WEREWOLVES NO.1 || Unchained ✔️

8; packaged meat slaughter

soon after discovering the three long and scary looking claw marks on her stomach, Rhi wanted to go downstairs and get some fresh air. her room suddenly felt very closed in and boxy, not offering enough air. she ran out of her room and ran down the stairs, soon coming across the kitchen.

and she nearly screamed when she saw the kitchen.

a bloody mess was sprawled all over the countertops and some parts of the walls, and even the floor. there were packages of all types of meat splattered all over the ground and on the walls, and Rhi covered her mouth and closed her eyes tightly. what the fuck had happened? was this all apart of her imagination..?

but when she opened up her eyes again, it was 100% real.

her mom was supposed to come home in about an hour, so Rhi had to hurry up before it was too late and she got grounded for life. but she had no proof that it was her.

"oh.. oh my god..." Rhi muttered, suddenly beginning to piece the puzzle together. last night she had a dream about tearing into meat packages and wolfing down the contents, with such a savagery within her that nothing at the time could stop her.

and there was certainly proof that that had been her.

Rhi didn't have a whole lot of time, so she had to quickly clean up the bloody kitchen with about a hundred paper towels and a gallon of water to get it all off the walls and countertops. it took her nearly thirty minutes to get it all cleaned off, but it was worth it because Jenny would be arriving pretty soon.

"what am i becoming?" Rhi whispered, tugging at the ends of her hair. for some reason, her savage behavior reminded her of a wild dog, tearing into a carcass and scarfing down the contents.

or a wolf.

this was all way too absurd, and right as Rhi threw away the last bloody paper towel, Jenny walked in through the front door and smiled at Rhi as she walked into the kitchen. "hey! whew, i'm so glad to be done with that twelve hour shift... it's the longest one i've had in a long time. i took the liberty of stopping by McDonald's and getting us some breakfast." she set down the delicious contents of breakfast, all wrapped up in one large paper bag.

Rhi nodded and forced out a smile. "oh, thank you mom. i'm so hungry that i can't wait to delve in."

"good, because i know how much you love their salads and other vegetarian options. if you'll excuse me, i need to go sit down for a moment. i've had such a long shift." she grabbed her own breakfast from the bag, then left the kitchen to go to the living room and watch TV.

as Rhi began to sift through the bag and found the salad, french fries, and the Pepsi. she inwardly groaned. meat would be really good right now, not this stuff.

but what was she thinking? she was a vegetarian!

not after last night, you weren't, her subconscious sneered at her, and Rhi pushed the conniving thought from her mind and grabbed her food to join her mom in the living room.

something wasn't right with her, and she was bound to find out what it was.

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later that day, around lunchtime, Jenny decided to take Rhi out to the mall. it was a beautiful and cloudless day, and the temperature was just right. people were swarming the town, eager to enjoy the wonderful weather.

as they got out of the car in the mall's parking lot, a wide array of smells burst into Rhi's face, almost sending her stumbling back. Jenny looked at her, confused. "are you alright, Rhi? surely you can't be that tired still from your party," she said with a knowing chuckle.

Rhi nodded, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. "um yeah, i'm fine. sorry, i'm just really shocked about this awesome weather."

Jenny chuckled again and they walked together to the mall's doors, and Rhi was hit again with an even more powerful combination of smells. she wondered if the mall had ever been this smelly to her before. she could smell people all around her; where they had been, the different fabrics and fibers in their clothing, and what they had last eaten, all in one single breath. Rhi was starting to think that she had taken drugs at that party without knowing it.

"ooh, let's go to Forever 21! i remember they had a lot of cute stuff the last time we went," Jenny exclaimed like a teenager. Rhi smiled as she followed her in, excited to go into one of her favorite stores.

but there it was again; all those weird smells and how she could detect them from all the people around her. a group of girls walked in front of them with a blast of perfume and other chemicals, which probably only came as a faint whiff to her mom.

they walked around until they found a couple cute shirts that weren't that expensive, and they began to head to the check out. Rhi tried to breathe through her mouth so she couldn't smell anything else, but she ended up tasting it instead so she resorted back to regular breathing.

relief swamped over her when they left the store, but more smells enveloped her as they walked back into the mall's main area. couldn't her mom smell this too? or anyone? this seemed so surreal.

"can we get something from the food court? i'm feeling a little hungry," Rhi announces after a moment, and Jenny nodded. they took the escalator up to the second level of the mall, and Rhi sighed with content when she smelled food. what a lifesaver.

but then even the food smells started to get overwhelming.

"hey mom, is it just me or is the food like, really over-scented today?" Rhi asked casually, but her mom just frowned. "no, i don't think so? i can barely smell anything. just a little bit, i guess."

wow, what is up with me today? nothing explained why she could suddenly smell everything, literally everything. something had to have happened during the party...

Rhi and Jenny walked up to P.F. Chang's and ordered spring rolls, crab puffs, Mongolian beef, salad, and a couple of fortune cookies. they sat down at a nearby table and ate their food. Rhi was tempted to grab some of the beef, but remembered her stupid vegetarian oath about eating no meat. why had she gotten into that anyway? it was so stupid, giving up meat forever...

no! she had to snap out of it. meat was dead animal flesh and it was the result of millions of cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals dying for the sake of humans. now she really knew something ought to be wrong with her.

"you enjoying the meal?" Jenny asked as she bit into her crab puffs. Rhi's mouth watered, and she almost forgot to respond before her mom thought she was a total weirdo. "oh, uh, yeah the salad's great. hey, would it hurt if i had a crab puff...?"

Jenny blinked one confusion. "i thought you didn't like meat based products? i mean, i'm not shaming you, im just a little surprised is all." she smiled a little.

Rhi hesitated. was this what she really wanted? she had sworn off meat for at least a year now, and she had been doing so well... it just didn't seem right to switch to meat again, especially after what she had promised to herself and fellow vegetarians about eating dead animal flesh.

last night with the packaged meat slaughter didn't really help her case, though.

"you know what, nevermind. i'll just stick to my salad." and ate a large bite of the ranch-drenched greens.