EAT!!!

My bare feet slapped against the grass, pebbles and sidewalk as I booked it as hard as I could. What was going on, what was that?!?

I passed by the expensive looking houses of Styles' neighbourhood in a blur of motion. There was no way I was getting caught by that thing!

I hoped it struggled to move around in the cramped corners of the bathroom, enough to give me a good headstart and escape.

At least I hoped it did, I don't know if fucking minotaurs adhered to the laws of physics. Who knows what it could do?

Maybe it could even fly around by swinging that huge meat stick of its around.

Why was I even thinking about that right now?

As a matter of fact, I know I ran, but I honestly wasn't even that scared of him.

Shocked, yes.

Nobody expects that while taking a bath.

But now that I think about it. I just ran cause I had to, you know? Big monster gotta run.

I slowed down and looked around, taking note of my surroundings. I had gone quite a bit farther than I expected. The houses here were big but not as lavish as the suburbs. This was the area people called mid town. Between the low income and rich, a middle class residential area.

“Haahhh” I was cold, I was freezing cold. I moved my feet a bit trying to rest them on their sides instead of flat on the cold pavement. I was shivering and even my meat had shrunken below it's normal size.

“Are you sure it's not normally like that?”

I rolled my eyes, “I’m pretty sure”

The voice chuckled, “Is there any part of you that actually measures to your father?”

“You're scrawny”

“The wettest pussy I've seen”

“You get no bitches, they're probably getting fucked right now”

“And to top it off, your thing is both tiny and thin”

…

He was right.

After I talked all that big game and promised that things would change. I'm out here, naked, cold in the street. The only thing I have keeping me company is some voice.

Wait a voice?!, and a familiar one too.

I quickly raised my head and scanned around, my eyes darting all over the place quickly.

And I saw it.

A large figure standing behind the brick wall of a house, staring at me. His sharp vertical horns easily recognisable. It was that thing!

How did it follow me?!

I wasted no time on further questions and I bolted away.

It was way harder this time, the adrenaline had long worked its way out of my system adding on to the fact I didn't even feel particularly afraid. This resulted in a quick sprint, a half-hearted jog and finally a walk. The soles of my feet felt tattered and I passed a few windows which people were peeking out but quickly closed them again.

I don't blame them.

I was in the bad part of town now, errant pieces of trash were scattered here and there and that was it. It didn't have the true scummy vibes of the slums I had seen on TV.

I had only been here once as a kid with my friends. We were looking for this pawn shop because it had this CD we wanted. Nothing had happened. We bought it and we went on our merry way. I guess this town was too dull even for an authentic slum.

I sighed, and spotted a bench, It had a few blankets draped across it. I didn't know whether to go deeper or to just turn back and finally admit what was happening. I went for my most well trained skill.

And I procrastinated the decision, I sat on the bench and curled up trying to conserve as much heat as possible. I was soo cold and each moment that passed these blankets, probably belonging to a homeless man, seemed so enticing.

Taking a look around, I didn't see anybody, surely just a few minutes wouldn't hurt, just until I figured out what to do.

I tentatively reached out and pulled it closer. The main colour of it was black but they were patchwork pieces dotted along its length. Poking at them you could tell the person was not a bad sewer. I pulled it around me and covered myself.

Ohh… this was bliss. It didn't smell bad at all, pure welcoming oblivion, like returning to Hestia's hearth after a long day of battle.

So many things had happened, this all felt so unreal. How glad I was to just have a moment of rest…

---

I was dying!

That was the first thought I had when I woke up. It felt like a nail had been driven through my skull and being twisted.

It wasn't clear but I felt my vocal cords being strained. Was I screaming?

I clutched the back of my head with one hand and threw the blanket covering me with the other.

I frantically ran, fumbling through the short grass and hard sidewalk. I probably got a few scrapes but I was in no mind to care.

I looked back, expecting to see his massive form looming, holding a blade or something. But it was just a homeless man!

He was holding a steel rod, it looked like a broken off chair leg, I think. He was mumbling something but there was a loud shrieking and I couldn't quite hear.

