Your Heart Is A Muscle The Size Of A Rat

your heart is a muscle the size of a rat

Ummm byee

Masklophobia: Finale

There is a woman on a journey. Beth stood tall, brave, yet very anxious, in front of the old studio building that looked like an old ghost attraction. It was part of a town that now appeared to be deserted, vegetation had died out, and the exterior architecture on the building bore peeled paint, with a little mildew. The windows and glass doors were covered in paint. Besides the main entrance was a Karl's Paradise cutout, whereas the colors were beginning to fade. On her head, she wore a GoPro mount hat, to save her the chore of holding a camera while investigating. In her right hand, she was armed with a knife to fend herself from whatever is in there. Beth has just left her husband and sons down at the hotel, and now she's about to embark on a mission that possibly holds the answer to her missing father. And when she does, she can finally rest easy.

And before she was ready to enter through those tainted doors, she dug into the pocket of her jacket and drew out her wallet. She kept a picture of her father, with herself as a child. After taking a deep cleansing breath, she stuffed the wallet back into her pocket, and headed forward. She pulled the door open and walked right in. The musky stench of rotting meat and vomit hit her nostrils, making her cringe in disgust. She also noticed how incredibly dark it was inside. She placed the knife in her belt, took out her phone, and opened her flashlight app.

She started walking in a straight line, while whispering to herself as she looked around the liminal studio. Equipment still here, chairs and paper scattered around, crude words written on some walls, and in the corner, there seemed to be a vile heap of some kind of muck. That must be where the odor is coming from. She couldn't help but stare at it, which could be a sign that there's life inside the building. Then, the sound of footsteps came suddenly, and spooked her. She quickly turned around, pulled out her knife, ready to stab at the motherfucker who's about to jump her.

"AHHH!"

The "motherfucker" let out a high pitched scream. It was only a little boy. But not just any little boy.

"Harley, what are you doin' here?!" "Mama... I wanted to come with you. Are you sure the Paradise Critters used to work here?” "Yes, but they're not here! And you shouldn't be here either!” "But I want to look around this place, too! What if they are still here?” "No, you can't! They were only here a long time ago, and you know it! C'mon! You're going back to the hotel suite! C'mon! C'mon!"

She grabbed the door by the handle and attempted to pull it open. But like those other unlucky victims, she found that they were locked in. She put more force into it, struggled a few times, and even tried to open the other door. To no avail, they were locked in for good. As much as it seemed like a good idea to proceed on investigating, Beth believed that they needed an exit before they wander off into a scary dark zone. Safety comes first.

"Okay, Harley, can you do me a little favor? Stand over there, please.” "Why? Whatcha gonna do?” ”I'm gonna try to break the glass door open, and I don't want you to catch any dangerous shards."

Harley did what his mother told him to do, so he ran over to the water fountain between the men and women's restrooms. She looked around the main stage to find a useful object to shatter the painted glass door. She tried a crowbar, but it was too bent. She thought of using an old mac computer, but it fell apart when she picked it up. Then she went for a swivel chair, which she didn't think of using at first because she thought it'd be too heavy to lift.

"It’s cold in here."

Before she decided to drag the chair with her, she went to tend to her son's needs like any good parent. She took off her jacket and put it on him. Now back to the swivel. First she placed the flashlight down, then took the chair. The creaking sound of one of the bathroom doors came into place, but she decided to ignore it, thinking it's only her son. Beth rolled the chair over to the door and lifted it, about to swing at the glass.

"MAMA!"

Beth heard her son cry out, along with some unusual sound that almost left her frozen. She dropped the chair and turned at Harley, who was being grabbed by a figure who looked wide and fat. While the two were caught in a scuffle, Beth ran towards her flashlight, and beamed it at the creep. It was... ...Junior? Who looked more revolting in person than he did on the show. Beth didn't give herself time to look at the details, for she had to save her son.

"HEY! WHO ARE YOU?"

Junior just grabbed Harley and took off, which then resulted in a chase sequence. She ran after him while lighting her way with the flashlight. Then, the obnoxious theme song played, echoing through the whole studio. It made Beth perplexed, but she tried to not get sidetracked when her son was currently in danger. Unfortunately, because she let herself get distracted the slightest, Junior beat her to the elevator. She tapped on the down button repeatedly, cursing her voice out and not caring if her son could hear her.

