Hunger

Hunger was a never-ending aspect of her life, food always seemed to disappear and there was never enough, for her at least. She’d heard of people always eating to the point of being “stuffed” she wondered what that felt like.  To have so much food that you can’t eat anymore. 

Thirst

Thirst was a close second to hunger, she needed so much water to survive that her town despised her for her gluttony. She was fortunate in the fact that there were rivers and ponds scattered throughout the landscape. However drinking from them was a risk, as a bad pond could lead to crippling sickness.

Cold

She was terribly cold. The cruel, unyielding wind engulfed her massive form. She could barely cover herself. Tattered blankets and bed sheets she had stolen adorned her body. She’d heard of people starting fires and huddling around them in the cold, but try as she might her massive fingers and hands couldn’t produce a spark. 


Fortuna huddled in an abandoned farmhouse; she laid in the fetal position shivering against the cold hard ground. It had been three months since she ran away from home, for three months she had scavenged and stole, desperately trying to survive. She was starving; it had been over a week since she successfully managed to catch anything. Her large lumbering form providing animals with ample warning to stay clear, she was lucky and came across a small fawn tucked away under the bush. As a small child she remembered looking at these animals with curiosity and adoration, but out of hunger and instinct she swiftly killed it. Peeling its skin with her fingernails and gingerly chewing on the bloody chunks of meat. Since then all she’d had was snow. 

For a few days it had been snowing, causing her to be wet and cold. Frost had formed in her hair and eyebrows, and the end of her hair had already frozen. There was nothing she could do but shiver. She missed her home, her parents, she was so alone, she was so scared.

She didn’t want to die. 


“Hey”

“Hey!”

“HEY!!”

Fortuna groggily opens her eyes her vision gradually cleared until she saw someone standing in front of her.  In front of her stood a man, he was wearing a coat and jeans and was gripping a shotgun.

“What are you doing in my barn?” The man angrily asked. Looking at her.

“I-I’m sorry it was cold, I was just looking for a place to stay.” Fortuna said sitting up. 

The man gripped his shotgun as Fortuna sat up, she could tell he was small. Much smaller than her 18 foot form. 

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” He said, looking up at her. 

“Please I’ll do anything, just let me stay here for a bit.” Fortuna pleaded.

“Goddamn did you hear me?! I said no!!” the man angrily retorted

“PLEASE just until the storm passes!!” Fortuna begged.

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY BARN YOU BITCH” The man yelled shouldering his shotgun. 

Time seemed to slow in that moment; in her time alone Fortuna had realized that the instinct of survival, of self-preservation was utterly key. She had fought long and hard to survive these few months. She would not let herself die from exposure due to this petty farmer. 

Lightning fast Fortuna grabbed him snapping his wrists and yanking away his shotgun. The man screamed in pain as Fortuna pinned him to the ground looking at him very close. 

The man stank of coffee and stale cigarettes, his hair was unkempt and his face had stubble on it. His muddy brown eyes stared up at her in fear. 

“Listen to me, very carefully.” Fortuna said, her face mere inches from him. “All I asked for was to stay in this piece of shit building so I wouldn’t freeze to death. But you wouldn’t even grant me that. Now, you’re gonna pay.” She said as she pressed down on him, feeling his ribs crack, 

“NO NO PLEASE!!” The man screamed in pain wriggling under her. “PLEASE, I-I’LL DO ANYTHING” 

Fortuna pondered this and briefly stopped pressing down on him. “What the fuck can you give me” She angrily growled. Staring at the man’s panicked face. “I-I’ll let you stay here! You can stay until the storm passes that’s what you wan-ARGH” 
Fortuna pressed down harder on the man; she felt his ribs break against her. “Not. Fucking. Enough” she hissed.  She pressed deeper into him, the once hard feeling of his ribs giving way to a softer squishy feeling of his organs. “I CAN FEED YOU,” the man gasped under the pain of his internal organs giving way. “Please, I got food. You must be hungry” 

As if on cue, Fortuna’s stomach growled. The man’s eyes lit up “I’ve got food, and my house isn’t too far away.” 

“Fine” she said “Releasing her pressure on the man’s midriff. He gasped in relief. “But” Fortuna said still pinning him “if you fuck with me, I will kill you.” She said, looking him dead in the eyes. 

The man frantically nodded and painfully got up coughing up some blood in the process.

I hope he doesn’t die on me thought Fortuna. She had reacted out of fear, but it slowly dawned on her that she nearly murdered a person. These thoughts of morality were soon pushed out of her mind by the pangs in her stomach. She needed food, or she might not have much time herself.