Essence

Chapter 3
Tendril

Chapter Description: Marcus is attacked by Navajo demon, and sees what his Grandfather meant.

“Yeah, Marcus!!”

The entire bar held up their glasses in honor of the National Player of the Week. Marcus fist pumped in acknowledgement, arousing another round of applause. The receiver who had caught the winning touchdown, Ike, came up and sat next to him.

“You did well,” Ike said.

Marcus gave an inebriated laugh. “But you’re the one who caught the ball!”

“And you’re the one who gave me the chance to catch it. You deserve the title, Marcus. This may be your last year, but I know you’ll be able to reach the NFL.”

“Thank you, Ike. You’ve always been there for me,” Marcus replied in a slurred tone. The alcohol was beginning to get to him, so the idea of retiring to his dorm sounded nice. He stood up, stumbling a bit at first. “I’m going home! The Player of the Week needs some shut-eye!”

The bar rang out good-byes as Marcus swayed out of the bar. The dorm wasn’t far, so he made the effort to walk there. He laughed as he remembered that final moment, that final moment of suspense as he threw that football. He remembered the excitement, the nervousness…

Marcus felt like he was not alone. He came to a drunken stop, and looked around. It felt as if a dark curtain had been draped over him, and yet, he was in solitude. Marcus shook off the feeling and finally arrived at his dorm.

He fumbled in his pocket for the keys. After withdrawing them, he stuck it in the lock and staggered through. His roommate was not back yet. This allowed him to actually get to bed without hearing his friend’s “partner” getting it on in the other bed.

Marcus kicked off his shoes as he walked to the bathroom. The water came out hot and steamy when he turned on the shower. After taking off the rest of his clothes, he stepped in and started washing his body.

Marcus had finished shampooing when a brisk, cold wind blew all around him. He shivered intensely and quickly rinsed his hair. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel off the rack, still shivering.

“What the hell was that?” Marcus muttered. The wind had stopped blowing, but the air still felt icy. He dried himself off and slipped on an undershirt and basketball shorts. He wanted to get under the covers as quickly as possible.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, the air died. Marcus felt a sense of dread and despair as he made his way to the middle of the room. The beds were separated by him, and the TV sat directly in front of him. His legs felt rooted to the floor.

“This is weird.”

Electricity suddenly shot up through his body. He shook like an epileptic, but he did not fall. The feeling faded as quickly as it appeared, and Marcus looked around cautiously.

Black tendrils seemed to float out of his body, as if being sucked away. Marcus watched as they began to culminate a few feet in front of him. As they did, his clothes began to feel loose. He watched helpless as the tendrils continued to collect and his body continued to shrink. He felt his arms shorten and his genitals shrink. Soon, his shorts slid down, revealing his regressed dick and balls. Marcus found himself looking up at the black mass now, and the beds were almost eye level. His arms lost their muscle mass and began to collect baby fat. The tendrils continued to flow out and soon he felt his legs wobble. He fell backwards onto his butt, his undershirt hanging on by one strap. His adult teeth fell out, replaced by two baby teeth. His hair thinned out until there were only a few hairs on his head. Once the last tendril exited, his regression halted.

The feeling of paralysis lifted. Marcus sat in the pile of his clothing and looked over his body. His skin had smoothed out and was flawless. His feet felt small and useless for walking, and his hands were chubby and smelled of baby powder. He looked up and saw the black mass of tendrils begin to change.

It formed a torso, legs, and arms. The black turned into skin and became more defined. It soon looked like a complete duplication of Marcus’s body, except for the absence of the head. That was soon corrected, as the rest of the tendrils flowed up to form a neck and head. It molded like clay and turned into skin. Marcus gasped.

The thing that looked like Marcus grinned at him.

“You’re probably wondering what happened, mortal,” the thing assumed. Marcus sat in silence as the thing knelt down. Its dick, Marcus’s dick, hung low in front of his face.

“Well,” it continued, “I’m what’s called a Nepukshuks.”

Images of Marcus’s grandfather ran through his head.

“You piqued my interest once you made it to the BCS championship, Marcus. I haven’t seen a person with such strong Essence in a long time. I had to have it. Judging by your expression, you don’t know what this is. It is what causes you to age into what you are. When it is removed, so does the aging. You go back to the earliest point when Essence was needed. For you, I’d say that point was when you were about seven months old.”

Marcus crawled backwards out of his undershirt as the Nepukshuks talked. His dick was only a pathetic nub now, and this made him scared. That thing had taken his power, his strength.

“Of course,” the Nepukshuks said, “this means that I take your form. You had such a body, Marcus. I can feel the strength flowing through me. Now, let’s make sure you don’t get away.”

It bent down and picked up the fleeing Marcus. He kicked as it held him in front of it. He stared at the thing that looked like him, no, was him. Marcus was only an infant now; this thing was him, the man who everyone knew, the man who won the BCS championship.

The Nepukshuks set the naked Marcus on his bed. Marcus looked over the edge, and shuddered. It seemed so high up. The Nepukshuks grabbed Marcus’s undershirt and draped it over its head, as well as his basketball shorts. Marcus watched, silently sobbing at seeing the demon take his hard-earned clothes. He looked at his body again, still mourning over the loss of his assets and muscles. He felt the small appendage, and was reminded of what he lost when he felt no sense of pleasure at all.

“Now,” the Nepukshuks said once it was dressed. “It is time to-“