Six felt like her head was splitting open when she opened her eyes. Her chest felt heavy as she laid there tying to take slow even breaths, if she didn't know better she'd swear someone was sitting on her. Six had no way of knowing the extent of the injury, she just knew it hurt.. The ground she was on was hard and cold and from what she could see in the low light there was no covering above her. It was a weird place for her to fall asleep. Stranger still was she was accustomed to a warm body curled up against her own.
Mono, Six thought sitting up in a panic. She hissed at the pain that radiated throughout her torso. He was sitting next to her curled up on himself. She'd forgotten what happened to him, what he did to her, why she was in pain. It was his fault. A glare took it's place on Six's features as she watched his slow shallow breaths. He wasn't sleeping, she could tell even in this form, that's not what his breathing was like when he slept.
Her suspicion was confirmed when he made a noise at her as she moved to get herself in a more comfortable position. His hand came towards her slowly and she flinched away from him. Even in this form she knew he was worried about her, but it was his fault she was hurt. Mono curled up on himself making some kind of noise. It was one of the first noises that didn't come from the TV. Her eyes drifted to the remote that was still laying in front of her. He hadn't even tried to move her. He didn't even do anything to make sure she didn't turn on the TV again, even though they both knew it caused him pain.
In the center of the room, where the only light came from stood a now destroyed music box. She wanted to ask Mono why he did it. He had brought her here to keep her safe. Did he not like what the music box did, or did he read her actions as not liking the music box. Either way she was grateful that he took care of it. It was terrifying to think about what might have happened to her if it'd continued playing while she slept.
Never the less Mono had shown himself to be a danger. She had to get out of here and she didn't think she was going to be taking her friend with her. She was starting to feel like staying with Mono was going to get her killed. She'd felt that way for a while now, and the comfort she had in his company couldn't outweigh her need to survive.
Six glanced at Mono, unsure if he was watching her. She couldn't tell with that damned TV on his head. It looked more beat up than it had been before. Like he'd been smashing it on the ground. She didn't have time to worry about that. Six was sure once she left the Tower it wouldn't keep his body warped and twisted. the Tower wanted him right? That's why the man had chased them, to bring Mono here. It had no reason to keep her, so she was going to leave. She ignored the flickering out of the corner of her eye as she stood. She held a hand to her side, watching Mono carefully.
It didn't look like he was reacting to her. She took a deep breath - wincing at the pain - and then started running towards the still open door. Six could hear her feet against the floor, the swish of her jacket, but everything was overshadowed by the sound that came from behind her. It made her stop in her tracks and she wasn't even sure why. Probably some subconscious part of her that was used to stopping when Mono called for her. She glanced over her shoulder at Mono. He was calling her name, or trying to. The TV twisted his words in such weird way. Mono wasn't trying to follow or chase after her.
He called out to her again motioning for her to come back. She watched his hands making a face at the motion he did with them.
Sorry
He was signing sorry at her. She scowled, remembering teaching him a few gestures so they could communicate when it wasn't safe to use their voices. She remembered the way they huddled under a dry blanket they'd found, tucked inside a wall where the only thing to worry about was rats trying to nip at their digits. They'd laid there and went over again and again the hand signs until Mono finally took her hand holding it firmly down against the floor. She heard him yawn and couldn't stop herself from doing the same.
Six looked down at her hand still able to feel the pressure of Mono's holding it tight. Sometimes too tight, but it always kept her grounded. Her lip quivered and she pressed her mouth into a hard line while fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over. She was going to leave him here. That thought left her feeling dizzy. She felt empty and disgusted with herself. Mono tried calling out to her again making her hair stand on end. She looked over at him, called out to him, and motioned for him to follow. Six didn't wait for him as she walked out the door back into the hallway.
Six watched Mono awkwardly squeeze himself out of the door way. Once he was through, his hand reached out toward her. It reminded her of when she got hurt at the school. The hesitance in his movements. She almost smiled at him, but something bitter in her refused to comfort him. Six wanted him to feel bad. She wanted him to suffer at least this much. It was only right. She glared at him before turning away from him and walking down the hall.
She had no idea where she was going, and she wasn't about to listen to the noises coming from Mono anymore. So much of the Tower felt the same. Even when they weren't going through doorways anymore. Six glanced upwards. There were countless stairways, they didn't seem to lead anywhere, and somehow there were none below them. As far as Six could tell they weren't on the bottom floor. There had to be a way out. Six glanced at the TV on Mono's head. That was how the Thin Man had left and found them. So there had to be more, and if there were more, they could probably use them to leave. Mono clearly could still travel through them even with the state he was in.