She stopped as she heard another door creaking. Two big round eyes were poking out of a room. Letting out a scream, the hidden figure wailed and revealed their full self, opening their mouth very wide. It was Barkstone. She couldn't see any human head inside that "mask." She just saw a mouth. A slimy, pink, natural-looking mouth. Whenever Barkstone talked on the show, you could only make out pitch blackness. And none of the Critters could expand their jaws that far. Whether this thing could be human or not, it was too frightening to live.

When Barkstone charged at her, she picked up a can and threw it at his feet, making him fall over onto his back. She pinned the massive dog onto the floor, then jabbed her knife into his eye. She was quite fazed at the way her knife hit against the eye's surface, which felt rather fleshy than plastic or glass. Blood even poured. Barkstone continued to wail and struggle, making her stab him multiple times until he stopped. No matter what, Barkstone couldn't give it a rest.

"FUCKING DIE ALREADY, YOU FUZZY SON OF A BITCH! JUST FUCKING DIE!"

Barkstone eventually grabbed her by the back of her shirt and tossed her off. It was now his turn to pounce. Beth rolled out of the way before the blue dog could slam his body onto hers. While he's down, Beth quickly got up on him and took off her belt, then tied Barkstone's legs together to prevent him from chasing after her. While Barkstone became hapless just now, she didn't know how long that belt would hold, so she quickly ran for the stairs. She doesn't know what floor Harley and Junior might be on, so she decided to inspect the second floor first.

When she made it up, she met with a very tall figure, with their back turned to her. Beth shined her light on the figure to see that they were pink, and could be recognized as Mama LongLegs. As the light moved up to her head, LongLegs turned her entire head around to face her, without moving her body, and followed by an eerie bone crackling noise. Beth let out a scream, and LongLegs shrieked in response.

LongLegs arched her back over as she tried to get her hands on her, but Beth was a fast thinker. She turned left and ran into the nearest room. Then she locked it. Just when she thought she could have the time to catch her breath, another tall, lanky figure, rose from the couch that was facing back, which means she didn't know somebody was already in the room. It was Saxxo, sans his shades to reveal his empty black eyes. Saxxo screamed, rushed at her, then rammed her against the wall. He attempted to bite down on her head, but Beth defended herself by pushing him back.

She knew she couldn't keep up for long, and Saxxo managed to get some painful little nibbles out of her. Right beside her, she spotted an umbrella. While still fending off the tiger, she grabbed for the umbrella. There, she impaled it into Saxxo's mouth, and opened it. The lanky tiger staggered backwards, and tripped over the couch. Beth opened the door a slight bit to see if LongLegs was still out there. Seeing only clear, she opened the door wide. It was clear momentarily, until LongLegs surprised her, hanging upside down from the ceiling.

While getting herself onto the ground, Beth turned to Saxxo to find he had removed the umbrella, and the hole in his mouth was quickly healing. He came towards her with a spray can and a lighter. He aimed and fired. Beth luckily ducked before becoming the target, and Saxxo ended up torching LongLegs by mistake, just when she was about to grab her. Beth ran out of the room, shut the door, and barricaded it with a cart that was just sitting around.

Just when Beth thought she was safe for now, Van Goose came out from a random room, and just regurgitated onto the floor. Must have been that muck she saw earlier. At first she thought the giant goose wouldn't notice her if she stayed quiet, but Van Goose eventually saw her on her own. Her neck stretched out, her wings spreaded, and she opened her toothy bill wide, followed by a grisly squeal. Almost like a real goose. Beth quickly summed to a different room.

She didn't know what room it was, because all she saw was darkness. After she went inside and closed it, she held onto the handle due to the door lacking a lock. She tried her best strength to hold it tight, with Van Goose struggling to open it. The goose even tried bumping against the door to loosen her grip. Beth kept a tight grasp, while crying to herself. After 3 minutes of struggle, Van Goose stopped. Beth remained holding the door handle for a couple of minutes, making sure Van Goose wasn't waiting for her to let go. There was complete silence, with the sounds of Van Goose's footsteps walking away.