His lips mumbled again and he stepped closer, climbing over the bench and approaching me.

No!, what did he want? I couldn't hear him

Who was screaming so loudly?!?

“It's you bitch!, It sounds like one of my favourites things ever. A screaming whore right before I skewer them”

I quickly looked behind me, He was there. Casually leaning on a streetlight. Instead of its usual piss yellow light, it had a crimson glow that bathed him in an evil light.

Fuck!

I didn't know where to run, In front is some crazy homeless man and behind is a demon straight from hell.

I couldn't decide, I glanced left then right. Maybe if I try running back to where I came from, I'll knock on someone's door and ask for help. I didn't care anymore about shame at this point.

I try standing up, legs trembling. I suddenly saw the world twisting and I just ended up on my side again. Damn it!, I had to choose, front or back!

Front or back?

Back or front?!?

…

I couldn't choose, I didn't know. How was I supposed to know? How was this even fair?

I just wanted to go home…

The homeless man had reached me, he hesitated.

The metal rod raised above his head. I held my arms out and we made eye contact.

It was silent, I guess I finally stopped screaming.

“Blood sucka!!?, they warned us about yall…?” He had the smell of cigarettes on him, I guess he had left to catch a quick one when he found me, sleeping on his blankets.

But what was he talking about, he was saying nonsensical things but he didn't seem quite insane.

“No?, I don't know wha-”

It came rushing down, slamming on my raised finger. I spasmed on the road. The pain in my finger making my body betray me. He didn't wait for me to recover. The blows rained on me like spring rains. There were pauses as he caught his breath but you always knew the next one was coming.

“They!!! said y'all speak like humans, wearing the flesh of young ones! begone blood sucka!!!”

I thrashed around everytime I wanted to raise my hand to grab it away from him, it would thunk against my vulnerable fingers.

I was crying now, curled up. The pang of the rod against my bones and meat sickened me, but what was I supposed to do?!?

I hoped he would stop

Please stop!!!

…

The clack of hooves against road.

It was the bull monster.

They stopped near my head. Not him too, I couldn't even imagine the horrors he had in store for me.

But he simply laughed, The deep staccato of his chuckling and the thumping of metal against flesh creating a horrifying song.

“Even as a young spirit, I've heard tales of the Greedy one. Him that enslaved us in the thousands. Eating flesh as he ate knowledge, forever hungry for more. And ruthless enough to take it”

I felt something hot caress my cheek, the heat radiating from it was immense but it wasn't the heat of a flame but the heat of passion, of blood, rage, challenge, of sex! especially of the roughest kind. I don't know how I knew all of these things but they were as clear as day in my mind.

“Then one day after a particularly long day of play. I lay down to sleep after the meal, I felt it, a beckoning, a calling. I knew what it was, a descendant of the Greedy one!”

“I was being summoned by Descendant of his, how Wonderful!”

“Even through his childe his hunger could still be felt even in that realm. I was ecstatic. I knew I would witness glory and triumph”

“Only to find out I was bound, stuck to sickly fleshbag. One with a will so weak he couldn't even Protect his mother!”

He leaned down and whispered in my ear.

“I hope he kills you, maybe that father of yours will finally finish off that slut mother of yours”

I loosened my leg out, it hit the vagrant on his knee and down he went. I didn't give him a chance after that.

Standing up to deliver another kick, it landed on his chest pushing the air out of his lands, he fell backwards onto the road. I stepped closer but he wasn't completely out of the fight, his hand still tightly gripped that weapon of his and he swung it wildly to keep me at bay.

I stepped back, eyes scanning for an opening. I couldn't find any.

I looked around, there was a trash can nearby. It's contents spilled out and ravaged, probably by this same man who I was fighting. I saw what I needed though and I raced to it.

He was slower to stand but I could still hear him get up and stomp behind me. It didn't matter though, and for once I was glad for my long and lanky limbs. I reached it and chucked it behind me as soon as I felt him behind me.

