Page 44 of Monster in Disguise

"You're not going to do it, are you?" His voice is just as empty as his eyes. There's not a trace of emotion in it.

He doesn't wait for me to answer, swiping the blade from my hand and casually walking towards the prisoner.

Whereas before the prisoner had looked terrified, mostly because Father and the Pakhan had been inside too, now he looks smug, probably not intimidated by the sight of two kids with a knife.

But not a second later, blood spurts out from the man's cheek. Vlad is wielding the knife as if he's had years of training.His hand moves and he makes a few more incisions in the man's cheek in the form of a square, effectively cutting a sizeable chunk of skin and revealing both the man's mandible and his maxilla. The rag that had been stuffed inside his mouth to keep him from crying out is also visible now.

Vlad's features are set in consternation as he regards his work. He has the piece of flesh in his hand and he brings it closer to his nose, inhaling the scent. That's just... wrong.

His smile widens suddenly and removing the rag from the man's mouth, he stuffs the flesh in instead.

"Eat," he commands, but the prisoner just looks at him with wide eyes, wildly shaking his head. Vlad's blade trails down the prisoner's torso, stopping at his stomach. The prisoner stills. Vlad goes even lower, and the threat to his crotch makes him grind his teeth against the flesh. The chewing is reluctant at first, but Vlad keeps encouraging him with a nip here, a nip there.

Vlad looks entranced as he stares at the man's jaw work its way around the piece of flesh.

"Haven't you ever wondered..." Vlad starts, his eyes glossy with excitement—the most I'd ever seen from him, "how chewing looks from the outside? We always do it... so naturally. And yet, so many forces are at work."

"Stop!" Vlad commands and the prisoner stops chewing. Vlad looks pensive for a moment, before taking the rag once more and stuffing it inside the mouth of the prisoner.

"What...?" I blurt out, my first words since we've been here. Vlad's knife is already trailing around the man's throat. He seems extremely focused on the position of the incisions. He tries to cut, but the prisoner moves, so he withdraws his knife, shaking his head.

"You," he points at me, "hold him!"

I hesitate for a moment, but end up walking across the room and planting my hands on the man's shoulders, trying to keep him in place.

A small smile tugs at Vlad's lips, but it's immediately gone. He's once again focused on his incisions, cutting from the man's Adam's apple downward. This time, his cut is the shape of a rectangle.

He removes the skin but scowls as he notices there's still more muscle tissue in the way. He stares at it for a second.

"What are you trying to do?" I have to ask.

"Want to see how he swallows," he murmurs, bringing his bloody hand to his chin. He taps his foot impatiently, and I feel the man flinch. I tighten my grip.

Vlad's eyes light up. He takes the rag out and again gives him a piece of flesh to chew on.

"Eat!"

The prisoner does as he's told, slowly munching on the piece of skin. Just as he's about to swallow, Vlad puts his hand up. "Stop!"

With a sudden swipe of the knife, he tears a hole in the man's throat. "Now!" he commands.

I don't know what's happening, except there's blood coursing from the man's throat. He squirms a few more times before he becomes limp under my hold.

"Shit!" Vlad curses, looking decades older than his actual age. If I didn't know what he looked like... I could have sworn that no child could do something like this.

Vlad's hand tightens on the knife, and his features stretch over his face in anger. I blink. In no time, he's on top of the already dead man, swinging his knife in and out. I take a step back.

He's stabbing and stabbing, blood spattered on his face.

"Vlad!" I call out, but he doesn't answer, digging deeper into the man's flesh.

"Vlad!" I yell, and somehow he snaps out of it. He stands up, throws the knife on the ground, and looks at me as if dazed.

There's blood on his face. He lifts his hand, and with one finger he swipes some red liquid and brings it to his mouth, sucking.

My eyes widen at this display.

He's not normal... he can't be normal.

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