In Search of the Feast

1

Silence fills the dimly lit room. A shard of light slithers through the curtains and illuminates the slowly floating dust. A young man, alone, stirs in his sleep as the traffic noise from the busy city outside starts to grow. He is waking up. Squinting, he checks the time on his phone which bathes him in blue light. 12:19 PM. He groans and collapses his head back on the bed while tossing his phone back on the bedside drawers.

It was a late night and now Jason is feeling the effects of it. He is used to this though and so he keeps alka-seltzer on his bedside drawers. He plucks up the courage to sit up and swing his legs off the bed, grunting as he does so. He drops a tablet into a glass of water sitting on his bedside table and rubs his eyes with the butts of his palms whilst waiting for it to dissolve. He winces at the stabbing pain throbbing through his skull. He glances around his studio apartment and shakes his head at the mess. There are dirty clothes everywhere, especially piled up in the chair next to his window. Empty plastic bottles litter the room and the air is dry and stagnant.

The shard of light diagonally dissects Jason’s pale, naked, skinny body as he gulps down his routine cure. He lets out a belch and then flops back on the bed. Around a minute passes before he reaches for his phone again and starts scrolling through images on Tinder.

“Cast.” The images now appear on Jason’s wall but are blown up to 6 feet tall. He rolls over onto his side so he can get a better look at the holographic on the wall.

“Nah.” It swipes to the next profile picture. “No thanks.” It swipes again. This goes on for a while as he swipes through picture after picture of trashy, fake-looking ‘skanks’ as he would call them, until he reaches a kind-looking, raven-haired woman whose profile grabs his attention. He pauses.

“Show bio” Her picture shrinks and her bio takes its place.

“Zoe: 23

Just looking for some fun

Interests: pizza and pop-punk.”

“Show images.” Jason is now standing as Zoe’s profile images cycle through. In each one she looks really happy and smiling. She is a pale, petite rock chick with flesh tunnels in her ears, a piercing in her bottom lip where it meets the corner and colourful tattoos on her right arm. She wears various band t-shirts in a lot of the images.

Jason is now up close to the wall, inches from the image of Zoe's face. He seems transfixed.

“Open messages” A text bubble pops up on Zoe’s profile. Jason thinks for a second about what to message her, then suddenly a loud beeping fills the room through the smart speakers as the words “Incoming Call” repeatedly flash over the image.

“Oh shit!” He shakes his head and turns around, grabbing his jeans up off the floor, the beeping still ringing around the room. Jason stumbles as he slips his jeans on and looks for his shirt around the foot of the bed. The ringing stops and a voicemail is heard aloud throughout the room.

“Hi Jason, it’s Dan. You were supposed to be at work half an hour ago, I am just checking in to make sure you are okay. Get back to me asap please to let me know what is happening. Thanks, bye.” The voice is from a kind, calm sounding middle-aged man. It is Jason's manager.

Jason hurriedly finishes getting dressed, grabs his keys and wallet from his bedside table, and heads for the door. He grabs a long black raincoat from his coat stand and opens the door. Turning on his heels he comes back into the room, slamming the door behind him and heads to the corner of his apartment to his en suite bathroom.

“Lights. On.” The bathroom lights fade into brightness as he grabs his electric toothbrush and cleans his teeth while looking at his reflection with disdain. His wavy long brown hair is a mess and his brown eyes distinctly bloodshot. After twenty seconds or so he finishes up and rinses his mouth. That will have to do, his teeth will have to be more yellow than normal today. He runs back out to the front door to his apartment, patting his pockets as he does so to make sure he has everything.

“Lights. Off.” The lights fade out as the door slams shut. Back to silence.

೦ ೦ ೦

The dreary office is quiet, as people go about their daily duties of data entry in apparent autopilot. Blank eyed and expressionless, they tap away at the keyboards of their PCs without talking to each other. One colleague walks from desk to desk scanning the data panel at the end of each terminal, downloading completed work to her handheld device, and uploading new work to the colleagues. One desk sits empty in the corner near the door.

