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

The next thing she knew, she was putting everything in sight directly into her mouth until her eyes fell on a package of ground beef.

There was the faintest of protests from the back of her mind. Val took a step back and swallowed, trying to fight off what felt like an animal crashing against its cage. Her stomach quivered, followed by a sharp pain, and she clutched her abdomen. Her gaze fell back on the ground beef and saliva poured down her chin. The cage lock snapped, and the beast escaped. A scream of agony ripped through her throat and she was on her knees, eating from the Styrofoam container.

She ravaged through the cabinets like she was possessed, serving as a marionette to a monster pulling strings. This new master led her across several bags of chips and a pack of cookies, but she inhaled them in seconds. She found and chugged four cans of soup, chased by two liters of soda.

Useless.

She crushed the empty bottle in her hand and turned to hunt for something else.

Abruptly, a cold wave washed over her and the spell shattered. She stumbled back against the counter and caught her breath.

Looking out with clear eyes, Val brought a quivering hand to her mouth.

Carnage.

The refrigerator was wide open with loose food spewed about like a murder scene. Two cabinet doors were ripped completely off their hinges. The trash had been tipped over and torn to shreds. Then there was the array of wrappers, broken bottles, and destroyed appliances. Carefully stepping into the war zone, Val picked up half of an empty soup can. The other half lay two feet away.

She set it down and absently ran her hand along the counter, then yanked it back. She looked down and saw what appeared to be four jagged claw marks cutting into the linoleum.

“What…” She gulped. “What’s happening to me?”

It took over an hour to clean the kitchen. She’d still have to explain the broken cabinets to her landlord, but that was drama for another day. Exhausted, she leaned against the countertop and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she looked down and realized stains, dirt, and several large holes marred the fabric. With a deep sigh, she headed to the bathroom and shed her ruined clothes.

Time stilled as the water reached the near-scalding temperature. She smirked, thinking back to how Jason hated it that hot.

The steaming cascade poured over her body. She remembered the first time Jason had spent the night, and caught herself smiling. He’d gone to take a shower in the morning but couldn’t adjust the temperature. While still in bed, she had heard a high-pitched shriek, followed by the soaking wet stud standing in her doorway with a sheepish grin. Rolling her eyes, she’d pried herself from the blankets and headed to the bathroom to help him adjust it.

Leaving the memory, Val let herself become engulfed in warmth. She closed her eyes and emptied her mind.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Fear and anxiety started to fade, but strands still clung like constricting tentacles. She shut her eyes tighter, trying to forget, but the fear surged within its drowned prison. The hot water became a suffocating downpour and the steam that blanketed her in security was now an amorphous veil. The creature flashed in her mind, blood chilling screeches ravaging her senses. Her safe haven shattered as it reeled back its head and prepared to sink its teeth into her exposed shoulder.

Val’s eyes snapped as air flooded her lungs. Streams of blood mixed with the water and swirled down the drain. She stifled a scream and turned to find teeth marks pierced into her shoulder. Blood flowed freely from the wound.

She threw open the curtain, then tripped out of the shower, barely catching herself on the towel rack. She pulled herself up and ripped the towel loose to swaddle her shoulder. The wound wasn’t painful, but she applied direct pressure to stop the bleeding. After wiping the steam from the mirror, she carefully peeled back the towel and stared back in confusion.

The wound was gone.

This isn’t real.

Val ran her fingers along smooth skin, then looked back to the mirror.

There was no monster, there was no cut, I’m just- I’m going crazy.

“I’m going crazy,” she repeated aloud. “It wasn’t real, it wasn’t real, it wasn’t—” The creature’s unhinged jaw played once again across her eyes.

She opened them and found her fist had punched through the mirror and into the wall. Blood streamed down her arm. Just as a scream prepped to let out, the primal instincts reclaimed their control.

Panic vanished. Racing thoughts slowed to focus on the task at hand. Val calmly pulled her arm back and sighed. She looked at the mirror as the memory fought to keep a foothold in her mind.

Had that hole always been there? No, that wasn’t it. She shook her head and tried to remember. Val wiped her eyes and glanced to see the torn shower curtain. When she looked back to the mirror, it made sense. She had tripped getting out of the shower, and the mirror broke her fall.

She leaned closer to examine the hole. No, that couldn’t be… A sleepy fog similar to that afternoon in the hospital settled over the room. Val hazily stepped away from the sink before turning to spot an old t-shirt and sweatpants in the laundry pile behind the door. By the time she had dressed, the bizarre cuts on her hand had already healed.

When Val emerged from the bathroom, her stomach was growling again. That, paired with mental exhaustion, banished any chance of being productive. She collapsed onto the living room couch and reached towards the coffee table for her phone. After waiting for what felt like forever it to turn on, she saw