Chapter 17:

Eight

The boy in the cage still wasn't responding. No matter how many times Eight gently called to him, he wouldn't do so much as lift his head. The rest of the kids flocked around Eight restlessly, some tugging on her dress and others asking what had caused the ship to suddenly lurch. She could only smile fakely at them and murmur empty reassurances at the babbling kids while Six walked on. They didn't have time to spare, Eight realised. They had to keep going, even if it meant leaving the boy behind, or they'd all die here.

The youngest boy who they'd rescued from the first Dungeon, named Twenty - or 'Twenny' as he'd insisted in his young voice - nervously squeezed Eight's hand and pressed his body against her leg, trying to hide from the barrage of voices. Eight's eyes were tugged downwards at his movement and she placed a distracted hand on the 6-year-old's head to comfort him, then glanced towards the boy in the cage, opening her mouth and taking a breath to call him one last time.

But then the commotion around her suddenly halted - the collective noise and bustle of the children around Eight ceased abruptly like a breath cut short. Eight's own breath caught in her throat as she turned her head towards the doorway, where a tall shadow had crossed it. A fraction of a second later the shadow was accompanied by its owner.

The Wax Bellman himself.

Twenny shrieked and buried his face in Eight's thigh, instantly bursting into fearful tears that were muffled by her dress. Eight could do nothing to comfort him, anchored to the floor as she beheld the Wax Bellman's nightmarish face.

Hence his name, his skin was identical to drippy candle wax that had melted and re-hardened, melted and re-hardened. He wore traditional bellman's attire, including a cap and coat crimson as blood. The sight of his face alone was enough to plunge Eight into the terror of her very first memory onboard the Maw.

...oOo…

The girl blinked open her eyes inside a cold metal enclosure, her senses groggily returning as she sat up. She was wearing overalls and brown leather shoes, or at least...one shoe. The other was missing, leaving just a sock on her foot. Had she lost it? How? She didn't know. Her thin fingers explored the dark interior of her enclosure, curling around strong metal bars.

Am I in a cage...? Have I been kidnapped...?

The thoughts were absurd, but as the girl spotted the bulky padlock locking her inside, she realised the answers to her questions were likely to be yes. She didn't know why she was in a cage, or how she had gotten there. She didn't know where she was, didn't remember what had happened for her to be kidnapped or locked in a cage at all. She didn't know anything.

Something hard and smooth brushed her foot and the girl drew away from it fearfully. But after a tense few seconds of nothingness...her curiosity got the better of her and she felt around for it in the dimness, using her hands to work out what it was. A flashlight, in the cage with her. The girl turned it in her hands, wondering if it was hers and if it worked. She decided not to switch it on though; that could be a bad idea.

The girl gasped and clutched the flashlight to her chest as a series of metallic groans and creaks assaulted her ears from all sides. She tried to scramble to her feet in the confined space, preparing herself for whatever was to happen next, but she couldn't stand to her full height given how tall she was.

Instead, she managed a half-crouch as her eyes darted around the space, her breath short and ragged. Peering through the bars met her with the sight of a grey, gloomy expanse...filled with stacks upon stacks of cages, all identical to her own. If she squinted she could make out the silhouettes of children like her peering back at her through their own cage bars.

As she continued to look out, she spotted movement and noticed a figure who stood a short distance from her, before a desk. Even with his back to her, she could see that he wore a dark red cap and coat. He was eerily tall and skinny too, with unnaturally-long limbs. Not like any human the girl had ever seen.

Is this the person who kidnapped me? The girl wondered, adrenaline coursing like hot acid through her veins. Horror gripped her stomach. What will he do with me? With the other kids?

Even more horrific than the girl's racing thoughts was the man's face when he turned around - oozing like warm wax.

A mask, the girl reassured herself, no matter how real it looked. Just a mask, just a disguise for kidnapping people.

Her reassurances faltered as the man began moving towards the very cage she was held in. The girl shrank back against the walls of the cage...then seconds later her blood ran cold as the cage lurched as the man picked it up.

Why was he so tall and huge - big enough to carry a child-sized cage like it was a mere jar? The girl noticed as she was placed down on the desk that it too was huge...at least twice her height, not like any normal-sized desk. But why?

