Novels2Search

Hunger

"See you soon..." Gregor whispered.

"All we can do now is wait. Goodnight." Karin went to sleep.

"I...I'm missing him already..." Gregor is choking up, "I didn't...I didn't tell him the truth..." Gregor curled up on the couch for the night, turning his back from the two.

"...I'm sorry, Gregor, I didn't know how you felt for him..." the Doctor thought, as he went to the bed.

While sleeping, he made some order in his thoughts.

Two died, we're now four. Something is sketchy between Karin and that man, who is he in fact? Is he the owner of the cabin? And also, what in the name of Rassilon happened when they first ate Mariah's flesh? Their faces suddenly...Changed. Yet when I analysed them with the sonic, it says that they are human."

His stomach growled.

"Or maybe hunger is making me hallucinate." he thought, so he went to sleep.

The next day, the Doctor got woken up by whispers once again.

"Доктор...Прокинься, сонна голово..." Weirdly enough, this whisper didn't seem much eerie, it felt more...Sweet and tender.

He woke up, and immediately noticed the smell of the meat cooking.

"Here we go again..." He sighed and went to the kitchen.

He saw Karin eating a slice, barely chewing it.

"Oh god...Already?" Gregor whispered, conflicted. He eventually succumbed to hunger and ate a slice, tears started streaming down his face.

"...I can think straight again. We'll be out of here in no time, no need to ration anything now." Karin seem calmer now.

"...I'm going to lie down on the coach..." Gregor left the kitchen.

The Doctor went to the bedroom. Terrible mistake.

And so, the next day he went to the living room.

"Good mornin-BLOODY HELL!" He jumped back from the shock.

He saw Gregor on the couch, with his legs and left arm chopped off.

"Doc...tor..." Gregor said, weakened by the blood loss.

"Ah, morning Doctor." Karin said, "Have you slept well?"

"What's the meaning of this?" The Time Lord asked, his tone became cold and accusatorial.

"Oh, Gregor can't swim, so, instead of letting him sink outside like a log of wood, I found another way to let him "help" us. I put some of his limbs away, the rest I used for breakfast, care to j-"

"Absolutely not." the Doctor coldly interrupted her.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Karin smiled, leaving the owner and the Doctor with Gregor.

"Hey..." He said, "All I wanted to do was keep everyone alive and together...But I failed. I'm sorry."

"No...I'm sorry, Gregor." the Doctor started shaking, "It was my job to protect everyone, I knew something was sketchy, and I failed. I should have insisted more on stopping Mariah and Anatoly, but instead...I sent them to slaughter."

The owner stayed silent, feeling bad for Gregor.

"Hey, can you cover me with a blanket?" Gregor said, "I've never been this cold...This cabin it chills me to the bones..."

The owner found a blanket and covered Gregor with it.

"Thanks..." He said, "Watch out for that knife, okay?"

Gregor inhaled his last breath.

"What the HELL are you doing?!" Karin entered the living room, seeing Gregor's corpse.

"He gave up." the owner said.

"We could have kept him alive for another week!" She complained, annoyed.

"Oh, boo-hoo! The wannabe Hannibal Lector can't enjoy her friend's flesh properly now because it's rotting!" the Doctor said in a mocking tone, "Go cry me a river."

Karin turned around, "What do you mean, brat?"

"You didn't seem very sad or remorseful about eating your friends, did you? And you were awfully pushy and urgent about sending Anatoly outside. Did he taste well, hm?!" he said.

"You're just a kid, you don't know what you're talking abo-"

"Why, do you have to be a kid to have any common sense?! You're a human, good heavens! A creature of reason! Yet you devoured your friends, you comrades that escaped with you from the famine in Ukraine like a wild beast!"

Karin pulled a knife out of her dress and pointed it at the Doctor. "Enough talking."

The Time Lord went silent and death glared at the redhead.

"Now..." Karin turned to the owner, "I don't think I can't wait any longer..." Her expression turns into a ravenous grin. "Show me where you keep hiding the meat."

"...Follow me." The owner obliged and went to the door of the basement, followed by a ravenous Karin and a reluctant Doctor.

"Ah, that's why it's always locked..." She thought.

The owner unlocked the door.

"I'll bring some cutlets up and we'll have a lovely dinner. You can join us if you want, Doctor..."

"No thanks." He politely rejected the offer.

Karin went downstairs. In that instant, there was a knowing look between the young-looking Time Lord and the mysterious owner. He seems to also find Karin dangerous and did the first thing he came up with: He locked the basement door

"Did you just?!" Karin immediately noticed and started banging on the door. "Let me OUT!"

The owner ignored it and left, the Doctor reluctantly did the same.

"I'm sorry, Karin, but I'm not going to let you out until you calm down." he thought and he went to the living room to talk with the owner.

They sat down.

"...Look, I know that you're probably behind all of this, but for now, I just want to talk. I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me, okay?" the Doctor said, "I think I have the right for an explanation, I did answer the question correctly, isn't that right...Baba Yaga?"

"Baba Yaga" was surprised, but regained composure. "...You're correct, I'll talk."

"First of all, what with that human flesh? Why did they have a ghoulish face for an instant after they devoured Mariah?"

"It's the hunger, slowly consuming them and slowly making the lose their humanity...The thrill of doing something so immoral and the despair for survival kicking in...It makes them regress into wild animals, ravenous ghouls." Baba Yaga explained.

"..." the Doctor had a look of disgust on his face, "Why did Gregor, Karin and I heard Mariah's voice? Was it actually her?"

"It might be, the ghosts of my victims are linked to this cabin, filled with rage and sorrow, wishing for revenge, so that they may rest in peace."

"So those whispers, those warnings...Mariah's ghost was trying to warn me?" the Time Lord thought, "How many people have you devoured?"

"Don't know, I lost the count. I've been doing it for centuries..."

"Have you ever felt remorse?"

Baba Yaga looked down. "Many times. I do admit that I felt bad at chopping off Mariah's corpse and what Karin did to Gregor but, I think it's too late to atone for my sins."

"It's never too late to ask for forgiveness." the Doctor said, "Sure, they'll understandably not forgive you for what you did, but it's important to feel remorse. I suppose most of the ghosts are in the basement, right?"

Baba Yaga nodded.

"Then let's go there, and pay for your crimes." the Doctor said.

Baba Yaa nodded and escorted by the Doctor, they went into the basement, bracing themselves for the ghosts and Karin, who was lurking in the abyss of the room.