Ray was looking at plants. Some of the other children were also looking for plants so what she was doing wasn't in any way special. However, Ray was much further away from the main group and she was actually paying attention to what plants she was picking instead of just pulling weeds for fun.

They were still in the process of finding the right plant to make paper with. The few plants they had tried weren't very successful, the plants either provided too little fibre or just vapourised and turned into green goop for no reason. 'Everything is possible on Krashu' was what Brother Jake had told her when that had happened.

'Apparently, people had once tried to produce electricity with methods from earth. Unfortunately, the lovely world of Krashu where everything was supposed to be possible didn't allow for energy to be conserved. Funny...' Ray thought as she plucked a sturdy-looking grass that didn't look like a weed.

" Maybe physics is just different here and the people just haven't figured it out?" Ray mumbled as she searched for a different plant.

Suddenly, Ray felt a chill run down her spine. She quickly turned around, spooked by the sudden sensation. However, despite her frantically looking around, she couldn't find anything out of place. The grass, the trees, the flowers and the bushes... they were all still. The birds... they were no longer chirping.

Scared, Ray turned back and began walking back to the orphanage. Just as she saw the large building as she emerged from the foliage. Something fast and heavy hit her lower back causing her to fall face-first into the grass. She felt something crack in her lower back causing a spike of pain.

Blinking back tears, she turned over to see which kid and tackled her. Unfortunately, the thing that had hit her was no human child. The giant frog-like creature with 4 clawed feet stood at about half of Ray's height. It lept close to Ray who was frozen in fear, placing two of its clawed feet on her.

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The poor girl quickly went into shock as she watched the creature tear a strip of flesh from her leg with such speed that she had not felt the pain. Her flesh was immediately slipped into the creature's mouth by its long tongue.

" H-huh?" Ray couldn't do anything but watch as the monster took another strip of flesh from her other leg. As the blood from her legs pooled, the tired girl leaned back and stared at the sky seemingly having excepted her fate. She also began taking light breaths and intentionally stopped any movement.

To counter her involuntary shivering, she began thinking of happier things like playing the violin or reading with Lily or playing with the younger children. She did all she could to imagine herself not being in her current situation. The more her legs were stripped for their meat the more effort it took for Ray to keep her screams internal.

Thankfully, after what felt like hours, the torture finally stopped and she heard the creature leap away from her and went further into the forest. Once the light-headed girl had gathered the courage, she opened her eyes. They darted around looking for her torturer. When she didn't notice it, she began the next stage of her plan.

" E-lp... HELP ME! HELP ME! BROTHER JAKE!" She continued yelling as loudly as she could despite the fact that she had started shivering again. Tears streamed from her eyes as she saw Brother Jake approach her. Once she realised that she was safe, she began bawling her eyes out. She only stopped when she quickly passed out from exhaustion and blood loss.

...

It had been a month since the incident, Ray opened her eyes for a second before she decided to close them again. The girl was even paler than she had been before, and she was also losing weight rather quickly. Lily, who sat on a stool at her side, immediately noticed Ray wake up.

" Ray... Brother Jake made a present for you..." She said softly while patting her best friend's shoulder. Ray hadn't bothered to speak or move much this entire month. She only sat up to eat and only got out- She was moved out of bed to the toilet with help from Brother Jake and Sister Maia to do her business.

Just like always, whenever Lily spoke to her she would open her eyes and stare at Lily with a sad and morose look. Though she never voiced it, Ray felt extremely grateful for having Lily as her best friend. Though Lily definitely acted more like an older sister to Ray than as a friend.

" W- *cough* water..." Ray croaked out.

" Alright, I am going to leave for a second to get it, okay?" Lily said. Ray's eyes widened and she began shivering as she watched Lily inch her way to the door while still looking at her. Just as Ray was about to cry, Lily came running back with a wooden cup of water.

" There, there, Ray..." Lily said patting the traumatised girl.