Page 85 of Eat Me Alive
“Did you take me here because I’m unwell, Ingar? That I’m very prone to self-harm? And when I say shit like I met plant people, they’ll just think I’ve completely lost the plot?”
Alani gasps, and that’s all I need. Her shock, her horror and abrupt comprehension is all I need to confirm the truth that Moriarty had been bringing troubled women here to be food. No one is going to miss them. I bet most of them don’t have family who care enough to look for them.
Once again, I feel like the problem because I’m the one crying. I’m the one heart-broken. One day, I will not shed a tear over things beyond my control. One day, I will not care so much for people who don’t have the decency to respect me. One day.
But today, Captain Moriarty must die.
Ingar doesn’t respond to me at all because he knows I’m right. I hand over the flowers to Alani.
“Here, keep those. Don’t get them close to your mouth.”
These fuckers just thought foxgloves were flowers. I’d never been so triumphant at humanity’s stupidity. Ingar walks me into the ship, silent and menacing. My hand finds the knife in my pocket. I have the irresistible urge to stab someone, but too much excitement can ruin the plan.
Alani bows her head and steps away. I turn to follow but Ingar redirects me to the mess room. I’ve never wanted to hit someone so bad.
“Listen to me, Lin.”
“Hell, no, I’m not listening to a word you say.”
“You may want to listen to this one. I’m doing you a favor.” His grip around my arms is firm when he shakes me. “When the ship arrives on the first dock to Whiterock, they will send you straight to a facility for mental evaluation.”
Appalled, I wiggle away from his grasp. “They’re gonna make me think I’m insane!”
He purses his lips at me. “At this point, you may be a little bit insane, right?”
“Hell, no!Say that again and I’ll—” I snarl at him, and realize I’m just proving him right.
“It’s not just you. It is everyone. You go a little insane when you’re always hungry, right? And it’s the fumes, too. Heightens every damn thing imaginable. Brings out their truest self.”
“So…I was hallucinating?”
“No, that’s why humans want what they have so bad. Everyone back there is fucking blunted. The island makes you feel to a degree that you become a caricature of who you truly are.”
“So I really am a psycho killer?”
He ruffles my hair like I’m a kid. “Probably.”
“What about you? You don’t seem too different.”
“That’s because I know who I truly am before getting here.”
“Alright, Mr. Self-Actualized.” I politely remove his hand away from my head and step away.
“Remember that everything in Esoterra—”
“Stays in Esoterra, got it. I signed a fucking NDA, but given the events that have occurred, it should nullify everything. But okay, I can pretend not to know what happened.”
“No. Everything in Esoterra is real. Don’t let them make you believe you’re crazy. Goodbye, Professor Lin. Thank you for your sacrifice. I wish you well.”
“Wait, where are you going?” I yell as he turns his back from me.
He walks backward and spreads his arms wide. For the first time, Ingar smiles at me. “I’m staying. This is where I belong. With Teva.”
This man has gone insane, too. He just doesn’t know it.
For all intents and purposes, the weather forecast doesn’t exist with Captain Moriarty. We brave the tides even when there is zero visibility, and now the ship is groaning, the metal fighting against the massive waves. Thank fuck that we aren’t on a wooden pirate ship like before, or we would be gone by now.
“Don’t worry, it’s just Dreigg. He’s mad at us for not warning him ahead we are passing by.”
