Turn 146 of 226

Don't bother cooking our catches. Eat them right there like true animals

The fire is the thing Lena does not build. The fire is the thing the bodies have built every time — the pallet fragments, the dried weeds, the flame that is the thing between raw and done. The fire is the thing Lena leaves behind. The leaving is the thing the body decides on the creek bank with the bull cooling beside it. The bull is the thing that is warm still. The warmth is the thing the body feels in the meat — the warmth that is the life leaving, the warmth that is the thing the body wants in the mouth.

Lena's hands are the things that tear the hide from the bull's flank. The tearing is the thing that is the strength — the strength that is the fingers in the hide, the fingers that pull the skin from the muscle. The muscle is the thing that is exposed. The exposed is the thing that is the red. The red is the thing Lena's mouth finds. The finding is the thing that is the teeth in the meat. The teeth are the things that tear. The tearing is the thing that is the chewing. The chewing is the thing that is the animal. The animal is the thing Lena is. The blood is the thing that runs down Lena's chin. The running is the thing that is the eating.

Diane does not hesitate. The hesitation is the thing the human does. The human is the thing Diane is not. Diane's hands are the things that find the bull's other flank. The hands are the things that pull the meat from the bone. The pulling is the thing that is the grip — the grip that is the thing the hunting built, the grip that is the thing the ceramic insulator training built, the grip that is the thing that tears the fiber from the bone. Diane's mouth is the thing that takes the meat. The taking is the thing that is the swallowing — the swallowing that is not chewing. The swallowing is the thing the animal does when the animal is hungry.

The raccoon is the thing the bodies eat on the rail spur. The raccoon is the thing Lena kills and the thing Lena eats where it falls. The fur is the thing Lena's hands pull off in patches. The patches are the things that expose the meat underneath. The meat is the thing Lena's teeth find. The chewing is the thing that is the gristle and the bone. The bone is the thing Lena crunches. The crunching is the thing the jaw does. The jaw is the thing that is the strength. The strength is the thing the wish built. Diane eats the coyote the same way — the coyote that is the thing Diane killed with the throat crush. The throat is the thing Diane eats first. The eating of the throat is the thing that is the animal's priority.

The eating changes the bodies. The change is not the thing the bodies measure on the scale. The change is the thing the bodies feel in the mouth — the mouth that is the thing that is stronger, the jaw that is the thing that crushes bone, the teeth that are the things that tear hide. The eating is the thing that is the raw. The raw is the thing that is the animal. The animal is the thing that does not cook. The animal is the thing that eats where it kills. The animal is the thing that is the blood on the chin and the hands and the concrete. The blood is the thing the bodies wear. The wearing is the thing the bodies do not wash off. The washing is the thing the human does. The human is the thing the bodies are not. The bodies are the animals. The animals are the things that eat. The eating is the thing that is the hunt. The hunt is the thing that is the eating. The circle is the thing that is the spiral. The spiral is the thing that is the wish.