Finally, Beth let go of the door handle gently. Nothing right now but her and all this quiet. Strangely enough, it was so quiet, her breathing sounded a little thick. She stopped breathing for a moment, but it was still there, which left her cold. She shines her flashlight around the room. Judging by all the cleaning supplies, it must be the janitor's closet. However, they weren't the source. Then, she found something fluffy and orange. She was accompanied by Slouch, holding an axe in both hands, with his eyes fully widened along with his toothy smile.

Beth screamed while Slouch raised his axe to slash. Beth ran out of the closet and shut the door. When she saw Slouch's axe sliced through the door, she backed away. Slouch exited from the closet, wielding his axe. While backing away, she tripped on a random object, leaving her on the ground, and cornered. The orangutan glared down at her with those big bloodshot eyes, and raised his dirty axe once more. He moved slowly, as if it's his way of saying "Time's almost up."

Suddenly, Junior returned, and slammed onto Slouch. Beth watched as she witnessed the mammoth forcefully confiscate the axe, sliced Slouch's limbs off, then shoved him into the elevator. Meanwhile, Beth can hear Saxxo and Mama LongLegs trying to bust out of the room she blocked off. After that, Junior began running towards her. Beth tried to get up and run, but Junior grabbed her, and took her some place. He brought her to some office, where Harley was there, coming out of hiding. Beth hugged her son to see that he was still alive. Then she noticed Junior locking the office door.

Beth grabbed a lamp, about to give Junior a good whacking. Harley, however, restrained her.

"Mama, no! He's on our side!” ”Our side?! What about the other sociopaths wearing these smelly costumes?! They tried to fu-- They tried to kill me!" "Well, he's good now! He turned good after I gave him your wallet!” "My wallet?!"

Junior then waddled over to Beth, opening the wallet to show that it wasn't money or credit cards he was interested in, but the picture of the father and daughter. Beth was confused, but continued to clutch the lamp in case she sensed hostility. Junior waddled over to the desk, where he searched for paper and something to write with. And write he did. Beth was still in caution. Junior then presented the paper to Beth.

I know this isn't the sort of chat you'd get from anyone, but my vocals don't work like they used to. Anyways, what I mean to say, looking at that photo gave me a sense of deja vu. Out of the blue, the nostalgia made me remember who I was. That man is me. Well, was me. And that cute little cupcake is who I call Beth. Why do you have this photo on you, I'm curious? Do you know her? How she doing?

Beth couldn't believe what she just read. And she refused to believe it.

"You're lying! If you are the father like you claim to be, what did your little Beth want for her birthday more than anything else?"

The mammoth waddled over to the desk again to write something new. Then gave it to Beth.

An Easy Bake Oven. She was so twitterpated to have one, she'd draw pictures of all the colorful cakes she wanted to eat. I remember cracking about how she would end up sick.

Beth's heart dropped in her stomach, and the lamp dropped from her grip. Beth did want that Easy Bake Oven as a child, but she kept it between her and her family, because she wanted to surprise her friends of what a cool toy she got. No one could've known that but herself, her mother, and her father. So Clifton Taylor was alive this whole time, but in the worst shape. He was now this hideous freak of nature who couldn't speak human, and hung out in a musky dark studio with a homicidal costume crew. All for 29 years?

"Dad? You may not recognize me, but I'm your Beth. Me. I came here to look for you."

Clifton's eyes widened, then came at Beth with a warm hug. He hugged her tight, but not too tight. Beth thought it was right to return the hug, since this is the longest she has ever experienced the embrace of a loving father.

"Okay... I think we have a lot of catching up to do. Mom's still doing okay, I currently have a career in journalism, and I'm married with two kids. Here's one of them. Harley, say hello to your grandpa."

Beth brought her son over to Clifton for an acquainted handshake.

"But how can Junior be a grandpa? He's a kid.” "That's because he's not Junior. He's your Grandpa Clifton."

After shaking on it, Beth told her father what has happened in her life while growing up, what Harley and Austin are like, including her husband, and how she really misses him. She asked Clifton if he could take off the costume, to see what he looks like now. The mammoth, again, waddled over to the desk to write something out.

I wish I could, and I really want to. But this whole costume is me.

"I don't understand."

Then, Clifton decided to write a whole story.

