“It is ignorant to phrase it like that,” announced Harris.

“Like what?” Kristen inquired.

“You shouldn’t call it cannibalism,” he declared

“What?” Kristen asked.

“The term does not denote an action, but rather a group of people,” Harris explained.

“I hope you plan to finish your thought. You can’t just say something like that and

expect us all to blindly accept what you say while you stand there in silence,” Ian

said, raising his voice a bit, partly because he was getting angry and party to hide his

stomach growls. He wasn’t ready to admit he was hungry.

“Well since you’re smirking like that, I’m sure you’re just itching to tell us. Why don’t

you just spit it out?” Ian probed again.

“That would imply that he had something to put in his mouth,” Reed commented.

“I hope it would not be an overestimation of your intelligence to assume that you

are familiar with the story of Christopher Columbus, the discovery of the New

World, et cetera. Well aside from all that, Columbus made an additional interesting

discovery in the New World. He stumbled upon a tribe known as The Caribs. I’m

sure you’re at least vaguely familiar with them, even if you don’t know them by

name. They are the native people of the Caribbean. Columbus claims to have

witnessed The Caribs ritually consuming other humans,” Harris said.

“Fascinating,” Ian started, “but it doesn’t explain anything.”

“Hold your tongue and respect your elders, I think it’s most appropriate, given the

situation, that you listen to me,” Harris insisted.

1

“Given the situation? Who gives a fuck what you call it? I’d rather not call it

anything,” Reed exclaimed.

“Quite right. If you refuse to call it anything, you’ll experience a level of disconnect

with what you’re eating and it will be far easier to stomach. However, didn’t your

mother teach you to be polite?” Harris responded.

“Bite me!” Reed shouted.

“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day,” Harris responded.

“Wait, wait, go back to what you were saying. I want to know why we can’t call it

cannibalism,” Kristen stated.

“First, do not tell me to wait. You know that I can’t go anywhere. Second, I’m not

telling you that you ‘can’t’ do anything. You are given free will and you clearly

possess the tongue and lip dexterity to say the word ‘cannibal.’ I’m saying that you

shouldn’t, there is a huge difference. So, if you’re asking why you shouldn’t call it

cannibalism, the answer relates to Columbus’ petty intelligence. He returned to

Europe and told the story of savage people he had seen. However, he mistakenly

called The ‘Canibs.’ Over time this became ‘Canibales.’ I doubt that any of you are

familiar with fifteenth century Spanish, but if you were, you would know that

‘canibales’ originally meant something more along the lines of ‘cruel.’ The English

word ‘cannibal’ is directly derived from that Spanish word.”

“Thrilling history lesson, but…” Reed started.

“Then what would you call it, if ‘cannibalism’ is insulting or whatever? ” asked

Kristen.

2

“I beg your pardon; I seem to have forgotten that I’m in the company an

incompetent little girl who lacks a decent education. In science we are taught to call

the act of consuming Homo sapiens ‘anthropophagy,” Harris exclaimed.

“And that means the same thing?” Kristen asked.

“Hardly! You’ve completely missed the point. The term ‘anthropophagy’ describes

an action; it is derived from two Greek words. First ‘anthropos,’ which means

human, as in anthropology, and second ‘phagein,’ which means to eat. I could spout

out a few English words that are derived from that root for the sake of showing off,

but that would be unnecessary considering my audience,” Harris explained.

“This entire conversation is unnecessary!” Reed exclaimed

“But the terms aren’t interchangeable,” Ian declared. “If you say the term

‘anthropophagy’ is a combination of ‘human’ and ‘to eat’, then the word must

literally mean ‘to eat humans.’ It does not imply that another human is doing the

eating. There is a clear hole in your logic.”

“I seem to have been a bit too hasty to judge your intelligence. Your ravishing looks

may do you favors with young ladies, but it does nothing for your intelligence. You

are not nearly as incompetent as you appear. I hope you can find away to forgive

me.” Harris paused. “You are correct. The term ‘anthropophagy’ does not have the

same implications as the term ‘cannibalism.’ However, the term ‘anthropophagous

human,’ does.”

“I don’t understand why I haven’t heard this before,” Kristen stated.

3

“Anthropophagy is a… difficult, to say the least, topic to bring up in social gatherings,

obviously,” Harris exclaimed.

“But everyone calls it ‘cannibalism’ when it does come up,” Kristen insisted.

“I have to agree with her. When the topic is formally addressed, it is always referred

to as ‘cannibalism.’ Even Montaigne called it ‘cannibalism.’ Could you imagine ‘An

Essay of Anthropophagous Humans’ by Michel de Montaigne, 1575? Don’t look so

satisfied, you know I’m right!” Ian exclaimed.

“Montaigne was a product of his time. He was writing a mere ninety years after

Columbus’ discovery. He could not be expected to understand what his words would

imply over four hundred years later. He can’t be penalized for that. The term

‘anthropophagy’ wasn’t even coined until the mid 1600s. And you claim to be an

expert on the subject!” Harris exclaimed.

“I don’t understand why you’re smiling. I never claimed to be an expert on the

subject. I read it in school. I remember the terminology he used. He defiantly didn’t

say ‘anthropophagy.’ And, you’ve yet to say that was incorrect!” Ian snapped.

”I was, once again, a bit too hasty to judge your intelligence. You’re not as well

rounded as you think you are! You claim to have an understanding of Montaigne and

his essay, and you use it in a pitiful attempt to prove me wrong, but in fact your

argument is precisely the argument Montaigne expertly refutes in the essay you

speak of,” Harris explained.

“The essay is on cannibalism. My point was that he calls man-eating humans

‘cannibals.’ I don’t know what your talking about and I’m not sure I even care

anymore,” Ian sighed.

4

“I never cared! I’m hungry and we’re all going to die. By all means, carry on an

academic conversation,” Reed hissed.

“Wait! I care!” Kristen cried.

“I told you once before not to tell me to wait. It’s disrespectful considering your age

and inappropriate considering that we’re all stuck here,” Harris snapped.

“I apologize. I am curious to know what you meant when you were explaining

Montaigne’s argument…Sir. Was that better?” Kristen asked.

“Considerably. Montaigne wrote in a time period when the term ‘cannibal’ was all he

knew. There was no other word for it. Suppose you come across an old letter written

by a dead relative of yours, a grandparent or great -grandparent. You might find

some of the terminology used in the letter to be very outdated, maybe even insulting

in the context of our society. Perhaps your relative used the term ‘nigger.’ Now, you

would probably never use this word, or if you would, it would be to demean

someone, rather than describe them. Although it might shock you to see this term

used so casually, you wouldn’t really call it wrong. Your relative would have written

using the terms that he or she knew how to use. In the context of the time period,

the word had a completely different meaning. The word ‘cannibal’ is not quite as

insulting as the word ‘nigger’ is, but still, with a full knowledge of how the term

came into use, I consider it to have a negative implication. There is another, more

appropriate, term to use in place of it,” Harris explained.

“You can’t compare the word ‘cannibal’ to the word ‘nigger.’ It’s commonplace to

think that the term ‘nigger’ is insulting. But, only old quacks like you seem to think

that the term ‘cannibal’ is insulting,” Ian replied.

5

“Obviously I can compare them, I just did. What you mean to say is that it is

incorrect to compare them. However, I disagree. I admit that it is not a direct

comparison, but there are some notable similarities. Today there is another term

that describes the action, and given the resources we all have access to, it is not

unreasonable to expect that intelligent people will use the more accurate term,”

Harris responded.

“Now you’re just ranting. What does this have to do with Montaigne’s argument that

I supposedly don’t understand?” Ian asked furiously.

“What I have just described to you, in layman’s terms, is what Montaigne argued in

his essay. He used cannibalism to exemplify his point. All manners are relative to a

culture, and in this case a time period. Relative to his culture, it was perfectly

acceptable to call the act of consuming another human ‘cannibalism.’ If he was

writing in this day and age, and he still used that term, I might be inclined to write a

strongly worded letter to his publisher. Alas this is not the case,” Harris explained.

“Shut up! Everyone this is ridiculous! No one cares if you understand Renaissance

literature or not. We’re making this harder for ourselves. It’s better if we don’t call it

anything specific. Call it eating. Or better yet, call it surviving,” Reed insisted.

“It’s a bad idea!” Ian exclaimed.

“You think if you say that loud enough you’ll start to believe it? You’re getting paler

by the second, you know you need to do this!” Reed declared.

“Don’t tell me what I do and don’t know. You don’t know anything about me,” Ian

exclaimed.

“Fascinating,” Harris said under his breath.

6

“What was that?” Ian responded.

“You told him that he does not possess the right to tell you what you know and don’t

know,” Harris started.

“I am aware,” Ian replied.

“You followed up the statement by telling Reed about what he doesn’t know. That

seems a little holier than thou, don’t you think? What gives you the right to tell him

what he doesn’t know, when you do not think that he has the right to do the same?

You’re American aren’t you? Don’t you believe in some kind of equality and freedom

of speech? Is that not the basis on which your country was founded?” Harris asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ian snapped. “I didn’t have anything to do

with the establishment of America. It happened two hundred and fifteen years

before I was born. Shut up, you don’t know what you’re talking about either.”

“He’s done it again,” Harris laughed.

“Listen, I know this is hard to talk about, but I really don’t think anyone is looking

for us. If someone were looking for us, we would have been found by now. If we

want to get out of here, we’re going to have to do it ourselves. That being said, there

is no way we can make it out of here in our current condition. Days of hunger, thirst

and constant arguments have made that impossible. You all know what I’m

suggesting. Take a second and think about it. Do you really want to die here, after

everything you’ve already survived? Do you want to just give up, or are you ready to

do something about it? Reed questioned.