Jason sheepishly hurries through the door, disturbing the quiet but no one seems to notice or care. He slicks back his hair that is drenched from the rain and takes off his soaked coat. He hangs this up by the door and quickly sits at his desk, glancing around to make sure he has not made too much of a disturbance. Putting his thumb on the reader on his PC he signs in and fires it up with a ‘bleep’.

Around 10 minutes passes when Jason hears his name being shouted from the other side of the room. He looks up to see his manager, Dan peering out from his office at him.

“Jason. Come in here a minute please, we need to have a word.” He motions him over to his office. Still, no one else in the room bats an eyelid. Jason gets up and walks into Dan’s office.

“Take a seat,” Dan says, in his ever present friendly manner. “I am just going to come right out and say it, is everything okay at home?” Jason shuffles in his seat as Dan leans forward on the desk with his hands folded. His perfectly fitted salmon coloured shirt is finished off with sausage dog cufflinks.

“I...”

“You know you can tell me, right?”

“Yeah, I mean...”

“It’s just that you do not seem to be yourself lately and this is not the first time you have been late for work. You are normally one of my most reliable guys. I normally count on you.”

“I know, I’m really sorry Dan. I’m good though, I think it has just been a bit of bad luck lately with missing busses and my alarm not going off.” Dan grins and leans back in his chair, locking his fingers together behind his head.

“There’s no need to lie to me, Jason. I can tell when there’s something off about someone. It’s one of my talents. I don’t want you to think of me as just your boss, because I am not, I am your friend too.” Jason has to hold back a cringe. Dan continues “So please, let me know what is going on and I can help you.” Stuttering, Jason tries to dismiss the situation.

“It’s nothing, really…”

“Whatever it is, we can work this out. Together.” Dan assures him. A moment passes while Jason struggles to find words.

“I have just been a little bit down lately, you know, like depressed,” he says reluctantly.

“Thanks for telling me Jason, I know it can be hard but now I know I can help you. I want you to get better and feel better because at the end of the day that's the priority, for all my staff. Like I said I am not just your boss.” Dan shifts in his seat again, now sitting with his elbow in his chair arm and resting his chin on his fist. “What do you think is making you feel this way? Have you seen a doctor?”

“No not yet, I have been thinking about it but I just haven't got round to it. I think I am just stuck in a bit of a rut, you know since Polly died. I know it's a few years ago now but I just feel a bit lonely sometimes and I still miss her like hell.”

“I understand mate, and it's perfectly normal to feel the way you are.” Dan is now leaning forward on the desk again. “Tell you what Jason, take the rest of the day off and relax and try and sort your head out a bit. I want you to call the doctors though and book an appointment to see someone.”

“Okay thanks, yeah I will. Thanks Dan, for understanding.” Jason says sincerely as he starts to stand up.

“No problem at all Jason, I am just glad I could help.” Jason walks towards the office door and opens it.

“Jason, thanks again for telling me, I know it wasn't easy,” Dan says. Jason gives him a smile and a nod before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

2

With a guilty feeling still sitting uneasy in his gut, Jason sits on the bus, leaning against the window staring into space. The eclectic single-decker is fairly empty with just an old lady sitting towards the front and a couple of school kids at the back. An infomercial about interest free credit cards plays on the screen behind the driver, glitching every so often causing the lady talking to stutter and spasm. Nobody was taking any notice anyway.

Jason’s phone buzzes in his pocket which wakes him from his daydream and he reaches in and retrieves it. He unlocks it with his thumbprint and to his surprise, he has a notification from Tinder. He shifts in his seat, suddenly looking more awake. It’s her, the lady from this morning. He can’t believe it. Clicking on the notification he loads up her message.

“Hi there, I saw your profile and thought I’d drop you a message. I am terrible at this so don’t really know what to say lol. Anyway I hope to hear back from you.” He can't help but smile. He clicks reply and then looks upwards as if looking for the right thing to say. He types “Hi. I am terrible at this too but how about this: Let’s meet up for a drink and we can take the awkward edge off?” His thumb hovers over the ‘SEND’ button for a few seconds as he internally battles his doubt and raises his courage. He then presses send and sighs, relaxing again in his seat.

