The smell of cooked meat flooded my nostrils and I gagged violently, coughing and spluttering all over the ground. It took me a while to settle, and I just sat there, staring at the leg of charred meat in my hand. 

“Good. You didn’t throw up.” Reece sat opposite me, eating a leg of his own. Just watching him gnaw at it was making me even more queasy. He was still wearing his hi-vis vest and mining helmet, the light on the head devoid of life for the last three days. 

“You’re fucking evil,” I muttered, shrinking back into the corner of the cave and tossing my untouched leg onto the dust-covered ground next to the dying fire. Reece tutted in disapproval, getting up off the floor and retrieving the leg. 

“Don’t waste food.” 

“It’s not food. It’s murder.” 

Reece rolled his eyes, returning to his corner of the cave. “Listen, call it whatever you want. It’s not like you’ve got a choice. Anyway, don’t you want to honour Charles’ sacrifice? He died so we could have this food and live, you know. You’d be dishonouring his memory if you let yourself die from starvation.” 

“Fuck you.” 

He shrugged, tearing another mouthful of meat from the bone he held. “Suit yourself. More food for me.” 

“I can’t believe I worked with you for all these years. I considered you a friend.” 

“We’re not friends anymore? That’s a shame,” he said, his mouth still full, spittle flying all over with every word. “You know, I didn’t think you were so stuck-up. You think your morals are more important than surviving?” 

I grimace at him, and my stomach rumbles. “Without morals, we are nothing.” 

“Without food, you’ll be nothing too.” He swallowed the mouthful and wiped his lips on his sleeve. “It’s been fourteen days. You think we’re getting rescued any time soon? Nah.” 

“Then why even bother trying to survive if you don’t think rescue is coming?” I shout. 

“I mean, it might be coming.” Reece stood up, tossing the bone into the dwindling fire and neatly placing my discarded leg on the rock he was sitting on. He brushed his hands against his shirt, walking over to the pile of pickaxes in the corner. “Might be a month, might be six months. Dunno. But hey, at least we have food for a while now. We can wait.” 

“You have food. I’m not eating any of it.” 

“Like I said, suit yourself. Just remember though, when all of this meat’s gone, I’m not going to just let myself starve.” He picked up one of the pickaxes, the bloodstain still fresh on the head, glistening in the faint firelight. A cold chill ran straight through my heart. 

“What do you mean?” 

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “You think I’d let myself die when there’s another source of food down here with me?” 

I shrunk back, and this time, I did throw up. I heaved and coughed, a puddle of pure bile filling on the hard, cold ground. Reece just laughed, a chilling, evil sound. 

“Hey, don’t worry! I’m not gonna kill you right now.” There was a clang as Reece dropped the pickaxe back into the pile. “The meat would spoil. Obviously, I’m going to finish eating what food we have first.” 

I looked up, clenching my teeth as I found myself staring at Charles’ corpse huddled in the corner, both legs missing. I scowled, slowly turning to face Reece, who was smiling at me. 

“Like hell I’m going to be your next meal.” 

His smile just got wider. “A shame you won’t be strong enough to stop me, isn’t it?” 

I paused for a moment, conflicting thoughts spiralling within my head. I finally tore my gaze away from Reece and looked at my discarded leg of flesh. Swallowing hard and standing up on trembling legs, I walked towards it, picked it up, and took a bite.