“I suppose we’re going to have to do something,” Kristen responded.

7

“You would know this if you possessed any notable intellect, but that is a

superfluous comment. We are all aware of the situation,” Harris said.

“You don’t need to be so mean,” she responded.

“Actually, he does. He doesn’t have any other form of nourishment at the moment

and he needs to feed his ego,” Ian explained.

“You think I insulted her because I’m hungry?” Harris asked smugly.

“I know that you insulted her because you’re hungry!” Ian responded.

“You don’t think that it had anything to do with her mental incompetence,” Harris

said rather than asked.

“Maybe partly, but you phrased it that way out of hunger,” Ian replied.

“Hasn’t anyone told you that you’re never going to win an argument if you don’t

express absolute certitude in your statements?” Harris asked. “Who are you going

to convince if you’re not fully convinced?”

“Who cares?” Reed interjected before Ian could respond. “I need to eat. I don’t want

to speak for anyone else here, but I cannot survive on just a satisfied ego.”

“We don’t have any food,” Paulina finally spoke up.

“We know!” Ian responded.

“We talked about this. We do what we have to do. We have to do it fast and without

giving it too much thought. Already, this is taking too long! We have to concentrate

on our common goal, not whatever random facts you people seem to feel like

sharing,” Reed said.

“We have a common goal? Last I checked we couldn’t agree on anything,” Paulina

stated.

8

“Survival. That’s what you want right now, more than anything, isn’t it?” Reed asked.

“Obviously. It’s a basic human instinct,” Harris responded.

“What exactly are you suggesting? I mean, I know what you’re suggesting, but how

exactly are you going to carry it out?” Kristen asked.

“As I said before, we are going to kill someone, and then eat them. It’s the only way

for the majority of us to survive,” Reed stated.

“I don’t like how calm you were when you said that. It’s unnatural. The whole idea is

unnatural. You want to eat another person!” Paulina exclaimed.

“You shouldn’t be concerned about Reed’s composure. He’s had a lot of free time to

think about it. He’s just gotten used to the idea. Also, he didn’t say he wanted to, he

said he had to. There is a difference,” Harris calmly responded.

“Since you seem to know everything else, do you have any insights you’d like to

share? Maybe use some of that persuasive language that you keep pulling out of

your ass?” Reed begged.

“You seem to be under the impression that I agree with you,” he responded.

“You’re acting like you agree with me!” Reed exclaimed.

“Yes. Acting,” Harris said with the faintest hint of a smile.

“So you don’t agree with me?” Reed said. He was slightly confused.

“I agree with you on some points. I disagree with you on others.”

“And that’s all you’re going to say about it,” Reed responded.

“For now,” Harris answered.

“Wonderful, thanks. I’m so grateful you shared your support,” Reed said.

9

“I would say anytime, but I don’t want to give you a reason not to trust me,” Harris

responded.

“So we need to kill someone… and then eat him in order to survive?” Kristen asked.

“You say that as if you don’t already know it’s true,” Reed responded.

“Why does someone have to die in order for me to stay alive?” Paulina asked.

“That’s the way it works. Most things you eat, meats, even fruits and vegetables

were alive at one point. They were killed to give you sustenance, and you don’t have

a problem eating do you? This isn’t different just because it’s a person!” Reed

exclaimed.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to die, I just… I just… I just can’t think right now,” Paulina

said. She was fighting back tears.

“Stop crying. No one is dying yet!” Ian said.

“Maybe we should just eat you. It would finally shut you up,” Harris stated.

“Oh now you have an opinion on this?” Reed commented.

“I never claimed not to. You don’t listen. I know what your problem is. You assume

too much and observe too little. You really should work on that,” Harris exclaimed.

“Assuming I decide to take your advice, I’d have to live long enough to do so, and in

order for that to happen, I’d have to eat something,” Reed responded.

“Assuming we decide to take your advice, Reed, how exactly would we go about

doing it? Unless someone here is secretly an expert on how to prepare human meat,

the plan needs a little more structure,” Ian stated.

“I don’t think it’s different than preparing any other type of meat. Actually, try not to

even make a distinction. There isn’t a different set of preparation instructions. We

10

aren’t the first people to find ourselves in this situation. I don’t think any members

of the Donner party were secretly experts either. They knew what they had to do

and they figured out how to do it. I also don’t appreciate your crack comments about

my plan’s structure. You all would know that my plan is well structured, if you had

let me get a word in. Originally, I was thinking that we should do something simple

and fair. I thought we should draw straws and the person who drew the shortest

straw would lose. But, I think that if we are going to do this, we need to get the most

possible benefit from it. So, I’ve reconsidered. We should figure out the exact mass

of each person here, and then figure out how tall they are and…”

“Shut up! You’ve made your point. Let us think a little,” Kristen snapped.

“Time is running out, but sure, think about it while we sit here. Starving. Dying.

Wasting away!” Reed snapped back.

“She’s right. You’re never going to gain support if you’re too pushy about it. Back off

a little and let them process it, if you want to win,” Harris said.

“What about you? You’ve been perfectly ambiguous about what you think. Do you

agree with me or not?” asked Reed.

“As I told you before, I agree with you on certain points and disagree with you on

others,” Harris stated.

“Please, be a little vaguer!” Reed responded.

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you. It doesn’t become anyone. You should be more

straightforward. You’ll get much more accomplished that way,” Harris stated.

“Just explain your statement a little more. Please!” Reed was slightly annoyed.

11

“Much better. I’m impressed. I accept that this is necessary. I respect you for

broaching this topic. It shows something about your character. Clearly you are very

bold and brave. However, I’m not fully convinced that you’re giving enough thought

to the actual process and the aftermath,” Harris stated earnestly.

“I don’t have to convince you of anything. Look around; you’re not in charge,” Reed

laughed.

“Interesting how you say that you don’t need to convince me of anything, and then

you try to convince me that I’m not in charge,” Harris said.

“Shut up!” Reed shouted.

“You handle defeat poorly. You should treat me with a little more respect, for the

most part, I’m on your side,” Harris explained.

“Are you threatening me?” Reed asked, fearing the answer a little.

“We’re talking sides now? I can’t handle this!” Paulina said, once again on the verge

of tears.

“We have to take sides, this isn’t a healthy debate. This is an actual matter of life and

death. Maybe you are still in shock and don’t see that. Snap out of it!” Reed

responded.

“We aren’t in shock. We know what’s going on,” Kristen defended herself.

“If you think you understand the situation, then stop being so dramatic. What do you

suggest we do? If either of you think you have a better idea, then I’d like to hear it,”

Reed stated.

“We’re not dying yet; I have some more time to think about it!” Paulina said

defensively.

12

“You’ve been dying your whole life. It is just more imminent now,” Harris declared.

“We’ve been here for so long, how much more time do you need? What else have

you been doing except sitting here thinking about how to survive?” Reed asked.

“Okay, okay. I’ll try to be rational. Exactly how long have we been here?” Paulina

asked.

“One week, five days, fourteen hours and twenty seven minutes,” Ian chanted.

“How long has it been since we ate?” Paulina continued.

“We had a few water bottles. Those dried up four days ago. We haven’t eaten since

we got here,” Ian said.

“And how long can we live without food or water? At least another few days I think,

right?” Paulina asked.

“It doesn’t work like that. It’s not like you can survive fine up to two weeks and then

on the first day of the third week you drop dead. You gradually waste away,” Harris

explained.

“We haven’t had a full meal in however long we’ve been here,” Reed reminded

everyone.

“One week, five days, fourteen hours, and twenty eight minutes,” Ian repeated.

“Oh,” said Paulina blankly.

“So basically he’s saying we’re out of time and that the only way to extend our

miserable existence is to do something heinous,” Ian said.

“We’re giving this way too much thought. It’s going to be much harder for everyone

if we talk about it too much. Don’t label it anything. We just have to do it. We should

13

kill the fattest one of us. He’s going to provide the most food, so we can survive the

longest. It’s the most rational thing to do,” Reed insisted.

“That hardly seems fair!” Kristen exclaimed.

“Fair? Do you think anything about this situation is fair? Do you think it’s fair that

we all ended up here? If you want to keep living, you’re going to have to let go of

what you think is fair or right and do what your body tells you to do! Right now, my

body is telling me that I need to eat. I’m going to do what I need to do. I’m really not

a heartless person; I want to help as many people as possible,” Reed explained

sincerely.

“Wait, this has happened before right?” Kristen asked.

“Yes. This conversation has been going in circles for hours now,” Reed responded.

“No, I mean, this situation. It happens all the time, right?” Kristen asked.

“I don’t know about all the time, but yes, it has happened before. I can think of three

notable times off the top of my head,” Reed said.

“And how did the situations end up? It worked right? Like, people survived?” Kristen

asked.

“Not everyone, but if it will help convince you, I’ll tell you what I know,” Reed

offered somewhat reluctantly. He was not sure if his stories would hurt or help his

cause.

“Yes!” She responded immediately.

“As I said, I can think of three situations that are similar to ours. I mentioned one

already, the Donner Party. The party was a group of American pioneers who set out

in covered wagons for a journey across the country. They left from Missouri in the

14

spring of 1846, hoping to reach California. They should have made it to their

destination long before the first snow, but they stupidly decided to take a ‘short cut’

known as the Hastings Cutoff. The route took them south, along the Great Basin. In

terms of mileage, this route probably was shorter, but it was much more difficult to

navigate. At times they only made it a little over a mile a day. Obviously they fell

months behind. By November, they still had not reached their destination. The

weather turned colder, and the party was stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains

when the first snow fell. They were stuck there until mid February, when a rescue

party found them. Awful story really, they ate the animals they were traveling with,

even their pet dog. Then they ate anything they had that was made from an animal,

their leather shoes and belts. However, they eventually understood what needed to

be done,” Reed explained.

