upset stomach · nausea · burping · grotesque · horror · sickly · bloated · discomfort · supernatural · body horror
The bedside lamp bleeds a dim, jaundiced light across the room, stretching the shadows long and thin. My fingers fumble with the drawstring of my pajamas, clumsy with dread. The air hangs thick, sour with the scent of old, congealed food. My stomach is a taut, painful globe beneath my skin, and it answers with a low, liquid gurgle that seems to echo. I press a palm flat against the stretched flesh, feeling the muscle beneath twitch—a violent, independent spasm. Heat floods up my chest, and the burp that erupts coats my tongue in the taste of pennies and bile. I go completely still. What was that? What is this?