Far away, at noon, a woman and a small girl were in a village. They were surrounded by the villagers, the girl's neighbors and family.
"She's a murderer! She's the one who took everyone away, and she- She sells their bodies! As FOOD!" The girl screamed, pointing at the woman.
"What are you talking about, honey? This woman is very important. You won't be this rude to our guest." the girl's father drawled in a booming voicde. "Who brought you back home?"
"What do you mean? Why are you taking her side over mine, your daughter?! Why do you think we can't leave this village in the first place?!" At the girl's words, several people flinched.
"Huh..." "She has a point..." murmured the crowd.
"All of you! Stop that nonsense!" A tall woman pushed through the crowd. "I'll have you know, this woman is our village's benefactor. She's the reason why you greedy children can live rent-free here." Her scolding tone and glare gave her a strong presence.
"But, mom!"
She received a cold glare in return. Quietly, her dad patted her back, whispering, "Thank you for your sacrifice."
The two women dismissed the villagers and went to the girl's house to discuss the woman's visit.
Several hours passed by, and noon became night. The girl was trying to fall asleep in her room, but to no avail, while thinking about the past events. After meeting the boy in that cold village, she'd had a taste of something like freedom.
After constantly wishing to be free of that little village surrounded by wooden walls, she'd escaped, finding out what she needed to know, only to be captured again without anyone she could trust.
- I wonder how Boy is doing...
But she'd made her decision. It was certain her mother would put the walls higher after her escape, and she couldn't go back.
While going about her daily life, several days passed, before her punishment was decided.
"@#%$%, you've been a bad child," her mother said while sipping tea at their kitchen table. "That's why we're sending you with the nice woman who brought you back."
"What?" The girl said in astonishment. "I just got back, why're you sending me away?"
"Don't talk back," she snapped. "It's not like that. You're going to work as an apprentice under her," she said. "Since you have behavior issues, letting you leave home will let you realize the importance of listening to the people who take care of you," a wide grin spread across her face.
In return, @#%$% grimaced, putting up a front.
Internally, she was panicking.
- It must be a front... I'll be sold for meat. How do I get out of this...? How can I escape...?
Still, the woman and girl left the village, the girl's family and neighbors waving goodbye from the border.
The woman and the girl travelled until night, before finally reaching a small cave at the border of a dark, moist pine forest.
"Come, let's enter," the woman said with a smile.
"No way! Why would we go in a dark cave at night? Where is your head?!" @#%$% protested with a frown.
- I thought she's supposed to be smart, since she had a government job in the science field. What is she planning...?
"Don't worry, it's safe," the woman grinned mischievously, although there was no light in her eyes. "This is a tunnel to my house, a shortcut with less danger if you will."
"What if a bear walked in? How would we see where we're going?! Why are we even walking at night?!" The girl was exasperated after a full day of walking. She wasn't used to exercise, and her travelling companion was a monster with stamina unlike that of a human.
Seriously though... How could she walk for 7 hours straight...? If I didn't ask for her to slow down, she would've arrived here hours earlier. She can't be human...
"Don't worry. Since I made the tunnel, I know exactly where it goes. It's already night. If we don't continue, the carnivorous forest animals will come out," the woman persisted. "Hurry up, there's not much time." She turned on her heel and walked in, not turning back once as she disappeared into the void of the cave.
The wind howled, cold air blowing on the girl as she waited outside. The silence was eerie, and it was dark. The trees couldn't be distinguished from each other, and although everything was tightly packed, there were quick, sharp movements between the dark trees. The girl shivered, her mental state breaking down. The final straw was the low, guttural roar of a bear, ringing out into the night.
"Damn it!" She turned away from the forest and ran into the cave...
...And then slipping, screaming the whole way she slid down. The floor of the cave was moist and smooth, sloping down at an extreme angle. In that cave, void of light, the girl fell several hundred meters before eventually landing roughly on her butt in a moist pile of... something.
"Eh?" The girl said quietly, her voice echoing through that deep cave and fading out. "Where... am I?"
"You're in the cave under my house," the woman replied.
"So, it really did lead to your house... strange. Anyways, where's the entrance?"
"It's in the roof of the cave. I wonder if you could reach it?"
"Eh? ...Why is it up there? Why would you have such an impractical tunnel???" She said this squeamishly, all while knowing why.
"It's not an impractical tunnel, because it's not a tunnel. Obviously, it's a trap," the woman replied easily.
"What... WHAT?! Then... this is..."
- Of course. I've let my guard down... but how do I run from a monster who walks at 15 miles per hour?!
As her eyes adjusted to the dark, the wall of the cave let in a bit of moonlight, illuminating the bottom of the cave. There, moist flesh sat in piles and puddles, with bodies stored in the walls. A fire burst to life in the corner of the cave, roaring as it spread, cooking all of the flesh in the cave... and speedily moving towards the girl.
"No... NO! So this is what you were really doing with my people! You won't get away with this!" The girl got up and ran hastily towards a long rectangle on the roof of the cave, a black shape roughly the size of Boy's kitchen table. "Arghhhh!"
Stumbling and swearing, the girl raced to that spot, the fire chasing, right on her tail. It jumped from pile to pile, overtaking everything as it went. The girl reached it first, but...
- ...it's too high!
She cried and swore, running and jumping, trying to grab anything, even though she knew it was futile.
- Please... anyone...
Hoping, reaching, in her hand a small note written the morning she left the village that she'd never gotten to give him...
And then, as the fire grabbed for her, she jumped as high as she could...
And an outstretched hand met hers, pulling her up, away from the fiery cave.
"Are you okay?" Boy asked with a smile. "You're safe now, @#%$%."
"...Thank you." She replied with tears in her eyes, and they left together, towards the light.