Together Forever

Chapter 1: Lawsuits and Suitcases

I was roused awake by the sound of my alarm. I rolled over with a grunt and pulled my blanket over my head. I only got out of my bed when I remembered what day it was. My most important case I have been assigned so far is today! I jumped out of bed, made myself some coffee and looked over my notes. My client was accusing a woman named Wendi Gomez of killing and cannibalizing my client's son and her husband. "Taking Thanksgiving drama to a whole new level," I mumbled to myself.

After I finished my breakfast I walked to the bus station and hopped on the next Greyhound into town. It was nice and brisk, and the smell of the town's local bakery comforted some of my nerves. I walked into the firm and was greeted by one of my life long best friends Graham. He was a slightly muscular man with sandy blonde hair and a well preserved tan from years of vacationing in California. I was a prosecutor on my first big case and he was a legal accountant hoping to get a promotion today.

"Excited to go on that trip this evening?" he asked, his hazel eyes staring into my green ones. "Oh my god I almost forgot about the trip!" I exclaimed, as I looked down at him, I gave him a big hug and a thank you for the reminder. "I was so nervous about this case I almost forgot!" I told him. "Well don't forget to pack now." He said. "Just make sure you're all ready to go before you go to see Mr. Dahmer." 

"Graham Hergenrader to the head accountants office please, Graham Hergenrader to the head accountants office please. Thank you." A voice said over the intercom. "Hope you get that promotion. See you this evening," I told him with a nervous smile. "See you this evening. And good luck on your case," he said with the same nervousness as me.

I headed down to Mr. Dahmer's room. I worked at the Dahmer law firm, so you can probably guess who the big boss was. As I entered his office I saw the serious, yet jolly face of my boss. He seemed to always wear a stoic expression, but was as kind as Santa. If you thought Santa was real.

 He greeted me with his thick Canadian accent and a pat on the back. "Don't be nervous son, we all had our first time with a big case like this." He said in a father-like manner. "Thanks Mr. Dahmer, I really have been nervous about this." I told him, finally relaxing. " Oh, call me Jeff, we're all family here at this firm." he stated matter of factly. "Oh thanks Mr. Dah- I mean Jeff."

He didn't know it but that struck a chord with me. My family recently were killed in an accident with a drunk driver, and after months of moping I finally got myself together and got the job I had only ever dreamed of. Now the only family I had left were my friends.

"Now okay son, this case is a doozy, a woman being accused of killing and eating her husband by her step mother. I know you only just got here a month ago, but you're a prodigy, and if anyone can do it you can," he said. 

So I did. I went out there and turned what was going to be a five month long case into a five hour case. I had been born with an extremely persuasive way of talking and the ability to draw any piece of information I knew out of my head like a needle in a haystack.

I walked out of that courtroom having successfully convinced the judge to send Wendi Gomez to jail for life. I did it by bringing up flaws or gaps in her defense and making her change her story enough to prove it was fake. Along with that and some security cam footage it was enough to convict her.

I was walking out of the door and to the local bakery to get a butter tart, when I got a call from Harmony, another of my friends. "Yello, what's up?" "Just checking what time you and Graham will be showing up to my place so we can go to the cabin, how did the case go?" she asked in such a kind manner; she was amazing. "Oh I'm going to get Graham right now and we'll ride a Greyhound back to our place and pack. And about my case…." I say trailing off "What, what, I need to know." she whined.

 "I WON!!!" I yelled excitedly into the phone. "YAY, GOOD JOB! I knew you could do it!" she said. I could feel her smile radiating through the screen. This is what I mean, if more people were as genuine and amazing as she was, the world would be a better place.

"Well see you in a little while." I told her, beaming at the phone. "See ya, remember, together forever!" She giggled at me. "Yea, yea, yea, together forever." I said with a chuckle.

 I flashed back to when I was six, I had just moved and had no friends at my new school when I was hurt by bullies. I had been crying huddled up against a tree with scrapes all over me when they showed up. All five of them. They helped me up and took me to the nurse. The next few days I started to hang out with them, and I got to know all of them really well. 

Emily was a sarcastic yet kind girl. Harmony the kind, geeky, empathetic girl, whom I bonded with especially. There was Graham, the bossy, funny, smart, but dumb in a way kid that would eventually become my colleague and roommate. There was Nolen and Cameron, the two kids who shared an obsession with a tech company, and had their own way of lightening a mood. 

We became best friends. We spent the rest of the school year and the summer together. We built a clubhouse in the woods where we would go to read, talk, watch movies, and anything else we fancied. We made a pact then, when we were all 6 or 7, that we would be together forever and wouldn't let anything separate us.

I snapped back to the present and ran back into the building to grab Graham. We rushed to the bus station and got onto the next Greyhound into our small neighborhood. 

While on the bus I struck up a conversation. "So…. tell me. Did you get the promotion?" I asked in a curious, almost teasing manner. "I'll answer after you tell me about your case!" he said excitedly. "Oh come on Gray Ham, I asked first." I complained to him. "Well shouldn't you treat your new Head legal accountant with more respect, I do keep all your information available and easy to find for you." He teased me. " Ah good job! I knew you would get the promotion; you're the best accountant they have." I excitedly stated.

We get off the bus at the station and take the short walk to our house. We got in and packed some clothes and bathroom supplies for ourselves. 

"As the group's designated cook, you can't forget all the food and emergency rations," Graham hollers to me from somewhere across the house. "Got it!" I say distractedly as I try to pick out the outfit I think Harmony will like the most.

