Claws of Eternity ✔️

Chapter 22: Dangerous

GISELLE 

The hunger was all-consuming. At first, Giselle cursed her dumb ass to the Hell and back, because she hasn't drunk any blood in days. God, she couldn't even count how many days. Giselle wasn't aware of it earlier because her mind was elsewhere.

But now, she was in a wet, stone cell, the only light being the candle coming from the outside. Why did anyone decide this was a good residence, she didn't know. Her body was... itching, burning from the inside out. Giselle had never felt starvation, but she somehow knew this was different. She felt like she lacked everything, from water, food, warmth and peace. Her mind was running wild. Flashes of her father, Rosa and Adam danced in front of her eyes. Misery was coursing through her veins, the need to die, to cease existing. Or simply to feed 'til she lost consciousness. Giselle tried focusing on the candle, swallowing hard, trying to trick her stomach into thinking it is receiving food. It didn't work.

She's been here for a while now, every now and then she heard a scream that was closer to her than all the others. All other sounds were muffled, mixed together. Giselle tried thinking about what was going on there, if Ala and the others were safe, but she couldn't.

Because all Giselle heard, all she tasted in her mouth was the human girl behind her breathing. Every time she let out a cry, Giselle could feel her tears on her tongue, salty and wet. That's how vivid it became, almost like Giselle already knew what the girl tasted like.

"You need to be quiet." Giselle's voice was hoarse, rough, even predatory, she thought with disgust. She was disgusted, truth be told. She hated herself. It was all fun and games when you could eat whenever you wanted, but now... a beast was waking up in her, a beast so hungry it would devour anything in its way. The beast wouldn't care, it wouldn't ask, whether the girl was alive or dead.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Shut up, girl, just shut up." Giselle cut her off. She wasn't aware that Giselle was not a person in this moment, Giselle wasn't Giselle. She wanted to tear the girl apart, drink every ounce of whatever liquid she had in her. Those plump, rose lips, the health in the spark of her eye.

They warned her, both Alacaris and Vlad separately, that drinking from a cup is nothing like being near an alive person, blood strong and fresh. Giselle ignored it, just like she ignored that she was now different, that she died and came back to life. Giselle would've cried, except she was so hungry, all she felt was anger. She wanted to scream, she wanted to tear down those bars in front of her, but they were so strong and Giselle was so weak.

And the truth was, Giselle didn't really want to tear them down. She didn't really want to leave; her body wouldn't allow. Never in her life had she felt such perplexity, such indecisiveness.

"Please, to some it helps knowing who I..."

"Jesus Christ, don't you understand the words shut up?" Giselle screamed at the girl, gripping those bars tighter. Giselle didn't want to hurt her, but oh, God, she wanted to hurt her. She wanted to feel the fear in the girl, surging to the surface, she wanted to lick those tears gathered in the corners of the girl's eyes. Only thinking about it made Giselle shiver with anticipation. The struggle within her was the realest thing she had ever felt. Giselle didn't want to kill her, not when she knew this would haunt her for the rest of her days, and another, still quiet but growing stronger, part of her asked: who cares? You are the one that chooses whether something haunts you or not, you choose whether you live with your sins.

"Listen, we can work this out, if you simply tell me what is going on..." Giselle wanted to strangle her, she wanted to suck out the life within her, wanted to feel it dissolving in her hands.