To Crush a Rose - Floyd & Riddle

Chapter 7

They say you can get used to anything.

Riddle had never thought that to be true when he was younger, but he was certainly starting to believe it. Despite his disgust with Floyd after he had first taken him hunting, he'd continued to agree to follow him under the stipulation that the ghoul wouldn't try to force him to try human flesh and blood anymore. Floyd had tried to play it off as a joke, but there was still something unsettling about the fact that Riddle didn't really understand how someone turned into a jikininki. Had Floyd already eaten someone when he was human? Was it truly as vague as the stories said? That you just had to do evil things and there was a chance that you'd transform into this horrible monster?

Riddle didn't want to risk it.

Eating human flesh was disgusting, but at the same time, the more he was exposed to it, the less he minded it. Perhaps it was a sad attempt to rationalize his own impending doom, but he had started equating it to the meat that Floyd would often bring home for the teenager's meals. The ghoul needed it to survive. How different was it really from pork or chicken?

But the one thing he couldn't get used to was the way they would scream.

He learned that his mother had been lucky in some sick and twisted way. More often than not, the ghoul wasn't kind to his victims. He'd hear their shrieks as the other tore them open while still alive. Other times, he'd hear the familiar snapping of twigs of someone trying to run away. Floyd was always faster. There was no chance of escaping once he'd decided that that was his next meal. Sometimes Riddle had even dared to wander towards the edge of the forest where the other boy would like to hunt, watching as the other taunted his prey.

One time one of Floyd's victims had even seen him.

She was a runner. Or at least she had tried to be. When she caught sight of Riddle, her hands wrapped around his wrist, trying to drag him in the direction that she had gone.

" Run! " She yelled, "There's something. H-He's not..." Her voice had trailed off as her vision caught sight of Floyd once more. Though, this was a particularly cruel day for him. He was a cat toying with a little mouse. She tried to tug on the redhead once more, but he wouldn't budge.

Floyd laughed, standing five feet away from the two of them. "I see you've found my goldfishy~"

Large blue eyes stared down at him and her hands began to tremble when she let go of the teenager. Riddle's lips pressed tightly together, guilt swelling inside of him. But what could he do? Running didn't help. There was no convincing Floyd not to eat. The younger boy simply averted his gaze, shuffling his feet towards a downed tree that had been moved to the sight of the road.

She hadn't even had the chance to try running again. In a swift motion, Floyd closed the gap between them and his teeth dug into her shoulder, tearing out a large chunk of flesh. Her screams sent birds flying, but she couldn't find the strength to run. The woman fell to her knees, sobbing as Floyd looked down at her.

But then she'd looked at Riddle again. " Please !" She begged. "Please help me!" He'd simply leaned forward, placing his chin in his hand as he watched the chaos. He couldn't even bring himself to say he was sorry.

Floyd's nails scratched her stomach open. She died a horrible death on that dirt pathway, staring at Riddle. He'd wondered what her final thoughts were like. What's killing me? Why isn't this boy helping me? How strange it must have been to see a human boy watching as something supernatural tore her open.

He knew he wouldn't have those thoughts. He knew he would have questions when he died, but they probably wouldn't be the ones that most of his victims had. At this point he'd wondered if he'd even be scared. He'd had so much time to prepare for his death mentally that thinking about it no longer terrified him. He worried less and less about when it would happen, only that it would . And strangely, he'd begun to grow thankful for the life he had led.