Fynn takes the lead and Ranger follows the other horse without question. While Astrid’s mind feels completely blank, she notices something she never has before: Ranger has his ears pointed back and is constantly checking behind them. ‘At least someone’s paying attention,’ she thinks.

With this calm also comes a different feeling. A burning in her stomach. The hunger left her alone during the chase. Yet while it was suppressed, it mustered its forces. Now that the distraction is gone, it returns worse than ever. Almost like it expected food right after the battle. Her stomach feels like it’s collapsing in on itself. The beautiful feeling of drunk tranquility disappears. Almost like her body wants to take away anything that might numb the painful need for food. The sudden clarity and intense craving almost cause her to fall off her horse.

Fynn leads them back the way they came. Astrid has no idea how he knows which way to go and can’t muster the will to ask. All she cares about is dinner. Her mind forces her to think about ways to acquire food, which only increases her hunger. A vicious cycle.

She keeps it to herself for a while, until she finally cracks. “God. I feel like I’m dying over here,” she says.

Fynn’s head snaps around, his hand already at his gun. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m so hungry. I don’t know why, but it feels like I’m starving.”

Fynn lets out a sharp breath and turns back around. “I hope we find something. By the way, I wanted to say thank you. Again. For dragging me out of that grove. And for chasing after her like that.”

“Of course. You would have done the same.”

A smile creeps across Fynn's face, contrasting with the dark bags under his eyes. “Without a doubt. But how did you resist that thing? I mean, it grabbed hold of my thoughts and forced itself into my head. There was nothing I could do.”

“I don’t know. Maybe… Maybe it’s because I had nothing to be sad about. At least nothing strong enough to distract me.”

“You think it was able to affect me like that because I was thinking about my mother?”

“I don't know what else it could have been…”

“What kind of thing could do something like that?”

It’s on the tip of Astrid's tongue. The pillars that shone with purple light. She has dreamed of this. The dream has already faded, but one thing remains. One thing that managed to pierce the oblivion between the sleeping and the waking mind. “A god.”

Fynn's head snaps around to face Astrid. “A what?”

She shakes her head. “Never mind.”

“You think that thing was God? That’s absurd...”

Astrid bites her lip. “Not the Bible God. A different god, or something like it. I had this dream… I don’t remember the details, but there were these pillars that glowed, and a god. Just like what we encountered.”

“I don’t really want to believe that that… presence was a god. Because I have no idea what that would imply.”

“It might be worth thinking about. They might be able to help us.”

Fynn scoffs. “That thing felt like it wanted to make us kill ourselves. Not help us. But… ah never mind.”

A sudden realization hits Astrid. “Maybe that’s how it helped us. The girl did a horrible thing, but she wasn’t a threat to us and we were still about to murder her. Maybe it wanted to tell us that revenge is wrong. Maybe… Maybe it wanted to save us from ourselves.”

Astrid recoils at Fynn’s angry glare. His defeated expression is suddenly replaced with anger. “How can you say that? No god would save a horrible monster that killed someone in cold blood, and will kill again, from punishment.” He looks away from Astrid, biting his lip in thought.

Astrid, afraid of angering him even more, doesn’t say anything else.

 

It takes them a while to make their way back, and when they do, they find the Sheriff filling up a hole in the ground. Noah is hammering a chisel against a stone and Oskar is watching them both. As soon as he sees Fynn approach, he jumps to his feet and runs at them.

Fynn jumps off Shiva and comes to greet his wolf. “Hey, boy. I know you were worried. I probably should have called you to follow. Yeah, I know I’m stupid.”

The Sheriff rams the shovel into the ground and wipes the sweat from her forehead. Doing so leaves a trail of mud right above her eyes.

“Thank God you guys are back. Did you get her?”

Fynn nods. “We took care of her.”

Astrid gives Fynn a quick glance, but decides not to say anything.

The Sheriff nods back. She looks around, and when she doesn’t see Poldi she says, “I take it I’ll be walking home?”

“You can ride on Shiva with Noah and I’ll take Imka,” Fynn replies. He looks past the Sheriff at the fresh mounds of dirt behind her. “I see you dug two holes. What’s in them?”

Astrid also notices the pile of trash bags next to the holes.