Have I shrunk? the girl wondered giddily. Did everything grow? Is this a dream?

The cage was turned sharply onto its side so the man had a birds-eye view of its door, as well as the padlock securing it. The girl was jostled to one side at the movement, and glanced up quickly in time to see the man's face - no, his mask, she told herself - appear above her. She grabbed the flashlight and held it behind her back, shielding it from his view as his eyes bore into her.

His face...so real...the mask was so life-like, as though his skin really was made of oily wax.

The cage rattled as one of the man's hands slotted a key into its padlock, and then he slowly swung the cage door open as if he was lifting the lid to an insect's enclosure. The girl was too stunned to react, her heart palpitating as he looked down at her clearly for a good few moments. She watched as the man picked up a clipboard and began scribbled notes, presumably about her.

Escape crossed the girl's mind but there was no way she'd get far. She wouldn't even be able to climb out of the cage properly before he snatched her up. And even if she could leap off the massive desk, where would she go? Which direction? One of his long-legged strides would be equal to maybe 10 of hers. He was a giant, there was no way she could outrun him.

A wad of off-white clothing was thrown down at her, interrupting her thoughts as it landed in her lap. The monster pointed a greasy finger at her.

"Name: Eight," he rumbled. Even his voice sounded, somehow, like melted wax - dribbling and slippery.

Eight? My name? That's not a name…! That's not my real name…

The girl wracked her brain for her actual name, but the memory of it was gone...an empty gap in her mind.

"Now. Dress." The sludgy voice of the man came again from above her. He thrust his finger at the clothes he'd just given her - undergarments and a dress. No shoes. The girl tried to obey his order, not wanting to anger him should he end up hurting her. It was best to do what he said until she learnt more about this place to find a way out. She tried to stand but her legs were weak with fear. She was unable to look away from his face, noticing the way he blinked, his voice and the way his mouth oozed when he spoke. And his hands...they weren't gloves...that was no mask, no disguise. It seemed this man really was a monster of living wax.

B...but that's impossible...

The Wax-Man grunted and reached his hand inside the cage to pluck up the uncooperative girl and lift her onto her feet. His skin was almost gelatinous, like solidified lard, and left a residue on her skin as he propped her up. The girl quickly tucked the flashlight into the back pocket of her overalls to keep him from seeing it. Fortunately, her pocket was deep enough and the shadows of the cage dark enough to hide it.

Unable to do anything else, the girl rushed to put on the new clothes, discreetly transferring the precious flashlight from her pocket to her undergarments. She then worked up just enough courage to speak to the Wax-Man, keeping her head bowed to not look at his terrible face.

"I, um...I lost one of my shoes, sir. C-could I, um, maybe have a new pair. Please?"

"No questions!" the Wax-Man burbled, making her jump. "No shoes! No socks!"

With some prompting, the girl took off her single shoe and pair of socks, then handed them to the Wax-Man with the rest of her old clothes. After a final visual check-over of her, he locked the cage again and placed it on the floor beside him. He still didn't know about her hidden treasure.

The girl released a shaky breath. She'd passed his assessment! She glimpsed him move away to grab another cage from the tall pile and begin repeating the same process with yet another child, assigning them the name 'Nine'. How many children were here? Where were they, exactly? The girl breathed as calmly as she could as she waited for answers. Had she and the others really been kidnapped? Why couldn't she remember anything? Who was that man of living wax?

As she waited, a door creaked open somewhere and another monster - there was no denying he wasn't human - entered the room. It was a stumpy one with long, long arms. His spindly fingers latched onto the girl's cage and began to drag her away, the metal cage scraping ear-splittingly against the metal floor.

Eight had screamed then, thinking she was going to be killed. But the life that unfolded for her in those next months was perhaps worse than death.

...oOo…

Seeing this powerful monster collapse onto the floorboards in front of her - killed just like that - was jarring to say the least.

Eight watched on as the Wax Bellman's essence trailed towards Six as she stood by the doorway, flowing into her core. She numbly wondered how Six could make all these monsters crumble beneath her so easily.

Everything had a surreal quality, almost like everything around Eight was blanketed in mist that nullified sound and slowed movement. She barely had time to process the Wax Bellman's abrupt death before Six turned to her and the rest of the children, tendrils still raised and expression dark. The other children murmured fearfully as Six took a deliberate step towards them. Twenny whimpered again and tugged Eight's dress, making her finally come back to herself.

