In a Delta 88 by a moon lit lake Ronnie flicked the side of a plastic needle filled to the brim. For a moment he thought of his kids, his daughter was a straight A student and a proud member of the swim team at her high school. His son had just started kindergarten and had already made friends. It was like their mother had told him, they're better off without you.

She had said other things that night, mostly obscenities that he couldn't really respond to, but when she asked him how long he'd been cheated on them with a needle, he told her it wasn't that long. That lie must've been worse than the truth, because she kicked him out of the house she bought with tears in her eyes. Maybe if he went back and told her that he'd started in high school, then the truth would set him free. The truth that he needed help, maybe she would let him go to rehab, and they could smooth things over. Go back to the happy life they had made. It wouldn't be the same though, not for him, so he decided to have just one more hit.

He shot a squirt out onto the dash because he'd heard that would remove air bubbles. Just after the sting, but right before the sweet release of his favorite drug he saw it.

A humanoid form with a mass of tentacles around the torso instead of arms and a cluster of crustaceans over it's otherwise smooth face. The only other feature on it's blueish head was a row of shark teeth that gleamed in the moonlight.

A heavy hand shifted gears a little too far. Three slimy green claws tore all of the way through the handle on the inside of his car and nicked his arm as he passed by the creature.

Tires splashed into the lake, but the junky didn't notice. The shifting of the waves around blended with the feel of the leather seats for the sensation of a water bed. Water rippled over the windshield and bright colors danced through the waves like a psychedelic movie. The door wouldn't open. The manual lever for the window bulges in from the claw mark.

Ronnie was too high to do anything, but enjoy his lakeside paradise. It was the best seat in the house to witness an entire swarm of monsters tear into his Delta and rend flesh from his body. Due to the high, it was less painful at first, but then he never passed out from the pain of tentacles ripping the skin from his arms. He was very much alive as his skeleton was exposed.

One of the creatures made it into the car and the barnacles on its face opened up. Several had eyes hiding inside, like the pearls in a clam shell. Others held small circles of teeth and one large circle began to feast.

Ronnie was still awake, still alive, but his muscles were as gone as his face. All he could do was watch and scream into the water as the pain finally set in.

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