Page 39 of Eat Me

Shaking my head, disgust and anger warring inside me. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? That I managed to choke down... that without breaking down like the others?"

My voice cracks on the last word, betraying the emotions I’m trying so hard to keep in check. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to meet Elijah's gaze. "Why? What was the point of that... test?"

Elijah leans forward, his green eyes intense as he studies me. "This was a test but also introducing you to our lifestyle.” I feel myself go pale at his words, my stomach almost lurching to throw up again. I can feel my throat burn as I force myself to swallow, the burning taste making me grimace.

Elijah's words make my blood run cold. "Your... lifestyle?" I repeat, my voice barely above a whisper. "You mean... you regularly eat..." There’s no way I couldn't bring myself to finish that sentence.

Elijah nods; his expression serious. "Human flesh, yes. It's been a part of our family's tradition and survival for generations." The way he casually talks about eating other humans, makes me look at him in a whole new light…and not a good one.

Shaking my head vehemently, unable to comprehend what he’s saying. "That's insane. You can't possibly expect me to accept that as normal."

Elijah sighs, running a hand through his dark hair. "It may not be normal to you, but it is for our family. It's an integral part of who we are, of our family's legacy. And if you're to become one of us, you'll need to embrace it."

I was shaken, trying to find the right words to say, "But why? How can you possibly justify cannibalism?"

"It's not about justification, Victoria," Elijah says, his voice taking on a lecturing tone. "It's about power. About taking the strength of others into us. Our ancestors believed that consuming human flesh gave them special abilities, enhancing strength and longevity."

He pauses as I’m sure he sees the look of horror growing on my face, “Though, it also started because of a lack of food and trades here in this small town…food was scarce. Two families came together and committed one of the greatest sins, or so people tell us.”

He laughs almost bitterly, “I have heard those words come from many people who find out about our eating habits.” He pauses before taking a deep breath, “The two families change to the name Andreev and have lived under that name for generations.”

My brain’s trying to keep up with all the information I’m being given. I never thought this would be something I’d ever have to deal with.

“There are two branches, my brothers and myself, who you will end up marrying and my ‘cousins’ who have yet to find their own bride.” He gives a cold smirk at this, and I can feel the dread in my stomach.

“The other two girls?” I whisper, the sinking feeling in my stomach growing. I have a feeling I know they’re no longer goingto be around. Killed and butchered for food is my guess what’s happened to them.

“They didn’t pass the last test,” Elijah tells me, and I have to wonder how one would pass the test.

“I passed because I ate the food?” I’m curious how I passed….though the thought of thefoodagain makes me want to throw up whatever I had left in my stomach.

“You passed because you stayed calm and didn’t puke the food up right then and there.” He grinned seeing my expression. I don’t know if I’m going to survive this family. I feel the tears I’ve been holding in finally begin to fall.

Elijah's expression softens slightly as he watches the tears fall down my cheeks. He reaches out, gently brushing them away with his thumb. I flinch at his touch, torn between wanting to lean into the comfort and recoiling from the man who’d forced me to commit an unspeakable act.

"I know this is difficult for you to accept right now," he says softly. "But in time, you'll come to see things our way. You’ve been doing such a good job so far.." This made my tears flow more as I let the sobs escape me.

"Shh, it's alright," Elijah murmurs, brushing the tears from my cheeks as the tears keep falling. I try to calm myself down, not wanting him to touch me right now.

"Don't touch me," I choke out, my voice raw with emotion. "How can you sit there and act like this is normal? Like eating people is just some quirky family tradition?"

I hear Elijah sigh, his eyes still soft as he looks at me, “It’ll take time for you to accept this. The others who joined us took a while too…but they all gave in eventually.” This didn’t make me feel any better at all.

“So, no more tests?” I ask, trying to figure out what’s going to happen from here. Am I going to be brainwashed? They moved me out of the cells…the room is an improvement, but Isomewhat wish I was back there. That would mean the others would still be alive.

“There is one more test, but it shouldn’t be too hard for you.” There was a dark tone to his voice that made me weary. I don’t like the sound of that…not one bit.

I stare at Elijah, dread pooling in my stomach at his words. "One more test? What could possibly be left after... that?" I can't bring myself to directly mention the cannibalism again, the memory makes bile rise in my throat.

Elijah's lips curve into a cold smile that sends chills down my spine. "The final test will be easy enough," he says, his green eyes are intense as they bore into mine, “You’ll find out soon, but I can’t give anything away.

Swallowing hard, my mind’s racing with horrific possibilities. I can’t think of anything else they could test me with. My mind’s running a mile a minute trying to think of what these people could possibly make me do next.

“That isn’t very helpful.” I sniff out, tears gone for now. My headache is intensifying as I look at Elijah with heavy eyes.

Elijah’s soft chuckle, make his eyes gleam with amusement. "It's not meant to be helpful, darling."

Frustration and fear warring inside me feels as though my head’s going to split in two. "I'm tired of tests. I'm tired of being pushed to my limits and forced to do things no sane person would ever consider."

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