Chapter 15:

Eight

Eight had somehow dozed off, her body shutting down due to pure exhaustion and grief. When she woke she jolted awake unnaturally, as if her mind was screaming at her: Wake up! Remember what you have to do!

Eight took a moment to centre herself. She was still in the dusty little room in the Lady's residence, sheltered underneath a draping piece of cloth. Glass glinted faintly on the floor and shattered mirrors and stray mannequins loomed like an audience of giants, never moving or speaking, but watching her all the same. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, or if the Lady was still nearby, but she needed to do something, needed something to distract her from the memory of losing Seven.

Eight sat up properly and wiped her eyes as she reached for her flashlight. The familiar curve of it under her hand was a welcome reassurance, and so was her ribbon-belt, even though she had fewer pins now than she'd started out with.

She sighed sadly as she thought of Six, who she'd worked together with to get through the Janitor's Lair and the Kitchens before she'd suddenly left. But Eight had made a promise - she would get out of here with Six and feel the warm sun on her skin again. She'd already failed Seven - he'd died because they got separated - but she could at least reunite with Six and be with her as they escaped the Maw and explored beyond.

The thought gave Eight the courage to shakily get to her feet and approach the door. She stood at the edge, listening intently for any sign of the Lady. There was only silence. Maybe the Lady wasn't here anymore, and if so Eight would have a chance to hurry out of this place and to somewhere safer.

She slipped out of the room as quickly and quietly as a cat and crept out into an open space lined with bookshelves. She stayed close to the walls, to the shadows, and didn't dare use her flashlight in case the Lady caught sight of her because of it. She kept all her senses trained on any sign of the Lady or Shadow Children...but, strangely, as she crossed the room there wasn't a single trace of either. Eight was smart enough to not let her guard down for an instant though.

She came to a point in the huge residence where she'd have to choose a new direction. Going right would lead her back to the place where she had seen the Lady kill Seven, and Eight wanted no reminder of that horror. She quickly chose to go left instead, down a narrow, dim corridor. She used the sparse furniture - cabinets, small tables, the occasional statue of a geisha - as hiding places as she darted along the corridor. She reached the end without any trouble (still no sign of enemies...none at all) and paused under an ornate table to catch her breath. In the next room was an elevator.

Eight cautiously moved to the doors. Beside the elevator was a button that would open them, which, like most things, was way too high up to reach. Eight positioned herself under the button and threw her flashlight up towards it. She managed to catch it on the way back down before it thudded against the floor, and glanced back up to see the button had been pressed and was now glowing a soft white.

"Ha!" Eight couldn't help giving a breathy whisper of triumph as she saw that her plan had worked first-time. Her joy was brief though because a slit of light appeared between the elevator doors and she fled back to the table in case the Lady was standing on the other side of them.

As they parted though, Eight was relieved to see no-one was inside. But her suspicion had been raised, too. Where had the Lady gone? And the swarms of Shadow Children? It was too quiet. Like the place had been completely deserted. Eight's skin prickled. She wanted nothing more than to get out of this place.

She sprinted into the elevator before it closed, slipping away from the doors before they could snag her dress or an arm or leg. Eight tucked the flashlight back into her ribbon-belt and waited for the elevator to move. The ancient thing gave a shudder...and then began to descend deeper into the Maw.

No, no, no! I want to go UP, not down! Eight panicked as the elevator dropped. How far back into the depths of the Maw would it take her? Would she end up somewhere she'd already been and have to claw her way up to the top again?

But the elevator had not gone far at all before it came to a halt.

Eight sighed in relief and prepared to rush out as soon as the doors parted, ready to run to a quick hiding spot where she could get her bearings. But as the doors slowly opened, her breath caught in her throat at what - or rather, who - was standing before her.

A girl even smaller than herself, dressed in a yellow raincoat with the hood pulled over her head.

Six!

At the sight of her, a flood of words rose in Eight's throat, clambering over each other in an effort to be blurted out first. Eight didn't know where to begin - there was so much she had to tell Six: that she forgave her for leaving her in the tunnels and understood why she did it, that the Lady had a dark magic she was using to control the Guests, that she'd used her magic to kill Seven, that she'd found a book about Six's curse -

"Six! I -" Eight's head was reeling. Of all the things she wanted to say, she tried to pick out what was most important. "The Lady! I saw the Lady and she - she has this power, Six! This magic that she used to give you your Hunger!"

"I already know," Six said. Her voice was raspy, barely audible.

"And there's a book I saw about your Hunger, back up in -" Eight froze as she took in Six's words. "You already know?"

