A Savory Snippet

He heard the sound again, like a loosely-held pen scratching against harsh paper, and knew that the rats were back. They were once more gnawing on his toes, nibbling flesh and muscle, removing one tiny scrap at a time from the bones.

He didn’t stir.

Before, he’d jerked his feet back at the first touch, had shouted at the rats as they’d looked back at him and then scurried away, waiting.

Now, he sat, listening to the chewing of their feast, and felt nothing but nostalgia for some writing paper. It was not as though it mattered, the rats slowly devouring him, savoring every morsel. His body and mind had already long gone numb…