I drifted between consciousness and sleep. Blood seeped into the corners of my vision. My body was sore, the rock below straining my muscles. A haze clouded my mind, and my sight was a blur of blood and darkness. Thoughts came and went—visions of my sisters and brothers and how they died so horribly.

  Was I the only one who survived? Am I alone?

  The ground still shook from the raging monsters above, but the screams had stopped long ago. The cave was eerily quiet; only once in a while would a distant screech break the silence.

  Lying on the rock, I sobbed quietly, my body damaged and my mind broken. A puddle of blood formed beneath me, but I couldn't move. Every slight movement was pure agony. I could feel my body inching toward failure with every breath.

  The rock I lay on protruded from the wall. Below me, there was nothing but darkness; the drop promised certain death. On one side only was there an entrance that would lead deeper into the cave. My broken leg dangled over the ledge. The pain there was nonexistent—I couldn't feel anything below my knee. Too bad everything else hurt.

  My sobs turned into broken laughs. Maybe I should just fall and let this torture end.

  I rolled closer to the edge. My pearl-white hair spilled into the darkness below. My heart rate increased, my breathing grew shallow, and my hands trembled. I pushed with all my might, trying to roll once more so I could finally rest. The rock beneath me trembled as I shoved against it.

  A piece of stone broke off and fell.

  Blood boiled in my veins, and I flinched in fright.

  I couldn't do it. I wasn't strong enough to end my own life. What a pity.

  Was I really scared to die, after all I had been through?

  I looked up at the cave roof. The hole I had fallen through glowed faintly red. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, sharp enough to pierce straight through me. I wished they would. I wished something would kill me, because I couldn't do it myself. I cannot die without putting up a fight.

  I don't know how long I had been in the cave—hours, maybe days. I'm not sure. Time mixed with my despair. The screeches from above had stopped. The silence was maddening.

  My mouth was hoarse, my throat dry, and my stomach rumbled. I was dying, yet I couldn't even stand. I couldn't help myself. Standing was impossible; all I could do was drag myself forward with my arms. The hard rock beneath me began to feel almost comfortable. I was in so much pain, but it no longer hurt. I had grown used to it.

  The entrance I had fallen through was too high to reach, and below me, the cave stretched endlessly. I couldn't see the bottom. There was only one way to go.

  I looked into the darkness of the passage before me. I had to see what lay beyond. It was my only option.

  I dug my nails into the ground and pulled myself deeper into the cave. Blood trailed behind me, seeping from my body. It hurt, but I didn't mind. I've experienced worse.

  Light was nonexistent, yet I wasn't completely blind. Everything was dark, but I could still see a few meters ahead. The cave descended endlessly, with no end in sight. I struggled forward, dragging myself deeper.

  I had no idea what I was searching for. Anything would suffice. I needed something.

  My broken leg scraped against the floor as I dragged it, bleeding each time it rubbed against the stone. I could feel the blood loss beginning to take hold.

  Please… not yet.

  Let me go a little farther.

  I pulled with all I had, grasping at the floor and using the last of my strength. The blood at the corners of my eyes began to turn black, and my vision blurred once again. My head slumped and hit the ground. My arms stopped pulling; my momentum was completely halted. My mind fogged, and my breathing grew shallow. My eyes felt like iron. I fought with everything I had to hold them open.

  I'm losing consciousness. I'm scared…

  Will I wake up if I pass out now? Or will I rest forever?

  I coughed, blood spewing from my mouth, and the world felt as if it were slowing down. Visions of my short life flashed through my tired mind. I saw my bull brother, my dark sister. I saw the hope hidden behind their eyes. I saw the sister whose hope I ripped away with my own hands—the life I had stolen. I saw my dog brother and how he just wanted to die. He must have felt the same way I do now. Begging for death…

  No. I don't want to die. I'm not like him.

  I want to live for the people who didn't get that chance. I want to grow stronger so I can protect the ones who are weak.

  I want to live.

  I was shivering; goosebumps prickled across my skin. I want to live, but I'm so tired. I need to rest. Maybe a few minutes will help.

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  My head sank into the ground, and my eyes finally shut. Darkness overtook my vision, and I felt myself drifting into a deep sleep.

  My mind began to fade. My body felt numb. The pain was disappearing.

  Then, as the darkness engulfed me, a fire ignited in my already injured leg.

  It burned. The pain was unbearable, but I didn't move. I don't want to move. I want to sleep.

  Around me, something scurried through the dark. The sound it made was like sloshing through water.

  How annoying. Just let me sleep.

  I turned my head away from the noise, trying to drift off once again. Suddenly, the burning pain spread into my back. My eyes snapped open, and I screamed.

  "Fuck off. Just go away!"

  I rolled onto my side, sending the creature fleeing. My hand reached toward the new pain in my back. A sharp bolt shot through my body when I made contact. When I pulled my hand away, it was covered in my flesh—rotten, black flesh.

  My heart skipped a beat.

  The smell was terrible. The sight is grotesque.

  I remembered the first jolt of pain and looked down at my leg. It was oozing pus, with corroded skin surrounding two new, small puncture wounds. I felt something move in my leg, the dark skin expanding with each second that passed. The substance was flowing through my veins, corrupting my blood.