The Sheriff leans onto her shovel. There’s a tense note in her voice as she says, “After you ran out, we found Oskar trying to open a door in the back of the basement. Behind it, we found your mother and another elderly woman. Your mother was killed by a stab in the back and drained by a bite in the neck. I would have left you the final honors, but trust me, it’s been a while. Best you did not see what was left.”

Fynn looks angry. He opens his mouth, but closes it before a word can escape. “You’re probably right. Best I didn’t see.”

The Sheriff relaxes.

“Anything you want on the stone?” Noah asks.

Fynn’s eyes snap down at him. “What?”

Noah lifts the chisel and hammer he’s holding. “I’m finishing her gravestone. Is there any message you want to be chiseled in? I put her name on there… You are Christian, right?”

“Yes…?” Fynn says. He looks a bit puzzled.

Noah lets out a sharp breath. “Oh thank God. Otherwise that cross I put on there would have been really awkward.” He brushes through the fur on his face. “Come. Pay your respects and tell me what you want on the stone.” Fynn nods and Noah leads him to the makeshift grave.

Astrid wants to follow, but the Sheriff puts a hand on her shoulder and shakes her head. “We’ll leave you two alone for a bit. Noah, come get us when you’re done.”

“Yes, sir,” Noah replies.

As they walk away, the Sheriff leans closer to Astrid. “After that revenge trip, I think he needs a bit of time alone.”

 

 

With the sun starting to set, the house falls into twilight. Astrid silently thanks her new eyes, as the red outlines allow her to easily navigate the darkness. She already plundered the kitchen during her first visit. Now they search the cabinets together. The woman that lived here didn’t seem to be a big fan of preserved food. They find a lot of baking utensils, but nothing that can just be eaten as is.

“Come on. Where did she keep her conserves?” the Sheriff asks. She rips open a cupboard and rummages through its contents. Jars filled with spices and packages of baking powder are thrown on the floor with little regard as she searches for something edible.

A sudden bang causes Astrid to jerk up. The Sheriff just punched the refrigerator. “Damn it. Why do things go bad so quickly? Curse this power outage. Maybe there’s something in here that hasn’t gone bad yet...”

Before Astrid can stop her, the Sheriff opens the fridge. The smell of spoiled food hits her like a brick wall. The Sheriff looks away and wretches, but manages to slam the door shut before the smell can spread.

“There might be something downstairs,” Astrid offers.

The Sheriff's head snaps up. “Yes.”

The two descend the stairs into the basement. The smell of rotting flesh clings to everything, but it's not enough to discourage them. The Sheriff seems to carefully avoid a closed steel door as they search the rooms. Once again, they find nothing. The entire cellar looks like no one’s been down here in ages.

The Sheriff lets out a long breath. “Let’s just sleep. There will be something to eat on the farm… I hope.”

They head up the stairs, only to hear a clatter from the kitchen. With her hand on her gun, the Sheriff peeks into the room. It’s just Noah. He has placed a stool in front of the fridge, opened the door and is eating something out of a plastic bowl.

The Sheriff lets out a short breath. “It's just you… what are you eating?”

Noah looks up from his meal and says, “Some sort of chili con carne. I can’t believe this stuff hasn’t gone bad yet. Must be the spices.”

Almost in unison, the Sheriff and Astrid say, “Let me see that,” and rush over to Noah.

The Sheriff grabs the plastic bowl and is about to take a bite. As she brings it closer to her mouth, she wretches and drops the container. Spoiled chili con carne spills over the floor. Now that its spread out, even Astrid can smell the pungent odor of spoiled meat and beans. She takes a few steps back as her insides feel like they’re twisting inside her.

“What the hell?! Why did you throw that on the ground?” Noah yells. His voice sounds shrill.

The Sheriff waves one hand in front of her face to fan the smell away, while holding her stomach with the other. “That stuff is rotten. I’ve never smelled worse in my life. Did you seriously just eat bad meat, just to make us take a bite?” the Sheriff yells. The disgust has turned into boiling rage. Astrid can feel it in herself too. She knows the idea that Noah would trick them is absurd. Even if he did, it would only be as a joke. Still, there is something in the back of her mind. It’s like she wants to be angry. Like she is subconsciously searching for an excuse to be mad. She manages to catch herself though. Before any anger can flare up, she takes a deep breath and calms herself.

