①

ｍｏｎｏ

...

The next thing I know, I burst out of the television screen and onto the dewy grass. Rising from the ground, I scan my surroundings to figure out where I am.

Amidst the heavy fog is a thicket of coal-black trees looming over me. It is like they are watching me move my legs forward against the whispers of the wind, filled with secrecy, the rustling of the leaves not enough to drown out other sounds that crawl up my skin.

At any rate, I trudge on deeper into the woods, ramming my head for any explanation of how I got here in this place and why did I come out of the TV just then. But my memories are fragmented. All I can recall is being under the collapsed floor with the other children above as the sprinklers go off, all of them panicking and running away from a huge man, who is grabbing them one-by-one. I fled from the scene and, instead of going out of the window, proceeded to tuck myself inside the broken TV.

Thinking that I won't be seen, I clasped my knees to my chest and waited. I have been a fool.

My senses tingle upon seeing a carcass down the small cliff, an indication that I need to keep my guard up. Then I remember that I saw a girl somewhere get caught by a hunter of massive size with a burlap sack covering his face. I tried to rescue her only for my memory to turn black at the part when I reached the house where she is brought in. I don't have a clue what happened after that.

I wonder how she's doing. Did she escape or is she still imprisoned? Or worse, did the hunter do something bad to her?

Having this urge to see it myself, I pick up my pace towards the house, overcoming these traps and obstacles that I already have before. Everything is so large that it's overbearing, pronouncing that I don't belong. It doesn't surprise me though as I'm well aware of this; like I'm having a deja vu with slight differences.

I know it's stupid to go inside where peril awaits for me. The girl may not be there anymore and to that, I'm only risking my life. Still, I can't help worrying over her safety. There is a recurring voice inside my head telling me that I have to protect her.

When I made it inside the house, every piece of furniture and object is augmented, which is not fitting for my stature. Climbing down the stairs to the basement, I hear a tune chiming from there. Curious as to what it is, I peer through the crevices on the wall, where I catch a glimpse of a girl playing what seems to be a music box. She looks like she is trapped in that room, and the thought of having a companion makes me feel giddy.

Searching the area, I find a hammer, which I use to crush my way through. I release the hammer, making sure that I don't scare her as I approach her. With this, she worms her way out from under the table and stretches her hand hesitantly. This gives me a good look on her - untidy dark air and an oversized sweater. She is bare-footed like me.

My small delight is soon extinguished though when she bumps upon me and makes her way upstairs. I catch up, finding along the way a couple of dead, rotting bodies on the dining table, until I chance upon her trying to open the attic door.

Then she hollers for my attention. Funnily enough, she needs my help to which I'm more than glad to give.

As we both go on, I hold her hand every now and then in guiding her on which way to go. I point to her the knows and hows of conquering the hurdles standing in our midst.

Honestly, it feels good to have someone here with me in facing these dangers and to share this dread with. It's not just the companionship that she brings; it's as if I have known her already before I bailed her out of that room... no, that's not right ... it's even way before she got taken by the hunter.

We manage to sneak out of the kitchen through the small hatch. But the creaking noise alerts the hunter, who slams out of the door and begins shooting at us without mercy. We run for our lives, hiding behind crates to shield us from the bullets. Thankfully, he moves sluggishly - maybe because of his height - but the same can't be said about the ricochets of his shots.

We continue to sprint with his huffing and squeaking just behind us, smoke coming out of the hole of his sack. Then we jump down inside the den made out of the soil before trailing our gazes on the hunter that walks past us, still seeking his targets.

Following that, we advance through the wilderness as we keep out of the hunter's sight and avoiding getting shot at. Climbing in through the rift on the wall of a dilapidated homestead, I steady myself on a narrow plank and begin crossing to the other side where she stands by as she reaches her hand to me. Arriving in the middle, the wood buckles beneath me, and she grabs my hand in time to stop my fall.

She saved me.

When the hunter barged in, she pulls me up no sooner than running off ahead. With this, we fled away from the hunter, who was hot on our trail. We get inside the shack, blocking the door when my eyes land upon the shotgun on the wall.

I know by then what I have to do. It won't take long till our pursuer breaks the door into pieces. It's either I do it or we become screwed. That's why I unlatch the weapon off and stumble onto the floor along with it. Then I struggle to get up while she hurries to aim the gun at the door. I hold the end of the gun and watch the door gets shred off bit-by-bit.

As soon as his head pops in, I pull the trigger with no moment of hesitation. My first kill. We get knocked down by the blast, putting us in a daze with ringing in our ears. She glances at me, and the look on her face tells me that I did the right thing.

Despite knowing that, it doesn't make it feel less distasteful for me. And yet, I scramble up with her - brushing off what we've been through - and head out to the shore.

I wish I know what brought us this nightmare where the grown-ups are set out to harm us, children, making us their prey. So that I can do something about it no matter how tiny I am in this vast, twisted world.

Well, at least I have this girl whom I saved from that house. And from the hunter. She can accompany me in this misery and become my source of hope in this messed-up wormhole.

...

end of Part 1