SAVAGE

Leo's carnivorous cravings had been immense recently. He couldn't
explain what it was that brought on such a craving. He wanted to
satisfy it, but had no appetite for the generic steak or pork chop or
any form of grilled animal flesh. The most nourishment he allowed
himself besides the high-grained alcohol was potatoes, cheese, and an
occasional egg here and there. The knowledge of what he needed to
fulfill such a ravenous urge was absent from his senses. Ari Rios had
entered his thoughts at the same time that his cravings began. He and
Ari had shared so many delightful meals and nights together in the
past, but she had been somewhat absent recently, from his life as well
as his thoughts. He could never figure it out, the reasons for their
existing in one another's life.
"Leo," Ari said, "you make me want to forget everything that I have to
deal with. You make me forget my problems with your free spirit. I
laugh when I'm with you. All my worries just don't seem that
important."
He believed her, sometimes, but for the most part he only thought that
she said all this so that he would give of himself to her whenever she
felt alone, needy and depressed. Even though he felt this way, he
freely gave of himself only to feel carefree and desired. Feel the
temporary happiness that filled him with the feel of her.
She had called unexpectedly asking if she could pay Leo a visit. He
anticipated such a call after not hearing from her for weeks. When they
would occasionally get together, they would cater to each other's
desires, soon after she would abandon him, leaving him empty and
foolish. He always told himself that he would deny her any pleasure
when she requested it from him, but he was weak. For the first time he
was weak around a woman. She fed his emotions, but never his ego. She
took away his temporary cravings of lust, passion, and desire but
always left him yearning for her indefinite attention.
"Sure, come on over. I'm not going anywhere, but could you stop by the
market and get some Johnny red and a couple of flank steaks," he told
her. "I'll pay you back."
He offered to make some dinner as soon as she arrived. The continuous
hunger pangs were eating away at his insides.
"No, I already ate, maybe later," Ari said. "But you could go ahead
and eat."
She was over in less than an hour with a fifth of Johnny in a brown
bag along with the steaks as requested.
"Thanks baby. What do I owe you?"
"Don't worry about it. You can treat me to dinner sometime," she
said.
He went ahead and put the succulent and bloody looking steaks into the
baron fridge, the blood gathering in the corners of the styrofoam
package. He figured he could hold out to see if she might develop an
appetite later on hoping she might join him for the meal. Leo then
returned to the front room. He looked at Ari lying on his couch as he
popped open the fifth and took a swig. She refused any and just gazed
at Leo with an inviting smirk smeared across her face. She always made
herself at home whenever she visited, enjoying the comfort of his
couch, his bed, and him. He sat down next to her. She stretched her
legs across his lap. Leo took notice of her demure feet; her soles a
bit darkened from dirt that accumulated from wearing sandals, but well
pedicured in red nail polish. Her legs were showing evidence of
stubble, but still smooth as they sprouted out from under her red
skirt. Leo peered into the dark shadowing where the hem of her skirt
met the flesh of her thighs, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sweetness
that hid within the darkness. The same sweetness he had touched,
tasted, penetrated many times before. He was always restraining his
impulse to pounce on her like a hungry lion pouncing onto a helpless
goat at the initial sight of her, his mouth watering with passion and
lust as her flesh touched his own.
The anxiety was overwhelming as his right knee bounced erratically in
anticipation. Ari's face was young, but not as smooth as the rest of
her silky skin that Leo had enjoyed pressing up against his body on
previous encounters. It was blemished from signs of stress and strain
that she had been facing in the past. Leo couldn't help but notice the
large protruding zit just above her left eye on her forehead. It was on
the verge of popping and he wanted very badly to pop it for her. Other
person's acne or imperfections always disgusted him, but nothing about
Ari bothered him, not even kissing her rank mouth the morning after
sleeping with her all night long. He wanted to smear any and everything
of her onto his own skin, ingest all that made her exist.
"Here, let me pop that for you," Leo said.
"No, don't. That's disgusting."
