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

She wished that she could have given them the farewell that they deserved, but you can’t properly lay someone to rest if there isn’t a body left to bury. All she had been able to do was clean up the blood.

She’d collected the shells from Franklin’s gun, washed and put away the dishes, and put the room back together as best as she could. She had left a window open to air out bleach, but that was the only thing out of place. If anyone ever went into the house to investigate the couple’s disappearance, it would lead to a missing person’s case and not a murder—or at least, that’s what she hoped.

“Is this real?” she asked herself, looking out the smudged window from her seat on a city bus. She had found three hundred dollars in Elaine’s purse when she was cleaning up and had decided to get as far away from the house as possible. Exiting the bus several hours later, Val found herself lost in the swarm of people. New York really was the city that never slept.

Being in the midst of such a large crowd made her finally realize why Crystal had adamantly forbade visiting the city. The people pushing against her as they hurried past left their scent floating before her, like dark spirits trailing to all-you-can-eat buffets.

Beginning to feel lightheaded from the sensory assault, Val veered from the crowd and rested her back against one of the connecting alleyway’s brick walls. She watched as the masses marched to and fro, passing cars and street lights illuminating their paths.

There used to be a time in which she’d gaze upon someone and see a story. She would imagine where the person had grown up and how he or she was raised. Did he have a dog as a child? Did she have a boyfriend? Did that couple have children, already grown and starting families of their own?  But that part of her was gone now. Its inquisitive voice had been drowned by the terminal disease. The inoperable, systemic disease. Now, all she saw was food.

Loud snoring drew her attention to a man slumped on the ground next to the dumpster further down the alley. She took a few hesitant steps toward him and saw that he was fast asleep next to a can of spare change and loose bills.

He never asked to be like this, she thought to herself. She knelt beside him. Whether he made a mistake that had led him here, or just had bad luck, there he was in front of her. Thousands of people walked past that alley every day, and who knew how many people walked through it. They knew. If people would ignore something as simple as homelessness, what hope was there for her?

Elaine… Franklin…

That had been the first time she truly felt full. Even when Crystal’s food assuaged the longing, it was nowhere near as satisfying.

Val reached out her hand and gently caressed the man’s cheek. He awoke with a start and scrambled back against the wall. Seizing his neck, Val yanked him up and pinned him against the dumpster. She crinkled her nose and tried not to inhale the stench. Her eyes wandered across his ripped and dirt-stained clothes until they fell back on eyes darting every direction in search of escape.

She ran her hand down his face again, fingers grazing the rough edges of his beard.

Maybe some people are just born to be broken. Born to be the victims of life…

“Shhh…” she whispered, placing a finger against his quivering lips. “We’re going to help each other out right now, okay? Neither one of us will hurt anymore.”

Born to be a monster.

The TV screen shifted to the depiction of yet another reporter in a cheap suit standing in an empty street.

“Good evening, New York. The manhunt in the string of brutal murders reaches its third month today. Originally believed to be a wild animal, the ME’s report stated that the teeth marks are human. As sickening as it sounds, it would appear our serial killer is a cannibal. Here’s a comment from NYPD’s Captain Madison O’Riley earlier this afternoon:”

“Whoever’s behind this is not a slow, meticulous killer, but someone wild and impulsive. He has worked his way from the outskirts of Brooklyn into Queens. It started off with junkies and petty criminals, but he’s becoming more indiscriminate. For the safety of all citizens, the city wide curfew is still in effect.”

“You said ‘more indiscriminate.’ Do you think this has anything to do with the bartender killed last week on 5th?”

“No comment.”

“Alright. Well, Captain, do you have any words for the people of New York?”

“This killer is not someone to be taken lightly. Keep your doors locked and be cautious around any unusual behavior. We will not stop until we have brought this psychopath to justice and he has been punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Now—” 

The TV flickered to a different station.

“You sure?”

“I’ve been watching for months, angel dearest. It’s her. Besides, they were talking about her on the news at the coffee shop I was just—"

“You stopped to get coffee?!”

The creature winced then sighed audibly into the receiver. “I know you’re not used to talking on phones, but that almost took my eardrum out. And yes, yes, I did. I haven’t had a frappé in months.”

“Well… I guess it’s better than if the twins went, ya know? They’d still be arguing over whether or not to get crem.”

“You mean cream?”

“I don’t know, and honestly, don’t care. Forgive me for choosing not to consume overpriced liquid sugar. What did the reporter say?”

“It’s beautiful, really. Started off trying to only hunt the… undesirables, and now the