Uhhh… Hi?
Yeah, this is late, I'm sorry. I had a nasty illness last week, and I couldn't even look at my computer or my phone. If you must know, to ease the annoyance, The main problem is whatever I had gave me a case of photosensitivity.
It was some bug, not sure what it was, but from last Monday to this Monday, I've been effectively hiding under my covers while sleeping until I was hungry enough to eat. And even then, I struggled to keep food down. I was really unwell.
To make up for it, I've spent the last 2 days adding to this chapter. Where as last week I had a chapter ready, I've basically went "fuck it, lets make the wait worth it" and added an extra 4k to it.
So yeah, sorry for missing the update, my brain and stomach were getting ravaged. And not in a fun way.
See you on the flip side.
Chapter 7
Mono was at a loss for words.
He settled himself down, resting his head against the roots of the tree. The moonlight peaked through the canopy and it really helped soothe the nerves after that dream. He focussed on it, the smells and sound, the feel of the slight breeze on him. He embraced it all, and let it go in slow breaths.
It was a bizarre little dream, he knew that.
Was it his brain anticipating the future? Or concocting a different albeit similar world? In truth, both were just as fake as it would have been. Or he was creating a representation of the Tower in his mind, one he could fight against in some fashion…
Any way he looked at it, it was all something that would pass behind him as he moved forward.
It was the wonderful truth about dreams and nightmares, you eventually forgot them. No matter how brilliant or awful they were, they would matter no more than the songs on the television in a few days.
His hands came up, and he went to lift his mask off his head, until he paused and turned. Oh, her... He watched her sleeping form, an incredibly still sleeping form, and hope she was having more pleasant dreams. Her lack of shifting made that seem likely.
But he didn't want to take off his bag near her, she wouldn't want to see him. It was far safer for him as well.
But alone? In private and away from anything else? He most certainly would.
He looked up, and found the dank passage leading further to be the best option. It had that odd baleful light, the one that felt warped to him, but beyond that weirdness it seemed alright. He'd be leaving her here, but she was certain it was safe, and they had both been able to sleep without concern.
He moved past Six, careful not to disturb her, and moved deeper into the tunnel. The first thing that he noticed is that it got slimmer as he went in, where Mono and his ally could fit comfortably side by side, it would be more difficult even just slightly ahead.
It was best to know what was deeper in the little cave, and to figure out if it was safe deeper in. You could never know what kind of raging monstrosities you could get in such confined spaces, and even if she had used this before, something could have moved in. He cursed himself for not thinking about that.
He hadn't survived by being idiotic, by making stupid mistakes like that.
He slowly snuck further through the winding undergrowth, the dirt and muck sticking to his feet as he moved. He was aware, aware of the little insects crawling through the dirt. He was slow, but with the tunnel being as barren and quiet as it was, he figured he could afford the time to think as he moved.
Where was I? He mused to himself. Oh right, me being an idiot.
He'd done nothing but make mistake after mistake since getting here. It didn't make sense. He knew that he was better than that, to cut his hand on a stick or rushing through. If he had been sensible and thought about it, he would have taken the long way around. No traps, no bizarre glitching creature, nor a potential risk with that cut.
He could still feel that tingling, that buzz of lightning in his skin. It had felt worse after that dream, but then again everything felt worse after that. He could still feel it in his bones and his stomach did backflips.
It didn't help that he was hungry.
But this whole situation was so bloody bizarre… Uhhh, Sorry. It's all really bizarre.
It was like with the outhouse. He shouldn't have felt like that. He couldn't even explain where that urge had come from or how it had felt. It was so unlike him.
Well… Maybe not?
No… I've always been stubborn. Maybe I was fixated on it because it was weird? Like, the house had running water, why an outhouse and not a toilet?
The excuse felt hollow, and ill-fitting.
He honestly couldn't explain it.
Maybe Six might know something? It's a lo-
He walked into a wall of lightning and fire.
Mono's nerves instantly burst into a familiar feeling of static. It arched up his fingers touching his brain. Nausea and fatigue slammed him, he froze in his steps. His legs felt tired, his stomach tight. It was like walking into a fog of sickness and rot, seeping into his body. It drained him and he struggled to stand.
The feeling was still fresh and recognisable, the last instance had only been a few hours ago, and it became obvious what it meant.
