"In The Belly of The Beast"

I almost don't want to speak for fear it will ruin the mood, but it seems only polite.
"Hey," I say.
"Hm?" comes the response from the gloom.
"Just saying 'Hi'," I say.
"Oh," says the voice. "Right. Hello."
We float in silence for a minute. I'm not sure if decorum requires me to continue to conversation, not having been in this situation before.
I'm about to ask him his name, just for the sake of propriety, when he relieves me of the burden.
"I'm Jason," he says.
"I'm Ed," I say.
After a few more seconds of quiet, I'm really not sure whose turn it is to speak.
"Um," Jason noises.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"Can you...er...can you feel your legs?" he asks.
I take a moment to try wiggling my toes. It feels like they're there.
"I think so," I say. "Why? Can't you?"
"Not really," he says. "I'm sure I had them when I came in, though."
"Oh," I say, and reach one of my stumps down to check my own.
"My thighs are still there," I say, and then probe further. "...nothing below the knee, though. Weird."
"Here," Jason says. "Just a second."
I hear some erratic splashing noises from the direction of Jason's voice, and then some irregular breathing.
"Can you see me?" I hear Jason ask, a little closer now.
I peer into the darkness.
"Sort of," I say. "An outline, maybe."
"I just," Jason gasps, and then begins what I think is a coughing fit.
I wait until he finishes.
"I just wanted to see if you could check my legs," he finally says. "Its teeth got both my arms."
"Ah," I say, and then, hoping to empathize, "My hands are pretty much gone."
There is a moment of quiet, and I hear a muffled scream. From outside, probably.
"Should we be more upset about this?" Jason asks. "I mean, losing body parts is serious trauma."
"Yeah," I say. "I'm not even in pain. Probably the best I've felt in years."
Something outside shifts, and I finally begin to make out Jason as he floats closer. Most of his skin and hair has dissolved, so he looks like an armless bust composed entirely of red meat.
"It's probably the stomach acid," he says, his meat mouth opening and closing raggedly. "Or the air in here. Sedates...uh...uh...ubblh"
I watch him slowly tilt to one side as he speaks, his body doing a half rotation in the fluid until only his legs are visible. I can see them flailing awkwardly, pretty much intact. Only the feet up to the ankles are gone.
"Jason!" I yell, hoping the acid hasn't burned through his eardrums yet. "You've still got them! You've still got your legs!"
Eventually the kicking settles into twitching, and I watch as Jason's remains gradually sink beneath the surface.
After a few minutes, I try poking at my face with my stumps in an attempt to determine if I still have skin. Just about when I've convinced myself I might still have a nose, I hear a loud splash from the other side of the stomach.
I float silently in the ripples for a while, rocking gently into the stomach lining. I'm pretty sure my left hip comes loose on one of the impacts.
"Hey," comes a voice in the distance.
"Hm?" I noise.
"Just saying 'Hi'," says the voice.
"Oh," I say. "Right. Hello."
I feel I should be reminded of something, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it is.
"I'm Ed," I say.

Comments

[Q]

Do you have these experiences often?

[Gretchen]

Dean, that kind of gave me the wiggins.

[MAYday]

That gave me the wiggins, too. That is, if I knew what the wiggins was...

[Rachael]

Have you never seen Buffy? All who have know what it is to have a wiggins. It is similar to having the willies; a sensation that all is not right with your personal world.

[Burning]

Hi, I'm Burning. Just saying 'Hi'. Can you do me a favor? Can you just come this way a bit to check and see if my legs are still there. Thanks.

[clairedelune]

wow. that is so twisted. really reminds me of the kinds of stories my friend writes... she wrote this amazing story where people were kept in cages by other giant people, and were used for food. they were supposed to be like chickens. anyways, it was a really good story though.