Screams were nothing new to Gnaw. The husband and wife who 'assisted' him with his début performance screamed, people in the audience screamed, Kevin screamed, Paige screamed. It was one of the inevitable byproducts of being a cannibal. He could eat his victims while they were unconscious and sometimes he did. But really Gnaw enjoyed how the live ones squirmed and fought on the way down, they just tasted better that way.

Gnaw was pretty much numb to screams. Paige's cries of terror didn't even register with the blood smeared lad. He wasn't looking at her when the last of Kevin, his vintage kicks, slipped past his lips. He swallowed, the elongated lump that was Kevin traveling down his throat and settling in Gnaw's belly, somewhat more distended now. He burped.

A few minutes, or maybe only seconds after Kevin was gone, Gnaw found the girl huddled up against the wall of his trailer. He didn't look confused or shocked at her state, after all, she had just watched him eat some dude.... and not like a clean one bite meal either - devouring Kevin had been a horrible, messy act. Still he wasn't surprised. Paige was not the first person to witness the horror that was Gnaw. Most witnesses however never lived to tell the tale.

Gnaw went to the sink. He turned on the water and soaked a cloth with warm water. The monster returned to Paige, squatting down in front of her. With an odd gentleness, Gnaw - Joe - wiped away the blood that spattered across her face.

"Don't worry, he won't be hurting you anymore." Joe said matter-o-factly. He stared at her. Weird feelings flowed through his body. He had lost his erection during the encounter with Kevin but now, staring at the terrified girl he found himself becoming hard once more. What the fuck was wrong with him? And yes, he still wanted to eat her - the few fingers of her's he had nipped were sooo good - but he also didn't want to eat her? Maybe it was the fact that he had literally just eaten like three people in the span of about two hours. Or it could be that he was still intrigued by her gift... she, grew back.

"I should clean up.'

And that is what he did. Joe left her alone to process what had happened and he set about cleaning up the mess that used to Kevan, now just bits and pieces and splashes. He was efficient about it, seeing as this was not the first time he had cleaned up after a messy meal, but he was a bit slow. He was become lethargic after such a hefty three-course meal. Gnaw was going to sleep well tonight.

She spoke about the hurt, the pain she felt, no suffered with every broken bone, each cut, and every death. His expression became slack, soft even, and his head nodded every so slightly. It was an expression easily misread as compassion and understanding. Gnaw however heard nothing of her litany of suffering, the only thought he collected was her affirmation. She grew back. Always.

He watched her closely, his eyes settling on her own. He stared, hardly blinking. And he smiled.

"There aren't no dogs here. Just me."

It almost sounded reassuring. He was here for her, just him. The only problem was, Gnaw had a nasty habit of biting worse than any dog. She just didn't know that.

Paige stepped nearer still. Closer to the monster wrapped in the body of a young man. Gnaw parted his lips. Was he going to say something? He never got the chance because he found himself tasting her... only in a way he had never tasted another person before. Paige was kissing him. And she was ... was touching him.

Gnaw did not move for a fraction of a heartbeat, and then he was kissing her back. He lifted his hands - were they shaking? - placing them on the small of her back. And he pressed into her hand subconsciously. The entirety of the intimate act was confusing. As his lips brushed across hers, tasting the flesh he craved, he wanted to sink his teeth into her and take a savage bite. He salivated at the bloody thought. He practically whimpered when he imagined her.... growing back.

But he also wanted to continue what Paige was doing to him. He could feel each of his heartbeats thrusting blood through his veins, most especially where she held onto him. Even her lips seemed to send little shocks through him when they touched him. Yes, Gnaw was very very confused.

"It doesn't have to be just me you know. You don't have to run away and be by yourself. It can be just us."

Gnaw whispered. The words were romantic in quality, selfish in substance a trait that would have been exposed by what he said next if she knew what he really desired most.

"Show me... I want to see you grow back"

One of his hands traveled up her side. He found one of her own, pulling it to his lips. He kissed a finger, one that had re-grown. Gnaw couldn't help himself, he slipped his lips over the tender morsel to the first knuckle.... suckling gently.

