i could feel myself being eaten alive.

teeth sunk into my calf, and my arm,
my neck and shoulder.

i wanted to scream, but i couldn’t
because i knew it was worthless.

i saw my brothers next to me,
already dead and mangled,
their blood mixing together between them,
and i screamed silently into the night.

my mom was there too, long since dead.
so were my grandparents.

why was i the only one left to witness the horror?
why me?
why could i not die and be at peace
like my little brothers,
my mommy,
my granny and papa?

i could hear the snarling growls
and the crunching of bone.
i heard the monsters talking to each other,
talking about how tasty we were...

as the monsters feasted, i could
feel the flesh separating from my bones,
unable to scream as the monsters
pulled muscle away and dipped their hands
into my still-warm organs.

and then

nothing.