Down to the Bone

Outside the cave it continues to rain relentlessly. She’s still staring at me, hungry for the marrow of the bone I’ve been gnawing for days now. I’m not a monster, I don’t want her to die, but this is all I have and if I share it I’m the one who’s going to starve to death. I walk over to the entrance of the cave, my mind distracted from my hunger for a brief moment. I think of my son, my beautiful son. He had my dark hair and his mother’s light skin. I’ll never forget the moment when he drew his last breath in my arms. It was as if he had gone to sleep, peacefully, never to wake up again. I could at least find comfort in the thought that he wouldn’t suffer anymore. While I’m dwelling in my thoughts I feel a heavy blow to the back of the head which makes me fall to the ground. I curl into a ball with my hands covering where I was hit, trying to ease the pain. She hits me again, this time striking my fingers and scraping some of the skin from them. When she goes for the next blow I manage to grab her forearm and take away the rock that she had in her hand.

“Give it to me!” she screams as she lunges at me again, scratching my face and leaving four traces of blood on my cheek. I try to grab her arms but while I do this she  goes for my neck as a wild beast taking down it’s prey. While I’m trying to get away from her jaws I trip and fall. She bites my neck and I fell the warmth of the blood streaming from the wound. I grab her hair with one hand and manage to pull her head away from me while with the other hand I pick up a rock and strike her in the face. She falls down beside me. Not wanting to give her time to fight back I find a larger stone, one that I need to lift with both hands. I smash her face, again and again. With each blow I feel the skull fracturing more and more, until finally it cracks and bursts open, splattering her brains all over my arms and what used to be her neck. I stare at the body for a moment, until my hunger pangs return. I take my dagger and cut her thigh, gashing the flesh in a long line. I rip a big piece which I hastily devour. I’ve got accustomed to the raw taste and it doesn’t bother me anymore. While I savor my meal I notice the water slowly flooding the cave. It is then that I think about the crazy man of the boat and what he said.

“God will destroy mankind because of it’s sins. He will send a deluge to wipe out all those who do not repent”

I didn’t think mankind was so evil as he said. What happened today has made me change my mind though. After all, I just killed my wife while fighting for the bones of my son…