It wasn't recognisable, not through the dark. The tunnel had hit a bend, and he slowly crept forward. Something in him told him to turn and run, that to advance was a stupid idea. He discarded that thought, and peered around the corner.
Against the dim light the abnormal entity was barely visible, a flicker of static and twitching compared to a grey hue. It was kin to the one before, right down to its stance. Staring directly to a patch on the ground, beneath a break in the earth. Sickly light shone just ahead of it, directly where it was looking, though Mono couldn't say what had attracted this ghastly creature to that point.
The real clincher was that it left absolutely zero space to move past.
The small crawl-space had been nice and wide, but it had been getting tighter and tighter. Now it was wide enough for him to possibly crawl past it, but the thing was stood there and took up quite a bit of space.
And after last time, he really didn't want any part of him touching it.
As he stared, he heard the heavy tread of that lumbering monster above the surface. It's heavy breathing was barely noticeable, but the boots were the easiest thing to spot. They sounded like falling trees, and it gave him plenty of warning to freeze.
Moments later, an incandescent beam of light punched straight through the roots, illuminating the tunnel. Mono's hand shot up and covered his eyes, blinded, and scrambled backwards. It was a desperate move, a useful one, as the beam sought after him.
He brought more distance, and the light ceased.
Freezing, Mono fought against his breathing and listened to the heavy footsteps as the beast moved on. The search had given up quickly and Mono chalked it up to the creature losing interest. Maybe it hadn't heard the noise, or it was assumed it to be some kind of animal? Whatever the case, the hunter's interest had faded and he moved on.
Mono was lucky.
Watching the break in the earth, Mono found comfort in the return of the cold blue light of the Moon. The huntsman hadn't left his mind, but the little crawlspace had made it easier for him to ignore it. As odd as it sound, the crawlspace had offered comfort. That comfort had made him less alert. He'd have scolded himself for it, but it couldn't be helped.
That glitching creature came back to the fore, and he looked back at it.
It was still stood there, head brushing the ceiling of dirt. Had the hunter missed it? Did the hunter not care? Mono watched it, brushing away the feeling of sickness and the intense pinch on his mind.
The beam had hit it, it must have, and yet it showed no sign of caring? And the Hunter's ignorance or lack of care spoke volumes. It hadn't reacted either, just stayed still as the monstrous entity gazed down upon it… It was impossible to miss, not under direct light. The thing hadn't reacted either, likely incapable of reacting to the predator above in any capacity. Mono couldn't tell why. The creature must have been disconnected somehow, or the hunter had interactions with these things before. But even that didn't fit.
Mono's mind was analysing it, and he found himself dissatisfied. What are these things? They are real, they interact with me.
They interacted with him; he could feel its leeching effects on his body. It sapped at his mind, his feelings, stung his nerves and ate away at his balance. He knew these creatures were real.
But, in that same line… Maybe the problem was that he was focussing on it? He was intentionally acknowledging the creatures. Was it a case that they only matter to those that took notice of their existence?
Staring at it would tell him little, and if it like last time, then it might not be actively dangerous to him. The last one, for all its pain and mental oddity, had apparently done little to him. While he wouldn't say safe, it was… Tolerable.
He wasn't seriously thinking about it, was he?
Mono had no idea why he felt that way, but he thought that touching it was the most sensible course of action…
What? No no no no. That was a stupid idea. It made no sense. He could still feel the burning flesh from last time! That raw bolt lightning that rippled through his body, and the way his stomach twisted in a vice. There was no conceivable way that touching it was a good option.
But it is the only way past it.
No, he'd just spent that time scolding himself for being stupid and rushing things. He could get Six, go above ground and around this thing. There was no need to touch this thing, no need to risk himself just to make the path quicker.
But the Hunter's above ground… If me and her go above ground then we'd both get spotted. At least these things don't kill.
What about the girl… What if these things were only visible to kids? The hunter hadn't seen it because it didn't target him. If it only went after children what would it do to his partner? Would it do what it did to him? Or would it be worse, and he was just used to dealing with them.
Maybe the signal doesn't work on me?
