When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

stomach yanked Val back to her current reality—she was starving. She swung her legs over the edge, then paused, feeling lightheaded from the movement. The smell of food only made it worse, but her stomach roared as she imagined what Crystal had cooked. Drool dripped down her chin until spittle landed onto her hand, snapping her from the trance. Gathering her strength, she forced herself to her feet and stumbled into the kitchen. Ligel and Crystal were already seated at the table, halfway through their plates.

“That time of the month, huh?” Crystal asked as Val went to the stove and made herself a plate. When she didn’t respond, Crystal gave a knowing sigh. “Even as ghouls, you can never escape Eve’s bloody waterfall. Be happy you were born a boy, Ligel,” she added, shooting a smirk at her son.

Ligel glanced up, cheeks flushed, before dropping his gaze to the table.

Val took her seat and started on the biscuits and sausage gravy. She glanced at Ligel from the corner of her eye, but he was stringently keeping his head down. She wanted to apologize, but barely had the motivation to eat, much less talk. The biscuits were delicious, as were all of Crystal’s meals, but only served to assuage her appetite as a droplet to a desert. Even as she swallowed the last bite, she could feel herself breathing out the nutrients. It was just like the meals earlier that week, but at least before, eating would dull the hunger. Now she just felt empty.

But Li and Crystal looked fine. Val eyed them as they happily chewed. Fork, mouth, plate. Fork, mouth, plate. Fork, mouth plate—Crystal stopped. Val bitterly glared as the woman pushed the plate she’d been working on aside. There was still a quarter of a biscuit and a good bit of gravy left, too.

“You’re not going to finish that?” Val asked quietly.

“Hmm?” Crystal looked down at her plate, then back up. “Oh, no, I’m stuffed.” She paused, then furrowed her brow. “You don’t look too hot.” She leaned closer and looked Val up and down. “Are you sure you’re doing alright, hun?” Crystal asked worriedly.

“Not like you’d care,” Val spat back. She cast a cold glare across the table.

“Excuse me?” Crystal exclaimed. “Where’s all of this coming from? I’ve just noticed you’ve been getting a little pale and you’re eating a lot more than usual.”

“Probably because you’ve been holding back on me, you arrogant bitch!” Val screamed back. A purple tint crept over her vision and anger swelled tenfold. She slammed her fist into the table, sending a large crack down the center. She was blinded by hunger. Loathing controlled her mind and body as words she never thought before continued to roll off her tongue.

“You never wanted me here, and we both know it! You had the perfect set up out in the middle of fucking nowhere with you and your perfect little son. You took me in, but just ’cause you couldn’t live with yourself to let me die. But you couldn’t support all of us, huh?!” Val picked up the plate, scowled, then smashed it to the ground. “This is just some kind of animal meat, isn’t it?! Bought in civilization. You’re probably surprised I still remember what that is, keeping me locked in this prison for over a year.”

Crystal gasped and took a step back. “Val, what? Your eyes—”

Val glanced at the silver tray on the table. Her pupils had dilated to three times their regular size. What wasn’t consumed by black was a deep, glowing purple.

“Stop it!” She leapt up and kicked the chair aside. “All I want is food. I need to eat. Or maybe, I might just have to improvise...” She raked her claws along the table as she neared Crystal.

Ligel jumped between the two and raised his hands defensively. He was trembling, face taut. He looked pleadingly into Val’s murderous stare and took a step forward.

“Val, what are you doing?! Please, just tell us what’s—”

The back of her hand sent him sprawling across the room. Val lunged after him, but a hand caught her by the throat, midair, and threw her aside. She growled, snapping her head up to see Crystal running across the room to Ligel. The woman fell to her knees and started ripping her sleeves to stop the bleeding.

“It’s okay, honey, Mommy’s right here. It’s all going to be alright, okay?” There was no response. “Why aren’t you healing?” Panic cut through her features like a knife. “Why aren’t you healing?!” The slow rise and fall of his chest was the only sign he was still alive.

Crystal’s cry and Ligel’s unconscious body were enough to snap Val from the trance. The purple haze that had consumed her vision faded, and she could now clearly see the blood staining her fingertips. What had come over her? This was her family. That was the same boy who had called her his sister. She took a step toward him but was halted by a glare of pure hatred from Crystal.

“Get the hell out of my house!” In the entire year Val had lived with them, she had never seen Crystal so upset. But she was family, wasn’t she? This was the only place in the world where she was safe. She tried to make another advance but was stopped again.

“I said get out!” Tears surged down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and shifted her eyes back to Ligel. “Val… I’ve been a ghoul a long time. And that… your eyes… it was more than a ghoul’s hunger. I- I don’t know.” She took another deep huff and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I don’t know what’s happening with you, Val, but you need to figure it out somewhere else. Ligel is all I have left… I wish you the best.”

“Crystal,” Val whispered. “I’m so sorry.