Eight swallowed down her shock. "S-Six?" she asked cautiously. "Are you ok?"

Six took another step towards them, unresponsive. The raincoat's hood hid her expression; it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

"Six!" Eight called. "It's just us. It's me, Eight, and the kids we just rescued."

Another step, the distance between them shrinking. Still no answer.

"Six!" Eight repeated. The rest of the kids were backing away; she started doing the same. "Come on, Six. We're going to save everyone!"

The girl paused. Eight could sense the battle raging in Six's mind, the fight between herself and her power for control. She went on, desperate for Six to win.

"We're going to get off the Maw! We're going to save everyone, remember? We can do it, we can get out of here for good!"

Eight heard a low laugh, echoing around her like the laugh she'd heard in the Guest Area. The other children heard it too and gasped, the whites of their eyes flashing as they scanned the room. Some of the nearest kids latched onto Eight's arms like lead weights. Twenny looked up at her, eyes wide and round.

"Y-you can put your magic away for now, ok?" Eight went on, pretending the laughing voice didn't exist. "We need to focus on finding a way out!"

Six's tendrils were still undulating in the air around her, coiled like predators ready to strike. She had stopped walking towards them, standing on the spot, but Eight had no idea what she was thinking.

"Come on, Six..." Eight whispered pleadingly. "We're going to save everyone."

"Urggh!" Six suddenly made a movement, hunching and clutching her hands over her face with a pained groan. Eight and the kids jumped and retreated away, Eight shielding them with her arms.

"It's ok, Six! You can do it!" Eight called.

"Come on, Six!" Twenny shouted bravely, following Eight's lead.

There was a silence as the rest of the kids registered who had spoken, blinking at Twenny - and then they also burst into encouragement.

"Come on, Six!"

"You can do it!"

"It's ok, we're gonna get out of here!"

Six was breathing rapidly, her chest rising and falling with scared breaths. Eventually, she gave a kind of triumphant growl as her tendrils curled slowly back into her being.

"I...I'm ok," she said quietly, straightening. She cleared her throat and looked at Eight. "Let's get out of here."

Eight heaved a sigh of relief. Her legs were a little shaky and she felt lightheaded. Still, she knew it would wear off in time. Things were ok now. They were safe. The other kids had relaxed a little too but still looked wary, confused by Six's power.

"It's ok," Eight assured them. She let go of Twenny briefly, stepping closer to Six and lowering her voice. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Six nodded, but couldn't meet Eight's eyes. "Yeah, it's just...all the essence inside me. But I'm fine now, I promise. And I have good news."

Eight raised her eyebrows in question. Six took her hand and led her towards the doorway, pretending the Wax Bellman's body wasn't there as they stepped around it. Eight signalled to the rest of the kids, who hesitantly came after. The boy in the cage wasn't among them.

"What's this good news?" Eight pressed, trying to take her mind off the boy who'd lost hope.

"I discovered a way out from the Wax Bellman's essence," Six explained. "I'm not sure how much you knew about him, but earlier on I found an office belonging to him. It had a magic Eye that he used to watch almost everything happening on the Maw. That was one of the jobs the Lady gave him - sneaking between walls and spying on everything that happens here. For that reason, he has lots of places to hide, secret passageways and things. There's a passageway right around here, Eight - one that leads all the way to the top of the Maw!"

...oOo...

Eight and Six had rescued as many kids as they could, as well as a handful of Nomes, and now their group stood at 25 escapees total, including the two girls themselves. Eight beamed at the sheer amount they'd been able to rescue, but even so, there had been a sizable number of kids that simply hadn't responded to them at all, no matter how many times they'd been encouraged to come out of their open cages.

Maybe they'll follow us...Eight thought, but it was an empty hope.

Now, Six had led Eight and the others over to an unassuming stretch of steel wall a short way from the Nursery, where she'd said the secret passageway began. The escapees huddled around as Six brushed her small hands against the wall, searching for an invisible door. Finally, she found the spot she was looking for and pressed against it. Nothing happened.

"Was...was that meant to do something?" Eight asked.