He puts his phone back in his pocket and smiles as he watches the rain soaked world pass by. The bus stops to let a middle-aged man in a tweed jacket get on. The stranger smiles at the driver and pays his fair with his thumbprint, seemingly not noticing how drenched he is; with his jet black hair slicked to his forehead and droplets intermittently dripping from his clothes that are fully saturated. He then walks up the aisle of the bus and sits across from Jason, giving him a smile as he does so. Jason awkwardly smiles back and then goes back to peering out of the window, wiping the condensation with his sleeve to get a better view.

His phone buzzes again and upon opening the message he sees it is a reply from Zoe. The message reads “Sounds great! I’ve been meaning to try out this new cocktail bar if you want to meet? I am free tonight so let me know.”

Jason cannot contain the smile on his face at the thought of going on a date. With it comes an undercurrent of nerves though, as it has been so long since he has been with a woman, and he gets a pang of anxiety in his belly. Doubt starts creeping into though as he wonders what to say back to the attractive woman on his phone screen.

“Sure, just let me know the time and the place.” he types out presses send.

೦ ೦ ೦

Zoe sits alone at a table under a neon sign near the window in the bar, watching the traffic, both on foot and on the road. The room is dark with a number of orange filament bulbs dangling on long black cords dotted around the room. The shiny black marble bar takes up the entire left-hand side of the room, reflecting the blues and pinks from the neon signs above. The staff are all wearing tight fitting black t-shirts.

Her phone buzzes and lights up on the table in front of her. She clicks the screen to reveal a message from Jason asking if she is already there. Replying straight away she sends back a message confirming she is and asks if he would like a drink getting from the bar. She notices the three blue dots on her screen bouncing, signifying Jason is typing back and just a few seconds later she receives a reply which reads “Ooh yes please. I don’t know many cocktails though so I’ll just have what you’re having. Thanks.” Zoe sends a message back straight away saying “OK, see you soon.” and she heads off to the bar to get the drinks.

Five minutes later Jason walks into the bar and catches sight of Zoe straight away and gives her a smile. He walks over the table, unbuttoning his coat with one hand.

“Hi. Zoe, I take it, yes? I am Jason, nice to meet you.” he gives her a friendly, if not awkward hug, not knowing whether to give a kiss on the cheek too.

“Nice to meet you, Jason, I got you a pina colada, I hope you don't mind?” Jason is now sitting down after removing his coat.

“Oh that sounds nice, I have never had one before, thanks.” he takes a sip of it through his straw, “Mmm, that's really good.”

The conversation takes on the familiar and inevitable awkwardness of a first date as they discuss the benign and the tedious while waiting for the initial flurry of nerves to die down. This carries on for around twenty minutes or so until Zoe makes things a little more interesting.

“This is not really a normal first date question but I think it will be fun. What do you think the most likely cause is for the end of the world?” she asks with a sense of mischief.

“Oh wow, not conventional at all,” he says, laughing. “Let me think... I would probably say that mass disease would be the most likely cause.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah I think so. I think it is much more likely than a machine uprising, or an asteroid. I mean this might be because I have watched so many conspiracy theories but I have heard that population control is a very real thing that is happening all over the world. It’s a new world order type thing. There’s even a video I’ve seen about the theory that this order is responsible for killing millions of people with an ebola outbreak because the planet can’t cope with the number of people on it, so I think it is a very real possibility.”

“My god. What have I got myself into here? A real conspiracy nutter.” They both laugh. “Is that true though?”

“Well, who really knows what’s true but there's definitely a lot of people who believe it.”

“I suppose that's enough to make something true these days.” she agrees. “If it gets talked about loud enough or gets a following online it becomes the truth. I’ll be honest though, I do love a good conspiracy theory.”

Jason smiles, feeling the butterflies starting to dance in his belly, and she smiles back as she sips at her cocktail through a straw.

“So what’s your theory?” Jason probes.

“About the end of the world? I think that nuclear apocalypse has to be the frontrunner. At the end of the day, I think man's greatest threat has and will always be man.”

“Wow. Very profound. Did you read that on a greetings card?”

“No.” She giggles. “But I might start writing it in them from now on.”

