Worm Jeff's proboscis. The green drip at the tip is his acid drool.
Jeff settled down to rest inside a badly-punctured antique coffee can at the city dump. Oh, how he hated sleep. But this strange new body of his required it. The sooner he found a host to turn into Jeff The Killer and rid himself of this burden, the better. He had set up his temporary nest with a powder puff for a pillow, and a moth-eaten sock for a blanket. He closed the lid with his tail.
He curled up, and started to think wether he could do this at all. He had been searching for days now, looking for someone with enough hatred to suit his needs by probing the foreheads of sleeping people with his proboscis. No luck so far; he had found people with resentment, fear, and jealousy, but not so much that his suggestions could put them over the edge. Maybe he'd have better luck in the morning. He closed his eyes and started to drift off.
Unbeknownst to him, his future host was closer than he thought. Jack Erstwhistle was looking for electronic components for his home-made radio, which was his extra-credit assignment for the Advanced Electronics course at college. He figured, why spend money at the electronics store when scrap was free? He shined his flashlight at the pile of junk. The light reflected off a broken hand mirror, and shone straight into the crack of Jeff's coffee can.
Jeff blinked, and stirred. What was it NOW?! Then he realized it was way too early to be dawn; the light source must be the work of a flashlight. A human was near. Maybe this was the one. He hatched a new plan: maybe if he couldn't find someone about to go over the edge, he could gradually drive them them over the brink.
Jack found a curl of copper wire next to a coffee can; jackpot! The final component he needed. Extra credit, here I come. He reached out to grab it, but then he heard a voice coming from the can. "Hey, you."
Jack shuddered. "Me?"
"Yes, you. Look inside. Don't be scared."
Jack did as he was told. Inside the can, a small, white, strange-looking creature was staring up at him with round pink eyes.
"W-what ARE you?!"
"Relax", Jeff said in the sweetest voice he could muster, "I'm here to help you. With me, you can get anything you desire."
"What are you, some kinda genie?"
"Heh heh heh, not exactly." Jeff crawled onto Jack's hand and up his arm. Soon he was on the teenager's shoulder. "All you have to do is let me attach to the back of your neck, and I'll do the rest."
"WHAT?!"
"Calm down, it won't hurt any worse than a beesting. You'll become smarter, faster, stronger, able to do things more efficiently. And I can aid you in getting whatever you want most. Now, what IS it that you want?" Jeff pressed his proboscis against Jack's temple.
"Well, I really need to get this radio put together in time..."
"I can see that." Jeff probed deeper, concentrating hard. "Oh, and I see you have financial troubles, hm? Something about needing to find a job? I believe you're looking for something in the foodservice industry."
"...h-how did you know that?!"
"Hm...you also seem to be worried about a fellow named Alan whom you owe money to. Taking care of things like that is my specialty, heh."
"I'm kinda nervous about this."
Jeff opened his eyes, and crawled back onto Jack's shoulder. "Don't be. There's nothing to be frightened of. Trust me." He gave a gentle grin. "Just trust me."
"All right, if you say so."
"Okay, we'll start tomorrow morning. Put me in your pocket."
Jack gently placed the creature in the pouch of his slate-grey hoodie.
"Is this all right?"
"Just grand. By the way, try to keep this our little secret. Don't tell anyone you ever saw me. By the way, call me Jeff."
Jack went back to his car with the box of parts, being careful not to crush his new little friend. As his future meat puppet drove back home, Jeff curled up again, and closed his eyes.
When Jack got home, he put the box of parts in his closet. He then took the sleeping Jeff out of his hoodie, and gently placed him in the sock drawer. He closed the drawer as quietly as he could, and went to bed.
Jeff peeked out of the keyhole, and smiled toothily. Tomorrow would be an eventful day indeed.
END OF PART ONE
Written by laserpotato/Furbearingbrick (Marguerite Richardson)
This is the first part of the third chapter in the "Worm Jeff" saga. Part 2 will be written shortly.
part 1: One Door Closes, Another One Opens
part 2: Evil Never Dies