Well Well Well, looks like I'm right on time.

Sorry about the delay on this folks, nothing like a hell of a last week to say goodbye to previous employment.

Now I must admit, I have been playing LN2 again, along with rerunning LN1 and its DLC. Why? Well, I like the games. Honestly, I Keep playing them to try and figure out the weird little niggling behaviours of the characters. I mean, Six seems to know many solutions and ways to avoid the situations and instead lets Mono wander into them, going so far to rip her hand from his if you try to lead her to it. I mean, I pocked fun at her hiding skills last time, but good god girl... Hiding under a bed is dumb, but kneeling behind a chair to the point even the thing following you to has to go "hold up... Wtf girl?"

Anyway, I do enjoy going back to those games even after playing them over and over again. Something about watching them act and play around, school yard made me melt, just makes me curious.

Again, thank you to dreamynatalie on deviant art for the art.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, see you on the flip side lads and lasses.

Chapter 5

By the time Mono got back downstairs, the girl was already shoving the key into the small padlock. She turned to him, hearing the creak of the wooden ladder. She looked expectantly at him.

He didn't intervene.

The black metallic barrier came free with a dull click, and instead of catching it, the girl let it slam against the floor with a hollow echoing thud. Mono still hadn't figured out how anyone was meant to get in here, as it seriously seemed that the only entrance was that small little vent between the rooms. He figured that there might be a way out with that other door in the room, however if the girl had tried using it before and found it locked then she wouldn't even try using it again.

That made sense, especially if it only opened from the outside. If the hunter itself, in some bizarre mimicry of humanity, was keeping that old freak in the attic hidden away, then having this room only accessible from the outside made sense.

Even further, the woman might have been insane, and not capable of understanding the world, so having a key which was only useful in her lucid moments would at least let the family know she was having a good day.

But that relied on them being family though and, at least in Mono's mind, they did look alike. But then again, given the hunter's apparent knack for dolls they might be unknown corpses that are then turned into a similar looking family. He had thought they were all the same family, but it was distinctly possible that they might have all been made to look that way. What else would those body bags have been used for?

He realised he let his mind wander, and he looked up to see the girl struggling. The door had a high handle, one that alone she couldn't reach. She was getting close, her fingers just scraping the handle, but no matter how many times she tried, she just couldn't get it. He watched her as she did it, and in that time she turned to stare at him.

Irritation and annoyance was clear, and she looked at him as if it was his fault.

Mono wanted to defend himself from the accusing glare, to come up with some explanation as to why he was just stood there watching, but he couldn't come up with anything. To be fair, he had been standing there thinking while she was attempting to get out. It was justified. If a bit excessive of a glare.

She pointed sharply at it, and croaked out. "Help with this."

He wilted under the glare, and embarrassedly shuffled over to her. He whispered a quick sorry, and took the hand she offered to grab the handle. All he had to do was wrap his hands around it, and he thanked whatever it was that made this building that the door was made with a bar handle. His weight alone shifted it, but the feeling of stiffness made it clear that the door had not been opened in a long, long time.

He guessed that woman really had been left to die.

The door popped open, and Mono pushed it open with a small shove of effort. It pretty much opened on its own after that, the hinges barely squeaking as the whole door swung.

It revealed a gush of fresh air, air tinged with the stench of decay, but also the fresh smell of wet grass and pollen. It was much better than the overwhelming scent of musk and stagnant unmoving air. It was the back garden, if such a thing was applicable when one realizes that the entire forest could be looked at that way, and explained the apparent lack of a toilet in the house. A single dingy outhouse, made of old wood and assembled in a fairly quick and evidently lazy manner, stuck out to him. It was… Alluring?

That was a bizarre idea. An alluring outhouse. It made no sense to him, but there must have been a reason for it.

Beside that, he could see a washing line and a single, open and eerie shed. The world was the same as he went in, and frankly he wasn't going to complain about that.

