The original story

## **Kørii**

I did it… He’s out of the question… Oh, my sweet Rhonnette, I’m free now! Free to be with you! My cold, bloody hands left stains on my precious knives as I carefully place each tender piece of him into my bag. Everything is in place… the walls have been cleaned, his kidneys are in a special place for later, and the roses are perfect for her, just the way she loves them. Full bloom, 3 leaves and two thorns on each stem. Oh, how they remind me of her- When she comes in for dinner, she’ll be so pleased! Oh, she can’t possibly say no when I ask…

I stare at my reflection in the mirror… Or, what I think is supposed to be my reflection? My face is a harsh, concentrated shade of crimson and a faint brown of what I’m assuming is blood, dribbling down my neck and onto my cotton black shirt… The hydrogen peroxide will bleach it… I pout in annoyance, for it’s my favourite shirt, too. Whatever… I washed my face quickly and clean up any mess left behind. The perfect scene. Nobody would suspect a thing! Every part of him kept away for tonight… It’s going to be extra special…

After a few moments of contemplation, I hear my phone begin to vibrate. It’s her!

“Oh! Hey Rhonnie! Are you ready for Dinner?” I ask, waiting patiently to be graced by the gentle sound of her voice. Speak to me, speak to me loud and clear…

“Yeah, I’m already on my way, Kørii!” Oh my dear Rhonnette, how I long to breathe the same sacred air you breathe.

“The door is unlocked, so whenever you’re here, come in!” I hang up excitedly and hurry downstairs to begin cooking. I take the small and delicately separated parts of my spouse, or… ex-spouse, and prepare them accordingly. When I finish, I begin to put the other ingredients into place. Garlic, onions, tomatoes, into the pot and stir carefully. Each piece must be made perfectly with a gentle stir… a unique method of culinary arts… And delicately place each part of him into the food… Thighs, abdominal muscle, heart, and his precious kidneys… one for me, and one for Rhonnie! I turn on the radio and listen to some music as I continue to prepare my specialties for her. She can’t possibly turn me down!

As I set the table, my front door opens with a melodic voice singing out my name like an angel. She’s here…

“Kørii! I made it!” Rhonnette chimes excitedly as she quickly makes her way to the table

“Oh Rhonnie! Welcome in!” I gently wrap my arms around her and engulf her in the safety of my embrace, taking a subtle but strong smell of her hair… Frosted Coconut… It’s been the same since the day we first met. I give her the roses and she smiles softly at me- I lead her to her seat as I hand her a plate of rice decorated with the food I prepared and I sit at my seat with an identical plate-

“If you’re religious, we could say grace” I offer and she smiles and shakes her head

“No thanks, I’m alright” Oh that beautiful smile of hers, the way her face creases perfectly to show me that golden smile of hers… She will be mine, and only mine!

“Alright, then! Dig in!” I reciprocate her smile and cut into the food

“What kind of meat is this?” She asks genuinely-

“Rabbit,” I say smiling slyly

“Then he should have hopped faster!” She jokes as she pops her first bite into her mouth

“Well luckily for us, he didn’t-” I say, feeding myself another bite. I grin sweetly at her as I swallow every bite. I never realized how flavourful he was, until now… I begin to wonder to myself… should I tell her? I can’t wait any longer, I have to tell her… tell her, tell her, TELL HER! I can’t help myself… I have to tell her now!

“I have to get this recipe, I swear, Kørii- I need more of this in my life!” she joked lightly

“It’s a secret-” I wink teasingly as I hold up a finger to my lips.

“Okay- but I must ask, why did you invite me here tonight?” She tilts her head slightly as she swallows her food.

Tell her.

Tell her.

Tell her.

TELL HER!

“For so long I’ve been waiting for you… I’ve always debated whether or not to talk to you about how I feel. But I feel like now would be a wonderful time… Rhonnette, will you accept my love and be mine?” I choke on my words at the end as I watch her stare at me in what I think is disbelief..?

“Kørii, you have a husband- What will Ethan say?” She asks hesitantly.

“He-” I get cut off by the radio broadcasting an emergency missing persons alert.

“Police are on the lookout for a 6 '3 adult man, age is currently unknown, but responds to the name of Ethan West. If you know anything, please contact your local authorities.”

A blank expression crosses her face as I stare nervously at my plate.

