Oh my dear roadroller... it's another fic. I love starting new stories, don't I? Don't worry, I'm not abandoning my other ones! Except for Elysion... no promises on that one. But the rest of them tend to depend on someone else... because they're collabs, like this one! This one is a collab with Chikanpo, who is writing from Len's POV. I write from Rin's POV quite a bit, don't I? Oh well. I'm not incapable of writing from Len's, I just end up writing from Rin's a lot. Anyways, enough of my babble! On with the story! Oh, and you can find Chika-chan's side here: http:/ www. fanfiction .net/ s/ 6742676/ 1/ Looking_Through_the_Left_Side_of_the_Glass. Without the spaces, obviously. It's also in my favorite's list~!
"Get back to work, you little brat!"
I felt my chest tighten up as I saw the little black-haired girl drop to the ground, blood matting the back of her shirt. I knew that those whips stung; I had scars on my own back to prove it. The little girl was crumpled on the ground, whimpering. She was new with us-I think she was captured about a week ago. Yuki, her name was.
"P-p-please, m-m-m-mister... I just wanna take a n-n-nap..." Her voice broke my heart. I knew from the moment she was thrown at us that she wouldn't last. These things were monsters: how could they take a child that was so young?
The harsh cracking noise of the whip made me flinch instinctively as Yuki was struck again. "Little whelp! You'll sleep when we tell you to sleep!"
"Keep moving." Hearing Teto whisper in my ear, I nodded, continuing to stagger along under the weight of the mighty brick. We were building a stone monument, a task meant for strong men, not scared teenagers and children. Teto was one of my closest friends in this place; we had both been abducted around the same time.
"No... NO! I'll work, please don't d-!" Hearing Yuki's words get cut off in a choked gurgle, I was happy we had passed by and I couldn't see.
"Was it bad?" Teto was facing the opposite way as she worked. Morbid curiosity forced me to ask the question.
"Y-yes..." Hearing Teto's voice shake made me feel bad, but I knew she was used to it. It was simple: if you didn't work hard, you died. If you said something to offend the monsters, you died. If you were caught trying to help someone, you died.
"YOU TWO! Do you have a problem with our pest removal?" One of the creatures stood in my path, blocking my way. He was horrible. Big, leering green eyes bugged out and stuck out at weird angles. Horns protruded along his humped back, and his hands were claws in front of him.
Did you think I was calling my captors monsters and creatures for dramatic affect? Think again.
"Of course not, sir." I kept my eyes on the ground, waiting until I heard his shuffling footsteps walk away. When I looked up, I spat in his direction.
"Rin, be careful." Teto must have heard me. I sighed, feeling powerless. I was the fearless Kagamine Rin, dammit! Even though these things took me from my home when I was only nine years old... I was still fearless. I still remembered my parents, my home, my friends. I missed them.
"Hey, looks like it's time for a new recruit!" I heard the beast cackle as he joined his cronies. None of the creatures looked the same, but they were all horrifying. "Bring out the mirror!"
I shuddered. The mirror was how they got all of their new "recruits." They reached through that liquid like glass, right into the mirror of some unsuspecting kid's household. One of the monsters, who had thin, bony, arms that stretched out for what seemed like miles before ending in hooked claws, was particularly good at this. I saw him shamble towards the mirror, humming some strange tune in his hideous voice. It looked ordinary at first, but if you really looked at it, you realized the glass wasn't reflective at all. Instead, it was a silvery pool, showing various other rooms.
I remember the night they took me. I had been half asleep when I saw that bony arm reach out of my mirror towards me. I had screamed for my mom, but she either didn't hear or didn't come in time. I remembered thinking for the longest time that this was only a nightmare, and that I would wake up in my own bed, safe and sound. Sometimes I still think that. I'll wake up, nine years old again, and the past five years will have all been a horrible nightmare.
I let out a sigh of relief as we finally reached the construction site of the large statue. It was of one of their gods or something, I didn't know or care. I set down the block, taking a moment to catch my breath. Teto did the same thing. Her red pigtails, which were like drills when I first met her, were matted and hung limply against her skull. She was fifteen, a year older than me, and although she was tiny for her age, she was still a bit taller than me.
"Get back to work this instant, you worthless pests!" I bit my lip as the whip slashed across my back, willing myself not to scream as fresh pain seared. I whimpered slightly, and I heard Teto squeak next to me, stumbling and grabbing my arm to keep from falling. We held each other up, and I looked up wearily, my voice shaking.
"Yes, sir."
x.x.x.x.x
"Rin! Rin!" I looked up, quickly hiding the item behind my back.
"Y-yes?" Teto looked at me speculatively, but didn't ask about anything. It wasn't that I didn't trust her, because I did. It was just if they found me doing this, and found out that she knew about it... it would be very, very bad for both of us.
"I actually have some good news." She sat next to me tiredly. I sat on the item, shifting uncomfortably as it dug into me.
"Did all of the monsters burn and die?" I leaned against her, sighing. None of us had beds, we all just slept on the rocky ground. The sky above us never changed color (it was always a dark red, like dried blood), so we had no way of knowing what time it was. We rested when they told us to rest.
"No. But we got a domestic job, at least. We start tomorrow." I looked at her in surprise.
"Really? What are we? Maids, servants, cooks... pets?" I dreaded that last one. These demons didn't treat their pets like humans treat cats and dogs. They torture their "pets" for their own amusement.
"Maids." I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe being a maid wouldn't be so bad. At least we would have a roof over our heads. Hopefully the physical labor would be easier than what we were doing here.
"Well, that's not so bad then." I turned away from her, offering my back. Most of us slept in pairs, leaning against each other for support. Teto faced away from me. Soon I could hear her snoring softly, and I shifted, pulling out the shard of mirror I had hidden.
I didn't know how it got here. Maybe some kid tried breaking their mirror as they were abducted, and took a shard with them. That didn't matter. What mattered was that I got it. You see, I noticed something. Whenever the monsters tried to abduct someone, they would always hum that same tune. I could never make out the whole thing, but I'd been trying to get it right for months.
Hours passed, and my voice grew raspy as I hummed. Just as I was about to give up for the night, the mirror started twinkling. Mist seemed to cover the glass. I gasped. Had I finally gotten it right? When the glass took on the silvery look like the one the monsters used, I knew it finally worked.
"Please... please... show me a room. Anyone... anyone who would help me. Please..." Slowly, a room appeared in the glass. I recognized the room slightly, but what I really recognized was the boy staring at me. He was older than he was when I saw him last, but I knew who he was. I knew who he was immediately.
"Rin?" I felt my heart skip a beat as he spoke. I didn't want Teto to wake up! I heard her mumble in her sleep, shift slightly, then start snoring again.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down." I felt something cool slip down my cheek, and I realized I was crying. I had missed him so much... my childhood friend. My best friend, actually. I thought I would never see him again. "Len. Oh, how I've missed you." For the first time in what felt like forever, I smiled.
Soooo... are you guys interested? I certainly hope so! Leave a review for me, kay? And make sure you review Chika-chan's, too! It bothers me when the reviews are uneven for my collabs...