She pulled the remote from her pocket again holding it towards Mono. If they could find a way to remove the TV from his head, they could just use that one. If she was going with Mono she didn't mind traveling through the TV. Six looked up at him and saw a flicker of a face in that screen and her chest felt hollow as she looked at it. She'd only seen glimpses of Mono's face through the mask and had always quickly looked away. Something never felt quite right about his face. When the face flickered on the TV once again Six found herself falling backwards onto the floor, dropping the remote as she fell.
Mono moved towards her concerned and she couldn't stop herself from flinching. He backed away from her, some kind of dejected noise coming from him. It wasn't like she needed his help right now anyway. She needed him to keep his distance and maybe never show her his face again. Or maybe when he was no longer a twisted mess his face wouldn't seem so strange. Her hands shook as she forced herself to stand up again, shoving the remote back in her pocket. The pained look on the face she saw did nothing to make it seem right. She couldn't explain what was so unsettling about it, but just the sight of it had her heart racing.
They continued their walk. Six peeked into doors as they wandered the halls. She ignored any that had purple light spilling from them. She knew those doors and even if she was willing to go through them again Mono made noises at her if she got too close. It was starting to annoy her how much he seemed to understand about this place, but did nothing to help them find a way out. Was he happy being stuck here? Six looked over her shoulder at him when he started humming. It buzzed through the static of the TV. She covered her ears, stomping her feet down a little harder as she walked.
Then the next step she tried to slam down kept going. She was falling and there wasn't anything to grab on to. She caught a glimpse of a door frame as she fell through it. Why was there a door on the floor, she thought out of frustration as she tried to turn her body as she fell. She looked up to where she'd fallen from but the door slammed shut and she could hear a pained cry come from the other side. It seemed like the Tower had intend on separating them. She didn't expect to have a soft landing, but hitting the ground made the side of her body feel numb with pain. She whimpered softly as she pressed a hand against it. She was getting so tired of falling, being taken, and shoved around. She was getting ready to lash out against everything.
A flicker.
She ignored it, shoving herself off the ground. She marched into the darkness. There had to be a way out, this tower wouldn't keep her. She nearly screamed with frustration as she continued to walk. This place was a vast void. Six had no indication on which way she was going or if there even was anything in the direction she walked. She knew standing around or even sitting and moping wasn't going to solve anything. So she kept walking.
She felt like she'd been walking for days when she finally decided to stop and rest for a moment. Six sat on the cold, strangely wet ground, bringing her knees to her chest. Maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe it would be better to stay here instead of walking. There was always a chance Mono was trying to find her and he seemed to be able to navigate the Tower better than she could. Maybe he'd be able to find her. She scoffed. It was terrible having to rely on anyone.
Six was reminded that, she didn't made it here on her own. She'd always had someone there for her. Always had a person to grab her hand and lead her in the right direction. She found it pathetic how much she leaned on other children to help her. Six curled up on herself a little more, holding her knees tight. She was worthless. If she'd just been a little more aware, paid better attention, then they wouldn't be in this mess. If she'd been able to help Mono, made sure he ran away from the Thin Man then none of this would be happening. She should have been able to do that one thing. She should be able to save a friend.
Six sat up startled by the door that appeared in front of her. She blinked several times before slowly standing. The door handle like so many in this place was low enough for Six to reach. It was one of the things that bothered her the most about this tower. It felt like it was built with children in mind. The door slowly opened and Six braced herself for whatever would come though. There wasn't anywhere she could hide, and maybe she could run, but where to?
The door didn't open completely and Six watched in confusion as a small hand wrapped around the door. Six relaxed slightly letting out the breath she didn't know she was holding. Were there other children here? Perhaps she was wrong in believing that the Tower only wanted Mono. Maybe it just fed off of children. Any child. Six felt herself freeze, her muscles locked up as the kid looked around the door.
A kid clad in a matching yellow raincoat stood there. If Six wasn't so accustomed to noticing small details she might have thought it was herself. This kid was taller though, and their raincoat was bigger and a slightly darker shade of yellow then her own. Then it struck her - she'd seen this kid before.