“Kørii.” She whispers my name, fear dripping from her voice.

“Rhonnette?”

“What happened to Ethan?” She asks unnerved by the bare utterance of his name, fearing what she might know happened to him.

“He’s out of the question, Rhonnie! I’m free now! I’m free to be with you!” I proceed to stuff my face faster, god this is stressful… I can feel the rubatosis, my heartbeat echoing in my head ever so loudly, muffling the sounds of the radio.

“What did you do to him?” The gentle clink of her utensils on my plates echoes alongside my racing heartbeat. Continuously shovelling food into my mouth until there’s no more… Please Rhonnie… don’t stress me out.

“Rhonnette, will you accept my love and be mine, or not?” I swallow my food and lower my utensils. Her terrified face stared into my trembling eyes as I stand up shakily. I need to eat more food.

“Rhonnie, I need an answer… I stress eat, it’s not safe.” I whisper quietly through a shaking voice.

“Kørii, I can’t… It’s wrong. Whatever you did to Ethan… I need to know, too.” She says holding eye contact. I can’t tell her… I couldn’t… Ethan tasted so incredibly… unique. What about Rhonnie..? Ugh! There’s so much… I’m so confused, where did I go wrong? She couldn’t have turned me down, I must be losing my mind…

“Please, reconsider… Ethan’s not here anymore! He’s gone!” I protest her decision and beg hopelessly for her to accept me. Please, this is getting out of hand. I need to eat.

“This wasn't a rabbit, Was it…?” She stops.

I walk up and pause in the kitchen and look into the fridge.

“Rhonnette, I’m stressed, I can’t think right now. Just think about my proposal, and I’ll be back with a clear mind.”

I pull out the last bag of what was left of Ethan. I open it and eat it raw. Satisfaction.  It will all be over soon, she will be mine, she can’t say no…

The cold sensation of refrigerated blood runs down my face and onto my Ghost t-shirt. The delicate taste of his left arm satiated my mind for who knows how long… If she continues to stress out his absence, I won’t have anything left to put it to rest. I’m a very dangerous stress eater… I cannot hold it off for too long if this keeps up..

“Kørii… I have to g-”

“NO!” I drop the bag of remaining meat and run up to her, grabbing her hands and seating her down anxiously.

I look down and observe the crimson-red hand marks on her wrists and observe her teary-eyed expression as she gently began to sob in fear for her life.

“Oh.. Rhonnette, please, I’m so sorry.” I let go and step back… swallowing the bare essence of Ethan in my mouth.

She observes her wrists where my hands once held. And she mutters under her breath a repeated and panicked “no” over and over to herself. I scared her… I’m bloody, I’m stressed and she’s in danger. She has to… She has to leave-- I cannot keep waiting anymore… I’m so fucking hungry. I have to eat…

“Rhonnie, I’m so sorry…” I bite my hand in an attempt to distract myself from my disgusting desires…

“Kørii.. Let me leave” she asks me quietly. My eyes widen at the request and all control I had over my body is slowly seeping away. I stand there frozen as she slowly gets up and attempts to make a break for the door.

“RHONNETTE! GET YOUR ASS BACK OVER HERE!” I yell in an unfamiliar voice… Was that me..? I chase after her, but I’m not trying to.. I feel myself leaping over chairs, breaking the vase that held her delicate roses, and reaching with a dedicated hand to her hair, pulling her back, but not without a panicked shriek. I have to EAT. My body is moving without my control. My hands reached for a shard of broken glass.

She struggled for a minute before watching me reach for the glass… Her precious roses scattered along the floor as the crimson roses decorated the floor.

“Rhonnie… Oh my dear, Rhonnie, please forgive me… I’m so fucking hungry…” I say as I quickly plunge the glass into her lower abdomen. I draw deep lines of crimson red along her body through watering eyes and reach for her kidneys. Her sweet, precious kidneys…

“Rhonnie I love you, so much…” I cry as I eat viciously.

Her dying hands reach and hold mine as she looks at me. Her terrified expression slowly melted into an expression of acceptance and peace…

“Kørii…” She whispers with a shaky and sad voice. A voice that I will never be graced with again…

“Rhonnette…” I cry with bloodied lips. And look into her eyes

“I-..” She coughs up blood and slowly lifts her hands to my face. Smiling softly apologising for not being strong enough to stomach my love for her.