 "When you pick out clothes for your dates with Emily, does she prefer to see you in fancy clothes or relaxed ones? Just asking for a friend." I ask him. "We're your only friends. All of us except Harmony know you like Harmony, so there's no point trying to pretend you don't around us." He says as he enters the room. I look at him and the smirk on his face. "N-no it's not like that!" I say while blushing furiously. "Trust me I got Emily. Eventually. Plus you know I'm the love expert," He says, genuinely trying to convince me. "Remember what last time you convinced me by saying that. Was it in 7th or 8th grade?" I asked him rhetorically. "I admit it was not my finest piece of advice, but I know what I'm talking about now, I did get Emily after all this time." he says smugly. "That's less because you're a love expert, and more because she's liked you since before the 7th grade." I say slightly annoyed.

"Just trust me, it will happen this weekend." He promised me.

 Chapter 2: Friends and Phones

We rushed to the car after getting a text from Harmony asking where we were. On the way out I got a bad feeling that I forgot something, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

 Ring ring ring "I'm getting a call from Harmony, put the windows up." I told Graham hurriedly. "We need to be able to hear her to get the address." I explained, due to his confused expression. "Hey Jack, change of plans, meet us at Emily's house. There's a surprise there, and then we will leave for the cabin." She said mischievously. I could tell she was up to something. 

"Graham, change of plans, head to Emily's place." I said to Graham, who was at the wheel. I haven't liked driving since the accident. "Harmony, what are you up to?" I asked her suspiciously. "You will see…." she said giggling, before she hung up. I gave a visible sigh. If this was anything like previous pranks she's pulled before there will be a mess to clean up before we can leave.

As we pulled up to the house I counted cars. I've always done this to try and guess the amount of people - and therefore for social interaction - I will have to prepare for. When I counted there were three cars. That's weird, I thought to myself. There should only be two cars, Harmony and Emily's. Then I saw them. I hadn't seen them in years. I stuck my head out the window and yelled, "Cameron! Nolen! It's been too long!" 

Cameron and Nolen had spent most of middle school and all of high school starting a small tech company out of their garage called Apple. After high school they invented a new version of a smart phone that was completely eco friendly and became a multi-billion dollar company. We had been close until about four years ago when they started opening more stores for their company across the country. We had still talked with each other but hadn't met in person since then.

I jumped out of the car. I wrapped my arms around them in a fierce hug. "Wow you've gotten taller." Cameron says laughing. "Yes, I'm about 6 '5" now. But I've always been the big and strong one." I say with a smile. "No, you forgot about that one summer. I was a few inches taller than you." Nolen says with a smirk. "You've always liked to brag about that and I don't know why." I say, chuckling. "All right, enough of the mushy stuff." I heard Emily say from the doorway. "Yea, she's right, we need to get on the road if we wanna make it before sundown." Harmony says. I took a look at her, and my nerves settled at the sight. Her Blonde short hair, her mischievous grin and her deep blue eyes.

"Everyone head to the van, Graham and Jackson get your stuff out of the car and put it in the back." Emily said with a commanding tone she picked up at the military base she worked at. Graham and I picked up our bags and put them in the back of the van. "Who's driving?" I asked everyone. "I will, I'm the one who knows the way the best." Harmony says with certainty. "Sure you can reach the pedals?" I tease her. She punches me and tells me to shut up, but she was laughing along with everyone else. We all got in the van and headed to the cabin.

 Chapter 3: Cabins and Cards

We got to a small nature path that went through a forested valley.

"Why are we here? I thought we were going to a cabin?" Nolen asked in a questioning manner. "The valley separates the cabin from the town, and it's too rough to take the van through the path. So we'll have to carry our bags through the path to the cabin." Harmony said. "But don't worry, it's not that long of a walk." She states the worried look on peoples faces. It seems to put them at ease.

 After the long walk, we saw the cabin on the top of a hill. It was made of stripped oak logs with a brick chimney. A sudden wave of dread, worry, and nausea hit me like a brick wall, bringing me to my knees. "What's wrong Jack?" Harmony asked. "I don't know; something just made me feel really bad." I responded. "That was weird, it looked like you changed how you looked, but Don't worry, whatever it is, we'll fight it off, together forever," Harmony said again. I stood up, shook it off, and walked into the cabin. 

A pungent smell hit my nose. "It smells like it hasn't been cleaned in decades," I say while pinching my nose. "Where did you even get this cabin, Harmony?" I asked genuinely curious. "My Baba left it to me when she and my grandad died." She said in response to my question. "They have had it in our family for generations." She said while walking further into the cabin. "Does anyone know where the bathroom is?" Emily asked. Cameron started saying "Why would we know, we only just got her-" "Up the stairs and to the left." I interrupted him. Everyone looked back at me with questioning looks. "How did you know that?" Harmony asked. "I've never invited you to this cabin before." She added. "I…. don't know." I replied. I was starting to wonder what was going on. I shook it off and started unpacking my bags.

I pulled out everything and put them where they belonged. "Ok everyone, time to assign roles. Cameron and Nolen are going to go and find some firewood outside. Me, Emily, and Graham will start putting everything where it needs to go. And Jackson will cook dinner," Harmony stated matter of factly. Everyone went off to do their respective tasks and I headed into the kitchen. I went to find all the food. I did an inventory check. I had forgotten the emergency rations! Well, not that big of a deal, we'll only be here two days. I thought to myself. I pulled out some chicken breast and canola oil. Good thing that this cabin has water, electricity, and kitchen utensils, I thought thankfully. 

I put the canola oil into a deep fryer (surprised it had that) and breaded and seasoned the chicken. I fried the chicken up and plated it. "DINNER!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

 Everyone rushed to the dinner table and fought over the biggest piece of chicken. "All of you- stop, the biggest piece is for me since I cooked it," I said. "Fine," Everyone grumbled. We all sat down and we had a nice dinner.

Afterwards we went into the family room. "Ok so who is sleeping where?" Emily asked. "Me and Emily will sleep in the bedroom, Jackson and Graham will sleep in the living room, And Cameron and Nolen will sleep in the guestroom." Harmony announced. "That hardly seems fair," Graham complained. "Either me or Jackson will have to sleep in a chair, while the other sleeps on that dusty old couch," Graham continues to complain.