"Not to me it isn't," he then reached over gripping her head in his
hands and with the tips of both his thumbs he pressed firmly on the zit
as her face winced in some pain. The whitehead burst, the white mush
shooting out, some hitting Leo on the cheek. He wiped it off with the
back of his hand and continued to press, more white mush oozed out,
endlessly as the string of white bacteria was followed by the evidence
of blood and then the clear liquid pus. Leo wiped his fingers on his
shirt and then flicked the rest of the white bacteria off to the side,
possibly hitting the wall or landing somewhere on the floor. He took a
quick whiff of his fingertips, smelling the distinct odor that
resembled rotting cheese.
"What are you stressing over?" he asked.
"What am I not stressing over," she said. "My family just left to
Costa Rica for an indefinite time and I am almost out of money."
Her parents would occasionally help her out financially whenever they
felt she needed it. She never asked straight out, but she would inform
them of her troubles with money whenever she needed to. They had taken
off to enjoy their retirement on another escape to another part of the
world, leaving Ari to fend for her self once again. Leo found it rather
amusing that a grown woman was still somewhat dependent on her parents,
but he figured that if his parents were still around, he might have
done the same.
"I also have a deadline for a solo show that I have coming up and I am
nowhere near finished shooting or processing," she said.
Ari was a photographer. She also freelanced for magazines and took
publicity photos on film sets as well as private events.
She had been working on a solo exhibit of her recent photographs. She
scheduled it for August. She titled it SAVAGE. Her photographs were to
capture the raw and savage behavior of the city. Of human behavior as
well as whatever existing being that survived in this maddening place.
She worked in black and white prints and usually shot with her
Haaselblad camera. She used her Haaselblad to capture the close up and
intimate shots. She would use her old Nikon with a 120mm lens to
capture the more voyeuristic shots from a safe distance. The old Nikon
was from the old boyfriend who encouraged her to pursue her talent in
photography. Hearing her speak about her method and technique was
rather intriguing to Leo. She would never show Leo what she was working
on, or invite him to her exhibits, but she did give some explanation of
what she wanted to capture with her work. He could sit for hours
listening to her voice ramble on about her trying to capture the
brutality of their surroundings. How even in the most intimate and
innocent moments, there is always some bestial hunger behind the
actions.
"I have to go and shoot all this weekend and go in the dark room as
well. I have to focus on this project. I'm really under the gun right
now. I like going downtown and shooting people roaming the streets.
Living in this concrete jungle always prowling, keeping guard on their
territory. Scavenging for whatever nourishment or meal they need to
battle for. Survival of the fittest. But I find the same sort of
behavior within the successful, whit collar world. Always looking to
tear down the Alpha figure at any cost to get to the top. To rule the
domain that they are slaves to. Everyone wants to have the control, the
power to be respected, even though they can't see the coveting and
loathing behind the fa?ade of admiration. At least those on the street
know they can't trust or be trusted. Betrayal and lies are
expected?"
Leo didn't let her finish what more she wanted to say. He went in for a
kiss. He kissed her soft on her pale lips tasting her sweet spit on his
tongue. Ari didn't fully respond, but she smiled at him with delight.
He ran one hand up her leg stopping at her thigh, just below her skirt
as he stroked her long and unwashed hair with the other hand. Another
kiss, this time longer, passionately. She responded as their lips
interlocked. He explored her lips, gently, feeling their curvature and
softness on the tip of his tongue, her hot breath warm on his mouth and
in his whole being. He sucked on her bottom lip, pulling away, the
string of spit still connecting them as he reached under her shirt and
felt her silky bra covering her breasts. He made his way just behind
her ear, sucking and licking and gnawing at her salty skin gliding his
tongue back just below her chin, her head cocking back as he gently bit
her, her back arching as he reached under her bra and ran his fingers
over her erect nipples. He worked her shirt off and then followed with
her bra as he swiftly undid the snaps with one hand. She threw it off
and she was free. Leo took her right breast into his mouth and suckled
her nipple like a newborn hoping to find milk to feed on, his other
hand sliding up her semi-stubble, yet silky thigh, past the hem of her
skirt feeling the dampness of her cotton panties pulling the edge
aside, gently running his finger tips on the ridges of her moist lips,
working his way under the hood to her clit before penetrating her sweet
smelling cunt. Her panties were sloppily slipped off and tossed to the
floor. She unzipped her skirt and slid it off as well. She was fully
exposed, vulnerable and Leo could feel her intoxicating essence envelop
him, her scent suffocating him. He kissed her again as their mouths
opened and their tongues met, frantically, wrestling like two serpents
mating, trying to gain control, twisting and coiling around each other
uncontrollably, finally pulling away with her tongue between his lips.