All of this is me. Every inch, from fur to flesh. This is the body I eat in. What I used to feel on the inside is now outside. And we all have Karl to thank. I recall him inviting me over to his place to review that script he was talking about, and he even offered me some coffee. One sip, and everything went black afterwards. Then I "woke up" when I felt an intense pain all over me, like my whole body was rearranging into a new one. My mouth was also full of these thick fluids, for some reason. Tasted very bitter. Worse than medicine. Now, we are the Paradise Critters, indefinitely. Our personal lives flushed down the gutter.

I forgot who I was after the pain stopped, but now I can reminisce about the scene. I remember everything now, and I want to kill that fucking Karl. He treated us all like we were his pets. He fed us regularly, but it was never enough, with this newfound hunger that has given us the appetite of... ...whatever animal eats a lot. He crammed us all into that tiny basement, where there was very limited things for us to do, and we were all competitive over the TV. If we ever made Karl upset, he would inflict pain on us. The only time we felt pain. ...bodily.

He stopped feeding us after he decided to let us starve for a whole month. The hunger would drive us crazy. We'd eat stuff that wasn't edible, fill up on bathroom sink water, and fight out of crankiness. Then we got so hungry, we snuffed at ourselves and the others for something filling to munch on. It didn't hurt us, but Karl knew how to. Speaking of Karl, he stopped letting us starve after he gave us some live meat that wasn't our own. We have killed, yeah, but we lost our sanity because of how hungry we were. We all couldn't control ourselves.

Karl then promised us more food, enough to fill all of our bellies. That was our old workplace, which we now consider to be our "home." We ate everyone in the studio, until there was nothing left of them but their clothes, and a few bones. We even ate the cops. Actually, that wasn't so bad. With no human flesh left to eat, Beatrice, known as Yum-Yum, would boil the last of the remains and make soup. After that, we just ate whatever food was around the studio, whether expired or not. Frankly, we all shared. Except for "Barkstone" with his booze.

Karl doesn't feed us anymore. He makes us find food for ourselves. And when there's no food, we ate at ourselves again. This hunger is pain. Hell. Truly a fate worse than death. Because we can't die from it. We have tried to kill ourselves in many ways, but to no avail. I think Karl is what's keeping us alive, because all pain links to him. I really hate that Karl.

Karl prefers to keep himself hidden, but he comes out at times to play with us, making us act out his stupid show as a reality. If we refuse, he'd bring on the pain. I want to maim him, and eat all the meat off his bones, but an instinct inside me has kept me from doing so. Oh, Beth, my sweetheart. We are cold, hungry, and absolutely miserable. Did I mention we can't go to the bathroom? We just vomit up all food we've digested. Yes, it's exactly what you think. The only thing making us happy is eating. I haven't seen the sun since then.

"Oh my God... I... Don't worry! I'll get you out of here! You'll get a hot shower, and some real food!"

The mammoth started writing again.

You can't get out! Not even us! This whole studio is a deathtrap, with all the doors being locked from the outside!

"I've come up with a way! I can just break the door!"

And again.

Don't do that! The others will be free! Imagine more innocent people they could eat! They can't die, neither so me!

"Well, what do you suggest?!"

One more time.

I suggest that we end it once and for all. We kill Karl, me and the others die, possibly, and we no longer have to suffer. As much as I want to spend more time with you, meet Janet and the rest of your new family, and have something decent to eat, but I don't want to continue living like this. I'm sure the rest of the gang don't want to live like this themselves. Freedom is all we ask for. Besides, what would they think of me looking like this? I know where Karl is hiding, so I can take you to him. Beth, be the hero I've wanted you to grow up into. I love you.

Beth was still speaking against the concept. She just reunited with her father, and it's time to say goodbye already. Clifton didn't write out a response. He just dug into the office desk, took out an old swiss army knife, and handed it to his daughter. It left Beth in tears, and made her sob for a while. Clifton started hugging her again. Harley was left shy, choosing not to disturb them.

After 7 minutes of hesitation, she decided to do what her father says, and carry out the deed. Beth put her jacket back on, tucking the knife in her pocket. She made sure Harley was close to her side. She also gave her father a "I love you, too." Clifton acted as both their guide and bodyguard, defending them against any awful Critters that try to come for them. Even though the Critters can't die, Clifton had a way to slow them down, and buy them time.