“Kørii I’m so sorry..” She says slowly bringing her face closer to mine. I lean down hesitantly and watch that precious shine in her eyes slowly fade.

“Rhonnette…” I hold her closer to me before I lose her for good, but as I slowly pull away, her body becomes limp, and her hand drops to her side. She looks so peaceful like this… I wish I could savour it, but it’s not worth trapping her like this. I’ll put her to use…

Humming to myself while chewing on her kidneys, I pick up her lifeless body and carry her up the stairs to my room. I observe my bone saw and gorgeous other knives.

Time to get to work.

[Fin.]

## **Rhonnette**

I’m so relieved. She's speaking to me again.

I thought I had done something wrong when she went silent on me… But she's invited me to dinner! I do hope it's fish. Her and Ethan catch the best fish. I tried calling to ask if I should bring anything, but nobody answered.

Perhaps I could bring wine. They like that. I remember Ethan saying her favorite was the Riesling. I’ll bring that.

I spritz myself in my favorite perfume, Frosted coconut. I’ve used it for as long as I can remember.

If she has forgiven me, that would be amazing. She's my best friend. I trust her with my life. It was hard dealing without her for a while. Our Group dinners with her and Ethan were my favorite nights.

Oh how I remember their wedding. It was beautiful. Lace everywhere, and the food was so amazing. They were so in love. They still are.

My phone pings. A single message from Ethan.

“HELP”

What does that mean? I respond quickly asking, but no response. Should I go to him? Where is he? Is she okay?

“Sorry! Just a misunderstanding, don’t you worry.”

So he's fine. She's fine.

“Come over soon! We are waiting.”

Oh yes, dinner. I should start the car.

The sky is beautiful tonight. The twilight sky is slowly fading into darkness and I can see the first stars. My head is spinning with all that's happening. The invite to dinner was so sudden. I should call her.

“Kørii?”

“Oh! Hey Rhonnie! Are you ready for Dinner?”

“Yeah, I’m already on my way, Kørii!”

“The door is unlocked, so whenever you’re here, come in!”

She hangs up on me. Odd.

Her street seems quieter than normal. No children running around. No Dogs barking at me on my way in. No noise at all. Her house is dark. I almost wonder if she’s not even here. Am I being tricked?

I park and stare at her home. The front door is slightly ajar. Quickly I get out and push the door open. There is a pungent smell that I can’t put my foot on.

“Kørii? I made it!” I call out making my way carefully into the dining room. There she stands in the middle of the room. She seems on edge.

“Oh Rhonnie! Welcome in!” She wraps her arms around me in an embrace before I can ask about the door or smell. A long embrace. I fidget a bit and step back. She hands me a small bouquet of roses. Taking them, I smile at her, confused. She leads me to a seat and motions for me to sit so I do. The plate she hands me has rice and some sort of meat. I glance around for Ethan as she takes her seat.

“If you’re religious, we could say grace” I shake my head.

“No thanks, I’m alright” I smile at her, but the whole situation feels off. I fidget as she stares at me for a minute before she shakes her head to clear whatever she was thinking about.

“Alright, then! Dig in!” She cuts into her food with what looks to be a new knife. Carefully I also take a bite of the meal. The meat is slightly chewy and stiff.

Nervously I ask, “What kind of meat is this?”

She grins at me, “Rabbit.” I’ve never had a rabbit. No wonder it is different than I expected. I try to relax. While things feel off, it could just be in my head.

“Then he should have hopped faster!” I try to joke.

“Well luckily for us, he didn’t-” She stuffs another piece into her mouth, chewing loudly. I take a few more bites as we descend into an awkward silence. I begin to zone out, when I notice her twitching.

In an attempt to relax her I comment on the food again, “I have to get this recipe, I swear, Kørii- I need more of this in my life!”

“It’s a secret-” She winks at me, adding to my unease.

More silence.

She is watching me now. Waiting for… I don’t know what.

“Okay- but I must ask, why did you invite me here tonight?” I finally break. She flinches and stares for a second before taking a breath.

“For so long I’ve been waiting for you… I’ve always debated whether or not to talk to you about how I feel. But I feel like now would be a wonderful time… Rhonnette, will you accept my love and be mine?” I stop eating. No. no no no. This isn’t right. She's… In love with me?