He turned back to the girl. This was her chance to escape again, she could get out and run as far away as possible. He was hoping she would join him, but given what she was like and how battered she looked, it was probably better for her to run away and keep surviving. He had a couple of questions, but they were less important than her safety. And he could imagine she was going to agree there.

Her face was passive, and she still looked at his back. When he turned around and faced her, her eyes shot up to his face and she tilted her head.

Nothing? He watched her intently. Maybe she's tried this before? Maybe she's not excited because she got captured after doing this? His gaze was insistent, and he carefully watched her face. She looked away, eyes darting to his and away again. She knew he was inspecting her, but she didn't show a hint of her feelings besides that passiveness.

His mind whispered that she was just stoic, that she didn't bare happiness for fear of it being destroyed. But that didn't fit, she would at least show some signs of it, some excitement to be outside again. After being in captivity, you always felt excitement at the mere prospect of being free. No, this was something else entirely.

Unless this was all part of her experience?

How many times has she managed to get out now? If the prospect of freedom was just so unthinkable that she couldn't even get hope out of idea.

She looked straight at him. "What?"

Mono… Had a bad feeling, something wasn't right here. Her attitude was odd, hostile at him despite his attempts to free her. What did she think of the Hunter? She seemed to want to hide from him, but all this seemed off. Did she secretly find some kind of fun in this? He shook that one away, she didn't seem to enjoy this. Any of this actually.

He shoved the thoughts away, even if none of it added up properly. The whole constant torment idea fit, since it would sap at her excitement of getting out. And thinking that way, those tally marks would make sense as escape attempted, rather than days in captivity. No, focus.

He was really letting his thoughts slip today.

He looked at the girl, and beckoned her outside. "You're free now. You can escape." Sure, it would suck to see her go, and the concept of being alone gnawed at him, but if it was in her best interest then that was that. She seemed the type to prefer to be alone, given how grumpy and grouchy she was. She was always biting back, and her tone was always laced with something. Anger, frustration, annoyance, disappointment. Well, maybe not that last one, but it would fit her if she did.

She probably preferred to-

"What?" Her voice was genuinely confused again, and she looked at him strangely. His head tilted and he tried again.

"I'm heading to the city. I've gotten you out, and made up for distracting you, so you can be free to do what you want." Her face twisted at the words. Her expression was a little unreadable, if puzzling. She was confused, evidently. He didn't know why, since she seemed to not like being around him. It might have been the relatively generous situation, since he had risked himself and gone out his way to help her and not asked for anything in return, but just like before it didn't fully make sense. "He's out there. We split up, he can only get one of us." A daunting prospect, but a normal one.

She looked astonished for a brief moment, and it was obvious what he said surprised her. Did she think less of him, or was she expecting him to follow her and aid her more? Him moving on ahead would do the same, and she would have a greater chance of survival on her own it seemed.

She shook her head and looked at him weirdly. "No… You…" She paused, and sighed. He'd put her on the back foot, but she recovered quickly. She swallowed, and licked her lips. Mono didn't know why she was refusing the idea, she seemed unused to company. He didn't really know what to expect. She kept that confusion for a few seconds, before it was wiped away, and she brushed past him.

She completely ignored the outhouse, preferring to go straight into the large shed. Mono wanted to stop her, but he felt pressed to carry on with her.

The shed was a large building, roughly half the size of the house, and in a much harsher state of repair. The roof was the sturdiest and most resilient part, as the walls were damaged and leaking and even the floor was rotting away. Holes, jagged and blasted through, gave Mono a grim idea as to why this building was so damaged.

As he stepped into the building properly, he saw the girl staring at the opposite end of the room. A ladder, sturdy if poorly built. She shook her head, and then moved forward to climb it. Mono froze, and didn't even look after her. He turned around to face that outhouse again.

His fingers itched, and his stomach nagged him. His eyes stung with this feeling of electricity, and he felt his lungs tighten in his chest. That outhouse was like the tower, so nagging and desperate for his attention. It made no sense, and the idea would probably nag him until he eventually forgot about it entirely.

