Torment

With a strong kick, Keith was sent flying. He flew over a meter far and bounced once before hitting a tree. He bumped his head on it and fell instantly unconscious.

Not knowing what to do, Randi held his hand tightly, hoping the blood would flow less. After accommodating himself to the pain, he strongly grabbed Keith's lower jaw and tightened his grip. When he managed to open the the kid's mouth, he shoved his round fingers in, hoping to find the missing one.

But to no avail.

Morning approached but what could he say if someone else saw this scene? Randi lifted the boy from the ground and went to his own house. The adrenaline made him forgot about his own pain, and the cold coating his baggage.

Keith woke up later. A tissue in his mouth and tied up to a wooden structure in the middle of an unknown house. Curtains obstructing light from coming in.

His whining soon made a mass in the room move. It stood up with a tired face and a frown, it was of course Randi.

"Alright, stop crying. Just listen. Shut up, shut up."

It took Keith a few breath to calm down. Randi sat next to him, gazing at the kid without looking away for a second.

"Isn't your witch-mother not giving you enough food? What the hell are you doing at night? The hell you did with this bloody mess? Who's blood is on your clothes? You freaking ate my finger!"

Randi shown his hand to the kid who shook his head from denial. It was still dirty and pus gushed out of it. The wound was disgusting because it looked rotten.

'How much time has passed while I was unconscious?'

Keith could only answer with an unclear mumbling. But the night patrol wanted to be listened to. He kicked the kid's stomach. His voice sounded panicked and he walked across the room while talking.

"You've just...! Heh! You are disgusting. Picco was right about his suspicions. You and your mother should be outcast from the village. You are bad omen for us. I bet the lack of rain comes from your family. ...What is it?"

Keith coughed gradually quieter. Still he tried to speak.

"Hmpff!"

"I don't know what to do with you. Can fingers grow back? They better do, because I'll take one of yours either way. You really want to speak ain't you? I can remove the tissue, but promise me to stay still while I do so."

Randi approached the kid and put his hand on his neck.

"I won't tighten it if you don't move."

Keith did not like strangulations. No one did. He thought.

'What is Show waiting for? He promised to help me, can't he do something here? I know he's down here.'

The instant his mouth was free, he shouted.

"HELP M-!"

But the guard struck his head to the wooden pillar. He said with some sweat on his forehead. He managed to speak with a calm, barely shaking voice.

"Let's add other conditions to me letting you speaking. You don't scream, you solely answer my questions, or I'll make things go worse than they are already. Counting down. Three, two..."

He let go of Keith's neck, the kid pursed his mouth but he cried because of the pain from Randi's blows.

"What did you eat?"

"I don't remember."

"Why did you eat?"

"I was hungry."

The two made eye contact after a few seconds of awkward silence.

'This guy is asking dumb questions.'

"I want to know why you went out, killed an animal, and ate its corpse instead of some rice or whatever in your kitchen."

Keith answered quietly

"It attacked me first."

"So you do remember! You dare lie to me! That's the second time you show me your guts. Don't you see you are not in a position to lie to me?"

'Oh damn. What can I possibly say?'

"What are you going to do to m-."

A second kick interrupted Keith's thoughts.

"I said you only answer to questions, right? Thinking about it I don't see much left. I'll leave you here for now. Let's see what the witch's runt is capable of enduring. Judging from the number of scars on your arms, plenty. Good."

Holding Keith's hair, he put back the tissue in his mouth. He exited the room and Keith could see sun was up and bright. But couldn't move by himself.

A nauseous sensation came and he almost threw up. Nothing came out. An icy, thought unknown sensation developed at the back of his head. A sharp pain struck his brain. Then his vision became totally blurry, it darkened. Keith panicked, he could still feel his eyes wide open, the floor scratching against their slimy surface, but he couldn't see. The kid fainted from the pain soon after.

He met his friend on the other side of the pond.

"I can see!"

He held his neck and his head to see if something was missing, and there was a hole in it, a fist sized one.

"Kid. You totally lost your mind back then, that was quite funny to see. But remember! The night patrol! I told you to hide but you did not! How sad."

Keith just noticed the empty space all around him, and the shadow floating around, speaking.

"There you are, why don't you help me?"

Keith asked. But the shadow caught his head.

"I am teaching you a lesson. Don't let your hunger devour your brain, or I will too. By the way I planned few things. I'll eat you whole. You'll be safer."

Keith was flabbergasted to those words. He thought there was a deeper meaning to them so he asked.

"What ... what do you mean? Ain't I your precious investment?"

"You want me to communicate kid, so if I can eat parts of you, I may be able to do it continuously. I already began with a part of your brain, I know it'll grow back soon enough, I can profit that dumb man's detention to eat it wholly."

"You what?"

'So limbs grow back, Randi won't hold his grudge forever, that's good.'

"Nah."

Show answered.

"'Nah' what?"

"I told you before, I can hear your thoughts as well here. No, his finger won't grow back. You, on the other hand, can. It happens because of mighty-me. I am a great healer. We're in the explanation. Let's call it this way."

Keith was wide-eyed, he couldn't understand every information he was given. He just wanted to see his mother, to play with his neighbours, and maybe, to eat more cats.

"You don't believe me? You got an all new stomach don't you?"

His silence caught the monster's attention, who spoke again.

"Randi's wound is infected, you did not wake up for four days, at first he was scared of you, that's why he attached you with this much rope. And then he feared your death, so he checked on you regularly. Now he's worried about people finding you at his home."

His low laugh resounded in the empty space they were.

"I'm afraid you'll be an empty shell for about a moon while I eat your brain."

Show still held Keith's head, there were multiple other hands pointing around while he spoke. One showing the void when he spoke about future plans, one orbiting around his head.

"I... You what again? Don't do that, please, I beg of you. Don't!"

The whole atmosphere turned crimson red with the light coming out of the monster's eyes. His body emitted small amount of dark smoke around him, making him look bigger.

"I don't remember giving you any choice. You belong to me, you wouldn't be alive if I wasn't here. I, am going to eat your whole body, but the limbs will be a harder thing to hide, thus they'll be for later. Your brain is just the step to speak with you more easily."

Show's mouth appeared, he turned Keith's body while just holding his head, and he bit into his skull. Keith heard a loud crunch. The same sound produced by an old tree collapsing. But he didn't feel anything. He could still lift his hands and walk around when the monster let go of him, but there was nothing behind his face. Just more void.

He turned around and saw the monster chewing loudly, the red around him was brighter, there were dark red droplets frozen all over the air. The infinite land he was on had a thin film of liquid on it, any movement he or Show drawn waves, slowly moving away from them and the mood it gave off was almost beautiful.

Keith had his thought cut off. He couldn't think at all. He was a puppet walking around.

Outside of the explanation, there was a kid lying on the ground with blood coming out of the nose and ears. His head facing ground with few spasms. He was just a lump of pale grey meat in the middle of Randi's house.