Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #12 March 2015 | Page 33

Part Eight: New Friend
The Vuur’s grip steadily tightened as his speech went
on and on. Blood was rushing in Margo’s head and
hands. She knew that when the speech ended, so
would her life. The pain shooting through her hands
and neck, though great, paled in comparison to the
torture of hearing him talk and not being able to roll
her eyes:
“… and I found the third one in an artist colony. I
always thought I was rather good at art. After all what
is more artistic than a masterpiece made from the very
subject, and then tasting it? It gives a special kind of
rush, you know? Watching someone’s quiet terror as
you make their insides turn themselves into mush and
drink them. Though I must say, simply getting to the
heart of things is nice too.”
“So, you going to eat me, or absorb me?” Margo tried
to break the Vuur’s grip.
“I was thinking of doing both.” The Vuur smiled.
“Any last words?”
Margo suddenly saw something that made her smirk.
“Yes.”
Curious, the Vuur let her speak, even lifted her up
to hear better. Margo spoke as loudly as her almost
crushed throat would allow. “Next time, aim for the
head.” A loud bang sounded. The Vuur dropped Margo
on the floor. His wound started to sizzle. The Vuur
turned around and looked at Jake standing just a step
away, looking triumphant, g ո