text: He grabbed a ghost pepper, ate it in one bite. Soft and sweet with a slight bite at first, he chewed it and quickly swallowed. He stared at the other man in his eyes. He made no move. The other man grabbed another ghost and jammed it into his own mouth; they stared as the other man chewed. A crowd had gathered around them and watched in fascination and silence. Something was wrong, the heat was beginning to warm up his mouth, the pain spread through his tongue like water flowing across a dry plain. The water quickly turned to molten lead and his tongue was quickly engulfed in flames. Still he did not move. He could feel his face getting hot now. It felt like needles were stabbing him in the gums, on his tongue, in his throat. Every square inch of his mouth burned. The other man stared at him. His teeth were clenched. The other man’s face became red and small twitches appeared on the man’s jaw. His nostrils flared. Then he realized his own nostrils were flared, open like parachutes, as if he could will the heat through his nostrils like a dragon. His eyes watered. He stared at the other man with eyes full of drops and furrowed his brow. The other man did the same. They leaned in until their noses were only a few inches apart. A tear fell down his face, and the other man’s eyes followed it down his face, until the other man's own eyes sprung a leak. He looked at the other man’s tear. He couldn’t help but blink hard and a few tears rolled down his face. The other man looked and pointed. He pointed at the other man’s tear. Suddenly the other man also blinked a heavy blink and tears flowed freely down his cheeks. The other man was still pointing at his face. The other man snorted. He snorted as well. The other man chuckled and pointed at his own tears and then back at his. He chuckled and pointed at the other man’s face. They stood there with dumb grins, tears streaming down their red faces, each with a finger held lazily up at the other's grimace. At once they both broke out in laughter, pointing at the other man's stupid face. Both in excruciating pain for reasons that were now long in the past and unknown. They doubled down in laughter and then began choking. Their mouths were both furnaces of pain and suffering and hate. They clasped hands as they screamed out in pain together. He looked around, “Where’s the fucking MILK?!” Someone passed him a gallon. He ripped off the cap with his teeth and chugged. His hands shook as the sweet white nectar blessed his tongue and spilled out onto his jaw and dripped down his chin. The other man grabbed his arm and yelled out, “you son of a bitch!” He held out the gallon to the other man who let go of his hand and the other man grabbed the milk gallon with both hands and held it an inch above his head. He tilted his head back and opened his mouth and the milk waterfalled into his hellscape of a mouth. He let out a moan as the milk spilled around his face. “Ahhh.” By this time his own mouth caught fire again, and he extended his hand to receive the milk jug back from the other man. The other man wagged his finger and drank more. His tongue burned. His entire head burned. He snatched the other man’s arm and the other man looked at him. He furrowed his brow. The other man did the same. The milk jug hit the floor as they squared up one more time.