more violent as green and brown vomit begins mixing with the blood. The knife is now covered in this sludge making the handle slippery. Tiffany’s hand slips down the blade slicing her palm open.

  Screaming out in pain she jumps back and her friend’s body drops face first onto the floor with a loud wet smack! The laughter dies down and eventually fades away. Tiffany looks down at her friend and sees that her face has returned to normal. Only now the lips and mouth are mangled beyond belief and gore seeps out. The nausea returns for a second before becoming a savage hunger. Her stomach growls, she becomes light headed, and then her saliva goes into overtime. Drooling heavily she grabs a clean knife and cuts the clothes off her dead friend exposing her naked backside. Starting as the bottom of Ebony’s plump butt cheeks she stabs and carves out chunks. Digging around the fat she attempts to chew muscle, but the task is too much for her and her jaws begin to ache. Spitting out the semi chewed meat she aims for the back. Cutting and slicing the dark meat away like you would a flat turkey, she pulls off pieces of meat and stuffs them into her mouth. The meat is tender and soft making consumption a breeze. It isn’t long before her belly is full and she feels sedated. Lying next to Ebony’s body Tiffany quickly dozes off into a deep sleep. She hasn’t slept this peacefully in a long time.

  Tiffany dreams of another life. She dreams her and Tony are living in a spacious house with a tiny baby to care for and love as much as they love each other. While she breast feeds their child on a rocking chair overlooking a yard filled with colorful flowers he looms over behind her. Standing at 6”3 he has caramel colored skinned and a fit toned body. He’s the kind of brotha you hear black women wanting to get with so their kids come out with “pretty hair”.

  His hand grabs the back of her neck and she looks up at him smiling, but his face is vacant and he looks out to the horizon. Without a word Tony walks off the porch and into the field of flowers. With each step the colors in the flowers fade as they quickly die and slump over making a path for him. Tiffany tries to call to him, but no sound comes. Then, the pain in her breast brings her focus down to her baby. The child’s teeth are long, too long for its small mouth and it gnashes at her breasts tearing through the nipple as if it were paper. Milk stained with blood flows into its mouth and the baby sucks eagerly at the meal. Bolting up out of her dream Tiffany weeps and holds her friend gingerly. She needs to see Tony. He may want to be done with her, but she won’t allow him to just leave. It’s time he started providing for their family.

  What’s left of Ebony’s body is placed in the bathtub. Tiffany cleans herself and gets a change of clothes from Ebony’s closet. A pair of black stretch pants and an old Run DMC shirt will have to do. She then sets off on the road to see Tony at his college. It’s a two hour drive and she’s becoming hungry again. Midway through the trip she hears a soft whimpering. Hoping to keep it under control she attempts to console her baby by rubbing and talking to her stomach.

  “It’s okay, baby. We’re going to see daddy. He’ll take care of us.”

  11:13 pm Tiffany sits in her car outside of Tony’s dorm waiting for him to pull up in his car. Her patience pays off and she sighs when she spots him. He is not driving and he’s not alone. A plump white girl with long black hair follows him closely. She’s wearing a school themed t-shirt with tight jeans carrying books. Tony leads the way carrying only his favorite basketball. Such a gentleman he is. Tiffany hurries up to the duo obviously startling them. Once Tony recognizes her and fear turns to annoyance.

  “Hey sweetie, I’ve been waiting for you forever!” Tiffany exclaims with excitement.

  Tony steps in front of his companion who seems to be quite confused.

  “What are you doing here Tiffany?”

  “I need to speak to you about our baby.” She says frankly.

  “You didn’t tell me you had a kid or a woman you asshole!” The white girl shouts, seemingly wanting to make a scene.

  Rolling his eyes and turning to her he defends himself.

  “She’s old news and I don’t have a kid.” He glares at Tiffany. “Let me take care of this and I’ll call you later, okay?”

  The girl huffs at him and storms off in the opposite direction. “Whatever.”

  Tiffany stares a hole into the girl’s back before bringing her gaze back to Tony.

  “What the fuck are you doing here and what do you mean “our baby”? He demands. “You said you took care of that.”

  Tiffany pouts at him. “I did baby, but something’s wrong and I need your help.”

