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[i]Events transpire several hours before the start of Be Somebody.[/i]

...

“...severe damage to the vehicle, with no sign of Ms. Sorenson in sight. Authorities ask that residents of Árido Valley keep watch for any signs of Jennifer Sorenson’s status or whereabouts and report anything they find which may help in the ongoing investigation. In other news, gunfire was reported near…”

Newscast. Uncle and his son were sitting and watching while they ate, rest of the family just outside on the backyard patio. Cookout, having the family over. Everyone had already done plenty of talking, so now they were beginning to separate a bit. TV sounded good to the uncle in the meantime.

There were seven in all. A man and his wife, the man’s brother and his wife, two girls belonging to the first couple, and a boy belonging to the second.

A relatively happy family. Nothing out of the ordinary.

“I don’t wanna go back into town anytime soon after all that craziness. I’m not.” The father said, “Murders left and right, gang wars, it’s insane.”

“You shouldn’t be working there then!” The uncle’s wife said, “You can find something out here in the Valley!”

“I mean, [i]maybe[/i] after I square everything away with my boss but-”

“Daddy!”

One of the daughters ran to the table where the three adults were seated. “What? What is it?” The father asked his little girl, who looked pale and panicked. “There’s a lady!” She called out, “She’s hurt!” She turned to look out into the yard, as did the adults. Over in the distance, the father’s other daughter was standing a few feet away from an unfamiliar figure - a woman. Ragged, filthy, and her steps uneven.

“Oh my God!” One of the mothers called out. The father sprang from his seat on the patio and sprinted over to his daughter and the stranger. A look of worry grew on his face as he became more aware of the woman’s physical condition. He placed his arms on his daughter’s shoulders and pulled her back, looking at the stranger and saying, “Miss, a-are you okay? Miss?”

No response. The woman just kept stumbling forward. Her clothes were torn to shreds and splattered in foul-smelling stains. Dried, crusted blood surrounded her eyes and mouth. Blonde hair turned wild and caked in dirt. And her abdomen... [i]writhed[/i] beneath her shirt.

The other members of the family gathered outside to watch the event take place. “Miss?” The father said once again, “Can you hear me?”

The woman slowly raised her head and opened her mouth. Rather than any reply of words, the family was beholden to a horrifying sight. The inside of woman’s mouth - teeth and tongue - had all been replaced by a cluster of small, red, slime-covered pods. They opened wide, and began to vibrate rapidly, emitting a fast and constant clicking sound. Like a swarm of insects compressed into one small source.

The family - all standing before this strange, altered woman - did not react. They stood there, eyes wide, pupils dilating, mouths agape. The sound pierced their skulls and wormed its way into their brains, holding back their attempts to move or break away in any manner. The woman, maintaining her strange song, collapsed to her knees and then onto her side. None of this halted the sound. The family then gathered around her in a misshapen circle, dropping to their knees. They began to claw at her shirt, something still writhing beneath it. They tore it open, revealing a bloody mess of squirming pale creatures, similar to the ones inhabiting her mouth, but larger and covered in thin red veins. They moved on their own, as if detaching themselves from the woman’s exposed innards and presenting themselves to the family before them.

The seven of them began to dig their hands into the mess, grabbing the worm-like creatures and slovenly devouring them. Juices and fluids coated their hands as they dug at the woman’s body, as she maintained her hypnotizing song. They each stuffed worm after worm into their mouths, not making any attempt to clean themselves.

The horrid feast went on for only a couple minutes before the worms were all gone. The woman then ceased her song, the pods retreating as she closed her mouth, and lied still on the grass. Not quite dead, but very nearly there.

The family all slowly stood upright, mouths covered in the foul, sticky fluids from the woman’s innards. They all turned their heads away from the house and the woman, and then slowly began to stumble away from the scene altogether. They maintained a close group, as if driven by some unseen force, commanding them.

The house was left empty, the TV on, and the woman torn open and dead in yard.