✧ 63 ✧
Black pupils contracted. Emerald irises dilated. And golden flurries inside those cosmic frightened eyes went wild. Every cell in Ilya's body wanted to run, run away from this dangerous creature named Beast.
But Ilya was frozen; he couldn't move a muscle.
Across from him, at the back of the ICU room, stood that tall evil man. A scar along his thick eyebrow glistened under the lights. Messy strands of chestnut hair fell on sharp yellow eyes.
"What's the matter, kid?" said Beast as he approached with swagger. "Cat ate your tongue?"
The deep voice in that sarcastic tone sent shivers down Ilya's spine. Every step forward Beast took made Ilya feel smaller and smaller.
Oh, you're not just scared." Beast laughed. "You're scared scared."
Ilya dropped his gaze instantly when Beast got too close to him. His body didn't comply with the screams of his mind, run, run far away. He remained frozen, unable to move or utter a single word. All he was able to do was stare at the cards laid on that old mattress.
"You should be scared," Beast said in a low voice. "You know why?" He leaned to meet the voice's face. "Because I'm hungry now. And I don't play games when I'm hungry."
With those last words, something dropped in the pit of Ilya's stomach. A dreadful feeling he knew all too well, except this time it was stronger, heavier, tightening around his lungs until breathing became a struggle.
A wicked glint shone in Beast's piercing eyes. Watching the poor boy being crippled by fear only added to his amusement. His eyes glowed when he traced his finger along the boy's arm. That velvety delicate flesh made his mouth drool.
"Yum."
Ilya flinched. Goosebumps raced up his arm and crawled all the way to the back of his neck.
He could feel Beast's predatory gaze boring into him, as if it could see straight through him and feed off his fear.
Even the memory of the man's touch made his skin crawl, each brush of it feeling like a knife dragged across his flesh.
Beast continued trailing his finger down to Ilya's hand. He stopped at the index finger, pulled it up close to his mouth, and licked it.
"Mmm," He hummed. "Salty, but sweet."
The despicable gesture made Ilya shrink in fear, raising his shoulders to hide himself from Beast's tongue.
Beast opened his mouth just enough for the index finger to slip past his saliva-filled lips and between his teeth. He took all of Ilya's shaky finger in his mouth, ready to take a bite.
Ilya's body shuddered when he felt Beast's sharp canines against his skin. His breathing intensified as he realized that Beast was really about to eat him this time—no more games or delays. Just a meal prepped for him and served on a silver platter.
After all the cruel game, this was finally happening, starting with his fingers... one... by... one.
One finger.
After.
Another.
Beast was about to snack on those lean fingers when suddenly he jumped and chirped.
"Oh!" He let go of the boy's finger and whipped his head toward the pillows, his eyes lighting up like a cat spotting something shiny. "Meat!"
In his large human form, Beast squeezed past Ilya and dove into the nest of pillows and blankets. Fabric flew in every direction as he rummaged through the pile. A moment later, he uncovered his treasure—a stack of tuna cans.
"Canned meat?" He shrugged. "I guess this will do."
He opened one with his black, thick nails and gulped it all down, all while he was side-by-side with Ilya.
Ilya curled into a ball, too exhausted to move, too broken to run. It took a long moment for the truth to settle in: he had been given another chance to live.
Against all odds, he was still alive.
A fresh wave of despair crashed over him.
He was done. Done running. Done fighting. Done praying for a miracle that never came. Somewhere along the way, he had accepted his fate.
And now fate had cruelly changed its mind.
Ilya rolled onto his side, turning his back to Beast and the gross sounds of chewing. Then he closed his eyes and cried, smothering every sob before it could escape. Yet the tears refused to stop.
When Beast finished consuming a dozen tuna cans, he lay back and burped.
"Now I'm full," he declared.
Ilya shivered and hugged himself tighter. He knew exactly what that meant.
Beast got off the mattress and walked towards a stack of sheets.
"Aw," he cooed. "How nice of Billy to cover up our meals for your sanity."
Ilya opened his eyes. He heard fabric dragging across the floor.
He wiped his tears and turned, witnessing the horrific truth—A heap of human bones underneath those covers.
And that was not it. In every corner of the room, there was a pile of sheets with both pointy and rounded shapes, the shapes of human skeletons.
Beast continued pulling the sheets to reveal more and more bones. Not one. Not two. But five bodies—or what was left of them—remained in this room. And soon, Ilya would be the sixth.
So much blood covered the floor under those sheets. Ilya thought it was some maroon-colored tiles. However, as the harsh reality sank in, the temperature suddenly dropped in the room.
Beast reclaimed his coat, yanking it away from Ilya's shivering body.
Beast stood in front of the only exit in this room. A breeze swished from under the door over the fur coat on Beast's shoulders. He stepped towards human remains and took a small bone, using it as a toothpick after his last meal.
"So," Beast clicked his tongue. "I remember you telling us your name. Elliot, wasn't it?"
Beast took a sudden stride forward, backing the kid up to the wall with a flinch. Then he kneeled to meet that terrified face. He picked and sucked his teeth, making disgusting noises.
"Elliot!" He chuckled. "Isn't that a girl's name?"
Beast huffed his tuna-fish breath on the kid's face, blowing away those strands of black hair from those green eyes, just enough to see their fear.
Ilya hugged his knees tighter to his chest.
"N-no," he stuttered, peeking over his knees. His button nose was still red from crying. "It's—it's a unisex name."
How he managed to speak was beyond his comprehension.
Beast grinned. He just had an idea—another game.
"I think I know why you're scared now."
There was an odd glint to his gaze, one Ilya could not decipher. It was evil, but playful. And something else; was it hunger? No. Something raw. Something stronger.
"You're a girl, aren't you?"
"No! I'm not!"
Ilya hurried to defend himself. A sickening feeling started in his stomach.
He knew it was one of Beast's games, but this time it was different.
It was sexual.
"Ya know, my aunt had a maid named Elliot once.
She was hot; the maid, not my aunt." He laughed, then tilted his head, eyes wandering over Ilya's face.
"You remind me of her." He leaned in. "I've never met a boy as pretty as you before.
You must be a girl wearing boys' clothes, and I'm gonna fix that. "
An unsettling smile crept onto Beast's lips. He could feel the boy's rattling breath on his face.
"Yup." Beast beamed, showing his long filthy teeth. "We're gonna play the maid game."