He should probably look into it.

Why? Well, it was trying to be discovered. Mono didn't know why he felt like it, not the reason he felt such attraction or interest. It begged for him, and he could barely resist to go for it.

His eyes stayed on it, until a sharp tug on his jacket. She was staring at him, and even though her bangs covered her eyes, he could feel the gaze on him. Mono shook his head to himself, and she gave him another sharp tug.

"Let's go."

His stomach rebelled against him, and a nagging sickness took over.

He couldn't make a decision here.

He knew she was right, that moving forward to the tower would be far more beneficial than a single small outhouse. The tower was the goal, it was the omega, and he knew he belonged there. It was a subconscious desire, one that was programmed into him. It was the same desire as the outhouse, something that could dominate his focus.

And yet something about that outhouse deserved the same level of attention, it warranted such undivided focus and command. It was so unnerving, so incredibly uncomfortable, to leave it alone and move forward.

It HAD to be investigated, it needed nothing more than to be ripped open and studied.

He found himself moving towards it, and his head began to sting again. His heart beat in his ears, and electricity arched through him with every step he took. This was right, this was proper. He needed to open it and find out why his head stung so badly.

His feet scuffed across the floor, bare skin parting the grass to allow him to move.

Mono's fingers begged to touch the frame, and he knew that it would explain it.

It had to be answered, and what he would learn would explain-

Mono tripped, and he stumbled backwards.

How? His eyes betrayed him and they wandered back to behind him, and he saw nothing.

Wait? What?

Nothing? How? There should have been the girl there.

Her… She's not here? His head ached again, and he pinched his eyes and shook his head. He remembered her, she was meant to be right behind him. She was waiting there, and should be staring at him as he turned away. But she wasn't, and instead it was some phantom that had pulled him over?

Another forceful shove had him stumble back towards the shed. Nothing was pulling him, nothing was dragging him, nothing was there. Just the air, just the air.

He looked back at the outhouse, and another yank pulled him back again and it snapped in his head.

The girl was pulling him, She was there. Of course she was. She was always there in some way or another, always someone to back him up.

Wait… No he'd just met her.

Mono felt sick, and he reached a hand to his head to rub the nausea away. That pervasive dizziness came back, and he recognized it as the same as before. That shadowy, distorted thing that had attacked him earlier in the forest. It had done the same, but not like this. It had made him feel like living lightning and stripped him of his control, leaving him to stumble around in agony until it wasn't real.

The reminder had him look back, and the girl was there, staring straight at him. Confusion? Or annoyance, or fear? None of those previous looks were there. She must have seen him stumbling, she must have seen his drive to approach the outhouse, that hypnotic drive. And he caught her eyes, those deep, brown sleep-deprived eyes. She didn't look frustrated at him, there was no judgment there. Something in those eyes and how they stared back into his own, hidden as his own may be, spoke of something much more fundamental. He'd never had that reaction before, not that he knew of, the only consuming thing he had ever encountered, something that drove him with such conviction that he would be blind to others, was the tower. He'd never had anyone else see such a thing either, he was usually so much more guarded against these things. She had just seen that, a zombie-like trance that had him shuffling forward with no regard to anything else, and even after such a short time with her she had no judgement.

He blamed himself, felt sick and insane. No-one should act like this, not of his own mind, to be all consumed by something so inherently that the world should melt away and his focus robbed of them. It hurt him, and he felt the sting of guilt rise back up. He was meant to be better than that, he had something else to focus on, and he still was getting side tracked.

But even in his own judgement, he could find a fragment of solace in her complete lack of it. Did she have the same feelings? Did she battle with those overpowering demands? There was a comforting feeling about that, that someone else would know his thoughts.

The gaze was held for a few seconds, and he really felt her studying him. Those eyes were still piercing, but would that make it better or worse. He couldn't honestly say.

She spoke softly, a slow and easy tone that helped calm the nerves and eased the knot in his gut. "Let's go." The same words, but with less bile from before. He held his stare, but only for a moment, before he whispered out a response.