At the last, Clifton led them right to Karl's room: The surveillance room. Beth took a deep breath as she readied the army knife at the sharpest point. Clifton made a promise to watch over Harley. She reached for the knob, only to her surprise, Karl opened the door himself. He looked very old and unhygienic, including his king costume. He was the first to speak.

"You think I didn't notice that little soap opera happening? I'm the best king in the paradise, and I see all! Junior, you dare defy your father like that? Bad boy! Bad! Consider yourself grounded for life!” "You're not his father! He's my father! And his name is not Junior! You are straight up a sicko!” "Badmouthing the king, eh? Well, you'll just have to hear from my subjects!"

Karl stepped back into the room for a moment, and played the theme song of his show, the full version.

"You kidnapped, drugged, and mindraped my father, along with the other cast members, and turned them into these freaks?! WHY? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?” "The show must go on!” ”Are you aware of the innocent lives you took away?! Don't you have any shame at all?!" ”'Innocent lives?' The only lives that are innocent are my poor Critters', whose paradise were robbed by a bunch of greedy opportunists! I merely took the pleasure of healing that fantasy! In the paradise, we're all happy here!” "Yeah, including the humans you had your furries slaughter and eat, and then leave them for starvation! Is this your definition of 'Happy?!' Are other people's suffrage your way of joy?! Stop putting on that damn grin-"

Beth abruptly heard Harley cry and her father scream. She turned to find that all of the Paradise Critters have gathered around, including Barkstone, Mama LongLegs, and Saxxo. LongLegs grabbed for Harley, and despite Clifton's best efforts to save him, he got restrained by LabRat, and a very angry Slouch. LabRat held the mammoth back, while Slouch badly mauled him in revenge. Beth tried to save Harley, until Yum-Yum took her by the throat and lifted her into a chokehold. She dropped the swiss army knife she was holding, and her flashlight phone. Seems like they're really outnumbered. While awaiting death, Karl chanted.

"The spirit of the paradise goes on as long as I'm alive! Long live the king! Long live the king, I say! Long live-"

Unexpectedly, Karl let out a yelp of pain, along with the Critters. Yum-Yum's grip around Beth's neck loosened, helping her break free. All of the Critters appeared to be in pain, including Karl for some reason. Clifton, formally known as Junior, collected enough strength to give Beth a thumbs-up. Then, Karl collapsed dead, revealing Harley right behind him. Guess he managed to slip away. Beth also noticed the swiss army knife plunged into Karl's back. Everything was now in complete silence.

All the Critters were then piled up on the floor, dead. One noted feature on the Critters was that their organic details were gone. Eyes were just plain now, gums no longer visible, and the view from their maws was pitch blackness. Curious, Beth pulled at one of the Critters' heads. At first it appeared to be jammed, but when she tugged it right off with some elbow grease, the skull flew out and shattered onto the floor.

"Can we go home now, Mama?"

..............................

The nightmare is over. For them. Beth broke open the front door and made it out in one piece with Harley, with a few cuts and hickeys. Something tells her she needs to find a pretty good excuse for her husband. As for her father, she took all of his boney remains and cremated them on an open fire. If she took the bones with her, her husband would hit the ceiling, and the cops wouldn't buy any alibis from her. It's better to just take Clifton's ashes, and keep them. The rest of the Critter performers, along with Karl, were just left to decay in the studio.

A week after returning home, Beth kept the recorded footage in safe keeping. She felt it was way too disturbing to reach the public, given that she's traumatized herself. Besides, no one online would believe her. People would think she's making a high budget horror short. She was also dubious about updating her blog about it, and decided to go on hiatus. How is she going to explain that she found her dead father, then cremated him herself, without sounding like a maniac? Some things are better left unsaid.

Karl's Paradise was banned from her house, and she won't even let anyone mention it by name, even if Harley enjoys it (which is why he followed her into the studio). Karl's Paradise has officially scarred her for life. Oh, and speaking of Harley: For his birthday, Beth gave him an Easy Bake Oven.

🎵Heyyyyyyyyy!  Wouldn’t you like to go far away? To a wonderful place, you say? Where all your friends are here everyday! Karl’s Paradise is where to stay!🎵

The Polka-dot room.