Six's body felt almost completely numb. Music- familiar music, a tune she adored- twinkled quietly. Was she alive? Was she dead? She honestly didn't know or care. The presence around her felt so relieving- like the atmosphere itself was giving her a hug. Hair drooped in her face, and she could faintly see a nearby twisting music box.

A boy's voice called to her. "Hey…!" She felt her body flinch, chills run up and down her spine. She stumbled a bit. The voice felt so kind and gentle, but so…painful. Why did his voice hurt? Why did her heart ache at the sound? Why did she feel…afraid of such a comforting voice?

The voice spoke again, softer this time, only making her feel more jumpy, more emotional. "I'm here to help you, Six…"

Images flashed through her mind- so much pain, so much agony, so much betrayal. Why? Why didn't he come sooner? Why did he leave her here, with nothing but this music box, and her own thoughts? He's supposed to be her friend. Why did he…

Six snapped awake, sweat dripping down her face and shaky gasps released from her throat. Mono immediately approached her- he was already pretty close to her when she had woken up. They seemed to still be in that shed they were in when she fell asleep…

Mono almost spoke, but she could hear his breath sort of cut off as if he changed his mind or wasn't entirely sure what to say. Six whimpered quietly and gripped her stomach. It was painful. All that running really got to her, and made her stomach just…feel so awful, so much worse. She wasn't even really that hungry; it was mostly just the stress.

Mono seemed concerned, and gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you hungry? I can see if there's any food inside the house."

She didn't respond, just stared at her legs. They were a bit scratched up and bruised from all the rough running and jumping and ached a bit. Mono stood up when he realized she wasn't going to respond.

"I'll be right back. Yell if you need me, okay?"

She said nothing, just gently rubbed her sore legs. Mono got up and climbed through the now broken door, and Six vaguely watched him go. She began thinking again, mostly about her dream.

'That was…his voice…in my dream, it was him who was speaking…but what was that dream…? It felt…real…but it couldn't have been…it must have been nonsense…my mind must be overworking from the exhaustion…'

Six put a hand on her head. It was aching, pounding, and she just wanted to sleep. She curled back up on the floor, shivering quietly.

'I wonder why he stayed. He could have easily left without me. He doesn't need me or could have hurt me while I was out of it, or just went ahead without me. So why didn't he? Maybe he's planning to use me later…'

Six shook her head quietly.

'I need to stop thinking like this. Why can't I just believe someone doesn't want to hurt me for once?'

She rubbed her face quietly, wiping off some sweat.

'…because that just doesn't make sense in this world.'

Mono returned after a moment. He offered her a carrot. She tried to hold back her distaste. Its not that vegetables were gross or disgusting they just…were unpleasant. Her body wasn't used to such things- meat just was far more natural to her taste buds and stomach.

She was about to take it and bite into it…but she paused.

'Just give him a chance…maybe things will be okay if you do…'

"…Thank you…" she whispered, before grabbing it and taking her first bite. She could just feel Mono's radiating happiness with that response, which only confused her further, but at this point she just figured this boy's every move was confusing. She couldn't understand at all what was going through his head.

"You're welcome! If you- um, if you need anything, you can let me know, and I'll try to help."

She didn't really feel like keeping a conversation going, so she just finished eating the carrot and carefully pushed herself up off her feet. Mono looked at her like he was asking if she was ready to go, and she just nodded a little.

Six decided she would ignore the weird nostalgia she had been feeling. Until she could think of an explanation, it wouldn't matter, and she wouldn't stress herself asking about it constantly. Either she would understand, or she wouldn't- no point in pondering.

They both climb up onto a box by the shed's window- Mono extending a hand and helping her up. She tried to ignore the warmth of his hand as she climbed out the window, landing on a grassy shore. The water that extended outwards was foggy, and she couldn't see what was in the distance. For all they knew, there could have been large jagged rocks, wandering monsters, boating giants…it made her feel a bit anxious.

