Alastor and Rosie strolled arm in arm after Rosie finished
going to an Overlord meeting.
“Hey Alastor,” said Rosie turning to him. “Have you ever
considered joining my exclusive club of socialites?”
“No, I haven’t…but do entertain me.”
“It’s mainly me and my group of ladies. We meet up for tea
and coffee at this nice café not too far from here. We discuss the latest news,
perhaps exchange jewelry or deserts.”
“Sounds lovely, my dear.”
“Oh and here’s the best part. My group and I have…exquisite
tastes when it comes to meals. And I’ve heard about you and your slaughters.”
Alastor couldn’t help but puff up his chest in pride. “I was
also a very skilled hunter in my other life. I’ve made many meals including
jambalaya with venison in it. It is my favorite.”
A grin of sharp teeth stretched across Rosie’s pale face, her
black eyes shining. “Have you ever considered eating the flesh of your victims?”
Alastor’s stomach growled at the thought. “I had a feeling
that something was missing after I killed all those men as a human. I’ve hunted
and ate deer and game many times. Perhaps I was too unsure about doing the same
to other humans.”
Rosie laughed. “No restrictions now, though. This is Hell.
Feel free to eat whatever…and whomever you’d like.”
Rosie handed him a blue arm of a nearby dead demon. Alastor
maneuvered it into his mouth and sliced it to bits with several noisy
bites. The sharp fangs effortlessly tore
through the muscle and bone. The tangy taste of blood and juicy meat filled his
mouth before he swallowed.
“That was quite tasty,” he remarked, licking his lips.
Alastor then realized something extraordinary: there were countless demons
roaming around in Hell. It was as if Hell had decided to provide him with an
all-you-can-eat buffet. Not only would he have more meat to eat, but being a
cannibal would also help with his fearsome reputation. Cannibalism was
considered one of the worst taboos to do on Earth.
Why not add another sin to his list?
Alastor bowed and kissed Rosie on her hand in thanks. “Even
in death, I learn something new every day. I’d be honored to join you.”
Rosie introduced Alastor to her group of friends: a bunch of
demon women dressed in fancy Victorian dresses of many colors and round ladies’
hats on their heads. Violet, Lavender, and Poppy were some of their names. For
a brief moment, Alastor felt like he was back in his time period on Earth. He
ate demon meat to his heart’s content. Hell-Born or sinner, raw or cooked, it
didn’t matter. He used the flesh and the sinner’s hearts in his jambalaya
recipes. As the sinners had previously been human like Alastor used to be, he
was now a cannibal.
The thought of someday tasting actual humans in the living
world made his mouth water more.
On Sunday mornings after Alastor had coffee, he would be
greeted by his new admirers while he walked outside, humming a cheery tune.
“Hello ladies,” Alastor said with a tip of his red top hat.
“Hello Alastor!” they chimed, as they sat on the ground in front
of a mutilated body of a demon. One woman picked up the demon’s separated arm
and used it to wave at him. Alastor chuckled and strolled on.
During one moonlit night, Alastor and Rosie decided to sing a
song to strengthen their bond. They were already good friends, if not that then
at least compatible associates with similar tastes.
“Let’s say you’re bored and want to
be full,” Rosie
began as she walked next to him, umbrella in her hands and little skulls on her
hat. She looked like a gaunt Mary Poppins entering a Day of the Dead musical.
“Sure, you can go about your day,
dull. Or…”
She turned around, her lavender dress spinning slightly. “You can eat a little flesh fantastic with
me.”
Alastor’s red eyes lit up, his hidden deer tail wagging
underneath his crimson dress coat. He already loved her singing voice and
graceful form. She reminded him of Mimzy, though she was less about the
spotlight and more about elegance.
And speaking of which…
“Alastor!” Mimzy beamed as she walked over to him. The chubby
blonde woman was wearing a magenta flapper dress with sparkles on it. Her
headband had a pink feather attached to it and her necklace of black pearls was
visible above her round breasts.
