Matt Shaw - Consumed

“Fuck you,” Tammy hissed.

“Whoa,” said Robert, “check out my little firecracker. I think that’s the first time you’ve ever sworn at me… But, come on, we’ll all chat… Tomorrow… You’ll realise how silly you’ve all been. But, don’t worry, I won’t hold a grudge. I’m not that sort of person. I’m more of a…”

“Rapist!” Tammy snapped.

Robert stood up and walked over to where Tammy was sat. He leaned down close to her and whispered, “It’s funny how that’s only a problem now the rest of the family know. You’ve never complained before. If memory serves correctly… Sometimes…”

“Shut up!”

“In fact, the first time we ever fucked…”

“Shut up!” she continued — louder this time.

“You begged me. When I found you in the car… With your date… He was in the back seat… I need to remind you of how he was? Trousers around his ankle… A slash across his throat… Blood in his lap… You on the back seat next to him… Little panties pulled to one side, rubbing yourself with what appeared to be a piece of his member… Moaning… Sighing… The blood around your mouth… The look in your eyes…”

“SHUT UP!” Tammy screamed.

“You begged me to fuck you. Remember that? Begged.”

“No…”

“And now the family know we’ve fucked…”

“You raped me in front of my brother and my mother…”

“You always liked it rough,” Robert reminded her. “Those nights you told me to come to your room… You’d whisper it in my ear before you’d go upstairs to bed… Whisper it so the rest of the family wouldn’t hear. You know, after feasting on flesh… Your sister… Suzanne… She’s the same. Begs me. Must be an alpha-male thing.”

“What?”

“You didn’t know? You didn’t compare notes?”

“You never fucked her in front of the rest of the family!” Tammy shouted again. “How am I supposed to look them in the eye now?”

“That’s what the problem is? All the times we’ve fucked… All those times… Now… Now you feel bad about it? Now you think it’s wrong? And now you think I deserve to die?”

“Johnny was right. You’re not our father anymore.”

“No. I thought we were something more,” he said. “You and I have always had a special connection but… Well… Now it appears I’m condemned to death. Is that because you want to fuck your brothers now? Younger? Better looking Is that the real reason you were so happy to go along with Johnny’s stupid little plan?” He paused. “God only knows what was going on in your sister’s head. Probably jealous that I sleep with you. Rather see me dead than know we’re lovers too.”

The door suddenly swung open with so much force it hit the wall with a bang. Robert and Tammy span around to see what caused it; Suzanne was standing there with a knife pressed against her throat. Hiding behind her were Joel and Lara.

Lara screamed when she saw Charlotte’s body.

“Dad!” shouted Suzanne.

Robert stood up, “What the fuck is this?”

“Where are our friends?” demanded Joel.

“Well — there’s a little of one of them on the table… If you give us a few days… You can probably fish the rest of them out of the toilet bowl…”

“Dad — please?” continued Suzanne.

“Oh — now I’m your father?”

“I’m not joking,” shouted Joel, “where are they? Tell me or she’s dead.”

“Kill her. I was only going to kill her later. You’ll be doing me a favour.”

“What? Dad?”

Robert noticed the knife for the first time, “The knife… You’ve been in the kitchen? What have you done with my wife?”

“What?”

“The woman… In the fucking kitchen…”

“There was no one there,” said Lara — unable to take her eyes off her friend’s half-eaten body. “Please… We just want to go home.”

“You’re not going home, okay?” said Robert. “You know it. I know it.”

“Where are our fucking friends?!” shouted Joel. He pressed the knife against Suzanne’s throat harder causing a little bit of blood to trickle down her neck. She let out a squeal of pain.

“Daddy — please…”

“Just kill her already,” said Robert — a smile on his face. “If you can’t kill her… How are you going to kill me? Think of her as the practice run before you come to me… I’m Wendigo, don’t you know?” he laughed and winked at Tammy. A laugh cut short by Joel’s scream.

Robert turned his attention back to Joel just in time to see him drag the knife across his daughter’s throat. Suzanne’s eyes went wide as panic set in — a jet spray of blood spurted from the slit all across the dining room floor. Tammy screamed whilst Robert applauded, “Well done, you, I didn’t think you had it in you…” Joel pushed Suzanne to one side, where upon she fell to the floor clutching hopelessly at her throat, and made a sudden dash forward for Tammy who did little to protect herself from the incoming attack. The knife’s blade pierced her skin as easily as it had slid across her sister’s — a funny sound from Tammy’s mouth, as opposed to a scream, to let all those around realise it was a serious impaling. Robert howled with laughter as he jumped to his feet. “What a day this is turning out to be!” he laughed.

Joel pulled the knife from Tammy’s chest, where he had stuck it for a second time, and looked at Robert who was still standing by his seat.

“You really should have given your friend a weapon too,” Robert said — a menacing tone in his voice and his eyes fixed on Joel. “You think you can get to me before I can get to her? Look at her skinny little neck… No weapon to protect herself from me… It won’t take much for me to snap her neck. I may be older than you but I bet I can move quicker,” he winked at Joel. “Really should have given her a wea…”

Joel cut him short, “Get out, Lara. Go and get help.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Oh how noble,” Robert teased.

“Just go!” he insisted.

“But you better run fast, little girl, because I’m right behind you,” Robert smiled and did a biting motion with his mouth. “Working up quite an appetite here.”

“Fuck you!” hissed Lara.

“A lot of people saying that to me today,” Robert pointed out. “They’re all dead now. Just saying. The two might not be related but, if they are, you’re fucked.”

“Fuck you!” she reiterated.

Robert laughed.

Lara turned and ran from the room — straight back into the hallway and towards the front door. She didn’t look back as she hurried towards it. Once there, she twisted the handle only to find it was locked. The sound of a car engine outside, followed by a wheel-spin. Someone clearly in a hurry to leave the property.

She tried the handle again on the off chance it was just stiff, “Fuck!” The kitchen, she thought, could have had a back door. Without knowing how much time she had to spare, she hurried back down the hallway into the kitchen where the stench of gas hit her. A quick glance at the hobs — everything was on, even the oven which had been left open. No time to worry about that as a crash came from the dining room. She rushed over to the back door and pulled at it but it didn’t budge — locked just as the front door had been.

Joel screamed from the other room.

“Come on, please!” she screamed at the door as she continued to tug at the handle in the hope it would magically unlock itself.

“We rarely keep that door unlocked,” said Robert from behind her.

She span around and screamed when she saw him standing in the doorway, coated in blood and clutching the knife.

“Don’t be so afraid,” he said, “it’s not my blood… You’ll be pleased to hear… I’m actually okay… Although, I don’t think your friend is going to make it if I’m going to be honest.” He did his best to give a sympathetic smile before he started to laugh. He took a step closer, “Just so you know… I’m really going to enjoy eating you.” Lara started to cry. “Oh, don’t cry… Makes the skin all salty… I’ve been trying my best to keep salt out of my diet. My wife… She says it’s bad for you and, well, apparently it is. See, I didn’t know if she was telling the truth so I looked it up. Apparently too much salt is definitely bad for you.”