Something stirred. She wasn’t alone.

She held her breath, wary of any strange noises. The light bulb glared at her with its menacing glow. The sense of dread that descended upon her was stronger than ever. She looked back on what he’d said to her, puzzled despite her fear. Her burden?

There it was again, a soft pitter-patter of feet. Whatever it was, it drew ever closer. Once more, she summoned herself to move with the hopes that it would be by sheer will that she could reawaken her body. Nothing; she was as still as the dead. If she could only see what was coming, that’s all. It would probably make things worse, but at the moment the suspense was bordering on unbearable.

Meow.

She couldn’t believe her ears at first. Not until she heard it again. It was the unmistakable purring of a cat. It must’ve crawled into crack in the wall somewhere. The relief was overwhelming. She was even grateful for the company. Sure enough, a kitten reared its head into view. Its carrot-orange fur poked out in funny tufts, cute as hell. Pretty thin, too. After blinking at her once or twice in avid curiosity, it proceeded to licking her eagerly.

It tickled.

It hurt.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly. Victoria’s amusement ended when she realized that it had just bitten her. Its teeth grazed against her skin, leaving shallow scratches in its wake. She thought nothing of it; cat probably got a little frisky, that’s all.

That wasn’t all. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end once she felt something furry brush past her. Another cat? And another and another, apparently. A whole swarm. Within minutes, there were at least half a dozen cats in sight. They were all peering down on her with those large, luminous eyes.

It was then she understood, to her horror. The rotten smell that seemed to be everywhere?

It was her. It was all over her face. Fish juices, entrails? She didn’t know.

How long do you think you can starve an animal before it finally turns on you?

That carroty, cute-as-hell kitten. What she failed to see in its eyes – it was hunger. Before long, they’d all joined in licking her face. Licking that eventually turned to biting, nibbling. Her face was covered in scratches before they began to gnaw at her. Small as they were, theirs was a jaw full of pointed teeth. Tiny fangs tore away at her face; every bite seizing a small morsel of flesh with it. They’d sink their teeth into her then lick the blood that they had drawn from her. An hour or so saw the loss of her pert ears and perfectly-shaped button nose; they were the softest. The sheer pain of it was enough to make her toes curl. She cried, but the cats drank her tears too.

Oh, her eyes. If nothing else, she wished she could shut them. But instead she was made witness to her own mutilation, the death of her beauty. She watched, mortified in her absolute stillness, as the cats devoured everything that made her an object of envy. It wasn’t long before one of them raised a claw to her eye and took her sight as well. All she was left with was the frightened desperation of the blind.

Soon, she was left with nothing at all.