“So what happened after that?” Kristen asked.

“They ate each other. Obviously,” Ian answered.

“Yes. But, they didn’t kill anyone. As far as anyone who wasn’t there knows, they

only ate people that had already died of starvation. Regretfully, that isn’t an option

for us,” Reed said.

“That’s kind of nice,” Kristen said. She was surprisingly sincere.

“I’m going to be amused when she explains that ludicrous statement,” Harris

exclaimed.

“Yeah, the word nice always pops into my head when I think Donner Party too. I

would never think of it as monstrous or disgusting,” Ian responded.

15

“Well, the dead people got to help everyone else, even though they were dead. It’s a

nice concept,” Kristen said.

“What are you even talking about? Just shut up!” Ian said.

“No, let her speak, she might have an interesting point. We’re listening to you aren’t

we? Extend us the same courtesy,“ Paulina said.

“I wasn’t suggesting anything. I was just saying that it’s nice that the dead party

members got to help the living party members stay alive,” Kristen said.

“I don’t want to step on whatever you need to tell yourself to agree with me, but I

can’t just ignore that. I’m too curious. What are you talking about?” Reed asked.

“It’s just, it’s nice that the dead members of the party were able to help everyone

else. Like, the dead people wouldn’t have wanted everyone to just die. They would

have wanted them to survive and reach their destination,” Kristen explained.

“So you’re saying you think it’s a nice concept because the dead members of the

party would have wanted their corpses to be consumed?” Ian asked.

“I think they would have wanted to help in whatever way they could. It’s nice that

they were able to,” Kristen exclaimed.

“In reality, it wasn’t compassionate. It was brutal, monstrous even. They did it

because they had to. No other factors went into the decision,” Ian said sharply.

“You aren’t making it easier for her by telling her that. There were some positive

things that came out of the situation. You know, in the end it really wasn’t that bad.

Many of them survived and got a lake named after them. We could get a lake named

after us. That would be cool. So yeah, let’s figure out who’s the fattest and then eat

16

them. Obviously we’ve all lost weight since we’ve been here, so I’m thinking we

each…” Reed said.

“You said three examples, but that was only one. We’re not going to trust you if you

don’t keep your word,” Paulina declared.

“All right. Okay,” Reed started, his energy depleting quickly. “Have you heard of that

rugby team that chartered a plane that crashed in the Andes in the ‘70’s?”

“No,” Kristen said. “I do expect you to tell me,” she declared when her response went

unnoticed.

“Well it’s fairly straightforward. They did it. They survived. I don’t think there is a

lake named after them, but there is a book and a movie about it. That might appeal

to you. If you survive, you could probably convince the movie producers to let you

play yourself,” Reed said, hoping that the description of the situation would satisfy

her curiosity.

“So if I listen to you, I could have a lake named after me or become a movie star?”

Kristen asked.

“If you listen to me, you’ll have the opportunity to have a lake named after you or

become a movie star because you won’t be dead. So come on!” Reed exclaimed. He

was making less of an attempt to hide how annoyed he was.

“Wait, so what exactly happened with the rugby team?” Kristen asked.

“They chartered a plane that crashed in the Andes in mid October in 1972. Some

member of the team survived the crash while others did not. No one was looking for

them and they ran out of food. I think you can guess the rest,” Reed sighed.

17

“But they didn’t really know that no one was looking for them, they just assumed?”

Kristen questioned.

“They had a radio, they couldn’t use it to send any kind of distress message, but they

heard enough to know that no one was looking for them. They starved for a little bit,

then they decided that they would rather survive,” Reed said. He was steadily

getting more and more annoyed.

“Exactly how long did they wait? Before you know… they…” Kristen attempted to

say.

“On the tenth day, they cut meat from the bone and ate it,” Reed exclaimed.

“They just cut it off the bone and ate it, just like that?” Kristen asked.

“I believe they dried it out first. They put it on the roof of what was left of the plane

and left in the sun,” Reed answered.

“So no cooking? Just raw meat?” Kristen asked.

“Actually, they were only able to start a fire once or twice. They didn’t have matches

or anything flammable. They cooked it once, as a way of equating it with cattle meat,

but cooking meat also destroys proteins. In the end, it was more beneficial not to

cook it,” Reed explained.

“Destroys protein? Like the protein just dies in heat or something?” Kristen asked.

“Well, proteins aren’t really alive, so dying isn’t the right word. I believe in science

they call it denaturization,” Reed said.

“Denaturation!” Harris corrected.

“Whatever. It’s very complicated and I’m not a scientist. Basically what I’m saying is

that cooking it made it taste better and it made it easier to pretend it wasn’t what it

18

was. However, considering their limited resources and the health benefits of raw

meat, they decided against cooking it a second time,“ Reed explained.

“How did they start a fire if they didn’t have anything flammable or matches?”

Kristen asked.

“That isn’t really the point. They cooked it once, but ultimately they came to the

conclusion that it was easier and better not to,” Reed repeated.

“You don’t need to get so mad, it was just a question. Actually, it was a very practical

question, seeing as we have no matches and very few flammable things,” Kristin

exclaimed.

“They started a fire by using a piece of metal to reflect the sun on a wooden box they

found in the plane’s cargo. Are you happy now? Do you see any reflective metal

anywhere? How about any wooden boxes? No? I didn’t think so?” Reed exclaimed.

“I was just making sure you’d thought of everything. Sometimes you don’t

remember things until you say them out loud,” Kristen said bitterly.

“She’s right you know. Your brain contains a lot of information that you are not

actively aware of. It’s a concept known as the sub-consciousness. You can tap into it

through conversation,” Harris stated arrogantly.

“Whatever, this isn’t relevant to the current conversation,” Reed snapped.

“I’m still confused about one thing,” Kristen stated hesitantly.

“What!” Reed shouted.

“It just doesn’t make sense. How many survivors were there? There is no way that

all of them agreed to that. There are only five of us, and we’re ready to kill each

other,” Kristen exclaimed.

19

“I imagine that not all of the twenty-seven survivors immediately agreed with the

idea, but eventually they knew they had to do it. There was no legitimate argument

against it. They believed it was the will of God that they eat it. They compared to it

Christ. They believed Jesus had died to give them spiritual strength, and that the

members of their team had died to give them physical strength. I’d try the religion

angle with all of you, but that was a different era. I wouldn’t expect it to work. We’re

all too secular now,” Reed said.

“I’m Jewish,” Paulina said.

Kristen was not overly satisfied with the answers she was receiving, but she knew

she couldn’t argue.

“They didn’t have to kill anyone either?” Kristen asked.

“No, a good portion of the group died in the plane crash, or shortly after due to

injuries. The meat was well preserved in the snow. They were lucky that way. That’s

the difference between our situation and the other ones. No one is already dead,”

Reed explained.

“What happened after they ate?” Kristen asked.

“Well, unfortunately their recovery was a slow process. At first it was if nothing had

changed. Everyone was still weak and tired. But, they kept eating and eventually

they regained their strength,” Reed answered.

“And then what happened? Did someone eventually find them? How long were they

there for?” Kristen asked.

20

“Actually, no. After eating, a few of them were strong enough to brave crossing the

Andes. They made it to Chile and rescue parties were sent out for those left behind.

They were trapped in the Andes for a total of seventy-two days,” Reed explained.

“What’s the third example?” Kristen asked.

“Have you ever heard of the Bay of Pigs Invasion or are you too young for that?”

Reed asked.

“Some Cuban rebellion thing, right?” Kristen said.

“Something like that. It doesn’t really matter. Some men, I think about sixteen of

them, fled Cuba in a small boat during the invasion. They ended up getting lost in the

open ocean for sixteen days. A few of them died from starvation and dehydration

within a week. The others ate one man to satisfy their hunger and drank his blood to

quench their thirst. Most of the survivors are still alive, but none of them like to talk

about it. It’s not as infamous or well documented as the two other incidents, but it

happened,“ Reed said.

“Blood?” Ian perked up.

“Ew!” shrieked Paulina.

“Blood can’t be very satisfying,” Kristen questioned.

“The others had snow to melt for water. These guys only had salt water. Blood is

about ninety percent water. It is a little salty so it probably is not the best thirst

quencher, but it will keep you hydrated,” Reed explained.

“Alright,” Kristen said. Her tone was definitive, but she had yet to make any kind of

conclusive decision.

21

“So, the Bay of Pigs survivors said they only ate one person, and that was enough for

twelve people for at least a week. We don’t know how big that person was, or how

much they each ate. We should assume the victim was probably of a medium height

and weight and that the survivors rationed the meat very sparingly. We will only

have four mouths to feed. We need to be smart about it. We need to obtain the

largest amount of meat, and eat as little as possible to stay strong. Four people might

be able to make one supply of meat last more than a month. Clearly, eating the

fattest person is our best option,” Reed insisted.

“Logistically that might be a little hard to carry out,” Harris responded.

“No, I don’t think so. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought over the past few days. It

makes the most sense. The fattest person will feed the most people; less people have

to die for more people to stay alive. It’s the most logical thing to do, with the least

amount of brutality,” Reed exclaimed.

“You’re not seeing the big picture. Yes, the fattest person will provide the most

nourishment for the most people, but feeding people is a process. First you have to

hunt your game,” Harris explained.

“I’m assuming you have a point, so make it!” Reed said impatiently.