Six ran towards the door determined that she was going to get answers. The kid was clearly startled by this and was starting to close the door. Six rammed her shoulder into the door letting out an uncomfortable noise as the kid tried to force it shut with Six stuck between the door and the frame. Six pushed through the door reaching out to grab the kid. Her hand caught the sleeve of their jacket and pulled. The kid lurched forward, losing their balance, and falling into Six. They both tumbled to the floor, landing in the middle of the doorway. The kid flailed slightly in an attempt to get away from Six, but Six was faster, pinning the kid to the ground. Six pushed back the other kids hood.
"You," Six growled staring down at wide eyes. It was the girl from the Nest. The one she'd tried and failed to save. The one she watched fall - presumably to her death. Why was she here? How was she here? Six watched her face twist into fear and panic as she struggled to get away. Six did her best to hold the girl down, but was eventually thrown to the side. She hissed out in pain as she landed, watching the girl run back through the doorway. Annoyed and in more pain than she was in before Six chased after the girl. She stumbled through the doorway freezing the second she looked around the room.
She was back at the Nest. Her hands started to shake as she looked around the room. Her mind brought her back to being stuck here, being helpless to do anything to save herself or others. She thought about all the kids she'd left in cages and how many of them had given up on their fight to be free. Six grabbed her arms with hands so tight she knew they'd leave bruises. She'd almost given up on getting free herself.
Movement caught Six's eye. The girl was running into a room away from her. Six remembered how many times she just saw glimpses of the girl. How they never got the proper chance to actually meet each other. That child had at one point seemed like a beacon of hope for Six. Now Six felt her guts twist in disgust when looking at her. Six knew that she hadn't done enough to save her and so much of her was relieved to lay eyes on her again. Despite herself, Six chased after the girl. She wasn't getting away this time. Six wasn't as weak as she'd been back then. She didn't fall behind, she didn't get stuck in situations that would kill her. She...
That wasn't the truth though. She did keep getting stuck. It started to weigh on her as she ran after the girl. She was always getting stuck into deadly situations. It didn't matter if someone else was with her or not. It was her, Six was the one that kept getting stuck. She was the one putting others in danger. Six shook her head choosing instead to focus on the girl disappearing into another room. Nomes ran past Six in a panic as she entered the room.
Something flickered.
The girl didn't seem to notice the movement right next to her. Six wondered if she'd hit her head when Mono threw her. Maybe that's why she kept seeing things. Six tried to reach down and stick her hands in her pockets, she felt vulnerable standing here before the girl that she'd let die. Her hands didn't make contact with her jacket though and she looked down confused. There weren't any pockets for Six to put her hands in. Her jacket was gone entirely. She stared down at the white shirt and pants she'd worn back when she was trapped in the Nest.
She felt a sort of panic run through her as she tried to rationalize what was happening. This had to be something the Tower was doing, but the longer she looked down at herself the more it felt like everything that happened after the Nest was just a dream. She felt herself mentally slipping as she continued to stare down at herself in disbelief. Maybe everything had just been a dream. One so vivid, like the nightmares she'd been having ever since she woke up in this world.
The girl, now being the only one in a raincoat, tried to sneak past Six. As freaked out as Six was, it didn't dull her senses enough to let her target slip past her. Six reached out, grabbing the girls arm with a firm hand. She wanted answers, because she saw this girl die. She watched her fall off the cliff into the water deep down below and not come back up. She'd floated past that raincoat furiously wiping away tears telling herself it was pointless to cry over someone she hardly knew.
"You fell," Six whispered trying hard to cling to what she thought was reality. This wasn't real, and somewhere deep down Six was sure she knew that, but her old wounds still felt fresh. The girl looked at her horrified at first, then her face grew dark. She yanked her arm away from Six and Six let her, suddenly feeling so small. The girl reached out and shoved Six causing her to stumble backwards a few steps. Six watched the girls hands ball into fists and shake before she spoke, her voice louder than it should be.
"You let me fall. You didn't do anything to save me. What, did you think dropping a rock was going to stop that monster? That's all you did. You left me to die." Her words stung. Six knew these things were true, she knew that her efforts to help hadn't done anything good. She let this girl down. Just like she let Mono down. It seemed for a moment that she wasn't any good at helping anyone. Then, a rage started building in Six's chest as she thought about the journey they'd gone through, not together but near each other. Six shoved the girl back with a scowl.
"You're the one that left me," Six argued, still keeping her voice low. She so badly wanted to tackle the girl and hold a hand over her mouth.
