Sweet Nightmares: A Monstrous Beginning

Mint: Cocoa Butter And Ice Cream [Chapter Six]

I'm hungry. 

 Never before had I gone so long without food. 

 I was awoken by a sharp hunger pain. Unsure what time it was, I sat up and wiped the dirt from my clothes. Not that it really made a difference, my favorite sweater was already covered in dried mud. 

  The fire was out, so it had been at least a few hours since I'd fallen asleep. Looking to Caramel though, she was curled up happily on the ground. 

 It was a little relieving to see she was alright though. Slimes may be difficult to kill if you didn't know how to do it, she's strong for a slime, considering the only way to kill a slime is to make them freeze to death. 

  Then to Alice, who slumped against the trunk of a dead tree. She looked stern, even in sleep. How did she even sleep with her body open like that?

 That boy looked limp in her hold. I almost thought he was sleeping too until he twitched and rose his head. His fluffy hair covered his face but I could tell he was staring at me.

"Good... Morning?" What do I even say to a turned?

 For so long I wanted to help them but never got a chance to even be close to one. And now one is sitting right in front of me and I'm at a loss for words. 

 I didn't personally know him. I was aware he worked at the sweets shop back home but he was just always there. Like a background character or something. 

  I'd never said a word to him before, didn't know his name, anything. 

 The boy tilt his head like a confused puppy but didn't respond. 

 Dangerous, huh? 

"Can you speak?" I pulled myself to my feet. "What's your name? How are you still alive? What happened to the others?"

 He looked back down once again. 

 Perhaps I asked too much. 

 Alright, I have to be slow then. I crouched to meet his eyes and tried to lower my voice. "What is your name?"

 A good place to start, right?

 The boy twitched his neck and I prepared myself in case he tried to snap at me. But it never came. 

 I almost thought I was dreaming it, but it finally hit me that I could really see a small tear roll down his cheek. "I..." His voice cracked.

So he can still speak?

He turned away from my gaze. "I can't remember."

"Was it the darkness? Do you know what happened to you?"

  He shook his head. I wanted to groan in annoyance but bit it back. "Alright, what do you remember?"

He twitched again before suddenly starting to squirm. 

I took a step back but he quickly gave up. This isn't at all what I remember a turned acting like. 

It was... Pathetic to an extent. 

 A killer monster? I couldn't see it. 

  "I remember being caged. I... I couldn't control my body. We fell here, I ran." More tears began to roll down his face. "The two others and I escaped our cages together. We... We were attacked, they were killed. I ran and hid here. I... I don't want to die. Please don't let me die."

  Did he only remember what happened after being a turned then? What could have caused this? It drove me crazy not knowing. What really was the darkness?

I reached out to touch him, and he didn't move when I brushed his hair aside. 

 A shining blue eye on his right, but his left... It was completely blacked out and dried with blood, as though there was no eye there at all. 

  "You don't remember anything, do you?"

 He shook his head, a little dejected. 

"Do you remember transforming to save us?"

 His eyes widened before he smiled softly. "It was... All a haze. I do a little though."

 Exhaling, I brought my hand back and let his hair fall back. "There's a good start. So can you tell me what you are? Horns, a lion tail, fire, and you just transformed like a werewolf. What was all that?"

  It became a little easier to see and looking up, I could see the sun was rising already. 

  The boy bit his lip, looking a little hesitant.

  "I'm a hybrid... That's all. But... That was the first time I transformed since I've been here." 

  As I looked over him, he seemed aware, but shaken. Even in the dark, it was easy to see he was shivering. Was this really the monster that had to be locked in a cage and banished to the dark world? Was this even the same monster that saved us from the swarm?

"Poison." A voice suddenly made my heart jump and I looked to Alice. A frown upon her lips, eyes wide open.

 Had she been awake this whole time? Alice rose to her feet and moved in close, an intense look across her face. 

 "What do you mean poison?" I asked aloud, but the monster didn't respond. Instead, she lowered the binds until he was totally free but instead of running, the boy merely sat on the ground. He looked dangerously thin, how long had it been since he'd eaten? Really, we haven't been in the world this whole time, but could hunger be having a stronger effect on him? Did he eat before becoming a turned? It was too hard to say. Alice grabbed his arm and with her long claws, rose his sleeve to exhale with annoyance. "Of course, should've seen this sooner. Everything he mentioned is effects of a particular poison and here we have the injection site." As she stepped aside, I moved in to look at what Alice was talking about. 

 Clear in view on his arm, a small needle mark circled around with a grape purple bruise. What on earth...?

