Ren gladly skipped through the streets, his eyes wandering around. The more he saw something, the more his black eyes sparkled in delight and amusement.
Something like a dog munching off a human leg with its two front paws. There were also ducks drinking out of a bowl of red liquid, and if Ren's not mistaken, it was probably human blood as well. The beasts were also talking among themselves.
"Damn it. Humans are getting out of stock in this place. They're getting more expensive now."
"Ah, I don't want to eat vegetables. It tastes like shit."
"I know, right? Meat is the best."
"Does this mean I had to work harder in the office?! I don't want to work overtime!"
"Poor us, we can't eat delicious meals every day anymore!"
"But hey, I heard that a new batch of imported humans will be delivered today."
"Where did you hear it from?"
"The news, duh?"
Ren's eyebrows furrowed in thought, his flexible legs halting at a slow stop. He dragged Jiro as he walked closer towards the gossiping personified animals. Ren was curious about their discussions. He stood side-by-side with a big and tall cow, which had piercings on its nose and ears. Its giant hoofs were pinching human meat displayed by the merchant.
Jiro was scared out of his shit as he came into close proximity with the man-eating monsters. He squirmed away from Ren in a desperate attempt to set himself free and just run for his life. Before he could even be able to do so, Ren firmly gripped his nape with a threatening grin on his face.
Ren raised his forefinger and rested it on top of his lips.
Jiro understood the message clearly. 'Hush, Jiro. If you take more unnecessary actions, I'm going to offer you as a sacrifice to these animals. Behave, hmm?'
Jiro could only avert his gaze and gulp the saliva down his throat. He refused to look at the weird-looking animals, so he simply closed his eyes tightly so as not to scare the shit out of himself.
The cow suddenly interrupted the small gossip of the animals. "Shut it. A call came from my superior telling us that the human captives escaped the cage. We have to catch them as soon as possible."
Ren's face brightened in an instant. 'Ooh, this cow is a cop!'
"What?! Then, our food supply...?"
"Hey, how about we catch the humans for ourselves? Isn't it like a free dinner falling from the sky?"
"The heavens must've loved us, commoners, for us to be given such an opportunity!"
"Praise the heavens!"
Ren smirked at that. He felt like he was being exposed to the prelude of a horror movie or something. It was so thrilling for him!
Jiro, on the other hand, shivered in fear as he tried to cover his ears from the animal's weird noises. He couldn't see them, but he could imagine what they all looked like as they discussed how to eat the humans they would catch for tonight's dinner. Sweat started dripping from his forehead down to his cheek. His face was so pale that one would think there's no blood in his head right now.
He just wanted to go home after playing computer games 'til 11 p. m.; how could this happen to him?!
At that moment, he remembered a fragment of his mother's voice talking to him about something...
"Son, do you know about the myth?"
"What myth is it again? Stop being so superstitious, Ma."
"Myths about the Nightmare Express! Some people say that whoever rides the train between 11:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. will be sent to another dimension. A scary one at that. So go home early, okay?"
"Heh, okay."
Jiro bit his lower lip in utter regret. He should've listened to his mother. He should've gone home early. He should've stopped playing computer games outside. He should've...
His eyes started to sting. He wanted to cry, but if he did that, wouldn't the beasts hear him? He could only cover his mouth to stop himself from getting carried away with his emotions.
Ren could feel the young boy beside him shaking like a delicate leaf. He moved his hand to rub the boy's head. "Hey, kid. I know it's hard at first, but you have to suck it up, ya know? This is life. It won't stop just for you. You have to move on your own," he whispered in a firm voice before dragging him away.
Jiro pursed his lips and did not respond. He only let himself get dragged by Ren, as if he were a lifeless body tagging along with the salaryman.
Ren looked left and right before his gaze landed on a restaurant. He stared at the menu placed before the door. Seeing that they were offering fruits, vegetables, and human meat, he immediately went inside with a forceful pull of the gigantic red door. It was probably that big to accommodate bigger customers like bulls and elephants. His other hand was still occupied with grasping Jiro's thin arm.
Jiro scooted a little bit closer to Ren after realizing that they had entered a restaurant filled with humongous beasts devouring human flesh as if it were the most delicious thing in the world. He couldn't help but whisper in a daze, "Why...?"
"This is my strategy, Jiro," Ren replied in a soft voice so as not to get the attention of the animals.
Jiro stared at Ren with a probing gaze. He couldn't understand Ren's strategy at all.
Ren only winked at him before they continued walking through the cashier. Jiro thought they would pause and order some edible food. At this point, Jiro wouldn't be surprised if he did that. Based on what they did earlier, like gossiping together with a bunch of hungry beasts, Jiro was convinced that Ren's way of thinking is quite unique and special compared to others.
To his astonishment, Ren actually passed by the counter and proceeded to the kitchen of the restaurant.
