18. Welcome to Peaceful city

It has been twenty minutes since that beast left and it was becoming clear that maybe Benjamin might have something to do with that beast. Because everytime the beast showed up Benjamin would go missing.

"Benjamin!" She screamed his name out loud the second time but her voice reverberated throughout the forest but she didn't hear any response. With Benjamin missing she was not certain about her safety around the river anymore. So she walked away from the river.

Few minutes ago when she had woken up, the first thing she saw was that huge ugly-beast standing above her like he was going to eat her any instant. But when she screamed, the beast looked at her as if it was telling her something then left. As she sat down slowly she was able to recover a series of a very blurry picture of a beast lifting her from the river and someone swimming her towards the ground but she ignored it. Anger has blinded her!

" Who is there!" Behind the trees, something was hiding in it, Clara watched as the trees shook off and then suddenly a white rabbit emerged from the bushes.

Still she was unsettled. The first time something like that happened, a beast followed and she was not going to stay and wait. She left the river.

Clara walked until she reached a certain part of the woods where she could hear some noise coming from the distance. She cleared the leaves in front of her and then saw a boy squating on the ground doing something Clara couldn't tell.

She became adamant whether to approach him or not. The boy appeared to be a bit older, his head facing down making it a lot harder for her to tell if she could trust him or not.

She decided to talk to him. Simply because she believed that in that part of the bushes there might be a house or something around because she just couldn't understand why the voices of children echoed to her ears. She would get some help from him at least.

"Hello" Clara walked to his side.

"Hi!" The boy replied a little shocked to see a girl walking alone at that time of the night.

"Please is there any house around here?" She asked.

" Well if you put it that way. I won't say yes. But there really is a building just a few meters away." The boy said with his gentle voice.

" Okay can you take me there?" Clara asked, coming closer to him.

" Are you lost? You don't seem like you belong here. " The boy then asked.

" Yes. I am lost. Now would you take me there? I can't breathe a second here." Clara's mesmerizing eyes did a number on him.

The boy took Clara to the road and as they were chattering, the boy got to know her name. Clara came to know that the boy is called Moore Fredrick. Just like Ricky. But she refused to tell him she had a brother like that. She didn't want to have a relationship with someone that would easily remind him of her loss.

"So Rick! Where are you taking me?"

Rick smiled. " Thought you'd never ask. I am from the orphanage and I am taking you there. If that's what you want to know. We have almost gotten there.

****

Benjamin has been running away from Clara until he became tired. Even the system couldn't take that much rejection. Just because he looked ugly when he turned green, doesn't mean he was a monster. It hurt Benjamin even more as he thought about it; What if he got stuck in his green form forever, would that mean she won't accept him?

"Wait, don't be scared, I won't hurt you." He had tried telling her but unfortunately his language was nothing but just an animal roaring. Co-nian was in control at that moment but when he saw that anger and hatred the girl used to look at him, he instantly handed Benjamin his body back.

Now Benjamin was walking by with his usual body; Naked.

" Get something to wear for crying out loud." A female voice sounded behind him.

Benjamin also gasped in surprise at the sight of his own bare body. It turned out he had transformed into a human and due to the internal pain, his mind didn't tell him he was changing.

His two hands grabbed the important parts quickly, "look away!" He turned away from the person.

" Oops sorry" The girl said. " But why are you naked?"

" Wait! Who are you?" Benjamin saw the black hair on her head, and the white night robe she wore. He neared her. But he was right. That wasn't any one he expected.

" I am Naomi." She said, picking up her sack from the ground. "Now tell me why you are naked?" Naomi demanded.

"Won't you ask my name first?". Benjamin asked.

" Nah those are the primary perks. The most important thing is why you are naked in the middle of the night." She said, covering her eyes while pointing a knife at him. And if it weren't for the fact that she had her eyes closed she would have seen the slimy transparent oil on Benjamin.

" Hold on" she searched through her utility bag and tossed him something

"Here. Wear it quickly before I open my eyes"

Benjamin quickly wiped the oil off his body and had finished putting on the robe. He stood there staring in awe. Clara? What happened to her? Had the guy that chased after them gotten her?

"Excuse me, who are you? And what are you doing in these woods?" She asked him, as she advanced in his direction.

He didn't respond to her. Benjamin didn't have that kind of time for making new friends. At this point, he didn't care about anything except Clara .

" Excuse me!" After saying that, he started walking.

"Hey! You didn't answer my first question." She rushed behind him.

" Thought you said you didn't want to know me." He shrugged.

"I didn't but now I do. You look suspicious." Naomi said.

" I am Benjamin Reeds. I got lost in the woods. And about my clothes, I removed them when I almost drowned in that river. They were heavy" He lied.

Naomi stood there silent trying to find wisdom in what Benjamin had told her. All of it made sense except the one that said he intentionally removed his own clothes. If Benjamin was to stay around her, she would keep a close eye on him.

Benjamin looked at the surroundings, sadly he didn't see anything through the darkness this time. " I'm looking for Clara, a girl prettier than you." He finally stated the matter that was pressing him.

Naomi's face inched at his remark. " What? Are you serious" she regretted helping him with the clothes. " You were even naked until I helped you, didn't know you were this rude."