He lay on top of her still fully clothed, caressing her body, running
his callused hands up and down her skin, wanting to feel her skin rub
against his rough and hairy body but he refused to undress. His
emotions and hunger could no longer be restrained. He kissed her once
again, taking her bottom lip, this time between his teeth and bit down
hard, tearing it off like meat off a T-bone. She made no sound of pain,
rather of ecstasy, screaming loud. Leo chewed slowly, tasting and
savoring the bitter taste of human flesh as their eyes met. It was
overwhelming and fulfilling. Her blood dribbled down his chin, as she
lay there wide-eyed and paralyzed, breathing hard and uncontrollably
while digging her claws into Leo's back tearing away at his shirt,
exposing his skin. He leaned in and took another piece off her cheek,
the mess now pouring and splattering all over her and him as he
continued his frenzy. She screamed in a climactic tone as she dug
deeper into his skin, tearing into his flesh, the blood freshly
staining her nails and streaming down his sides and onto her. They were
lost in ecstasy as she clamped on tightly with her thighs, still
clawing away at his back, the fresh wounds certain to scar like the
other existing scars evident from the past running down from his neck
to his ass. Leo rubbed her body with shear pleasure smearing her blood
all over, mixing it with his as it dripped on to her, taking bite after
bite of her warm and smooth body working his way down her torso. Her
breasts were a bit fatty as he tore into them, almost wanting to
swallow the chunks of her whole. He made his way down to her belly and
dug in, the warmness of her all over his face as he devoured her
innards while she grabbed his thick head of hair, pulling in
desperation, her body convulsing erratically. He continued on down
passed her thinly shaven pubis and licked her omnivorously trying to
take in the warm flow of her juices to help wash down her flesh. Her
silky thighs were next to be ingested continuing on down to her petite
feet, her toes being stripped of any extant flesh. Leo had no control
of this involuntary impulse that had taken over his consciousness. It
was a state of delirium that he had no culpability for. It was as
though it was a natural instinct that had come naturally in a moment of
survival.
Leo was just about through with his feeding, tearing and gnawing away
at remaining flakes of flesh off her stained bones like a lion with his
fresh kill, trying not too leave any remnants on her succulent being.
It seemed Leo's hunger had finally been appeased, as he wiped his face
with the back of his hand, smearing her life source all over his
cheeks, his pot belly appearing a bit engorged.
Lastly, he noticed her heart still beating, softly, slowly. He reached
in past her cavity, taking the heart into his blood messed hands and
delightfully bit into it, feeling the blood shoot into his mouth like
an over ripe strawberry, the red juices oozing out of the corner of his
gleeful smirk. Leo could feel his own heart begin take on Ari's pulse,
synchronizing to her beat and rhythm after every gulp.
Leo had left her bare. Not a piece was left of her. Her remains lay
lifeless on his couch, drenched in their own mess. The walls and carpet
were tainted in crimson splatter giving the room new life, giving Leo
new life. He was now nourished as he licked his chops and savored his
digits one by one, feeling reborn, no longer worried about ever feeling
the hunger that diminishes. No longer having to fill the hunger that
inflicts debilitating pangs. He was sure that he would no longer desire
any other form of flesh he had been craving for so long. He swallowed
the last of his meal and then rested his head upon Ari's remains as he
wrapped her arms around him and fell fast asleep.