When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (mobi reader android TXT) 📗

her like a truck. She tried a first step, but her stomach rumbled with a dull ache. Not daring to move, she leaned a hand against the wall and rested until the nausea passed.

Fog clouded her mind and her movements dragged, but she could function. When she was confident she wouldn’t collapse, Val began to widen the gap between her and the bed until she had made it to the window.

Looking out, tall hackberries and pines rose in the distance. Interestingly enough, there were several clotheslines hung along some of the nearer trees. A woman’s flannels and blue jeans blew gently in the wind, and pinned beside were a boy’s t-shirts and shorts. There was something on the tip of her mind, but another growl from her stomach pulled her attention away from the window. People were talking again, and this time she could hear clearly.

“Li, bring the spleen and kidneys over here now!”

A woman’s voice.

“I don’t see them anywhere!” a boy yelled back.

He couldn't be very young; adolescence probably.

“Back of the refrigerator, top shelf! Okay, now stir these in with the rest of the soup; I’m going to get more firewood.”

Still too disoriented to really understand the conversation, Val focused on getting closer to the sounds. When she reached the end of the room, she saw that the door was partially ajar. A deafening creak rang from the old metal hinges as she widened the opening. She listened for advancing footsteps, but the homeowners must have been too occupied to have heard. A cautious step out of the bedroom took her into the living area where she was met by a twelve-point buck's head above the fireplace.

“Mom, do you think this will work?”

They were much closer now.

“Don’t worry, Li, it’ll be fine. Hurry up and pour it into a bowl and put it on the table. She should be awake pretty soon.”

Val hesitantly walked in the direction of the voices and found herself standing in the kitchen doorway. A boy, maybe thirteen years old, sat at a small round table eating what looked like stew. Standing over the stove was a woman in her late thirties, early forties, with dirty blonde hair tied back in a ponytail.

“You’re awake.” She smiled, eyes not leaving the pot she was working over. “There’s a bowl of soup next to Li on the table. Eat.”

Though suspicious, Val’s hunger still held its grip. She sat down next to the boy and glanced him over warily, but he was oblivious. His face was practically buried in his bowl, spoon slowing just enough to swallow. Looking down at her own food, she breathed in the aroma. Her stomach roared to life and the hunger of the previous night raged through her body.

“Oh my god. That smells so good.”

“I know, right,” Li replied between mouthfuls. “You should eat now before you pass out again. You’re kinda heavy and I don’t wanna drag you back to your bed. Mom and I had to carry you for a good couple miles yesterday. Oh!” His face flared bright red and he nervously met her eyes. “Sorry about cutting your ankles.”

She stared back quizzically for a moment, then glanced under the table. She swiveled her foot, testing the joint at different angles, but couldn’t find anything wrong. The last thing she remembered was believing, for the second night in a row, that she was going to die. Her stomach growled again, and she zeroed in on the food in front of her.

Her hand lifted the spoon to her mouth in an almost hypnotic state. The moment it touched her tongue, she was in ecstasy. It was a warmth that she had never experienced before in her life; a passion and purity that touched the very soul. Halfway through the bowl, she realized someone had been talking to her.

The woman was leaning against the counter. “You’re starting to feel full, aren’t you?” she repeated.

Val nodded distractedly. Her body moved on autopilot while her mind was stunned by the taste. It had a meat base—maybe beef—in an unbelievable cream sauce, leaving her taste buds both confused and overjoyed. Celery and carrots then balanced the stew, grounding her with at least one thing she recognized.

When she finished, her stomach breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time since the attack, she felt satisfied. The woman handed her a second bowl, but Val couldn’t eat another bite. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the bits of meat and vegetables swirling in the broth. While she wasn’t religious, she whispered a prayer of thanks, grateful that she was finally in her right mind.

But in that clarity came memory. The woods. Jason’s apartment.

She shivered in disgust. The animal that had killed and devoured that deer wasn’t her. A beast she didn’t know existed had taken over and forced her body to submit to its hunger.

“Thank you so much,” Val whispered.

“No problem…” The woman looked up quizzically.

“Val.”

“Crystal. My son, Ligel, was here a second ago. He probably went to his room.” Val followed her gaze to the empty chair. She had been so engrossed in the stew that she hadn’t realized he left.

“Thank you so much for bringing me in. Last night I… wasn’t me. I--" She swallowed and pushed the bloody nightmare away. "This food, oh my god, it was incredible.”

“I try,” Crystal said with a shrug before sitting down herself. Her kind smile hadn’t wavered, but the way she stared into Val’s eyes was unsettling. The woman looked at her with a sense of familiarity; it was like she’d known her for years.

“You heard what Li said about your ankle, right?”

“What?” Val glanced at her foot then back to Crystal. “Yeah, but I’m fine. I don’t know what—”

“Ligel and I were out hiking and found you tearing into a