"GULP," Cole, backing away and looking terrified, swallowed hard. His eyes were glued to the raw meat in Celes's lunch box. "HAAA-AH," he opened his mouth but quickly shut it again. Celes, seeing his reaction, stood and approached Cole. "BYEK," she grabbed the raw meat and shoved it into Cole's mouth before he could even react.
"Ugh,"
"Eat it. You'll understand after you eat it," Celes said, licking the blood from her own hand.
Cole held the meat, but before he knew it, he liked the taste and quickly devoured the entire piece. Cole's eyes turned red, and then his surroundings went dark. Suddenly, his head spun violently, and his vision blurred. Celes's face disappeared, and he finally closed his eyes and collapsed.
****
"BZZZZZZ," "CRACKLE,"
"S-stop what you're doing, back away,"
Cole saw his white, furry hands reaching toward a young woman, about 25 years old, in a classroom. The woman was cornered against the blackboard, unable to escape, and looked absolutely terrified. He looked to his side and saw five other figures with him—all with gray skin, red eyes, various monstrous arms, and sharp teeth, their faces horrifying.
"P-please don't.... d-don't kill me," the woman pleaded.
"La.... la.... la,"
The woman sang a trembling melody, but "GRAAAH," Cole felt himself leap and pounce on the woman's body. He bit her and tore off a piece of flesh; the sensation and taste were vividly clear in his mind. He turned to see a little girl about his age, but with black snake-like arms, ravenously eating the woman's body. She then turned and smiled at him, her mouth smeared with blood. "BZZZZZZZ," "CRACKLE," suddenly everything blurred and instantly went dark again.
****
"AAAAAAAAAAAAA," Cole screamed, clutching his head.
Celes, who was sitting with Cole's head in her lap, immediately pulled his head into a tight hug and leaned down over him.
"Shh... calm down, Cole. Everything is going to be alright," Celes whispered.
"La.... la.... la,"
Celes hummed the melody into Cole's ear, continuing to embrace his head in her lap. Cole raised both his arms—they were entirely transformed into the Yeti arms from the elbow down, with dark palms. Celes smiled, and a tear traced down her cheek. Hearing the tune, Cole stopped struggling and calmed down.
He began humming the same melody along with Celes. Hearing Cole join in, Celes smiled brightly.
"Finally... I found you, Cole," Celes said.
Cole immediately stopped humming and slowly got up, but he was instantly shocked by his surroundings. He stood and walked, looking all around. The world he was in was entirely different; even in the middle of the day, everything seemed dark. In the sky, the sun looked like an eclipse, covered by a red moon that was perfectly still, seemingly glued in place, so the world was illuminated by a terrifying, red moonlight.
In the distance, a large shadow was moving incredibly slowly, like a giant bigger than the mountains was walking. "BLUGH," Cole fell back onto the floor. He saw that his world had truly changed. Celes approached Cole, sat down next to him, and leaned against him.
"Now you know, don't you? Welcome back home, Cole," Celes said, wrapping her arm around Cole's.
As Celes's arm wrapped around his, he instantly recalled the dream from last night, the dreams he often had, and the dream he just experienced. Slowly, he turned to look at Celes's face next to him.
"That face... you're the girl in my dream... Celes?" Cole asked.
"You finally remember me. When I first became aware of this world a year ago, the first thing I remembered was you. I never expected to actually find you at this school," Celes replied.
"B-but what's actually happening... w-why did the world change like this?" Cole asked.
"I don't know myself. Like I said, I woke up a year and a half ago and only realized the truth about the world a year ago... when I ate the man I was living with," Celes countered.
"Y-you killed the man you were with?" Cole asked, turning to Celes with a sharp glare.
"Yes, but there's a story,"
Celes then told him that when she first woke up, the man with her, a Dr. Albert, told her he found her in an empty house with a student ID and school supplies. He took Celes home and cared for her like his own daughter. After three months, Albert taught Celes many things until one day, he was mesmerized seeing Celes asleep on the living room sofa, wearing only a T-shirt and shorts.
He approached Celes and began to grope her sleeping body. But when he opened Celes's shorts and was about to violate her, Celes suddenly woke up. Seeing Albert about to attack her, Celes transformed. Her eyes turned red, and her skin became a pale grayish-black. Her arms became black serpentine skin with a mouth in the palm. She immediately plunged her hand into Albert's chest and pulled his heart out through his back.
Albert died instantly when Celes pulled out her hand. She then ate Albert's heart, followed by the rest of his body until only bones remained. After she was satisfied and woke up from her hunger-induced state, Celes finally realized that the real world wasn't what she thought it was, and the only memory that surfaced was her childhood friend, a boy named Cole who had Yeti arms.
"So, that's what happened... for some reason, I feel like I know you now, too... and I'm glad to have met you again, even though I don't understand," Cole said.
"Hehe... yep, me too," Celes replied, hugging Cole's arm.
"But why did you transfer to this school?" Cole asked.
"I just wanted to avoid things. The man I killed was pretty famous. I told the police everything, and they just laughed at me and decided he had simply disappeared, not died. So, I moved here about a year ago because I couldn't stand that house and it's surrounding anymore," Celes answered.
"Okay, I get it... so why were you at that barn yesterday?" Cole asked.
"Hmm... Cole, before I explain why I was in the barn yesterday, I need to tell you something: not all the humans we see are human. That man, Dr. Albert, wasn't human either. He took me home and taught me things so that one day he could consume me. That's why he was trying to assault me; he didn't see me as anything but food," Celes replied.
Cole fell silent. He turned to look at Celes, who was staring back at him with a serious and confident expression.