“The fattest person among us is obviously the biggest, and probably the strongest, or

at least the hardest to pin down and slaughter. It’s going to be difficult for someone

in a weakened condition to do that, even with help from three other people,” Harris

explained.

“You’re just saying that because you know you’re the fattest. But, you don’t look

particularly strong,” Reed said.

22

“My strength would surprise you, if you dare to test it,” Harris threatened.

“Really?” Ian said.

“You sound unconvinced,” Harris exclaimed.

“Guys come on! Before we start lighting the torches we should talk about this a little

more,” Kristen said desperately.

“What more could you possibly want from me? I’ve told you everything I know!”

Reed cried.

“I want to know what will happen to us if everything goes according to plan,”

Kristen said.

“A very practical question,” Harris commented.

“Well if all goes according to plan, we’ll be able to consume enough meat to regain

the strength that we’ve lost over the past two weeks,” Reed responded.

“And what do you suggest after that? We become a community of cannibals- sorry

anthropophagous humans, living in the middle of nowhere feeding off of each other

for the rest of our lives?” Ian questioned.

“Clearly it isn’t a permanent solution. Our main concern should be surviving. Then

we can decide how to proceed,” Reed insisted.

“So what you’re saying is that you don’t know what’s going to happen to us after we

do this?” Ian asked.

“All I know is that in each of the three situations I just described, they did this, and

then either they were rescued or they managed to find their way out of it

themselves. I think we should eat, then decide how to proceed,” Reed exclaimed.

“That really isn’t a good strategy,” Harris advised.

23

“I’m getting a little tired of hearing you speak,” Reed said.

“Likewise!” Harris responded.

“Okay, so assuming we do this and get rescued or whatever, then what happens to

us?” Kristen asked.

“What do you mean? We go back to where we came from and continue living the

lives we had there,” Reed answered.

“No, I mean, you know about those three situations for a reason. The Donner Party

was like one hundred and sixty years ago, and that’s still remembered. History

doesn’t forget things like this. What will happen to us? What happened to the

Donner Party and everyone else?” Kristen asked.

“Well of the three, society was the harshest on the Donners. But, like you said, that

was a hundred and sixty years ago. If I tell you what happened to them, you have to

take that into consideration,” Reed said.

“Fine!” Kristen responded.

“Okay, so after the relief parties found what was left of the Donners, they were

brought to California. The story was printed in newspapers across the country. An

American family, searching for the American Dream out west had done something

that was so very un-American to stay alive. Letters and diaries of the survivors

became objects of fascination with the media. One member of the party was accused

of murder, and there was some sort of trial. The official verdict was that there was

no substantial evidence. Other than that, most of the members of the Donner Party

were able to rejoin society successfully. Some of the younger members of the party

even got married within a year of living in California and lived out the rest of their

24

lives as if nothing had happened. Now Donner Pass and Donner Lake are fairly well

known tourist attractions. They are areas of fascination,” Reed explained.

“What about the others?” Kristen asked.

“Well the Bay of Pigs survivors didn’t even confess their actions until 1998. It made

it into the news, but the incident is nowhere near as infamous as the Donner Party,”

Reed said.

“So nothing happened to them?” Kristen asked for clarification.

“Society was pretty sympathetic. They didn’t have a choice. People understood that,”

Reed explained.

“Why did they wait so long to tell people?” Kristen asked.

“My guess is that they were ashamed of themselves, ashamed of what they had done,

and ashamed of what people might think,” Reed answered.

“Okay, but then why did they come clean at all?” Kristen asked.

“It is my understanding that they came forward because they are still mad at

President Kennedy for something that happened during the Bay of Pigs Invasion and

they wanted the world to know the horrors it caused,” Reed explained.

Kristen nodded. “What about the rugby team?” she asked.

“Their story is remembered more for courage and endurance, and less for their

means of sustenance. It’s barely even addressed in the movie,” Reed explained.

“Really Kristin, I wouldn’t worry too much about your image. It is better to be

labeled something that’s socially unacceptable than to be dead. Also, we could

always lie and no one would ever have to know. What people will think of us in the

future is far from my primary concern.”

25

“Alright, give me a second, I need to think!” Kristen said.

“I know it’s hard to hear, but we really don’t have any other option here. We will die

if we don’t do this. Our lives will end,” Reed implored.

“As awful and gross as it sounds I think I have to agree,” Kristen admitted.

“Good. We’re finally getting somewhere. If we want to survive for as long as

possible, we have to obtain the most meat for the least amount of effort. Obviously

this means that we need to eat the largest person. I think we all know who that is,

but it is difficult to base such a claim on pure observation. We need to be certain. We

can’t have any kind of personal bias go into this decision,” Reed said forcefully.

“I don’t think I can do it. As much as I want to, as much as I need to, I just don’t think

I can. I don’t care what spin you put on it. I can’t do it. It’s too monstrous,” Ian said.

“Monsters? What is this, a six- year-old’s bedtime story? Actually, you know what?

Forget it, I’m just going to let that comment slide. This conversation has gone off

track too many times,” Reed said.

“I’m not a human thesaurus; I can’t come up with thirty different words that all

mean the same thing on the spot. I’m sorry. Monster is the first word that comes to

my mind to describe this idea,” Ian said bitterly.

“All I have to say to you is that we aren’t monsters, we’re survivors. Well actually,

that label is currently contingent on whether or not we can stop arguing and make a

decision. Now shut up, you know that we don’t have a choice in the matter. We

should compare pants sizes. It’s not perfect but at least it’s empirical. Whoever

wears the biggest size loses,” Reed responded.

26

“But all pants sizes aren’t the same. Some companies do it by odd numbers, one,

three, five, and so on and others do it by even numbers, two, four, six, eight. You

know. And a lot of different stores have different standards. One store’s size four

could be the equivalent to another stores size six. And it depends on the countries

the companies are from. European sizes are so different, the size numbers over

there go up to thirteen and that’s like the same as a six. And how do we know that

the person is actually wearing the right size? I read somewhere that like seventy to

eighty-five percent of women wear the wrong bra sizes. That’s a lot. Like only thirty

percent of women actually do wear the right bra size, and that’s like less than half.

Maybe people do that with pants sizes too. It’s like a self-esteem thing. You feel

better if you wear a bra bigger size even if you’re uncomfortable, or I guess with

pants it would be a smaller size. Or you could be trying to start a new fashion trend.

Fashion is always changing. It might be cool to wear pants that don’t fit. Anyway I’m

getting away from the point. Pants are not an accurate measure,” Paulina explained.

At first no one said anything. Not even Kristen. They all stared at each other in

silence.

“I’m not sure I understood that, but I’m not sure I want an explanation,” Reed finally

said. “Yes, I think it’s better if we move on. The preparation will not be easy. I think

we should try and do it as respectfully as possible. As important as it is to remain

disconnected with the meat and what it used to be, on a certain level I think we

might try to take into consideration that someone is going to die for us. But, there is

also the issue that we don’t want to compromise any of the meat in the process.”

“Respect? ” Harris scoffed.

27

“It should be as civil as possible considering the situation and our resources. There

is always the knife, the obvious choice, but that would be very painful. We have large

rocks, but a stoning might be a little too Old Testament. There is also the option,

seeing as we are surrounded by water, of drowning the person. But we risk losing

the body after that. Also, I don’t think we want to get the body wet. We need to find a

balance between what is practical and what is civil,” Reed said while looking at the

ground.

“First you say to remain disconnected, then you say you want to acknowledge what

is being sacrificed. Make up your mind, are you disconnected or not?” Ian

questioned.

“I’m as disconnected as is humanly possible,” Reed responded.

“Do you expect the person you select to just stand there and take it blindly? Even if

you promise it will be quick and painless? You’re crazy. If it were me, I’d jump

screaming into the ocean before I’d let any of you touch me,” Paulina exclaimed.

“You mean, ‘if it were I,” Harris said with only the slightest hint of annoyance in his

voice.

“Fuck you. Leave her alone!” Kristen exclaimed.

“Even after you settle that unpleasantness, you’d have to prepare the meat. You

hardly seem like a man who knows anything about that. Have you ever gutted a fish

or dissected a frog? Can you identify which organs you can eat and which will kill

you?” Harris asked maliciously.

“None of the other survivors who resorted to this form of sustenance knew anything

about it either. They winged it, and they survived. Why are you thwarting all my

28

attempts to be progressive? I know you’re hungry too. There’s no way you couldn’t

be,” Reed responded.

“I am just curious about how much you actually know about what you are

suggesting. I wouldn’t want you to find yourself in over your head with no one to

turn to when this proves to be far more complex than you seem to think it is,” Harris

explained.

“I’m not completely clueless. I know we would have to dismember the body and

figure out which bits are usable. It will be unpleasant, but it has to be done,“ Reed

said.

“We should cook it. I know you said that it makes the meat less beneficial, but I think

there is a reason our society cooks meat?” Kristen said.

“You have a plan to start a fire?” Harris asked. He sounded more impressed than

surprised.

“No, I just think we might want to consider that. I am right, aren’t I? We cook meat

for a reason?” Kristen said.

“Correct. There are two reasons our society cooks meat. The first is a practical

reaction to the way we process meat. The animal is slaughtered and the marketable

meat is extracted. The meat is packaged and shipped to a variety of different

markets across the country. During the time between when the meat is extracted

and when it actually makes it to the dinner table, it is exposed to a dirty

environment. It has ample opportunity to gather bacteria. The cleanliness of the

American food industry is abominable. Cooking meat kills most of the harmful

bacteria and reduces the risk of food born illness,” Harris explained.

29

“What’s the second reason?” Kristen asked.

“You are an impatient child,” he responded.

