miles and the meat forest

==><=== ''THIS STORY CONTAINS:'' * (text-style:"bold","underline")[Body horror] * (text-style:"bold","underline")[Weed (kind of a main plot point)] * (text-style:"bold","underline")[Very fast moving text] if any of this makes you want to leave, i don't mind. know your boundaries, 'n all that. alright. we ready? cool. (text-colour:#8c1212)[''[[MILES: ENTER THE FOREST]]'']

A sigh leaves you, as you look down at your hands. There is a blunt placed between the index and middle fingers of your right hand, but it looks.. strange. There's a certain (text-colour:#a30f0f)[''crimson tint'' ]to the visible contents of it. You are... tired. You have been tired. What do you do? [[look around you]] [[remember a time where you weren't tired]] [[light the blunt|light]]

You look around the small apartment you call "home", because you can't call this place //home//, not yet. Boxes of your things are scattered around, and a silver hardshell suitcase is tucked in the corner, close to your fridge. You can hear small chirping coming from down your hallway, to the left. ''"Alright, Miles, on your feet..."'' You slide off of the couch, onto the floor. You get off the floor, taking a deep breath in. [[light it up|light]] (unless: (visited: "suitcase"))[[[look inside the suitcase|suitcase]]] (if: (visited: "suitcase"))[There's not much in your suitcase, besides your clothing. You picked up your gloves, though!] (unless: (visited: "combs"))[[[investigate the noise|combs]]] (if: (visited: "combs"))[Combs is safe and sound in your bedroom, but hopefully not stuck in another cardboard box.] (unless: (visited: "door"))[[[look in the hallway|door]]] (if: (visited: "door"))[The hallway is empty and quiet. You are alone.] (unless: (visited: "fridge"))[[[check the fridge|fridge]]] (if: (visited: "fridge"))[... You need to go grocery shopping soon.] (unless: (visited: "m1"))[[[enter the bathroom|bathroom]] ] (if: (visited: "m1"))[Shadows swirl and curl. The bathroom door is locked.]

No wasting time. No //more// wasting time. You're in this position for a reason, this place, with this oddly colored joint in your hand. ''Joe'' put it under your sink, but he said it was from ''Caria''. So, at this point, you're just hoping(cycling-link: " for the best"," for the worst"," for something"," for anything"," to feel something"," to forget", ""). You sit down on your couch, pulling out the lighter you carry on you. Your father's. You think about the choices that lead you to this situation. Is he proud of you? Ashamed? You don't know, and you don't think you'll ever know, or want to. A sinking feeling in your gut, nevertheless. [[flick. click. light. into the unknown i go.|mlunt time]]

You try. You try your hardest, but you can't think of a time in recent memory where you weren't so fatigued, weren't so drained of energy. Concerning. //"What a waste of time."//, you think to yourself. [[look around you]] [[just get it over with|light]]

You move towards the suitcase. You crouch down, opening it. //Click.// Suitcase opened. You lift the cover to reveal... My god... Your clothes. This is just your clothes. You keep forgetting to buy a dresser, or a closet, or... something to hold your apparel that isn't a damn suitcase. Siiigh. But, I mean, while you're here, might as well put your gloves on. A little hard to do when you've got weed of a somewhat unknown origin is in your hands, but you manage. [[sweet. back to standing like an idiot.|look around you]]

Your fridge. You don't feel like opening the door, so you look through the plexiglass window-door. A windoor, if you will. There's remnants of what //should// have been a stash of ice cream for a particularly depressed night in, but ''Joe'' just had to go and eat it all, huh? You make a mental note to get more ice cream. [[grocery shopping is a pain.|look around you]]

You open your front door, leaning outside. Nobody's out here. .. Damn. [[back inside, it's cold out here.|look around you]]

You have a feeling you know what the sound's coming from, but it wouldn't hurt to check. You unlock and open the door to your left, and you enter. Your bedroom. Untouched, as in "nobody has slept here". It is //full// of more cardboard boxes. Speaking of which... ''Aha!'' Yes, just as you suspected. ''Combs'', your beloved moff, is upside down in a very tall cardboard box, and can't figure out how to leave. You pet Combs, causing the moff to start purring. You feel a little better, but put them down. However, there's a reason they're in here. You don't want them to be affected by your plans. [[how cute. back to the living room, though.|look around you]]

The effects of your strange little joint start to kick in. Leaning back into the couch, you decide to turn off your NIC, only for a little bit. Murmuring nonsensical nothings to yourself, you feel... sleepy. Smoke trails from your mouth as you summon a pair of translucent hands to grab a weighted blanket, draping it across your lethargic body. //Thump. Thump. Thump.// Your heart, snug inside your ribcage. You feel the beats slowing, as you lie back, eyelids starting to close. ''you're tired, miles, why not just... take a bit of a nap for a minute. you'll be fine.'' You take the last of your energy to take the fucked-up roll of plants out of your mouth, extinguishing it. You feel... You feel... ''(text-colour:red)+(text-style:"rumble")[[Warm.]]''

