When We Were Still Human Vaughn Foster (the kiss of deception read online .txt) đ
- Author: Vaughn Foster
Book online «When We Were Still Human Vaughn Foster (the kiss of deception read online .txt) đ». Author Vaughn Foster
The last word struck Val like a spear. âHow- how did you know that?â
âNow, this is going to be a lilâ hard to believe, girlie, but you were ummâŠhow should I say this? Turned.â
Val paled, her breath catching in her throat. âTurned?â The crazy man from the E.R. rushed to mind, accompanied by all the old horror movies about bloodsucking monsters. âYou mean⊠like a vampire?â
âGhoul,â she replied calmly. She took a sip of her coffee.
âLike a ghost? Iâm deââ
âNo. If I meant ghost, I would have said ghost. Ghouls are creatures that need human flesh. They canât eat anything else; their metabolism burns it off before digestion. All the waste is breathed out in carbon dioxide. Havenât you wondered why you didnât need to take a piss in the last few days?â
"At least he wasn't crying ghoul!"
"Monsters that live in graveyards."
Val thought back over the montage since the attack. Her body had felt lighter, now that she thought about it. She had leapt twelve stories from Jasonâs balcony and landed forty feet away. It also explained how fast sheâd moved through the forest.
âIf ghouls go too long without eating, they go crazy,â Crystal continued. âIssue is, live like an animal long enough and you start feeding on⊠live people. You go down a dark path, your mind twisting and morphing tilâ you donât even know what you are. Only thing that matters is where the next meal is coming from and who it will be. You get bit by one of these things, and wellâŠâ She motioned towards Val with her mug.
Val looked down at her soup. Panic and horror stopped her breathing as she saw pieces of meat float to the surface in the thick fluid.
âBut⊠if the only thing that a ghoul can eat isâŠ."
"Monsters that live in graveyards."
"And eat human flesh."
"Oh my god, I just ate someone! What the hell, how could you just give me that?!â Val jumped from the table, the sudden movement making her even more nauseous. She ran towards the kitchen counter and prepared to make herself vomit into the sink.
âI wouldnât do that if I were you,â Crystal said, walking over to support Val from falling. âIf you throw up, youâll be in the same state we found you in last night. You will lose your mind, and for your safety, and that of my family, I will put you down.â
Val stopped her struggle, thinking back to the previous night. She'd attacked Jason. She'd snapped the neck of that deer with her bare hands. If Crystal and her son had been humans...
âYou said if a ghoul eats humans, theyâll go crazy," Val started shakily. You canât expect me to live like this. Iâm begging you.â She grabbed Crystalâs shoulders and pleadingly stared into her eyes. âJust kill me now.â
âSit back down, youâre not listening,â Crystal soothed. Gently placing a hand on Valâs back, she led her to the table. âI said if we continue to eat living humans. Feeding on the dead is a more...humane way of survival.
âOur ancestors were forced to dig up the freshly buried, but now that weâve been hunted to near extinction, there are more options available for those of us still around. The most common is working as a mortician, my own profession. Once the bodyâs buried, no one notices if a few internal organs are missing. And if someone is to be crematedâŠâ She closed her eyes and ran her tongue across her lips.
âWhat the hell is wrong with you!â Val slammed her hands on the table. âDead or not, theyâre still people!â
âWere people,â Crystal replied dryly. âTheir spirits are long gone. Whatâs left is an empty, edible shell. Itâs the survival of the fittest, girlie. Eat, or let your mind get eaten. Just know that if you pick the second one, you wonât have the option of whether you eat the liver of an old man on his way into the ground, or rip the beating heart out of someone you love.â
Jason.
The horror in his eyes continued to haunt her. She couldnât go back to him, or her old life. Being around people would only tempt the unthinkable, and that would create a monster.
No.
That would release the monster.
Val looked up at Crystal, but the womanâs green eyes seemed to stare through her. It was like she was trapped in some distant memory.
Val cleared her throat and Crystal blinked.
âIt sounds like youâve had experience.â
âLigelâs father,â said Crystal somberly. âHe was human, but he knew what I was. He accepted me, said it didnât matter. Said that he trusted me. After Li was born, I started getting tired. I couldnât take care of myself, and getting what I needed became more difficult, especially with a newborn. Every time I saw my husband, I felt pangs of hunger. I wanted to eat him. But I loved him. He was the man I married, the father of my child. I couldnât put him, or Li in danger, so I planned to leave.
âAs the weeks went by, I started noticing little changes in Ligel. It started with eating less and staying up during the night. I guess for human children thatâd be normal, but he had always slept âtil morning. Before I knew it, his teeth had grown in. Theyâthey were sharp.â
Crystal looked away and wiped a stray tear. She closed her eyes and absently stirred the spoon in her mug until her hand stopped shaking. When she raised her head again, she took a
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