  I studied a lot, though I admit I knew very little about drugs and poisons. There were none in our world, or at least, none I knew about. 

The boy looked to the ground, as though he were attempting to avoid us now. "I don't know anything about it." His weak voice muttered. 

"There's someone who knows about this stuff." Alice released his sleeve and stood back up. "He lives passed the mountains. It's a bit out of our way, it would be a risk to stretch any more time. Your choice though." I took a glance to the odd boy, then looked back to Caramel. She seemed so peaceful in sleep, even in a place like this. It was a choice for me to make, right? Caramel was a little older than I was, but she was childish and somewhat ignorant of danger. She couldn't choose that, could she?

 But if she could, what would she decide? I think... She would want to go, to discover the truth and help those who can't help themselves. I finally sighed. "Let's do it. We fell into this world because we tried to help the turned. We should take this opportunity, and help them while we can."

 The boy swished his white lion tail in the dirt before struggling to stand, but Alice quickly tightened her arrows around him again and pulled him to his feet herself. She narrowed her eyes, looking him up and down carefully. "You're not acting dangerous, but I'm not taking any risks. You'll come with us like this for now."

  He sighed but didn't argue. Seemed like the best option when you're being restrained by something that could kill you, really. One other thing quickly came to mind. 

 "You don't remember your name, do you?" I reminded myself of that fact, then couldn't help a smile. "Well, we should give you one then instead of just calling you 'the boy'."

 The hybrid monster looked up, staring at me with what looked to be curiosity. I couldn't really tell with his hair in his face. But what to call him? I tapped my chin as I thought, looking around to see if I could find anything to name him off of. Dirt, tree, burnt sticks, nope. 

  As I was looking around, I noticed Caramel stirred before raising her head. She rubbed an eye and stretched before her gaze snapped to us. She grinned wide and pulled herself up. "Good morning!" Her bubbly voice chirped. 

 Alice clicked her tongue. I assume that was a greeting for her? I gave my friend a wave and looked back to the boy. "Hey, you're good at this kind of thing. What should we call him?"

The slime examined the boy in hold. He didn't move much, or utter a word until she smiled. "How about Cocoa? The first time we met, he gave me chocolate cupcakes, so a name like Cocoa is fitting, right?"

"I don't care what we call him." Alice crossed her arms and exhaled softly. The boy, Cocoa, on the other hand, smiled. 

  "Thank you... I... I don't remember that happening, but I like it. Please... Call me Cocoa."

Speaking appeared to exhaust him to an extent, causing pauses and long silences after replying to us. 

 Caramel returned a smile then her eyes landed on me. "Let's go now! We have to get to the demons and go home!"

 She started to walk away but I had to reach out and hold her arm, stopping the girl. "Wait. We're going to have a detour." 

  At that, Caramel turned back with a look of confusion, urging me to continue.

  I was almost hesitant to explain at first, I didn't want her to be too upset. Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile. "We're taking a detour. It would help the turned, so..."

 The slime blinked before a smile suddenly appeared on her face. "That's great!" She giggled with a childlike smile. "Well let's go then, which way is the mountains?"

"No change yet." Alice piped up. "We still need to get across the river. It's a straight shot from there to the demon castle but our expert is in the opposite direction. Through the labyrinth and fire caves."

  This is new information. I raised an eyebrow, catching Alice's attention. She scoffed and crossed her arms. "He doesn't like guests. It's that way or no way. Do you want to keep sitting around here until your bodies become trees or something or do you want to keep going?"

 She was right, not that I'd say that. We had to keep going. I started down the dirt path, hopefully leading out of the forest. 

 The scuffling of feet told me I was leading our group now.

 A silence fell over us until I heard a hushed whisper. Turning back, Caramel shared quiet words with Alice before giggling. What were they talking about?

 I'd say girl chat but did Alice even count as a girl? I can only see her as a murderous drunk. Though, she was smiling as well. 

 Cocoa seemed to be listening dully, still being carried in the air. "So..." I cleared my throat, catching their attention. 

 When Alice met my eyes, I forced an awkward smile. "Can you tell us about the river monster now?"

 The killer gave a crooked frown. "Fine. She's a succubus that preys on men wanting to cross. When we get there, we just have to distract her long enough to get on the other side of the river. Or convince her to let us pass."

 Caramel c****d her head with interest. "A succubus?"

  Oh, I nearly forgot. My friend didn't know about monsters like we did. 

