PseudoPod 660: Tiny Teeth

[Bdoomed]

PseudoPod 660: Tiny Teeth

Author: Sarah Hans
Narrator: Ibba Armancas
Host: Alasdair Stuart

PseudoPod 660: Tiny Teeth is a PseudoPod original.

Content Warning:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

fantasies of self harm, politics (abortion)

Show Notes
From the author: “This story was inspired by and is dedicated to all the people around the world who have been forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term, especially those who didn’t survive it.”


I risk walking to the doctor’s office from my workplace, because it’s only a few blocks, and I think the fresh air will do me some good. I don’t tell anyone I’m going alone, or that I’m walking. I know what they’ll say. Outside without an escort, without the safety of an enclosed vehicle, my heart thrums like a tap dancer’s quick steps. I should be scared or thrilled by the prospect of imminent danger, but I’m too frightened of the news waiting for me at the doctor’s office to be worried about much else. As I walk, I become more and more convinced the news reports about the gangs of feral children, with their pictures of mutilated bodies and wide-eyed reporters speaking in quavering voices, are attempts to manipulate us with fear. To keep us inside. My coworkers are fools to walk in groups, to rush from their cars to the office with Tasers and pistols clutched in their fists. There is no danger here.

But then I see the girl, and I know I’ve made a mistake. She crouches behind a bush, and when I spot her, I freeze like a rabbit. She locks eyes with me and rises out of the greenery. She’s maybe four years old, though that’s a guess. It can be hard to tell the age of a child who has been feral a long time, and I’ve never been around many children to begin with, even before the virus made them violent.

She wears a tiny pair of denim shorts and a purple t-shirt decorated with glitter hearts, both caked with gore. Her hair was once styled in pigtails, but one side droops sadly, and the other side is a crusted mass of red-brown scab in place of hair. Her face is twisted into a permanent snarl. Her front two teeth are missing, which would make the expression she wears comical if she didn’t have her hands held at the ready, fingers extended to grab, filthy fingernails ready to claw. A growl issues from low in her throat. Her eyes–bright green, shimmering like beetle wings in the sunlight–are filled with hatred and bloodlust. She smells like stale urine and blood and roadkill.


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[Scuba Man]

Holy crap. This was an episode that gut-punched me as a listener. I posted some glib comments on discord... until the twist and the female protagonist's true plight was revealed to me. Ibba Armancas, your narration was chilling and razor-sharp. And Sarah Hans ... ... ... damn. I suspect you got inspiration from the movies Children Of Men, The Handmaid's Tale, The Girl With All The Gifts, and (I'm sad to note), local news stories. As a middle aged middle class white dude, it was a chilling listen (I'm going to read the transcript again, as I had to frequently stop your story to get a grip). Bravo, eh! 

[adrianh]

Dang. Super story. Super narration. <applause>

[harrietpodder]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

There seemed to only adults and feral children. Found myself wondering what happened to kids 7 to 18, born pre-virus? were they eaten by feral kids?

. To me the MC seemed a bit like the typical ditzy shallow chick, based on the narrator's breathy voice used for MC, a tone/voice which conveys "I'm a stereotypical know-nothing woman" Dunno if that's what the narrator was going for, but kudos to the narrator for upending the ditz stereotype, and making me care about MC

[harrietpodder]

Holy crap. This was an episode that gut-punched me as a listener. I posted some glib comments on discord... until the twist and the female protagonist's true plight was revealed to me. Ibba Armancas, your narration was chilling and razor-sharp. And Sarah Hans ... ... ... damn. I suspect you got inspiration from the movies Children Of Men, The Handmaid's Tale, The Girl With All The Gifts, and (I'm sad to note), local news stories. As a middle aged middle class white dude, it was a chilling listen
(((As someone withe a uterus and the ability to get pregnant, I'm glad to see that it got to you, Scubaman, because that means it's good horror/storytelling. But as you've alluded to, not even all ppl with uteruses who have/had ability to be pregnant are pro-choice, eg Governor of Alabama, US, using "people with uteruses/people who can get pregnant to include cis and trans ppl"-- harriet. I really want this story to influence US Repub politicians, but i have little hope of that occurring )))

(I'm going to read the transcript again, as I had to frequently stop your story to get a grip). Bravo, eh! 

[Scuba Man]

Holy crap. This was an episode that gut-punched me as a listener. I posted some glib comments on discord... until the twist and the female protagonist's true plight was revealed to me. Ibba Armancas, your narration was chilling and razor-sharp. And Sarah Hans ... ... ... damn. I suspect you got inspiration from the movies Children Of Men, The Handmaid's Tale, The Girl With All The Gifts, and (I'm sad to note), local news stories. As a middle aged middle class white dude, it was a chilling listen
(((As someone withe a uterus and the ability to get pregnant, I'm glad to see that it got to you, Scubaman, because that means it's good horror/storytelling. But as you've alluded to, not even all ppl with uteruses who have/had ability to be pregnant are pro-choice, eg Governor of Alabama, US, using "people with uteruses/people who can get pregnant to include cis and trans ppl"-- harriet. I really want this story to influence US Repub politicians, but i have little hope of that occurring )))

(I'm going to read the transcript again, as I had to frequently stop your story to get a grip). Bravo, eh! 

10-4, eh.

[Scattercat]

I almost turned it off because I really don't care for the "monstrous pregnancy" trope (which is frequently deployed in casually if not deliberately misogynistic terms), but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did because this story ended up much more satisfying than I had initially feared.

[Kvndoom]

Wow, I listened to this today for the first time. 

If you think it was impactful in 2019, give it another listen now, after we've seen COVID and the Roe v Wade overturn.  It cut way too freaking deep.