His connection with the tower? Possible… It was possible it was protecting him. If the creature hunted children, and his connection with the tower protected him, would the same work for her? She had a connection, she'd admitted as much, but was it like his own? He seemingly was protected, but what if she didn't share in that? What if the feelings he got were lessened, and just limited to feelings?
Was he that self-sacrificing? Would he really do that for someone he'd just met, even if they were partners for the time being?
It's better than the alternative…
He accepted it, and took a breath of air in. The crackling creature didn't respond as he moved closer to it. It was still, uncaring, and bizarre.
It was like staring at TV static, he realised. The creature was a still mess of static and lightning. It was as if someone had placed a character from a TV right in front of him.
That helped soothe his nerves, that little realisation. He was more familiar with that, and he let a little of that same weirdness embrace him. A little crackle of something alien, yet comforting touched him, and he took the plunge.
This is a bad idea…
There was no pain, no discomfort.
It was like he wasn't feeling at all, and he had a barrage of images and senses.
Smells and sights, all with this buzz of static.
He was watching it, that tiny little boy come waddling up to him as he stood in the middle of the forest.
He knew he had chosen to come here, and that the boy in front of him was the reason he was here. He'd seen the look on that girls face, and he knew that he'd been wrong about the situation.
The tower protested, he could feel it in his head, whispering feelings and urges, but he fed it with acknowledgment and comfort, and it receded. It thought he was doing it for this?
It could think?
The small boy, not even up to his knee, stared at him. His face was misty, and dizzy, and weird. He couldn't make out the details, he just knew it was a boy.
It made sense? Why did it make sense?
The instance he questioned that, His body snapped. Everything was fire and lightning again, and the boy was glaring at him.
Why? He'd come in peace, to help?
Betrayal, annoyance, anger. They bubbled for a brief moment, before fading as rationality and realisation came to him.
No, the boy couldn't have known. This was too fresh for him, too soon and too unfamiliar.
He went to resist, to refuse, but he was sapped and tired.
Something caught his eye. It was nearly imperceptible, and he only noticed it in his disjointed nature.
The grassy hill that led to the bush he and her had hidden in. It wasn't there… he could see the house, and right where he was should have been a rather steep drop into a bush.
But through the pain, the weirdness, the sickness, the everything.
He could at least tell that the drop was different. Not as intense, but lacking that stiff hedge he had used as-
He felt a tight pull on his side.
His head was stinging, and he brought a hand up below his mask and nursed his head. He felt dizzy and sick, with this general feeling of malaise. He struggled with his balance, and he slightly swayed in place.
It was like last time, that general confusion and this feeling of missing something, but this time he also felt robbed.
He was still where he was, and through the feeling of unwell, he was still staring right a ahead at where the creature was meant to be. This really didn't feel right…
Last time he had that oddness but everything added up.
Well, not properly and he had many questions, but all in all it made sense.
He felt that sharp pull, and he turned to look at the source.
He was looking right at the girl… She had woken up while he was side tracked, and now she was looking at him. She shook her head and he saw her mouth move, but didn't hear what she had said.
Her face was twisted, and she wore this look of concern that he didn't expect. He brought a hand up to his head again, and rubbed the dull throbbing head-ache, all the while she looked him up and down.
What had happened?
He had touched the creature, then everything had changed. Gone blank.
There was meant to be something there. At least, that was what the previous time had told him. He could remember it clearly after all, that memory of pain and unusual distant sensation of knowledge. But this time, there was nothing. Only that off feeling, and confusion.
His eyes met the girl, and followed her arm to his jacket. She had tugged on his sleeve…
He looked at her face, and she visibly looked better. She was still pale, and her heavy bags were evident under the faint light. It less physical, and more that she was carrying herself better. Previously, there was a weird sluggishness in her actions and she had a heavier gait. She visibly and evidently was tired.
But after the rest, she seemed better.
Mono found some comfort in that, a familiar yet distant feeling of…
Well, he just chalked it up to feeling lonely. And now he had someone who apparently was willing to go with him, it made sense that he felt better.
He realized that he had missed what she said, but she repeated before he could ask.
"You okay?"
He nodded, and shook his head free from the feeling. He could worry about what had happened later. "Hm, yeah." He looked back at the hand he had touched that creature with, and flexed his fingers. The feeling of discomfort faded entirely, and he was just left with his confusion. "Just a… A thing? It's fine."
