A/N: I'd finally gotten through my adaptation of the first MrEVOLVF HetaOni video, and don't I feel like a fail. I'm afraid that this story is going to be around two chapters per video, so that would be nearly fifty chapters… Well, whatever. Enjoy my writing fails of epic proportions~!
In my own defense, I have no idea why the heck Malta would have a meat cleaver with her. That's what my IRL friend said was her weapon, so don't hate.
Chapter Three
Yes, I remember.
It always started this way. We would get separated, and someone would have to look for us… Although it was a different person every time, they always came. They always found us, one after the other. It is strange that I remember all of this now, at a time like this, when lives are at stake. This is no time for reminiscing. And yet… And yet I have the feeling that this time is different. Some way, somehow, it is different. Maybe they will figure it out on their own. Or maybe I will –
No, do not think like that. That will never happen. As long as this world still turns, I will not allow that to happen.
I promised.
-x-
At this point in time, "scared out of her mind" would have been a complete understatement. If anything, Andorra felt as if her mind had gotten so scared that it leaped off of her shoulders and ran away to cower in one of the kitchen cupboards. Several minutes had passed already – she would have known exactly how long, if her watch had not stopped earlier in the day – and yet the feeling of dread barely left her. It was almost as if that Thing was still standing above her, glaring at her with those black-as-coal eyes, waiting for her to snap like a dried twig.
Dried twig?
She finally forced her eyes to focus when the strange metaphor popped into her mind, sitting up a little straighter and listening to the sound of nothingness wash over her. It was an eerie nothingness, the kind that is present in graveyards and ruins in the twilight hours. It was really creeping her out. At least this is better than that weird ringing in my ears. Wait a minute… Shouldn't that thing still be in there if it's alive? If it was, wouldn't it be making some kind of noise? Propelled by her sudden curiosity, she scrambled to her feet and stared at the dreaded library door once again, bracing herself for impact when she threw it open once again.
If she was expecting some kind of scare, she was wrong. The room was exactly the way she found it, aside from one extremely large alien-like creature that was obviously looking for blood. The ringing in her ears wasn't even present anymore, and the room seemed to heat up a few degrees since she last set foot inside it. The books were still there, all in pristine order, as well as the large table. Gripping her broken ceramic piece tightly in one hand, she treaded along the outer wall of the library toward the table, the one place she didn't get a very good look at before being attacked by the psychotic Thing. "Alright, let's see what we've got here…"
The table was cluttered with various papers and books, most of the books being encyclopedias opened to random pages. The loose papers appeared to be notes of some kind, like those created in prelude to a research paper, but they weren't that interesting when she took a closer look. Pushing them to the side to bring a surprisingly small book beneath them, she heard the soft cling of something metallic dropping to the ground. As if there aren't enough secrets in this place… Glancing down at her feet, she spotted another key, this one tinted bronze, with a different inscription marking it. 4F. The meaning of this one was a little more obvious: the fourth floor was her next destination.
-x-
Andorra decided that she no longer liked stairs.
After being on her feet for nearly three hours coming to this place, and maybe an hour or two more after that, she was starting to get just a little tired. On her way, she didn't even bother checking the doors on the third floor; she wouldn't put it past the people who once lived at this place to lock the doors on an entire floor just for the lols. [1] Pushing all negative thoughts aside, she jammed the key in the lock and forced her way inside of the room.
An attic space filled her vision once the door was cast aside, with a ceiling slightly slanted down at an angle in front of her. Aside from a few stray boxes here and there, the room could have been a personal study, with several chests, another dingy curtain, a small desk, and a bookshelf pushed into one corner. It was still quiet, but in a peaceful way, not the quiet nothingness that engulfed the library downstairs. However, there was another presence somewhere inside the room, although she couldn't quite figure out where…
…Until the bookcase shook and let off a high-pitched "Mokyuu~!"
"What?" Andorra flinched, hiding behind the chests as she slowly stalked toward the speaking shelf. "Stay back! I-I have… I have a gun!" Her tone made it obvious that she didn't, but even so, it couldn't hurt to attempt fearlessness.
"Mokyuu…? Mokyuu! Mokyuu~!"
There it was again, that strange voice that emanated from behind the wall of books. Strange, Andorra thought to herself. It almost sounds like a wounded animal or something. …It's not the Thing, that's for sure. She brushed away her fears and placed her palms firmly on the end of the bookshelf, using all of her strength to drag it across the floor and away from its previous location. Satisfied with her work, she turned back toward the wall and stared at the white thing stuck in it.
The white thing stared back.
She wasn't quite sure what to call it. It was white, obviously, with a pudgy spherical body, a dusty-blonde cowlick (despite the fact that it has no other hair whatsoever), and bright blue eyes partially hidden behind a pair of small glasses. It took her a minute to recognize it, but then an image of Estonia holding a creature similar to this came to her mind. What's it called again? "A…mochi?" Yeah, that's it. "Aww, poor guy. Are you stuck?"