“Good evening, Mimzy!” Alastor smiled. “What are you doing
out here, dear?”
“My shift at the jazz club just ended, so I decided to join
you guys.” A pink neon sign down the street read “Mimzy’s Place.”
“Please do, Miss Hannigan,” Rosie said to her fellow friend.
Alastor had introduced Mimzy to Rosie after the two sinners had reunited. “Be
sure not to walk home by yourself, Mimzy. You might be dead, but there’s no
need to die a second time.”
“Isn’t that right!” Alastor added with a chuckle.
“Now where was I…” Rosie pondered. “Oh right!”
She began to sing again.
“You can eat a little flesh fantastic
with me.”
“Wait, flesh?” Mimzy asked, curious. “As in human flesh?”
“Why yes! I just tasted it for the first time,” Alastor said.
“Apparently, it’s a delicacy down in Hell for obvious reasons. “I mean…”
He began to sing, “If
you live your days in wonder, but can’t focus due to hunger…”
He leaned his face in close to hers; Mimzy blushed and didn’t
even flinch.
“Just eat a little flesh fantastic
with me.”
Alastor straightened back up as Rosie joined in. “For if you decide to kill a person, their
body will someday rot away. But if you make haste and not let it go to waste…”
Rosie spun around a black nearby pole before lightly landing
on the sidewalk.
“Then you’ll be satiated for the
day!”
Alastor climbed up and leaned against the pole. “You don’t need to be Lector Hannibal, to
consider the life of a cannibal.”
“Want to be robust?” Rosie asked.
“You know I must,” Alastor added.
Then they both sang to Mimzy, “Come eat a little flesh fantastic with us!”
The two tall demons strolled along as Alastor snapped his
fingers. His shadowy demon imps rose from the ground, playing trumpets, drums
and saxophones. Nearby demons where either swaying to the jazz beat or darting
away in fear. Mimzy ran on her short stubby legs to catch up.
“Hey, wait up! Can I sing, too?”
Rosie led out a shrill bird-like call from her mouth as her
eyes briefly glowed silvery white.
“My fellow epicureans, answer my
call. May your gluttonous desires led the way!”
At once, several ladies dresses came out of the alleyways to
join her. There were also a few male demons in elegant suits who followed them.
“Welcome to the club, Radio Demon,” Rosie grinned.
Rosie and Alastor then sang the duet at the same time:
“The life of a cannibal
The feeling is so wonderful
Hunt and kill, munch, munch, munch,
A few screams later, you’ve got your
lunch!”
Behind them, the women danced in a line, their dresses
spinning as they moved. The men in suits and top hats spun, flipped and did
tricks from the poles of nearby street lamps. The red flames in the glass on
top of the lamps flickered to the outside music.
“Have some style and show some class
It is us among the mass
When you’re feeling beat and want to
eat
A demon can never have too much
meat!”
“Eat a little flesh fantastic with us
Give in to another kind of lust
A sweet treat you are, come near or
far
Our food as you bite the dust!”
Rosie smiled as she and Alastor did a Charleston dance in the
front. Rosie winked at Mimzy who stood in awe of their dancing. She tried to
hide her jealousy. Every time Alastor danced with someone else, the sin of envy
took hold of her in a tight grip. Rosie
continued:
“You can refrain and boldly exclaim
‘Eating your brethren’s not right!’”
Alastor added:
“But we know well, to maim in Hell
The blood will be shed tonight!”
Rosie blew into a bloodstained shell trumpet. The men and
women dancers surrounded the trio in a moving circle, chanting “Eat! Eat! Eat!”
as the jazz music sped up. Their dancing shoes tapped against the asphalt,
adding to the instrumental sounds. The women took off their hats and waved them
several times in the air before putting them back on their heads. The men
repeated their actions shortly after.