“Kørii, you have a husband- What will Ethan say?” Ethan. Ethan. What about Ethan?

“He-” She's cut off by the radio I didn’t even notice was playing.

A missing person report.

“Police are on the lookout for a 6 '3 adult man, age is currently unknown, but responds to the name of Ethan West. If you know anything, please contact your local authorities.”

My stomach drops. I stare at her as she looks down at her plate. What. Did. She. DO?

“Kørii.” I ask, my voice shaking.

“Rhonnette?”

“What happened to Ethan?” I shudder at the mention of his name, not wanting to think about it.

“He’s out of the question, Rhonnie! I’m free now! I’m free to be with you!” Be with me… This is my fault. She did something to him, and It’s my fault. I think back to the Message from earlier. Had she been doing something to him? Did he need my help? I should have come sooner.

“What did you do to him?” I whisper, barely able to breath.

“Rhonnette, will you accept my love and be mine, or not?” She stares into my eyes.

Unable to answer, I just sit there staring. She stands up so suddenly I jump a bit.

“Rhonnie, I need an answer… I stress eat, it’s not safe.” I clear my voice, bracing myself to answer her.

“Kørii, I can’t… It’s wrong. Whatever you did to Ethan… I need to know, too.” I have to know. I have to know. She stares at me with wild eyes.

“Please, reconsider… Ethan’s not here anymore! He’s gone!” She's begging now. But I can’t. I can’t even consider it. It was never an option.

oh.

OH.

OH NO-

It hits me then.

“This wasn't a rabbit, Was it…?” I pray for it not to be true. But deep down I know it is. She doesn’t say anything. She stands up and goes into the kitchen. I watch her from my seat. She opens the fridge.

Red

So much red.

“Rhonnette, I’m stressed, I can’t think right now. Just think about my proposal, and I’ll be back with a clear mind.” She pulls out a bag of meat. Opening the bag I can see her hands shaking. She eats it raw. Blood runs down her hands and onto her shirt.

I can’t stay, she isn’t safe.

“Kørii… I have to g-”

“NO!” I flinch. She drops the bag and runs over grabbing my hands. I try to pull away but she pulls me back into my seat. She lets go, leaving red stains on my hands. His blood. HIS BLOOD. I begin to cry. I can’t handle this. I’m going to die. She's going to kill me.

“Oh.. Rhonnette, please, I’m so sorry.” I can barely hear her over my panic. She steps away from me. I stare at his blood dripping down my arm. How is this real?

“Rhonnie, I’m so sorry…” Rhonnie… She hasn’t called me that in so long.

“Kørii.. Let me leave” I whisper. Her eyes widen. Bloodshot and crazy. I slowly begin to stand and move for the front door. It’s still open. We never closed it. Where are the neighbors?

“RHONNETTE! GET YOUR ASS BACK OVER HERE!”

I let out a yelp. She jumps across the table knocking over the vase that held the flowers she gave me, grabbing my hair as I try to back away. She pulls me back and I shout again. I watch her hands flail around looking for something. She grabs a hold of a broken piece of glass. She pushes me and I fall to the ground shrieking. I try to fight her, but she has gotten stronger since the last time I saw her.

“Rhonnie… Oh my dear, Rhonnie, please forgive me… I’m so fucking hungry…” She plunges the glass into my abdomen and I gasp. She reaches with her bloody hands toward me, pulling out my… kidneys? I scream in agony as she rips them out. She begins to eat them… devour them.

“Rhonnie I love you, so much…” She whimpers, my blood sticking her lips together. A teary, slobbery, bloody mess.

My world slowly starts turning dark. What a terribly painful death this is. I try to find my voice as I watch her eat away at me.

“Kørii…” I barely get out. I reach for something, anything. She catches my hands in hers, making my skin warm with my blood.

“Rhonnette…” She sobs, blood dripping down her chin onto the floor. Her eyes are not crazy anymore. Just sad. The saddest eyes I've ever seen. How did I let it get like this? I should have helped her.

“I-..” I cough out. I have to tell her. “Kørii I’m so sorry..” I attempt to lift my face to hers, trying to show her I forgive her. Slowly my world fades away.

The blood,

Her eyes,

The roses,

All fade away.

