Party Time

Party Time

Arcturian grumbled to himself. He was not a party animal so the invitation presented him with a problem. Ignoring it would have been easy but risked offending his mentor, Parallax. The Master tended to take his birthdays seriously.

It seemed he would have to attend, therefore. Arcturian directed his complex thought processes into consideration of how he might survive the endeavour. His scales glowed with the effort. It was going to be a monumental exercise in self control, he knew.

Arcturian began to steel himself for the ordeal. On the night of the party, he considered himself as ready as he ever could be. He proceeded into the night, armoured against the temptations to come.

Arriving at his mentor’s mansion, he paused at the sounds of revelry within. With a final tightening of his massive shoulders, Arcturian opened the door and stepped inside.

The vast hall was a scene of chaos. Gargoyles, griffins and gargantuans, ghouls and goblins, basilisks, cyclopes, harpies, the demons of hell and beyond, writhing together in a mad jumble of outlandish bodies, all struggled to get at the food laid out on the table. It was worse than Arcturian’s wildest imaginings.

His defences crumbled immediately. Forcing a talon into a nearby cyclopes’ eye socket, he swung the creature in an arc to clear a path to the table. Then, in full view of Parallax’s disapproving visage, he began to feed on the revellers.


Word count: 237
For Horror Writing Contest, WdC 24th Birthday, September 2024
Prompt: BIRTHDAY &/or WdC.