“Well, we really don’t have that much time,” she answered.

“The second reason is for pleasure. There is something about cooked meat that is so

much more appealing than raw meat,” Harris said.

“This isn’t something we need to do so we can enjoy it. It isn’t going to be a dinner

party. I told you before, cooking takes away from the nutritional value of meat.

Nutrition is the only value the meat has to us. It won’t sit around for weeks in an

ethically questionable slaughterhouse. It won’t get that dirty. Both the Bay of Pigs

survivors and the Andes survivors ate it raw. They survived,” Reed responded.

“It is a practical plan. I will give you that. But, you don’t seem to be considering the

future of our pitiful existence on this pile of rocks,” Harris exclaimed.

“The future is all I’m thinking about. In the future we’ll all be dead if we don’t do

this!“ Reed shouted.

“In the future we’ll all be dead whether we do this or not. Unless you believe us to be

immortal, and it that case, we wouldn’t be in any kind of predicament at the

moment,” Harris responded.

“You know I meant the near future. You just couldn’t resist tormenting me about my

word choice. It’s pathetic; we’d reach a reasonable conclusion if you didn’t have the

constant need to remind yourself that you’re better than everyone else. We get it!”

Reed exclaimed.

“We’re stuck on nothing more than an oversized rock in the middle of nowhere!”

Harris stated.

30

“So I’ve noticed,” Reed responded.

“In addition to being uncomfortable and ugly, it’s also very small. There is no

privacy. Our quarters are awfully close,” Harris continued.

“So I’ve noticed,” Reed repeated.

“The sanctity of being alone with one’s thoughts is a luxury I miss desperately. Most

of you possess the intelligence of a buffoon. This forced company is far less than

desirable,” Harris finished.

“To be fair, monkeys are pretty smart!” Paulina said.

“That’s a baboon. You don’t even know the difference between a clown and a

monkey. You interrupt me and disrespect me. It is unbearable!” Harris began. “The

best course of action to take would be to eat someone who is of no real use,

someone with no notable skills, influence, or intelligence, someone who is

expendable, someone like Paulina.”

“What!” Paulina screamed.

“You… you can’t be serious, she’s so skinny and so young. No!” Kristen screamed.

“I suggest starting with the cheeks. They truly are the most tender morsels of any

animal. It is a shame that the preparation will be improvised. I will miss the garlic

and mushrooms with just a splash of olive oil. And I won’t be able to enjoy a nice

Chateau Petrus Bordeaux with it,” Harris responded. He really did look

disappointed.

“Someone make her stop screaming,” Ian demanded.

“It’s a waste. She’s too skinny and short. She won’t be able to feed us all,” Reed

exclaimed.

31

“No! You can’t do this to her!” Kristen screeched.

“We have to do it to someone. We might as well do it to someone who we don’t

otherwise need. Did you, Reed, not say that once we ate, we would have the strength

to get out of this predicament? What is your obsession with quantity if we really

only need it to last a few meals so we can regain our strength?” Harris asked.

“I don’t know how long it will take after we eat for us to regain our strength. I’m

really not an expert on that kind of stuff. All I know is that in the case of the Andes

survivors, it took days before they began to feel the effect of the food, and even

longer before they managed to make it out of the mountains. As long as we are doing

this, we better get the most possible meat out of it. We must prepare for the worst,”

Reed explained.

“You’re just saying that because everyone else wants to eat you, Harris!” Kristen

snapped.

“It would be ideal to relieve my hunger with an exquisite feast, but I will learn to

make due with the resources available to me,” Harris started. It was his only

reaction to Kristen’s claim. “After the cheeks, we should eat her thymus and her

pancreas, collectively they are known as her sweetbreads. Fortunately most of my

sweetbread recipes call for a salt-water marinade and there is no dearth of salt

water here. I will miss the pancetta, the onions and the tarragon, but it will be

enjoyable nonetheless. Next we can eat her psoas major muscle, her filet mignon.

Again it will be a shame that we will not have the appropriate garishness to make

the meal truly delectable, but filet is good even without any decoration. The liver is

also a popular organ to eat, and it is delicious. But, considering the function of a

32

liver, to filter about all of the toxins in the body, it might not be the most practical

organ to consume. I suggest we revisit that idea once we have finished the healthier

body parts. We could always eat her heart, but I also suggest that we finally put that

brain of hers to good use in my frying pan. Frying pan, of course being a metaphor

because we have no such cooking luxuries but I’m sure we can make use of a rock to

achieve a very similar effect. If we’re going to make the effort to kill someone and

eat her, the process might as well be enjoyable for all those left alive. She is a small

girl, yes, but I don’t doubt that there are many delicious morsels we could snack on

until a more permanent solution can be found. Sadly, we will have to move on to the

lesser cuts of meat eventually. But, I can assure you, even with her slim build; our

hunger will be satisfied for at least a month. And of course, the quality of the

company around here will increase exponentially,” Harris said. He looked very

satisfied.

“I don’t want to make any assumptions here, seeing as every time I do you yell at me,

so I’m going to ask. Do you plan to cook it? That seems to be what you’re implying.

Which then begs the question, how do you plan to cook it? Haven’t we already

established that we have nothing to start a fire with?” Reed asked.

“I’ve never had the taste for raw meat. I once attended a dinner party hosted by a

man of Polish decent. He served steak tartare. It was expertly prepared, complete

with a raw egg, capers, and onions. I’m sure to the right palate, it would have been

delectable. However, I did not find the dish to be appetizing. There are very few

things I can stand less than a rude dinner guest or a hypocrite. I forced myself to

33

finish it, but it was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my entire life,” Harris

said.

“So you can start a fire?” Ian questioned.

“Shouldn’t be terribly difficult. The sun is quite bright, and we have several pairs of

reading glasses,” Harris said.

“But what would you burn?” Ian asked.

“Expendable clothing, starting with socks. They’re actually quite flammable,” Harris

explained.

“Wait a second,” Reed commanded. “I’m clearly not as well versed in anatomy as you

are, but I’m pretty sure everyone here has a thymus and a pancreas, a heart, a brain

and psora major and a hundred other eatable body parts. I still have to argue that

the fattest person has the most meat and will provide the most nourishment for the

longest time. I don’t understand why you think someone half the size is a better

choice. Don’t you want to survive for as long as possible? As long as we’re making

the effort to do this, and you cannot argue that this is not a great effort, we might as

well do it correctly and survive for the longest possible time.” He paused for a

moment to think. “This is insane, we either do it correctly or we don’t do it all. I’m

talking about killing someone, taking a life and ending it. That in itself is something

I’ve never done, and something I never thought I would do. Let alone eating the

person after I did it. This is the kind of situation you read about. You know, the crazy

German men who put ads on the Internet and the even crazier people that answer

them. And tribal people in places untouched by the western world, who wear face

paint and have feathers through their noses. It’s strange, and maybe even gross, or

34

at least I used to think so. But I’m hungry and I’m tired and I need to do this. And I

need to do it right, or it will be for nothing.”

“The combination of stress, hunger, and shock is taking a toll on your brain and

causing some very strange emotional triggers. Perhaps you should take a nap. I

admire your practicality and you are intelligent. However, as I said before, you need

to work on your listening skills,” Harris exclaimed.

“We’re all hungry, and that’s your advice? Take a nap?” Kristen asked.

“I am supposed to thank you for giving me your seal of approval, or yell at you for

completely avoiding my question?” Reed said angrily.

“For me to answer your question, you would have had to have asked a question that

required an answer. I heard you ask a rhetorical question, which by definition is a

question that is asked to evoke thought rather than to elicit an answer, but, would

you like me to answer it anyway?” Harris inquired.

“Why do you want to eat someone who is so skinny? Direct enough?” Reed asked.

“You talk about doing this correctly or not doing it at all. I believe that your plan is

solid and practical, but you don’t consider the aftermath. To do it correctly, I have to

consider how satisfied I will be after the deed is done. In simple terms, quality over

quantity,” Harris responded

“I can’t take this anymore,” Kristen said.

“Don’t be so dramatic!” Ian commanded.

“What do you mean?” Reed asked.

“Give me the knife,” Kristen demanded. “Reed!” she shouted after her request was

ignored.

35

“I don’t think I should unless you tell me why you want it!” Reed responded.

“You have to give it to me. We agreed!” Kristen stated firmly.

“He doesn’t have to do anything,” Harris pointed out.

“Oh you’re on his side now?” Kristen asked.

“It’s basically useless, what are you going to do, carve a rock sculpture?” Reed asked.

“I’m not going to hurt any of you if that’s what you’re asking. Just give it to me.

Please?” Kristen started to beg.

“Part of the terms of my keeping of the knife was that I had to the right to withhold it

from any given member of the group if more than half of us agreed that they

shouldn’t have it. Put it to a vote,” Reed said.

“She should tell us what she plans to do with it, obviously,” Harris stated.

“Can you just give it to me?” Kristen begged.

“Young lady, without an explanation, that would be irresponsible. The only logical

need for the knife would be to cut someone,” Harris stated.

“So if you say you aren’t going to hurt anyone, then really, what are you going to

do?” Reed asked.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to hurt anyone, I said I wasn’t going to hurt any of you.

I’m surprised you didn’t catch that Harris. I guess you only catch errors in

interpretation when they pertain to your argument,” Kristen scoffed.

“Stop stalling and just tell us! I don’t think you’re going to get the knife if you don’t,”

Ian advised.

36

“You think I’m stalling? All of you are stalling. Even Harris, who seems to have an

unnatural knowledge of meat preparation, is stalling. We need to actually do

something! So, you should give me the knife,” Kristen commanded.