Sweatpants are not the greatest choice when trying to hide a boner. Every kid has learned this after witnessing (or experiencing) the ridicule of being the boy in gym class who sprang wood. Well now every kid. Gnaw never went to public school, he was home school - in a way - by his father. Still he knew the sweats weren't going to be all that much help. They were a step up from the flimsy material of his boxers however.... so Gnaw quickly snatched them up and pulled them over his skinny legs.

"I'm ~ Gnaw" he said, voice cracking and squeaking awkwardly in between words like he was thirteen again. He cleared his throat, and when he spoke again, he attempted to deepen his voice a few octaves, yeah, he was a man, not some kid: "Yeah, this is my pad... not much I know, but it's all mine."

Gnaw had not idea why he felt the need to impress her. Not that his trailer was all that impressive. His eyes watched her once more. Her eyes were shockingly blue... and her lips, a subtle shade of pink. Her skin was somewhat pale, not unlike his own. He wondered what his teeth marks would look like against such skin? When his eyes came upon her regrown fingers... her slime covered digits, he jumped a little. Gnaw rummaged around until he found a roll of paper towels. Tearing off a few squares he handed them to Paige.

"Here... for your um... mess" a.k.a. bloody regenerated finger slime.

The encounter played out like scene from a rom-com. It was all cute and awkward, what with the boy trying to be all suave and slick (despite glistening in his boxers having just eaten two full grown humans) and her blushing, looking shy, and stuttering out whatever it was she had come to say.

Gnaw listened to her. Well, half-listened to her. Mostly he just looked at her. It would be easy to think he was checking her out. In a way he was.... especially her thighs. She had meaty looking thighs. Not fat mind you. Just, thick with just the right amount of muscle. The kid did have enough class to refrain from drooling.

She was leaving or something. Gnaw had no idea why she was telling him this, he didn't even know her. It was weird? But that didn't matter, Gnaw was never one to kick a gift horse in the mouth. He was just about to tell her to wait, his hand had even reached out to her, when she fell. The sound her neck made as it snapped was both a crack and a squelch. Gnaw had heard similar noises. He blinked.

Well shit. Gnaw stood for a moment. He scritched his fat belly and then shrugged. Without ceremony he reached down and took hold of the girl's ankles.... and dragged her into his trailer. The door swung shut behind him.

Paige lay on the faded linoleum. Gnaw looked down on her. With a surprising tenderness, the kid lifted her left hand in his and brought it to his mouth. A final kiss goodbye? Yeah no. Gnaw bit down and tore off two of her fingers. The cartilage in her knuckles popped in his mouth and her finger bones crunched as he chewed. He always did like finger food.

When Gnaw stepped into the ring, he had expected to feel nervous. The way everyone spoke about performing he ought to be experiencing as sense of nausea, or dizziness, or anxiety, or.. any number of sensations that his fellow performers described when he had asked what to expect. Even his father.. with his reassurances and his support seemed to imply that he should be dreading the moment he stepped under the spotlight. But he didn't. Gnaw felt only one thing as every eye fell upon his skinny-assed self: hunger.

Gnaw wore a pair of ripped jeans. He did not wear anything else: no shirt, no shoes. Not even socks. His father had wanted a show, and Gnaw wanted his audience to see everything, including how his victims squirmed beneath his skin and stretched out his belly.

His victi- assistants for the evening's entertainment were ready. They sat bound and gagged in the center of the ring. The woman looked a little beat up, and her makeup was a mess, smeared across her face by a flood of tears. If she was looking for sympathy... she would not find it from Gnaw, although her muffled pleas did spark whispers among the crowd.

Her husband's clothes were torn, and caked with dried mud. He lay on his side. The man was breathing, chest rising and falling, but he was otherwise lifeless. Gnaw intended to change that. And he wanted to do so quickly. His dad wanted him to go slow.. but his stomach was demanding. The hunger pains felt like his tummy was eating itself, that if Gnaw did not eat something, then his body would eat him instead. But Gnaw had a plan... the husband would serve as an appetizer, a quick amuse-bouche to sate his needs. And then the main course, the man's sobbing wife. She was a hefty woman.. one that he could take his time with, chewing off one fatty mouthful at a time.