"Mokyuu~!" The mochi wriggled around in its place in the wall, unable to free itself from its drywall restraints.
How did it get in this wall, anyway? Andorra gently grabbed its sides and tried to pull it away from the wall, only to be rewarded with distressed cries from the creature. "Sorry, I can't get you out. Not like this. Poor thing… Maybe Malta would be able to get you out, though. I wonder if she'd do that." Then again, I'd probably have to get HER out… Nah. Anyway, I'll ask her later. She backed away from the mochi and gave the room a once-over before darting back down the stairs and swinging around the corner to the bedroom she last saw Malta in.
"Hey Malta? I –"
…What the heck is that?
Rather than a curtain hanging from the ceiling, there was in iron door bolted firmly into the wall, glinting faintly in the light from the hallway. There was no way that it could have randomly appeared there, right? Or am I just going insane? Hopefully not. I haven't made my bucket list yet. She cautiously tapped the door with her foot, not wanting to hurt her knuckles pounding on it. "Er, Malta? Do you have a minute?"
"Andorra? Is that you?" It was definitely Malta's voice, but it sounded strained, and there was some noise in the background that sounded a little like the pounding of a hammer. "What's the matter?"
A hammer? "Well, there's this thing stuck in a wall in a room on the fourth floor – I think it's called a mochi. I feel a little sorry for it, so I was wondering if you could try to get it out."
"Really? Okay, I'll go check it out. I just have a favor to ask of you, though."
"Sure, if it's something I can do."
"When I was running, I was holding a knife – it was one from my kitchen that I brought along – and somehow I dropped it. I think we should have some kind of weapon in case that Thing shows up again, you know? So could you go look for it for me?"
Andorra smiled victoriously, not bothering to stifle the enthusiasm in her voice. "You mean your meat cleaver? That's a coincidence! Actually, I found it a while ago! Here, I'll pass it to you." She kneeled down and pressed the large knife on the floor, sliding it through the crack under the door.
"…Oh."
"It was lying near the bed next door."
"Oh, er… Okay… Um, thanks."
"No problem! I actually only found it by chance." Andorra reached for the handle of the iron door, hoping that it wasn't as solid as she thought. "C'mon, let's go to the fourth f –"
"Ah! Andorra! I'm sorry, but…"
She flinched back from the handle, not expecting the sudden urgency in her friend's voice. "…Yeah? What is it?"
"Ah… I'm really sorry but… Actually, I'm hungry too. Do you have anything to eat?"
To eat? Seriously? Andorra scowled at the ground between her feet. Well, I know she doesn't really like Japanese food, so the rice ball is out. "Sorry, but I've got nothing. I don't have anything that could be used as an ingredient either…" I would still have my candy if Yugo hadn't taken it from me before the summit…
"I see!" If Andorra didn't know better, she would have thought that there was a spark of relief in Malta's voice just then. "So it's not too tough, could you please go look for something to eat?"
"Whoa, what?!" She subconsciously took a step backward, partially from confusion, partially from the unnaturally hammer-ish background noise that seemed to be coming from out of nowhere. "T-that's impossible! How could anyone find food in this place?! It's abandoned, in case you haven't noticed!"
"Please! I have no strength right now. Anything' fine, just find something, okay?"
Holding back a groan, Andorra pressed a hand to her temple. Leave it to Malta to start whining over food. Although, she has been acting a little weird today… "Fine. I'll go take another look around. Hopefully that thing will stay out of my way this time."
"Thanks Andorra! …By the way, have you seen Yugo yet?"
"Not yet, but I'm sure she's fine." Somehow, she added mentally.
"Yeah, I bet. Sorry for the trouble. Oh! You drink, right? I found this a second ago. Maybe you could use it!"
The door opened just a crack, just enough so that a cylindrical object could fly out and (barely) land safely in Andorra's outstretched arms. The surface of the object was glass, cool and a little damp against her palms, starting out as a cylinder then narrowing at the top. A dark amber liquid sloshed around inside of it, bubbling with every slap against the glass. This is…beer? How did she even find this? "Er, thanks. I guess I'll get going then."
"Okay!" The iron door slammed itself shut again, just like that, muffling the distinctly metallic clangs that suddenly erupted within.
They fell on deaf ears as Andorra slipped away from the room, disappearing into the silence of the hall. This was not going to be the last time.
-x-
Every time, I made a mistake. Every time, someone went somewhere they should not have gone, or did something they should not have done. Why was it never me? Why was it always everyone else? Why must I feel so useless? Why do I keep making mistakes? How much longer will I have to suffer this fate?
…Why did I even discover this place at all?
[1] – "Just for the lols" © MrEVOLVF. Because his quotes are awesome.