“You aren’t going to do anything stupid or reckless are you?” Reed asked.

“No, I’m not going to kill myself, I’m not that stupid. Give me the knife!” Kristen

demanded.

“Then just tell us. I’m not giving you the knife until you do. It wouldn’t be a good idea

for you to kill yourself. We have other options. Better options!” Reed explained.

“I have to agree with him on that,” Harris added.

“I told you, that isn’t what I want to do. Please?” Kristen begged.

“No. Returning to our conversation…” Reed started.

“Fine!” Kristen interrupted. “You said the survivors from Cuba drank the blood of

their dead comrade?”

“Not a good idea,” Reed answered.

“Answer the question!” she insisted.

“Yes. I did say that, but…” Reed began

“And that blood is ninety percent water?” Kristen asked.

“Yes, but...” he was interrupted again.

“And that it has proteins and iron in it? Enough to keep you alive?” Kristen asked.

“For a little bit, but it really…” Reed tried to answer.

“You can live longer without food than you can without water. Drinking should be

our primary concern,“ Kristen explained.

37

“You see, living off of blood will just prolong the misery. Did you really think I hadn’t

thought of this? I told you the Andes survivors ate meat for days before they even

began to feel the strength returning to their bodies. Meat has more protein than

blood does. And not all proteins are the same. The proteins in meat are much more

beneficial. If we drink blood, we’ll stay alive, but we will be just as weak and just as

unable to fight our situation. We could do it, but it’s a waste of time and energy,“

Reed tried to explain.

“But no one has to die…” Kristen stated quietly.

“There is a reason people don’t generally drink blood. It’s not beneficial and frankly

it’s gross. It’s noble of you to want to bleed for us, but really it would be useless,”

Reed explained.

“But no one has to die!” Kristen repeated.

“I think she should do it,” Ian broke his silence.

“What?” Reed was shocked.

“What’s it to you if she cuts herself? You don’t have to drink it. I know you cling to

the hope that once we do this, we’ll magically find a way to get out of this

predicament. Be realistic, that’s not going to happen,” Ian exclaimed.

“I am being realistic! Realistically, we’re going to die if we don’t get a significant

amount of nutrients in our systems soon. Hair and fingernails also have protein in

them, do you want to cut off all your hair and fingernails?” Reed sarcastically

suggested.

“Blood is almost all water. We’re going to need water even if we eat meat. I don’t

really object to eating meat. I don’t see a way around it. But water is important too!

38

At the very least, this will buy us some time. Please, just let me do this!” Kristen

begged.

“What exactly are you going to do with your blood once you cut yourself?” Reed

asked.

“We still have the empty water bottles don’t we?” Kristen responded.

“I really don’t think it’s a good idea. You don’t know what you’re doing and it’s a

pretty big risk. It won’t be that helpful in the end,” Reed exclaimed.

“She should do it,” Ian insisted. “This way, at least for now, no one will have to die.

And even if you do end up killing someone, you’ll still need to drink. Have you ever

tried blood? You might not think it’s that bad.”

“Ew, have you?” Paulina asked.

“Just let her do it. Why do you even care so much? It’s not like she’s suggesting that

you drain your blood and let us drink it,” Ian explained.

“Correct me if I’m wrong Harris, but I believe that when the body starts to starve, it

begins to feed on itself. It literally breaks down existing fat and muscle tissue and

digests it. We’ve been here for what? Eleven days?” Reed exclaimed.

“One week, five days, fifteen hours and three minutes,” Ian responded.

“Whatever. The exact number of days doesn’t change the point I’m trying to make.

Her body is already weak. She hasn’t eaten in a really long time. If she does this,

even if she doesn’t drain that much blood, she will become extremely weak. I don’t

think she should do it,” Reed advised.

“But we’re voting aren’t we? That’s the deal we made. You said you would stick to

your word!” Ian shouted.

39

“Fine! I vote no!” Reed declared.

“Yes,” Ian insisted.

“Yes,” Paulina repeated absent-mindedly.

“Harris?” Reed asked.

“If she wants to cut herself, we should just let her. I agree that it is a waste of her

energy, and that the blood will be almost useless to us. However, I have to keep in

mind my own self-interest. It would be a waste of my energy to fight her,” Harris

responded.

“Don’t look so disappointed, Reed. This will satisfy your thirst. I know you’re thirsty.

We all are,” Ian comforted.

“Fine,” Reed admitted his defeat. “Just take it before I change my mind.”

“Thanks!” Kristen responded as she took the knife out of Reed’s hand.

“Um…you know what you’re doing, right?” Paulina asked.

“I think. A small cut on the inside of my wrist, horizontal, not vertical, not too deep

and not too much blood. Can someone hold the bottle?” Kristen asked.

“Give it to me!” Ian demanded.

“This is taking too long. It’s barely dripping out!” Kristen exclaimed after almost

twenty minutes of silence. “I think I need to cut a little deeper!”

“No!” Reed protested.

“It’s fine! She won’t lose too much blood,” Ian responded.

“Ugh. This is barely enough for one person. The blood is starting to clot. I need to

make another cut!” Kristen said.

“That is quite a bit of blood,” Harris calmly commented.

40

“It still isn’t enough!” Kristen persisted.

“Just a little bit more. Grab another water bottle!” Ian demanded.

“That’s a whole bottle? This is getting too dangerous. You need to stop!” Reed

shouted.

“You shouldn’t waste your energy like that. They aren’t going to listen to you,”

Harris advised.

“Are you alright? You look a little pale,” Paulina asked.

“I’m fine, a little dizzy maybe, but we just need a little more,” Kristen responded.

“Just a little more!” Ian repeated as he licked a small drop of blood that had missed

the water bottle.

“I don’t think she looks okay!” Paulina cried.

“She’s fine, and we’re done,” Ian said as he capped the second bottle.

“I just need to rest for a minute. I’ll be fine,” Kristen said as she lay down.

“Excellent!” Ian exclaimed as he looked at what he had collected.

“Is she okay?” Paulina asked.

“She’s fine. We can probably even get more blood from her later,” Ian said without

taking his eyes off the bottles.

“No, she isn’t okay,” Reed said. “Look, she isn’t breathing. I told you that was too

much blood!”

“What?” Paulina shouted.

“She doesn’t have a pulse. She drained too much blood!” Reed exclaimed.

“What are you saying? I...I don’t understand!” Paulina wailed.

41

“He’s saying that your little friend is dead,” Harris said coldly. “There is a fine line

between nobility and stupidity. I had hoped she was the former. Apparently not.”

“No she can’t be dead! She can’t be!” Paulina screamed.

“Stop poking at her, it is disrespectful and she isn’t going to wake up!” Harris

commanded.

“Can’t you put the blood back inside her? Doctors do that right? Put blood back

inside people? Isn’t that why they have blood drives or whatever? I don’t know! Do

something!” Paulina screamed.

“Doctors don’t ‘put blood back inside people’ after it has been exposed to that much

oxygen, and even then it’s far more complicated than you think. We do not have any

of the necessary resources,” Harris explained.

“I don’t understand how this could have happened? You said she wouldn’t drain too

much blood! How could you let this happen Ian? You said she would be fine. You did

this to her!” Paulina screamed.

“She cut her radial artery. There wasn’t anything anyone could do. She lost about

two pints of blood. She’s dead,” Harris explained.

“Well there isn’t anything we can do about it now. This is what she wanted,” Ian

exclaimed.

“How could you say this is what she wanted? She didn’t want to die! And you

promised her that she wouldn’t! This is all your fault!” Paulina sobbed.

“I didn’t promise anyone anything. Now, who wants to go first? Paulina, can I offer

you the cup of salvation?” Ian asked as he held out one of the water bottles.

“The cup of what?” Paulina said through her tears.

42

“You know, a lot of people take that very seriously. You shouldn’t be joking about it,”

Harris said bitterly.

“But you, the human dictionary, can’t say that the term is inaccurate!” Ian

responded.

“You’ll never learn the different between ‘can’t’ and ‘is inaccurate to’,” Harris

exclaimed.

“Nice way to avoid the question. What does salvation mean? Redemption,

preservation, it more or less describes something that saves, right? And what will

happen to us if we drink this? Will it keep us from dying? Will it save our lives? Is the

red liquid residing in this Poland Springs bottle going to be our salvation? Please

feel free to stop me if you think what I’m saying is inaccurate!” Ian boasted.

“Please, you guys, stop fighting!” Paulina cried.

“The two of you, just shut up. Kristen is dead!” Reed exclaimed.

“The Eucharist is not deigned as a means of sustenance. It isn’t nutritional

nourishment. You don’t know anything about it!” Harris persisted anyway.

“The...what?” Paulina asked.

“And you do?” Ian snapped back.

“I know more about it than you do, obviously,” Harris said.

“Will someone please tell me what this ‘Eucharist’ thing is? And why are you

comparing her to it?” Paulina asked desperately.

“The Eucharist is something Christians do. You probably know it as Communion.

The actual meaning varies between sects of Christianity, but basically it’s the ritual

consumption of bread and wine as Jesus told his Disciples to do at the Last Supper.

43

They believe that it is Jesus’ body and blood. I mentioned it before. It has to do with

Jesus dying for our sins. People eat the bread to gain spiritual strength and secure a

place in Heaven, but it’s very complicated and unimportant,” Reed explained. “Now,

what do we do with the body? My first thought is to move it out of direct sunlight.”

“But that’s so strange. Why would anyone want to eat Jesus?” Paulina asked.

“The same reason we want to drink the contents of this water bottle. It will save

them, thus the reason I compared the two. Although, the Eucharist promises to save

the soul and this water bottle promises to save our physical bodies, but it’s the same

basic idea. Isn’t that what you were talking about Reed, with the rugby team in the

Andes?” Ian explained.