"You," Six spat, eye twitching slightly. "You ran past me and barricaded the door. You left me behind." Six didn't know anymore if she would have done the same, but that wasn't the issue right now. They stayed there staring each other down. Sizing each other up. Six was sure she could win in a fight. It didn't matter if this kid was taller or faster than her.
Six was sent to the floor with a hard punch to the side of her face that she didn't have time to dodge. She held her cheek looking up at the girl in the raincoat wondering if she was really that bold. She was breathing heavily, looking ready to throw another punch at her. Six almost dared her to do it. She wanted a reason to tear something apart. Ever since those dolls in the school had abducted her she found she had a taste for violence. Something Mono hadn't ever objected to and even seemed to openly encourage. Six caught the punch that was thrown at her a second time, knocking the girl off balance. She pulled her down to the floor pinning her face down.
"We could have escaped together," Six growled grabbing a fist full of her hair. She saw the fear in the girls eyes when she looked up at her. Six's grip tightened, because she didn't see just fear, she saw disgust on the girls face. It felt like Six was possessed when she slammed her face into the floor. Then she did it again and again. The small whimper that left the girl made a smile stretch across Six's face. As she lifted her head again everything faded away.
Six sat on the ground staring at her hands. The sudden disappearance of anything tangible had her spiraling back to reality. The weight of what she was just doing, even though it wasn't real, made her stomach churn. She clenched her jaw and took a sharp intake of breath trying to tell herself that she wasn't a monster. Six slouched forward onto the ground pulling her hood over her face. She curled up on herself pretending she wasn't shaking, afraid of what was happening to her.
She heard a whisper. A quiet 'hey' called out to her. Six sat up and whipped around so fast she almost fell over. There stood another kid, dressed in a blue shirt and tan pants. A shackle hung loosely around his ankle. She felt disappointment swell in her chest. She'd been hoping it was Mono calling for her. She'd hoped seeing him would help her feel better. Give her some kind of hope in this cruel void. Six felt her feelings fester into something darker.
"Who are you," she whispered, though she meant to sound more threatening than that. She watched a flicker appear behind the boy. It seemed to wrap around his neck. Six stood, taking a defensive stance. The kid in front of her didn't move and neither did the shadow behind him. Was this supposed to be a warning? Was this just another trick brought on by the Tower? Or were there really other children here. Either way she was ready to beat this kid senseless too. She couldn't trust anything her eyes showed her right now.
Six wanted to join the shadow in wringing this kids neck. She didn't know who he was or what he was doing here. Six strode towards him, unsure if he would be able to outrun her, but he didn't run. Rather he moved towards her, arms outstretched slightly. Six smiled ready for a fight, but she wasn't ready for what happened. He was faster than her. He wrapped his arms tight around her holding her arms against her body.
The action had been so sudden and unexpected that she couldn't move. Her body stood frozen against this other kid as his arms wrapped around her tighter. She watched the shadow fade away, and with it, her anger. She tried to struggle out of the kids grip, but he wouldn't let her go. Six let out a pained gasp as the kids arms tightened around her again.
"Let go," She yelled pushing him away. He landed on the ground in front of her and Six thought about kicking him across the face, but moving at all was sending pain shooting up the side of her body.
"Who are you?" Six asked but the boy just shook his head, standing again. Six was ready for him to try and hug her again, but he didn't. He turned away from her, motioning for her to follow. Six's brow pulled together in confusion. Why would she follow a random child who appeared out of nowhere? Why would he trust her enough to make her follow him? He had to be mad, or a new kind of trap the Tower wanted her to fall for. Six rolled her eyes at the boy. Probably an illusion. She needed to go find Mono and get them out of this place.
"That's nice," Six muttered, dusting herself off. "I'm going to go find my friend."
"He's going to be stuck in this tower for the rest of his life and you're going to be the reason for that." Six looked at him, shocked, having been sure he wasn't able to speak. Six ground her teeth together making her jaw ache. So what if she did leave him here? That was her choice wasn't it? Though, she was going through all of this to help him wasn't she? Why was she helping him, what was he to her? A friend, someone safe, a warm feeling in her chest. Mono. She caught herself holding her hands to her chest feeling the need to hold her heart in place. Something about his words were heavy on her chest.
"Let me show you something," he motioned for her to follow again. Her feet blindly carried her forward. The boy stopped in front of a door flinging it open. He walked in and Six begrudgingly followed behind, checking every corner before she fully walked into the room. She could hear the sounds of things being moved and also, Nomes.
