Nobody is stupid enough to venture into unknown territories, except for Ilya. Don't get him wrong! He never meant to enter that mysterious village.
Fate led him there to save, or be saved.
"Peekaboo!"
Beast is a cruel creature that used to be human...
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When Billy revealed that he was a different person in Beast's body, Ilya felt like he could relax a bit. Those eyes were comforting; warm brown eyes replaced the cold yellow ones. Ilya noticed that Billy did look smaller and less intimidating than Beast too.
But he couldn't trust him.
Less evil, yeah, but not any less dangerous. Billy still had the same strong muscular body and his intentions weren't clear. This could all be just an act in front of Pig to seem normal, sane even, in order to keep Ilya with him.
The more Ilya thought about it, the more worried he got.
"Uhm. Now." Billy spread his palm in front of Ilya. "Can you give me your hand?"
A playful glint was in Billy's eyes, a friendly one with a hint of a smile. Like he was telling the kid, "Don't be silly. There's nothing to be scared of." Billy was trying so hard to reconnect with his human side, to be normal again. He was doing a better job at it than Charlie... but something was missing.
Ilya's heart was beating out of rhythm, screaming at him to watch out. However, Ilya couldn't do anything to avoid Billy. He was trapped between four walls and a sunken couch. With hesitation, he placed his hand on Billy's palm and let him do whatever he was planning to do to him.
Billy gripped one of Ilya's fingers and placed it in the old medical device.
Ilya flinched when the needle in the device pricked his finger. Then he watched Billy taking care of it; dropping a single blood drop into another device with a monitor.
Ilya stopped shaking when he got distracted by the color of his blood. It didn't look red. He squeezed his eyes shut and then blinked a few times. By the time he opened them again, Billy had already wrapped a bandage around his pricked finger.
Ilya got his hand back and noticed his other fingers. Four of them were bandaged. Billy had taken care of Ilya when he was unconscious, measuring his glucose level now and then, and it strangely touched Ilya's heart.
That single act of kindness was all he ever wanted to feel safer in this place.
"All good," Billy declared. "Your blood sugar seems normal."
A relief, however, Ilya was still distracted by what he had just seen.
The floor rumbled when Greg came back with a plate, barely avoiding the furniture in his way. His sleeves were rolled up, showing muscular brawny arms. Ilya attributed that to pigs, as animals, having developed muscular limbs to carry their weight. Greg's legs must be strong too. That's why he didn't have trouble moving around, yet struggled to get out of these miniature pieces of furniture compared to his size. They simply didn't fit him.
"Here you go," Greg said as he placed the food on the table.
Ilya's face lit up once he saw the meal—a classic spaghetti and meatballs. The smell itself was delightful.
"Thank you!"
Ilya quickly grabbed a fork and couldn't wait to dig in. He stopped suddenly. A sickening feeling stirred in his stomach. His gaze moved to the cook, Greg.
Greg's proud smile fell.
"What is it?"
"Umm." Ilya gulped. "W-What kind of meat is it?"
If it was pork, then that was sick, considering Greg was half-pig. And if it was human, then that was even sicker. Both were cannibalism in some way.
Greg was about to laugh. He snorted, trying to suppress it. The cute scared look on the boy's face never failed to amuse him.
"It's ground beef," Greg answered with an assuring smile. "You can check the label in the kitchen if you don't believe me."
Ilya finally breathed.
"Eat well and stay strong. We'll be right there—" Greg pointed to the chairs by the window "—if you need anything."
Billy stood up, but he didn't move. He was staring at Ilya with a sad expression on his face.
Ilya looked suspiciously at Billy; It seemed like he didn't want to leave his side. Until Greg poked him with his elbow.
Billy moved away with his invisible puppy ears down.
When eyes weren't on him, Ilya finally started eating.
Tears glistened in his eyes once the taste hit him. It was real food. Ilya felt sorry for himself. Little moments like this made him happy despite living in a village full of monsters trying to eat him.
Ilya was miserable. Thoughts like Will I ever get out of this place? Am I safe here? Can I trust these people? never left his mind.
Another delicious bite and more tears flooded his eyes, covering those colorful irises and dimming their natural green. Ilya dropped the fork and wiped the ones that escaped his lashes.
Ilya was glad that Greg and Billy weren't around to see his tears. He would have died from embarrassment.
Will I survive? Will I see my friends again?
A million questions disturbed Ilya's brief moment of peace. These bad feelings were enough to keep him always scared and alert... and sad.
Ilya tried his best to stop crying, to hide his face with his arm, but a single sob left his lips. One little whine followed by a hiccup and Ilya broke down in tears.
Billy heard.
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Poor Ilya 😢😿
I hope you liked this chapter?
P.S. No updates for next week. The next chapter will be out in 2 weeks because I've got some important business to take care of. See you then <3
