Primal

Chapter Twenty-Three and a Half

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Chapter Twenty-Three and a Half

 

Once you had put the pieces back together, even though you may look intact, you were never quite the same as you’d been before the fall. ~Jodi Picoult

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Noor still remembered the day that he left her. Their bodies were intertwined in a clearing, his lips brushing against her neck softly. “I’m hungry.” She whispered, her finger tracing along his facial features gently. Maybe if she kept doing it, she would be able to memorize him, engraving him permanently into her fingertips. He looked up at her with questioning eyes, wondering what she could have possibly meant by her words. “You know, hungry. I’m really hungry. It’s been months.” Her words were followed by a small groan, her stomach scratching every time she thought of the warmth filling her mouth. The food the city served wasn’t appetizing, the cold roots and berries painful to swallow. Zander’s hands grew still, sitting up quickly as he dropped her body. He was angry, his words spitting out at her. She had promised that she wouldn’t do that terrible thing anymore. It was crude and disgusting; her actions and cravings were making her little better than the monstrous Felamus that roamed the forests. His words stung, but she knew that her actions hurt him just as much. She stood up, walking away with a flick of her wrist.

 

He yelled after her, screaming something about how if she left him to go feed she would never touch his lips in such a loving way again. She would be alone for eternity, as no one would love her as much as he once did.

 

It was a bluff. She knew it was a bluff. He was always saying little things like that to try to control her. That time it wouldn’t work. She walked into the trees confidently, knowing that he would be back beside her by the end of the next day. She wandered through the trees, searching for any signs of an animal burrow. They’d be sleeping at that time of day, curled up safely in their nest, hiding from outside predators. As the seasons changed and the flowers bloomed, there would be different types of animals wandering about. The warm spring air signaled abundant amounts of food, and her stomach clawed at the thought of their warm blood coursing through their tiny veins.

 

She crawled around a tree, peering inside a tiny hole. Her hands were becoming soiled with the muddy dirt, but at the time she didn’t care. Her mind had switched into a temporary hunting mode, thinking only of feeding her severe hunger. She reached in, pulling out a plump bunny. She ignored its screams, biting into its body with ravenous hunger. The warmth filled her mouth as she tore into it, ripping it into shreds with her teeth.

 

“Noor?” She threw the bunny into a nearby bush, wiping of her mouth with the back of her arm as she stood up. Yuna was standing there, staring at her with worried eyes. “What were you doing, Noor?” She questioned, walking forward with an outstretched hand. “Was what Zander told me true?”

 

Noor didn’t respond, staring at her sister with a blank face. The questions kept coming one after another, flying at her with an intensity that often came with any action of Yuna’s. “Was that a rabbit? Couldn’t you at least take the care of cleaning yourself off afterwards?” She was becoming angry, her body angrily walking towards Noor.

She was in her face now, screaming loudly about how she had betrayed everything. “Our parents would be ashamed of you! I’m ashamed of you!” She screamed, her face only inches away from Noor’s. “You ruin everything! Why won’t you answer me? Answer me!” With the last word her hand swung forward, slapping against Noor’s sensitive cheek. She stopped asking questions, her face revealing that she was shocked about what she had done as well. “I’m so sorry, Noor.” She whispered, her hands held into the air. “I didn’t mean to do that to you. I was just angry.” She tried to explain it, and she tried to apologize, but Noor didn’t want to hear any of it. She turned, walking away from her desperate pleas and back into the forest. No one would ever understand her. And if they did, well, then she would just have to never let them go.