Hunger

By Joseph Lee Bush

She cried as she fed. The tears streaked clean lines down her blood-soaked face. Sobs racked her chest, tight with terror and strange, dark power. Her fingers ached. She let her head hang in shame, blood dripping off of her chin into her dark lap in the moonlight. Her arms were soaked to the elbow in thick, clotting blackness. The blood of a young man pooled in her lap, sticking to her thighs under her shredded skirt.
The scent of fresh flesh stung her nostrils, her hunger rose. Whimpering, she held a morsel before her eyes. The tears rose again, uncontrollable, as she lifted it to her mouth. The hunger was unbearable, like a rift in her belly, threatening to tear her in half.
Her head pounding, roaring like a great dragon, she leaned over his body. She bit off another chunk, its tang sharp and horribly delicious. Her mind raced, trying desperately to reconcile her hunger and her nature. No longer in control, her thoughts drifted and slowed, congealing, as her body took over, feeding.
Everything faded, her sanity slipped. Her vision clouded, the roar growing, drowning out all else. As she faded, a different her rose, older, stronger.
She picked up a cape, standing.
It was heavy in her hand, not fabric but woven metal.
Then, darkness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joseph Lee Bush
• Release date: Feb 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466130319

Joseph Lee Bush

Joe Bush is a creative professional currently working freelance. He recently worked as a Usability and User Experience Designer in the oil industry. Before that, he worked at a game studio in Dallas as an artist and scripter. He has a Masters of Interactive Technology from the Guildhall at SMU, and a double major in Graphic Design and Traditional Art. He writes novels, paints, designs games, and pets kittens in his dwindling free time. Joe is known as an excellent storyteller and a skilled Dungeon Master. His coworkers think he's pretty strange, but that's true. He enjoys reading novels, watching anime, and reading manga, and still owns a dead-tree type library along with his trusty Kindle. Sometimes, he fancies himself a connoisseur of design and entertainment. Joe has designed a number of games, but none of them are ready for the public eye, or so he says. He also has a habit of describing himself in third person.

Book preview

Hunger

by Joseph Bush

Smashwords Edition

She cried as she fed. The tears streaked clean lines down her blood-soaked face. Sobs racked her chest, tight with terror and strange, dark power. Her fingers ached. She let her head hang in shame, blood dripping off of her chin into her dark lap in the moonlight. Her arms were soaked to the elbow in thick, clotting blackness. The blood of a young man pooled in her lap, sticking to her thighs under her shredded skirt.

The scent of fresh flesh stung her nostrils, her hunger rose. Whimpering, she held a morsel before her eyes. The tears rose again, uncontrollable, as she lifted it to her mouth. The hunger was unbearable, like a rift in her belly, threatening to tear her in half.

Her head pounding, roaring like a great dragon, she leaned over his body. She bit off another chunk, its tang sharp and horribly delicious. Her mind raced, trying desperately to reconcile her hunger and her nature. No longer in control, her thoughts drifted and slowed, congealing, as her body took over, feeding.

Everything faded, her sanity slipped. Her vision clouded, the roar growing, drowning out all else. As she faded, a different her rose, older, stronger.

She picked up a cape, standing.

It was heavy in her hand, not fabric but woven metal.

Then, darkness.

Hunger

By Joseph Bush

Days she walked. Nights she slept. Without past or future, she continued on, not stopping too long, walking.

She was following a road that led east. It connected to a road that headed north. She had a vague memory that there were cities near the intersection. She passed caravans of wagons and horsemen but they gave her a wide berth on the road, careful not to trample her. She paid them little attention, closed in upon herself.

She knew only her name and the name of the place she was going