Page 15 of Eat Me Alive
There is a crunching sound as I feel several of my vines being cut. I feel every nerve die completely. It’s a brutal release. My legs cannot hold my weight anymore, and as I slump forward, I do not expect the human woman to catch me.
And yet, she does in spite of the fact she is much smaller than me. She is soft and warm, unlike the scorching heat I had been in. Her breath hitches, and it is a sound I seek more of.
“Help, help,” she struggles to say and immediately, I am in another’s hold. Sateva’s male. He stinks of metal and my sister, a blend most unpleasant to me.
I am limp and powerless. My exhaustion cannot even register my shame as the human male carries me to the shade.
Soft hands stroke my brittle skin. It might be an inquisitive touch, but after my ordeal, it feels wonderful.
“Is there water nearby? A river?”
“There’s one over the hill.”
As much as I liked the sound of her voice, my awareness of their conversation fades. I can still feel her. It never leaves the crust that has become my skin. I am still blind but the drumming inside her is comforting.
“Hang in there.” She keeps murmuring random reassurances to me.
I admire her courage to be so close to me. How horrid must I look now? I know we are close to the falls as soon as I hear the water. My body calls to it in desperation.
“What is that? Do you need anything else?”
I thirst.
“He does not speak.” Sateva answers her.
“I think he’s thirsty.”
Yesss. I thirst.
“Here, drink this for now. Slowly take a gulp.” Something cool touches my lips. Then, salvation.Water.
My mouth and throat move greedily, swallowing everything I can until the container is empty. It aids me very well. The water has traveled down to my gut, filling me just enough to feel more of her skin’s texture.
She is not rough and shriveled like me. She is smooth with little hairs tickling the spots where she accidentally rubbed against me. She is different. After my imprisonment, the change is resplendent.
“There’s a lot where we’re going.” The male named Ingar tells me.
I do not like him addressing me. I do not trust him.
“We’ll get you more water, okay?” With her, though, I believe her.
The hollowness in my belly boils like magma. It feels oddly like how my sister describes her hunger… Impossible. I am not like her.
My consciousness drifts once more, and this time, I am alert. I have been dipped in the stream, the stones dig into my thighs, my back. My arms are being moved in and out of the water, some poured over my head.
It feels amazing.
“You’re soaking it up real good. Your coloring is starting to come back.” There’s a hint of fascination in her voice. “I’m shocked how fast you regenerate.”
Is she speaking to me? I want to speak to her too but I cannot. I have no ability to do it like she does, but her voice soothes more than the water. A deep noise comes from my throat, my sight not as unclear. I can see an outline of her.
A head of dark hair, clear light skin. These are all I can see for now. Her fingers brush over the cut where the chain had sunk into me and I hiss.
“I’m sorry,” she keeps apologizing to me. It’s a bit jarring. “I’ll take care of you.” Her nurturing words do not match the way she curiously handles me.
There’s a heat in me getting stoked. Poke. Poke. Flames. I’ve never been touched so mechanically that it lights a fire in me. I am used to being worshipped, revered. Not this…
“Watch out for his claws. It’s growing.” The human male warns her.
