“Manuel, let’s go.” Juan tried to pull him along, but Manuel’s feet were stapled to the floor.

“I’m so hungry, cousin. My stomach is killing me. Just…let me…” He lunged for the girl’s body, but Juan held him by the arm. “No! Just one bite…one more fucking bite!”

Juan leaned back on his heels and yanked, pulling Manuel into his arms. He wrapped his arm around Manuel’s neck and squeezed.

Manuel’s hands reached for the body instead of trying to pry the arm away. His teeth clicked. Juan felt warm drool ooze onto his forearm and he cringed, but held tight. “Manuel, stop it! We’re going to the buffet. Right now, okay?”

Manuel’s struggles halted. His body went limp in Juan’s arms, then he spun, his neck slippery with blood, and stood face to face with Juan. His smile nearly split his head in half. “The buffet. Take me there, cousin. We can eat however much we want. The recipe…he changed it.”

Juan just nodded and led Manuel out the front door. His cousin chattered the whole way into the parking lot, listing all the different dishes he would eat when they got there.

“Que paso, wey?”

Juan mashed his teeth together and thought they’d crack from the pressure. The troll of the parking lot just wouldn’t let up. Juan doubted she even realized she’d been talking to the same guy over and over.

She stepped in front of them and grinned, showing the row of dead flies that were her teeth. “Come on, man. I’ll let you both fuck me. Same time, man. Fifty bucks.”

Juan tried to ignore her, step around her, but Manuel became cemented where he stood. Juan turned and growled with frustration.

“The hell with your friend, ese.” The woman had her body pressed against Manuel’s, her hand fondling the bulge in his pants like she was trying to unscrew a light bulb. “Me and you, baby. Fifteen pesos.”

“Muévete a la chingada.” Juan shoved her, but Manuel grabbed the back of her head with a cupped hand. He ran his tongue over his teeth, the blood of the dead hooker still thick in his mouth.

“Mmmm.”

“That’s right, baby. Best pussy you ever had.”

Juan tried to stop it, but it felt like he moved in slow motion, like his body had been dipped in glue.

Manuel yanked her hair back, tilting her chin to the sky. She smiled and giggled. The giggles turned to gurgles and chokes as Manuel bit into the middle of her neck. Her skin stretched as he jerked his head away before finally snapping free.

“Manuel…no!” Juan pulled Manuel away from the girl who clawed at her neck as if she could scrape the pain away. Blood splashed at her feet. “We need to go now!”

Manuel grunted as Juan pulled him across the parking lot. “The buffet…I need it.”

MIDNIGHT SNACK

Chandra sat in the middle of her living room, covered in blood. She cracked open Fufu’s leg bone and sucked the marrow out. Remnants of food packaging littered the house. The refrigerator had fallen and leaned against the kitchen counter. Every bit of food she could find now inhabited her stomach.