Jiro hastily covered his mouth and nose as he caught a whiff of the foul stench of human flesh and blood. He was even more nauseated at the sight of a pig chopping off a human's arms and thighs while joyfully humming a weird tune. It was so eerie that Jiro experienced extreme goosebumps all over his skin.
Ren, on the other hand, simply let Jiro get acquainted with the situation first. After a minute of repeating the inhale-exhale method, followed by Ren's nonsense whisperings, Jiro finally relaxed a little bit.
This served as a cue for Ren to continue his plan. He swiftly held Jiro's arm again and squatted behind the pig to reach a cabinet filled with frozen human bodies.
Jiro gasped at the ugly view in front of him. He instinctively closed his eyes to fight off the fear in his system.
Ren pulled Jiro along with him as he opened the cabinet and inserted himself there. He was sure that there would be a vacant space for two people after observing the pig during that one minute of calming down Jiro earlier. The pig chopped off two adult human bodies from the cabinet; thus, there would be spaces for them.
Jiro was then stuffed closely in the cabinet, far away from the other cold, dead bodies. Ren was the one who had to suffer being in skin-to-skin contact with the corpse. Jiro felt bad for the salaryman, and at the same time, he also felt thankful for his consideration.
In retrospect, Ren decisively put himself in this position because if the pig discovered them, he would be the first to notice and spring into action.
Also, the real reason that they went here is because...
[Three minutes of preparation time have ended. Passengers are warned to be aware of being caught by the beasts' senses. Please be careful and successfully complete the mission. Best of luck to all of you!]
Jiro flinched at the robotic voice that sounded in his head. He looked up to see Ren's relaxed expression before shifting his gaze at the pig, who was busy chopping off human meat, through the small slit of the cabinet's door. A look of understanding dawned on his face.
Ren gave him a sly smirk, a hint of smugness in his face.
They stayed in this kitchen because Ren was sure that the animals would not be suspicious of living humans hiding in their kitchen. After all, only crazy people would hide themselves near the chopping board of a butcher! The immune beast also wouldn't be able to distinguish Ren's and Jiro's own smell, as the strong scent of other human bodies almost blocked his senses from knowing which scent was which.
Although Ren did not dare to slack off, after all, there was the threat of being discovered by the pig by opening the cabinet where they were. At that point, it would be very inevitable for them to just run for their lives. Ren also couldn't shove away the thought that perhaps the Nightmare Express would not allow them to just peacefully hide throughout the night until dawn.
While Ren was still deep in thought, Jiro's ears perked up as he heard screams and cheers coming from the distance outside the restaurant. He instantly knew to whom those screams belonged.
He gripped the sleeves of Ren's white shirt out of instinct. Jiro gritted his teeth to stop it from chattering due to his arising fear.
Feeling a small tug on his sleeves, Ren turned to look at the owner of the slender fingers. He raised his hand to rub the boy's head. "Shh."
Outside...
A woman screamed her lungs out as she ran away from the hungry mob chasing after her. The ground was shaking from their heavy footsteps, resulting in a small crack appearing on the cemented road. She used all her might to get away from them. Even if her legs were shaking, she did not stop and did not dare to look back. Focusing all of her attention on not tripping and just surviving.
Alas, a human's stamina has its own limits.
Her legs shook as her strength depleted from the long and exhausting chase. She stumbled upon a red cart pushed over by a grinning fox. She screamed in horror as she watched them pounce on her all at once. The woman closed her eyes and prayed for a quick death instead.
At this climactic moment, a shadow emerged from the balcony of an establishment. An adult woman wearing a black, long-sleeved compression shirt and gray sweatpants suddenly jumped off her previous position. If one would look closely, there was a rope tied to her waist as she swooped in to grab the other woman from the group of beasts.
Her light feet landed on the ground with barely any noise. She swiftly untied the rope around her waist while carrying the woman over her shoulder like a sack of rice. The athletic woman then ran off quickly without any change in her serious expression.
"Oh my God. Oh my God. I thought I was going to die. Thank you so much!"
"Don't thank me yet," the lady savior butted in with a calm voice. "I'm only saving you because I could. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come down."
The woman in red dress bit her lower lip and nodded weakly. 'At least I'm safe right now; I thought I was a goner back there,' she thought, fear creeping back in her bones. She could clearly remember the faces of those beasts. Their saliva was dripping out of their mouths, as if they would just eat her raw right then and there. She was sure it would haunt her dreams for the rest of her life.
"What's your name, ma'am?" The woman asked her savior politely. It was only right to ask for the name of your benefactor, right?
The running athlete agilely dodged the cat who pounced on them from the front before answering in a breathy voice, "Emi."
"What?" The woman did not hear her clearly due to the roaring sounds behind them.
"I said, my name is... EMIIIII! FUUUCK!"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
They pathetically dropped into a manhole without any warning.