❣ His Glistening Gray Eyes ❣ //amoneki//

❣ Sharing Rooms With Monsters ❣

Chapter 2

...

Time passes, and it turned out the rumors were true. It has now been two weeks since the first (and so far, only) ghoul has moved into a human cell. No blood has been spilt, but it's only a matter of time. This isn't goddamn safe

We're out in the courtyard and I go find the man sharing a cell with a ghoul. His name is Walter and even before he roomed with a monster I have gotten to know him well. He was imprisoned for voluntary manslaughter and has been at Quinx Penitentiary for eight years. Honestly, this man doesn't seem like he could hurt a fly. I wonder what his real story is.

I sit beside Walter on the bleachers, and he waves in greeting. "How are you, Amon?"

I smile lightly. "I should be asking you that. You're cellmates with a ghoul." Walter is one of the few I've conversed with within the prison. We don't agree on everything, but he's shrewd, kind, and seemingly trustworthy. Truth be told, I hold him in high regard.

He is one of the few I've told about how I am (was) a ghoul investigator, and he doesn't seem surprised by my response. "Ah yes. I forget, you believe all ghouls are evil."

I don't hesitate. "They are."

"If a coyote eats a rabbit to survive, is it deemed evil?"

Damn wise old man. I spat, "This is different."

He shakes his head. "I do not believe so. Ghouls eat humans, but it's not their fault. It's in their DNA." He scratches his gray beard. "In order to survive they eat what they must, just as we do."

I feel my anger rise. "But what we do isn't murder!"

He looks at me, and his eyes twinkle. "But isn't it?"

I grit my teeth, and look away. I stare at the ghouls' side of the courtyard. They are still rowdy, annoying, abominations. I absently notice Eyepatch is staring up at the sky. In a few minutes I am calm again, and I revisit the topic. "How is living with the ghoul?"

"It is fine."

"No danger?"

"No danger." My brain whispers for now, but I don't voice it.

Because even if the ghoul's not threatening you, even if it's not actively trying to kill you, it will. It's only a matter of time. Their thirst for human is strong and hunger wins over humanity ten times out of ten.

"Which ghoul is yours?" I ask.

Walter scans the courtyard for his cellmate, then points to a thin, black-haired ghoul. "The one with the big tattoo on his shoulder. His name is Sheik." He leans back onto the bleacher above him, his elbows resting on the cold bench. "His parents were killed when he was twelve. He enjoys sewing dresses for his little sisters and watching NBA sports on cable."

Huh...that's not the answer I was expecting. "What's he here for?"

Walter suddenly turns his gaze to me, solemn. "…For being a ghoul."

His eyes see through me. I feel oddly flustered by the gravity of his stare, and I shamefully look away. "I see," is all I can mutter.

"You're not curious about Sheik though, are you? You're not even curious about my living arrangements with him."

I scrunch my eyebrows. What? That had been the entire reason I came over here. What the hell is he going on about?

"You're curious what I know about the One-Eyed ghoul. The Eyepatch."

I blink furiously then yank my head in Walter's direction. What the fuck, what the absolute fuck?

"And how the hell did you reach that conclusion?"