The glass bottle shattered against the rod he was holding towards me. The shards flew everywhere, Getting into his open mouth and forcing him to close his eyes. That's when I struck sending many fists flying at him

A lot of them missed.

Those that landed were not very strong, this was my first time fighting. The sensation of my bare skin Impacting another human was revolting. The warmth on the surface, the softness of the skin and muscle and the bone underneath.

They all reminded me that I was actually harming another human being like me. and I wasn't used to it.

But I needed to do it, I wanted to go back home, I needed to get back to Mother!

I decided to hold onto the biggest threat instead the metal rod. I firmly gripped it, fully intending to never let go.

I had vastly underestimated this homeless man. He seemed to be experienced in life or death fights. He immediately let go of it.

Instead his grubby hands found my throat and squeezed it tight. The shock allowed him to push me down to the ground and he landed on top of me, pushing that precious air out of my lungs, Shit!

My hands were still on that stupid rod, could I use it somehow?

I tried using it to hit him. But he had cleverly locked his legs around mine and brought our torsos together, enclosing it tightly between us. I couldn't move it properly!

Trying to move the rod cost me precious seconds of air by the time I decided to let go. My lungs were burning and my throat hurt from its strangulation.

Freeing my arms, I tried to punch him, scratch him, even pinch him. But he wouldn't fucking let goo!!!

My vision was already blurring. Oh god.

God please!!

Just one more chance, please…

---

A chuckle and a slow clap.

Pah!

Pah!

Pah!

“Absolutely splendid, that was a masterful battle”

He bowed his hulking form in a mocking bow.

“That was truly and honestly one of my top ten! I had witnessed in my life”

“The desperation, the fear, anger and the stakes!”

“It even had twists upon twists”

“Oh god I'm so hard right now”

He fell back on his ass, and chucked laughing heartily.

I was on my knees, sucking in air like a baby breastfeeding for the first time. Underneath me was the body of the homeless man, his throat a gory mess.

My hand twitched on my left side, in my hurry to take the man's life I hard cut myself on the glass shard. That was the least of my worries.

I had killed someone!!

My life was over, there was no way I could get out of this. I had drugs in my system, I was naked and what would I tell the police?

I had a cow in my head and he made me kill someone?!?

Oh god. I sobbed and hyperventilated, my lungs hurt as well as my whole body but I just needed to cry. He didn't even do anything to me, I was the naked creep in his home wearing his blanket!

Oh god I remembered his blanket, its little neat like patches. He was even good at sewing too!!!

This guy could probably have more use than I ever could, did he have a family like me?

Family, mom.

I needed to see her one more time. There was no coming back from this but at least I could just see her one more time.

I stood up, bones groaning and creaking, muscles stretching painfully. One more time.

He stepped in front of me.

“Hold on, boy”

“Maybe this wasn't a bad of a deal than I initially thought”

He kneeled down to my level, I don't know how but he did It. and covered me with his arm in a side hug. I immediately warmed up and stopped shivering.

“This is something I can handle for you”

What did he mean by this?

He smiled, “I know what you're thinking, how can you do that?”

“I want you to take a look at it and tell me what you think about it”

Okay. I glanced at the corpse.

Hunger.

I almost salivated.

What the hell, did I want to eat it?

I knew it was wrong!

My mind was telling me it was wrong, but my body was reacting before I could even think, stomach twisting and complaining as if I hadn't eaten for a long time. What was wrong with me?!?

“Nothing is wrong. It's how it is. just how it works. To the winner the spoils go”

For the first time, I heard what could almost be desperation in his voice.

“Yeah yeah, I am! I'm desperate, I'll admit it”

“This helps both of ussss”

“Trust me, brother”

“I only need your consent”.

“And this whole thing will be like a bad dream”

“Do you really want your second chance at life to end like this?”

“Who's going to take care of Mom, of sweet Victoria? How are you going to pay back Styles' for being your friend when you're taken away?”

“Shut up!”

“I don't need to think about it”

“Do it!”