Immediate warning right now: there will be morbid talks about dissection. Other than that, enjoy this terrifying School chapter. I was on edge through the entire section!

Chapter 3: Dread and Anxiety

After declaring his friendship with Six, Mono found himself just as surprised as the girl. He didn't know her well, yet the words had come out so easily. Not that he regretted his choice, it just felt so... surprising. It felt right. Maybe it had come out effortlessly because he had already made his decision after seeing Six tend to his wound back at the Hunter's shack.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but he could have sworn he caught a glimpse of a smile on her face when he made his declaration. Six looked prettier with a smile on her face. It was like when the sun rained down its golden rays and people would dance in joy at the tenderness in the air. She'd also become more comfortable with holding hands, sometimes taking the initiative to hold his instead of the other way around. He didn't mind though. In fact, he was delighted. Holding hands in this dark, cruel world would remind him that he wasn't alone.

Walking around the abandoned streets of the Pale City, the children entered into a living room. Suddenly, a TV flashed on as Mono began to cover his ears, forcing his gaze onto the floorboards. His head hurt, as there was that annoying buzzing in his head. He could not make out the words, but someone was trying to tell him something. The voice sounded familiar. That's right! Back at the Wilderness! It was that voice again! As if in a trance, the boy walked towards the TV before placing a hand on the screen.

I am waiting for you, Mono. Please, open the door... The mysterious voice pleaded desperately.

Tuning the Transmission, Mono finally entered that strange corridor he always dreamt about. He ran for the door at the end of the hall, but his speed was slow. The boy couldn't hear anything but the sound of the ticking clock. Faintly, he could hear Six calling out to him, but she sounded so far away. He hadn't even gotten halfway down the hall before he got pulled back. Getting pulled out of the Transmission, the boy fell back along with his friend as the TV turned off.

"Ugh, what happened?" Mono groaned, sitting up.

"I don't know... You just touched the screen and didn't respond when I called out to you," Six explained.

"Really?" The boy frowned.

Six nodded her head eagerly, "Mono, do you... remember?"

"I..." he paused. "I don't know. I think I heard your voice after I tuned the Transmission, but I was running towards a dark hallway. It looked like the one in my dreams..."

Six looked... disappointed, like she was expecting a more satisfying answer. She wanted to say something, but chose not to say anything in the end. Rising to their feet, they left the building through the window. Outside, the two children made it to the School after pulling the dumpster aside. A ball had caught Six's attention as she immediately ran towards it. Looking at the goalpost and then back at the ball in determination, she kicked it. It didn't reach the goal though.

"You have weak knees, Six." The boy could not help but tease her a little.

"I do not!" she argued, her cheeks blushing an amusing shade of red.

Mono laughed as they started to exchange playful banter to each other. For a brief moment, they were playing around and acted like the kids they were. Going down the seesaw, playing on the swings, and balancing on a small crack. All fun and games aside, they eventually returned to their task and climbed their way inside the School.

~oOo~

Walking into the hallways, Mono explored around the School, noticing random toys on the floor. Curious as why toys would be lying around, since anyone could trip on them, the boy went to pick them up. He didn't notice the rigged floorboard until it was too late. With the trap activated, the boy closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact of the bucket colliding with him. Something did collide with him - it just wasn't the bucket.

"Mono!" Feeling his body getting tackled out of the way and knocked to the floor, the boy opened his eyes to see Six was on top of him. The girl was looking at him fretfully, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks..." The two of them stared at each other until Mono averted his gaze, "Um, Six? You can get off me now."

The girl tilted her head a bit, giving him a blank stare. However, she got up and stepped aside as the boy sat up. Offering her hand, she pulled him up to his feet.

"You need to be more careful, Mono," Six chastised.

"Yeah." He gave a nod to show his understanding as he dusted himself off.

Hearing snickering and the pitter-patter of footsteps, the two children directed their attention to the sounds. Holding Six's hand, Mono crouched to get through the chairs to the end of the hallway. There were more... were those children? Why were they peeping at them? And why were they running away whenever he and Six got close?

While trying to avoid many traps, some did need to be activated to gain access to a different area of the School. Activating a floorboard that dropped a locker, Mono climbed up and jumped into the next hallway, Six following just behind. Being cautious, the two kids walked slowly until they came to a row of green lockers. Seeing a hammer nearby, Mono picked up the pace to get it. However, a locker fell onto him as he slammed against the ground. It was dark and he started to panic. The boy tried to lift the locker up, but something or someone was weighing it down. Very soon, he could hear Six's muffled cries as she was struggling against something.