A huge argument ensued. They were all yelling and giving me a headache. So I got up and started a song on the radio. Everyone stopped and slowly went quiet. "I see the crystal raindrops fall, and the beauty of it all, is when the sun comes shining through." I sing along with the song. Everyone starts laughing and telling me to stop, but Harmony jumps in to sing with me. "To make those rainbows in my mind, when I think of you some time, and I wanna spend some time with you." 

Then they all jumped in "Just the few of us, we can make it if we try, just the few of us, just the few of us. Just the few of us, building castles in the sky. Just the few of us, you 5 and I." And then we collapsed with laughter, shouting "Together forever!" 

I flashed back to when we were in 8th grade and we were hanging out at my house. We had been playing some video games when we got into an argument. I was freaking out because it had never happened before. So I just put on some music to calm everyone down. And that was the song I just happened to put on first. So we changed the lyrics to fit our group size and added on our catchphrase to the end. From that point on we solved every argument with a mutual agreement to stop when that song came on. 

Once we all stopped arguing I agreed to sleep in a chair and give Graham the couch. "Looks like a storm is coming in," Cameron said from a window. "This area has a high chance of flooding, so I hope it doesn't," Emily stated. We all looked at her curiously when Graham asked how she knew that. "I work for the military so I have the area and its statistics memorized." Emily responded.

We chatted for a little while, then played cards for hours. Graham won most of the time. Afterwards we all went to our rooms to sleep. I got up and went to the back porch because I couldn't sleep. I closed the door behind me and was surprised when I saw Harmony sitting there. "Hey," She said somewhat down-heartedly. "I've been meaning to talk to you in private," She said seriously.

"Remember when you crashed to your knees and said you felt an extreme sense of dread," She asked. I was starting to get worried. "Yeah," I responded. "I walked into the living room and felt the same way," she said. This was weird. "Something is seriously wrong." I said worriedly. 

We had a discussion but couldn't put our fingers on it. We ended up just wishing each other a good night. I walked her up to her room, and when I was about to open the door for her, Graham walked out. "Oh, hey man," I said. I was wondering what he was doing up here until I remembered he was dating Emily. "Hey, how are you two?" He asked with a smirk at seeing us together. I blushed furiously. Why does he have to do that? I asked myself. "We were just talking on the porch," Harmony responded, annoyed. "Well good night," Graham told Harmony. "See you downstairs man," he told me as he gave me a fist bump. As he walked downstairs I awkwardly bade Harmony goodnight ,then went to catch up with him.

"What was that about?" I asked him, annoyed. "You know exactly what," he responded with a grin. "Trust me, I'm a love expert," he said in a pompous manner. "Oh just shut up!" I said, laughing.

We make our way down to where we would be sleeping. I turned off the lights and got comfortable. "I looked in the kitchen," he said. My blood ran cold; was he talking about my forgetting the emergency rations? "What did you find?" I asked him nervously. "Don't play dumb with me. I know you forgot the emergency rations," he said. "But I don't blame you, I forgot too," he said with a depressed sigh. "Yeah I did, I just hope that Emily wasn't right about it flooding in this area. At least we're on high ground if it does," I say hopefully.

We both said goodnight then went to sleep.

 Chapter 4: Nightmares and Storms

I was huddled over a pool of blood. I heard heavy breathing and sobs. I looked around and saw other people with blurred faces. There was also a body. It was torn, stabbed, cut and unrecognizable. It seemed to be changing before my eyes. Not major differences; just small ones. But Hundreds, no Thousands of changes. That's when I realized that the others were eating. Eating the body. I was horrified. I fell backwards onto my hands until I realized I was holding something. I looked at what I was holding and threw up. It was a severed hand with bites taken out of it. That's when I recognized the place I was in. I was in the cabin. I tried to run but couldn't escape. 

I woke up in a cold sweat.

It was a few hours till dawn and no one else was awake. I got myself a mug of coffee and went to sit on the porch. The second I looked out into the forest, I dropped my mug and I heard it shatter. The hill we were on was flooded. I knew it would rain but not that much! I run through the house and wake everyone up. 

Once everyone had gathered I told them what happened. People cried out yells of disbelief and sadness until Graham said "We just need to ride it out, what else can we do?" and everybody stopped. "Don't worry, I'll start rationing the food," I said nervously. "Why, didn't you bring emergency rations?" Cameron asked me. "The thing about that is that they're still in the van, I forgot to go back to get them," I said in a depressed manner. "Don't worry, it would only take a day for the flood waters to recede after it stops raining," Emily says, trying to comfort everybody. 

"But the question is when will it stop raining," Harmony said anxiously. 

I went into the kitchen and checked our supplies. We were running low on supplies, only enough for one more big meal and a few small ones. So I go and tell everyone the bad news. They all agree that we should go ahead and make a big meal, and save some of it along with the rest of the rations.

 So I grabbed some eggs, cracked them open and scrambled them, but left some yolk in a bowl. I took some bread and sliced it up. Then I dipped the bread slices in the egg yolk and cooked them on the pan. Once I finished cooking the french toast, I dusted it with powdered sugar. I put some fresh fruit on the side, and put the same amount on each plate so no one would argue about who gets what.

I call everyone into the kitchen and we all sit down to eat. Everyone is more quiet, and an air of sadness fills the room. Afterwards I got up and went to get the game apples to apples to try and lighten the mood. We played for hours upon hours, and it worked. Everyone forgot about the flood for a few fun hours, the cabin echoed with laughter until dinner, when I got some of the leftover french toast and eggs, and we finished the meal I cooked. We chatted and listened to music trying not to let the panic creep in. 

Eventually I went to sleep along with everybody else. 

