In the explanation, they both sat in a meadow. The flowers made strange lined patterns on the ground, they were shaped like tiny red skulls. Still they bowed to the wind and their slowly floating petals gave off a peaceful ambiance.
The kid had a thick shackle around his neck, it anchored him to the ground.
The sky was clouded, only one sun ray reached the kid, making him the main character in his own mind.
"Long time no see! Where have you been all this time?" He asked to the black silhouette next to him. Mister Show was shocked. The kid had no sign of his current body state. His face was brand new with sharp features, his arms had a smooth skin and his hair covered his whole scalp. He even had eyebrows!
"I was next door. I need you to go back outside with me, we have plenty to do!" Show said.
"No! I'm furious you only came now. I was left here alone for so long I lost track of time. What's happening outside? I can't remember. To be honest I did not do my best to recall it." He said, crossing his arms.
The monster came next to him and pulled the chain, not hard, the last link came out of the dirt with such ease Show almost suspected the kid to stay in the explanation on purpose. That until he saw the other link, full of rust and half buried.
"Come on little one, don't tell me you have memory loss, that' be the last of our problems. You've been decapitated, thrown into a shithole because the fat bastard had no other disposal ideas. We need to exit the hole we're in and make them all regret." Show said, releasing the kid from his uncomfortable collar.
He was happy to see the kid. He knew Keith had the most perfect body because of his impossible healing properties. But he had to fix his mental as well to keep the whole working. It was the opposite of himself. He couldn't help being proud of his own work.
He sat silently, next to his tool. With his buffalo skull at the top of his head, he adopted a proud posture.
They talked about what happened when Show was outside, about Keith's odd comportment, devoid of self consciousness yet somehow autonomous. Keith spoke.
"I know this other side of me, the one with black eyes, I saw him in the explanation too. He's never been talkative, I suppose it's the part of me that only wants to eat."
Show replied. "You say it so casually, you could've told me that earlier! It'd bring me closer to a solution to the hunger issue you have."
"But... He's been useful until here, that guy out here does what I can't do myself. I wouldn't eat anything as disgusting if..."
"If you weren't blind? If you weren't enjoying the feeling it gives? If you weren't craving for something to shove in your mouth when your stomach asks for it? Come on, don't be a fool, it's a part of you and you need it for the moment being. It has done a pretty good job at helping restoring your body so far."
Self acceptance was the unspoken goal for a monster.
Outside the explanation, Keith's body was everything but inert, it kept moving around. It was clumsy, like a doll with too little strings to make it look real. Yet in continued to eat.
The butchers above the well brought someone alive, a healthy one. He was thrown in the well as the butchers exchanged small purses filled with coins while one counted aloud every breaths of time their prisoner lasted before giving no more life signs. Alas the man fell head first and died on the spot.
The one who had bet less than fifteen breaths was happy, but the three others weren't.
Few hours later that day they had another occasion to bet. They placed their money on the same amounts, as they felt the game amusing. Prisoners were not rare in the city, they occupied too much space and had to be taken care of daily. So their little game barely made a dent to the jail's headcount.
The next man was given a rope. Well it was attached to him at least, they suspended the poor guy by his ankle and let the man free himself once touching the bottom of the pit. It was hard to untie the knot because the butchers kept the rope tight in order to pull up the rope without giving a chance to escape to their prisoner.
"Can I have a torch as well ?" The man asked, not able to see much.
"You can't request anything, you are thereby considered executed!"
The man did not last long before vomiting. The smell made him plug his mouth and nose periodically. The heavy atmosphere racked the inside of his mouth, making him puke until his belly was empty. He had difficulties staying still because of the irregular ground he was stepping on.
Soon, two green reflections appeared a few meters away from the man. Those were eyes at a low level. The pair moved frantically until the man reacted, kicking the air in front of him when he saw the thing approaching.
"Fuck off!" He said, kicking the thing away. Confirming the butchers' thoughts on the thing living down below.
But the green flash came back faster. And a third time, faster. Until the thing was so annoyed it decided to go head first and not with his hands. He bit off a part of the man's foot, making him slur in a myriad of ways.
"NO! MONSTER!" He shouted before being attacked again. He suffered an onslaught of rage against a puppet using its only weapon. Pain made it harder to riposte and with lethal chomps, he was soon no more.
"Makes a total of a hundred and forty five breaths." One said, picking up the purses on the table while the others demonstrated their most deceptive wince.
It was their best distraction so far. Alas there wasn't enough money at stake, so they decided to introduce the game to the guards. First with a demonstration. They threw the most likely to survive animal in their hole, a cat, the latter did not last long.
Even though there was not much to see, the sound convinced more than one, and they were soon ten to bet on the outcomes.
What a bunch of happy lads they were. Finally something interesting to do at work besides the main task.
Mister Show was observing it all, exploiting the fruit of his labor was an attack to his pride. Nonetheless it helped the kid recover and did not seem dangerous at first.
On the fourth day after the brain washing started. The betting house's latest idea was to make someone descend with a weapon. Why not after all?
They took someone with some muscles and a death penalty on file. It was uncommon for an almost forgotten prisoner to still be in a good shape, his skin was so emaciated they could see his bones and muscles moving accordingly, but in contrast his face was ugly.
The tall man was chained. He was given one instruction, and hope to be freed. He just had to survive.
They suspended him by the ankle, and when he was halfway through the hole's entrance, they gave him a sword by its tip, to avoid him rebelling too soon. They rushed to lower the man, but he hurried to slash the rope few meters before hitting ground. He had no idea what was about to happen next so he waited in a defensive stance.
Above his head there was ruckus. Because of its unique game, there wasn't much time before the number of gambler increased as well as the amount of money in the slaughterhouse. That until a high ranked soldier was warned of the slaughterhouse's secret and came to investigate the same moment the new fighter was left to the monster's mercy.
"What's all this ?" The soldier asked, as about thirty people stared at him in silence, wide-eyed.
"Captain, we've found an anomaly, we needed to be sure before telling you about the matter." One said shyly. But the captain did not buy it and spoke as his face turned deep red.
"You fools think I'm this dumb? Everyone noticed the missing guards on duty! Go back to your posts at once!" If that man could, he'd spit fire along with his words. Only the butchers remained with a ton of money on a bloody table.
"What's down here?" He furiously asked while a butcher replied. "Well a prisoner, and for the other part, we sincerely don't know."
The captain saw the rope and ordered. "Pull him back!"
"The last man cut the rope short, we can't unless we have a longer rope. This one was twenty five meters long, but we lost about a third of it."
What no one could imagine is the end of their game. The four days of brain regeneration ended the same instant, and the kid opened his eyes, he overwhelmed his savage personality with his own, becoming himself again.