Part II
The hunger is coming. A man wanders through old and tired woodland; once home to the coven of stone witches, or so say the old ones when at the end of their day's labour they gather around the stove to tell their children wicked tales of spirits and fey creatures that whisk away misbehaving youths in the dead of night. The moon hangs half-shadowed above a dark curtain of cloud, casting soft blue shadows of dead trees onto the forest floor.
Soon he reaches the tallest and oldest tree in the woods - a trunk as thick as he is tall erupts from the ground and stretches up into the twilight, where on the largest branch sits a huge owl, staring back.
"You are filled with fear", speaks the owl, "the Hunger will eat you for it."
The man ponders this for a few moments. "What should I do, owl?"
The owl hoots, "Remove it", and hands the man a sharp talon before spreading its giant wings and disappearing silently into the night.
For a while the man sits at the base of the tree and ponders the owl's wisdom, examining the great talon now in his hands. It occurs to him then, and he drives the talon deep into his stomach, pulling and tearing an opening. With one motion he reaches into the warmth and pulls out the fear, glistening a deep black under the moonlight. The mass is discarded, and the man continues on his way.
A while later he reaches a creek - bubbling away as the small fish and silt glide along under the surface. There is a splash as a great toad jumps from the water's surface and sits atop a rock, watching the man with intense beady eyes.
"You are a liar", speaks the toad, "the Hunger will eat you for it."
The man considers the toad's words. "What should I do, toad?"
The toad croaks, "Remove it", and produces a jagged stone before turning its back and leaping back into the stream, letting the current take it away.
The stone is flipped and turned in the man's hands for a time as he mulls over the toad's wisdom. He has a realisation, grabbing his tongue with one hand and bringing the stone up to his face with the other. Slowly and carefully he slices into his tongue and begins cutting through with the jagged edge. Into his hand falls the wet muscle, as a curtain of blood pours from his mouth. The liar is thrown into the water, and the man continues on his way.
Time passes and dawn begins to break - an ochre haze breaking over the valley and into these woods, the contrast making visible a large opening in the ground. From the opening emerges a hulking grey wolf, teeth bared in a snarl as it circles the man.
"You are a fool", speaks the wolf, "the Hunger will eat you for it."
The man stares back at the wolf, and nods.
The wolf growls, "remove it", and spits out one of its teeth before darting away into the depths of the woods, its shape soon a blur amongst the trees and foliage.
The man sits at the edge of the hole, his feet dangling off the edge and into the darkness, as he holds the tooth in his palm - yellowed by years and cracked from hunting and fighting. He looks up at the sun, and brings his hand to his eyes. The tooth pierces his cornea, a hideous popping noise in his skull, and with a single motion the eye is plucked from its socket. Another cut breaks the nerves from which it hangs. Another minute and the second eye rests in his palm, before it turns and drops them into the dark pit, down into which the man slides.
He walks and walks, feeling the cold dirt along one side of him and taking careful steps as not to trip and fall. Any sense of time soon disappears as he ventures deeper into the earth. After hours, or days, or perhaps weeks, the presence is felt. Great and all-consuming, filling this space beneath the surface, the Hunger has come.
"I cannot eat you", speaks the Hunger, "you have nothing left".
The presence recedes and the man is left alone, deep underground, with nothing to do but die.