"Okay..."

He felt lighter after that, and he was able to move forward. That outhouse, if that was even what it really was, still held on and begged him to return.

But he ignored it and followed after the short girl. It struck him he had no name for her, and the question hummed softly in his mind. Instead he let the girl pull him along, and he let her release him to move forward on his own. He wanted to ask something, but the question failed to properly form itself, and he ignored that too.

He followed her up the ladder, until she froze at the top and threw a hand down to stop him, a single gesture.

He paused, and waited on her. She knew what she was doing, and he could trust her. She looked deep into the hole in the wall, and tilted her ear to hear better from the room. It took her a few moments, ones which Mono ticked through in his mind, until she looked down at him, and put a finger to her lips.

Be silent? His heart quickened at the news, and he flexed his fingers to help loosen them of the sudden urge of discomfort through his body. He breathed, held it, and counted, all while the girl lifted herself over and into the next room.

When he felt ready, he followed up.

He slipped over the ledge, and fell the few short feet to the bottom of the near pitch part of the room. His feet met the ground, and found it sunk below his weight, and something wet, cold and thick stuck to the soles of his feet. He couldn't tell properly, but it was like he was standing on top of a pile of rancid, rotting carpets with different lengths of fabric.

A moment of thought as he knelt and he realised that it was likely a batch of furs.

He couldn't see the girl, his eyes were not adapted after leaving the much brighter room, but he could hear her. The soft, slow and shallow breaths she was barely audible of the background noise.

A deep throbbing sound of sucking air and choking was occasionally punctuated by the sounds of something being slammed down on a table.

Well, they'd found the hunter…

He heard her move, and she whispered something which was just barely audible over the background, even if he couldn't understand what was said, and he followed on. She took the lead, and he figured that she had probably tried escaping this way before. Although it did beg the question of if she had heard him, why did they not go another direction? Surely they could have just gone around.

Then again, maybe it was trapped and he hadn't noticed?

Still, he followed.

Even as the beast was bent over his workstation, chopping away at the corpse of a wild boar on the table, Mono stuck close to the girl. She moved slowly, and the sound of her feet on the floor was silent and imperceptible despite their short-distance from each other. Mono watched the beast as he followed, the thing's immense double barrelled gun, worn and rusted as it was, still shone against the moonlight. His eyes wandered to the animal, and he wondered if it was the same one he had scavenged from earlier. The boar was on the wrong side, and he could only see the flesh the creature was ripping from the beast.

The hunter wasn't dissecting or butchering the creature, he was pulling it to pieces…

With his bare hands.

What would he do if he caught me? The thought threatened to turn into panic, but he looked back at the stoic and brave girl in front of him who kept moving forward, and he found the resolve to push the panic down and move onwards. The simple act alone probably saved him, as the thing stopped in its actions and turned to face deeper into the shed, towards the entrance. Silence reigned, and the thing even stopped breathing to help it hear.

Instinctively, Mono's hand caught his companion's wrist, who froze solid and waited.

Mono watched the monster, the thing peering into the deep room and reaching over to its shotgun. With a deep, echoing click, the man snapped the weapon in two, and slotted two massive yellow rounds into the chamber, before quickly snapping it shut again. His legs swung outwards, and the massive man went stomping further into the room, before lifting the huge lantern at his hip upwards to inspect the mound of flesh and furs.

The girl took the moment, and she lunged forwards and charged shoulder first into a small hatch by the side of the main exit. The hatch snapped open, and the girl stumbled as she fell through it.

Mono watched, and turned to see the monster of a man, who spun and raised his shotgun. The man instinctively fired, the muzzle flash nearly blinding Mono as the air around him was parted by two massive rounds. They whistled as they passed, before punching large misshapen holes in the wall behind him. Mono threw himself after the girl, and he found her stumbling at the bottom of a pile of rotting meat.

