I remember saying those words.

"I love you."

      And the response.

"I love you too."

      Now, how and why did it go so wrong?

      I placed my bloodied hand on the ice which held Selicia. The left side of her was eaten, but not much at all. In fact, it looked like whatever ate her left side didn't want to and found the taste terrible. I know that for a fact. The bite marks on her body didn't match anything you would find in the wild. I know that. Because the thing that ate the left side of her body was me.

      I had no choice but to eat it to survive. Trapped in a cave with only her corpse inside. I had to...right?

      The only thing I had comfort on right now was the fact that nature decided to give her some peace or something since when I woke up I saw her body encased in ice. That was good. But now I am going to die.

      I was shivering all over as I was trapped in a snow cave. I'm honestly surprised that I haven't died yet, let alone not have frostbite.

      I let out a sigh and looked over at Selicia. I let out a small smile, blood crusted on my face falling off like flakes.

"I'll be joining you soon."

      No way out of the cave, no food, and water is painful and hard to come by. And I ain't a survivalist nor some hero. Plus I lost my will to live. Selicia is dead and we both just confessed to each other, and no one is coming to even see where we are. Our parents didn't care for us enough for that. The only thing I could possibly think of is the police but when our parents don't press them to search they'll stop. I mean, they're definitely not gonna find us in time.

Ah. I probably should be having happy thoughts. Hopeful thoughts. But I just can't.

      I leaned my head against the ice and closed my eyes, longing for ice to encase me and freeze me over so I could be with Selicia once more.

      Of course, that wouldn't happen. What woke me up was a very familiar sensation. A knowing and painful thing that made my body numb.

Hunger.

      I dropped down and started walking on all fours, too wobbly and tired to walk on two. I don't need to get out and there probably isn't a way out but if I could find one then I guess I could find food. What food will be put there is the better question. Another good one is if I find something, how do I catch it?

      I'm weak, starving, and not in the right mind. How am I supposed to catch anything? It's not like anything dull just walk right up to me, right?

      And it's not like I'll find out that the entr-

      I stopped, one hand raised in the air like a dog, staring at a new entrance to the cave I was trapped in with a dumbstruck look. Really?

Ack! Why Why Why!? Screw you nature and Duck you, god, for not opening this up sooner!

      I made my way to the small opening and poked my head out and looked around. I needed food.

      There was a path leading into the cave so it was safe to assume that this was the proper entrance to the cave. Of course, most of it was still covered in rock but I guess now I know if the entrance.

      I walked out still on all fours which were now killing my knees when I spotted some bushes with red berries to my right smack dab outside of the entrance. I blinked and stared at them for a long minute. I walked forward to them.

If they're poisonous then I'll be seeing you soon Selicia.

      I sniffed them at first before gorging myself on them. They tasted sweet.

      I threw up on the ground. Tears sprang in my eyes and I felt myself sobbing. Compared to the taste of Selicia this is way better.

      I ate the berries a little bit more slowly, savoring the taste and feeling incredibly guilty. To any passerby, I must look like a chipmunk or a squirrel with the way I'm sitting and eating.

….

      I was still hungry. I had eaten all the berries but after waiting a while my mind and body went numb and the hunger clawed its way back up. I began drooling and after making a thorough search to make sure there were no more berries around or on the bush I started walking towards the trees. They reminded me of a fairy tale with how pretty there were with their white and white leaves and their size. Of course, only death and harsh reality exist in here. Sorry princess and princes but you're not gonna survive going through here.

Maybe you would? I sure as hell don't know. All I know is that Selicia didn't survive and I sure won't survive for long.

      I figured those berries weren't poisonous or if they were slow-acting because I didn't feel anything.

      I sniffed the air and winced at the chemical smell. It was always there but now it was incredibly strong. And now it is fading away. Well, that was weird. Should I follow it? I probably should. The chemical smell probably belongs to some hidden chemical plant in the woods. Sure I am gonna get in major trouble since no common people are supposed to see it but I don't care. I was desperate.

Hey! Where did the smell go!? It was always faintly there but now it is completely gone? Well great. Just my luck.

      Something else hit my nostrils and I started drooling. Blood. Blood and death. I turned and walked down the rest of the path, or should I say I walked four feet before seeing a dead buck to my left.

Are you kidding me? What the Hell is going on! This luck should have been given to Selicia! Not me! Why!?

      I unconsciously grabbed the buck. It was bleeding heavily from its belly but other than that there was no clue of how it died or what even did this to it. The moment I peered at the wound to see what caused it was the moment my mind went blank.

….

      The moment I came too or gathered my wits I was standing over the mainly eaten body of the buck. I was breathing heavy and my breathing sounded like I was growling. Actually, I was growling slightly, wasn't I?

      My hands were covered in blood and so were the remains of my grey tank top. My feet too. I also was on all fours again but not on my knees. Instead, my feet were on the ground like in a bear-run pose but different. My back was straightened and my feet were positioned like a dog or something. It felt extremely comfortable. Of course, I was panicking.

What the hell just happened!? Did I do this!? Well yeah, I did but What The Hell!

I must be pretty strong to drag that buck into the cave. Actually, how did I do that? Me? A weak and starving girl dragged a two hundred pound or even more buck into a cave.

Probably my hunger gave me the strength to be able to.

      Though doesn't starving make you weaker? Well anyway, I feel much less hungry. Still am but I should probably wait and save the deer. I don't know when or if I will find one again.

      Wait a second. Wait A Bloody Second!

Did I eat this RAW!? Oh, Sod me.