I was bent over another pool of blood. The people around me were still blurred and covered in shadows. I still heard sobs and sickening crunches and squishes as they bit into the limbs of a body. The body was still changing but now I recognized it. It was Cameron. These people were eating Cameron. One of my friends I've known for years. But it wasn't just Cameron. The body was still changing hundreds of times in a second. But so was the face. It flickered between all of my friends, Cameron, Nolen, Emily, Graham, Harmony. I woke up sobbing.

 Chapter 5: Days and Hunger

The next few days went by quickly. We tried calling for help so, so, many times, but the cell service was non-existent. We only had bread and jam that quickly became stale, but it was all we had to eat. So we rationed it, and we rationed it, slowly eating less and less each day. People were quiet and sad. We played every game from Apples and Apples to Uno. 

Finally we reached the last of the bread. "Ok everybody," I say quietly.

"Time to eat," I state defeatedly. All of them grabbed their piece. Each piece was only about as big as a finger, but they took the longest to eat this one. 

"So that's it," Harmony said, scared. "Yeah, we're all out of food now," Graham said with a blank look in his eyes. I stayed silent. Unless the rain stopped and the floods receded I had single handedly doomed everyone to death by starvation. I was such an idiot.  I am so stoopid, so ignorant, so dum-. "Jack, are you listening to us?" Harmony said. "Sorry I kind of zoned out. I'm so sorry about what I've done." I said as I started crying.

 "Hey, Don't take all the blame," Graham tells me. "I forgot to grab the food too," He says, trying to comfort me. "Thanks guys," I say. 

"I need to tell you guys something," I say. Then I tell them about my nightmares, leaving out the part about it being them.

All of them have horrified looks on their faces, as if I told them the world was ending. "And it felt so horrifying, so disgusting, so wrong. But so, so, so, real. As though it's already happened a million times," I say while choking on tears. "But they were just dreams, right?" Cameron asked anxiously.

"Definitely," I said with fake confidence

The next few days were spent with a growing pain in my stomach. We created our own games by combining a bunch of other games together. Everybody was on the brink of a complete mental breakdown, but we were able to keep ourselves calm and collected. Graham and Harmony switched the places where they slept so he and Emily could spend more time together which left me and Harmony to have some deep conversations. I heard her crying on the couch. "I'm so hungry," I heard her say through the sobs. "So am I," I said quietly. "Will we be okay?" She asked me defeatedly. I got up, turned on the lights, looked directly at her and said, "I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure you get out of this situation." And I was planning to keep that promise unless the others forced me to break it.

I turned off the lights and tried to sleep.

But I dreaded it. I knew I would have that dream again. And day by day I knew it was more likely to really happen.

I went out on the porch and tried to think of something positive and about how we would surely get out and I would get back to my job. But my thoughts continuously drifted to the unbearable pain in my stomach. I lay down on the couch out there, shivering, body in pain, and fell asleep.

I had a different dream tonight. I dreamt of my last case before I left. The one with the cannibal who ate her husband. What was her name? It was Wendi Gomez. I remembered how she seemed like a sweet, sincere, and kind lady, who was grieving over the death of her husband. But looks can be deceiving, when she was announced guilty she changed into a monster.

 Her eyes narrowed and her teeth seemed to sharpen before our eyes, but that had to be a hallucination or change in lighting. But afterwards she yelled about how delicious he was, how tender, how satisfying. I had almost puked on the spot.

 Chapter 6: Starvation and Sacrifice

The next morning Emily called everyone to the porch. "Alright everybody I think we can all agree that this rain is not ending anytime soon and we are going to starve to death soon," She said. She could have been a little more gentle about stating it. "And When I went to Europe for the military I had to witness similar situations," she stated. Where was she going with this? "The only way anybody survived in those situations was to eat other people. Cannibalization for short," She said sadly. Everyone was appalled at the suggestion. "Em, what are you saying," Graham asked horrified. "You know exactly what I'm saying," She said quickly, then added a horrifying addition,

"We have to eat someone."

Each of them went to a different area to process what Emily had just suggested. I went to go talk with Graham and see how he was feeling about this.

I walked into the bathroom to see him huddled up in the corner, sobbing. I instantly felt a pang in my chest and wanted to join him. I realized I hadn't fully processed what Emily had said either. Eating one of my best friends? I wanted to crumple up into a ball and do what Graham was doing. But I couldn't, I had to be strong. I went to Graham, helped him up, and started talking to him. "Graham I know it's difficult to accept, trust me I'm still trying, but Emily is right," I told him confidently. But that was the opposite of how I felt. This was the least confident I had ever been and it felt so, so, wrong, not right. But I had to put on an act, so more could survive than less. Graham responded with, "I know, but, it feels so wrong." I understood what he meant. I mean we were expected to eat one of our life long friends and just be cool about it. "We just have to think of it as survival of many versus survival of one." I said, trying not only to convince him, but also myself. I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost didn't hear Graham when he asked me a question, "How will we decide who to kill and eat?" He asked. "I guess it'll be randomly drawn, like a slip of paper from a hat, or whoever draws a marked stick or something."

So I walk him to the porch, then help Emily gather everyone else.

Once we are all gathered and everyone is as calmed and collected as they could be, Emily started, "Ok everyone I know that this sucks and is terrible, but we need to do it to survive. I gathered some slips of paper and wrote one person's name on each one. I already put enough mental struggle on myself even suggesting this, so I'm not going to draw the name." No one offered to do it, we all just looked at one another, with fear in our eyes. Until someone offered to do it. I didn't even realize that I had started talking until I was done. I had just offered myself as the person to draw the name.

