As I sit here, waiting for dinner, overwhelming regret flooded my mind. I'm doing the very same thing that got me in this situation. I'm trusting people again. And like always, it will always bites me back in the ass.
I went to the kitchen and saw Phil spicing up his casserole. I am barefooted so he didn't hear me come in.
Like a waking snake, Uno appeared behind me. It sprang in the air, hungry for flesh and blood. In one stroke, the spiked tentacle stabbed Phil in the throat. His screams drowned in blood. He turned around and looked at me in the eye. Fear is in there. A primordial emotion for the unknown. He tried to pull away the tentacle but it won't budge. Uno, despite hungry, was strong. Especially so when it's on a spree.
In an instant, Uno strung like string. A steady beat from within the tendon and muscles. The once bony Spike at end of the tentacle morphed into that of a mouth. While it was still lodge inside his throat, the mouth sucked everything within its vicinity. The blood, muscle, bone, everything. I absorbed what Uno ate.
As Phil stare at me with fading vision. The last sight he could see is the face of a Syrian boy turning into his. Within his mind, I could listen to his last thought.
"Why?" he said.
"Because I knew you're going to betray me sooner or later." I said to the remaining bits of his corpse.
Well, I was right sort of. As I absorbed his physical appearance, I also gained his memories and emotions. Thought of betrayal swirled inside his mind. He was afraid of me and that fear always leads to stupid decisions. It's too bad that he was a nice kid. He came from an abusive household, became an orphan and lived the remainders of his life in this town. And now, his life ended and continued inside me. Among the millions of DNA stored inside of me.
In front of me was the half finished casserole Phil was making. Luckily, Uno did not make a huge mess of killing Phil. With Phil's memories, I finished cooking his casserole. Suffice to say, his cooking quite palatable. The added cardamom carried the quality of the dish.
After eating, I sprawled on the couch and thought of things I could do. Truth to be told, Phil wasn't a satisfying meal. His body barely got any meat in it. I need to eat more before I could leave this town.
Within the confines of Phil's mind, there's a lot of candidates. This town, the town of Jerry, is a cesspit of criminals and addicts. Thugs roam the street and that's why there's barely any legit businesses in the town. In the middle of the town was a club of sorts where the rich and elite do their illicit activities. Phil works there when he's not working at the next town. I suppose I could go there, impersonate someone and hide within the criminal underworld.
Another thing that popped within Phil's mind is his friend Tim from the next town. He's a stout man with even stouter connections. Eating him would at least bring half my tentacles back. And impersonating him would give me access to the upper echelons of society. See if B.E.G. could reach me up there.
As I sit here, breathing in my barely working lungs, I think. I think of what I'm going to do next.