“Yes. But we need to move the body!” Reed insisted.

“Harris refuses to acknowledge the similarities, but they’re there,” Ian declared.

“I’ve said this before, but it doesn’t seem to be getting through to you. It is

incumbent upon you to learn to listen closely. I absolutely did not say that there

were not certain similarities, at least on the surface. As you pointed out, they both

involve something to do with salvation and they both involve eating. But, the deeper

into it you go the less similar they become, and it’s inappropriate to joke about it!”

Harris responded coldly.

“It wasn’t a joke!” Ian declared. “And if you weren’t disagreeing with me, then what

were you saying?”

“I said, more or less that you don’t possess enough knowledge about the subject to

attempt to speak about it in an educated manor, and that it is best not to try,” Harris

responded.

44

“All I said was that by drinking what’s in the water bottle, our lives were going to be

saved, and people participate in the Eucharist because they believe that their lives

will be saves in a different way. Now you said I was correct in that statement, so why

do we have a problem?” Ian asked.

“The Eucharist is far more complex than that. With an inadequate knowledge of the

Eucharist, it is logical to conclude that it is similar to anthropophagy. However, it is

clear to me that the two are very different,” Harris exclaimed.

“The priest puts the wine in a magic cup, says some magic words, waves his magic

wand and it becomes the blood of Christ. He does something similar with the bread

and it becomes the body of Christ. You kneel before it, you eat it, you drink it, you

sing a song, you say a prayer, and your soul goes to heaven. What more is there to

understand?” Ian asked.

“Do you honestly care about the answer to that question? It isn’t going to change

anything. You both agreed that drinking this will help save us, now can we focus on

that?” Reed implored.

“You fail to mention several details that are essential to a complete understanding,”

Harris responded.

“Like what?” Ian demanded an answer.

“Well to begin with, in response to Paulina’s question, you fail to mention anything

about the Last Supper. You fail to mention that in the Gospel according to John, he

claims that Jesus said he was the bread of life, and all that ate him would live forever

in heaven after their bodies were dead. You fail to mention, that when one takes the

bread and the wine, God directly enters the body. For a brief period of time, God

45

exists inside the body of a common person. You fail to mention that by taking the

Eucharist, you also accept all the conditions that apply to Christianity. You agree to

become a part of Jesus. And that’s just what you miss in terms of the motive. I don’t

even want to get into what you fail to mention in terms of the nature of the ritual!”

Harris explained.

“Whatever. Please, everyone just shut up and focus! We need to move the body out

of the sunlight. We don’t want it to become unusable any faster than it has to. Once

we move the body into the shade, then we can decide how to proceed from there,”

Reed insisted.

“No!” Ian protested.

“What do you mean ‘no’? You can’t be serious. The body is in direct sunlight!” Reed

exclaimed.

“We should drink before we move the body. Forget about the body. We don’t even

really need it. We need to drink,” Ian said.

“What do you mean ‘we don’t need the body’? Of course we need the body. Drinking

this really isn’t going to help that much. Yes, we need to drink, but we still need to

eat. Now, someone, help me move the body!” Reed commanded.

“Do it yourself if it’s that important to you,” Ian suggested.

“I don’t want to damage it by dragging it across the rocks myself,” Reed responded.

“The blood is all we need right now. It will be easier to move the body after I’ve had

something to drink,” Ian responded.

46

“Okay, don’t help me. Harris? You told me before that you are stronger than you

look, and I didn’t believe you. Prove me wrong. Help me move the body?” Reed

begged.

“I’m not inclined to engage in any kind of physical activity,” Harris responded.

“Fine,” Reed admitted his defeat. “We need to save the liquid for as long as possible.

We have two water bottles, which makes about two pints, so if we each take about

three sips, we should be good for at least a week. To ensure that none of us are

inclined to take more than what is appropriately allotted to us, I think it is prudent

that we pour out individual servings in individual water bottles.”

“Whatever,” Ian responded.

“Do you think you can help? Or is that too much to ask?” Reed inquired.

“Whatever!” Ian repeated.

“Good, okay, so…” Reed was cutoff.

“Whoa, whoa, wait!” Paulina shouted.

“What?” Reed shouted back.

“We’re going to drink her blood out of a water bottle? Just like that?” Paulina said.

“My god! Haven’t we been over this at least five times? Haven’t you already picked

my brain enough about this? We have gone so many days with out food or water. If

we don’t eat or drink something very soon, we are all going to die. This isn’t exactly

my ideal form of nourishment, but we have to make it work. Now focus people!”

Reed yelled.

“That isn’t what I meant. I know what we’re going to do and I know why we have to

do it,” Paulina said.

47

“Well why don’t you try saying what it is you do mean? It’s a far more effective way

to make a point!” Reed snapped.

“I mean we’re just going to drink her blood out of a water bottle. As if it were water

or soda!” Paulina exclaimed.

“Is there a question or a suggestion in there? I’m confused. Is there more than one

way to drink something? Do you want someone to hold you upside down and pour it

down your throat?” Reed asked.

“You’re still missing my point!” Paulina shouted.

“Then tell me your point! I’m growing more and more impatient with you!” Reed

shouted back.

“I’m trying. Okay? It feels wrong to just drink Kristen’s blood as if it were anything

else. I think we should find some way to acknowledge what we’re doing and what

she did for us,” Paulina insisted.

“No. That is not a particularly good idea. If we make a whole huge thing about it now

it will be impossible to drink, and we will die, probably in the next day or so, slowly

and painfully!” Reed explained.

“Oh,” was Paulina’s response, but after a few minutes of silence, she perked up again.

“It feels wrong to drink it as if it were anything.”

“I agree,” Harris added.

“You agree with her? You’re kidding? You don’t agree with anyone, much less the

girl you wanted to kill and eat because she was stupid?” Ian asked.

“Haven’t you ever noticed that even a stopped clock is right twice a day?” Harris

responded.

48

“Why do you all feel such a need to ‘acknowledge the sacrifice’ or whatever? When

you have steak, do you take a minute to thank the cow before you eat it? I bet you

don’t. Why is this different?” Reed asked.

“You speak so vigorously about being so disconnected with what you’ll be eating. To

an extent, remaining disconnected is healthy. By not acknowledging what you are

eating, you are able to overcome what you have been told about eating human flesh.

You do not succumb to your reservations and you are able to eat. However, you

have come to think of eating as a necessary chore, something that holds no possible

enjoyment or pleasure,” Harris exclaimed.

“I’m not trying to enjoy myself. I’m trying to survive!” Reed explained.

“If survival is that important to you, then wouldn’t it be worth celebrating?” Harris

asked.

“Stop fighting! I have an idea!” Paulina announced.

“Please spare us,” Reed begged.

“I don’t thank the cow because the cow didn’t consciously die for me. But that

Eucharist thing you all we’re talking about. How similar is that to this?” Paulina

asked.

“What is this ‘this’?” Harris asked.

“Drinking human blood I guess,” Paulina said.

“Don’t call it that!” Reed insisted.

“It some ways it’s very similar, in other ways, it’s completely different. As Ian

pointed out, on the surface there are some notable similarities, but the deeper you

49

look into it, the less similar it becomes. The Eucharist has a complex history, you

wouldn’t understand,” Harris explained.

“How do you know I wouldn’t understand? You’ve been saying that all day, every

day for however long we’ve been here. You’ve barely even given me a chance!”

Paulina protested.

“Ah, you see, ‘barely’ is the operative word in your statement. When I gave you the

chance to explain yourself, you ranted about the percentage of women who wear the

incorrect bra size. You wouldn’t be able to handle a complex developmental history

of a ritual that bears a vague resemblance to the issue at hand,” Harris declared.

“Try me!” Paulina begged.

“Stop being so petulant!” Harris commanded.

“Stop being so arrogant!” Ian said. “You walk around like you know everything, but

then whenever someone asks you a follow up question, you hide behind the excuse

of it being not worth you’re time to explain. I don’t think you actually know

anything. You just want everybody to think that you’re smart, but really you just

know enough to make it look like you’re smart!” Ian said.

“Don’t make accusations. You don’t know anything!” Harris responded.

“And apparently neither do you. If you really were smart, you’d know that you had

nothing to lose by answering her question. Either you’re right and she doesn’t

understand, and you get the satisfaction of knowing that, or you’re incorrect and get

to show off your historical knowledge for all to hear!” Ian exclaimed.

“That was stupid,” Reed said. “He’s never going to answer the question now.”

50

“If he doesn’t answer, then he’ll be admitting that I was right. He’ll be admitting that

he doesn’t actually know anything,” Ian said.

“Please do not talk about me as if I am not standing right here. It’s very rude, and I

will not stand for it,” Harris exclaimed.

“Okay so, Harris, do you, or don’t you, know any information that you could share

with Paulina about the Eucharist?” Ian asked.

“I do,” Harris responded.

“But you don’t care to share your knowledge?” Ian asked.

“Ian, this isn’t worth it. What are you accomplishing by interrogating him? We all

know he’s an ass. Be useful and grab another water bottle; we don’t have time for

this. The only thing that’s important right now is eating!” Reed said urgently.

Reed and Ian continued their work. They began meticulously measuring about an

eight of a cup of blood in four individual water bottles. A task that was taking longer

than it should have.

“So,” Paulina broke the silence.

“The Eucharist is, very basically, a commemoration of the Last Supper, the Passover

dinner that Jesus ate with his Disciples the night before he was crucified. You, as a

Jew, should know that unleavened bread and wine are an essential part of that

dinner,” Harris stated.