It must have been less than a second since she had gone through, and that man had spun and fired so quickly that it hadn't even given his friend time to get to the bottom of the refuse pile. The man had probably made a mistake somewhere, as Mono realised, he should have been dead, his speed and swiftness was incredible, and yet the projectiles had gone around him.

Got to move, need to run. His body kept willing him onwards, and he was able to pull the girl to her feet before moving forward. She looked up at him, and he kept his hand wrapped tightly around her bicep, her face twisting for a moment. She pulled her arm free and kept moving, and he let her move on her own.

There was a loud slam, and a heavy boot slammed open the shed behind him. It gave no time to react, and the shotgun was raised directly at them and barked its lethal cry. Something shoved Mono, and he fell forward into the mud. The moment of hesitation that followed, as the boy desperately looked for something to hide behind, was only allowed at the mercy of a loud crank of the shotgun being split in two again.

Two heavy, red shells were loaded in, and mono kept running. He caught back to his, albeit temporary, ally and heard the weapon snap shut again.

With a movement only due to the shear stress and panic, he bodily yanked the girl aside and after him as he dove behind a single metal cage. Her eyes caught him as the weapon discharged in anger, and a series of nearly indistinguishable screams of agonised metal rang out. A dozen small round holes punched clean through one side of the cage, the second wall catching the slowed projectiles. He stared at his companion and he wanted to say something, but he knew doing so was a bad idea.

She began to run, and he was right behind her. He listened to that deathly sound of the unloading of that weapon, as the weapon ejected the spent rounds, and he could see the smoke trailing from them as they clattered to the ground. Two more rounds were slotted in, and that ragged breathing became more rapid and almost bloodthirsty.

Even the sound of the ground being chewed up beneath his feet was drowned out by the final deathening snap of the weapon being closed. The giant paused, feet slamming down and bracing as the weapon was aimed out to them. She managed to dive into cover, scrambling in before turning and bracing herself against the wood.

A wooden box… That weapon had punched straight through the metal one, what would it do against wood?

He didn't have time, and dove for it as well.

The sound of the bang was so loud, he barely noticed the fact he hit the floor and was rolling with the movement. The girl was already moving, and he turned to follow. His fingers flat against the ground, he went himself up from the ground. The adrenaline, the fear, the panic and the desperation muddled his feelings, but he kept going.

The girl got to a ledge, and looked over it, and she turned around to him, to see if he was there. She looked back down, but she didn't go over.

What is she doing?! He thought angrily to himself. She was risking herself, and thinking. She needed to move. This realisation was punctuated by the sound of the shells being ejected from the gun, and the clatter of them hitting something.

He didn't stop, he couldn't afford to, and he just lowered his shoulder and reached out to grab her as he went by. Her arm, it turned out, and he yanked her over with him. She made a small noise, but he pulled straight over, and the two fell into a blanket of green and brown leaves and branches.

The bush covered them entirely, and he pulled the girl closer to him. She squirmed and resisted, but he ignored her and pulled harder. The man would probably assume the bush, he had to hide deeper in it. If she understood that or not, he didn't care, survival was more important. They hadn't parted the bush, merely fell into it, so it was like pulling into a thicket, and the branches had to be manually pushed aside. But he managed, and he pushed himself against the mud and stone, holding his breath.

She tilted her head, and he pulled her close. As far as hugs went, it was a very bad one, it was uncomfortable and they were poking eachother with mismatched limbs. The only thing that made it obvious was the fact he had pulled her directly into his chest. Beyond that, there was nothing, just the desperate attempt to minimise their profile.

And the small thought in Mono's mind that hopefully if they were shot, one of them would survive.

He clenched his eyes shut, and listened as the gasping breath of the monster. It came closer and closer, with each footfall echoing out into the forest. Beams of light, pervasive and piercing, penetrated into the bush as far as it could. They were deep, and difficult to see, but there was always that nagging fear that they would get seen.

And Mono wasn't certain they wouldn't.

