frogs in her pocket

8/2/2019 Frogs in Her Pocket

1/14

Girl, Unholy

Jamie Ott


2/14

Hunger Pangs

She ran up the small hill of the green prairie. Every square inch was

covered by white clovers. They were excellent for snacking or

blowing their swab tops into flurries. The roots were thicker thanmost, green, and had a refreshing sweet and salty taste.

Emily plopped down on a particularly dense patch. Lying on

her back, she looked to her right and snapped the clover of choice.

Delighted, she chewed the root, taking down drops of moisture.

It had been a long winter. She didnt think shed be allowed

out to play ever again.

RRRrrrrearrrrr

A deep, vibrato issued from her pocket.

Emily hiccoughed and tears rose to her eyes.

She sighed.

The clouds gleamed. One that looked like a blanket moved

by quicker than others; it had a large donut hole in the middle, andthe edges looked flaky and disrupted.

CRrrrrroak!

Ahuh, ahuh, she sniffled.

The pocket of her sundress wiggled as it tried to crawl out.


3/14

She didnt want todo it but the feel of claws in her stomach

was getting harder to ignore.

Her face was now drenched. Salt leaked through the corners

of her mouth and traveled to her tongue.

She wiped her eyes and reopened them. The sky gleamed

like glass, and it looked so cold up there.

RRRRREEEAR!

God!

She wished it would be quiet. Every noise it made agitated

her, making her feel worse. Did it have to make her feel any more

guilt than she already did?

Finally, sick of it trying to escape, she pulled the little

greenish tree frog from her pocket. They were abundant in that area

at that time of year. From green to bluish, they had large brown

spots on their backs and were, usually, no bigger than a tangerine.

It looked back at her with its little beady eyes.

She kissed its mouth.

Reeear!

She licked its belly, which had a lovely earthen taste.

Gently, she put her mouth around its little hind leg.

It felt funny, its little webbed foot, flicking lightly at the

roof of her mouth.

Crooak!


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She positioned her teeth at the joint of its thigh and bit down.

REEEEEEEAAAR!!!!

The frog slapped its little feet on her face as she pulled theleg out, and chewed around the spikey bone.

She pulled the bone from her mouth. The leg had a chewy

texture with an essence of dirt, almost. Brownish water mixed with

blood ran down her arm, which she licked up.

Not wanting to prolong the frogs pain, she put its head in

her mouth. It protested by pressing its little fore feet against her jaw.

When shed done, she prayed to the lord, asking for

forgiveness, just like her mother told her to do when taking a meal.

~~~

As a child, shed been able to deal by stealing off with

animals, now and again. Lately, she felt powerless against her ever

growing hunger.

She stood at the door her fathersroom, watching his deeply

slumbered girlfriend. He forgot to shut it, and the sight of her

exposed waist through the crack held her.

Emily!

She sighed, turned and went downstairs. Dad was dressed

and about to leave.

Yeah?


5/14

Im going to work. Dont bother Melissa. Breakfast is in the

kitchen.

Okay, love you.

You, too, he saidas he closed the front door.

She went into the kitchen and stood over the stove. Eggs and

bacon smelled good, but what smelled really lovely was upstairs and

in bed.

Just like always, she pulled one of Daddys large Henkel

knives. A cook always had the best, he told her. He always kept

them sharp, too.

Emily walked up the stairs, across the landing, back to the

cracked door. Now, she lay on her back. Her belly was exposedupward.

A loud snore rent the air.

How much would Dad miss his new girlfriend?

Gently, she pushed open the door.

She had a long lean physique. Her arms were golden, yet her

belly was white and pasty.

Emily breathed in deep. The scent of her skin made her

stomach rumble.

She tip toed over.


6/14

Slowly, she bent over until her face was less than an inch

from her belly. Once more, she breathed in deep, and then gently

rested her lips on her skin.

Thinking a hard quick down pelt would make it over fast,she raised the knife straight up to her arms total length.

Who cares about the mess? She had eight hours to figure it

out; eight hours until Dad would get home.

Melissa suddenly rolled over.

Emily jumped and dropped the knife on the bed, missing herby inches.

Quickly, she swiped the knife off the sheet and hid it behind

her back.

Melissaseyes opened.

What are you doing in here?

Nothing, Emily said, and walked out, backwards.

~Narrative ~

Dad didnt know about her condition, and she was

determined to keep it that way. He was a good guy. She couldnt

bear to disappoint him. Mom told her, Keep your secret and

youll live.

The city was sleepy. No tourists that time of year. Thismade hunting easier, yet harder. On one hand, you dont have to


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worry about being seen; on the other, you have to look harderfor the perfect prey. You dont want to kill someone wholl be

missed, but you also dont want to eat diseased flesh, like a

homeless body that has been starved or abused with alcohol orother substances.

City lights streaked orange up and down the street. The skywas almost black.

Emilys shoes were soft, flat nubuck. They didnt make

clopping noises, so it was unlikely that anyone would hear hersneak up behind them.

She always wore close fitting leggings and a sweater withgloves, so there wouldnt be any flapping or rustling of clothes in

the wind, or from walking too fast and the fabric rubbingtogether.

Across her eyes, dark brown tinted prescription-lesseyeglasses to hide their expression. On her head, her hair was in atight bun with a black beanie. No one would know, at first, that

she was a girl.An image, from earlier that night, of her father crossed her

mind. In his tee shirt and sweats, drinking a mug of tea andlooking at her with concern. Her behavior baffled him. Just likeyour mother, hed say. But he was trusting and never pressured

her. She was a good girl, though, so why should he?


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Mom always told her to kill carefully and quickly, andalways deservedly. But it was hard to stick by these rules, especiallywhen youve got a family to hide your secret from. Being careful

requires methodology; methodology requires slow, patient time.

As a result, Dad had already caught her twice. Now, therewere bars on her window. He even threatened to send her tomilitary school if she didnt behave.

That

s why tourist season, despite an increased likelihoodof being seen while feeding, was always the best. You get plenty ofthis not so good-not so bad kind, and mom said to kill only thebad. Sure, she could find better food, even now, but it wouldrequire breaking and entering, which she wouldnt do anymore.

She just wasnt a good burglar, and always left somethingbehind: a fiber, a strand of hair, or got hurt in the struggle andalmost lost blood. And in todays world of technology, who

knows what microscopic DNA she was leaving behind.

And who knows what theyd find in her blood?

So unfortunately, tonights supwould be the equivalent ofcanned food.

And there he was, drunk and diabetic, lying on a piece ofcardboard and smelling like sewage.


9/14

