CALAMITY (#1) - The Lamb

Chapter Three - Final Destination

Mia let out a long sigh before stepping out of the train and into the station. She was hit with an unfamiliar scent. She soon realized with a grimace that the scent was food. Food for the demons.

It was meat.

Mia furrowed her brow and forced her gaze forward. The scent was pleasant. Inviting. It was ages since she had a real meal. She had no idea why it had to smell so good.

Especially considering that pleasant smell was once a living, breathing person.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Humans who ate other humans... It made her sick to her stomach. She would rather starve. Mia pressed on, walking through the station and filling out her arrival papers. Boredom overtook her in mere minutes, and in the blink of an eye, a few hours passed.

That won't do at all, she scolded herself, I can't let precious time pass me by again.

Mia exited the station, covering her eyes as sunlight hit her face. The city loomed over her, the skyscrapers stretching on seemingly forever. Most of the buildings seemed to have some sort of damage to them, and old flying-machines that were once used in the old Wars had been transformed into small homes. Some of the flying-machines jutted out from buildings; they likely did not have the fortune to detonate on impact.

Lanterns lit the old road. While remnants of the old asphalt remained, cracked and faded, most of the holes and cracks were filled with gravel and cobblestones. Mia heard various instruments playing on the streets. There was a considerable amount of traffic on the sidewalks, a mixture of denizens making their daily commute and beggars hoping for something to keep them going for another day.

It was much busier than the Zones that Mia had previously transferred to.

Mia supposed it was time to get to work. Her pockets were void of Cryo to spend on food for the week. She sat a small way away from the group of beggars—they were clear competition—and opened a small case, containing a little woodwind instrument.

"Another day, another dollar..."

...

Time passed. The moon was overhead by now, and the busy streets had calmed down a bit. Mia put the instrument down and stretched, peeking into the case to see her profit for the day.

"Three Cryo..." She pulled something else out. "...And a stick of gum. Score!" She popped the gum into her mouth as she gathered her things. "At this rate, I'll be rich in no time..." she half-muttered to herself. She searched for a comfortable alleyway to rest in for the night.

...

"Good night, Charlie..." she mumbled softly to a small printed photograph. It was her and Charlie, smiling together. She placed it beside her as she rested her head on the cold concrete. "You always told me to look on the bright side." She laid in silence for a moment before finishing her thought.

"On the bright side... at least they'll kill me before winter."

She let out a chuckle at her own morbid optimism.

It was cold. Very cold. It's best to just focus on that for now.

...

Her stomach let out a long rumble. How many days has it been...?

...

No, she'll be okay for another week. Probably. She wondered if the demons would just toss her out if she had no meat on her bones.

...

That would just be a waste, wouldn't it?

Crash.

Mia sat up, immediately hissing to herself as sunlight overwhelmed her sensitive eyes. It was morning. Her thoughts must have gone wild again. She carefully stumbled to her feet. What was that sound she heard?

...

Ah.

A hastily-tied sack laid before her, dripping with blood. Someone must have mistook her for a corpse and dumped their leftovers here.

I guess Charlie was right about me sleeping like a corpse, she chuckled to herself as she stepped over the poor soul and took in the fresh air on the sidewalk.

"Another day, another dollar..."

. . .

Blood dripped onto the floor. Casey panted heavily, sucking in air through her teeth. The taste disgusted her. She hated the Ward. She hated her own body. She hated that she had to do this.

She swallowed anyway. She had to eat something.

Humans shouldn't have to donate their flesh for her. She shouldn't have to eat... She should just...

Casey took another bite, not giving herself time to think as she swallowed the bite without chewing. She felt a bit of control return to her mind. She took another bite. And another. And another.

In time, the cutlets were gone. Her weekly meal was gone. She sighed with relief.

All she could say to justify this was that she hadn't hunted them herself. They already killed themselves, and they weren't using their flesh for anything else...

Justifying eating people... It made her sick. But that was all demons could eat. They'd brought it on themselves after their failure to take care of livestock resulted in only one source of food...

...

Casey stood up shakily. Now was not the time to complain. She had work to do.

...

"Five days," she repeated herself, "Five days until the rescue operation."

Nothing could go wrong before then... right?