There were two clicks, and the man then slid something into the bush. Mono could feel the hot metal, the barrel burning the air around it after being fired so often, and the stench of the powder of the ammunition. It made him feel sick, and his shoulder began to radiate a searing pain. He let out a tiny gasp, and the hunter inhaled in anger.

The gun deathened him, and the force of the shot made him feel even worse. The smell, the heat, the small burning embers that licked at the damp wood, and the taste on the air. He fought the urge to throw up, and squeezed the girl tighter while scrunching his eyes. How close was he? How close was it to him being dead? If the man had moved just slightly, just enough to touch his arm and burn him with it, then Mono would have been ripped apart by the mighty weapon.

He waited, and waited. Seconds ticked by, while he froze with the girl. The hunter removed his gun, and shined his light back in.

Mono felt like running, knew that running would make him difficult to catch. If he had a knife he could try to kill the man.

But patience won out, and with a mournful noise, the hunter moved on.

Even after the footsteps, those heavy and terrifying stomps of impending dread, moved on mono refused to move. He waited until the breathing, the stomping, the creaking of the lamp, had all faded into the air. Mono's own breathing, and that of the girls eventually overpowered it all, but he was still remiss to let go.

He was still dizzy, and his head swam.

The girl squirmed though, and he released her. She scrambled out the bush, even as Mono tried to gather his own thoughts. He took a second to calm himself,rubbing the sweat off his head and breathing slowly, and he felt fatigue and pain slowly begin to worm its way into his mind. Despite that, he was very relieved.

He was alive…

He was alive!

A smile blossomed, and he followed after her.

The branches clawed at him, trying to keep him in their embrace, but he had other places to be and needed to keep moving. Not to mention, it had been extremely uncomfortable, having the rough branches poke and prod him in every single part it could reach. He was still far stronger than the bush, and he extracted himself.

The girl was peering over the embankment, looking around for the evil man responsible for this.

He went past her, and looked out to the forest.

Without that violent maniac blasting away, or his incessant breathing, the forest returned to a serene calm. The sound of the light rain pattering against the leaves, the wind pushing through the grass, the smell of wet foliage… All of it helped calm the nerves after the close encounter. He stood there, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the feeling.

It didn't matter that the tower was calling him, nor that that outhouse had dragged his mind into a near trance, or that his companion was rude.

Nor did it matter that there were more monsters out there, or that the hunter would probably come back.

The pain, the stress, the anger. All his pent up emotions…

Faded at the simple, undeniable fact that despite it all…

He was still alive.

…

The breeze felt good.

…

"Hey…"

Mono's eyes opened, and he turned to face his charge.

The girl was staring at him, brown eyes wide and watching him. Right… we aren't done yet. Not by a long shot. His fingers ached, and he opened his mouth to speak, but found himself at a loss for words. It became obvious he didn't know her name, and frankly the only thing he knew her by was 'The girl in the jumper'.

It felt unsatisfying…

"Are you okay?" He asked, whispering just loud enough for her to hear him. She watched him before nodding her head, and muttering something under her breath. Even now, after he had saved her life, she was still quiet. But it was fair enough, he had just met her, and she probably didn't trust him yet. "Do you-"

Something stung rich and hot in his right shoulder, so hot his arm seized in pain. He dropped to one knee, not trusting his balance as the wave of nausea hit him, and brought his hand up to touch the intense sensation. The girl took a step forward, but he wasn't paying attention to that. His fingers brushed over the fabric of his coat and felt the injury, wet and warm and sticky. He could see the blood on his hand. And he could feel the objects embedded in his flesh.

A batch of sharp, jagged wooden shards were stabbed into his shoulder, having punched straight through his coat.

The shot must have caused them. He realized, and remembered how he was knocked off balance and sent sprawling. A singular graze, likely where some shot had just barely clipped him, leaked thick blood much more rapidly but not at a rate that worried him. Still, the box had been a bad idea it seemed, and he tried moving the shoulder now he noticed.

