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

from sharp teeth—practically fangs—as it stepped closer. Val wanted to look away but was paralyzed in its gaze. It stole two more steps, then leapt into the nearest tree overlooking the path. The monster peered down at her and moonlight illuminated its entire face.

Her blood chilled as she locked eyes with the creature— eyes, that in the glow of the moon, looked… human.

The spell broke and Val turned to flee in the opposite direction. She had to find a place to hide—she knew she’d never make it to the entrance.

She limped toward a goal she knew she couldn’t make, the rustling in the treetops growing louder. Using all the energy left in her body, she managed to drag herself behind the trunk of a large hemlock tree. She prepared herself for the worst and looked down to check the damage. Five deep, jagged gashes ran the length of her calves, thinning out at her ankles. The trailing blood mixed with dirt to form a sickening black ichor that seeped from the lacerations. She tenderly tried to dab away some of the blood with a leaf, but the pain was too much. When she looked again, she was horrified to see pink tissue within her leg.

All was silent, and for a brief moment, she wondered if she had lost her pursuer. She tried to peek around the other side of the tree, but her muscles stiffened. The same bone-chilling squeal echoed again.

An enormous weight crashed into her chest, knocking the air from her lungs. Clawed hands pinned her to the ground and the creature leaned towards her face. It snarled, restraining her flailing arms as its mouth unhinged like a snake.

Hot breath caressed her face, then slammed her nostrils with the stench of rotten meat. She gagged, but her body was useless. The creature released one last ear-piercing shriek, then sank its fangs into her clavicle. She screamed and convulsed against its weight, but it was no use. Its jaws snapped shut, one row of teeth connecting with the other inside her shoulder. Pain exploded through her body in a singular burst. Blood splattered onto her face as it savagely wrenched its head and her shoulder’s flesh disappeared into the scarlet-stained maw.

But something strange happened.

The creature shrieked and recoiled like it’d been stabbed. It lunged at her again, but pulled back once its foot stepped in the ever-widening pool of blood. Screeching a third time in what looked like pain and frustration, it glared at her a few seconds longer before climbing into the nearest tree.

Lying on the ground, Val watched the moving branches and leaves above her. The rustling moved farther and farther away until all was finally still. Until she was completely alone. With what little energy remained, she turned her head in hope of finding some form of cavalry. There was no way that someone hadn’t heard her screaming. But no one came. The crickets’ ballad was uninterrupted, and the full moon continued to shine. The spirit of Gaia had gone on as if no horror had stained her earth.

Val gasped for air as consciousness crashed back to her body. Night had nearly enveloped the park. The darkness, and the fear that accompanied, was practically undisturbed. The old lamp posts had dimmed from decades of continuous service and unabashedly left the shadows to pirouette through her mind. She needed to leave.

Cursing herself for forgetting her phone, she turned back towards the exit.

 What was that thing?

The monster’s hairless body and sharp teeth leapt before her eyes then vanished. She could feel something creeping down her skin, and sweat now soaked her clothes. An absent thought crossed her mind that she needed to move, but her feet wouldn’t submit. In a final strain, she snapped her body into movement, but instead of the exit, she found herself walking off the trail and deeper into the woods.

Several minutes later, she was standing in a small clearing. Dried blood stained the ground in ugly blotches. Glancing up, she saw many of the branches had been torn and snapped, the carnage leading deeper into the shadows.

When she looked down, she jumped, something new having conjured itself into the scene. It was her body.

Val stared at herself lying lifeless on the ground. Deep cuts covered her skin, and her shirt and leggings were torn to ribbons. She moved to get closer, but footsteps crunching on leaves signaled someone’s approach. Before she could hide, two men entered the clearing and looked down on her unconscious form.

The first she recognized immediately as the man from the Emergency Room. His dark skin had more color than when she last saw him, and his steps were slow but not dragging. He looked nervous, eyes darting everywhere.

Val tried to focus on the second character but each time, the surrounding shadows seemed to drift over her eyes and his body blurred. He was wearing all black—maybe—but that was all she could make out. Val took a step forward and the entire scene vanished in wisps of light smoke.

Piercing pain struck her stomach and she fell to her knees. It was a hunger like she’d never experienced. Something inside of her was screaming. A ferocious growl escaped her throat and food consumed every thought that managed to load. A haunting phantom, the hunger gripped her in its claws. Food. Anything.

Blood.

The demon demanded it.

Chapter 3

Val was back in a third of the time that the commute typically took. She vaulted the couch and made a solid beeline towards the kitchen. The refrigerator door nearly tore from its hinges as she grabbed anything and everything edible. Within seconds, she stood before a massive sandwich stacked with meat, cheese, vegetables, and whatever else that wasn’t destroyed in the initial frenzy.

Two ravenous bites and it was gone.

She wasn’t