Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

"But... it’s not here. Did it get away?"

"Ah! It’s up there!" a man shouted, looking up. He saw a massive shape right above his head and nearly pissed his pants in fear.

The moment he screamed, before anyone could react, Monty dropped from above, crashing right on top of them. Horrific screams immediately echoed across Death Island.

Eight of them. They thought they were prepared. They thought their numbers gave them an advantage.

But Monty was terrifyingly lethal. It was almost one body per second.

Afterward, it dutifully tossed all eight or nine fresh corpses into the small pit.

Its mouth covered in blood, it slithered to the river’s edge to wash itself clean.

The two boys emerged from the cave. They stood there, looking at the dozen or so dead men, their faces devoid of expression.

They picked up the so-called anesthetic from the ground and tossed it into the pit along with the sulfur.

The two walked to the river’s edge.

"Brother, where are you going?"

"We might not have to grind stones anymore. These construction workers are dead, so their boat must be docked by the shore. We can finally leave Death Island. Monty, do you want to come with us?"

Monty nodded.

And so, the two boys led the way with Monty slithering alongside them. The trio—two boys and a snake—traveled for a long time until they reached the shore they had first escaped to.

As they expected, the area was deserted.

The boys gathered supplies, finding food, clothes, and other useful items, and moved everything onto the boat.

Time was of the essence. They didn’t know the route the boat had taken to get here; the only thing that mattered was leaving this place immediately.

Dylan Grant started the engine, not caring whether he knew how to pilot the boat or not. Fortunately, it began to move, and at a manageable speed.

And so they drifted out onto the open ocean, leaving the island far behind.

On the boat, the boys stripped off their filthy clothes. There was fresh water onboard, and for the first time in a long while, the two children washed themselves thoroughly. Afterward, they put on clean clothes meant for adults. They were huge, but far more comfortable.

There was food—all sorts of seafood. They fed Monty until it was full and ate until they were stuffed themselves. They also found some money.

Dylan Grant kept watch over the boat while Elmer Grant slept soundly with Monty.

They took turns like this.

When it was Dylan Grant’s turn to sleep, Elmer Grant kept watch.

They had no idea where they were headed, but after drifting at sea for a long time, they finally spotted an inhabited area.

The sky was overcast, and massive, churning waves began to rock the boat, making it unstable.

For safety, the boys decided to get off at the shore. It didn’t matter where they were; the priority was to get on solid ground.

They used a lighter to burn their old, dirty clothes.

Then they sent the empty boat motoring away from the shore, letting it drift off into the distance.

The sky looked like it was about to pour.

"Elmer, we have to hurry. It’s about to pour, and we have nowhere to take cover."

Elmer Grant nodded, then said to Monty beside them, "Stay close."

The words had barely left his mouth when thunder cracked. A moment later, a deep RUMBLE echoed across the sky.

They quickened their pace, following a path that soon led them to the entrance of a village.

The boys stopped at the door of a house. They had Monty hide off to the side to avoid frightening anyone, then knocked.

A little girl opened the door. Her voice was soft and sweet. "Who are you looking for?"

"Excuse me, could we please stay here for a night? We got separated from our parents."

"Let me go ask my mom." The little girl closed the door. A moment later, it opened again to reveal a plainly dressed woman in her twenties.

"Where did you two little ones come from?"

"Ma’am, we got separated from our parents. Could you please let me and my brother stay for the night?"

Seeing how polite the children were, and how comical they looked in their oversized adult clothes, the woman nodded. "Please, come on in."

After she closed the door, they all went inside. As the others headed further into the house, Elmer Grant snuck back to the entrance, cracked the door open, and let Monty slip in.

The house had three rooms: a kitchen, a bedroom, and a storage room.

The woman had the two children stay in the storage room. She brought out some bedding for them, and without asking any more questions, she said, "Get some sleep."

"Thank you, ma’am."

She smiled and closed the door.

A little while later, Monty snuck in and curled up with them. Outside, a torrential rain began to pour, DRUMMING against the house. The two boys slept soundly, feeling safe for the whole night.

Before dawn, to avoid having Monty frighten anyone, Dylan Grant told it to wait in the tall grass outside until they had said their goodbyes to the woman.

At daybreak, the boys finished packing their things. But when they tried to open the door to the storage room, they found it was stuck.

It hadn’t been locked when Monty left.

In that short hour, the door had been locked from the outside.

Elmer Grant pounded on the door, shouting, "Open up!"

Dylan Grant clenched his small fists. "Elmer, stop shouting. We’ve just escaped a tiger’s den only to walk into a wolf’s lair."

Elmer Grant frowned. "Brother, Monty’s waiting for us outside. If we don’t come out, it might come back..."

Dylan Grant sat back down on the bedding. "There are only two reasons she would lock this door: either to keep us as her sons, or to sell us. People really are worse than beasts sometimes. Whoever decided to pull a fast one will be the one to pay the consequences!"

Elmer Grant understood his brother’s meaning perfectly.

He sat down silently beside his brother.

Half an hour passed.

The storage room door opened, and the woman stood there with a smile. "Children, breakfast is ready."

The two brothers stood up and bowed to her. "Ma’am, we won’t be eating. We need to go find our parents, so we’ll be leaving now."

The woman smiled. "What’s the rush? How about you let me help you find your parents?"

Dylan Grant shook his head. "No, thank you. We appreciate you letting us stay the night."

With that, he and Elmer Grant walked toward the front door. The woman just stood there, her eyes fixed on them.

When they reached the front door, the brothers discovered it was fastened from the inside with a large padlock. They couldn’t get out without the key.

Dylan Grant turned back to look at her. "Ma’am, what is the meaning of this?"

"I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just worried because you’re so young. Wouldn’t it be better if I helped you find your parents after breakfast?"

"I think you’re planning to sell us, aren’t you?" Dylan Grant’s little face was cold. "Otherwise, you wouldn’t have given yourself away by locking the storage room door ahead of time."

The woman was stunned. She never expected the child to be so sharp.

She had assumed a child so young would be clueless.

"Of course not. I just want to help you find your parents."

Dylan Grant snorted. "Our parents are in Fravia. Judging by your financial situation, you probably can’t even afford the plane fare. Am I right, or am I right?"

Hearing this, the woman’s face split into a wide grin, her true nature finally showing. "Well, since your parents aren’t here... you two can just stay here for good."