Read Flesh Ravenous (Book 1) for Free Online

got that, Miles?”
    “It wasn’t me that one time,” said Miles.
    “It was more than just once, dear,” said Helena. “You have to empty it out after each use, and don’t try to blame it on Charlene again.”
    “What?” Miles’s eyes went wide, as he attempted to feign the look of surprise and confusion. “It was Charlene that time. She forgot to empty the poo bucket”
    “Miles, I heard your grunting that night in the bathroom. At first, I thought it came from one of those things —I thought one of those things found its way into the house—I was so frightened.”
    “Um…No, it must’ve been Charlene. I don’t know what you’re talking about, woman, and we’re getting quite far from the topic right now.” He looked to Therese. “So Therese, have you chosen a room here yet?”
    Therese shook her head. “Not yet.”
    “There are five rooms in this house,” said Miles. “Helena and France occupy the room at the end of the hall upstairs, the rest of the girls sleep in the downstairs room, and Lawrence, Tristan, and I each take a couch down here. One room you’ll recognize as a storage room, so you don’t wanna take that, not a lot of space. You and Joni can take the other room, or the master bedroom even, no one uses that one either.”
    “I’ll have to think about it with Joni.”
    “Do you have any other questions?” said Kasey.
    “I do.” Therese folded her arms on the table, to Kasey it looked like an uneasy fidget. “What’s going to happen when all the food runs out?”
     
    Joni
     
    Joni sat in the corner of one of the upstairs bedrooms, in between a bed and a shelf that held numerous graphic novels and a few books on history and psychology. The room was unlit, but she didn’t mind the dark anymore. She was on the carpet with her knees to her chest and arms wrapped around her legs, pretending she was a snail in its shell. She wasn’t sure how long she was in that position, staring at the wall and forgetting to blink occasionally. It must’ve been an hour or two. She was no longer upset about what had happened today, but she felt like hiding. She would disappear if that were possible. Her stepmother Therese was downstairs talking to the black lady and the married couple. Earlier, Charlene and France had invited Joni to play some game that involved stacking small blocks of wood and taking them apart one by one until it fell apart. Joni had politely told them “I don’t want to be bothered right now.” Charlene then offered Joni a can of fruit cocktail. Joni had no appetite, yet she would’ve loved to eat the fruit cocktail anyway. She refused the treat, feeling too shy to accept it from Charlene. She liked Charlene, the teenaged girl was funny and friendly and reminded Joni of a cartoon character. The other girl France looked mean at first because she didn’t smile, or never seemed to smile, but she was also friendly. Everyone in the house was nice to Joni, and she knew it was because they felt sorry for her. The man who shot her dad hadn’t spoken to her yet, hadn’t even apologized for what he did. Charlene had told Joni, “It’s because he’s scared of you.” That made Joni think. Why is he scared of me? I’m just a little girl.
    There was a knock on the door. Joni didn’t respond. She hugged her legs tighter and put her head upon her knees, trying to make herself smaller.
    The knock came again. “Joni,” said a girl’s voice.
    Again, Joni didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure if she wanted the girl to come in and talk to her.
    “Joni, it’s me, Ally. Can I come in?”
    “Okay,” Joni said.
    The door opened and Ally walked in with a lit candle. “Joni? What are you doing in Lawrence’s room by yourself?” With the light she carried, she went over and lit two more candles that were atop the dresser.
    “I think I’m shy,” said Joni.
    Ally giggled. “It’s okay to be shy, but isn’t it scary to be here alone in the dark?”
    “It’s not scary like