The Man With a Thousand Wounds (excerpt from Dōguhn)

I’ve been occupied with some things and so I regret that this site has been neglected. Though I’m happy to report that I’ve gotten quite a bit of writing done on my newest manuscript today (The Skin Collection). The chapter I just finished may be my most blasphemous work to date. I may post it on here eventually, but for now I’ll post another chapter from my first novel, Dōguhn. I’ll be reviewing a couple more movies shortly (potentially Kurosawa’s Cure and Cronenberg’s Shivers), and may even post some more top ten lists. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this excerpt from the chapter entitled, The Man With a Thousand Wounds. And don’t forget, I have a promise to keep; these books will be up for sale in the not too distant future…

After what seemed like an hour the door was opened and a man entered, though he was hardly recognizable as such, as his entire body looked to have been pieced together. Chunks of flesh of varying textures and colors had been sewn and grafted to his limbs and torso. His lips had been removed, exposing his gums and perfectly pristine, white teeth. It was hard to tell what the man’s mood was, as his face could bear no expression. He simply nodded toward Guy and closed the door behind him.

As the man stepped into the light, Guy could see that his eyelids had been pried open permanently and replaced by new, organic lids, which opened and closed horizontally when he blinked. The man was entirely nude and Guy could see that the injuries did not stop at his waist. His penis had been split and was held together by numerous rings that pierced the tender flesh. He was fully erect. All across his legs were cuts and slashes, and the flesh had been completely removed around his left ankle as well as his right kneecap.

The man stood, proudly exposing his wounds as if it were a body Guy would covet.

“I’m Joshua Smith,” the man said. “I lead the lost souls of Earth.”

Guy barely heard the man. His attention was on Joshua’s body.

“I’m surprised to see someone from the Terrafirmoux here,” Joshua said genuinely. He spoke perfect English though his voice was distorted due to his lack of lips. The words came more from the throat than his mouth. “I was once like you, until I built this place.”

Guy turned his head up to meet Joshua’s eyes.

“Yes, I am the architect.”

“How…”

“How am I still alive, you wonder? My body has been rebuilt, much like this city was to begin the rebirth of the Eanigmus. That is, until the bastards in Domithium took it all away.”

“The elders…”

“Yes. They destroyed what work we had completed and killed all they could. Now we’re all that’s left and we’ve been reduced to eating our fellow man. I have spared your life however, though they demanded at least a small taste of the man from the Terrafirmoux.”

“Why didn’t you just let them eat your own goddamn toe?”

“My flesh is sacred. Nothing is left from my original body. This shell is a patchwork of beings from this world, not from our own. I consumed my old flesh.”

Guy had heard enough on the subject. He had more important things to worry about. “What did you do with my friends?”

“Ah, them.”

“Don’t fuck with me!” Guy said through his teeth. His patience was gone with this madman.

“They’re all alive. It’s not good to kill your food right away. It spoils. How do you think you’ve been fed?”