 "Succubus are demon girls that usually target men in their sleep and do... Bad things to them." For lack of a better word. "There's also a male version of them called an Incubus that targets girls, but they're rarer to find. I think they're usually pacifist when it comes to fighting and all, but if they have to, they're really strong."

 "Thank you, walking dictionary." Alice suddenly interrupted, sounding annoyed. I jeered her a quick glare before turning back around.

 Caramel asked after all. 

"How much farther is the river?" The slime girl wondered aloud. That one I couldn't answer. I looked back to Alice again, expecting an answer from her this time. Though she merely shrugged, the dark bags under her eyes only adding onto her face that practically screamed 'I don't care about anything'.

 I couldn't say I particularly liked Alice, but as long as she helped us get home.

She suddenly stood upright, the sound of metal scraping. "You hear that? It sounds like we're already there. Perhaps we ran farther than I-" The killer cut herself off and moved ahead of me. I tried to listen as well, and I could hear what she meant. The gentle sound of rushing water that didn't seem far off. I picked up my pace to hurry up beside Alice who twisted the gear in her body closed and was crouching behind a bush. I followed her gaze, spotting a creature idly flying above the water. Long bat-like wings carried her tall body. Vibrant blue hair, and sleepy blue eyes. 

 That was a succubus? Without those wings, she'd look human. Though perhaps that was the point. A succubus was supposed to look like an ideal perfect woman but had a devilish soul inside. 

 "So what do we do?" Caramel was suddenly on my other side, watching her carefully. 

 It didn't seem like she's seen us yet. 

"We'll send someone out to try to talk to her." Alice explained. 

"Oh! She wants boys, right?" Caramel was suddenly looking at me.

 "I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking." I pushed myself out of my crouch. "I can't talk to that thing."

"But why not? You know succubus and you're a boy!" The slime grinned like it was obvious. 

  There's no way I'm going out there. 

"I mean, wouldn't I have to appeal to her?" I looked to Alice for help, but she only seemed bored. 

  "You're not entirely wrong." She sighed in response. "You'll have to tell her what she wants to hear."

"See, I can't do that." My attempt to convince Caramel only caused her to laugh. 

"Just go out there!"

"I can't!"

"You only have to talk."

"I can't flirt with girls!"

"But why not!?"

  "Because-!" I quickly cut myself off. 

 And... Of course, they were looking at me, waiting for me to finish. "Because I'm gay." 

 Caramel giggled. "Really? I never knew! You talk to me just fine."

 I almost replied it was due to the fact we've been friends since childhood but it wasn't really the best time. I looked to Alice, then to Cocoa. "What if he goes out instead?"

"He's hardly stable enough to even stand." Alice exhaled with a hint of annoyance. She was right, but I wish she wasn't. Do I really have to go talk to the succubus? I almost was going to just step out and do it when Alice kept speaking. "What about Caramel?" She looked to the slime. Confusion hit me instantly. Didn't they just say succubus preyed on boys? Caramel was the furthest from a boy you could get. The monster must have seen our confusion because she heaved a sigh. "Slimes' can change its shape. She could just change into a boy and go out there."

"But can she appeal to it?" I looked to Caramel, who looked between us, a little bewildered before she smiled. "I hope so! I'm definitely bi, so I can do it no problem! But I've never tried to change my gender before." She looked down to her hands, oozing her green and blue goop. "I dunno if I can."

 I don't think I've ever seen Caramel transform in the whole time I've known her. There are times she's altered her body shape but nothing too dramatic, like thinning herself to fit in a crowded space. There have also been times she's changed into nonliving objects like rocks, but only when she absolutely had to. 

"It's in their DNA." Alice moved close, pushing past me to set her clawed hand on Caramel's shoulder. "You can do it." She lowered her voice. "Just think about what you want your body to do, it will follow. Slimes have a power no other monster does. You can become anything."

 There was a hint of hesitation over my friend's face and she averted her eyes. "But... I wasn't really supposed to change my form back home. I... Uh..."

It was true, no monster was permitted to change their form, so officials could tell who was who. Could Caramel really do it? She suddenly exhaled and looked up to Alice. "Okay, I'll try!" 

  The killer stepped back, and Cocoa's eyes widened. 

  Caramel turned around, probably so she wouldn't have to look at us while she strained. 

 Still, I tilt my head, trying to see. Could she do it?

 Her long hair began to melt into her body, shortening right before my eyes. 

 I thought she had stopped until I noticed her small frame was broadening. I took a glance to Alice but she was focused on Caramel.

 The girl stood up, but that word wouldn't be accurate. 'He' turned around and flashed a smile. "So so how do I look?"

