“Coulda been sum skin condition?” Citrine argued and she’d know – girl’s puberty came at such force it literally stopped just short of dripping acid. She also unknowingly gave voice to my scepticism. Priest seemed capable of going against an armed squad, just very reluctant to. Many-eyed sister turned the entire meadow into a bear trap. But what did I really know of mouths? Perhaps some were just slaves with no added benefit.

Dentist shrugged and hunched in like the twelve year old that he was, suddenly unsure of himself. “I asked teachers and they were adamant people aren’t like that. The next day soldiers came to school looking for me. Not militia, the real deal. The parade uniforms.”

Is that why he stopped going there? Whenever we asked he’d just say it’s a waste of time and he’s better off working. As to what that was, was also mostly a mystery. Frankly, we didn’t care enough. Everyone’s been their own person and we weren’t their parents. But this has been an eye-opener. No wonder the brat kept secrets. Was he afraid we’d snitch on him too? A bit strange, seeing as offending people would literally drop out of sight sometimes, but who was I to dunk on other people’s idiosyncrasies?

Tom, the most sensible one, shouldered to stand in front of gloomy child and shook him once, “Is that why you really skipped school? Hey, you know you can trust us. Most would kill to keep you safe.”

True, but also false. Keyword was most. Even I didn’t trust majority of the gang. Some did not hesitate to steal or sell us out. To most people, even closest ones – and perhaps especially them, kindness was just an opening to be exploited. I had nothing against that - I did it on all appropriate occasions. Even being let into this village and get fed was mostly emotional manipulation. That just meant I looked out for it.

Dentist shrugged not really agreeing to the sentiment either. Tom on the other hand probably would not hesitate to do the unthinkable. He was a steadfast guy, but I suspected most of it developed after his injuries. So to say, he didn’t take the household for granted.

Citrine’s thoughts still lingered on more important matters, “But damn, tha’ means yo guy has really been involved with monsters. Like… us?”

“Oh no! Are we going to be dripping water now?” Isla wondered with wide-eyed horror. I giggled, imagining taking the teasing a level further and asking monster to make this little worry real. Nah, a bit too harsh. Instead!

“Oh no, you might really grow a monstrous unibrow now!” I pointed at Dentist and laughed. No, he didn’t really have one – yet, just two massive caterpillars that threatened to meet whenever he grimaced. I didn’t often tease him about it but today after all was extra special.

After a brief flash of anger Dentist just looked at me unusually attentively instead of reacting in any way. Darn it, with grown body he’s also received self-control and wisdom.

I rubbed my eyes due to tiredness and sighed. “Anyway. Please don’t go outside… for now. We snuck you in and I’d hate for any of you to get shot. As you’ve seen, locals speak gibberish and so you won’t even be able to talk yourselves out of it. I’ll… We’ll probably need to meet them and introduce to the idea of bunch more foreigners squatting in their backyard, but I hope it’s not today. And anyway you’ll need to decide what you want to do next. Perhaps we can keep it a secret right until we leave,” that would be a nice solution. And this crowd knew how to keep low profile if it was necessary. “I’m clocking out. Goodnight.”

There, I did my best to forewarn them. Their wellbeing now rested in their own hands.

I stole the tray away from hungry eyes and turned for the stairs. Cast a glance towards the demon, almost wanting to ask him to go with me but did not need to. He silently followed. I heard bits of the resumed fervent conversation. They had a lot on their minds.

“Can you keep an eye on them and do the memory wipe thingy again if they get in trouble?”

“They won’t.”

“You clearly don’t know them,” I was very sceptical. Sitting put in an oblivious contentment was just another way to get fucked over.

“I’ll discourage it.”

He probably could make them agoraphobic or something. “You know what? I’m too tired to know.” I’ll be angry about it tomorrow, I decided.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Instead, I splayed out onto the bed and stuffed the very late dinner into my facehole. It was so good. We sometimes cooked, but the results had always been dreadful. The room was warm from the stone chimney too. I could get used to living like this. Of course, I’d probably feel this way about any house with actual furnishings and no draft.

I snorted lightly, “I really wanted to make you taste these through them.”

“I suspected so,” he replied just as softly. Demon took a seat on some other surface. It creaked and I judged it to be near the door. I couldn’t see shit again. “It’s good that you did not.”

His good and mine were on entirely different spectres and I got the impression it wasn’t about distaste at all. “What, are you so overtaxed can’t take three more bites?”

He hesitated upon reply and I knew I wasn’t wrong. “I can, but they would have felt me.”

Oh, lovely. I averted another major crisis by sheer accident. These grim dealings weren’t really humorous no matter how hard I tried to look at them so.

“How does that work anyway?” I asked after losing my appetite. Kept on shovelling anyway because there was no telling when I would get to eat again.

“I’d need to put new substances away. Channel to the main body would open. It’s… hard to miss.”

“Can’t you just ignore it? Let their bodies process it. I assume there are prerequisite organs?”

“There are, but the process is close to reflex. Imagine trying to force food go down your lungs instead.”

“What, big boy like you can’t reshuffle your organs a little?”

“Not right now,” he didn’t even pretend and I immediately missed the usual arrogance. Perhaps I mislabelled it. He wasn’t ever bragging, merely speaking the truth all along.

