Almost done with this one: need to finish the ending, then go in and add a couple of scenes. This one will be clocking out at about a bit under 5K words, by the way. Not a novella.
The prospect didn’t work out. I expected that it wouldn’t, but it was nice to pretend for a while. And I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s like a dam’s broken and the mouthies have flooded in: I see them on the streets, every day. I see them inside the stores, strutting about like they’re the normal ones, not monsters. There are fewer people around, every day — and the ones I do see have nervous eyes. Like they can see the future, and we’re not in it.
And there’s the kids. Everything we did to fight the Plague, all of the restrictions, all of the scourings and cleansings, we did it for the kids. To keep them safe. But whatever it is that makes mouthies what they are, it’s ripping through the schools like nothing. I almost gave myself away yesterday: I saw a horde of child-mouthies boiling out of their classrooms, screeching and howling as they ran to mouthy-parents. I had to hide until I could control my reactions.
At least the kids won’t remember what life was like, before the Plague. Won’t remember what it was like to be anything else except a monster. That’s something, at least.
I don’t know if it worked, though: I keep feeling eyes on me as I go on my rounds. I think they’re looking for me. Me, and all the others who know what’s going on. If there’s anybody left besides me who does know. I guess I can understand why: if the mouthies have finally taken over, they have the time now to tidy up. We must disgust them! They certainly disgust me.