"Let go of me!"

Her voice was getting further away as Mono became desperate, trying to shake the locker and be freed. "What's going on?! Six?!"

"Mono!"

He heard her, but she was getting further away. Feeling that the locker was no longer being weighed down, the boy lifted the narrow compartment and rolled out of it. Quickly getting to his feet, Mono urgently sprinted to where he believed Six had been taken. A Bully was climbing up the ladder, but before Mono could catch up, the ladder was drawn up and the ceiling was covered.

No! Mono looked around desperately.

The door they'd come from was shut and the ceiling was blocked! Where were they taking Six?! The boy started to hyperventilate as an old, forgotten memory returned from his subconsciousness. Something happened like this before when he was... younger. A girl... a girl... what was her name?! Why couldn't he remember?! Something... bad happened to the girl and he was left all alone. Just like... now. Breathing out deeply, he eventually calmed himself. This was not the time to think about the past, he had to focus on what was happening now.

Looking at the blocked paths, Mono had a look of determination on his face. Six, I will save you.

Running to where the hammer lay, the boy grabbed the weapon and swung it to smash an unsuspecting Bully. While his conscience was making him feel bad for destroying the doll, his impulses were yelling at him to destroy them all. They weren't human and if they hadn't trapped him, Six wouldn't have gotten kidnapped. After destroying another Bully with an activated trap, Mono went to the next hallway to hear the sound of chalk against a blackboard.

Sneaking into the classroom while there was a scary-looking Teacher had the boy's heart pounding sporadically. Taking a quick peek, he could see her bulging eyes that were faintly obscured by the shadow. She doesn't even blink! Her twisted smile that was plastered onto her face creep him the most. When she turned to face the blackboard to etched loudly, she would lean over before letting the final sound of chalk pierce the silence. Eventually, he reached a door that was slightly ajar. His eyes immediately fell on a golden key that lay on top of a shelf. However, when the boy tried to climb to retrieve the item, the shelf started to tilt from his weight.

Creak... CRASH!

Mono froze as he could hear footsteps getting closer to the door. In a panic, he quickly slid into a box as the Teacher opened the door wide and stretched out her neck to look around the room. The sight was terrifying as Mono covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming. Eventually, the Teacher slowly retracted her neck and closed the door, causing a vent to open. Getting out of his hiding space, the boy pocketed the key before opening the cabinet door that led back to the classroom.

The Teacher was there with a ruler in her hands... and she did not look happy despite her face saying otherwise. A female Bully was looking at him, having heard the creaking of the cabinet door opening.

"Pay attention!" the Teacher screeched.

Slam!

The female Bully immediately looked away from Mono as she focused on the Teacher who'd just slammed her ruler on the desk. Walking away, the Teacher began to observe her classroom, trying to find any sign of misconduct.

"Now, remember young ones. In my class, there are no tolerance for any tomfoolery. If I catch you making noises, punishment shall be handed over accordingly. Is that understood?!" She slammed the ruler down on another desk.

The male Bully nodded, not daring to voiced his answer.

Quietly, Mono crept across the room, trying to avoid the Teacher's line of sight. Under her presence, the Bullies wouldn't make any sound unless they wished to get the end of the ruler. Making it out of the classroom, the boy let out a quiet sigh of relief as he relaxed a little. Reaching to the lock, he opened the elevator with the key. Once the doors opened, he gladly stepped in, wanting to get away from this level of the School.

~oOo~

After passing the library, solving puzzles, and collecting more Glitching Remains, Mono found himself in the cafeteria. With so many Bullies in the room, he couldn't just burst into the lunch room as he was now. Luckily, after breaking a few Bullies and acquiring the head of one, the boy put away his paper bag and placed the cracked head over his face. Entering the lunch room, Mono found himself uncomfortable at all the chaos. It contrasted his time at the orphanage, but the way the dolls would interact with another of their kind brought back upsetting memories.

Exiting the lunch room and into the hallway, Mono was astounded by so many Bullies causing havoc in the halls. However, not all of these creatures were chaotic. Three of them were playing jump rope while singing a song. Though careful not to bump into anyone, he accidentally got too close to a male Bully and the doll shoved him roughly. Afraid that his disguise would break, Mono clutched at the front of the head as he tried to regain balance.