//Creaaak.// The bathroom door opens, and you shuffle in. Bare feet touch cold tile. Oof. What do you do? [[go back out|look around you]] [[look in the mirror|m1]]

... There's not much reason to do so. [[look in the mirror|m2]]

You're trying. You're really trying. [[just a little bit harder, please?|m3]]

. . . (after: 2s) [You feel like... With all of your might, all of your energy, you still can't pull yourself to look at you. [[come on, miles, you can do this.|m4]]]

... Maybe save it for later. [[MILES: sigh.|look around you]]

(text-colour:red)+(text-style:"rumble")[''//DUENDE, AWAKEN. DO YOU HEAR IT? YOUR HEART, THE CONSTANTLY PUMPING ENGINE? DO YOU FEEL IT? YOUR BODY'S COURSES RUNNING? DO YOU TASTE IT? THE SALTY SWEET LIQUID NURTURING YOU? DO YOU SEE IT? A FOREST OF RED? DO YOU SMELL IT? THE IRON SURROUNDING YOU? RISE FROM THE BATH, DUENDE, AND //[[ENTER THE FOREST OF FLESH|entry]].'']

Surface tension broken, and you emerge. It is warm. You are warm. There is a steady ''(text-colour:#8e2e2e)[(text-style:"blink")[BEAT]]'' that you feel deep within you. You kick what you //think// are your feet, and as you progress, you begin to feel... different? Different. You can't put your finger on it, but something's ''changed'' within you. ... Where are your fingers, anyway? [[landfall]]

It is... slick. That's the only word you can use to describe... whatever the ''//fuck//'' you're stepping on here. You cannot see your body, but you feel a lot, um... shorter. You can't feel your footsteps, it just feels like gliding. Like Caria's gliding, but worse to experience. So, so much worse to experience. You look above you, and see, well, a lot of things. There's a fuck-off huge hill all the way infront of you, and you feel a strange pulse. ''THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.'' It shakes the ground yet nothing moves. You don't hear anything except for distant creaks and pops, and a ever-present gurgling noise in the distance. You look around you, and you see ''trees made of bone, alveoli, and blood vessels''. Fucking //weird//. Okay. With your situation assessed... You were thinking about checking out the gurgling, but... (text-color:red)+(text-style:"rumble")[''//THE HEART, DUENDE. FOLLOW THE HEART.//''] You want to say something, like a stupid snarky comeback, but you can't exactly feel where your mouth is, nevertheless the rest of your organs. Weren't you so aware of them a bit ago? [[fuck, i guess i gotta follow it|heart]]

You make your way over to the giant hill. And you start rolling... but at this point, you're a little concerned you mean that literally. You've been trying to look behind you, to hear, but... you can't, for some reason. However, if you come across your previous tracks, there's... a sort of grime. It's an ooze, you know that for sure. But you feel like you're gonna freak the fuck out if you gain some understanding of this situation, so you're not gonna ask. Okay. Up the hill you go. You reach the top, and... Oh my god that creepy fucking voice was being serious. There //is// a heart, and you are [staring directly at it.]<heart| (text-colour:#8e2e2e)[(click: "staring directly at it.")+(replace:?heart)[''[[compelled to go further. Beyond the heart, beside it, under it.]]'']] (text-colour:red)+(text-style:"rumble")[''//[[WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, DUENDE?]]//'']

''//MOVE. TOWARDS. THE. (text-colour:red)+(text-style:"rumble")[[PIT]].//''

Falling. You're falling. Rather, sliding. You slide (text-rotate-z:5)[all] (text-rotate-x:329)+(text-rotate-z:5)[the] (text-rotate-x:329)+(text-rotate-z:356)[way] [[down]]

