When she woke up, there were 17 voicemails from a stranger. She shakingly played the messages, and from them, a cold shaking voice sung in her ears; it hummed and echoed an eerie sweet tone. But through the waves of delight, a dark voice spoke, unforgivable, Regret, suffer; these words sent the woman into shock. She ran around her dank room in fear, tripping and falling on a black concealed case; terror marks her trembling form. However, even through her fright, she rips open this case of pure void, steam hisses from its action; its lined with pure silk, what seems to be a single tongue resides in this hold. She hesitates and dangles her fingers above its rotting form, the tips of her fingers begin to grow hot as they draw near. But, low whispers shock her, she looks around her room and sees white glowing lines leak from the corners. Punishment they say, justice they preach, the voices grow ever closer, the glowing lines grow heavier and thicker, they morph and rumble until finally a form is chosen. Long ethereal legs step before the woman, they hold a thin body that has an endless amount of grinning faces, a line of stench assaults the cowering woman's nose; as the faces droop and mold. 


“You will pay yet…the uncountable sins you have committed, they stand before you know, cower, beg, plead…it matters not; subjugation will be delivered” The towering mound of faces said. 


The woman continues to lie in fear, but even through her shock, she extends a roaming hand that seems to seek for something. Finally, it latches onto a rubbered handle, the woman pulls her hand back revealing a small but deadly blade. The faces begin to guffaw, pieces of their flesh rip off from every bounce of laughter, they finally hold their amusement and extend a boney tongue. 

“What exactly do you intend on doing with that? you have avoided this for too long, while your consciousness may be ephemeral, we are eternal” The faces said with some even laughing throughout. 



The woman points the blade before them and weakly stands, her knees and legs buckling and bouncing all the while, “while my body may fear you, my will does not” she said before the blade glints in the face of a rising sun. 


She sticks her fingers into her mouth before pulling her tongue out, she stretches it so thin that the veins and blood vessels are clear to even the faces. She then flips the blade around in her fingers before bringing its cold steel against her tongue; without even a second thought, her tongue is cut. Blood spews from her mouth as its metallic ichor drips upon the floor, the faces instantly display low hanging frowns. 


“No! Not again!” the faces said before lunging at the woman. 


She grabs the rotten tongue and narrowly evades their snapping maws, she then places the tongue into her mouth, it slowly begins to attach itself against the stub of her last; but before it can fully merge, the faces attack once more. This time its necks begin to snake out and reach for her, now, a spaghetti of necks and chewing mouths all coalesce. The woman breathes in deeply and closes her eyes, then, she rips her eyes open and runs at it all. She begins to dodge and slip through every single face, stepping on some of them, while kicking others. All the while she mutters names, Marcus, Julia, Frederick…


“NO! YOU DON”T GET TO SPEAK OF THEM!” The faces bursted out into rage. 


One of the faces narrowly missed the woman and bit an entire piece of wall, it crunched and turned the drywall into rubble. The woman swallowed a lob of spit but due to her distraction, she was smacked across the face by a raging neck. It sent her flying and crashing against another wall, her head ripped through and she was able to see a hallway with many other doors. She looked around and noticed a frightening sight, from each end of the hallway, an entourage of even more snaking faces lunged at her; she ripped her face forward and pulled out of the wall. Now, she stands before her original threat once more, while some of the faces still hold a bitter scowl, some rip smiles against their molded forms. 


“You’re surrounded, this facade ends now…you will finally taste justice!” The faces said before lunging at her once more. 


This time, more faces rip through the walls and all begin to hover around the woman, however, she simply closed her eyes and took another deep breath. She finally feels the tongue attach fully and Moments, mere inches from the faces getting a healthy bite of the woman they freeze, sweat drips from their faces as the woman begins to mumble unintelligible words. 


The Faces pull away, “STOP! NO! YOU CAN’T!” they cry out. 


The rotted tongue begins to turn pink, leaving its grey spoiled colour, the woman doesn’t stop speaking these words of dark descent; she holds a smug smile all the while. The faces begin to struggle and shake, they slowly begin to lose their glow as their army dwindles; slowly more and more of them begin to turn into ash. Ash that is blown to nothing in a low bearing drift of wind. 


“Go back foul beast! You won’t have me that easily!” the woman said. 


The faces are nearly all gone, but one remains, “add more sins to your list, more tongues, it matters not; the ones you have wronged will come once more…you can’t ward us off forever” it said before finally disappearing. 


The woman falls to her knees, she pants heavily before dropping the blade, she reaches for her phone once more and calls an anonymous number, the phone rings as her unease grows, finally, the call is answered.  “I need you to give me another job…why? For more tongues of course…” she said.