𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬 | 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐥

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵," 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘥𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳.

𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯? 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵.

"𝘈𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩!"



The halls of our campus cafeteria were silent as the grave that night, the lively scenery of students and faculty replaced by an eerie quietness.

"What's the dish today, Ate Belen?"

"One order of this po, please."

"I am getting hungry; let's buy something from Ate Belen."

The usual interaction of the students had been embroidered in my mind. We shouldn’t have been there, but curiosity had drawn Rina, Luigi, Leah, and me back after hearing worrisome gossip about Belen, our head canteener. It was the strange flavor in the food that made us nervous, but it was also that she always waited last at school even when everyone had left.

She had always been respectful and pleasant, almost grandmotherly, but now Ate Belen smiled too much with her lips and we felt her eyes watching students longer than what was right. From time to time, there were dark rumors whispered about the place students had disappeared without so much as a warning in all the past years. When the announcement was made by the school administration that they were transferred, I really wasn't so sure anymore.

I have read a book, "Curiosity kills the cat."

We collected in the dark corner of the cafeteria that evening, huddled together as we eyed her through a hole in the kitchen door. There was only one lighted bulb, and the place could have been something out of a nightmare. Ate Belen moved like a phantom, a harbinger of darkness, casting long, distorting silhouettes against the walls. She was humming, a haunting tune that echoed in the empty cafeteria as she busied herself over something… something we couldn't quite see.

"What is she doing?" Rina whispered, her voice shaking. We all bent forwards, peering hard.

It was then that we saw it. Ate Belen, her back turned to us, was dragging a big, lumpy sack across the floor, its weight seeming much heavier than any sack of rice or vegetables could ever be. There was this cold chill as the sack shifted; something inside stirred. Our breath caught in our throats.

"Is that—" Leah began, but before she could even finish, the sack rolled slightly, and a pale hand slipped out from the opening.

We gasped in horror. It was unmistakable. That hand belonged to a person—a student, the president of the student government. Frozen in place, we watched Ate Belen carefully pulled the hand back inside the sack, tying it tightly before opening the large and rusted freezer.

My heart raced in my chest as skin crawled with terror. This wasn't just some old freezer used for storing food supplies. It was something far worse. As she pulled open the heavy door, the sickly sweet stench of decay filled the room. Inside, we could see the students. Pale, lifeless bodies of students, faces contorted in terror, some of them partially dismembered, all stored like meat.

Truly a terrifying moment.

"We have to go," Luigi whispered, fear tingeing his every word, but it was too late.

Appalled and speechless, Leah's hand quivered to her mouth as she let out a tiny gasp. The sound, though slight, was enough to alert Ate Belen.

She froze, head snapping toward the door, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Then wordlessly, she slammed the freezer shut and started to walk toward us, her footsteps slow and methodical, as if savoring our last minutes.

"Run!" I whispered frantically, but the moment we turned to bolt, the door slammed itself shut behind us, trapping us inside. The heavy clatter of the lock sounded to me like a death knell.

Doomed, we were caught.

Ate Belen's lips contorted into an evil grin as she took a step closer, her eyes gleaming with malice. "You shouldn't have come here," she hissed.

She pounced inhumanly fast, just at the most unexpected time. Reaching Leah first, she had an iron grip that tugged Leah towards the kitchen. Leah let out a blood curdling scream that sent chills down my spine. We tried to pull her away, but Ate Belen proved to be unforgivingly strong, far stronger than any normal person should be. The tugging weakened Leah's fingers until they slipped from mine, and she was dragged toward the freezer.

"Ate Belen, stop! Please!" Rina pleaded, her voice shaking. But the face of the old, fat woman contorted into something grotesque, and all kindness vanished.

Leah struggled with all her might, but Ate Belen held her firm, the latter's fingers carving into Leah's skin as the door of the freezer swung open again, creaking with every groaning sound. It opened up to cold bodies hidden inside. Leah struggled more rabidly as her voice turned into sobs when she realized what was going to happen.

"No! Please! Help me!" Leah screamed, but all she could get from Ate Belen was the low, soft chuckle of her voice, chilling.

She whispered, "I'm just preparing the meal for tomorrow," while pulling Leah closer to the freezer.

Leah's nails scratched the floor as she kicked and screamed, but we were beyond help. Ate Belen was too strong, too quick, and the horror of what was happening froze us immobile. In an instant, she had shoved Leah into the freezer, whose cries suddenly became muffled as the door closed, trapping her inside with frozen bodies.

The room was quiet except for the sound of our labored breathing and the soft humming of the freezer.

We watched Ate Belen in a daze, unable to stir, unable to think of what had just happened. Now, she slowly turned towards us, wiping off her bloodied hands on her apron, an unsettling expression on her face.

"You shouldn't have seen that," she uttered. "But don't worry, you'll join her soon enough." 

Next was Rina. She tried running, but it seemed the air thickened around us, like the walls themselves closing in. Whichever direction she ran, she'd end up facing Ate Belen, whose grin grew wide with each try.

Ate Belen clutched Rina's throat so fast it was quite scary. She was strangling her, and with her gasping for air and her eyes wide with terror, I tried to interfere, but Luigi pulled me back and shook his head. There was nothing we could do.

In an instant, Ate Belen jerked Rina's head backward with depressing precision, plunged a knife to her side. The body went limp, eyes wide in disbelief, as Ate Belen dragged her toward the freezer. I could not watch; it was stomach-churning.

"Luigi, we have to—" I turned toward him; he was out cold already, leaning against the wall. My legs buckled, and the world tipped as everything went black.

When I finally awoke, I was in the hospital. The antiseptic smell surrounded me, and abruptly I sat up, my heart racing at the recollections that came flooding back. Leah. Rina. Luigi. Ate Belen.

I frantically scanned around, but my friends were nowhere to be seen. It was only a nurse, who stood beside my bed with a serene expression. "Where... where are they?" I croaked, my throat dry as it felt like I hadn't had water all day.

"They're safe," the nurse managed to whisper, but something in the saying sent shivers down my spine. She set a plate of food beside me. "You should eat."

I looked down at the plate of food, and my stomach growled. I didn't remember when I last ate. The aroma was intoxicating, and I hadn't even thought about it; I just took a bite. Delicious, familiar, savory, and yet, something was terribly wrong.

"This is... really good," I muttered, even though a knot of unease began to twist in my stomach.

The nurse smiled—an expression eerily calm. "I'm glad you think so—after all, it's made from your friends."

It fell from my hand the moment the thought struck me. The taste, the texture—it was them. My breath caught in my throat as I turned towards the nurse. But she was no longer just a nurse. Her face contorted, distorted, and out came that grotesque, unforgettable grin of Ate Belen.

"They are tasty, aren't they?" she whispered.

I screamed, but the darkness claimed me once more.



Note: This is a work of fiction. All the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this literary are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.