I walked up to the bowl of papers and looked into it. I am about to be single handedly responsible for the death of one of the people around me. I reached into the bowl, pulled out a slip of paper, and read the name. Harmony. It was Harmony. It couldn't be. I looked at her face and the anxiousness was so heartbreaking. I had to do something. So I lied. "It says Cameron," I said while lying through my teeth. Nolen burst into tears and Cameron just sat there with a blank face. Nolen instantly started saying it wasn't fair and they needed a redo. Cameron got up and started saying something, but I wasn't even able to listen. I started noticing the smallest details in the cabin around us. I was doing anything to ignore them, giving Cameron an anesthetic Harmony brought since she was a vet. The walls were made of a norway spruce that was a perfectly light color. The couch they were laying his unconscious body on was a nice white linen. I was so distraught I barely even noticed it slowly turn a bright, yet so, so, so, dark maroon.

I'm just glad there wasn't a scream.

 Chapter 7: Nausea and Necropsy

I went to the restroom and sat there, needing to throw up but not being able to. I had just killed one of my friends. I sat there for hours thinking about what I had done, until I heard a knock on the door.

 "Come in," I said, still shell shocked. Harmony walked into the room carrying a plate. I already knew what was on it, but I didn't want to. "I brought you dinner," She said plainly. I could tell she was disgusted about what she was holding. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to, but it would just be disgracing his sacrifice," She said, more to herself than me.

That was the thing really bothering me, no one knew I was the one who sacrificed him. And I could hardly look at Harmony now, Everytime I did I just thought I saw Cameron standing behind her, smiling.

"Are you listening?" She asked me after I didn't respond. That's when I noticed she had a second plate. "Yea, sorry i'm just so freaked out about this," I said as straightforwardly as I could. She sat down and poked at the slab of cooked meat on her plate. "You're not the only one who had a hand in his death you know," she said, then paused. "I had to administer the shot with the anethstetic, That's basically killing him myself," She finished. But she didn't understand how I felt or what I did, and she needed to. "I lied about it being Cameron," I said quickly. Her face looked more shocked than before. "Why did you lie?" she said with a pained expression. 

"Because it was your name," I said, finally sharing some of my grief. Her face instantly paled, and I could tell she was conflicted. I looked at what was on the plate, and was torn between my hunger and my humanity. "We need to eat it, even if I lied he still sacrificed himself for the well being of everyone," I said. I could tell she was still conflicted. "On the count of 3," I said. She nodded. "One, two, three," I counted off. We both picked up our forks and took a bite.

The disgusting taste of something like pork, but with a different texture and a richer flavor filled my mouth. I instantly felt more nauseous than I already did and I could tell Harmony did too. It was a fight between the guilt in my chest, and the pain in my stomach to see if I could keep it down. My stomach didn't care what it was, it just wanted to devour it. But my heart did. My heart knew what, not what but who, it was that was in my mouth. 

Before I knew it my stomach won out, and my heart felt like it flatlined as I devoured the rest of it. The same happened to Harmony, I watched her mentally struggle to eat what was on the plate. I could see it all in her eyes, the realization of what she was actually doing fighting the ravenous hunger in her stomach. Just the same as me. But I mumbled this to him one last time, because he deserved it.

"Together forever."

Afterwards she asked me to go check on Graham because, like me, he went to his room and hadn't yet emerged. But I could tell she just wanted some time to think about what just happened. 

As I walked up the stairs and to his room I realized that he and Emily had switched to a different room than I had previously been to and didn't know where they were now. Or at least I shouldn't have. But I did, I walked straight to the room he was in even though I didn't know what it was or how I knew he was there. But that was a problem for another time.

He was sobbing quietly."How are you?" I asked him. "I'm so hungry the pain is unbearable. But I can't bring myself to eat it, no him." He said as quietly as a mouse. "I know, but you have to or else he died for nothing," I responded. His sobs were becoming more audible. "Ok," he said, finally giving up. I brought him down to the kitchen and let Emily make him a plate. She looked to be the least affected, but that could just be a show. She was too good at hiding it to know though.

 Graham pushed the pile of what used to be our friend around on his plate. "I can't do it," He said in a high pitched voice, like a child getting a shot. "Well you're not getting out of that chair until you eat it," Emily said like a mother scolding a child. "Fine," he said. He ate a bite and I could tell he was feeling exactly like how I felt. Disgusted. I watched as his body took control and devoured what was on the plate.

Afterwards everyone gathered in the living room of the cabin. You could have cut the tension with a butter knife. There was an eerie silence filling the air, and it felt almost as loud as a scream. "We'll have to do it again," Nolen said anxiously. "I was trying to find out if I could send a S.O.S through the radio, and I stumbled across the weather. They said it'll rain for days more, if not weeks," He said, somberly.

We all just agreed that we hoped it wouldn't and we would go do our own things right now. I followed Graham into a room that I didn't know was here. It was a small library, or a study. He was reading a book at a desk he was sitting at.

"Hey," I say uncertainly. "Come look at this," he said, not even acknowledging my hello. In his book there were perfectly illustrated pictures of the human bodies. But that wasn't all. There were also dotted lines showing places to cut it. "It's a book titled N.A.C.," He told me. "What does that stand for?" I asked him. "Necropsy, Anatomization, and Cannibalism. It's a guide to killing and cooking humans." He said with a scrutinous look on his face. I was appalled. I looked at the bookshelves around us. They were all different volumes of N.A.C. and some even worse things.

Recipe books.

 Chapter 8: Disease and Damnation

I ran out of the library and went to find Harmony. Once I did I asked her a few questions. "How long has your family owned this cabin?" I asked, winded from running. There had to be an explanation to explain this, I had met all of Harmony's family and they were some of the most kind and thoughtful people I knew. They would never hurt a fly.

"Since my great, great, great, grandfather, why?" She responded and asked curiously. "All the old dusty books in the library are about killing people and eating them," I said, my heart rate finally becoming somewhat normal after running through the cabin.

The blood drained from her face and the look in her eyes told me she knew something about this. "My Baba used to tell me a story about the ancestor who built this cabin. She said that he had lived a normal life until he went hiking one day. During his hike he met a spirit that possessed him. It was called a Wendigo," She paused after saying that last part. That rang a bell, but I couldn't remember why.