  Noticing a group of other students looking in their direction Tony ushers Tiffany into the dorm and into his room slamming the door behind him. He stares her down with contempt written all over his face.

  “I thought we agreed having a baby with our whole lives ahead of us was not a good idea. You swore to me you’d handle it. What happened to all that money I gave you?”

  She looks as if he just struck her and tears begin to stream down her face. “I did “handle” it. At least I tried, but it’s back. Everywhere I go I can hear it crying. It made me eat Ebony. It wants its body back. You did this and you have to help me!”

  Tony backs up not believing what he just heard. “Bitch, you are whacked. I dumped you for a reason. I’m gonna call your momma and see if she can’t send someone to pick your crazy ass up.” He reaches into his pocket and produces a cellphone. Turning his back on her he begins dialing numbers. She can’t let him tell anybody she’s here and he’s obviously not going to help. Not willingly anyway. Before he can punch in the fourth digit of the telephone number she grabs a heavy lamp from the desk sitting against the wall. The base is metal and adds a nice weight to it. Holding the lamp in the middle with both hands she raises it over her head and rushes Tony. With as much force as she can muster she brings it down onto the back of Tony’s head. The lamp shatters and he’s brought to his knees. Tony’s dazed and trying to get his footing. Tiffany takes the lamp cord and wraps it several times around his neck. Before he realizes what’s happening she puts all her weight onto his back forcing him down onto his chest and pulls. The cord tightens and cuts off his air. A hacking and gurgling sound escapes but no air comes in. His eyes bulge and the vessels swell and pop. The whites of his eyes are gone totally replaced by red. Another hack brings with it some puke and he twitches violently, but isn’t able to shake her off. Tiffany’s hands are going numb and the gash in her palm has begun to bleed again, but she stays the course. Finally, there’s no more fight
in him and his body goes limp. The hacking stops. She lets the cord go letting his face hit the floor. Gasping for air she searches the room for anything blunt and heavy.

  In the kitchen is a heavy black cast iron skillet. Grabbing it in both hands her tired arms shake as she straddles Tony’s back and begins smashing in the back of his head. Loud thuds make way for sickening cracks as she smashes her way into his skull. Blood and hairy chunks of meat fly in all directions as she continues to crush his head into a squishy bowl. The blows have forced his right eye from the socket, but it barely hangs by the optical nerve. Tired and feeling famished she puts the skillet down and reaches into the mess to pulls out grey matter. The brain proves to be a resilient organ as it doesn’t pull apart that easily and the slimy membrane that conceals it makes grabbing it a chore. With some effort she’s able to get small pieces pulled off of it to swallow whole, but the taste is terrible. Back in the kitchen she grabs a loaf of wheat bread and a couple of beers from the fridge.

  She sits on the bed watching television. She’s mashed as much of Tony’s brain as she could between two slices of bread and eats it slowly, periodically taking a swig of beer to wash it down. The taste grows on her. A high pitched giggling comes from the corner of the room. Tiffany turns to see a little boy around four years old smiling at her. He stands proud with a full afro sitting on his little head.

  “You’re doing good, mommy. I’m almost home. Please bring me home.”

  Tiffany looks out the window to the freeway. It’s going to be a long drive back to her mother’s house.

  Early Morning Sunrise she pulls into her mother’s garage and closes the large shutter door with a remote button attached to her sun visor. Making her way through the kitchen Tiffany peers around into the living room. Her mother sits in the same spot, head back, eyes closed, and snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Her disgustingly huge breasts rises along with her gargantuan belly with each breathe. The sound is sickening as you can hear the phlegm being gargled as if it were mouth wash. Tiffany shakes her head and goes into her bedroom where she lays down. The crying has begun again. Soft whimpers mixed with giggling echo in the back of her head. She turns on the radio to drown out the sounds. The rap music blaring out the speakers help a lot, although, she can still hear crying. It’s like a baby day care has been dumped into her head. Several different cries fight for attention while several more giggle maliciously. A slight cramp twinges through her lower stomach. Slightly odd because her cycle isn’t due for another couple of weeks or maybe the pregnancy and abortion threw that off too. Just then her vagina tightens as if forced into a vice grip causing her knees to buckle. The cramp comes again only this time tens time stronger. The pressure simultaneously pushes through her vagina and uterus hardening her stomach like brick.