There is a moment of awkward silence as they both look at each other not knowing what to say next. Jason breaks this by asking if she wants another drink.

“Um yeah, I’ll have a rum and coke.”

“Oh nice, my favourite.” Jason replies, “Spiced?”

“Yes please.”

“No worries. Be right back.” He walks off to the busy bar and squeezes in between a short plump woman and a tall ginger man. As he waits to get served he glances back at Zoe and notices something odd. She is staring blankly, straight forwards, with no expression whatsoever.

“Who’s next?” The bartender gets Jason’s attention.

“Two spiced rum and cokes please.” Jason looks back at Zoe and sees she is still completely expressionless.

“Eight pounds fifty please boss.” The bartender places the drinks on the bar in front of Jason, and in turn he pays for the drinks with his thumbprint. Turning and squeezing through a throng of people near the bar Jason carries the drinks back to their table, being careful not to spill them. He places the drinks down on their table and takes his seat again. His presence snaps Zoe back out her trance.

“Are you okay?” He asks, genuinely concerned.

“Oh sorry, I’m fine yeah, just miles away.” She smiles.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, just work that’s all. It’s tiring me out.” She smiles again like she is hiding something.

“Oh right, if you’re tired we can call it a night?” he offers sincerely.

“No no, I am having fun and this is taking my mind off it.”

“Okay cool, if you’re sure.” He reaches across and squeezes her hand. “I am having fun too.” They both smile at each other as the sexual tension crackles in the air.

“What is it that you do for work anyway, you never said?” Jason queries. Zoe puffs her cheeks,

“I’d rather not go into it, it’s very boring.”

“No worries, we can talk about something else. Tell me, I noticed on your profile you like punk music, who was the last band you went to see?”

“You know what...” she shifts in her seat. “It’s kind of loud in here. Do you maybe want to go somewhere quieter so it’s easier to talk?”

“Sure, that’s fine by me, where do you want to go?” he replies.

“How far away do you live?” she asks nonchalantly.

Jason tries with all his might to hide the surprise on his face as the butterflies in his belly begin to dance manically. “Well it’s around a fifteen-minute walk from here or we can get an Uber and it will take about 5 minutes.”

“Shall we get an Uber then because it’s still raining outside?” she suggests.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I’ll book an Uber now” he says as he takes his phone out of his pocket, trying to keep a steady hand. He hasn’t had a woman back at his apartment in over a year and his heart is starting to beat faster, both with excitement and nerves.

“Do you have rum at yours or shall we stop and get some?” Zoe asks.

“I’ve got plenty of rum yeah,” he says with a smile.

“Nice” she smiles back as she stands up and puts her leather jacket on before flicking her hair. Jason gulps down his drink and then puts his coat on and, with the Uber booked, they make their way to the exit.

೦ ೦ ೦

They arrive at Jason’s apartment and Zoe takes in the dark, dingy room as they enter.

“Lights. On.” Jason announces aloud and the apartment, in turn, lights up yellow with a single yellow bulb in the centre of the ceiling. He notices Zoe looking around the room.

“Sorry about the mess, it is normally much cleaner than this, I have just been busy that’s all.” he lies.

“Don’t worry about it.” she replies, “I have seen much worse, trust me.”

Jason grabs a bundle of clothes from the small sofa and shoves them in the wardrobe on the other side of the room.

“There we go, there’s some room now.” He says awkwardly while gesturing for Zoe to sit down.

Jason pours two rum and cokes in his kitchenette and slips a few ice cubes into each glass. He takes them over to Zoe and places his own on the floor in front of the sofa and hands Zoe hers. She takes a sip straight away.

“Mmm. Captain Morgans.”

“It is indeed. Good taste buds.” He says as he walks over to his retro record player. He picks a vinyl from off his shelf which has a dark cover with an ape bearing its teeth. Jason pulls it out of its sheath and carefully places it on the turntable. He gently lines up the needle and presses play, starting the satisfying crackle through the speakers before the aggressive distorted punk music fills the room.

Jason walks back over to the sofa and sits down next to Zoe, unable to contain his smile. She playfully smiles back at him and takes a sip of her drink. She then reaches down and picks up Jasons drink from the floor and as her fingers clasp around the top of the glass the tip of her index finger dips into his drink.