"The Wendigo turns whoever they possess into a monstrous version of themself. They have sharp teeth and beastly instincts, but keep their previous skills. Not only does it make them unhuman, it also makes them an out right cannibal," She paused again, as if considering whether to continue. "My ancestor was a chef, but also an excellent writer and carpenter. After being possessed he built this cabin and started luring people to it, and after he got them here he would kill them. Then he would cook them and eat them, then write down the steps he used to kill and cook in books. He eventually was killed by some people who came for revenge, and the spirit passed on. They say he was destined to eternal damnation," She finished. "But I always thought it was just a myth, or a lie to scare me away from the library," she said, shocked.

But I barely heard the last part. I remembered where I had heard that name before. Wendigo and Wendi Gomez. I had met the Wendigo who built this cabin.

But that faded in the back of my mind, and was left for my nightmares as the days passed. 

Cameron only lasted us the first and second day, since we refused to eat organs and threw away a lot of the fat. We were able to shake off the horror of eating him by the third day, and were able to somewhat have fun with each other. But it was only a short reprieve, because when the hunger came back, so did the sadness. And the pain was tenfold, like when you dull a spicy food with water, and it surges back worse.

We gathered with the hat and names once more to choose someone. "Back again, huh," Graham said, trying to lighten the mood. It was a kind gesture but nothing about this could be anywhere near funny. "I have to go, come get me if it's me," Emily said while holding back tears. As the person who held back their emotions the most after her I knew how much it hurt your soul. She left and I heard her crumple to the floor in the living room and start weeping. "Ok, I guess I'll pull the name again," I said. As I walked to the hat and stuck my hand in I could hear graham praying it wasn't him, or more importantly, Emily. I guess it didn't work, because the name on the paper was hers. But before I could read it outloud Nolen, Who had been quiet until now, Stood up. "I'll do it, I can't stand this without Cameron, trust me I love all of you but he was like a second half of me. Like I'm the heart and he's the brain. The heart doesn't know what to do without the brain, and the brain gets no blood to thin without the heart. One can't exist without the other," He finished. Most of us started crying at his speech, I found myself dismayed. I knew it was going to happen again but I didn't want to accept it. This time I went to Nolen and gave him a hug, And I didn't let go - neither did he - until Harmony had administered the anesthetic. I helped carry him to the ruined couch where we killed Cameron, and this time I grabbed a pillow and suffocated him. I had been slacking on my duties as the group cook.

I took a large carving knife and started the work. I tried to think of it as an autopsy. I had watched one once during my time at the firm. It had given me nightmares, but I got over it. I always get over it.

I started by cutting off the limbs and covering them in salt, then putting them in the fridge to preserve them. Once I finished that, I decapitated it and went outside as far as I could before the water started to grab at my toes like a starving mass that was trying to eat anything it could. I buried his head in the ground.

I went back into the body and opened a cut in his chest where I disconnected the ribs and removed them. I cut out the intestines and threw them in the flood waters. Even if we were hungry I would just be wasting time cooking it, because no one would eat it. I started cutting up the torso into pieces I could store in the fridge. I started boiling some water and added some salt and pepper for taste., along with a stripped bone to add a umami flavor. Once it was at a proper temperature I added in the cuts of meat that I had gathered from Nolen's chest, and boiled them. A couple hours of cooking later and I had completely finished the dish.

I gathered everyone and sat them down, and once they saw the stew I was serving they grimaced. I had been in a trance when preparing the stew, trying not to think of what it was that I was using. All the emotions I had been suppressing bubbled up like an erupting volcano. I had to leave, to find somewhere to hide and cry, but before I did I said one final thing.

"Dinner is served."

I ran off to the bathroom and puked up all the stomach acids I could, since I had nothing else, and cried. I cried for at least half an hour before I got the nerve to get up and go finish what I started.

I went into the kitchen to see that everybody but graham had already dusted off their servings of the stew. He was tentatively taking bites slowly as he added extra salt to the dish with his tears. I grabbed a bowl and poured myself some of the stew. I sat down next to him and we both slowly finished eating for the next hour.

I had just lost some of my humanity.

Once again we distracted ourselves from our situation and the horrific things we had done the past weeks, by playing games and cards. We made our own games, talked to each other, told jokes, listened to music and suppressed the memories of what had happened. 

But something happened. Emily had found a mouse in her and Graham's room, which she had cooked and ate. But it had made her very sick. She became deathly ill and was forced to lay on the couch for days with Graham sitting by her side. 

Harmony was a vet and she specialized in treating mammals, specifically otters and small monkeys. So we had Harmony Being her specialized doctor. "I may not be perfect or the best," She said. "But I'll try," she finished.

So we sat there for days, quietly whittling away time. After a few days it was clear that she wasn't going to make it. Me Harmony and Graham went to the porch so Harmony could tell us something. "She's not going to make it," She said. "Normally her body would have been strong enough to ward off the virus on its own, but it was weakened from hunger," She said, like a doctor delivering the news of a patient's death to their loved ones. Like the doctor delivering the news of my family's death to me.

I flashed back to being in a small white walled waiting room with an extreme smell of cleaning chemicals. My family had been coming to visit me and Graham when they hit a patch of ice on the road. They had all initially survived, But all but two of them ended up dying in the hospital, and the two that survived had been my brother Phineas and my brother Benjamin. But they had received extreme brain damage and had to be kept in a hospital. But they were making a comeback and slowly getting better. I had been unable to visit them all but once because of the extreme guilt and grief that I had felt.

I came back to the present and realized I was crying, but not nearly as much as Graham. He was huddled up on the floor crying as hard as he physically could and was being comforted by Harmony. "I have to tell you something," I say, trying to prepare to tell them the truth. "I lied about who was chosen first," I finished. Graham's face looked shocked, "Why?" He asked while still sobbing. "It was Harmonys name and I couldn't bear to do it," I stated as matter of factly as I could.