It complained, and pain was sent arching up and down his arm with every minor movement, and if he was extremely unlucky he would end up with it going bad. The cage was dirty, and the shards were embedded in him.

He couldn't just rip them out could he?

No, it would be worse than leaving them in. He hadn't been shot before, but wounds and injuries like this were not exactly rare in the wild. You always got splinters and bits of wood or the spines on a bush cut you, but never had chunks thrown out with such speed they could pierce skin.

His fingers tightened on one of them. He released it when the slightest bit of movement caused his skin to bulge and pain lanced out.

A hand took his, and moved it down. "Leave." Came the girl's stern voice, and she positioned herself behind him. He froze, and let her look at it. Does she have some experience with this? Has she ever had this happen to her before? Given the man hunting them, that didn't seem so unusual, and her gentle approach to his shoulder really affirmed his trust in that idea.

THere was a sharp pinch, and a burning pain, and Mono flinched away from the feeling. A hand grabbed him and pulled him back, and tightly grabbed the back of his jacket. Her stern voice piped up again. "Stay still. Don't fidget." He froze again, and he grit his teeth as she pinched the wound and pushed the skin down. He could feel the thing moving in his skin, but she didn't seem to care too much about that, and she then began to ease it free.

It was like his skin was being pulled up, and every motion caused more fire and he couldn't stop the tears that appeared in the corners of his eyes. It was only a few seconds, but the sensation made it feel like so much longer.

He could imagine just how resilient this girl was, since she was so calm about this. He preferred to think about that over the current removal of things from his body. How many times had she pulled bits of objects out from someone else? Had she travelled with someone else, or did she do it to herself? The latter was much more impressive than the former, but if it was the former...

There was a pinch, and then a feeling of relief as she pulled one invader free from him.

If it was the former… What happened to them?

He hoped that they had simply parted ways, rather than she lost them. He'd seen too many die himself, picked off one by one or cornered and killed… He just wished she didn't experience the same as that. It would have been easier that way. He occupied his thoughts with that, even if they were interrupted by the occasional sharp bite of wood being ripped from his body.

There was something that surprised him, and concerned him. After each one was removed, she squeezed the wound for a moment before brushing it away. He moved his hand back up, and she batted her fingers against it. "I'm cleaning them." Cleaning them with his own blood? That didn't make sense… It was blood, it should stay in him.

But… If she knew it was a good idea to do this, he couldn't complain. She knew stuff he didn't.

He tried to rationalise it, was the blood pushing loose objects out? He knew it would scab over, and help stop things making him sick, but squeezing more out seemed unnecessary…

He still let her carry on without interruption.

While she worked, she was humming to herself. It was soft and gentle, if cracked. She loved that song it seemed, and she tried as much as she could to replicate the notes that that music box had sung itself.

But as gentle as it was, it also made Mono feel uncomfortable. The song was of the tower… Most things were here, every toy, furniture, weapon and even every tiny bit of food. It was all made to the specifications of that insidious signal. There had been a time before it, he knew that. A dozen items had lacked the sign of that ever watching eye, his clothes for example were made before the influence, or by someone who had not suffered from the infiltrating power of that encompassing monster within the city.

A hand bopped him on the head, and he turned to look at her. She spoke, and he figured he must have missed something she said, as her tone was tinged with slight annoyance. "I said I'm done."

She is? Is she going to go her own way? He turned around, and she moved slightly away from him, and she pointed at his shoulder. He looked, and found the site clear of the impaling wooden spikes. It still hurt, but it felt better not having shards of wood pushed into his body. He rolled it, and found the pain just bearable, and stood up.

He faced her, and she gestured for him to follow. She went back down to the bush they had been hiding in, and sat down next to it, and he did the same. For a few moments, they just sat there, and Mono found himself wondering why they weren't moving on.

Oh… Right, his shoulder. He'd forgotten his manners.

"Thank-"

"Thank you."