Six was staring at her feet. "There's a lot of things I need to tell you too."

Eight paused, ready to listen. Six took a deep breath and blew it out through her mouth. It was clear she didn't know where to begin either.

"Well. I..." Six sighed. "First of all…"

Eight listened, her eyes glued on Six. She'd never seen her this way. The raincoated girl had always been so sure of herself - never muddled or confused. Eight paid full attention to what Six had to say. Whatever it was, it had to be important for her to be acting like this.

"So...you probably worked out that I abandoned you in the tunnels," Six began. "It's because I was scared of hurting you with my Hunger. I just...I just wanted to get you through the Janitor's Lair and the Kitchens safely, and then I thought you'd be ok on your own. I want...to save people. But I can't. Not with my Hunger. I'm sorry."

Eight was in disbelief. "Six…" she began gently. "You have saved people. You saved me dozens of times. Your Hunger isn't something you can control, but you're a good person anyway. Remember when I said you have a good heart?"

Six just nodded, still staring at her feet.

"Well that's still true," Eight said firmly.

"...I don't think it is," Six said very quietly. "I did something bad. After I left you in the tunnels."

"What was it?" Eight asked softly. Her heartbeat quickened a little, but she remained calm for Six's sake.

"I ate…" Six shook her head. "I got hungry again in the Guest Area and there...was...a Nome..."

Eight's eyes widened as she understood what Six had done. "You couldn't help it," she said automatically.

"But I liked it," Six whispered. "While it was happening...I enjoyed it."

Eight lapsed into silence. She pretended she hadn't heard what Six just said.

"And after I ate the Nome, I discovered the secret to defeating the Lady," Six went on suddenly, her tone growing stronger as the words poured out. There was something feverish in her voice, something feral. "I killed her too. I killed her with my own teeth. I ate part of her."

"What?" Eight yelped. She couldn't help it, the word had slipped out. She unconsciously began backing away.

"She's dead now," Six said. There was something dangerous in her voice, some dark force that seemed to be gaining power. "I took her life myself and then stole her essence. She's dead now. I'm stronger. We can get off the Maw."

Eight didn't know what to say. Her brain seemed frozen, unable to articulate a reply. She was scared. Not necessarily scared of what Six had done, but scared of how she was describing it. Almost like she was proud of her violence, her Hunger.

If...if she ate the Lady...she must've taken some of her essence, too. Some of her power and magic. And maybe some of her...her evil. Eight's blood ran cold.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden mechanical groan; a resounding, metallic echo swelling from the depths of the Maw. Eight jumped. Even here, this far away, the girls could hear the echo clearly as it shuddered through the colossal ship and vibrated the floor under their bare feet.

"What was that?" Eight squeaked.

"There's no time for you to show me the book you found," Six said urgently. She seemed to have snapped out of her sudden dangerous mood. Her voice had its usual tone; her words were normal too. "That was one of the Maw's engines failing. Without the Lady here to keep things running with her magic-"

Eight's eyes widened. "The whole ship will fail!"

Six nodded. "The Lady's magic is all throughout the Maw. Without her here to renew all the spells, the Maw could sink in a matter of hours. We need to evacuate the Prison and get as many kids out of here as we can."

"But the Wax Bellman is still around! And the Chefs, too! And the Guests - you've been to the Guest Area, right?"

But Six was striding past Eight, into the elevator. "Don't worry about them," she answered, ever sure of herself. Eight had no choice but to sheepishly follow after her.

...oOo...

The elevator led the girls back down as far as the Guest Area, but couldn't take them any further.

Working as a team once more, Six signalled to Eight and they crept up to one of the thin screen doors. Inside the next room, they could hear a throng of Guests slurping and gulping and breaking crockery as they scrambled to grab fistfuls of meat. Eight thought briefly back to the gigantic tubs of broken plates that she'd grazed her knees on in the Kitchens. She couldn't imagine the cleanup after such a feast.

"There's another elevator across this room that will lead to the Kitchens," Six said confidently, and Eight wondered how she knew that. But then it clicked - the Lady's essence and knowledge would be guiding her.

Eight wondered if the Lady's spell over the Guests was still holding strong. If she was dead now, the effects would be wearing off now, right? Is that how it worked? If the failing engines were any indication, the Lady's magic wasn't eternal. Maybe the Guests would come out of their incessant hunger eventually...she hoped.

"How do we get across the Guest Area again though?" Eight asked, keeping her voice low. "It'll take forever and it's so dangerous! We need a plan."