They were making that weird sound that they did. It made Six's skin crawl. There was something so unnatural about it. Though it wasn't like there were a lot of 'natural' things out in the world anymore. They stepped into a room that looked to be some part of a restaurant. The boy ushered her up onto the counter overlooking the room. The Nomes didn't run from him - if anything they seemed to follow him. Six watched in near awe as he picked one up as it stretched its arms out to him.
He turned to look directly at Six and she felt a shiver go through her. She heard him ask if she was ready, but she never saw his mouth move. Ready for what? Something about this felt unnatural. It was the Tower again. Six braced for everything to go black again, to be brought back to the void where she could be left alone and not haunted by these things. If the girl was her past, what was this boy?
Six shut her eyes holding her hands over her ears. She didn't want to be here. She had to go back to Mono. He was waiting for her, searching. Probably worried out of his mind wondering if she was okay. She'd never wanted to run back to him so badly before this moment. He was a safe space. Six opened her eyes hoping the scene had melted away, but he was still standing there. A strained smile stretching across his face. The Nome in his arms scrambled out of them and ran. Nothing about him changed though. Six heard a horrible noise and turned her head in time to see herself.
Fear washed through her body as she stared at the figure that wasn't her. It was something walking around in her skin. There was something off about it. She got that same unsettled feeling looking at this figure as she did any time she caught a glimpse of Mono's face. She stumbled backwards, watching a brave or unaware Nome offer the figure a sausage. Six didn't know what was going to happen, but some part of her knew what was going on. Six wasn't ready for it to happen though.
She wasn't prepared to watch whatever that thing controlling her body was lunge forward and sink its teeth into the Nome. Six threw a hand over her mouth, running out of the room. She pressed both hands against her mouth panting as she ran back through the doorway, feeling somehow safe in the Tower. It wasn't the sight that had her running. It wasn't the person eating the Nome or how it seemed like something had control over her body. It wasn't the flickering shadow that she saw sitting on the counter near them. None of that was what startled her so much. Six pulled her hand away from her mouth before slapping it back over.
Her mouth was watering and she couldn't make it stop.
She'd watched that figure dig its teeth into that small frame and wanted to do the same. She could smell the fresh blood and she wanted the thing squirming between her teeth. Six felt a deep pain in her stomach letting out the same horrible sound she heard in the room. She doubled over, sinking to her knees, hands still tight against her mouth. She was afraid to move her hands, she might try to bite something, she wanted to bite something.
Six stayed on her knees tears streaming down her face. She was dangerous. She was the monster in the Tower. Maybe it was better if she left Mono here, he wasn't in danger here. What was going to keep her from taking a bite out him. What if she lost control like that and she turned on him. How had this happened and when. She'd never felt like this before, never felt a hunger so deep she couldn't move. She didn't want this to happen. She was shaking. Six wanted to scream and throw herself on the ground. Why was this place doing this to her, why was it making her feel like she was losing her mind? She grabbed her head letting out a loud scream.
There was something like a scream in response.
Six jumped up to her feet and started running to the noise. Mono was solid. He was the one thing that had to be real. He had to be. The echos of Mono she'd seen didn't make her feel safe. Nothing could replace that feeling. He felt like home in a place where they didn't have anywhere to rest their heads. Unable to see, Six ran race first into a door. She rubbed her face, annoyed. She was annoyed at this Tower. Annoyed that it was trying to confuse her and trick her into believing things that weren't real. They needed to leave, they needed somewhere to be safe.
Six pulled with everything she had trying to open the door. It didn't budge. She pounded on the door, wanting to leave. Tears still streamed down her face as she sank down to the floor. She was starting to think it was better not to feel safe. If you never felt safe you could never have anything taken away from you. She heard a tap against the door and she took in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before returning the tap. The door handle turned and on the other side she saw the hallways again and Mono, who even in his monster form was now a comfort. She ran to him, leaning against his twisted frame, stepping into his palm when it was offered to her. She wasn't going to be walking on her own anymore.
She wasn't going to be paying attention to the shadow in the corner of her eye. Six buried her face into Mono's coat holding back tears. She wasn't going anywhere, she would stay with Mono forever. Whatever she had to do to feel safe. She was tired of running, tired of fighting, tired of fearing her own reflection. Mostly, she was tired of hurting others.
Six would stay in this tower, if it meant one person could be free from her wrath.