Body

Bernard needed just one more. He tried to procure what he required at the animal shelter, but there were too many questions as to why he wanted to adopt so many dogs and cats. He resorted to taking pets from backyards during the workday. Simple solution, but a slow process. He was caught on a few house security cameras, he was masked of course, and now the local paper labeled him the Pet Thief. No matter. The Pet Thief would not bother them much longer.

A stray simply walked up to him as Bernard sought out his last target. How fortunate. Soon he was back home with his prize. He added the dog to the meowing, howling herd and closed the door to the airtight room in his basement. Then he turned on the compressor and pumped it full of carbon dioxide. As he waited, Bernard added the final details to the circle in the garage. He had begun with chalk, but it smudged too easily. So he went to the hardware store for paint. Yellow was on sale. The circle was implied, as the base structure was actually a large hexagon on the cement floor. This was intersected with other rays and triangles. At important vertices, he inscribed smaller circles with the appropriate symbols.

With a small canister of oxygen strapped to his chest, he entered the airtight room. He gathered the still warm pet corpses and piled them in the center of the yellow circle. Then he placed the flask, the most vital component, on its intended vertex. Finally, he painted in a segment he left incomplete. The animal flesh immediately began to decompose, melting into a viscous soup. The smell was horrendous. It began to boil and contracted in on itself. Distinct elements took shape: bones, viscera, musculature. What formed before Bernard had sallow skin, a long snout, lanky arms, hands with blunt claws, and legs hinged like a horse. Throughout, the flask glowed a bright blue. When the thing was complete, the light faded.

It stood up unsteadily. Large, watery eyes looked at Bernard in confusion.

“Father?”

“I am here, Son.”

“I feel like I have been asleep.”

“You have been asleep a long time.”

“My hands… what happened to my hands, Father?”

“Your body was irreparably broken, Son. I made you a new one.”