Six appeared to be deep in thought and didn't answer her question. Eight was about to speak again when Six suddenly approached a tear in the screen.

"Stay behind me," she murmured over her shoulder. She slipped through the tear and vanished inside. All Eight could do was gape in shock at Six's recklessness, then hurry after her.

Eight instinctively began edging along the wall, trying not to draw attention to herself, but did a double-take when she spotted Six walking confidently right into the midst of the crowd of Guests.

"Six!" Eight hissed, as loud as she dared.

Six either didn't hear her or ignored her, walking right between two tables. A Guest sat at each one, both busied with eating themselves into oblivion. They'd see her - they'd see Six and launch off their stools towards her.

"SIX!" Eight was panicking, but she kept her back glued to the wall. Six knew what she was doing, surely. She always did. She always did things so nonchalantly, but it always worked in the end.

Just as Eight was about to call Six's name again, the Guests both caught sight of her yellow raincoat and gave squawks of joy. They both leaned towards the centre of the room, bulging over their tables and knocking off various bits of food and crockery. She winced at each plate that smashed against the floor. Eight was sure that if the Guests didn't kill Six, then the falling plates and knocked-over chairs and tables would.

She had to have a plan, she had to! Eight desperately wanted to look away, but at the same time, there was no way she possibly could. Before she could make a decision, however, something happened that locked her eyes onto the unfolding scene.

Wisps of blackish smoke, identical to the magic the Lady had used to engulf Seven, were trailing out of Six's tiny form and winding towards the Guests. It happened rapidly, in the blink of an eye, and Eight had to check she wasn't dreaming.

Of course...was all she could think, paralysed with a mixture of fear and awe. The Lady's magic...of course...

The tendrils of darkness did their work. As Eight watched on, they reared like cobras in the faces of the oblivious Guests. Eight's eyes were drawn to the overhead lights - they flickered and sparked in the presence of such a dark, evil energy - and then Six's newfound magic struck.

The tendrils hit their mark. Pathetic, fearful gurgles were the only sounds the Guests could make before the shadowy mist surrounded them.

"No!" Eight yelled, before clamping her hands over her mouth. The memory of Seven's death returned in full force - the black, swirling cyclone of magic that engulfed him and reduced him to a mere pile of clothes - and tears of terror pricked at her eyes. "SIX!" she screamed.

Six walked on as the Guests struggled against her power. From their bodies, more black mist was forcefully sucked out. It trailed in strands towards her, winding around her body like obedient snakes and adding to the cloud of darkness that already surrounded her.

Their essence, Eight realised. A hollow sense of acceptance had settled inside her; she wasn't surprised at what was happening because in a sick, twisted way...it made sense. There was no way she could stop it. But it was jarring to behold all the same. Eight's back slid slowly down the wall until she came to rest on the floor. Her legs were too weak to support her.

Eight thought she heard a burst of faint yet maniacal laughter from above and looked towards the rafters where the lights blinked fitfully. A shadowy child-sized figure flicked across her vision, appearing and then disappearing in an instant, and the laughter faded with it. A Shadow Child? Here...? No. Something else.

Six continued on without sparing her victims so much as a glance. The lights sparked and exploded one by one above her as she passed under them, Guest after Guest crumpled under her power and thudded against the floor, and the devilish cackles echoed around the space. Eight remained where she was, taking it all in but unable to move.

Six reached the end of the room, standing before the elevator, and it slid open without being touched. It was quiet now - the laughter and chaos had ceased as suddenly as it had appeared, and the only sound was the buzzing of the lights. Even from a distance, Eight could see that Six's tendrils were receding back inside her, thinning as they slithered back towards her and faded into nothingness.

An eternity passed as Eight tried to process all that had happened in such a short time. Eventually, Six turned around to look at her from the other side of the room and beckoned her closer.

Tentatively, Eight stood up, using the wall to support her. Her legs weren't quite working, and only shuffled forwards. She willed them to stop trembling. Six was a friend. Six wouldn't hurt her, and she never had. Eight kept her eyes on the floor as she walked between the two rows of upturned tables and Guests. Dead Guests. That she was certain of.

Through a blur of tears, Eight noticed an object blocking her path; she'd have to go around it. She blinked the moisture from her eyes and saw that it was the outstretched arm of one of the Guests, reaching with pale, chubby fingers. She tried not to look at the face of the arm's owner - she really tried to fight that urge - but her eyes instinctively lifted and she was face-to-face with the same Guest that had chased her before, the one she'd apologised to for not being able to break the spell over him.

