A/N: HAH WOW It'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I'VE WRITTEN ANYTHING PEOPLE EXCUSE MEFSFG and uh this comes with a few illustrations... The whole story is on and is best viewed at jerge(dot)tumblr(dot)com/post/22226457160/nine-keys
If you want to view it here in a separated, chapter form but still want to see the illustrations, I'll put the link to them above each chapter.
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Circle 1:
Limbo
"Todd,"
He blinked and looked around the small hall that he was in. It was comfortable, the tiling was cold and smooth, firm but not hard. He sat on it and smiled weakly at his bear, holding him close and hugging him to his chest. It felt like a balm had smoothed over his soul
He felt so safe.
"Todd, you need to get up,"
He closed his eyes and hide his face from the empty hall. He closed into himself and drew his knees in.
"This place isn't safe,"
He looked down at Shmee and gave him a questioning upraise of the brow. He observed as the bear pulled himself free of the boy's arms and stood in front of him. He held out his plushy little arms and gestured to the area around them.
"This place isn't safe," the core of his body seemed to flicker translucent for a moment.
"You're being silly, Shmee," he finally said, standing up. He stepped softly through the empty hall and into the ward, seating himself down on the couch positioned in front of their TV. He would frequently find himself there when all the other children of the ward were off doing something. Just him and Shmee, watching silly little children shows and chatting with each other.
"Todd, do you even know where you are?" The bear asked him with a sharp influx of his voice, standing in front of the television. He threw his arms into the air and motioned wildly around.
"Well of course, I'm in the Defective Head Meat Institution. We've been here long enough haven't we?" He gave a small, unsure look down at the plush before blinking rapidly at him.
The bear flickered like a television screen, his form turning to static, disappearing, and reappearing again.
"Not quite Todd," the bear frowned deep, seating himself on the child's knees, "Look at me Todd,"
He obliged.
"This is not the DMHI, it just looks like it. You need to get out of here and quickly, before they get you,"
He gave a small squeak, "That's very vague Shmee! Who is getting me? How do I get out of here? Where do I go?"
"Sshh, shh, calm down," he placed himself against the boy, calming him slightly, "You are trapped and the only way to a safe place is to get the help of someone. You need to keep traveling no matter what happens on the way and you need to get to the person at the last level to help you. They're the only one who can make it on time. In order to get there though you have to get nine keys,"
"Am I in a video game?" the boy asked with a panicked gulp.
"No, no, just shh, calm down and listen." The bear insisted, "You need to get nine keys, these will be crucial to getting to your safety. You should be able to find them if you look hard enough,"
He trembled, "But Shmee, I want to stay here. I like it here. The food is really good and no one makes fun of me," he was crying, "It's warm here too, and not like temperature warm. The nurse lady is really nice to me and even the nurse man is nice to me too."
The doll was motionless.
He was sobbing harder now, hugging the doll closer, "How could this place possibly be bad for me?"
"The truth is that this place isn't real," the bear finally spoke, "You're stuck inside your mind right now Todd and your mind is falling apart. You and I were separated several days ago and you fell into a catatonic state in your room."
The boy was silent, letting the thought settle in. "That... That can't possibly be true. I mean, you're right here, I can feel you! And I'm clearly awake!" He lifted the bear and stared at his many stitches.
His eyes were half closed, "I'm sorry Todd,"
The flickering was back, Shmee's form turning on and off swiftly, static curling around the boy's vision. He repeated it again, "I'm sorry Todd," his form sinking out of his hands before disappearing all together.
Todd shook, his eyes wide, and his hands now free. His hands trembled as they patted down his legs, desperately trying to rediscover his friend. The only thing that remained on his lap however was a long, slender key. The rod was long on it and at the end were two thick teeth. At the top was a large circular handle. And that was it, just this slender, silver key.
He didn't know what to do. He just sat there, unsure of what had just happened, how to react to it, and where to go next. He tried to think past what happened to Shmee and remember what the bear had told him, but before he could even settle his thoughts the floor started to rattle very gently.
It rumbled and he stood up without much conscious thought. The boy looked down at the tile and watched as the lines wobbled as the floor trembled. The cracks between the tiles were darkening and Todd turned and ran towards his padded room, unsure of what else to do.
The floor shook only that much harder the closer he neared the room. He tripped on his feet and clung to the wall, watching as the distant floor ahead of him and behind him started to disappear. It didn't have such a dramatic effect of falling or melting away, more like a dark mist started to billow in and cloud the areas, trapping him inside.
There was no where else to go.
Tears were still streaking down his cheeks as he slid to the floor, legs weak. He tried to remember what Shmee told him. Safety. Nine keys. Help. He had to keep moving and get the keys. He had to keep moving and get to a person who could help him, assuming he would find this person after the nine keys. The keys would bring him to safety. Whatever was happening was going to hurt him-
There was a burst of static in his ears and he screamed, picking himself off the ground before throwing himself into the little room. He closed the heavy bolted door closed behind him with the best of his ability, the door closing heavily on the hinges. He could see the black mist rush up to him between the cracks right before the door locked itself shut. He fell against the padding and felt his vision burst with a poof.
