JD's Daily Writes 26 Nov 24
Kaelen frowned, his stomach tightening. He pulled out the pasta, peeling back the plastic wrap. The sight of the congealed sauce and the soft noodles made his stomach turn. He slammed it back on the shelf with a grunt, the sound of the fridge door rattling in its frame echoing through the quiet house.
His gaze shifted to the freezer. The thought hit him suddenly, unbidden: Meat.
He hesitated, his hand hovering over the handle. Shaking his head, he opened the freezer. Frosted-over bags of ground beef, a package of chicken thighs, and a steak he’d forgotten he’d bought weeks ago stared back at him. His mouth watered, but the sight of the pale, icy meat made his stomach churn in revulsion.
Kaelen grabbed the steak, holding it in his hand. Even through the frozen packaging, it felt satisfying. Solid, raw. But it was useless like this. He couldn’t eat it, not frozen. He knew that. Yet the thought of cooking it felt absurd, as though the idea of preparing it was an insult to the hunger that roared within him.
With a frustrated snarl, he tossed the steak into the sink. It landed with a dull thud, the plastic crinkling. He braced himself against the counter, gripping the edge until his knuckles turned white. His breathing was uneven, his body buzzing with energy despite the exhaustion weighing on his limbs.
He ran a trembling hand through his hair and stumbled into the living room. The house felt suffocating, the air heavy and charged with something he couldn’t name.
Ignoring the still upturned state of the house, he flipped the couch upright and dropped onto it. Laying his head back against the armrest.
His eyes fluttered closed, but sleep didn’t come easily. Restlessness consumed him, his muscles twitching as though they were preparing for something he didn’t understand. His dreams, when they came, were jagged and incoherent. Flashes of dark forests, the gleam of eyes in the shadows, the taste of blood.
Kaelen jerked awake as the last rays of sunlight slipped below the horizon, plunging the world into twilight. The house was silent, but he felt the shift. The air was different now, charged with anticipation.
His skin prickled, a strange heat radiating beneath it. He sat up slowly, every nerve in his body alive. The full moon was rising, and with it, something he could no longer deny.
Change was happening within him he did not fully understand, but he had to accept that it was happening. As crazy as it sounded to him, Alden had to be right. He was experiencing a change that was not human.
“Alden.” Kaelen thought feelings of rage mixed with curiosity circled his mind. Mainly rage though.
Alden. This was all his fault. Rage coursed through his body. Hunger, too. This time he did not hesitate as he entered the kitchen. Straight for the pack of meat, he had thrown in the sink. Pools of thawed blood sat in the styrofoam tray.
Ripping the plastic off he started devouring it with his bare hands, shoveling handfuls of raw meat into his mouth, licking the blood from his fingers. Mentally he was feeling a little repulsed by his actions, the voice of reason was at the back of his mind now, rather than at the forefront as instincts took over.
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