The Hunger

The Hotel

Michael stood in front of a large gate with a piece of paper in his hand. Everyone in the city knew where the wall was and that's where Michael was headed. This part within the walls rightly portrayed economic and social inequality at its best. This part belonged to the rich and no one was allowed within the walls without proper permission. This was the first time Michael ever came so close to the wall since his childhood. It was quite surprising for him to see two versions of the same city, one with a rotten stench, poverty and misery while the other with a glimpse of civilisation.

"Looking for someone?", a masked man appeared from the other side of the gate.

"Actually, I was summoned here by a man named Joseph.", Michael was somehow uncertain as he couldn't believe his fate. It was like a dream to him.

"Oh, the job. Yes, this way, please.", with that the man opened the gate.

The neighbourhood was drenched in silence. There was no one else to be seen on the streets. There was something that was not right about the place and Michael was able to feel it. He was lost in his thoughts when he realised that he was ascending a hill on which the famous Lotus Hotel was situated.

The Hotel's entrance was quite dark and he saw a soft glow of light ahead. When Michael turned to ask the masked man if he had a light, the man was gone and nowhere to be seen. It sent a shiver down his spine to think that the man just vanished into thin air. As he was on his own now, he started going towards the glow just as a moth is being drawn to the flames. Fear started engulfing Michael and a moment later his eyes became adjusted with the darkness and he was able to see a door. He opened the glass door to find Joseph sitting on a table. Michael approached him and saw him dining. A half-eaten steak was laying on the plate with a glass of wine by its side.

"Please join me, Micahel. I was waiting for you. I hope you won't mind that I started without you.", Joseph said smiling apologetically.

"Not at all, sir.", Michael replied.

A waiter appeared with a plate of juicy steak and a bottle of wine. The smell of the steak was mesmerising for Michael.

He was going through a trance while every bite of the steak was filling up his soul, along with the memories of the good old days. Michael could feel every minute detail of the stranded texture. It seemed to him that he was tasting beef for the first time in his life. Instead of savouring the flavour, there was something wrong with the situation but he chose to ignore it and kept on gulping it down with the wine Michael was served.

"Is it good enough?", Joseph asked, smirking.

Michael nearly choked on a chunk while answering the question but somehow reacted affirmatively to the question thrown at him.

"Slow down. No one is taking that away.", Joseph said laughing but Michael was too lost in the flavours to hear or say anything.

He came to his senses when he was on the verge of puking out all of it and then only he became aware of his surroundings. They were sitting in the lounge but the table was placed in the middle of the room with no other tables visible. A very weak moon-shaped lamp was illuminating a yellowish glow that was placed in the middle of the table. The illumination was as strong as to see people only in close proximity.

Michael was feeling extremely uncomfortable. He didn't know if it was the food or the ambience that was responsible for his affliction.

"So, when am I starting?", Michael inquired about the job.

Silence. There was absolute silence in the lounge.

Michael looked up to Joseph to seek an answer but he couldn't. As soon as he tried looking at Joseph, everything he ate kept coming out of him. He started vomiting and Michael somehow saw blood pouring out of his mouth.

"Wha--at ha---ve you do---ne?", Michael asked Joseph in his great discomfort as he kept on puking, only to see Joseph laughing at him.

Suddenly the lounge was filled with lights and he saw crowds giving them a round of applause. Claps filled the room and he could see chunks of raw meat coming out of him along with blood. Michael was perplexed, embarrassed and was unable to think of anything when the lights began to fade. He was entrenched in his own vomit and blood, and the stench was unbearable.

At that moment, he saw Joseph bending over to him. He came close to Michael and whispered, "The game has begun."