Six huffed. She was already releasing her tendrils a fraction, focusing them on the wall. "I don't think I'm strong enough to push it open with my hands," she explained. "But this should work…"

With a mighty push, Six's magic swept over the wall and it swung open with a light click, revealing a hidden passageway. Excitement rippled through the crowd.

"You were right!" Eight exclaimed. She cautiously looked inside, where a narrow staircase stretched up into the darkness as far as she could see.

Six flicked on her lighter and bounded through the secret door towards the first step. "Come on!" she called. "This leads straight to the top of the Maw. It'll be faster and safer than moving in and out of elevators, and now that the electricity is failing, some of the elevators probably don't work anymore at all. This is our way out!"

The other children were looking to Eight for direction. A genuine smile tugged on the corners of her lips this time, and her confidence wasn't fake or empty. She switched on her flashlight and shone it ahead, illuminating the wooden steps polished by years of use and the cobwebs that clung to them.

"Ok, you heard Six! Let's go, quickly now!"

The children and Nomes scampered past her in pairs, following Six as she ploughed on ahead. Eight and Twenny made up the rear, making sure no-one got left behind.

Twenny grasped Eight's hand as they walked together, his little legs doing their best to keep up. Throughout the journey, Eight had to carry him a few times if the steps became uneven or slippery, but even so she admired the great job he was doing.

"Is Six magic?" Twenny asked her at one point.

"Yes, she is," Eight replied.

"And she stopped the bad Wax-Man!"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Six is good…" he murmured thoughtfully. "I want to be like Six and do magic too!"

Eight tried not to grimace. There was no way someone as young and innocent as Twenny could survive a curse like Six's. He didn't know about her Hunger, only her ability to open locks and kill enemies with one sharp flick of her tendrils. Six was incredibly strong and resilient, but even so, she still suffered immensely under the Lady's curse and the weight of all the essence she'd consumed. Eight worried about what they'd just seen - the maniacal laugh she'd heard twice now, Six struggling to maintain control over her power. Would there be a day when she lost control?

"Maybe one day," Eight said simply in reply to Twenny.

The band of kids and Nomes lapsed into silence as they trekked on...one hour passing, then two. In the quiet, Eight felt a question come to the surface of her mind, nagging for her attention.

If the Wax Bellman had this secret passageway all along, why didn't he just leave the Maw when the Lady died and the first engine failed? Or even way, way before that?

Eight couldn't think of why the Wax Bellman would want to stay on a sinking ship with a bunch of caged children instead of just trying to escape. It didn't make sense. Maybe she'd have to ask Six.

"How much longer?" Eight heard one of the kids ahead of her ask.

"Not very far!" Six called back down the line of children. Eight could see the dancing glow of her lighter from up ahead on the staircase and let it take her mind off her tired legs, which were aching quite badly. She couldn't imagine how the others with shorter legs were doing, especially the Nomes and Twenny.

"I'm tired!" another kid complained. Eight had noticed that the group had slowed down considerably compared to when they'd first started out, even despite frequent encouragement from her and Six. It had been hours since they'd begun their climb, and the kids were malnourished at that. "Can't we stop for a bit?"

Murmurs of agreement echoed through the narrow space. Many kids were tiring but they weren't able to stop, especially not now. The Maw could tip at any second and their exit would be flooded by impassable water.

"I'm sorry, but we have to keep going!" Eight called out to them. "You heard Six, it's not much longer now and we have to hurry before the ship sinks too far!"

Reluctant groans met her words, and the pace began to quicken a little. Eight decided to tell the group about what she'd seen from the Maw's hull to take their mind off the walking, talking all about the sunlight and ocean spray and the white bird wheeling above her head.

The kids and Nomes listened with hushed awe as they continued climbing, especially Twenny, whose eyes grew wider with each new thing Eight described. "Wow!" he cried. "I want to see a bird too!"

"Shhh! We're here!" Six's voice suddenly cut through the crowd. The group of escapees came to a halt and the narrow staircase had almost ended, transforming into a wide space where the group could gather. Six beckoned to the rest of the escapees and they climbed the last few steps to huddle around her.

Eight squeezed through the group and stood next to her. "What's next?" she asked.

