CONSUME

01.

CHAPTER ONE

It was not that Esther felt uneasy but something felt wrong. The feeling had crept up on her as she left her home, slowly infecting her with worry for every dreadful step she took. It was an apprehensive and persistent feeling that clung onto her uncomfortably and she couldn't quite understand why it was there or what it meant.

Esther's steps were short and rushed as she walked down the narrow street and glanced around attentively. She wrapped her arms tightly against her body, as if to shield herself both from the cold and the unsettling feeling that seemed irreparable. The harsh wind felt like needles against her frail skin and the thin coat she wore did nothing to protect her from it. It easily seeped trough the wool fabric and onto her shivering body, prickly goosebumps covered her arms and her face and ears was flushed red by the cold weather.

When the large yellow house adorned with every flower known to human kind came in sight she let out a relived sigh and scurried towards the warmth. She knocked twice on the heavy wooden door and listened to the joyous talking and music that came from the inside. The door swung open and she was met with the elderly ebullient woman that she had known since she was a child. A loose dress clad her body and a colorful party hat sat crookedly on her large hair. Heavy arms were thrown around her and she smiled, enjoying just the mere presence of her mother's old friend. After her mother passed away she found great comfort in Eva, who had always been an compassionate and kind woman.

She handed over the muffins she'd bought and entered the warm but crowded house. Never had she been a fan of large crowds but she couldn't miss Eva's birthday gathering. She had predicted in beforehand that more then half of the residents of the small town would be at Eva's birthday party, it was a town of four thousand people after all.

"Don't worry about the crowd dear, I'll shoo them out if it gets to much." Eva whispered, a large smile on her red lips and a soft but confident tone to her words. Esther gave her an appreciative smile and followed her into the large living room.

Esther was an easy person to read, her emotions were evident at almost all times and most people that paid attention could read her like an open book. It was not something that she liked but she had learned to live with it. Most of the time she had no idea that she were showing her emotions blatantly, not realizing when a displeased frown or a crooked smile landed on her face.

She recognized everyone in the oval shaped room and greeted people the best she could with faltering words, feeling both nervous and overwhelmed. Most of them were deep in discussion, others were enjoying the company and most of the kids ran around without much thought.

She felt warm all of sudden but did her best to ignore it as she greeted May, the woman who ran the local cafe which she was a frequent visitor to. As they talked she began to feel uneasy again, the apprehension coming back once again but now stronger.

The man was nice, friendly even and everyone in town had been quick to like him. He was tall and handsome and most of the younger girls flushed bright red when he walked by in uniform. There was nothing visibly strange about him, yet Esther felt like there were something awfully wrong about him. It felt like behind the bewitching dark eyes something menacing laid, but no one except her noticed it due to his charming looks and persuasive personality.

She did not need to look to confirm her suspicion, he was watching her from across the room. It seemed like he was always looking at her, having a distinct and oddly heated look in his eyes whenever they landed upon her. It made her skin crawl and a large knot form in her stomach. It was odd to be so heavily affected by someone, someone who was liked by everyone she knew but the feeling always crept up on her whenever he was around.