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Ten

The air was thin and filled with pollution.

He was in a neighborhood, one that he knew all too well. He looked from the insides of his eyelids and out at the house in front of him. It was the house next to his own... his neighbors house. He couldn't remember much about the man who lived there, only that sometimes he could hear noises coming from it during the middle of the night.

He looked at the sign stamped into the dead earth of the front yard, choosing to ignore the warning it was giving him. He stepped forward, up the cracked and broken walkway and to the front door.

Todd took the 777 house key off of his chain and placed it within the lock, turning it carefully, cautiously, and was rewarded with the sound of the door unlocking. He opened it, slipping inside.

A noose was in the corner but Todd couldn't bring himself to care much about it. The sight reminded him a lot of the man who lived there, his neighbor who would occasionally talk to him about stuff that he didn't understand. A cog started in his head, turning the gears in his mind.

He could remember who lived there.

The child put his hands into his pockets, totally forgetting that not too long ago he had none, and he wondered why he was brought here of all places. He could remember a memory from long ago. One where he was in the same house, wandering aimlessly. It was abandoned then, after he was told by his neighbor that he was leaving for good. He could remember going down many flights of stairs...

He couldn't place his finger on what he was doing there now but somewhere in his chest he felt a pull to keep moving forward.

At the end of a short hall was a door, a locked door. He unhooked the skeleton key Pepito had and unlocked the door, allowing it to swing open and present a looming, winding staircase.

Todd felt his heart begin to pump harder as he took his first step down. He went to wrap his arms around his waist but stopped himself. He, instead, steadied them by his sides and kept moving forward.

On his descent down, he encountered more and more doors, using each key he gained to get past them, slowly but surely.

He made it to the bottom of the stairs, feeling weak in every aspect. His limbs were tired and his head was pounding. He slipped the necklace off, taking a parting glance at the silver key that remained, and used it to unlock the last door. He held his breath, wishing he could close his eyes tight and never open them again, and opened the door.

In front of him stretched a long room. At the very end of it was a singular red wall with a paint bucket in the corner. The room stank of blood and it made Todd grimace, pulling away from it. He was tugged in by something he couldn't see or feel.

On the walls were three figures that Todd could barely recognize but, somewhere in his mind, did. A small rabbit that was curled into itself was nailed into the wall while two large dough-boy figures were pinned with knives.

"Uhm," he muttered out, "where is Johnny?"

The figures on the walls don't speak.

"I need his help," he told them, "Shmee sent me here to get help for some reason!"

It had to be important, he concluded, because Shmee never asked for help, especially if it had to come from his scary neighbor, Nny. He stepped to the blood-covered wall, remembering it from the levels previous. He placed a hand on it, feeling the wetness of fresh blood, and recoiled back.

The ground rumbled and he turned, jumping practically out of his skin, as a form emerged from the wooden floor.

The being was human in shape but made entirely out of the wood of the floor. It formed totally and a putty like material started to seep out of the cracks, covering the wooden figure until it took the form of Johnny.

Squee started to cry softly, hesitantly stepping up to the man.

Johnny, totally bald with blood pouring from a bullet hole and down his face, smiled at the child as he patted him swiftly on the head. "Hey there little Squeegee, what are you doing all the way down here again? Didn't I tell you to never come down here?"

"S-Scary neighbor man," he stuttered out, " I-I-I need help!"

There was electricity in the air and he could hear it crackling in his ears.

Todd wailed, eyes flinging open. He looked around at the doctors, eyes manic and stressed. Deep bags under his eyes.

"You better stay around this time, kid!" one ordered, glaring down at him.

"If you're not here for this procedure than you're probably going to die kid so keep awake already!"

More people started to scream at him and his eyes darted from each of their faces as they spoke. He could feel another shock pound through his head and he let out another scream. More of them were coursed through his body, his screams turning into yelps and then into nothing else.

"There, there, kid, it'll be over soon," the man with the pointed nose reassured, "And, you'll feel better."

He couldn't even tell what better was and he would voice it if he had the voice to.

Todd's body was picked up like a doll's and he was put onto another table where he is laid down. Straps were placed around his wrists and ankles. One additional one was pulled over his forehead, fixing his head to look straight. A hot towel was placed against his forehead, slightly over his eyes,

"Don't worry Tobby, you'll feel much better once we're done,"

The doctor pulled a small pick and hammer from the kit by Todd's side, holding the tools up for him to see.

He tried to let out a scream but couldn't. He struggled to thrash as the end of the icepick was placed against his eyelid, unable to close them. Todd let a scream out in his head, eyes wavering at the doctor.

And then, there was black. He couldn't see, nor hear anything for a long while.

Then, there was a slight chuckle.

"Sure thing Squeegee, I can help ya,"