"We're at the top of the Maw now, close to the Guest Area," Six told her. "There's a massive door nearby that should open with my magic, and then we'll be free. We just need to watch out for any stray Guests, but I'll be able to handle them if anything happens."

"It's that simple?" Eight asked. "What about once we get outside?"

Six bit her lip. "I'll think of something, I'm sure. Maybe they'll be something we can use as a boat."

Eight nodded along, determined to succeed despite the vagueness of Six's plan. They'd come this far, failure wasn't an option.

"Right," Six turned to the rest of the group and explained to them what she'd said to Eight, finishing with a rare grin that exuded nothing but confidence. "And keep your eyes open for anything we can use as a boat, ok? Let's go!"

One by one, the kids and Nomes followed Six out of the passageway and crept along the floor. Her sense of bravery and adventure was contagious; all the kids looked up to her. Eight had never seen Six this way, but she was glad that everyone was listening to her. Eight was at the back of the group again with Twenny, making sure all the escapees had left the passageway before she followed Six too.

In the distance were the sounds of Guests chewing food and tumbling over each other in their single-minded efforts to feed, and Eight wondered if the Lady's spell would wear off before the Maw fully sank. Even if the Guests did 'wake up' in time, would they be able to escape the Maw at all? There were hundreds of them, and nothing that could be a makeshift boat to hold them all. It would be hard enough finding a boat to carry 25 tiny prisoners, let alone something for a mass of huge, heavy Guests.

Hugging the wall, the trail of escapees crossed the space without being detected by any of the Guests in the neighbouring rooms. They reached a small gap in the far wall, ducking through one by one and leaving the Guests behind for good.

When Eight reached the gap, she nudged Twenny through and did one final sweep of the room to make sure no-one had been left behind. Satisfied, Eight was about to venture through the gap when she heard the soft tinkle of a Nome.

She paused, turning back to the room. The tinkling grew louder as a Nome appeared and waddled quickly towards her, deliberately bumping into her legs when it reached her so it could nuzzle against her knee.

Eight was taken aback. This was one of the Nomes she'd seen after being separated from Seven - one of the 3 that had guided her to the Doll Room!

"Hello again, little one!" She picked up the Nome and hugged them to her chest. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye before. Where are your friends...?"

At her question, the Nome squirmed around and pointed. There were more tinkling rattles and two more Nomes came into view, recognising Eight and racing towards her with their little arms outstretched.

Eight laughed as they collided with her legs and hugged her tight. "Come on now, we'll get left behind! Do you want to get out of here?"

The 3 Nomes nodded vigorously and Eight began to lead them through the gap to catch up with the group, but instead of following her they bustled around her legs and tugged on her dress for attention, pointing back into the room.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Wait!" A boy's voice called.

Eight looked around in surprise and saw a boy coming towards them, dressed in a baggy coat and surrounded by even more Nomes. He had blond hair and a curved scar across his left eye.

"Please wait!" the boy said breathlessly as he and the Nomes came towards Eight. He took in her shocked expression and grinned. "We'd like to get out of here too, please!"

- End of chapter -

A/N: Ooh look at that, I worked out how to put a fancy divider there! ^^

Anyway! I'm honestly amazed at how much attention this fic has gotten, especially since it's the first time I've written fanfic or even just anything of this length! I'm kinda just making this up as I go whoops and uploading each new chapter as I write it, so apologies for any errors/plot holes and such. It's also the first time I've written from the POV of children so yeah, hopefully it's not too bad. But anyway, thanks for all your support and I hope it's been a good read so far!

As you probably guessed, I adore the Little Nightmares game since it's the fandom that got me into writing fanfic and it's so one-of-a-kind. As such, I have more ideas for other LN fics! Maybe something following the Lady's life and how she actually became the Lady; maybe even a ~sequel~ to this story, following Six, Eight and the other kids after they escape the Maw... Please let me know if you'd be interested in reading more LN fics of mine, and/or a Children of the Maw sequel!

Due to what's going on in the world at the moment, my inspiration and motivation to write are a bit lacking so please don't be too concerned if I take more than 2 weeks to upload. That said, I'll do my best so stay tuned for the next chapter!

I hope you all are staying safe and happy too :D That's all from me for now, please let me know your thoughts on a sequel etc!