Allison's little joke did nothing to make Jerome feel more at ease.
"She's kidding," Carla tried to reassure him. He wanted to trust her, but she was also one of... them.
"I'll explain," Carla tried to pull him aside, nodding to Allison to stand by the door and block any unwanted visitors from entering the ladies' room.
"Th-this is too weird... " he whispered to his date. "Please tell me this is a trick."
"I'm afraid it isn't - but I've known Ben my whole life. I wouldn't put him - or you - in danger," she said gravely, looking into his eyes with nothing but plain seriousness. "As far as we can tell, we Swallowers are kind of a new thing - you know, I study folklore, and I've never heard anything quite like us. It's almost like magic - doctors haven't noticed anything wrong with me, even after I was in a car accident and had my whole head x-rayed. Here," she placed his hand on her jaw and throat. "Feel anything odd?"
He squeezed her face and throat gently, like he was checking for injuries. It all felt perfectly normal.
"Now," she said, taking his hand, looking into his eyes with a gentle honesty. She placed his hand inside her mouth, and his eyes went wide and his teeth clenched back a scream as she gulped hard, making his arm disappear up to the elbow.
She relaxed, and his arm, unharmed but a little slobbery, slid back out. "I-I'm sorry," she blinked, biting her lip, "I-I just wanted to show you you're perfectly safe..."
"It's okay," he said, breathing hard as he wiped her drool from his arm with a paper towel from a bathroom dispenser. "This... this'll just take some getting used to," he tried to smile up at her. She tried to smile back.
"Listen, I personally think it's pretty boring," Carla went on. "I've had an entire pumpkin... or even a watermelon, just to see if I still can. But her," her eyes darted over to Allison, "She likes to show off."
Allison was pretending not to listen. She had taken a nail file out from her purse and was using it, arms crossed over her more than ample belly.
"... And she's not a people eater?"
"I don't know. But I do know she wouldn't... "
Jerome's expression darkened. "Eat a friend?"
Carla sighed, rubbing a temple. "She's safe, alright? I've been - "
Jerome wanted to interrupt. Carla paused, then looked into his eyes again.
"I was the first person she tried to swallow. It was an experiment, and she let me out, though I know she didn't have to. I tried swallowing her after that... believe me, once something's in there, it doesn't come out unless the Swallower really, really wants it out."
"Alright, let's just go back to the date... I hope you have an explanation for Ben," Jerome walked over to the door. Allison put her file away and moved to let him exit.
"Wait!" Carla touched his shoulder. He turned to her.
"I'll feel better if we can just get to normal, okay?"
"But we still gotta tell you where Swallowers come from," smirked Allison.
So... how do you become a Swallower, anyway?
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