Joe Hawley and Ross Federman were two musicians in the band Tally
Hall, living together and touring the country in their quest for rock
stardom. But beneath the surface, a strange tension brewed between
the two bandmates.
It started off innocently enough. Little taunts and teases here and
there. Ross always seemed to crave the attention of their fans while at
the same time failing to pull his weight in songwriting and
performances. Joe grew increasingly frustrated with his bandmate,
feeling that Ross was holding them back.
One night after a particularly disappointing show, Joe confronted Ross
post-gig, calling him out for his half-hearted effort on stage.
"Look Ross, I get that you're new to this whole band thing," Joe said
tersely. "But you've gotta put in the work. We're not gonna get
anywhere if you keep slacking off, you feel me?"
Ross bristled at the criticism. "I'm trying my best, Joe. Maybe if you
stopped being such a control freak and let me do my thing, we'd
actually make some progress!"
The two musicians argued back and forth like an old married couple,
voices rising to a fever pitch. In a burst of anger, Joe swirling storm
clouds roiled around him. He raised his hands and shouted, "Turn
Ross into a chicken!"
In an instant, Ross screamed as he felt his body transform and shrink.
His arms morphed into wings, his legs fused into powerful chicken
legs. Gray hair sprouted out in a golden coat. Most disturbingly, his
head elongated into a beak.
  Joe couldn't believe his eyes. He had actually done it - with a wave of
his hands, he had transformed his friend into an ordinary chicken! An
evil grin spread across his face. This was too good to be true.
"Cluck cluck motherfucker," Joe gloated. "How's THAT for being in the
band?"
Ross the chicken had no words, only a pathetic squawk. He was
completely at Joe's mercy. Joe scooped up the helpless fowl and
plopped him into a wire cage.
"Guess you won't be quitting the band anytime soon, huh buddy? Just
sit tight while I think of what to do with you now."
That night as Joe lay in bed, he couldn't stop thinking about Ross, the
chicken. What was he going to do with this transformed band
member? His mind spun with possibilities, from bizarre punishments
to strange experiments.
Then it hit him - he would EAT Ross the chicken. The thought had a
certain poetic justice to it. After all the frustration and conflict, he would
consume and digest his rival, absorbing his energy and killing off the
competition for good. It was the perfect revenge.
Joe crept to the cage and snatched up the slumbering Ross. He held
the chicken aloft, admiring its terrified, pleading eyes. Then without
hesitation, he opened wide and dropped Ross into his mouth.
The frantic chicken flapped and squirmed against his tongue, but it
was futile. Joe's powerful throat muscles squeezed and swallowed,
whooshing Ross down his gullet and into his stomach. He could feel
the chicken writhing in his gut, still fighting to the last.
  It took a few minutes of peristalsis, but eventually Ross succumbed to
the digestive enzymes and acids. His body and bones dissolved into
nutrients to be absorbed by Joe's body. With a satisfied belch, Joe
rubbed his stomach. He had done it - he had eaten and digested his
rival, the ultimate coup de grace.
In the days that followed, Joe feigned concern for Ross's mysterious
disappearance. "I have no idea where he could be," he told the other
members of Tally Hall with a shrug. "Maybe he just got tired of the
rockstar lifestyle, who knows."
The band went on to find a new member to replace their missing
drummer. Little did they know, Ross was still very much a part of Joe,
his essence absorbed into his body. Joe could still feel a faint echo of
Ross' spirit within him at times.
And sometimes, when the moon was full and Joe was alone, he would
turn and look over his shoulder. And he could swear he saw the ghost
of Ross the chicken, scowling back at him with beady eyes, plotting
revenge against the man who had eaten and digested him. But that's
a story for another time.