③
ｓｉｘ
...
"Six!" he shouts from inside the locker as he bashes against the steel.
Why does it feel so right for him to call me that?
While the puppets pull me away, I thrash my fists and legs around. Although my rage bubbles up inside me, it's no use. I want to yell out his name, but I stop myself from doing so. That will make me more helpless, that I'm relying on him.
The puppet freaks drag me inside the bathroom. Tying my foot on the rope, they hang me up on the ceiling with the pulley. I swing side-to-side, in hopes that the wood where the other end of the rope is tied to pries off the doorway, while my capturers guffaw and dance around beneath me. Instead, my blood rushes to my brain, making me dizzy as my consciousness slowly slips away.
There's no way that he will come to save me. Sure, he did the first time, but he could have seen me in that room by chance back then. What is in it for him to do it again right now? He can keep himself from any more harm by leaving me here and moving forward. He has no responsibility for me.
Every man for himself...
Every man for himself...
Every man for...
"Mono," I mutter under my breath right before my vision turns black.
"Hey..."
With the gentle poke on my head, I gasp awake. I swivel my gaze around in a frantic for any more enemies. I only see the boy with the paper bag, extending his hand towards me. Behind him are the smashed pieces of the puppets.
Am I dreaming?
I reach out my hand and allow him to heave me up. I take the time to wrap my mind around the fact that he is here and that he has saved me again as his hand closes around mine.
He starts walking but I don't move my feet, tugging him to a halt. He turns over his shoulder while I muster my courage to whisper what I want to say,
"Thank you."
"Don't worry about it," he says gleefully before stating further, "I will always protect you from now on."
His statement has made me flabbergasted, my eyes glancing down his pinky finger that he has stuck out to me. I gawk at it for a moment as I debate whether I should trust him.
When I curled my finger around his pinky finger, he proclaims, "It's a promise." Then he forges ahead, steering me along with him.
I wonder if I ever deserve his kindness and loyalty; I have never done any good in the past although I have never done any wrong either. Is this what they call friendship? Or is this just something that will eventually pass through time?
We work together in unlocking doors and finding our way through. I even get to take down a puppet freak with my bare hands. It's a sweet taste of revenge for what they have done to me a short while ago.
We also sneak our way through the creepy-looking teacher playing the piano. But when she catches wind of the noise we made, her head stretches into the vent, reaching us deeper in an unimaginable distance. We hurry out of the gap until, finally, we slide down and nose-dive into the dumpster outside.
The rain pours down heavily on the concrete ground as we trot our way to the chasm that separates the city apart, the buildings arching around the space in between. There we cross the makeshift bridge made out of planks.
Although I'm beginning to feel cold, I endure it by wrapping my arms around me. This doesn't go unnoticed by my companion, who offers his jacket to me.
I tell him that it's already drenched, so it will do me no good anyway.
We enter a room with various pieces of luggage where water trickles down from a hole in the ceiling. I pause as my eyes lie upon a yellow raincoat on the floor. I come towards it and, then, shrug it on.
It gives me a layer of protection against the current weather. Not only that, it reminds me of that girl from the mansion, who also wore a yellow raincoat like this one.
Putting on the hood over my head, I give my new outfit a good look. It's as if I'm meant to wear this, bringing me a sense of nostalgia.
When I glanced at Mono, I find him staring at me.
"Yellow looks nice on you."
I feel slightly pleased with his compliment. I give him a nod before trailing behind him as he proceeds to the door.
...
end of Part 3