How long has it been? How long had she been lying there? How long since the Hunter decided to feed her and Mono? All these questions ran through Six's head but no answers came into sight anytime soon though it felt like a month since her last meal even though in reality, it could've been a day or more. Regardless, Six was hungry, no hungry was an understatement, she was starving, her stomach growling so loudly that she should've gone deaf from the sound echoing into her ears yet somehow her sense of hearing remained intact.
A pain unlike anything she had or would have ever experienced in her young life, stabbed her in the stomach like a sharp knife, making her lightly jolt on her spot on the wooden floor of her prison in the Hunter's cabin and grabbed hold of her stomach. She whimpered in pain which was something that she normally would have regretted making, but she was in too much pain that not only came from her horribly empty stomach but also from the rest of her body.
Her limbs had become nearly stiff and wobbly and lost whatever energy she had gathered from the rare meals Six had gotten from the Hunter during her imprisonment in the wilderness to the point she could hardly move them. Her head felt like it was made of iron, her skull and brain a set of weights working together to pin her down to the floor. Her eyes were shut tightly with each painful rumble from her empty stomach to the point that it gave her a headache, tired bags rested under her eyes from many sleepless nights due to hunger.
Six whimpered again, wobbly bringing a hand to her stomach and rubbing it gently as if to try to rid herself of the horrible pain she was in. This was a foolish, childish hope for her to attempt, but with how weak she had gotten from being trapped down in this hell, she couldn't help it. When Six realized there was no relief from the pain, she dropped her arm back down on the floor and her head stayed stumped in place. Was this what dying felt like? Six thought to herself, her brain trying to turn numb to everything and anything around her.
A pained whimper suddenly caught Six's ears, snapping her out of her numbing thoughts, was it her? No, she had little to no energy, it was taking all she had just to breathe and the voice she heard sounded male. The little girl had a feeling she knew who this was, but there was no way for her to be certain till she opened her eyes. Gathering enough willpower and strength, Six pried back her eyelids as best as she could, focusing her attention on the brown lump resting a few feet away from her.
It was exactly who she was expecting. The noises came from Mono, the paper bag wearing boy who had unexpectedly broken into her prison to save her when all her hope in the world died, only for both of them to be caught by the Hunter a few minutes later when trying to escape his cabin. They had gotten as far as the front door only for a gun to be pointed at their faces, then grabbed roughly and thrown back downstairs. Six didn't know how the hell the Hunter managed to find and catch them both, but he was probably more cunning than Six gave him credit for, but that didn't matter anymore now, they failed their escape before it could even start and now they were trapped with no way to leave and they were going to die by the most painful death ever thrown at a child.
Glancing at Mono again, the boy was lying on his side much like she was, his paper bag completely gone from his face as it sat a few feet above his face, giving Six a better look at what he looked like. He made to grab it but it appeared his remaining strength failed him and his arm dropped to the floor with a thud. Mono looked cute if Six was being honest with herself, his brown hair framing his cute face with adorable brown eyes filled with tears of despair and agony. Another pained whimper exited his lips as he clutched his stomach, his lids shut tightly as his tears racked his face and slid down his cheeks. The poor thing was crying from the agonizing pain being forced onto his body and honestly Six couldn't blame him which was out of character for her admittedly but since she was in the same pain as him, she couldn't help but relate to his problems.
Normally Six was the type who was the tough cookie, she hated being weak, helpless or taken down so easily. Even in the toughest situations, Six would always stand tall and proud, fight back as much as she could and do whatever it took to survive. She hid her emotions back in the wings, never letting herself have time for them and going as far as to scold herself and anyone else around her for allowing their emotions free or shown any signs of weakness even when Six or any other kid didn't have the mental strength to hold them back or couldn't help but simply want to let the hurt out. But now? Six was feeling all her bottled up emotions waging a violent war within her head, bouncing off her brain like someone was banging a thick pipe against her skull.
It gave the little girl a headache but there wasn't much she could do but lie there and allow her thoughts to blast her with how everything was her fault, how she dragged Mono into this and how he had to suffer because of her and because he cared more about her safety then his own despite her being a complete stranger. As much as Six wanted to snap and deny what was being said or rather screamed at her, but there was some truth behind these words even if Mono brought himself into this mess by following her after she was captured by the Hunter.
However, that didn't matter anymore, did it? They were both probably on the verge of death by now no matter whose fault it was. Six knew this by now, she was dying, there was no denying the truth, only dying could feel this bad. Inside her body was only pain and nothing more. Mono finally opened his tear-filled eyes and glanced up at Six, his face full of sorrow as he spoke with his eyes, telling her how sorry he was for not being able to save her from this fate.
Against herself, Six gave him a weak smile as best as she could given the situation, telling Mono that it was okay and thanking him for at least trying. Slowly she reached her hand out, Mono watched her for a minute before smiling as well, taking her hand as well. The two children held tight to each other, the warmth and friendship even if it was for a short time, emitting from their touch. The smiles on their faces managed to light up the remainder of their days even through the pain and tears that would eventually fade slowly but surely.
And at this point, the two were ready to accept, leaving with each other to a better place where they would probably get more food to snack on sounded great. Honestly anything would be better then the situation they were going through, even the gods having mercy on them and giving them even a small amount of food would be good. Reprieve came from an unexpected source, a loud splat sound echoed within Mono and Six's ears as if the source was less than a foot away. Both Mono and Six opened their eyes and looked around the room as best as they could till their eyes focused on the object above them.
To their surprise, a large piece of meat was just sitting right above them, it was raw and bloody and the scent filled their noses like a delicious feast that was cooked and prepared just for them. Upon seeing this piece of meat, Mono and Six's eyes widened in surprise and relief, drool dropped from their mouths, the rumbling in their poor stomachs grew louder. All their thoughts stopped in their tracks and were filled with the thoughts of hunger and gratefulness that they finally had something to eat at last. Because of this, every warning sign that would've popped up in their heads were completely blocked out.
Since the urge to eat was stronger than the will to resist, the two children didn't question what the meat was or where it came from or why it looked oddly human as they stood on weakened limbs and walked over to the piece of meat, opening their mouths and biting down. As the bloody meat travelled down their throats, Mono and Six felt something inside them snap. Their flat teeth elongated into sharp daggers, their eyes pricked with ice cold needles, the sclera turning a jet black while the irises became an icy blue.
A strength they never imagined existed rushed into their small bodies, powering their limbs back to the way they were once before. Small claws popped out from their fingernails making the job of tearing the meat so much easier, it was gone in seconds as they transformed. When the two children lifted their heads, mouths dripping with blood, the two had lost their hopeless facial expressions that were now replaced by angered looks of what could be considered cold hard determination which in truth was correct, but it also hid something else no one would've guessed unless they looked closely toward the eyes: HUNGER.