Page 49 of Eat Me

I stare in horror at what I’ve done, the knife slipping from my blood-slicked fingers only to land with a dull thud on theforest floor. The man's eyes lock onto mine, filling with pain and accusation as the life drains from him.

My stomach heaves violently and I barely manage to turn away before vomiting. Tears stream down my face, mixing with the blood splatter across my skin. I’ve killed someone. Taken a life with my own hands. "Oh god," I choke out, bile rising in my throat. The burn makes tears well up in my eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

But the man can't hear my apologies. He collapsed to his knees, blood bubbling from his mouth as he gasps for air. His eyes locked onto mine, filled with pain and accusation, before the light fades from them entirely. He slumps forward, face-down in the dirt, and goes still.

I stumble back, my legs giving out as I hit the trunk of a tree and slid down to the ground. My hands shake as I look at the blood pooling around the man. The metallic scent of blood fills my nostrils, making my stomach churn again.

‘I had just killed a man.’

The reality of what I've done crashes over me like a tidal wave, leaving me gasping for air. My hands shake uncontrollably as I stare at the man’s body. Sitting here trembling, unable to tear my eyes away from the body lying motionless before me. The reality of what I'd done crashes over me in waves, each one threatening to pull me under. I’ve taken a life. The knife lay on the ground beside me, its blade glinting dully in the moonlight, now stained crimson.

A rustling in the underbrush snaps me back to the present. There are still two more men out there, desperate and dangerous. And the brothers... they’re watching and waiting to see if I’ll embrace the darkness they represent or crumble beneath its weight. With shaking hands, I reach for the knife. My fingers close around the handle, slick with blood - his blood. My blood. I can't tell the difference anymore.

"I'm sorry," I whisper again to the lifeless body, though the words feel hollow and meaningless. "I didn’t want this.” I didn’t…I didn’t want to kill. I wanted to go home and forget all about this. I know that wasn’t and isn’t an option though…. everything’s out of my control and I hate it.

With one last look at the body, I push off the tree and break into another sprint, weaving between the dense trees. The forest floor is uneven and treacherous, every step threatening to send me sprawling into the dirt. Branches snag at my clothes, thorns slicing at my exposed skin. Blood welling in shallow cuts along my forearms and ankles, but there’s no stopping. Not now.

The man I’d killed hadn’t hesitated on attacking me….and the other two would probably be the same. And if they didn’t succeed… Elijah’s words echo darkly in my mind. He’s going to make sure I survive no matter what, even if he has to help me…. but that doesn’t mean I can't get hurt in the long run…or that he might not make it in time. I don't know if he’d intervene, not intervene or if he’s just messing with my head.

I’ve already killed once...they want me to be like them at the end of this. A murderer….and they’ve succeeded with that already. They’ve already won…. but I still have to survive two more men coming after me with the intent to kill me. I've got to survive two more men….and that means I’d have to kill two more times. Could I... would I make it? I’m not sure…but I don’t want to die either. I stop running and lean against a tree as I take a few deep breaths, the forest is silent and eerie. And the dread in my stomach comes rushing back.

I feel as though I’m being watched but I’m not exactly sure by who.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Victoria

Pressing my back against the rough bark of the tree, I’m trying to quiet my ragged breathing. The forest is eerily silent now, no rustling leaves or snapping twigs to betray the presence of my pursuers. But I can feel eyes on me, watching from the shadows.

My grip tightens on the blood-slicked knife, knuckles white with tension. The weight of what I've done - of the life I've taken - threatens to overwhelm me. But I push it down, lock it away in a dark corner of my mind. I can't afford to break down now. Not when there are still two more men out there hunting me. A twig snapping somewhere to my left, causes me to whirl towards the sound, knife raised defensively. My heart’s pounding so loudly I’m sure it would give away my position.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," a man’s voice calls out into the dark. Taking a deep breath in, I try to calm my racing heart. Another twig snapping somewhere to my left forces me to spin and face towards the sound, heart pounding. A figureemerges from the darkness - another of the men, his eyes wild and cruel. He’s younger than the first, maybe in his early thirties, with dark hair matted with sweat and dirt.

"Please," I whisper, even as I raised the knife. "We don't have to do this." I know it’s not going to help though, just like it didn’t help with the last man.

The man's lips curl into a snarl, "Yes, we do," he growls. "It's you or me, and I'm not dying here." The man lunges at me at the same time he swings his fist at me. I did notice none of these men were given weapons like I had been.

I barely manage to duck under his swing, feeling the rush of air as his fist passed inches from my face. I stumble backward, and my back hits a tree trunk. The man presses his advantage, again lunging forward to grab me. I kept moving and avoiding his grasp as loud curses left him, echoing across the trees.

"Fight back!" he snarls, advancing on me again. "Or are you just going to let me kill you?"

Gripping the knife tighter, my hands shaking, "I don't want to hurt you," I say, my voice wavering. But even as the words leave my mouth, I know they’re a lie. A part of me - a dark, primal part I'd been trying to ignore - wants to lash out, to make him hurt the way I was hurting.

I didn’t want to do that…that would be provingthemright.

"If you aren’t going to fight, then stay still so I can finish this.” He snarls out as he attempts to throw another punch at me. I narrow my eyes but quickly move out of the way again, my eyes leaving him for a second when I hear another twig snap.

It’s in this second; I feel his hand grasp around my wrist. A feeling of fear shoots through me as the man towers over me. “Got you now.” He grins, eyes glowing with hate as he looks down on me. I tighten my hand around the knife in my other hand as I have to make a decision. With a deep breath, I slashout with the knife, catching him across the forearm. He lets out a howl of pain and rage, blood welling from the shallow cut.

"You little bitch!" he snarls, lunging at me again. This time I’m not fast enough. His hands close around my throat, squeezing tightly as he slams my back against a tree. The knife falls from my grasp as I claw desperately at his fingers, fighting for air. Black spots dance at the edges of my vision as I continue to struggle. My lungs begin to burn, screaming for oxygen and in that moment, survival instincts overrode everything else. My hand scrabbles in the rough bark, and with the last bit of strength I brought my foot up, kicking him with all my might between his legs. I hear his scream but was only concentrating on the air flowing back into my lungs as he let me go.

Gasping for air as the man's grip on my throat loosens, my vision swimming as oxygen rushes back into my lungs. My throat burns and I know there’s going to be bruises, but I’m alive. The man stumbles back, cursing and clutching himself in pain from my kick. It dawns on me that I only have seconds before he’s going to recover. Taking my eyes off him is risky, but I frantically searched the ground, spotting the glint of the knife where it had fallen. Diving for it, my fingers closing around the hilt just as the man lunges at me once again with a roar of rage.

This time, I’m not hesitating. As he barrels towards me, I thrust the knife upward with all my strength. I feel the sickening give as the blade sinks into his chest, sliding in between his ribs. His eyes go wide in shock and pain. As the blade sinks into his flesh, causing his warm blood to gush out of the wound and all over my hands.

"I'm sorry," I choke out, tears streaming down my face. "I'm so sorry."

The man's eyes went wide with shock and pain. He stumbles backwards, hands grasping weakly at the knife that’s still embedded in his chest. "You...you..."

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