" Can you help me or not?" He asked.

' God this guy is irritating ' Naomi blinked a few times. "Fine, follow me ."

Saying this, she led the way, Benjamin kept on wondering whether someone saw him in his transformation. Because looking at the moon and the pale looking skinny girl in front of him, he could tell people lived close.

"Here we are." She gestured at the glimmers of the moon reflection on the water.

"You brought me back to the river?" Benjamin yelled..

"What, you've been here already?"Naomi said. "So clearly she is not here… Hold on a second…. Who is she to you, is she your girlfriend? Is that why you were naked"

"Hahah, of course not, she is not my girl, she is just a special friend of mine." He reassured her.

" I Live close by, maybe we could head there and see what happens." Naomi told him.

" You want me to quit the search for Clara!!" he yelled.

" I am going home. If you want you can follow" She vanished in the woods.

Benjamin stood there thinking whether to follow Naomi or.

"

[Follow her. I like her. Just forget about that princess you call Clara] Co-nian was already angry with Clara and would do anything possible to not see her again.

Benjamin followed until they had reached a large farm yard. He also noticed that bright light that shone from a building. As he tiptoed behind her, he started thinking.

'Maybe this is going to be my new home. Am I going to have a friend like Vanessa here? I hope I won't be lonely as I always have been since I was born. This place even look welcoming" He followed until the distance led them to a sight of a house. They continued walking until the distance between the building grew smaller.

It wasn't long then the light blind folded him. There had arrived. He adapted to the light for a bit more before seeing the three storey building. The building was large almost like the size of a school but the structure was just plain. It was a brown house with no ornaments in front.

"We are here." Naomi announced. "Welcome to Peaceful City, Home for orphans."

Benjamin's heart dropped hearing that from her. "Peaceful City?" Is she saying it metaphorically or she meant what she said? Because Benjamin hasn't slept in a house ever since he could remember and hoped it would be peaceful just as the girl said.

The door screeched as it opened, Benjamin watched when the door opened slowly, his gaze ending on a girl below 12. She wore a cloth that touched her toes and looking at it, it became clear to Benjamin. He was wearing exactly that. " This is a girl's dress?"

"Sorry. I forgot I was a girl before I handed over my robe."

"Naomi, who is this?" Her lips opened in sync with the slow movement of the door.

Out of nowhere, someone pulled the door wide open. It was Clara!

She ran from the door like a mother with her arms wide open.

"Benjamin! Benjamin, is it really you" She slammed into him as if he was the first boy she had known all her existence. Benjamin felt awkward, that warm hug was involuntary he could tell but still he felt awkward . "I thought you were dead..." She pulled away from the hug "wait a second" She yelled. "That beast!"

She dragged Benjamin by the ear. "You left me to die" The warm beautiful hug instantly just changed.

"Ehem" A nice gentle muscular voice interrupted coming from the building. "Clara, is that the brother you were talking about."

Benjamin felt little. 'She told him I was her brother!!?' Just thinking about that made him sick.

"Um, one moment please" Benjamin pulled her from the door where three people were now standing. Then into the distance."Why did you tell him I am your brother"

" I didn't, he figured it out" She lied.

"Well tell him the truth" He replied patiently.

"Benjamin!" She screamed his name "Why did you leave me to die?"

At this point Benjamin

hadn't figured out anything to say yet. "Um, well. Um." He stammered.

"Answer me!" Her quick outburst surprised him. If he knew this would have happened, he would have definitely run away from the forest. "Why did you leave me?"

Slap!

"What just happened?" Benjamin asked himself, touching his face. Clara just slapped him! "What is your problem?" He exploded.

Her angry face reminded him of earlier. She was still looking at him with disgust.

" I left you because I came here to look for help" Benjamin recited those phrases he heard from his head.

'Thank you system'

[Next time she slaps us I won't spare her]

Clara scanned him from top to bottom before she started moving away.

"Young lady" Benjamin had enough. "You better apologize to me"

"No!" She replied coldly.

"If you won't kneel down and apologize don't talk to me " Hell Benjamin was blazing angry.

"Hey! we are still out here" Naomi screamed to their attention.

"Just act as if we were brothers. I can't have them calling us a couple." Clara said, still walking.

" I am not Ricky!" Benjamin shouted. "I am not going to act like your brother"

[What have you done Benjamin? Can't you see she is already hurting]

Co-nian said despite the hatred he had for her. But now he was acting as if he cared but really he didn't.

Clara paused after hearing that.

"That is what I thought"

"I am sorry." Benjamin pleaded but the girl never said a thing.

As they were walking back to the building Benjamin shared a glance with her . When he looked at her strangely he didn't see any pain in her eyes. "What just happened to her. " Looking again, her eyes didn't show anything at all. No emotion? Is this actually happening?

"We need to stick with a plan," she said plainly. "We don't have anywhere else to go, and now that the police is after us and someone wants us dead, we must stay here until we figure something out"

As they were moving back Benjamin couldn't stop but look at the girl in front of him. It was then he realized he barely knew her.

[ You messed up pretty bad, You should have slapped her]

"I know!" Benjamin yielded.

'My only wish is that this doesn't turn ugly'