[fin.]

## **Ethan**

She’s batshit insane. The floors are all red, the fish have been splayed out, creating one of the most macabre scenes I’ve ever laid eyes on. I get it she’s stressed, but I don’t think you eat raw fish parts out of stress. It’s been a while since she’s talked to Rhonnette, but… That’s her best friend, I doubt she’s gonna wreck the house if there’s one missing thorn on her roses… I can’t find her though, we need to get changed if we’re inviting someone over- I walk over to the bathroom and see her still in her favourite Ghost t-shirt and absurdly wrinkled baggy jeans, as she sits crumpled up in a ball in the bathroom tub.

“Kørii?” I kneel beside the tub and rest a hand on her shoulder. She’s in her head again. She’s panicking, and her lips are all red from the fish, her eyeliner is ruined, and her hair is a mess… I’m not sure what happened to the girl I used to know so well, but this sure as hell isn’t her…

“I’m losing it, Ethan. It’s been so long, I have no idea if she’s upset with me for disappearing, I-”

“Shh.. stop.” I cut her off. “It’s not that serious… please, breathe- remember?” I offer a hand to help her up from the tub. She takes it, stands up, and she runs her hands through her hair moving it out of her face. Her clothes were wrinkled and her face was a mess. But it’s still Kørii… Right..?

I step out to let her handle herself and I go and clean up the fish all over the room… the blood will be hard, but there’s plenty of hydrogen peroxide, so this shouldn’t be a problem-

After the cleaning process, I see now how bad of a stress eater she is-- there’s barely anything left of the fish aside from the bones and the blood in the carpets, no meat, no brain, no guts- All of it was eaten… However it was all… raw.

She came out a few minutes later, her unkempt hair now organised in riotous curls, her eyeliner now re-drawn, and her lips no longer covered in dried fish blood. God was it a sight to see.

“Kørii, did you eat all of the fish..?” I asked… how the hell do you finish FIVE RED SNAPPERS in one sitting!?

“What..?” She asks confused, it was a simple question to answer… all five of my snappers are gone. What the fuck?

“The fish are gone. Did you eat them all?” I’m trying to understand what she’s got going on here, but this is getting out of hand…

“There’s no more..? Oh god…” She raised a hand to her face and covered her mouth in disbelief. Why is she so confused..?

“What do you mean ‘Oh god…’? Is there something wrong?”

“I’m so fucking hungry… and there’s no more fish…” She lowers her hands to rest over her stomach. I’m a little worried now…

“How are you still hungry after eating five massive fish?”

“I don't know… I need to eat…” Her voice changed, and the way she stood by the bathroom door was unnerving… There was an unfamiliar look in her eyes that pleaded for help but looked more vicious than welcoming. In a matter of seconds, she stood in front of me lunging forward. Everything we’d learned so many years ago at that studio came into play as she desperately tried to take me down. She used every move she knew, but was too starved to do it right… It’s odd though… I threw her down onto her back, knocking the wind out of her lungs giving me a brief moment of relief..

I dug through the room to find my phone, I couldn’t call the cops, they won’t help me, fast enough… Rhonnette! I reached for my phone and sent a quick “HELP” to her.

“Please God, hurry up, damn it!” I mutter in a panicked manner as I hear angry footsteps trudging towards me.

“God can’t help you now.” Her monstrous voice thundered in the room as she charged at me one more time, targeting my neck. I thwarted her attacks for as long as I could, but despite being so ravenous, she didn’t stop…

But suddenly I felt a sting in my jaw…

“SHIT!” I recoiled and saw her waiting. She grabbed me and kneed me in the face.

“Stay down.” she commanded as I fell to the ground, exhausted. I continued to struggle against her, but there was something inhuman about her… something so unusual about her. But it’s out of my hands now… it’s over. She walked over to my phone and typed something on my phone. Probably cancelling our plans with Rhonnette. Whatever she’s doing, that’s not under my control…

When she finished, she walked back to me and picked up something… bulky? I’m not sure what it was, but I’m going to assume I’ll die by blunt force trauma… Enough thinking… Everything is fading out, I can’t see or feel anything, but I can hear her crying beside me. Distraught by the sight of what was in front of her. Genuine sobs escaped her lips as I am slowly engulfed in the feeling of being unconscious.

[fin.]