"Hey!" He glared at the Bully who pushed him.

"Oops, sorry about that!" the Bully apologized mockingly, jumping up and down excitedly.

Shocked at the apology, Mono inquired as he tried to imitate the Bully's ruthless tone, "You seem very happy. Did something amazing happen?"

"Oh, yes it has! We got permission from the Teacher! She was very delighted by the news too! Later in science class, we will be dissecting our little play-thing!"

"Your... play-thing?" Mono faltered as a horrible thought came to his mind.

Please let it be something else, please let it be something else! Please let it be a frog! He hoped it wasn't who he thought it was.

"Oh, right! You weren't there when it happened. We caught a girl earlier." The Bully let out a fed-up sigh, "She was such a boring toy, didn't even cry or anything."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that. I'll bet she'll be screaming and crying after the others are finished playing with her." A female Bully joined the conversation; the side of her head was broken. "She'll be doing all of that once we cut her open!"

Alarm bells were ringing in Mono's ears as his eyes widened under the head. Had he heard that correctly? He hadn't misheard something, right...? Right?! The boy started to pale, but he needed to know more.

"Y-You're what?" he gulped.

"We're going to see what her insides are like! Bet they are as tainted as she is on the outside! It's even better! Unlike with those old, boring dead frogs, we're going to dissect her when she's still alive!" The female Bully jumped in glee, malice shining in her nonexistent eyes as if someone had told her Christmas came early.

The male Bully snickered, "If she is well behaved, maybe Teacher will be kind enough to give her some anesthetic. Otherwise, I bet it will be veeery painful! Hahaha!"

"Ooh! Here's an idea! Let's take away her sight! I heard losing the ability to see is quite a scary thing! You'll never know what's going to happen or when it's going to happen!" The female Bully laughed. "Once class is over, we can show her what we did!"

"Hehe, serves her right, the misbehaving girl! I wonder how long she's going to last! It would be a pity if she dies too soon before the fun begins! Oh, I would love to see the look on her face once I rip her entrails out of her body!"

"And before I leave, I'm going to dig out her eyes! They are quite beautiful and would be far more suited on my face than hers!" The female Bully was jumping in joy.

Hearing the Bullies cackling and the thought of his friend being put in that situation made Mono feel light-headed. His stomach, while he hadn't eaten in a while, started to churn as sweat formed on his face. Was it just him or was the head suddenly making everything hot? He swayed, but soon caught himself, placing a hand against the wall to steady his footing while keeping the other on the head so it didn't fall. The two Bullies were staring at him, becoming suspicious of his abnormal reaction. What kind of Bully would get nauseous after hearing such wonderful news? Catching this, Mono tried to act tough and uncaring, despite it being very difficult to do so. Eventually, the Bullies shrugged and resumed their delightful imaginings, much to the boy's displeasure. He needed to find Six, and fast!

Looking at the female Bully, he inquired, "You don't happen to know where she is, do you?"

"Oh, she's in the boy's bathroom, hanging around with the boys. Why? You want to mess around with her too?"

That information was all he needed to know as Mono immediately dashed for the exit, ignoring the female Bully's questions. There was a crack in the door that was big enough for him, so he slipped through. In his haste, the boy tripped and fell face-first, the porcelain head shattering into pieces. Quickly getting up, he took out his paper bag and placed it on top of his head. He needed to get to Six!

After getting a disgusting brain from the top shelves and using it to unlock the door, Mono snuck under the table to the science room. There, the Teacher was getting out tools. She was humming to herself, in an extremely good mood as she grabbed a scalpel from the drawer. However, her head suddenly turned as Mono ducked under the table. Her reflexes and the way she was smiling seemed to be telling him: I know you're here, child~! Come out now!

Luckily, the Teacher moved on, entering into the science classroom. Slowly, Mono followed her. At the edge of the room, the boy could only stare in disbelief. The window could only be accessed if he got to the far end of the table! Are you serious!? Getting past her is a complete nightmare! As the child slowly climbed up the drawer to the table, his heart started to pound so hard against his chest that he became worried that the Teacher might hear him.

Thump, thump, thump, thump...!

