TW: cannibalism

“Mom, I’m hungry…”

“I’m sorry, Silver, but the harvest this last week was poor. We don't have much, and the Navigators haven't been out here yet, so there's not much we can do other than hope some lizards come our way, and even then, some other tribe member might get it before us.”

I grumble as I walk away. The whole tribe had been starving since the last storm just a month ago. Luckily, there were no signs of another storm anytime soon.

As I walk past some small cracks in the stone, I wonder whose house it was. It surely wasn't one of my friends’ houses; I’ve been to all of them twice over. My thoughts trail off as I walk, until eventually I made my way to the tribe's center. I saw Valn and some other kids playing around in the snow, throwing snowballs.

“Hey, Silver! Come down and play. The snow’s great, perfect for snowball fights!”

I ran over eagerly. After all, nothing can take your mind off hunger like a good snowball fight. Just as I got to the bottom of the hill, a kid yells.

“Last one to the boulder gets pelted!”

“Aw, come on! If they tie, we just pelt both! No big deal.”

“Yeah, but it’s nearly impossible to be perfectly tied! It’s unfair to pelt both him and me just because it looked like a tie!”

“Let's just leave it, guys. We’ll have plenty of time to pelt each other another day. For now, let's play some hide and seek!”

“Hell yeah!”

“Lucky, Silver has an advantage; his fur is white!”

Ugh, not this again, always complaining about my fur color.

“Fine, I’ll be 'it' first, and I’ll only hide close to rocks.”

Close doesn't mean right on top Hah!

“Sweet! Close your eyes and count to thirty.”

“Yeah yeah, I know how to play hide and seek.”

One… Ten… Twenty… Thirty…

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As I open my eyes, I see kids running around frantically.

“Guys? You had thirty seconds, how are you not hi-”

I was left frozen in place.

“Shit, shit, shit. That last storm was just a month ago? How is there another one?”

Then the familiar voice of Valn shook me out of my trance.

“Don’t just stand there! Get moving, Silver! Come on!”

I ran as fast as I could. I didn’t have to run far as my mom was already looking for me. The nervous look on her face fades slightly when she sees me.

“Oh, thank the creator. Come on, Silver, your sister and father are already getting ready for hibernation.”

While we ran, I saw a small Fur Bat flying close by; it was probably also looking for shelter. As I look at it more and more, my stomach yearns for it. I quickly whack it with a small stick I found, and it fell down onto the powdery snow. It wasn't much, but it’s better than nothing, so I stuff it in my mouth before hurrying off to mom.

We were nearing our shelter, but the snow was coming in thick and pushing us back slightly. Luckily, mom knew the way, and the wind wasn’t too harsh just yet.

“Silver! Julie! Is that you? Get in quick; you don’t have much time.”

My dad ushers my mom and I in. I had to admit, the shelter wasn't the largest, but at least all four of us fit in it.

The storm rages outside, and the wind whistles louder and louder until eventually the last shred of light is covered up by snow. The once loud wind now sounds dull and quiet. In the darkness, I felt weak, as if no matter what I did, I would be helpless.

I awoke to the grumbling of my stomach begging me for food. I try to move around, but I didn’t have much energy, so any attempt to move much was futile.

“Mom? Dad? Wake up, the storm’s over,” I call out.

I try to shake one of them awake before realizing they were abnormally cold... too cold, in fact.

“Mom? Dad? Wake up! Come on.. No no no no. Mom! Wake up!”

My stomach grumbles again. If I don't find something to eat quickly, I’ll end up in the same boat as mom, dad, and sis… I’m completely fucked, I dont have enough energy to dig out, and even if I do, how am I going to catch anything, I can barely move.

I could see the faint outline of my mom in the darkness, her body motionless and empty, and I knew what I had to do, but I didn't want to do it

But there's no other choice.

No!

There's no other choice.

…

“I’m sorry mom…”

Tears stream down my face as the warm blood trickles down from my mouth. It was the first true meal I had in a month. I should feel relieved, but I’m not. I hate myself for doing this and even though I despise it I keep going after mom comes dad, and after dad comes sis.

The sun was bright  yet the air was cool and crisp as I poke my head over the surface of the snow, I couldn’t help but shield my eyes. The darkness of the shelter was in stark contrast to the brightness outside. I look around, trying to find any footprints that could have been caused by another survivor, but there were none. In the distance I see the giant, looming complex, its deep grays contrasting with the white of everything else, making it hard to not spot it. The complex was quite a ways away, but it beats starving out here. I know that the walk will be long, possibly days long, but if it means surviving another day, then I have no other choice.