A small squeak escaped Eight's throat as she stared at the dead man. She searched his face for familiar features, trying to discern if it was actually him. A lot of the Guests looked the same; maybe it wasn't him at all.

"Sorry," Eight managed to choke out before her feet carried her away. Sorry, I'm sorry.

Eight ran towards Six and the elevator. Six was talking, her mouth opening and closing, but Eight wasn't taking in her words. She was too focused on her own question.

"Did you have to do that?" Eight asked quietly, her throat raw. "I thought you wanted to save everyone."

"What?" Six's tone was defensive, bitter. Uncharacteristic. "I was saving you. How else were we supposed to get past the Guests quickly enough? They were still trying to eat both of us."

Eight just shook her head and ran into the elevator, unable to look at Six. Tears welled in her eyes once more, but she felt too hollow to cry. She knew what Six said held some truth, but it was still wrong. Six wasn't an angel like she'd first thought. She'd changed. Grown colder, scarier. Was the Lady's essence taking hold of her?

She heard Six enter the elevator as well, and the doors sliding shut. Silence passed as the elevator descended. The trip was considerably longer than that of the first elevator, which meant they were getting closer and closer to the Prison - but Eight didn't feel happy. She found a scratch on the floor and stared at it, trying to notice every detail, giving her mind something to focus on instead of what just happened.

When the elevator was about halfway down, Six suddenly took a sharp inhale of breath. Eight glanced up, alarmed, in time to see her hunched with her hands over her face. Not her stomach, but her face.

"What's wrong?" Eight questioned.

Six was breathing deeply through clenched teeth. The rush of her breaths was the only sound. Then she spoke. Very, very quietly - so quietly in fact that Eight thought she may have imagined it: "Leave us alone."

"Six?" Eight ventured cautiously. Six gingerly took her hands away from her face and straightened, blinking as if she'd just woken up. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Six replied softly. She sounded tired. "Are you?"

Eight bit her lip. "Not quite."

"I, um. I'm sorry," Six mumbled. "I just…"

"Lost control?" Eight asked.

Six nodded. "It's the Lady. Her essence. I didn't mean to absorb it - it wasn't my choice to get hungry, but-"

"You couldn't help it."

Six nodded again. "And it's much stronger than me. I can feel it...changing me. It's dangerous."

To the surprise of both girls, Eight took a step towards Six. "But you have a good heart," she said strongly. "Remember what I said. You can fight it, you can use your powers for good. The Lady was evil but you don't have to be."

"I know," was all Six said, but Eight could practically hear her mind churning over those words.

Eight took her gentle, motherly approach and boldly closed the distance between them so she could wrap the younger girl in a tight embrace. Six tensed against the hug, then slowly relaxed. Only now did Eight notice the semi-dried blood staining her neck and chin, somewhat hidden under the shadows of her hood. The Lady's blood, possibly the Nome's as well.

Eight stepped back and unwound her ribbon-belt, scrunching one of the pin-free ends and holding it up to Six's face as a makeshift cleaning rag. "How about I clean you up a little?"

Six simply nodded.

"Can you take off your hood for me?"

Eight saw Six visibly freeze. She guessed that Six had never shown her face to anyone on the Maw before, and her hooded raincoat was what provided her with a sense of safety and security.

"Actually, you don't have t-" Eight said immediately, trying to take back her request and put Six at ease. But Six's tiny fingers were already reaching up, gradually drawing back the yellow hood that covered most of her face and letting it fall back to the nape of her neck.

What Eight noticed about Six's face first...was simply how ordinary it was. Not that she thought Six was ugly or unremarkable, but her face was just...like hers. Like any other child's face. For some strange reason, Eight had expected Six to look different in some sense - she was so incredible after all, and different to any of the other kids. But as she took in Six's short black bob (that looked like it could use a good wash), the smooth outlines of her face, and her deep brown eyes - intelligent, and in this moment, vulnerable - Eight realised that despite everything, Six was still just a child. The blood around her mouth was the only indication that Six wasn't a typical kid.

A strong desire to protect Six washed over Eight, and she hugged her close again. The little girl flinched at the sudden display of affection, but wrapped her arms around Eight's waist.

"I know you feel like it's your job to save everyone," Eight murmured. "But I want to save people too. I couldn't protect Seven. I could only watch before as the Lady took his life, but I want to at least save you, Six. Let me help you."

The elevator shuddered to a halt and the doors parted. The Maw expanded beyond, waiting for them. But the two girls didn't leave until all the blood had been cleaned from Six's face, and all her tears had been gently wiped away too.

- End of chapter -