Free After the Bite by David Lovato, Seth Thomas Page B

while. Not long after he ’d settled down, the conductor came by with a hole punch and smiled as he approached Elliot.
    “Sir, may I please see your ticket?” The man ’s mustache twitched a little as he spoke, with his hand outstretched. Elliot nodded and gave his ticket to the conductor, who punched a hole in it and passed it back to Elliot.
    “Thank you, sir. We will be departing shortly. I do hope you enjoy the ride.” The older gentleman grinned, and there was a small glint of cheer in his eye that bothered Elliot just a little bit, but he smiled back and gave a simple “Thank you.”
    The conductor called over a loud speaker for everyone to board, and a few minutes later the wheels when the train started to move down the tracks. Between strokes of his pencils on the paper Elliot heard the sound of a squeaky trolley, and the sweet alluring voice of the stewardess running it. Eventually she made her way to Elliot, who looked up from his drawing and smiled. The woman’s face had a hint of familiarity to it; he thought she looked similar to Beth, but felt too embarrassed to tell the stewardess.
    “Sir, can I interest you in something from the trolley?”
    Elliot marveled at the near infinite selection of food and drink on the two shelves of the bronze-plated cart. He ordered a beer and a submarine sandwich with turkey and lettuce. The woman walked past Elliot, asking the people behind him if they fancied something. Elliot’s attention returned to his dark but colorful-skied city as the world outside passed him by.
    It was not long before the quiet chatter of the passengers and the steadfast clacking of the wheels rolling down the tracks lulled Elliot to sleep. He had set his pencils away, covered his drawings, and leaned back in his seat.
    S oon Elliot woke from his nap and looked out the large window next to him. It was dark out, and the world was illuminated by lightning strikes every few seconds. Heavy winds blew the trees, it was pouring, and the lights on the train were flickering. Screams were beginning to pierce the air.
    Elliot looked around . The people that once sat in the seat to his left were nothing but bloody masses of flesh and organs, and there were several bloody handprints on the window. Above the seat was a handrail, and from it hung human entrails. They swung side to side as the train took a strong curve.
    “What the fuck ?”
    Elliot nearly vomited when he saw these horrific images, and even when he looked away he could not remove them from his mind. Elliot saw that almost every surface had blood smeared on it. The train appeared to be empty, save for the stewardess from before. She was walking calmly up the aisle with her trolley, looking from side to side at the bloody mess with a sickeningly blithe look on her face. Elliot wanted to get up and run away, but his feet were stuck in the train floor. It was like pulling out of quicksand, and he made no progress as the woman drew closer and closer.
    “I will take that trash if you are finished, sir.” The stewardess pointed to the sandwich wrapper in Elliot’s lap. He handed it to her with shaky hands and looked at the apron she was wearing. It was splattered with blood, and then he looked at her once auburn hair, but it was not bouncing and pretty anymore; it was flat and dark, the color of Death’s robe, and ragged. She continued to smile as she tossed the trash into a bag hanging from the trolley.
    “Is there anything else I can get you , sir?” She pursed her lips for a moment, and then flashed another smile, this time with two gleaming rows of pointed teeth. She waited for an answer, but Elliot was frozen with fear. He could not move even as she opened her mouth wide, wider than any human should be able to, lurched forward, and clamped her mouth down on his side. A huge section of his skin, muscle, and inner organs came out in the woman’s mouth and blood poured like a faucet as Elliot fell limp against the window.
    He breathed