!!TRIGGER WARNINGS!!
This novel contains certain triggers that may affect some readers:
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CANNABALISM
SA
MURDER
BLOOD
GORE
DISTURBING IMAGERY
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PROLOGUE6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMNHF6oP65
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Decay and rot are among the many things mankind refuses to acknowledge until they become inevitable. Something so profound, grotesque, and revolting that it alters the mind entirely. But what does that mean for the simplicity of death—the very thing every person dreads at least once? The thing that prevents certain people from being hesitant in their choices is
Because life is temporary.
And the ever-changing state of being without it...is temporary too. No matter the cost, humans preserve life anyway.
Preserve bodies in mummification. Names in gravestones and books. Memorial statues embedded in the rock. And it happens, is done, and is accepted because death is explainable, rot is explainable, and decay is explainable.
However, when those things are not the way they should be, the cycle of life is intertwined into something of destruction.
Humanity fears death because it believes death is the end. It fears decay because it knows decay is not.
And what remains after both have done their work has only one name.
The shape of rot.
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CHAPTER ONE
James Miller stared at his phone screen. His thumb hovered over Carol’s contact for what felt like the hundredth time. Four messages already sat unanswered in their chat. A fifth wasn’t going to change anything.
Just leave it alone, he thought.
“James!” a familiar voice chirped.
Amelia, his sister, appeared in front of him with her usual enthusiasm.
“Well, look who decided to finally show up. They already took our table.” James jerked a thumb toward the restaurant behind him.
“What?” Amelia asked. “I thought this place didn’t take reservations.” He chuckled lightly and waved her off.
“Heh, I was kidding, come on.” Amelia clicked her tongue, shaking her head as they entered the establishment.
The building emitted a soft, yellow-white glow from the lights overhead. James and Amelia made their way to the host station behind a couple.
Amelia folded her arms as she looked around. “It sure is busy in here.”
“Can you blame them? It’s opening day.” James replied, taking a look at the restaurant as a whole. The majority of the people seated were couples or friends. James noticed two or three separate families aside from that. “Now that I look around…busy might be an understatement.”
The couple in front of them had moved aside, letting them go forward. The hostess, a tall, dark-skinned woman with silky curls and no older than twenty-five, greeted them with a comforting smile.
“Name of party?” She asked, ready to type it in on the tablet below her.
“Uh, James. Party of two.”
“Alrighty.” She typed their name into the tablet before grabbing two menus from a neatly stacked pile behind the podium. “If you’d follow me.”
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James rubbed his hands at the sight of the menu. “What are you getting? I’m probably gonna get the ravioli.
“Don’t you get that every time?” Amelia asked, picking up the menu as well.
“Yeah?”
“You’re impossible,”
“I’d rather stick with my favorites than risk eating something disappointing. That’s why I rarely see you "
“Hey!’ Amelia exclaimed, scoffing. “Is that why you never read anything but Stephen King?”
“Stephen King knows what he’s doing. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is better than him.” The waitress came back around to take their orders. “Just water with lemon, please.”
“Of course...Momand for you, ma’am?” She asked, looking up from her spiral notepad.
“Uhm, sweet iced tea, please. Thank you.” Amelia requested.
“No problem, those will be right out for you.”
***
Minutes passed, and they were halfway through their dinner. Light chatter remained at a steady level the entire time.
“Okay,” Amelia said.
“What?” James asked, wiping his hands and tossing the napkin on his plate.
“Is this about Carol? You’ve been silent this entire time.”
His stomach dropped. His grip tightened around the side of his pants. Heat climbed the back of his neck. His chest tightened.
He fixated on his plate.
“Amelia, don’t.”
“James.”
“Seriously.”
“You’ve barely spoken all night.”
“I don’t remember it being any of your business.” James snapped, flashing a look at Amelia. It came out sharper than he intended. “Let’s just go. I already paid.” He added, rising from his seat. “You have to get back to M… om.”
“I-but, James.”
“What? You wanted this dinner, and I agreed. I’m not going to argue and leave on a bad note and not see you for another three months.”
Amelia sighed, standing up as well. “Fine.” She breathed and led them outside.
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The breeze had gotten colder. James and Amelia hadn’t parked closer together. They had remained quiet ever since they left their table.
Say something, you idiot.
“Say hi to Mom for me,” James said, nodding to Amelia, who had started walking in the opposite direction.
“I-I will,” Amelia answered, her hands burrowed in her jacket’s pockets. “Drive safe.” She kept walking further away as James stepped into his car.
ns216.73.216.67da2
and then Add to home screen.