Devour

Danielle cocked her head, ribbons swaying from her wrists. Her intestines shifted wetly against her thigh. She didn't speak—she couldn't, the silk threaded through her vocal cords pulsed with every heartbeat.

Danielle's stitched arms twitched, puppeteered by ribbons. Her reflection in the mirrors tilted their heads with her, watching him. Dozens of Danielles grinned back at him as they would become one. 

Fortunately Danielle had stored enough ribbons in her duffle bag. Enough times them together like a permanent piece hanging in a gala. He took her arm and rested his own beside her as he then prepped himself for the incision. He threaded the pink ribbons through her flesh and connected it to his own flesh that was his arm. 

The ribbons in her arms writhed, tugging against her flesh like snakes. Blood trickled down her thighs in steady streams, she smiled at her dance partner. 

The ribbons were already a part of Danielle but not for Eli. Eli struggled sewing his arms attaching them to hers as his hands shakes, fingertips brushing against the silk. 

Danielle's body jolted violently, spasms rattling through her bones. The ribbons tightened, slicing deeper. Blood squirted onto Eli's wrist.

The ribbons attached to Danielle were dancing, coming alive as if they were Danielle's extra limbs. But for Eli they were merely just ribbons, extensions of cloth. 

As he finished Eli practically collapsed onto Danielle, tugging at the sleeves on their arms. Teeth clenched, knuckles white. Danielle's ribbons recoiled like nerves, her own body jerking due to her ribbons dancing. 

Mesmerized, Eli reached for the ribbons in her stomach. Twiddling the fabric between his fingertips. He tried yanking them just to see what would happen. The link fabric tightened, slithering deeper into her organs. He could see them wriggling beneath the surface, threading through her kidneys, her liver and coiling around her spine.

Danielle's eyes rolled forward, blood running from the corners. She mouthed something soundless at him.

"Dance." She said again. 

The ribbons in her legs spasmed, jerking her body upright like a marionette. Eli stumbled back as Danielle's feet cracked against the floor, bones snapping beneath the strain. She pirouetted on broken ankles, intestines trailing behind her in a red ribbon spiral with Eli trailing behind her. Her head tilted back, throat gurgling due to the ribbons crawling making itself a home in her throat. 

And yet she still she danced as Eli mustered not to collapse again. His limbs flailed along trying to keep up. Each step for him he was closer to death. 

The ribbons reacted, wrapping around his wrists, slicing into his skin. He screamed as the silk dug deeper, threading through his veins. They yanked him closer, binding him to her.

Danielle's mutilated face hovered inches from his. Her eyes were glassy, pupils dilated, blood seeping from her tear ducts. She smiled with the shredded remains of her mouth. Eli sobbed, struggling against the ribbons.

Then she leaned in and pressed her gaping mouth against his as a scream died in his throat.

The ribbons poured into him, sliding down his mouth, forcing themselves into his chest. He gagged, convulsing as silk slithered through his lungs, his veins, threading him from the inside out. Blood spurted from his nose, his ears, his eyes. His body arched violently, back cracking, nails tearing against the floor.

Danielle clung to him, kissing him with torn lips, feeding him her ribbons.

Eli's body began to stitch itself shut. His arms fused at the elbows, ribbons sewing his skin into grotesque bows. His legs cinched together, threads burrowing into his knees, forcing his bones into unnatural alignment.

His screams became high-pitched, melodic. Almost musical officially making him her partner.

When it was over, Eli slumped against her, his body trembling. Blood soaked his shirt, but ribbons held him upright, fusing him to Danielle. His eyes were wide, pupils blown, but he was still alive.

Danielle stroked his cheek with her shredded hand. Her ribbons pulsed through his veins, threading him into her. He coughed, spitting silk onto the floor.

"I'll... keep you dancing." A spoken promise. A vow. A binding. 

Their reflections in the mirror applauded. 

Dozens of reflections danced in unison, stitched bodies spinning, blood spraying, silk writhing. Some pairs of dancers twined together, intestines knotted into bows, skin sewn to skin. Their mouths were open wounds, but their eyes gleamed with ecstasy.

Danielle lifted her arms, pulling him into position. Her ribbons guided him, their shared flesh jerking into a grotesque pas de deux. Their bodies bled together, leaking red across the tiles. He stumbled, but she held him upright.

And they danced.