"I understand and forgive you," Graham said sincerely. "If I had drawn Emily's name I'm not sure I could have said it either," He finished. "What's that supposed to imply?" Harmony said, annoyed. She shook her head and sighed heavily. "We can get into that later, I need you to help me put her out of her misery," She finished.

I grimaced but went to pick up a pillow while Harmony went to administer anesthetic. Once she was asleep I once agin suffocated one of my friends with a pillow. Afterwards I hesitated in the starting of my cooking. "Is it safe to eat her?" I asked slightly worried. Harmony shuttered and said "If you boil her it will be."

So I got started.

 Chapter 9: Grief and Guilt

As I finished cooking Emily, I realized I was crying and I had to stop and be strong for the others. I was handling it the best out of everyone else, Graham was basically unable to even talk let alone move around. He for some reason or another had watched me cut up Emily's body before he collapsed to the ground, heaving. I had carried him to his room and put him in his bed before I started the actual cooking.

Me and Harmony sat down and ate, both of us crying furiously, but knowing it's what Emily would have wanted. Once we finished we had a conversation, recalling moments from when we were in school. We ended up laughing and forgetting about all the guilt we felt for a small time.

"Remember when we were in 8th grade and you told me you liked me," She said while giggling. I gave a sigh, and started wondering if she would ever forget about that. I had really liked her for a while, and had told my friend Parker about it. I told him not to tell anyone else, but that was obviously the first thing he did. He had told Graham that I had a crush on Harmony, and was peer pressuring me into telling her.

"Trust me, I'm a love expert," He said pompously. 

Boy was he wrong.

I ended up telling her and I could not have been more embarrassed. She had rejected me but we were still really good friends. After it happened I realized how I had tunnel visioned on Harmony and forgot about the rest of my friends. A few days l me and Graham became much closer than before, and it was all because of his horrible advice.

I came back to the present and realized it had only been a couple seconds. Man flashbacks can really get you. "Yea I remember," I said and started laughing, "Graham had claimed he was a love expert and forced my hand," I finished. She apparently didn't remember that last part because her eyes lit up. "No way, he was just telling me that the other day," She said with a snicker. "Yea me too," I said while smiling. But that made it awkward, and the conversation stopped.

"Well see you later," She said uncomfortably. "Yea, you too," I replied.

Afterwards I went to check on Graham. I knocked on the door. I heard him try to say something that I assumed was come in. I opened the door and walked straight to him. He was laying in his bed with a puddle of tears leaking down the side. I stooped over and gave him a hug. He hugged me and said, "It's so hard." 

We just sat there, probably only for a few minutes but to me it felt like hours. "I'm so sorry," I said, choking on tears. That was funny, I hadn't even realized I was crying. He barely muttered the words, "I forgive you." The tone in which he said it broke my heart. This was my best friend that I had known since kindergarten. One of the only 9 people who accepted me for who I was. One of the only four that were left alive. It was such a low number I could tick them off on one hand. Harmony, Graham, Phineas, Benjamin. The only four people left alive that cared about me. And one of them was in so much distress I couldn't help him get through.

So eventually I let go, and so did he. I sat there and let him tell me about his problems. I had always been a good listener, and had helped many of my friends through problems they faced. So I let him talk, and talk, and talk until no words came out and he was asleep.

I had forgotten about the weight that doing that puts on your shoulders. To lift the problems and sadness away from one person, you had to transfer it to yourself. And to have your own problems be combined with someone else's you need to be strong.

Good thing I was the big and strong one.

 Chapter 10: Prosecutors and Purgatory

I had a lot to think about after my last conversation with Graham, but that could wait for another day. Right then and there I was exhausted mentally and physically. I killed and cooked another one of my friends. I went and laid down in my bed, and curled up into the fetal position. I pulled the comforter over me and felt nice and warm for the first time in what felt like years. I finally had a chance to relax after the past week's drama, but my mind kept flowing back to it, like a river down a mountain that led into a lake of horrific memories. I laid there like that for what felt like hours but was only minutes before I started to sleep. I said one more thing for Nolen and Emily promising it would be the last time I said it in this cabin.

"Together forever."

I woke up to a knock on my door. "Yea what," I mumbled sleepily. I was not a morning person. "We found a coffee maker in the pantry and put it to use," I heard Graham respond cheerily. But the tone in his voice was the last thought in my head. The second I heard the word coffee I was out of bed and putting on pajamas. I rushed out the door, past Graham, and into the kitchen. The rich smell of coffee made my motions stop like I hit a brick wall. Harmony was standing there taking a sip out of a mug and holding a second one. "Good morning," She tried to say, but was interrupted by me grabbing the mug from her and taking a sip.

The delicious taste of a rich dark coffee with nothing added in hit my mouth and I almost fell to the floor. We had brought coffee with us but had forgotten to grab the coffee maker out of the back of the van. I had started drinking coffee when I was 13 and loved it immediately. If I went a day without my coffee I was in one of the worst moods possible.

"That must have been a world record," Harmony said with a smug grin. "Yea, you were out of that room and in here in like 5 seconds," Graham added while chortling. I never liked to use the word chortle, it just felt weird like something was stuck in your throat while pronouncing it. But it was the only word that fit what Graham was doing.

"Wait a minute," I said suspiciously. "When did you two stop being all grim and sad?" I asked. "When you decided to stop being so depressed about everything and help talk me through my problems," Graham said with a laugh. "Well that explains Graham, but what about you?" I asked Harmony. "Well look out the window. I know it may not be much, and our friends have died, but it made me feel hopeful and somewhat happy after a month without it," She answered. I walked over to the window and noticed for the first time in the minute I had been awake, that the sun was shining while a light shower was going on. "I think it will actually be over soon!" Graham said, almost like a child who was being stopped from playing outside because of the rain.

