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Intern's stomach hurt. Their stomach ached and growled the longer this shift went on. It was eating away at their insides. It was practically nauseating. They couldn't stand it anymore. They had to eat... something.
But what? What could they even eat, without hurting a patient? What could they eat without hurting their coworkers? Normal food wouldn't cut it, they learned that. It wouldn't satiate their now anomolous hunger.
They hated this. The very thought of eating another animal, especially if it meant hurting them, made them want to hurl.
Intern couldn't even look at anyone without the overwhelming urge to lunge at them almost completely overtaking their senses. It was taking every ounce of their willpower to keep their composure. They didn't know what to do.
All they were able to do as of right now was hide from the world. They were hunkered down in a dark corner of the hospital's storage room, doomscrolling on their phone. This video essay on an obscure show wasn't doing anything to suppress the gnawing feeling clawing at their insides, though. They couldn't stop shaking, they couldn't get their leg to stop bouncing.
What a pitiful situation.
A knock at the door nearly made them scream.
"Oi, Intern? You okay in there? You've been in there a while."
A monotone voice with a hint of sass asked. That cat agent gal. Intern breathed a small sigh of relief.
"...I don' know."
They admitted, nose twitching. She was the only one they'd ever told about their situation (they didn't have anyone to tell anyways). They could be honest with her.
"Can I come in?"
She asked, a hint of worry audibly creeping into her voice.
"...C-Carefully."
They replied, putting a paw to their mouth in an attempt to keep themself from doing anything.
The door creaked open, the Secret Agent's vibrant, golden eyes met Intern's.
"...Dude what happened?"
She said bluntly as she sauntered into the storage room. She sat down beside them, between them and the door.
A lump formed in their throat.
"I-I'm- I'm starving but I don't- what am- I don't wanna hurt someone..."
They stammered out, their voice descending into a whisper. It was hard to get anything out smoothly with the way their mouth was now. They felt utterly pathetic as they buried their face into their knees.
"Take a breath buddy... Hmmm..."
She muttered as she pulled them closer, drifting into thought. They pushed against her embrace, trying to keep their mouth away from her.
"I might have an idea. Have you seen if there's any place where they keep amputated limbs?"
She finally suggested, snapping her fingers as she realized. They shook their head.
"That could be a solution. Maybe only a temporary one, but a solution nonetheless."
"...You- You are way t-too casual about t-this."
They remarked, pushing free from her embrace. They were still stammering and stuttering, talking was still hard.
"Buddy, I want to help you. You're clearly suffering."
She replied, putting a hand on their shoulder.
Was she wrong? They didn't even know how they became... well, an anomaly. They couldn't remember anything from before. Before they woke up in a random alleyway. Their memories before then were too fuzzy to decipher.
The only thing they could make sense of was walking into this very hospital to get something treated.
That's what lead them here.
That's how they met the Agent.
She didn't treat them like they were a monster. She kept their secret safe.
"...Th- Thank you."
They finally said, sniffling as the lump in their throat grew bigger.
"Could you, perhaps, uh... ma- maybe supervise me, p-please?"
They didn't want to hurt anyone. Deep down though, they knew it wasn't just that. They wanted to stick by her side. For whatever reason, they felt safe with her.
"Yeah, let's look for something together."
She offered, reaching her paw to them as she got up, her tail twitching behind her.
Intern swore their heart skipped a beat.
They took her paw, but as they tried to get up, a sudden wave lightheadedness hit them like a truck. Their legs felt like they turned into jello, and they nearly faceplanted onto the floor. Like an idiot. In front of her.
Noticing this, Agent pulled them up, draping their arm around her shoulder.
"I gotcha, don't worry."
She assured, with a warmth in her tone that honestly could've made Intern faint right then and there.
She quietly cracked open the door, surveying the hallways. The coast seemed to be clear.
"C'mon."
The two slinked down the hallway, delving deeper and deeper into the hospital. Intern kept their head on a swivel, looking out for any other staff members. They really didn't wanna come up with an excuse for why the two of them were snooping around like this.
After some wandering, the pair finally spotted something. The pathology lab.
"Get your hungry butt in there, I'll cover you."
Agent assured, gesturing to the room.
Intern sighed.
"Thank you..."
They said as they crept into the lab. Surveying the selection, they grabbed a random amputated paw, one that looked a bit older than the rest. They didn't care about freshness, but they didn't want to raise suspicions. They hoped someone would assume it was already set to be disposed of.
They quickly tore into it, ripping it apart like it was nothing. They still weren't used to the taste of animal flesh, still unsure about it.
Within minutes, they were done. Already they felt a bit better, that gnawing had finally disappeared.
They hastily returned to the entrance, signaling to Agent that they were done. She opened the door, and snorted at the sight of them.
"...What?"
They asked, wholly confused.
"Go wash up you dork, you got blood all over your mouth."
She giggled, pointing to her own mouth in demonstration, her tail flicking behind her.
"Buh- sor- sorry."
They squeaked, rubbing between their eyes. They felt their cheeks warming up.
"Don't be, bathroom's just to the left."
She stated, pointing down the hallway.
"I- ...Thank you."
They muttered, wiping a little bit of the viscera off of their mouth.
"Not a problem, Buddy."
She replied before slinking off towards the frontend of the hospital.
Intern sighed as they started towards the bathroom as directed.
They were a mess, a flesh-eating mess... but at least they had someone who was willing to help them out.