Hamibal the Cannibal

In his small home in Wolf Trap, Virginia, Will Graham glanced out his window while he made breakfast. It was a beautiful day, and the aroma of bacon and eggs filled the air, causing his many dogs to whimper and beg for scraps.

"Oh, be patient, all of you," he said sternly, but his smile was warm. "It'll be ready soon." As he cooked, he found himself glancing over at the only four-legged member of the family who was not begging for bacon; a small, pale pink pig. He lay primly in his bed by the couch, watching the dogs with open disdain.

Will regarded the newest member of his family with curiosity. He had no idea why he had decided to take him into his care. When he had visited Margo's farm several months ago, she had shown him the sickly runt who lay amongst the much larger piglets.

"I'm going to have to kill it," she's said, her voice empty of regret. "It's too small, and it might make the others sick. It probably won't live past a few weeks, anyway."

The thought of Margo emotionlessly killing a sick piglet had made Will sick. Without thinking, he said, "There's no need for that, Margo. I'll take him."

She had eyes him skeptically. "You'll be wasting your time, Will," she warned him. "He's too sick. Besides, you don't know how to take care of a pig."

"Of course I do," he had assured her. "Trust me, Margo." With no further room for argument, he'd wrapped the piglet in an old jacket of his and taken him home, where he immediately googled how to take care of a piglet. After six long months of care-taking and vet visits, the pig, whom Will had named Hamibal, grew healthy and strong, albeit smaller than most pigs. Although the dogs were initially wary of the strange new creature, they soon grew to accept him, despite Hamibal being a bit stuck up. Any attempts at play were immediately rejected, Hamibal choosing instead to curl up beside Will and sleep. He acted a bit like a cat, really.

Will shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. He glanced back at his breakfast, now ready, and poured the bacon and eggs onto his plate. He grabbed a few strips of bacon and, breaking them into pieces, sprinkled them on the floor for his dogs. As they feasted, he grabbed a small dish of scrambled eggs he had prepared earlier and walked over to Hamibal. "Dig in," he said as he set the dish down in front of the pig's bed.

Hamibal sniffed daintily at the eggs and glanced at Will with thinly veiled disgust. He snorted indignantly.

Will rolled his eyes. "What do you want, a banquet?" he asked. "Eat up, you brat." He turned and said, "Hey," in a scolding tone to a few dogs who had tried to sneak towards Hamibal's food dish. The dogs were usually good about knowing which food was theirs and which was the pig's, but they still needed to be reminded every once in a while.

Finally, Will fixed his own plate and sat down at the table, munching quietly on a piece of bacon. However, with the dogs' treats now gone, they crowded around him in search for more food. He smirked and took a bite of his eggs. "Come on guys, go get some fresh air," he told them. He stood and waded through the sea of fur and tails to open the door. The moment it was opened, the dogs flooded into the yard, leaping and yapping with glee.

Will chuckled and stared fondly at his large furry family as they bounded and played. He loved each and every one of his dogs dearly and equally. He even loved Hamibal, as bratty and stuck up as he was. He turned back to the table to finish his breakfast, when suddenly he froze.

Hamibal, as calm as a spring breeze, was standing in Will's chair, his front trotters resting on the table as he devoured every piece of bacon on Will's plate.

Will gasped. "Hamibal!" he yelled sharply.

Slowly, Hamibal raised his head from the plate and stared silently at Will. Neither one of them moved for several moments as Will cringed in horror at what he had just witnessed. After glancing at his plate, he noticed that Hamibal had left the eggs completely untouched. He glanced back at the pig, noting also the glint of satisfaction in his eyes.

"My god, Hamibal," Will said softly. "You're a monster."

Hamibal oinked loudly. He licked the last of the crumbs off Will's plate, careful to avoid the eggs, and hopped out of his chair to return to his bed.

"Cannibal!" Will cried out, but he was met with nothing but an uninterested twitch of Hamibal's tail as he curled up and fell asleep. He stared at the pig a little fearfully, thinking, "What the hell have I gotten myself in to?"