Wumpus

Wanda stepped out of her bedroom, the love of her life had just flown away and some man was awaiting her return. She kindly asked him to leave and sat on the top of her staircase for days, hoping Otis would return. He never would.

Rage overcame the old woman and she lit a flame on the wall of the wooden farmhouse, watched it go up in smoke, and spent the night in the field. The freshly watered soil was soft and she found some larger eggplants to provide shelter over her.

For many nights, she looked up at the stars between the eggplants, watching for any moving lights. Over time, the crops started to envelope her and comfort her. It was as if they could feel her pain and wished to shield her from it. What truly was happening was an effect of the aliens’ many experiments on the farm.

The eggplants not only enveloped her, but began to fuse with her. It became difficult for Wanda to tell where she ended and the eggplants began.

One morning, Wanda was unrecognizable. She had fully become an eggplant. She rolled over and stood up on two decayed stems for legs. Her arms, too, were black and decayed stalks which she had full mobility of.

It was obvious what she should do. Into town she went, looking to get clothing that would fit her new, rotund body. Wanda found that she could run at a good pace and then roll herself even further so that she could travel faster.

Rolling up onto the main street, screams could be heard in all directions. The noise was confusing and caused the eggplant’s stalks to root into the ground. The eggplant cocooned to protect Wanda. It grew twice the size.

Once detached, the creature rolled towards the clothing store, no longer knowing why it was doing so. It crashed into the front and stood up in the wreckage. From its mouth hung the people who were cowering inside. They were still awake, so they screamed for their lives.

Again, the eggplant went into defense mode, rooting itself and growing to protect the farmer’s wife who was nearly all gone.

A rampage ensued. Wanda was unstoppable at the core of the abominable eggplant. 

Military intervention couldn’t stop the destruction, nor could Wanda from inside her fruity shell.

What ended the rampage was the sight of a flying saucer. Gross water poured out of the eyes of the monster and it shrunk with the loss of the fluid. Wanda recalled the loss of her husband and longed for her home. She swatted away missiles and bullets, got a running start and rolled all the way back to the farm.

She had forgotten the farmhouse was gone. The crops were all dying. Her old life was nearly erased. Rage within her caused the eggplant to cocoon. She let it take over, she wanted Wanda to die like the crops. She wanted for all that was left to be the monster. She gave in to Wumpus.