“Oops, sorry,” she says as she hands him the glass and sucks the tip of her finger.

“I take it you haven't had a lady friend over in a while then Jason?” she asks in a playfully teasing way, referencing the mess with her eyes. They both chuckle.

“Is it that easy to tell? I suppose I can’t deny it has been a while,” he replies, trailing off slightly and the end and he takes another drink.

“Hmm, well I for one am quite surprised.”

“Reall…” before he can get the word out she leans across and kisses him on the lips. Jason is taken by surprise but within an instant he starts kissing back. Zoe strokes his thigh with her free hand and Jason's breathing quickens. Without saying a word they both put their drinks down on the floor and Zoe flings her jacket off and jumps on top of Jason. She starts unbuttoning his shirt while he squeezes her bottom firmly. He groans as she bites his bottom lip.

Things are now getting heated, Jason is lifting Zoe in the air with her legs wrapped around his waist. Passionately kissing each other, he carries her over to the bed. He drops her on her back and she playfully giggles as she bounces on the mattress, her hair now covering her face. Jason, still standing, pulls off his unbuttoned shirt and throws it on the floor. Zoe slowly crawls towards him, showing off her ample cleavage as she holds his gaze with her smouldering eyes. She kisses his stomach as she works at unbuckling his belt, still not breaking eye contact. Jason runs his fingers through her hair, trying his hardest to look cool but his heart is about ready to burst. Zoe pulls down his jeans just enough to free his erection from his boxer shorts, and she licks it from the bottom of the shaft right to the tip. Jason groans and arches his head back at the spine-tingling pleasure. All of a sudden the groan catches in his throat. His eyes fill with panic and pain and his body falls limply forward and crashes on the bed.

Silence - Just for a few seconds, until Zoe spits on the floor.

“That took longer than expected,” she says under her breath as she fixes her hair and straightens her blouse.

3

Jason drowsily regains consciousness on the flat of his back. His vision is blurry but he would recognise his own apartment ceiling anywhere. His head is throbbing and his eyes sting when he tries to keep them open. He tries to rub his eyes but gets a pang of shock in his belly when he realises he cannot move his arms. Each wrist is tied to each corner of the bed.

“What is happening?” he thinks. He scrambles through his memories trying to work out how he got here. He is used to waking up hungover but this is different, this is scaring him. He can’t remember. His heart starts to beat faster as panic begins to flood his body. Why can’t he move, and why does he ache everywhere?

“Oh it looks like someone is waking up.” he hears a voice, coming from his left. It is a woman's voice. He recognises it but still can not work out what is going on in his groggy brain. “I was starting to think you were never going to wake up.” The voice is closer now and he can see a shadow of a figure coming towards him from the corner of his. It is too painful to move his head to get a proper look.

All of a sudden Zoe leaps in the air and comes crashing down on the bed, with her knees either side of Jason's stomach. “Good morning sleepy head!” she says rather loudly as she musses up his hair. All the sudden movements are too much for Jason as they send pain zipping up his spine and through his arms and legs. But now, after seeing her face again it’s all starting to come back to him, slowly at least.

“Oh my God, what happened last night? I don’t remember a thing.” he forces out of his parched mouth. “And why am I tied up, what were we doing?” Zoe playfully laughs at the question.

“Well, we went out for drinks and we had a few cocktails, and then we came back here and we had some rum, I drugged you, and then when you passed out I tied you up,” she explains nonchalantly, all the while doodling on his chest with her finger.

“Haha you’re funny,” he replies, grimacing at the pain in his head.

“I know, people tell me all the time.” she giggles playfully.

“So what actually happened? Ah, did I make a fool of myself?”

“I just told you.” this time she is deadpan. A moment passes while Jason just stares at her.

“Wait, what?!” he tugs at his restraints, testing their strength. “Zoe, why am I tied up and why can’t I remember last night?!”

“You are tied up so you can not escape, and you are unable to remember much because of the sedative. Don't worry though it will all come back to you eventually as the effects fade off. The pain you feel too, that's also the drugs, it has a nasty effect on the nervous system. But again, this will pass.”