That's gonna be a funny story to tell her if I see her in whatever afterlife we go to. I didn't die from being cold or starving but because I ate a buck raw.

      I let out a sigh. Well, can't do anything about it now. If I try to throw up the raw meat I would just starve. At least now I am not starving...though definitely still hungry.

Am I a glutton? I was a big eater compared to other girls, yes, but I just ate most of a two-ton deer! How can I still be hungry! How does that work? I ain't fat! Skinny if anything!

      I stopped my inner rambling at the sudden realization that I was growling. It wasn't really that threatening due to my rather high-pitched voice but it was a growl nonetheless.

"I sound like a child growling."

      I've never been fond of my voice. Sounded too childish for me. That is what I meant by my voice being high-pitched. Wait, do they mean different things?

How are we supposed to know?

Wow, you sound much clearer. Guess the stress is making me cling to something.

      Though I do bring up a good point. My phone is gone and I have no one around to tell me if my voice sounding like a child means it is high pitched or not.

Because I'm all alone.

      It didn't really occur to me or I didn't want to realize it but I was alone. No Town was near here for much more than a couple of miles and barely anyone came here. No people, no contact to anyone, just me and the wild...and Selicia.

She's still my everything. I won't let anything happen to her.

Then we need to stay alive.

You're right me! If I die who would find her and who would protect her? That is why I must live.

      With a purpose in mind, I curled up and went to sleep, staying close to Selicia to shield her from any danger.

….

      I woke up with a shocking discovery. I had eaten the buck in my sleep. That and I was hungry again. At least it wasn't as bad as before. But it was enough for me to check around the cave for anything unusual before leaving the cave in search of food.

      When I made it to the entrance I realized that I was walking on all fours again. It was comfortable so I didn't stop but I would definitely look weird to anyone who saw me. Also, thank god I learned how to walk on all fours better. The bear crawl was okay but uncomfortable after a while and on my knees was a no-go.

      I sniffed the air outside and sighed when I didn't pick up any chemical smell which was disappointing. After sniffing a bit more I caught a sniff of blood. I hurried towards it. Snow, sticks, rocks, I didn't care. I ran forward without stumbling or hurting myself, jumping over logs and boulders and weaving between what can only be described as frozen over vines and trees before stopping when the smell of blood got stronger.

      I peeked through the trees to see into a frozen-over plain. The grass was a white and light blue color making the scene look pretty. Scattered about the plain were more deer. Most were females while a few were males. Surprisingly the bucks weren't fighting and seemed to be getting along well.

      I looked around for any sign of injury but there were none. Where is that blood smell coming from? I sniffed the air and flinched in shock when I realized it was coming from all the deer. They all smelled like blood.

Did they kill something? Are they carnivorous or something? Why do they smell like blood?

Maybe because there is blood within them?

I ain't that much of a freak. I mean, I know I smelled blood for what may have been a mile or so away but I definitely wasn't smelling the blood inside their bodies. If anything I should be smelling them!

What if it was because of the chemicals?

That's it?

Why not?

Sure why not.

      I felt like I was missing something or that something was amiss but I didn't care. I needed food right now and that was all that matters. Well, that and protecting Selicia.

      I looked around the tree line for any other predator or something that would disrupt my hunt or steal my meal. When I saw nothing I started picking out my prey. There was a buck closest to me but behind him was a female deer. That was what I should aim for. I am not big enough to take down a fully grown male deer. Probably the female one is gonna be extremely hard.

Wait. What am I supposed to use to hunt the deer? I don't have any weapons on me. What am I gonna use, my nails? Yeah sure. The only chance I have is to wait and watch for any opening.

      With that in mind, I hid even further in the undergrowth and laid down.

….

Is this gonna be a thing?

      I woke up back in the cave curled around Selicia somewhat hungry but not like I was before. The reason; the dead mostly eaten buck from before that was in front of me. And once again blood was covering my face, clothes, hands, and feet.

      The buck deer was torn open and I could see that most of their flesh was eaten including the bones but most of the organs were still there.

Why didn't I eat the organs?

Wait. NO! Why The Hell Did I Eat Bones!?

Calm down, Ellie. Calm down. Think about this logically. I would be dead by now if I had eaten bones. The buck from before had most of his bones missing so I would be well dead.

Unless something else is eating the buck with you.

Don't Say Something So Scary!

Well if it wanted you dead you would probably be dead. You still ate raw meat though.

      Yeah, I'm right. I mean, how could I, a one hundred and four-pound girl, eat more than my mass in body weight? Makes no sense.

      Still, my body shivering told me that I was still scared even if I didn't sound like it...or more of didn't feel like it. Despite my body shivering, I myself didn't feel any fear. Generally speaking, what is fear?

      I shook my head and checked on Selicia's conditions. The ice was preserving her body perfectly. Good.

      After doing my rounds I slunk down. I noticed my left leg was hurt. It was a dull pain so I didn't notice at first but it was clear that I injured it somehow. Probably trying to take down the deer.

Speaking of the deer, why did I blackout? It wasn't like I just went unconscious but more of I looked away. Weird.

      I came to the conclusion that something was wrong with me or whatever was eating and helping me made me forget. To be honest the first option was scarier. The fact that I had a loose screw in my head wouldn't help me save Selicia.

Why not?

I wouldn't be able to think straight.

But you would be able to make hard choices. That's what matters.

Huh. You're right again me.

We're smart.

You betcha.

      Well with an injured leg I wouldn't be doing much good at hunting so I settled down besides Selicia and smiled at a pleasant memory I had with her.