That night, laying in my usual spot on the floor next to the only bed where Sophie and the kids had it at full capacity, I felt a strong need to see Mara. I had something important to tell her and I was always more confident at night. The weather was warm, the moon large and bright in the sky. It seemed like the perfect night to confess.
The restaurant doors were locked, of course. It would be stupid and dangerous for them to leave it open. But it was an obstacle I hadn’t thought of. I walked around the side of the building, hoping to see a light on in a window.
No luck. Everything was pitch black. I’d never been allowed up to their rooms before, so I didn’t even know which was hers.
I remembered seeing a window in the kitchen one time I’d went back there. Maybe, with luck, they forgot to lock it.
As I approached the back of the building, I saw a faint glow of light seeping through the double doors of the storm cellar. I didn’t know they had one, but it wasn’t an uncommon feature, especially for restaurants. What was uncommon, was the fact that someone was down there at this time of night.
I should’ve left. I should’ve just gone home and confessed during the day like a normal person. But hindsight is always 20/20.
I was careful not to let the door squeak as I slowly opened it. The scent of cooking meat filled his nostrils. Strange time to be cooking. But maybe they had a big order to fill the next morning.
I crept down the stairs, watching my footing. All those times of breaking into people's homes ingrained in my actions. But, nothing could’ve prepared me for what I saw that night.
“Uhg, Sally, I can still see clumps of dirt on this one. You didn’t clean it well enough,” Cora complained.
“Then wash them yourself next time. I’m tired of you two leaving all the hard work to me,” Sally shot back.
“And how exactly should I help?” Mara laughed. “I catch em, you cook em. Now you two quit bickering. I'm hungry.”
The sisters sat down around the table. But instead of a hog or big slab of beef sitting in the middle, there was something else. Something with one bright blue eye. It seemed to glare in my direction. Burning the image of a blackened and misshapen form of a human into my mind.
I watched the three sisters’ faces twist and reform. Their jaws unhinged and elongated, like I’d once seen a snake’s do. Their noses sunk in, making their inverted nostrils pulsate with each snarling breath. Their skin pulled against the odd bone structure so tightly it turned a sickly shade of white and red.
All at once, they used what now looked like sharpened claws, in place of their fingers, to rip parts of the body away. Cora’s jagged, sharp teeth tore at the homeless woman’s leg savagely, drool dripping down the meat and pooling on the table.
Sally smacked her on the back of the head. “Just because we are monsters in this world, does not mean we have to eat like one.” A rough and gravelly voice spat out, though I could still tell that it was Sally’s voice.
Cora grunted at her and was about to return to her meal, when she stopped and sniffed the air. She glanced worriedly at her sisters. In a flash their faces all returned to normal.
I hoped I was just imagining things. Maybe I was having a nightmare and was truly still laying on the floor of our hut. Maybe there was still time to wake up.
My eyes remained too focused on Cora and the half gnawed leg, I didn’t think to watch for the others. I couldn’t think at all. I was thrown against the concrete wall so hard my head spun and piercing pain shot through my ears. Blood dripped from my nose. Sally stared at it and licked her lips. For a sickly moment it looked like she wanted to taste it.
“No! Sally, don’t!” Mara screamed.
Sally didn’t look away from me as she answered. “You’ve had your fun Mara. Tonight dessert has delivered itself. And this one looks much tastier than the main course.”
“I forbid it!” Mara stomped her foot and shouted again.
“You forbid us?” Cora laughed. “Choose your next words carefully little sister.”
Mara ran between me and Sally and pushed her away. As soon as she let go of me, I fell to the floor holding my aching head in my hands.
“He’s mine. I claim him as a pet.” She pointed down to me. “He’s so cute and sweet. Please let me keep him.”
Her sisters gasped. “You can’t claim a human as a pet. They’re food, Mara. Mom would bring you home in a nano-second if she heard you say that.”
I was scared and hurt, but I’d survived this long, fighting tooth and nail, using every trick I could find. I wasn’t about to be eaten tonight.
“I’ll help,” I said quietly at first. They didn’t hear it through their bickering.
“I’ll help you!” I yelled as loud as I could, making my head ache even more.
The three of them silenced and turned their eyes down to him.
“I’ll help you lure humans if you let me and the children live.”
“Yes!” Mara pumped her fists in the air and smiled down in his direction. “You both heard it.”
Sally rolled her eyes and kicked at the wall. “Shit!”
“As a member of the Royal Family, I claim this human as my life sustaining pet.” She exclaimed happily. “I declare my rights under the Royal law, which states we are allowed to claim one pet of our choosing if it helps to sustain your life. He has offered to help feed me.”
Sally clenched her fists at her side. “I know the laws, sister. But what are you planning to do with it when we go back to our world? Humans are strictly forbidden.”
Mara stood tall against her. “Times are changing. The only one who can refuse me is Mother. And do you really believe she will tell her precious blind daughter that I can’t have a pet of my choosing?”
Cora was next to argue. “What if he tries to attack you?”
Mara shrugged. “Then we eat him and his whole family.”
I wanted to make sure they heard my other condition before I got too sucked into this. “I’ll only help if you don’t hurt the children.”
Cora laughed. “Hush human. You’re talking nonsense. Why would we eat them before they are grown to their full delicious size? That would just be wasteful.” She knelt down before me. “Are you sure you can handle leading others to be slaughtered?”
I thought about it for a moment and gave a resigned nod.
She seemed satisfied with this. “You have four years left to train him, Mara.”
Sally clicked her tongue across the room. “Fine. Keep him.”
She turned to me. “Know this pet. If you so much as look at my sisters wrong, or utter a word of this to your human friends, you will be the next body on this table.”
*****
The sun was just starting to set on the beautiful autumn eve, when a knock rang at the restaurant door. “Carl,” I gestured for him to enter. “I’m so glad you could make it for dinner.”
*****
The next day Sophie took a bite of a burger I brought them. I heard something clink against her teeth. Then hear a gasp. “This is Carl’s ring. But we have seen him in days.”
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