Noctura

thirty

jinwoo

"I THINK we should go get something to eat."

I look up from the television and glance over at Minho, standing at the edge of the couch.

"I mean, you should eat something." He sits down on the couch and looks into my eyes. "I know you're hungry. And you've only eaten once since waking up, you know, and that's not really enough. I can help you tonight and teach you about how... about how we're supposed to eat."

"Okay," I say quickly. "Yeah, we should do that. I want to."

Minho hesitates. "You want to?"

"Yeah," I tell him. "You're right, I am hungry. And... if I'm gonna have to live like this, I'm gonna have to learn how. I can't just starve again."

"No," Minho answers. "You can't. I don't want you to get to that point again."

I nod silently.

"Alright, let's go then." He stands up.

I follow suit and we move out of his house. He makes sure there's no one around before leading me through the streets.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Just to the bus stop," he tells me. "We'll take the bus toward the edge of town. It's where I usually go."

I continue following him until we get to a bus stop, lit up by a single lamppost above the bench. Minho and I sit down together and wait for the bus.

"So... how does this work?" I ask quietly.

Minho takes a deep breath. "I mean, your instincts will help you through everything but... it's not the best thing. It's not very fun to talk about, either."

"I just... I've never done it," I say. "I don't even know where to begin."

"You'll understand," Minho assures me. "I'll help you find someone and when we do, you'll just have to get them into an alley and... knock them unconscious. It's easier that way and they won't, you know, scream and stuff."

I nod slowly. "This is... horrible."

"I know," Minho says. "And I hate having to do it, but that's how we have to live and survive."

"It's such a horrible way to live, though." I shiver. "Killing people just to eat..."

"Don't think about it too much, okay?" He tells me. "Just let your instincts take over and feed. You need to. It's what we have to do to survive."

I nod. "Okay. I'll try."

We stay silent and a few moments later, a bus rolls up. Minho and I step onto it, heading toward the middle of the bus. There's only two other people on the bus, sitting near the front.

I don't say a word the entire ride and neither does Minho. I look down at my hands and glance over at Minho watching the world go by beyond the bus windows.

I'm nervous. I don't want to admit it, but I am.

I'm about to kill someone.

Who wouldn't be scared?

When the bus rolls up to a stop near the edge of town, Minho and I are the only ones to disembark.

Once the bus has left, continuing on its path, Minho gestures for me to follow him.

We start walking down a sidewalk next to an empty road. There aren't many lights so it's very dark.

As we're passing a small area on the right with dumpsters, Minho turns to me.