“This isn’t funny. Untie me, I don't like it.”

“I can't do that Jason.”

“Fucking untie me!” he screams at her. The veins in his neck bulge for a second as he does so. A splitting pain slices his skull from the blood rush.

“Firstly; don't talk to me like that. And secondly; no,” she responds calmly and quietly. She climbs off of him and reaches for a glass of water on the bedside table.

“Here, have a drink, you are dehydrated.” She lifts the glass to his mouth and carefully places it to his cracked lips as he reluctantly chokes down a few gulps.

“Please” Jason pleads “what is happening? What do you want from me?”

Zoe takes a small sip herself from the glass of water and perches on the edge of the bed as she considers her response.

“Well, to put it simply Jason, I need to feast.”

“What?”

“I eat people,” Zoe explains in a very matter of fact manner. Jason stares blankly back at her struggling to believe what he is hearing. His pain now gone as it has been washed away by numbness and all he can feel is the hairs standing on end all over his body.

“So you’re a cannibal?” is all he can muster through his sudden catatonic state.

“We have had many names over the years but vampire is the one that seems to have stuck with you people.”

“HELP! HELP!” Jason starts screaming in a blind panic, “HELP!” But still, ever so calmly Zoe sets down the glass of water on the bedside table and stands up.

“There's no need for that Jason.”

“HELP!” he continues, frantically wrestling with his restraints, his knuckles white and his wrists red raw.

“You know as well as I do that Bernice next door is deaf and Carlton across the hall is at work, so no one can hear you.” This news pauses him in his tracks for just a second as he wonders how she knows this information, but again he starts yelling and struggling. Without hesitation or warning, Zoe lets out a cat-like hiss as she snarls at him, showing off her long, sharp canine teeth. This terrifies him into silence, for good this time.

“Thought so,” she mutters under her breath.

Zoe walks over to Jason’s kitchenette and picks up the bottle of rum and two glasses. “One for the road?” she says as she carries them back to the bed. Still cowering Jason doesn't reply, or even look at her. Zoe sits on the edge of the bed again and pours a measure into one glass. “You sure?” she says motioning to the other glass with her head.

“Just tell me one thing,” he says, still not looking at her, “Why me?” Zoe puts the bottle and the empty glass on the bedside table and then swills the glass of rum in her hand in a circular motion as she watches it.

“I know how to read people. I've been doing this for a long time. I am older than I look.” she smiles. “The times change, the locations change, the technology changes. But people don't change. No offense Jason but you are an easy target. The depressed, still grieving, thirty-something man in a dead-end job just ticks all of the boxes really.”

“But why not just kill a homeless person or something?”

“Would you eat out of the bin?”

“It’s still blood though right?”

“Blood that's filled with drugs and disease. I don't want that. I want a healthy person with hardly any ties. And that's what I have.” she says as she takes a sip of rum.

“Please Zoe, it’s not too late to stop this. I won't tell anyone just please let me go.” Jason begs, almost crying.

“You are all the same,” she chugs the last of her rum and throws the glass over her shoulder, it smashes into hundreds of pieces on the floor, “You do not want to live until you are about to die.”

Zoe looks at him and smiles. The room is so quiet and still. Then in a flash, before Jason can even blink, she is on top of him with her teeth sinking into his neck. He tries to scream but she has clamped his trachea in her jaws. All he can do is writhe in panic and pain. She tears a lump of flesh from his throat and gargles in euphoric pleasure, tipping her head back as blood runs down her front. It is squirting from Jason’s neck all up the walls and all over the bed. Still, he tries to scream but all he can muster is spluttering coughs.

Zoe’s pupils are fully dilated, almost to the point of being fully black, as she licks her lips and swallows Jason's blood. She does not care about the mess she is making of the sheets and the room. All she desires is blood in her belly. She goes back to his neck again and sloppily sucks more blood from him, groaning at the pleasure. Jason's body is now lifeless. The feast has started, the hunger will be satisfied for another year.

*Please like, share and tip if you enjoyed this story. Thank you very much. John Moroney.