Looker
By David Nickle, first published in Chilling Tales: Evil Did I Dwell; Lewd I Did Live
A young man meets a woman who has eyes all over her body, and he soon discovers how the eyes are acquired.
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Plot Summary
A man named Tom is at his wealthy friend Len's party. He does not want to be inside because his ex-girlfriend is there, so he goes down to the beach with his wine. On the beach, he meets a woman named Lucy. Lucy says a few things like she is talking to someone, so Tom thinks she is on the phone, but she is not. Tom and Lucy talk on the beach for a while, drinking and smoking. Finally they decide to swim, so they take off their clothes and go in the water. Tom looks at Lucy on the beach when he is in the water, then realizes that he should not be able to see her given how dark it is. She has tiny points on her that flicker in and out like stars. When Lucy is in the water, Tom sees the same lights on her body. Back on the shore, Tom and Lucy start hooking up. The whole time, Lucy mutters like she is talking to someone. Tom sees a flash of light for an instant on her stomach, but then it disappears. So, he licks her hip and uses his tongue to feel a cyst-like bump, and he feels something rolling around beneath. He touches the thing beneath, and is flung onto his side. When he looks back at Lucy, there are eyes all over her body in different colors that are looking at him. Tom realizes Lucy is talking to the eyes. Tom is freaked out, so he flees the beach and goes inside. His ex-girlfriend is gone. Tom goes to the bathroom and sees Len's girlfriend Kimi, who tells him he needs to get over his ex, who is done with him. Tom proceeds to drink a lot and is still at the house late into the night. Tom is approached by Len, and they start to talk about Lucy. Len reveals he is sick, and he gets mad when Tom asks about Lucy's eyes. Len accuses Tom of leeching off of him, and says that Lucy is helping him in ways Tom could not imagine. Len bans Tom from coming back to his parties. Tom finds Lucy on Facebook and apologizes for leaving her at the beach. They meet up to go to dinner. Afterwards, they go back to Tom's apartment. They begin to hook up, and like the first time, Lucy talks to the eyes throughout. Tom tells Lucy to tell the eyes that he is not afraid and that he understands. He enters her as he says Len would shortly after. Tom remarks on his own funeral, saying that his ex-girlfriend looked good and that she seems open to the possibility of being Lucy's friend. He experiences his own funeral through Lucy, as he is now an eye in her body. Lucy tells Tom that his ex misses him and can't believe she let him go, and that she thinks she and Lucy will be great friends.