"Yea, I think so too," And for the first time in the past month I didn't have to be strong for the others. For the first time in the past month I wasn't lying about being hopeful.

That hope didn't last.

After a few days of small rain showers and the flood slightly receding, the clouds gathered once more to darken our lives, metaphorically and literally. We tried eating the coffee we had brought and forgotten about, but we couldn't for a variety of reasons. Mainly the caffeine levels though. We kept our hope and happiness for as long as we could, playing games, listening to music, talking about our lives, and sharing secrets. But the hunger returned along with the clouds. And it was once again time to draw a name.

This time Graham insisted on doing the drawing because of my lies about it in the past. We discussed if any of us would sacrifice ourselves instead so there would be less guilt, but none of us had the guts to do it.

Graham walked to the hat, which now seemed frighteningly empty. I saw him reach into it and grab one, I saw him open the paper, I saw the look of pain in his eyes, I watched and hoped for him to turn those pain filled eyes on me instead of himself or Harmony. And for a moment I thought they did. But then they continued on past me and towards her. I saw his lips moving to say a name, but couldn't hear it. I could read the lips though. He had drawn Harmony's name.

I started crying, but I had to hold strong for the others. Harmony was abnormally calm, but it looked more like shock than peace.

We both gave her fierce hugs, and promised we wouldn't eat anyone else after her. We sat her down pon the now molding couch, and I grabbed the anethstetic, I shot it into her arm, and as she was fading away there was one more thing I needed to say. "I still like you to this day," I said, tearing up. "I….I…I.." She tried to say, but her eyes closed. As I suffocated one of my friends for the 4th time, I let out all of my frustration with a scream that shook the world.

Afterwards I cooked her, and me and Graham had a disgustingly filling dinner. Me and him went to the living room and we both cried, for hours that felt like days. It was just me and him now.

"Promise me something," He said, suddenly becoming serious. "Yea, of course," I said. Anything would be better than just sitting here not knowing what to do and just crying. "Promise me we will not eat eachother," He asked quietly. "No matter what," he uttered ominously. I started to feel the dread returning.

The next few days were spent trying to get over what we had done, and having things return to somewhat normal. Like how it was at our house. But I couldn't stand to look at the remains of Harmony in the fridge, and I threw them away. I couldn't have regretted it more.

Graham became so weak that a cold from the temperature made him unable to move at all. But he could still talk and engage just not move around. So we made the days as short as possible and went to sleep the second we felt any drowsiness. It was the morning 6 days after we ate Harmony. I put on my clothes and went to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and didn't even recognize myself. My once short but messy dirty blonde hair had become long and tangled. My well shaven beard had grown to consume the bottom half of my head. But my face was the most changed. The light that once shone in my eyes had disappeared and my face had grown pale and gaunt. My lips were cracked and raw. My clothes barely fit me anymore, and most of my chest was ribs. I only looked at the reflection for a few seconds before I was too revolted to even give it a glance. I left the room to go make myself some coffee. I just ended up drinking from the pot since Graham's stomach couldn't handle it. But when I sat down at the table I was blinded by a ray of light and dropped the pot. The last time the day had been this pleasant was only a few days before Harmony had died. I moved closer to the window, my hope slowly rising. I looked out and my draw dropped. All the water was gone! There wasn't even a puddle or a spot of mud. In fact it looked to be as dry as a bone.

I immediately ran to Graham's room and opened the door. Graham tried to sit up, but couldn't and rubbed his eyes. "What happened?" he said with a long yawn. "The water… It's all… gone…" I said while panting. His eyes widened and his smile could have brightened the entire world. "We need to leave now, before that changes," He said, and his energy and excitement was almost enough to make me forget the horrific things that had happened. 

I picked him up and we left the cabin. He was heavy. So heavy. Come on Jack, just be strong for everyone else one final time. I thought to myself. I tried to run but was unable to and went at a painfully mediocre speed walk. We walked for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes. I took in the nature around me. I looked at the trees that surrounded me, they were Norway spruce like the cabin. I listened to the birds and the insects. I felt the cool breeze on the back of my neck. I couldn't wait to get back to my job. I had had enough nature for the rest of my life. I wonder if me and Graham had been fired from the firm. I hoped they would rehire us if they did. My beard was starting to get really uncomfortable and felt like it had thousands of insects in it. I was starting to pant and get a stitch in my side when we reached a hill. "Don't worry Graham, we're almost there," I said, trying to comfort him. I could tell this trip was as hard for him as for me. I ran as fast as I could with Graham in my arms and finally reached the top of the hill. I leaned forward and put my hands on my knees. I was catching my breath and letting the stitch in my side go away. Suddenly I heard Graham - who I had set down on the ground - start screaming. I looked up and said "Graham what's wro-" but I didn't finish my sentence. Where the van should have been parked, there was not a parking lot and a road. There was a cabin. The cabin. I fell to my knees and the same overwhelming sense of dread I had felt when we first showed up to the cabin returned. Graham was standing up and rambling about forgetting things. But that was the least of my worries. How did this happen? Was the cabin magical? Was the cab-. "What's wrong Jack?" a sickeningly familiar voice of someone behind me said. The voice was of someone I knew. Someone I cared about. Someone I loved. Someone I killed. Someone I ate. It was Harmonys voice. Slowly I realized that my body had changed back to its pre cabin form. My memories of what had happened in the cabin were slowly fading. My voice responded, feeling somewhat forced and out of my control. "I don't know; something just made me feel really bad." I responded. 

All the small details from the cabin had faded from my mind, and as the bigger more important details faded , I heard Harmony's voice filling my head as she said, "That was weird, for a second it looked like you had a beard; but don't worry, whatever it is, we'll fend it off," she had a pause then said,

 "together forever." 

 The End?

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