Page 39 of The Last Feast
He hugs her back just as tightly and pulls her onto his chest as he turns on his back. Her legs automatically drop open, expecting him to fuck her again, but he lets out a deep moan ofcontentment and softly kisses her hairline. They’ve both found something they never thought they’d experience because of the years of neglect, abuse, and manipulation: peace. A tomorrow where they can stay in bed wrapped around each other.
Hana pushes her ear flat to his chest to hear his heart now that she’s found one she’ll never allow to stop beating. Each thud is better than the moments she’s handled the organs of her prey, and she slowly hums in time with them as Auguste strokes her hair.
“Did you have bad dreams?” he asks, his voice deeper with sleep.
“No.” She smiles. “Did you?”
A blaring trill vibrates through the walls, and she moves on instinct, jumping out of the bed without sparing a second to pull on a t-shirt. She races down the wooden staircase then lifts the phone to her ear. Again, without thinking, she says, “Aigner residence.”
The conditioning of being Erik and Martha’s cook, maid, cleaner, and household staff isn’t something Hana can shed overnight, but her blood turns cold at the deep voice on the end of the phone.
“Father Martin has missed you, stupid girl,” the handler coos. Her face has never been seen, and her name was never mentioned in Hana’s presence. But the voice is indistinguishable, and so are the two words at the end.Stupid girl.
She ends the call before a tremor takes over her hand.
Stupid girl.
That’s what she would call Hana while tracking her growth, taking the photos that would be used to auction her small body to the highest bidder.
Hana looks around the space, at the blood pooling on the floor beneath Erik’s lifeless, restrained body, the hatch that will show where Martha is missing the meat around her ribs.
The punishments will be more severe for killing them.
And just as her panic takes root, footsteps come closer with a voice that tastes like cake. “What’s wrong, baby?”
There’s no time for her to mourn the loss of her peace, because the one who gave it to her is at risk. So, she turns and tries to save two lives with false lightness in her voice. “They had a little girl here, and I told her to run away. It’s cold, so she probably died outside.”
Auguste’s face drops, and he runs up the stairs to get dressed, shouting, “Which way did she go?”
Hana stands there, savoring the taste of his voice while hating that the one goal she had has now become her only chance to save everyone. The handlers will check the house, and if they see three dead bodies, they won’t suspect Auguste’s involvement.
He’ll be safe. She’ll be a ghost.
But they have cameras. They’ll see him leave, and they’ll find him.
His arrival will be hidden due to the handlers’ rules: the first twenty-four hours of a new subject being delivered is surveillance-free to maintain the secrecy of their organization. So, she calmly walks over to Erik’s body. She lifts one of the knives and carves a circle into his skin, starting at his hairline and dipping under his jaw. Once she’s peeled his face away, she unthreads his shoelace and fashions a tie around the mask she’s made before she cuts the limp eyelids away.
Auguste barrels down the stairs, fully dressed and with concern painting his features. “Where did she go?” He pauses when he sees his faceless father. “What are you doing?”
“Come here please,” she whispers.
He moves automatically, perturbed by the sight but unable to push her away.
“No one will know you were here.” She lifts up on her toes to pull the mask over his face then lifts the hood of his black hoodie to cover the edges. “You’ll be safe.”
“From whom? The police? We’ll leave before they find out about these fucks.”
“Just safe, Auguste. Please keep it on until you get into the forest where the girl is hiding.”
“The forest?” he asks stupidly.
“Yeah. I’ll get rid of everything here and meet you there.”
He nods as he slowly walks backwards, repeating, “You’ll meet me in the forest?”
“I will,” she lies. “Auguste?” He pauses. “I liked you when you were Jamie too.”
“So did I.” He smiles beneath the mask.