Landfall, once more. A normal person couldn't see in this dark. However, you are //not// a normal person. You are //supposed// to be Miles Duende, light manipulator, but you are currently (text-color:#8e2e2e)[(text-style:"smear","fidget")[''DUENDE, the AMORPHOUS BLOB OF VISCERA'']]. So, all things considered, you aren't doing too hot, except in the context of body heat. Dear //god//, you're warm. Warmer than your usual human self. So. Now, the question's shifted from (text-style:"rumble")["THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"] to (text-style:"shudder")["What the fuck am I?"] to (text-style:"smear")["... How do I make any of this stop?"] [[Press onwards?|deep dark]]

Now you've hit the inverse bell curve. The complete bottom of this pit. And it's filled with blood. And you can tell it's blood. The viscosity, the color, the nauseating iron smell... God, there's so much blood. [ (text-colour:red)+(text-style:"rumble")[SWIM] ]<txt| (link: "What? //Really//?")[ (replace:?txt)[ [... [[Okay, then.|swim]]] ] ]

Despite every warning sign and desperate cry to "stop" from what you think to be the rational part of whatever your mind is now, that weird fucked up voice does make a good point. And, despite the fact that you're //pretty// sure you don't actually need to breathe now, you hold your breath, and start to kick, moving downwards. You squeeze and morph to move through a tunnel, but then, you stop. (text-size: 1.2)+(text-color:red)+(text-style:"emboss","rumble")[[The tunnel's doing the work for you.|squeeze]]

You hit the other side of the tunnel, and- (text-size: 2)+(text-color:#8e2e2e)[(text-style:"shadow","rumble")[WHAT THE GENUINE FUCK IS THAT?]] You can't even really... describe what you're seeing here. If you had to, it's like... There's a certain story known as "Enigma Viscera Hole Federal Estate", and something within that work known as the "Harlequin Slurry". What lies before you is like a version of the Harlequin Slurry, except it's not a bunch of god damned clowns, it's ''you''. ... Not //exactly// you, though. Who you were. You stare down your fucked up clone (enchant: ?NO, (text-size: 1.5)+(text-color:#8e2e2e)+(text-style:"shudder")) (link-reveal:"and... ")[|NO>[IT'S FUCKING LOOKING BACK. OH GOD OH GOD OH FUCK OH //FUCK//.]] (click: "LOOKING")+(text-color:#8e2e2e)[[[MAKE A GOD DAMNED MAD DASH OUT OF HERE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT YOU HOLD DEAR|RUN!]]]

(text-size:1.2)+(text-color:#8e2e2e)[''//GET THE FUCK AWAY GET THE FUCK AWAY GET THE FUCK AWAY//''] You try to scramble back up, but sudden dread and horror fills your small pitiful body as you realize that //the tunnel was a one-way trip.// So. You are... stuck here.. with this lovecraftian abomina- (text-color:red)+(text-style:"rumble")[FACE ME, DUENDE] ... Oh. Oh //no//. You involuntarily turn around, facing the... the... Whatever singular word you can use to describe this thing without potentially angering it. (text-color:red)+(text-style:"rumble")[SPEAK, DUENDE] You pause, and think about it. You can't talk! You don't have a mouth! (text-color:red)+(text-style:"rumble")[''SPEAK.''] ... You feel something ripping open. It //''hurts''//. It hurts so much, but, somehow, you manage to- (text-colour:#d60a0a)+(text-size:1.4)+(text-style:"shudder")["AEAEIAEAEIAIEAUEIEAUEIXOAXOXOAXOXOAAHOOAAHOOIXIIOIXIIOI"] That's the best verbal way to describe whatever the //fuck// just came out of your "mouth". God, that felt awful. The creature looks at you, and the blood pool around you starts to (text-style:"rumble")+(text-color:red)[shake]. [[... Uh?|EARTH'S MAW]]

Your surroundings start going haywire, as the ground keeps rumbling, and something begins to open up. (text-size:2)+(text-color:red)[''LIGHT.''] You look upwards, [[and-]]

(text-style:"blurrier")["... Miles?"] (text-style:"blurrier")["Miles!"] (text-style:"blur")["Miles Duende, for the love of god, if you don't wake up-"] (text-style:"blur")[//A sigh.//] "For christ's sake, Miles, get the fuck up off the couch." You wake up, and look down at your hands. A very concerned ''(text-colour:yellow)[Tien Solano]'' //(your cousin)// is looking at you with disdain. She sighs, seeing that you're up, and walks out, mumbling something about alarms. (text-style:"underline")[''//What the fuck was any of that?//''] (text-size:1.3)[//Fin.//]