Caramel didn't look much different, aside from shorter hair and a more muscled body. Well, it's not perfect but it would have to do. Alice crossed her arms, eyebrow raised. "You're going to need more practice but whatever, it's good enough. You got this?"

 The slime nodded and looked out to the river. There was a hint of determination upon her face, one I haven't seen before. She stepped out of the bushes, and I quickly took her place to watch how it turned out. What would we do if things turned sour?

The succubus looked in Caramel's direction before a grin spread over her face. "You're bold," Something sparked in the monster's eyes. "To approach me like this. You know what I am, don't you?"

 "I, uh," Caramel paused before she cleared her throat. "I do, and I'm not scared of you."

 It was a little hard to hear unless I listened carefully, and it was hard to focus all my attention with a murderer kneeling beside me. 

 The Succubus chuckled and turned herself around until she was flying on her back, gliding the air as though she were swimming. "And what makes you so brave? What if I kill you right here? I could drain your cute little energy," She reached out and tapped Caramel's nose, "Just like that." 

 My friend lowered her shoulders, hinting at her fear. 

"Come on, Caramel, you can do it." I wanted to call. Just convince her to let us cross the river. 

 "You won't." She tilt her head as she looked over the succubus. 

"Such a waste of time," Alice muttered beside me. "I could kill her easily. She looks human enough to eat too." 

  I quickly tuned that out though. 

  "Oh yeah?" The monster turned herself back up once more, letting her hair fall over her face cleanly. She was rather pretty... "And what makes you so sure I won't? I'm feeling a little hungry today."

 I caught Caramel looking back to where we were hiding for half a second before she stood upright and faced the demon. "You're not like that. I don't think you'll kill me, you would've done so when I approached, right?" Caramel attempted to call the monster's bluff, but the Succubus still looked unconvinced. "You're so pretty, I can't imagine you'd want to hurt me!"

 Suddenly the Succubus burst into laughter. The slime took a step back as she landed onto the grass, tucking her large wings behind her. "Well, aren't you a little flatterbug? You're going to have to try harder than that if you want me to spare you."

 She reached out with her long, slender fingers towards Caramel's neck. I almost jumped out of the bush when my friend suddenly yelled. "Please!" 

 The succubus stopped and narrowed her eyes. What was I watching? 

 "Please let me and my friends cross your river." She began to beg. "We need to go home. I'm not from this world, I don't want to die before I can save the monsters my world is hurting." 

 I think... Maybe it was time to show myself. I stood up and stepped out of the branches, making the Succubus look in my direction.

  "You don't have to hurt anyone." I tried to keep my voice from shaking. 

 I heard Alice come out behind me and turned back to see she had set Cocoa on the ground. He stood for only a moment before his legs buckled beneath him and he fell. 

 "He's been poisoned, as have many innocent monsters." Alice's voice kept her monotone attitude but it was a little more clear. I think for the first time since we met, Alice didn't smell of ale. 

  The Succubus looked between all of us before she smirked. "Are you really trying to get me to pity you? I'm just seeing even more cute boy souls I can eat, and one of them can't even run away from me. Why should I help you? Why is it my problem? I didn't cause your friend's pain."

"You're a part of it!" Caramel suddenly snapped. Even I was surprised. I had never seen her this angry before. The Succubus' eyes widened as she looked to the slime. "You're blocking our path, Cocoa could have been one of the ones to die if we didn't find him when we did. Hundreds of monsters have already been thrown here for monsters like you to kill! It's not fair, it's not fair that they didn't do anything, and everyone treats them like evil garbage!" She pushed the Succubus, but it didn't do much when the monster was so much stronger than her. "I didn't think anyone was totally evil, but if you don't let us cross your path, then I'll... I'll..." Suddenly, she began to cry.

 "A slime." The Succubus muttered. "With those eyes... You're not a real boy."

 She rose her hands and cupped Caramel's cheeks. Even though the ooze was covering her fingers, it didn't look like the monster cared. "Don't cry, it's so unladylike."

 Caramel looked up to match the gaze of the other female. "I admire how brave you are, and I can't say I've ever complimented another girl before. You may cross my river. Go save your friends. And... Don't hide who you are, change back into yourself when you're on the other side."

 As the Succubus lowered her arms, she flicked the slime off herself.

"Thank you." Caramel wiped her eyes and smiled. "What's your name, anyway?"

 The Succubus opened her wings and rose off the ground with a grin wide and proud. "Me? I'm the famous Succubus; Kelaris!"