Alastor held out his hand for Mimzy to take, which she
eagerly did with a smile. The three of them danced around in a circle, laughing
as Alastor’s glowing red spirits swirled around above them.
“The life of a cannibal,” Mimzy began…
“The feeling is so wonderful,” Rosie added…
“Hunt and kill, munch, munch, munch…” Alastor sang.
Then all three of them called out, “A few screams later, you’ve got your lunch!”
“Eat a little flesh fantastic with
us!”
(oh- oh- oh- oh- oh)
“Eat a little flesh fantastic with
us!”
(oh- oh- oh- oh- oh)
The men did more rolls on the floor and posed on the lamppost
poles. Nearby, an elaborate black fountain was spraying blood into the larger
basin. A lone demon kid tossed a soul coin into it.
After the men spun around on the poles, they hopped back down
to dance with the ladies in the background.
The song soon ended with Rosie, Alastor and Mimzy doing happy
poses on the street, Alastor in the middle between his best lady friends. As
the trio bowed, audience clapping emitted from his microphone staff. Everyone
cheered as they summoned long flaming spears into their hands. They twirled
them around in their hands and tossed them into the air before catching them. Soon,
all of them were surrounding Rosie, who posed on a pole with her closed
umbrella pointing outward in her hand.
“Go forth and feast!” Rosie called.
The eyes of the men and women glowed red in hunger. Like a
pack of wolves, the other demons scurried in every direction, prancing on other
demons. Several of the men threw their
spears at nearby demons, setting them on fire as they screeched. Nearby
denizens screamed as the fancy ladies jumped onto them and sank their sharp
teeth into their necks and shoulders. Blood and organic fluid soon littered the
street and sidewalks. Mimzy giggled and wrote on a nearby brick wall in fresh
blood. She drew a red heart with “A + M” inside it. She even added an arrow
through the heart.
“Very nice,” Alastor mentioned. “A and M. That reminds me, I
gotta get ready for my 6 AM announcement tomorrow. I’ll be broadcasting how to
make spicy jambalaya. All natural ingredients, of course.”
Mimzy picked up a pulsing heart from inside the gaping chest
of a fallen demon.
”You might need this for an ingredient.”
She gave it to Alastor, who took it in both hands.
“You’re giving me your heart, what a thoughtful gift!”
Alastor and Rosie chuckled and Mimzy smiled, too. Though deep
down, she hoped he was only kidding about actually eating her heart.
Alastor took several bites of the muscle, red thick liquid
coating his face. The flavor was divine.
Mimzy tried a bite out of chunk of flesh from another demon.
It tasted like older pork, human flesh that had gotten a bit dry and
flavorless. Alastor soon recognized the taste of demon flesh as well after
eating some more.
“I’m just gonna pretend it was pork,” Mimzy said, uncertainty
in her face.
“Come on, we all know you enjoyed it,” Alastor teased,
playfully pinching her cheeks.
“There is one thing that is better than flesh,” Mimzy
declared.
“And what’s that, dear?” Rosie asked, wiping her bloody mouth
with a lacy handkerchief.
“Spending time with my lovely friends!”
Mimzy gave Alastor a hug and Alastor flinched a bit. He took
a deep breath and briefly hugged her as well. Rosie knew not to touch Alastor,
so she opted to stand supportively by his side.
Alastor then pulled the two smiling women close to him, happy
and in his element. It was something that he agreed with as well, somewhere
within his blackened heart. Despite doing things for himself and manipulating
people for his amusement, there was something…freeing about being with
fun-loving friends he could put some degree of trust in. The sounds of music
pulsed like vibrant lights in a sea of darkness. Music had been his oasis, his
escape on Earth. Even in Hell, it still tugged at his heartstrings and reminded
him of innocent times long ago. It was almost like a beacon of hope…hope of
even greater things ahead.
For the first time in a while, Alastor’s smile was genuine
and relaxed.
“Now that’s what I call entertainment!”