~~~

Dad invited his new girlfriend over for dinner. He reallyliked her. She heard it every time he said her name: his heartpicking up a beat, a smile trying to pull at the corners of hismouth.

I know you dont like her, honey, but shes a good

person.

Yes, Dad. Ill try to be nicer to her.

But naturally, it wasnt that she didnt ever like Dads

girlfriends, except one; it was trying to control the hunger thatmade her foul. Try being really hungry and staring at a hot andloaded pizza for an entire hour and youll see what I mean.

She grabbed the Henkel butcher knife. It really was herfavorite. It sharpened well, sawed through child-sized joints andcould bash bone into large, but easily hidden, bits. It was designedspecifically for sectioning bigger pieces of meat, with a Grantonedge, stainless steel handle, and the finest, toughest heel of any

knife shed ever used.

From the counter, she pulled the tomato. She knew theknife was not made for this sort of cutting, but she just loved theway it felt.

The tomato made a light squishing noise as the bladepressed down and severed between it.


10/14

Thank you so much, sweetie, said Dad as he pulled a salad

bowel from the cabinet. That looks great.

He set the bowel down, next to her tomatoes and beganwashing the Iceberg lettuce.

She moved the tomatoes aside and rammed the butchers

knife through the lettuce without much thought. A searingsensation, blasted up through her hand and forearm, making herlet go of the lettuce half.

AAAAhhh!!

Emily dropped the knife and held up her finger. A deep,inch long cut spread from just above her forefingers knuckle,

down to the tip.

Dad spun around. Seeing the blood run, copiously, hegrabbed a kitchen towel and wrapped it around her hand.

I told you not to use that knife, Emily!

He dragged her over to the sink.

Dad, Im fine.

No, youre not.

He turned the water on and removed the towel. Blood anda thick clear liquid dripped into the sink. Dad said she just had a

high amount of hemoglobin, but she knew that wasnt it at all.


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12/14

The floor vibrated and sounds boomed out, as if someonestomped around in Dads room.

Dad?

The screaming stopped; the door vibrated. A sound, verysimilar to when she pulled bones from sockets, was heard.

She ran down the hall and opened the door.

Dad!

He looked at her. His face and body covered in blood. Onthe bed, she lay with her torso ripped out. Next to her displayedribcage, her intestines lay in a pile.

In his eyes, she saw shock at what hed just done.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god

Dad, just calm down. Why did you do this?

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god

A knock came at the door.

Just stay here!

Dad didnt hear her, though, and kept repeatingto himself,

oh mygod.


13/14

Downstairs, it was the neighbor, Kent.

Is everything okay? he asked sounding urgent.

Everythings fine! What was that screaming? Emily asked,trying to sound totally unaware.

I dont know! I thought it came from here!

Nope, and I dont know where it came from.

Well, youre alright.Is your dad okay?

Yeah, were fine.

Well, alright. Have a good night.

He turned and walked off.

It was real mess, cleaning up after Dad. You have tobutcher a person in a certain in order to make the least mess. She

had it down to a science. No fluoroscope would catch a drop ofblood in her room, because she always gutted them carefully sothat the blood would run back into their cavities.

What are we gonna do with her things? Dad asked.

Ialready took care of them.


14/14

What?

Dont worry about it. Dad, youve never done this

before?

What do you mean?Of course, I havent done thisbefore. Im not crazy.

Just hungry?

Well, yeah.

frogs in her pocket

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