Fortunately, she didn't hear his heartbeat as she was busy stuffing live organs into a model of the human body. As quietly as he could, Mono would inch to a bunch of jars whenever the humanoid monster had her back turned. There were so many organs in the jars! Where had she even gotten all of these from?! Reminded of Six's fate if he didn't get to her in time, Mono carelessly bumped into a jar that made a jiggling noise. He froze as his heart sank.

"Where are you...?" the Teacher sang as she began to twist her neck, her wicked smile still present as she scanned the room. "Come out, come out, child~! I promise I won't bite..."

Go away, just turn around already!

Mono stayed at his spot, his body trembling in fear. Hearing a disappointed sigh, he boldly took a peek from the jars to see what the monster was doing. She had resumed getting more organs from the cupboards. Not daring to let out a sigh, the boy continued to sneak across the table, evading the Teacher's eyes. When he finally reached the small frame of the window, he jumped. In his moment of fear, Mono felt his hands getting sweaty.

Please, please! Let me get out of here! Please don't let me slip and do this over again! He desperately pleaded.

His pleas were granted as the boy was able to lift himself and get to the next room. After climbing up a drawer, Mono happily crawled into a vent. Before he could continue, the boy pressed his hand against his chest as he let out a sigh. That... that was nerve-wracking! After catching his breath, the boy continued onward. Opening the vent, he saw a few Bullies ahead. With a hammer nearby, he grabbed it and broke the many porcelain dolls who stood in his way as he continued going down the hallway.

~oOo~

After rescuing Six in the boy's bathroom, Mono found himself unable to stay calm. As he led her away from the bathroom and into the next building, he kept looking over his shoulder to make sure Six was behind him. He was able to stay calm while he tended to the injury that the Bullies left on her right hand, but that was only natural. It was natural to stay calm to not invoke fear or stress for others. And yet, trying to instill hope could be a dangerous thing.

That's why he had chosen not to press with any more questions. However, his mind kept focusing on the possibility of what could've happened if he hadn't made it to her in time. The Bullies were ruthless and the Teacher was sadistic. He wasn't sure which one was more terrifying. But if he had to choose, he would pick the Bullies. Their twisted ideas and their eagerness to fulfill their wild fantasies were horrendous! Glancing over again, he could see it. There were red handprints around her neck. It was very faint, but it stood out against her pale complexion and he could see it. The redness wasn't just around her neck, but the rope they used to leave her hanging had left marks on her legs as well.

What had exactly happened? What did they do to her!?

A quiet, tired sigh could be heard behind him. From the way Six had been keeping quiet, it was most likely her mind was also focusing on something disturbing that the Bullies probably did or told to her. He would've liked to comfort her, but he couldn't find the words for it. So instead, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze as she also tightened her grip in response.

It's okay, Mono. Six is safe. She is right here with you. Focus right now.

Looking up, the boy found himself staring at a piano. There was a crank behind it too. Turning towards Six, he let go of her hand to see how she reacted. She looked a little disappointed, but she knew why he had to let go, giving him a silent nod of understanding. Before he could walk over to the crank, however, Mono felt her arms wrap around his shoulders as Six pulled him back.

"Six?" he called out, confusion spreading to his mind as he fell on the floor.

"I'm sorry," she apologized tiredly, her voice barely in a whisper. "Just... please let me stay like this for a little while."

Another tired sigh as the boy felt the girl leaning her forehead against his back. He briefly wondered if the Bullies had exhausted the girl both physically and mentally and that was why she sounded so fatigued. Putting those thoughts aside, Mono stayed still for her to lean on him. It felt nice. To take a break and slow things down a bit. He needed this, too. Perhaps it would calm down his mind.

The silence was starting to become unbearable, so Six started to softly hum a melody. The boy easily recognized it to be the one her music box played and started to hum along, too. After a couple of minutes, the girl eventually released him and he resumed what he was going to do.

Turning the crank, the massive musical instrument started to raise until the pulley couldn't support its weight, letting it crash into the wooden floor boards. Getting on top of the piano, the two children jumped as the instrument sank deeper into the floor until they crashed to ground level.

They were able to get the key from a female Bully who was using it to play with a dead, dissected frog's corpse. Upon seeing the lifeless animal on the ground, Mono felt pity for it. While he could understand the practicality of teaching with a frog to better understand the subject, he didn't particularly agree with it.

At least it died before it could feel pain. That's better than it being alive...

