Creepy America, Episode 17: Hungry

By Noah Hoffmann

A series of horror short-stories, "Creepy America" recounts the webshow of the same name. Filmed, edited, and published by friends Zoey and Liam, the two traveled from state to state trying to find the truth behind the strange happenings, local hauntings, and urban legends all across the continental United States. Told years later from the perspective of Liam, these tales describe the events that transpired on the show, from the evolving friendship of the two co-hosts to the vast conspiracy uncovered piece by piece as more and more secrets are revealed.

After upsetting an Old Native American woman, Zoey becomes hungry. Dangerously hungry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Noah Hoffmann
• Release date: Nov 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005147082

Noah Hoffmann

A mild-mannered truck driver by day, I spend my nights writing mostly at an attempt to convince the last few shreds of sanity I have not to jump ship with the rest. When I'm not doing that, you can usually find me playing tabletop rpgs, raiding the "50 cents" section of bookstores, and generally committing similar acts to solidify my reputation as a "huge nerd." Otherwise, my time is spent caring for my loving and intelligent-deficit dog Slade and yelling at you for cutting me off in traffic.

Book preview

Creepy America: Episode 17

Hungry

By Noah Hoffmann

Published by Noah Hoffmann and distributed by Smashwords.

Copywrite 2020 by Noah Hoffmann

Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please consider visiting nhcorner.com for more stories in this series as well as other series of short stories. And thank you for reading!

Other series by Noah Hoffmann:

The Adventures of Solaire

 fantasy adventure filled with magic, steampunk, and pirates.

Table of Contents

Epis ode 1 7

Creepy America

Episode 17

Hungry

Cherokee, Iowa

Zoey was a better person than me.

That’s not self-deprecation. That’s a fact. She was kind. She had compassion in her soul. Years after the ‘Hungry’ incident, she found a way to forgive the old woman who hurt her.

I didn’t.

I didn’t want to.

I still don’t want to.

That’s all the proof needed.

Liam… what is that?

I looked down to my plate. On it was a small slice of breaded meat, an ice-cream scoop dollop of mashed potatoes, and a miniature roll.

Umm…. chicken fried steak? I replied. We were seated in a Denny’s during the lunch rush, so our words were insulated in our little restaurant booth by rushing waitresses and the dull hum of other conversations.

Zoey moved her gaze over to her own plate, where the same version of the meat and potatoes sat, but twice as large, and joined by a pile of green beans. "Why is it so much smaller  than this one?"

I got the 55+ version, I said. Smaller portion size.

It’s tiny!

It’s cost effective, I retorted before I realized my mistake.

Zoey raised an eyebrow at me. I thought you said that you rebalanced the budget we had left, and that cutting out the majority of the Great Plains meant that we could get back to regular spending.

I did, and we can. It’s just… I’m not that hungry.

Zoey gave me an accusatory stare.

I sighed and surrendered. ...and it’s still not a bad idea to save our money in general. But the hungry thing is true too.

Zoey stabbed her potatoes a couple of times, then groaned and laid her head on the table. Great. Now I’m too depressed to eat.

I frowned. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to guilt you or anything. What you got is perfectly fine.

It’s not that, she said, waving her hand to cut me off. It’s just… this is not the grand adventure I promised. I figured we’d be rolling down Hollywood Boulevard loaded to the gills with chintzy tourist trap bobbles by now, not poking at old lady plates, trying to stretch our pennies.

Did your plans include secretive shadow governments, or faith healers with pet demons? I asked.

She shot me one of her patented Zoey looks, this one being the one she used when she thought I was patronizing her and wanted to let me know that she didn’t like it. No.

And do you want to take back anything we’ve done together?

Her face softened. No.

Then we’ll just have to keep doing the best with the curve balls we’ve got.