Gnaw walked up to the pair. He lifted his arms to the crowd like an experienced showman and he smiled: his biggest, boldest smile. His teeth flashed in the bright light. The kid kicked his appetizer, and he kicked him hard. The sound of ribs cracking spoke when Gnaw did not. He wanted some space between the woman and her man. He wanted her to have a good show like everyone else in the crowd.

When he was satisfied, he looked her in the eye. The woman sobbed something into her gag: probably 'please, let me go' or 'help me' or maybe even 'why are you doing this?'. Gnaw couldn't understand her, nor did he really care about what she said. Seriously? Did humans care what a chicken said? Or a cow?

Gnaw kissed the air as if pecking the woman's cheek. And then he opened his mouth. When Gnaw's jaw unhinged and his mouth stretched open, gasps broken the anxious silence. The young mutant grabbed the man under the shoulder and leaned forward, his gaping maw sliding over the man's head. Where the hubby had been listless, he suddenly shrieked. I guess razor sharped teeth latching onto your head and pulling you into a hungry mutant's throat will do that. Gnaw seized the man's thrashing arms, holding him steady as he swallowed and advanced, slowly pulling more and more of the human into his gullet.

Throat muscles and stomach muscles contracted, crushing Gnaw's victim as super mutated enzymes began to eat away. Even so, as the man's kicking feet slipped past Gnaw's lips, a distinct lump was visible sliding down his esophagus and ballooning in his tummy. A handprint pressed out from of part of the mutant's belly, but not for long. It faded fast.

Gnaw straightened up. Once again he thrust his arms into the air and smiled. He looked to the sidelines for his father's approving gaze.

Hiya, Barbie
Hi, Ken!
You want to go for a ride?
Sure, Ken
Jump in

The music blared from Gnaw's earbuds. Without a care, the young mutant sang along, despite the fact that he was off key... horrifically so. The sugary pop music throbbed away. It was sickeningly sweet.

I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation

Gnaw was in his trailer. It wasn't much, but it was his. He was supposed to have a roommate.... but no one wanted to bunk with him. Weird. Bonus for Gnaw. He was naked. Ok, technically he was wearing earbuds. And he was hungry. Luckily he had lured a snack home, she was squirming on the yellowing linoleum. Blood streaked the fake wood veneer on one of the cabinets, blooming from the spot where he had smashed her head.

His lack of clothing had nothing to do with sex. Gnaw had little interest on raping the woman. His need was based, a deep, gnawing pit inside that he was desperate to fill. Nope. Not sex. He had taken off his clothes because things were gonna get messy.... and he didn't want to get his favorite Nirvana t-shirt soaked with blood.

Come on, Barbie, let's go party!

Gnaw grinned. He tilted his head first to the left, then the right, hearing a satisfying crack. As his tummy rumbled, he descended on the woman. She moaned in a dazed state; she wasn't dead, nor unconscious... Gnaw liked his food alive, and moving. There was something about the way they squirmed as he swallowed him that was just... well it was hard to described. But very satisfying.

Back to the subject at hand.... Gnaw opened his mouth. His jaw unhinged and his lips stretched opened obscenely. The jagged rows of teeth behind his human looking ones could be seen within his gaping maw. It was at that moment that the girl regained some coherence and lifted her head. She looked up at the latest looking monster.... and screaming.

Gnaw took his time. He chewed off and swallowed one limb at a time. He savoured each bite, especially her thighs... these were his favorite part. Ugh. So good.

I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation

But that had been two days ago. After eating the girl, Gnaw had curled up in his bed and went to sleep. His belly bulged out a little and he rubbed it as he drifted off to sleep. It was not his largest meal, not by a long shot, but it was a hearty portion and so he let lethargy take hold whole he digested his latest victim. Oh and he might have eaten the pizza guy before the girl. And maybe there was a goat... or three.

There was note on his bed when he finally got up. His dad wanted to see him. Now, Gnaw had no idea it the note had been left two day ago, or three minutes ago, but still he groggily got dressed and stumbled out of his trailer.

He found some coffee, and a smoke along the way. The butt hung loosely from his lips when he knocked on his father's door. Mug of black coffee steamed in his handI- half drunk. He wore his favorite Smashing Pumpkins graphic over ridiculously skinny jeans. Somehow he had forgotten he shoes.

When he heard he father's voice, Gnaw opened the door and walked right in.

"Hey dad, got your note."