"Hey," he said when he opened the door. "I'm almost ready."
I walked through his front door saying, "You aren't ready?"
"Not yet. Still have a few things I need to do."
"Well, hurry up. I'm hungry."
Jerry's apartment was small, but homey. His furniture in his living room was arranged perfectly so not to trip anyone moving around, yet still make the room feel packed. Various photos and posters were hung evenly along the walls, while random nick knacks were placed randomly around. Jerry always collected the strangest things, but they certainly made for great conversations.
"I need only a few minutes, Jill," he said as he walked around. "Just make yourself comfortable and I'll get you when I'm ready."
"Fine," I replied, plopping down on his love seat. It was my favorite seat in the house and always helped me relax.
For the next few minutes, I scrolled through my phone while my stomach grumbled from time to time. Despite my dislike of waiting, I couldn't get mad at him. Jerry was one of my best friends, after all. We had known each other for years. Something about his weirdness just clicked with me when we first met and we hit it off instantly. We even went on a date or two at some point, though we both agreed we were better off as just friends. Now a-days, though, we were both so busy that it was hard to find time to hang out. We made this dinner/movie night a regular thing just to make sure we saw each other. Tonight he offered me something different, though. He knew I was still upset about my ex leaving me a few months ago and offered to take me to a club instead. It wasn't his type of night, but he knew it would make me feel better and give me a change to meet some new people. So, I made sure to put on one of my nicest outfits, a slim, sleeveless black dress with red heels, and hoped for the best.
"Jill, can you do me a favor?"
I looked up from my phone and saw him with a large bag of trash in his hands. He was still wearing casual clothing, but I guessed it was so he didn't ruin his outfit with his chores.
"There is a trash can in my bedroom. Can you grab the back from inside?"
I gave him a look, but got up anyway. "Sure. But, it better not have wet tissues in it."
He chuckled. "Don't worry. Its clean enough. Just don't touch anything else while you're in there."
It was an odd request, as he was always passing his weird stuff around, but I thought nothing of it as I went to his room. With a flip of the switch, I was greeted by the room of a twenty something man and his weird collections. Nick knacks of various shapes and sizes were scattered around the room. Some were on shelves while others sat on his dressers and computer desk. A large selection of books were piled beside his desk, all with strange titles I didn't recognize. He had his outfit laid out on his bed ready to go, a nicely pressed, black shirt and matching jeans. He wasn't going to pick up many girls in that outfit, but I'm sure he wasn't expecting to anyway.
I saw the trash can between his desk and dresser, so I went over and lifted it up. True to his word, it was void of any tissues from possible nightly activities. Carefully so not to ruin my dress, I pulled the sides of the bag up and tied them together. Then I pulled the bag out and made my way to the door. I only took a step, though, before something caught my eye.
Sitting on top of his dresser was a large tank, one designed for pets like a snake or a turtle. The sides were covered by black paper, though, preventing me from seeing what was inside. The top was not covered and a lamp hung over it, currently off and leaving the whole tank in darkness.
"Since when did he have a pet," I muttered to myself.
Setting the bag to the side, I moved closer to the tank, trying to see what was inside. It was perfectly covered, though, so I couldn't see a thing. Curiosity took me as I reached out and turned on the lamp. I was greeted with disappointment when I saw nothing. Inside was just a bunch of river stones set a few inches high surrounding a big pool of liquid. The liquid was strange, though. Instead of being clear, it was a slightly translucent blue. I couldn't see anything through it, either.
"It's empty," I said.
I stood there, trying to understand why Jerry had an empty pet tank when suddenly the liquid moved. With no noticeable cause, it started to churn slightly with ripples spreading outward from the center. Confused, I reached my hand in and tried to find what was making it move. I touched it gently and felt it was warm and slightly viscus. Then, without warning, the liquid jumped at my hand. I pulled away instantly, startled.
The liquid had splattered across my hand, coating my fingers and palm. My skin had a blueish tint to it, but I could still see everything clearly. It felt warm and tingly against my skin, more like a slime than liquid. I tried to shake it off my hand back into the tank, but it refused to budge. Then, I noticed it wasn't staying still on my hand. In fact, it was slowly creeping up until it enchased it all in its blue form. Scared, I wiped at it with my other hand, trying to get it off. Instead, it stuck to that hand as well and started to surround it at the same pace as the other.
"Jerry!" I shouted.
A minute later, Jerry walked through his door. "What's the hold up- Oh no..."
"What's going on?" I asked, my voice shaky with concern.
"I said not to touch anything. You really should have listened."
"Why? What is this stuff?"
"I'm not sure, to be honest. I just know what it does."
By this point, the slime has spread up my arms to my elbows. "Does? What's it doing?"
"Eating," he said simply.
Fear filled me. "Eating? Eating me?"
"No, no. You'll be fine. Though, it will be one hell of an experience for you."
"Will you please explain this," I shouted, the slime reaching my elbows.