He cut off as they both spoke at the same time. She waited a moment before carrying on. "Thank you for pulling me to safety… And for pushing me off." She sat with her legs pulled against her chest, and head resting on her knees. Her bangs covered her eyes, but she was looking at him, he could tell. "I've done this so many times I just… Don't know when it's going to matter, I've just learned to think more than act."

Oh… It really is that she's tried too much. A loss of hope.

She went quiet and he took the moment to speak. "How many times have you tried escaping him?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Dunno. More than I remember. I just…" She looked at him again, and sighed deeply before lifting her shoulders and dropping them. "It never feels like it will last."

Mono nodded his head… He knew the feeling, even though he knew it for different reasons. That feeling that nothing ever changes is an all present one. It really does consume you at times.

"Thank you.." He said, and pointed to his shoulder. "I don't know why you squeeze it, but you made it better." He moved it, and the warm trickle of blood reminded him he needed to leave it for a while.

She nodded to herself, and shifted so her legs were crossed in front of her. But she didn't meet his eyes, and instead looked directly at her hands, rolling them to look at the knuckles. He didn't look at them, instead he focussed on his own, and checked the cut on his hand.

The wound wasn't even close to healing, but it had coated itself in the tough red layer that always appended when he got a cut. A scab, and he knew he shouldn't pick it. It may be itchy, and pulled on his skin, it was best to leave them alone. He'd had his hands slapped for that by that other girl…

When had he forgotten her name?

Sure, it had been a while, but he shouldn't have forgotten it.

Ever.

He looked back to his new companion. "Why do we wait?" She looked up, and pointed a balled up hand at his shoulder. "Waiting on it?"

"Needs to scab, won't be good to move until then." He nodded his head. The lack of her name came back to nag him, and he watched her for a moment. Her movements weren't twitchy, not like everyone else he'd been with. Most kids, even himself, were twitchy and would fixate on every single sound they heard.

But she was different… Was she braver? Maybe more certain of herself? It didn't fully fit, she spent too much time watching and thinking. As if things weren't adding up to her, and she needed to check them to make sure they were right. Then again, she was used to this place, so if the hunter made changes, or the Tower itself, then she would have to think about what else might have changed.

A thinker… Dangerous and safe all at the same time.

Still, he needed something, anything. Anything other than the girl or his companion. "Hey…" She looked at him again, but this time there was a sense of expectation about her. Did she know he was going to ask, or was it just so obvious by this point. "My name's Mono… Better than the boy, or masked kid…" He looked away, feeling a little awkward. He was never good at this… "Do you?..."

He trailed off, and she nodded once. It wasn't offered, and she began to shift."let's keep going."

Oh…

She stood up, and peered over the ledge again before turning to him. She moved up a little, and Mono moved past her. "Mono?" Her whispered voice came just loud enough to hear, although she said it without any hesitation. He turned back to her, and she held her hand out towards him. The small thing was left up, and she made no move to retract it. Her fingers closed and opened quickly, and he put his own hand in hers.

The skin was callous… But her hands were just slightly smaller than his, and something in his mind felt a sense of confusion and even betrayal at the touch, but he shoved down the rogue feelings and focussed on what she said.

It was a good name, simple but also unique. It was like everything else kids had in this world, filled with implied meaning, but also being so easily remembered. The simple fact was that kids had to come up with their own names based on what they know, or be given them by other kids. Her name's origins were like his own, he figured, and it had a feeling of togetherness about it, a feeling of very distant kinship.

"I'm Six."

Eyyyyyy, we finally get the name. Now I have to point out, since we only have names for Mono - Name... Stealing... Bastard... - and Six I'll have to come up with some actual names for them. We call the runaway lad "Seven" and while I like the idea I think it's a little unfair for him. Also Raincoat girl... I alrealdy have hers. But poor poor seven...

I quite literally have had them down as "Runaway kid" and "Raincoat Girl" in my notes. They don't have any acutal involvement outside of slight references, but still.

Anyway, Sorry for the wait, and I'll have the next one out for the 11th.

Next chapter: 11th August