  I looked at my thighs; my veins were bulging, and black skin was starting to form along them. My leg spasmed, and something horrid appeared beneath the skin. A bump began to grow from where the wound originated, a black, gooey bump. It grew to an inch in diameter before it began moving. The feeling of something moving inside my body was horrific. I saw it squirm as it forced its way through my leg, moving closer to my torso. My stomach dropped at the sight. The bump mixed with the smell made me nauseous, and I grew dizzy from the pain. I heaved, but nothing came out. My stomach contorted and rumbled. I was starving—too hungry to vomit.

  The pain was incredible. The bump moved, and I felt it bite into my quad. More corroded skin formed where it bit me; I could feel it pumping a burning substance directly into my muscle.

  I screamed in agony.

  I watched as my skin bubbled and began to burn. My entire leg felt as if it were being burned through. It dug into my thigh, tunnelling deeper. The pain was so intense it nearly made me pass out. I screamed in a broken cacophony as I felt another creature begin burrowing into my back, where I had been bitten the second time.

  I rolled on the ground, spasming from the constant burning. The monsters were eating away at me. I fought with everything I had to sit up.

  My thigh had turned completely black, with a dark hole at its centre. My pale skin was replaced with bubbling, black blisters. I gagged as I lowered my eye toward the wound, staring into my own muscle.

  Inside the hole was something horrific.

  A living blob of moving flesh writhed within my body. Its form was circular, its skin bubbling and shifting—a lump of deep, dark, burning flesh. It was absorbing me as it corroded my muscles. It had seven legs, each ending in a sharp talon. The legs pierced my flesh, clinging to my muscle fibres.

  I watched as an eighth leg formed when a piece of my blackened flesh was absorbed.

  Its face was small but horrid, with drooping skin and a deformed mouth. Bulging eyes sprawled across its body. They blinked in unison as it bit into me, its dark fangs sinking in.

  It was disgusting. It was unbearable.

  I could feel the poison beginning to spread throughout my body. It was ruining me, expanding at a terrifying rate.

  I'm going to die. I'm going to be absorbed by these monsters. They are going to devour me piece by piece.

  I pulled away from the hole. My head throbbed; I brought my hands to it, pulling at my hair, trying to relieve the pain. My vision began to go black, dark spots clouding my sight. My face burned, and I coughed up a black, viscous liquid. The veins on my hands bulged; one even split my skin as it burst from the pressure, black blood pouring from the opening.

  I felt the holes in my back and thigh widen as more of my flesh was absorbed by the creatures.

  They are eating me.

  I fell back onto my side.

  "Please, stop. It hurts."

  I cried, black tears running down my cheeks. I coughed, causing more black blood to spew from my mouth.

  "Get out! Get out!" I screamed as I felt the monsters dig deeper, puncturing bone.

  I needed to get them out.

  I brought my hand to my thigh. My hands were quivering, and my vision had nearly gone completely dark, even though my eyes were wide open. I lowered my hand into the hole. My skin was tender and rough, falling apart at the slightest touch. I winced, biting down on my tongue until it bled deep black blood.

  I dug my hand deeper into my own thigh, the wound contorting as I forced my way inside. I reached in, grasping at the creature within.

  A terrible scream ripped through the air.

  The monster's talons dug deeper into my leg, curving upward and embedding themselves further into my ruined flesh. I felt my hand burn as I grasped it. I pulled, and it ripped apart my muscle as it held on. Enraged, it tore its fangs from my thigh and pierced my hand instead.

  I felt my hand begin to fall apart, but I did not falter.

  I squeezed, feeling its slimy body ooze fluid between my fingers. I pulled harder. The tension gave way. Its legs snapped, the talons severing from its body. The talons remained lodged in my leg, but the creature did not.

  I ripped it free and brought the injured monster to my face.

  It pulled its fangs from my hand and hissed, trembling as it did. Each leg bled. Fear showed behind the many eyes scattered across its body.

  Screaming, I slammed it into the ground.

  It screeched.

  I raised my arm and brought it down again.

  Again.

  Again.

  I poured more strength into each blow until it no longer moved. Its black body lay broken on the rocky floor. Guts and shredded flesh smeared across the stone. The stench of rotting meat hung in the air.

  I looked at its corpse, then reached toward my back.

  "It's your friend's turn."

  I repeated the process, using my left hand. My right hand had been reduced to a bubbling, ruined mess after killing the first.

  When I tore the second creature from my body, I granted it the same fate as its brother, pulverizing it against the cave floor until it stopped moving.

  I had done it.

  I killed them.

  I smiled a broken, trembling smile. But my body had already taken the brunt of the poison. Almost all of it was blackened and burned. My consciousness flickered. My strength was fading.

  I was going to die.

  At least I died fighting. At least I took them with me. At least—

  I crumpled to the floor, my head landing beside one of the corpses.

  Its bubbling flesh disgusted me. The sight made me want to vomit. I couldn't believe that thing had been inside me.

  I laughed, a laugh that felt like it tore something loose in my chest. Corrupted blood spilled from my orifices. Inside, I was ravaged. The poison that remained was still eating away at what little was left of me.

  I sighed and closed my eyes, drifting toward a forever sleep.

  In my mind, there was silence.

  No pain. No suffering.

  A void surrounded me.

  But something else was there.

  A figure stood above me, a figure of pure crimson. Its eyes were black, empty of emotion. Its mouth moved, but no sound came out. I stared at it. It stared back.

  Its lips moved again.

  This time, I heard it.

  Not in my ears.

  In my heart.

  "Devour."