But the Sheriff is boiling with rage.

Noah gestures at the spilled food. “What the hell are you talking about? That stuff smells great. Tastes great too.”

The Sheriff takes a menacing step forward. “Is this some sort of joke to you? I haven’t eaten in a day and my insides feel like they’re devouring themselves. My mind is filled with an intense craving for anything edible and you have the nerve to joke about it?”

Noah backs away. “How does this smell bad to you? What are you talking about?”

The Sheriff’s jaw quivers.

Astrid can still feel the irrational urge to jump onto the excuse to be angry. Exhaustion and hunger cloud her mind, but she still manages to realize something. ‘Maybe Noah can eat spoiled food as part of his transformation.’

The Sheriff takes another menacing step towards him.

In a quick motion, the kobold unholsters his pistol and aims it at the elf. “Sheriff. You are not yourself. Step away from me right now.” Noah’s voice is quivering. The fear in his words almost feels like an invitation. Again, Astrid manages to suppress the urge to become angry.

The Sheriff doesn’t. “How dare you?!” She takes another step and is now almost close enough to grab Noah. “How dare you point a gun at me? I will—”

Astrid grabs the Sheriff’s shoulder, causing her eyes to snap to her. “His transformation probably makes spoiled food smell and taste good to him. I feel the same anger, but it’s just the hunger. You have to snap out of it.”

For a moment, the Sheriff looks like she’s about to pounce on Astrid. Then her entire body relaxes. She draws in a long, deep breath and balls her hands into fists. “You’re right.”

Astrid relaxes as well. For a second, she thought the other elf would attack her.

Noah is still quivering, his gun pointed at the Sheriff.

The Sheriff lets out a chuckle. “Look at me. Haven’t eaten in a few hours and I’m already behaving like a woman on her period.” She laughs, her voice echoing through the quiet house. Astrid feels a pang of anger at the comment and narrows her eyes, but again suppresses the urge to become enraged.

Noah glances at Astrid as he lowers his gun halfway. He forces a chuckle through clenched teeth. His voice is quiet and even more high pitched than usual, “Uhm, Mr. Winkler, maybe now is not the time for… for that kind of thing.”

The Sheriff laughs again, undeterred. “You should have shot me, Noah, because now I’m going to have to apologize to the Mayor. Oh, the shame.”

Noah’s words remind Astrid just who’s talking. ‘I should knock that sexist prick’s teeth out.’ Her mind conjures up a scene of her jumping at the Sheriff, her fist colliding with the other’s head in a satisfying punch that knocks her against the wall.

Astrid bites down on her own teeth and looks away. ‘No. You’re just in a bad mood because you’re hungry. And she wouldn’t say that if she were in her right mind either.’ With a supreme mental effort, Astrid suppresses the thoughts of extreme violence.

“Astrid!” The Sheriff laughs.

Astrid feels her blood pressure rise, bracing herself for another enraging comment.

Noah takes a step back and whimpers, “Please. Come on. Please… Don’t say anything.”

The Sheriff pauses for a moment, opens her mouth, then looks down at Noah and closes it again. She glares at him for a few seconds in silence, before she speaks again. The humor in her voice is gone. “Fine. I’m going to bed. Leave me alone,” she snaps and pushes past Astrid.

As her hands shove Astrid aside, she once again feels the incredible urge to break every bone in the Sheriff’s body and has to tense every muscle to resist it.

They hear the other elf stomp away and as soon as they hear her climb the stairs, Noah finally puts his gun away. “Astrid.”

Her eyes snap onto him.

He whispers, “Thank you for keeping your cool. I don’t know what’s gotten into him… her. But this isn’t normal.”

The praise drops Astrid’s blood pressure and finally lets her unclench her teeth. Her entire jaw hurts from the pressure.

For a moment, her angry brain tries to make her enter into a rant about the Sheriff, but Astrid decides that if she’s stayed cool up until now, she might as well not ruin it. “It’s all right. We all have our moments where we just lose it and need to let off some steam.”

Noah visibly relaxes and nods. “Thank you for seeing it that way. You wanna get some sleep?”

 

On the second floor, Astrid finds what looks like a guest room. For the first time since the event, she gets to sleep in an actual bed.