I am death, I am pain, I am hungry.
I am the end of the line, I am the last thing you will see, I am inevitable.
I cruised impatiently; a slow gnawing hunger worked its way through my gut and prevented me from resting, from stopping. I had not fed for three days. The distraction of my hunger was becoming overwhelming. The dark stretched around me, infinitely empty; there was nothing for me here. I moved on.
On the edge of the unbounded dark, with the sun twinkling infinitely far away, I found it. A richness I had not dreamed of, a vast feast table of morsels calling to me with scents and tastes that drove straight into my hind-brain. Struggling to retain consciousness, I forced myself to turn away. That feast table was tainted, I could smell the banquet, the rich aromas of food swirled about me in bright desirous colors that tingled along my skin and electrified my nerves. Behind it all I could taste the harsh metallic tang that spoke of blades and oil, blood and death, a trap waiting to be sprung. Men waited here, waited with guns and weapons, malicious intent to catch me and kill me. I was too old and too wise to be so easily caught. The dark welcomed me back into its comforting arms only briefly before I was driven forth again, a victim to my hunger.
This new banquet was more to my taste, sheltered and secluded. No harsh metallic taste to dissuade me, just brightly colored food cavorting before me. Of hateful hunters there was only one, I. The feast from which I would briefly sup seemed unguarded, no other had been here before me, no other claim had been staked. I circled slowly, sensing the subtle vibrations of my environment, allowing myself to become briefly lost in the sensory impressions. The cold dark, safe but empty behind me. The warm light, too warm, it made my skin itch, swirled around me. The richness of the banquet, colorfully laid out before me. I heard the scavengers gathering, anticipating the table scraps I would leave behind. I circled once more. My safety was assured, my hunger clouded my mind. It was time. The hunger swum up from my primal mind and I devolved into the ravenous beast once more.
Colorful skin split, blood flowed. I shook my head back and forth, tearing my teeth through flesh and bone while my prey screamed in fright and pain. A bubbling shriek burst forth from its mouth but did not carry far. I was already heading back into the safety of the dark. My prey would bleed its last down in the cold, held safe in my jaws. Already it grew limp and flaccid, its feeble attempts to escape diminishing quickly as I drove deeper into the welcoming gloom. My prey’s soft limbs flapped uselessly against me one last time and I felt its life's breath bubble out as I was enveloped by the sheltering inky depths.
"Timmy! Timmy! Come back in, it's time for more sun-lotion!"
A movement caught her eye, a deflated ring of white plastic with cheap handles rolled bonelessly on the sand, teased and twisted by the waves. A ragged hole in its side allowed the sea to fill it to jelly-like capacity with sand and water.
"Tim! Tim! Oh my God! My son! Has anyone seen my son!?"
A piercing scream shattered the summer air as she crumpled to the ground, but I was long gone.