Mono looked at her and fiddled with his hands as they walked towards the edge of the water. There was a piece of a broken door sitting at the shore. Mono began to push it, and Six joined in. Once it got unstuck, she climbed onto it and Mono did as well. They both sat at a distance from one another, and Six stared into the foggy distance, contemplating on her thoughts and memories.

She wasn't sure why, but her mind wandered back to the time she first hunted down an animal with her own hands. Maybe it was because of her current craving for meat, or because that first animal was caught in water.

Six was seven years old. She was on her own, her stomach feeling empty. It wasn't anything like the stomach pains she would get in the future from hunger, but it was instead this this hollowing emptiness. She felt her mind running, her body trembling, her face twitching from the aggressive wind.

Six stumbled along as she tried to think of some way to get food. She remembered an older boy she came across one time- him and his boyfriend were both wadding through the shallow parts of a pond. They had made a room out of rocks, with a small opening. One boy would chase the fish into the rock room, while the other boy would either grab a fish or stab it with a stick.

That sounded like a good idea. She was thirsty and felt dirty anyways, and some water could really help. Six wandered tiredly for about an hour before coming across a small creak. Despite its small size, it still was very deep for someone of her size. She struggled to pull rocks in and stack them up, mimicking what the boys had done in her memory.

The trouble came when she had realized there was only one of her, and she would have to both chase it in and catch it. She was only a little girl, so she tried her hardest to think. It took about eight minutes of staring at the small rock structure she had created before she realized she could just use her foot to block the entrance or stab it if it tried to leave. To other kids, it may have seemed like an obvious answer, but she was so tired and worn down, and had little to no guidance in her early life, so her concentration and survival skills weren't very high at the time.

Six spent the next ten minutes trying to find a sharp enough stick. She eventually got impatient and snapped one in half to create her own sharp point and waded into the water. The cool water felt nice, as it was a hot summer day. She walked around, trying not to trip and fall, or get swept away by a current. She splashed through the water, driving the fish towards her trap. Once one got inside, she tried to stab it, but ultimately failed and hit a rock instead, which broke the stick. The fish, of course, got away.

Six wanted to yell from frustration. She was just so hungry, and it was so hot, and she was alone. She got up and found another stick, breaking it to make it have a sharper point, and tried again. This time, she managed to get a fish inside- it wasn't large in the slightest, but when she stabbed it, she didn't care about the size and was just happy to have something.

She sat in the shallow water, digging her fingers into the fish and peeling off the scales as she chomped on. The bones inside cut her gums and tongue, but it didn't bother her. In fact, her blood being mixed in made her feel strangely intoxicated at the flavor and texture.

Six didn't hesitate to eat the organs, muscle, even the eyes raw. She was so hungry she couldn't even care, and although the texture was disgusting, it was also somehow addictive. There were a few times she choked on small bones and spat them in the dirt, and she quickly drank the creak water (which wasn't a pleasant flavor, tasted mainly of dirt) to wash her mouth down.

This was the start to what would eventually become an obsession with meat, however seven-year-old Six was just satisfied to have her stomach full and to be in the cool water. She decided to sit inside of the rock room she had made and used the rocks as a pillow to hold up her head, despite how uncomfortable it was. She shouldn't have for safety reasons, but the young girl decided to nap in the water, while the beaming sun shone down on her…

"Six?"

Six snapped back into reality, snapping her head over at Mono. He had a hand offered to her and she absentmindedly took it. He seemed a bit worried, but was still sitting far apart from her, so it was only their hands that were touching. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

'I'm going to guess he sees me as something small and weak to protect…'

That thought really bothered her. She didn't want to be seen as a weak or scared girl who couldn't fend for herself. But sometimes…sometimes that's just what she was. It hurt to admit, and made her feel shame, but it was something she couldn't deny.

Through the fog, TVs could be seen floating in the water, and tall buildings of a city were vaguely able to be made out in the distance. Mono stood up in interest as they approached, however he didn't let go of her hand.

As the shore grew near, Six wondered just how far she'd go with this new companion…