“Sorry,” I felt bad for trying to get cheap laughs at an injured person’s expense. Words of thanks were on the tip of my tongue but they would not be tumbling out. I could be so bold and say he was doing all this for me, but it was also all his fault, so…

Monster did not comment. Perhaps the concept was unknown on his side of universe or he didn’t care. Either way, sorries never fixed anything so I agreed with dismissal of it.

“Was that guy really a mouth?” I didn’t bother specifying which one. “Why was he so weak?”

“Yes. He probably was new and hadn’t figured out how to chew. Your social circle seems to struggle with nutrition.”

“Uh… is that… another weird term for more of them whacky monstrous dealings?” I couldn’t stop myself from taking a reluctant guess. Didn’t need this nonsense right before bedtime.

“When mouths consume, connection opens both ways and they can pull from body’s resources to adapt to the situation. After all, nothing living desires to be eaten. Prey is bound to resist.”

“Charming. Don’t mind me if I wake up screaming from dreaming just that,” I complained turning away and rummaging for duvet.

“That’s not what you’ll dream,” he said into absolute darkness and I shuddered for all of the reasons. The memories, the fears, the death that lay on my hands, his fucking audacity.

“Enjoy rummaging the stolen insights because that’s the closest you’ll get to me,” I croaked out. My nerves were frayed and throat - parched. Bready dinner did not improve situation. Neither did a spike of anger.

I felt the bed dip in direct denial of my flimsy oaths. I turned back to be all disgruntled, but was merely offered a big, rounded mug. I saw it because the thing was glowing. And contained liquid.

Confusion overtook the irritation and I corked an eyebrow at unpredictable creature. “I swear we already had that conversation, I ain’t drinking your juices! Although you did pay...” I squinted with recollection and admitted for whatever reason, “I lost the coin.”

“I remember. It’s melted snow. From outside,” man with lush mane explained patiently.

I opened my mouth to ask just how exactly he conjured such substance out of thin air, but then remember just who exactly I was vaguely looking at.

“I can also just put you into dreamless state, if you like.”

“Sure,” I said as if there really was a choice. I was far too thirsty and fatigued to refuse the water. I gulped down about half of the bucket and then noticed outstretched palm with a pill resting on it. Shrugged, swallowed it down and curled back on the bedding. Few things can be worse than lying awake until dawn, thinking about everything that went wrong, then finally exhausting myself beyond ability to function and dreaming about it some more. If I don’t wake up, oh well.

“I’m aware you hate it, but I don’t regret knowing you,” he spoke as I drifted.

“I don’t hate being known…” which was a big fat lie. “I hate being forced into it,” I might have mumbled out. That much was real. I did not hear a reply if there was one.

I woke sprawled out under the soft blankets and felt like I’m still dreaming. I did not have the words to express the level of this comfort. After lifetime of sleeping on pavement and then weeks of running around through the woods, lying in bed – with actual sheets on everything – was surreal.

I caught a festoon of finely made hair in my periphery and decidedly turned away from that. I shall have no problems intruding on me so early in the day! That said, it was still darkish, but I felt so well rested. In fact, too well. There was not a drop of drowsiness anymore and I couldn’t even pretend to slumber.

I tossed the coverings aside and stretched. “What did you even put in that pill? Or was it pure poison and I died and went to heaven? Wait, nno… you wouldn’t be there.”

“Just an improved human remedy, nothing of mine to react with your current biology.”

“What is that?!” I asked sharply, clearly seeing six more hunkered down bodies for myself. I knew getting up was a terrible idea - that always forces me to face my problems. Such a bad move on my part. I pinched bridge of the nose. I shook off the dread and spoke teasingly, “Had a rave last night? All without me? Rude.”

“If only you hadn’t passed out so early, lightweight,” monster returned the senseless banter and my expression grew touch more genuine.

“Not complaining, I have this awesome dealer,” I stretched again, this time much more ready to take on the day.

Upon examination, I’ve found Dentist’s sweetheart. Would this temporary joy put a hamper on the hostility or enhance it? Chips could fall either way. Some of the faces were less familiar, but I didn’t hang out with everyone. Perhaps their ages were off? Perhaps my own head was screwed on wrong.

“You sure it’s them?”

“Yes. Contents of their brain are unmistakable. They will be the last ones so intact.”

Apprehension gripped me like vice. That meant more than half were still lost… and wouldn’t be recognisably retrieved. Most importantly, I was still missing some very important faces.

Fuck.

Fuck!

FUCK.

Instead of lashing out I hummed, “Mmhm, and how are we getting them downstairs unseen, namely to get to the room with clothes and insinuate they came through the door, entirely unlike monster vomit which they are?”

“Others are asleep,” man of million solutions replied nonplussed. That likely didn’t mean what it normally did, but I didn’t argue. I hated that my friends were treated like mere puppets, but I couldn’t afford for this unsettled peace to violently explode. What would have been the alternative? For monster to spit out group of scared people and keep them all paralysed whilst we sorted this? It was simpler this way.

I didn’t delude myself, it wasn’t for their sake – was entirely for my own. I was a cruel hypocrite.