“I guess. It doesn’t really matter. You don’t have to tell me. It would have been nice

to do something for her, but I was just thinking out loud. Reed is right, we just need

to eat,” Paulina responded.

51

“No. Reed is not right!” Harris stated. He took a deep breath and then began

lecturing. “According to three of the four Gospels, at the Last Supper, Jesus

individually blessed the bread and the wine, and commanded his disciples to eat and

drink because the bread and the wine were his body and blood respectively. What

exactly Jesus meant by this has been the subject of a debate spanning many

centuries, but a ritual has been formed to honor this event. The ritual itself is fairly

straightforward, the priest or whoever the head of the church is blesses the bread

and the wine and recites the words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper. Then, the

members of the congregation kneel before the priest and he offers them the body of

Christ and the cup of salvation.”

“And they eat it?” Paulina asked.

“Yes,” Harris said.

“But why?” Paulina questioned.

“I knew I was going to regret this. I told you. They believe they will go to heaven!”

Harris was annoyed.

“I heard you. But why do they think that?” Paulina asked.

“The Bible says so. Keep up you impossible little girl. Jesus, according to the Bible,

died for the redemption of sin…” Harris was interrupted.

“Yes! Yes! That’s what I was getting at!” Paulina rejoiced.

“How dare you interrupt me? I’m appeasing you! I don’t have to tell you anything,”

Harris said.

“Oh please,” Ian said under his breath.

“What was that?” Harris sternly questioned.

52

“Get back to work!” Reed snapped.

“So let me get this straight. Jesus died for the redemption of sin and one of the ways

we receive this redemption is to eat the body and blood of Jesus. Kristen also died to

save us, but in a different way. Everyone seems to agree that the situations are

similar, so why can’t we do something similar to honor that. According to Harris and

Ian, all you have to do is say thank you and kneel while someone offers it to you!”

Paulina said.

“No. No. No. That is where you are completely wrong. Ian was wrong about this too.

What is consumed in the Eucharist is not body and blood in the same way this, lying

before us, is body and blood,” Harris explained.

“What do you mean I was wrong? Is that not the whole idea of transubstantiation?

The bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ? I admit not all

Christians see it that way, but at least half of them do. They believe that they are

eating the literal body and blood of Jesus, just like this here, is body and blood. It’s

the same!” Ian insisted.

“Transub- what?” Paulina was confused.

“You incompetent little child. Keep up with the conversation. I told you that there

were various different interpretations of the Eucharist. Transubstantiation is one of

them. However, Ian, you are completely wrong. They do not eat Jesus as a human.

The words of consecration do not transform the bread and wine into two thousand

year old flesh and blood. They are eating the form of bread and the form of wine

and the matter of God,” Harris explained.

53

“What are you talking about? You know that I’m right and you’re just throwing

around complicated terms to make yourself seem smarter. Just give it up!” Ian said.

“Listen, there are several different ways Christians interpret the Eucharist. The one

you mentioned, transubstantiation, is the most common interpretation and

probably the oldest. But, you are wrong about it means. Yes, Christ is present in it,

but it is not his human body and blood,” Harris explained.

“What does that even mean?” Ian asked.

“I’m sure you aren’t familiar with Aristotle’s theories of substance and accidents or

matter and form?” Harris inquired.

“If you were sure, then why did you ask?” Ian responded.

“I’m confused,” Paulina exclaimed.

“Of course you are,” Harris scoffed.

“Well, do you know or not?” Ian seethed.

“Substance and accidents are the classifications of the properties an object

possesses. The substance, or essence as it is sometimes called is any property that is

essential to the function of an object. Conversely, an accident is a property that is

not essential to the function of an object,” Harris finally answered.

“So when you say transubstantiation?” Paulina began to ask.

“It literally means a change of substance. Basically, the substance of the bread

becomes the substance of Jesus, and the accidents stay the same, which is why it still

looks and tastes like bread and wine. The other prominent theory is

consubstantiation, which literally means together substance. Those who believe in

consubstantiation believe that with the words of consecration, the essence of Jesus

54

becomes part of the bread, but the essence of the bread still remains present,”

Harris explained.

“Words of consecration? What?” Paulina asked.

“You useless girl. You would know this if you were listening to me before. The words

of consecration are a phrase that, supposedly, turns the bread and wine into the

body and blood. They are the same words that, according to the Bible, were spoken

by Jesus at the Last Supper. Translations vary a little, but they are something along

the lines of: ‘take eat, this is my body’ and ‘drink for this is my blood, which is shed

for you.’ Is that clear enough?” Harris yelled.

“Alright. Well which is it?” Paulina asked.

“What are you talking about?” Harris snapped.

“Well which is it, transubstantiation or consubstantiation? Do the words of

consecration change the essence of the bread and wine into the essence Jesus, or do

the two coexist? ” She asked.

“Weren’t you listening to me when I said that the nature of the Eucharist has been

debated almost since its creation? Or when I said that there are multiple different

interpretations of it?” Harris asked.

“Once again you’re avoiding the question. You know, it’s all right to not know the

answer to something. No one will think that you’re worthless or stupid or anything

if you admit to not knowing the answer. If you pretend to know something when

you really don’t, then that’s what makes you look like a dumbass. If you don’t know

the answer, then just say that!” Ian exclaimed.

55

“I knew you said all that, I just figured they would have reached a conclusion

eventually!” Paulina defended herself.

“Early Christians recognized the importance of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper and

created a ritual that commemorated it. However, the Eucharist ritual had very little

structure until the late Middle Ages. In the mid twelfth century, as most organized

religions are, the Church became obsessed with power. Therefore, to obtain the

most power possible, they began to conform their different rituals; the Eucharist

included. I don’t mean for you to misunderstand, the nature of the Eucharist was

debated long before this, and there are more than two interpretations, including the

theory that the Eucharist is purely symbolic,” Harris began.

“Okay…” Paulina exclaimed.

“Well that was informative!” Ian scoffed.

Harris sighed and then continued. “The first notable debate took place in the mid

ninth century between two monks in northern France. One monk believed in

transubstantiation, the other believed that Christ was only metaphorically present

in the Eucharist and that no change of substance occurred. Both monks published

their respective theories and used a variety of different Biblical texts to support

their theses. Each theory was strong, but neither was conclusive. Over time other

debates took place. Grammar techniques were used to analyze the words in the

Bible, but still no solid conclusion could be found. Various sub theories began to

emerge, including implanataion, or the belief that Christ became the bread; the

bread did not become Christ. But still, a consensus could not be reached. Many

notable historical figures, including Thomas Aquinas advocated transubstantiation.”

56

“What about consubstantiation? And that still doesn’t answer her question!” Ian

exclaimed.

“The theory of consubstantiation didn’t come until a bit later, in the fourteenth

century, I believe. It is also known as the theory of remanence. The underground,

essentially Protestant group in England known as Lollardy, particularly favored it. It

was also debated and advocated by major historical figures. The theories of

transubstantiation and consubstantiation became the most popular,” Harris

explained.

“Could you please just answer the question?” Ian persisted.

“Different sects of the Christian faith have different viewpoints on this ritual.

However, the largest sect of the Christian faith, the Catholic Church, after centuries

of arguments finally came to an official conclusion in 1551. The issue was presented

to the council of Trent, the sort of Supreme Court of the Church. Their official finding

was that, through the power of the words, the essence of the bread and wine

became the essence of Jesus Christ. Protestants are all over the place concerning the

issue and I don’t care to go through all of them.” Harris explained.

“Oh,” was Paulina’s only response.

“But ultimately it doesn’t matter!” Harris exclaimed. “No matter what viewpoint you

take, transubstantiation, consubstantiation, et cetera, you believe you are eating the

essence of Jesus and the accidence of bread and wine that are specially prepared

based of several centuries’ worth of instructions. It is in no way anthropophagy.”

“What do you mean?” Paulina asked.

57

“Anthropophagy, as I have explained in great detail, literally means to consume

humans. Now, in the case of the Eucharist, no matter which theory you hold to be

true, you believe that the essence of Jesus is present. According to Christian

theology, Jesus was a representation of God on Earth. This means that essentially

Jesus is God, not a human. Therefore it cannot be considered anthropophagy.

However, when we consume the body and blood of Kristen, that will be

anthropophagy,” Harris explained.

“So why even bring it up? Why go through that whole thing about all that random

history ultimately come to the conclusion that it has nothing to do with this?” Ian

asked.

“I didn’t bring it up, you did!” Harris exclaimed.

“Alright,” Reed interjected. “Here are your rations for today. Everyone has, to the

best of my abilities, with very little help from Ian, exactly the same amount of liquid.

Drink up. You’ll get more tomorrow.”

“Why are you kneeling? Stand up!” Reed asked impatiently.

“She died for you too you know. Show a little respect. Even if it isn’t anthropuffagy,

it’s still a ritual of salvation. You all said so!” Paulina insisted.

“Anthropophagy,” Harris corrected. “She is correct. Kristen died for us. It would be

inappropriate to not acknowledge that.”

“So the two of you are just going to kneel there and drink?” Reed questioned.

“Yes and you should too!” Paulina insisted.

“This is ridiculous. Kristen is dead. She won’t know if you thanked her or not. It

doesn’t matter,” Reed argued.

58

“Let it go!” Ian said as he swallowed his rations in one large gulp.

Reed silently watched as Harris and Paulina kneeled together, whispered several

words of thanks and drank their rations.

“So, what next?” Ian asked after a few moments of silence had passed.

“We move the body. That was the agreement,” Reed answered as he swallowed.

“And then?” Ian asked.

“And then we eat it,” Reed replied.

59

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