Lifting the gate with Six's help, they entered the next room of the building. Upon seeing a Bully scribbling on the floorboards, Mono's eyes were immediately focused on the hammer. Quietly, he inched his way towards the weapon. By the time he got hold of it and turned to the doll, Six was already there, bashing the Bully's head against the floor.

Crack!

Mono dropped the hammer as he stared at his friend in shock. Then he caught it - that dark look in her eyes as she slowly turned to face him. It didn't seem like Six. It felt like he was seeing someone else entirely.

"Six?" he called out hesitantly.

That dark look in her eyes disappeared despite the resentment was clearly in her tone, "Sorry. It's just... that Bully did a lot of things to me..."

Eyeing the broken porcelain, Mono found his thoughts shifting to his time at the orphanage. The Director had been a cruel person. He would punish the weak while rewarding the strong. Often, his life had become one of misery and hopelessness. Someone had once said that pain was required to become strong, that caring for others was weakness. Many orphans changed their methods in order to please the Director. Friends would turn on each other, steal and take credit from one another. Enemies would find common ground. Those who still remained kind had to endure, hoping for the day any sympathetic adult would take them away from such a nightmarish place. Having hope was dangerous, but it also brought some form of peace to the mind. Because he had a caring heart, Mono had always found himself being bullied by the older orphans. But he'd endured... because of someone - the girl. He'd endured for a little while before something had happened to her. Argh! Why couldn't he remember it clearly?!

Shaking his head, he looked at his friend, "No, I understand."

Six tilted her head in response, "You do?"

While he wouldn't have attacked or confronted his own tormentors, he could understand that feeling of being mocked and scorned. Sometimes, he couldn't stop the dark wish in his heart for them to suffer. "Yeah."

Looking at the Bully, Mono had to remind himself of one thing: the Bullies weren't humans. And if he had to pick, he would rather have Six angrily destroy the doll who stressed her than allow her body to be used as someone's twisted science experiment. The thought of it still haunted him. Grabbing her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze, they left the scene, heading towards the direction of the piano music.

~oOo~

Finding the Teacher as she was composing her song, Mono felt Six behind him, staring at the humanoid monster playing the piano in horror. He wasn't surprised by her reaction since this was the first time she'd actually seen the Teacher. Looking at the platform that was connected to the crank at the bottom end of the room and the wheeled seat, he turned to face Six. She had followed his gaze while he'd been observing and was looking at him in worry.

"I'll be back." He kept his voice low.

"Be safe, Mono," she whispered.

Giving her a nod, Mono descended down to the floor. Whenever the Teacher was playing the keys, the boy would sneak to the end of the room, stopping when she was writing on her music sheets. After lowering the platform, Six crossed over, staying near the end to wait for him. After waiting for the monster to play her tune again, Mono started to drag the seat back across the room to climb back up to the top. Jumping onto the platform, the boy joined his friend as they reached the other vent.

Together, they opened the cover. However, the vent had made a loud noise just as the Teacher had stopped playing. Hearing the noise, the monster slammed her hands on the piano keys as Six crawled into the vent.

"I see you!" the Teacher called out. Terrified, Mono quickly joined Six inside the vent. She was pushing at the flap to clear the way, but it wouldn't budge! Rushing over to help, the boy also pushed as well. To his horror, the Teacher was trying to push her head into the narrow vent. "Come here! Come here, little girl! Come here, little boy!"

If he could scream, he would, but his voice was caught in his throat as he desperately tried to push the flap open.

Finally, the children managed to push the flap away and Six got a head start. Frightened, Mono tried to catch up with her, but the Teacher was pursuing them without end! Looking over his shoulder, he could see the monster's large eyes and creepy smile getting closer and closer to him. Climbing up the vent, he kept looking back, needing to be sure that there was enough distance between him and his approaching death.

"Mono!"

Looking ahead, the boy could see Six in another vent opposite him, her hand outstretched. Sprinting, he jumped at the end of his vent as the girl caught him, falling back to pull Mono with her. The boy could faintly feel the Teacher's breath on his feet. Sliding down the roof and landing in the dumpster, the children didn't make a sound until they were sure the Teacher wasn't pursuing them anymore.

Hearing a frustrated growl followed by silence, they eventually climbed out of the dumpster. The rain was making Mono feel wary. Who was the sky crying for exactly?