He expected the look she gave him, but she nodded her head and dropped it. He appreciated that, better than her asking questions he couldn't answer.
He wanted to move on, but he felt compelled. Would she feel upset and uncomfortable? If he asked, would she feel alert about why he asked, or would she assume he did something? Was the question really important?
She was waiting on him, and he was blocking the path forward.
To be fair, he felt… Worried about that patch of light.
Something about it felt extremely uncomfortable, although given the hunter had peered through it just moments before, it made sense. The girl made no attempts to grab his hand, so he was free to move as he wanted.
He took advantage of this by simply hopping past the light patch, and keeping himself out of its beam as much as he could. It wasn't that he was scared of it… No, that's a lie. He was, he was terrified by the hunter. There was no shame in admitting that he was. The man was a cold-blooded killing machine, who cared not one bit about the thing it hunted.
That disembowelled boar was a clear example.
Six, to her credit, didn't so much as blink when he did it. While she didn't follow the same footsteps, and moved across it smoothly.
The tunnel itself didn't hide any more secrets, and the two found themselves at the end of it. A metal grate covered the exit, one that had a bolt through it. It wasn't an obstacle, and Mono could easily work his hand through the bars and pry it off. Clearly, it was just made to stop animals, as they wouldn't know to pull it open.
He fingers wrapped around the iron bolt, and it was stiff, but moveable.
"This isn't right."
Six's voice cut through the darkness, and Mono turned around to face her. She looked confused again, and she was looked at the grate with a distinct curiosity but also something else, something he couldn't recognise.
"What's wrong?" Mono asked back; his grip laxing on the bolt. Was it trapped? Or was it not meant to be locked?
She shook her head and pointed at offensive item. "This wasn't there before. There shouldn't be a grate here." He opened his mouth, and true to form she cut him off. "No, there shouldn't be a grate here. I saw this exact point not long ago… I swear."
"Maybe the hunter found it and barred it?"
She shook her head. "No, his tools are downstairs, he hasn't been down there since he recaptured me." Her hand came up to her head and rubbed her temple. "I swear… He couldn't have?"
Mono finished unlocking it, and pushed it open. It made the most awful scream of metal he had heard, the sound of something brand new and unworked, or extremely old and grimy.
He looked back at her, and she just looked even more confused.
"Let's move on, and forget it." She nodded to his words.
The grate opened to more forest, and judging from the lack of brutish grunting or tramp of horrid feet, the beast wasn't nearby. There was also something else, and Mono found comfort in the sound.
The chirp of birds.
Sure, they were ravens, fat and disgusting birds that would feed on the dead. But… They were birds, living creatures in the hunting ground of that monster. They would provide an early warning, or a useful distraction when the time came.
But besides those two, Mono noticed something else. He took a whiff of the air, and made a note of the slight tang of vile and disgust that touched him. The smell of rot and decay. The smell of a swamp. "It smells wrong, Stagnant water?" He turned to the girl and asked her, and she gave him a nod.
"There a swamp that the hunter has some buildings on, he uses it as transport for boats to the river." She shook her head, and spoke again. "He's the only one that lives here, so we'll be safe as long as we keep away from him."
Mono nodded, but that wasn't what he was curious about. The question from earlier was burning in his mind, and he had a new one now given what she had said. He looked her up and down again. She had looked horribly emaciated, and she looked worse than he did. He had at least scoffed some of the hunter's food at the house. But she hadn't, and her body looked so weak. She had her hand on her stomach… That hurt to see, made him feel guilty too.
He should…
No, not yet. They needed to be safe.
But he had another question for her, a more pressing one given the importance of it. "You said that there's a swamp?" She nodded at his question, and pointed in off to the distance. It was the direction they would be going anyway, but that wasn't the important thing. "Is there a feeder river? You said it's connected to the main one, but given that's uphill is there a smaller feeding river or stream connected to it?"
She shrugged, and thought. She let her face betray surprise before it was buried again. "Maybe? I just thought it was where the rain gathered…" She seemed to think a little more, but she looked up. "Wait, no... There's a stream that goes into it from… Left of the main shed, I think? I never really looked..."
I need to find that feeder river. We'll need water, and I need to clean this injury. He nodded to her, and spoke his mind. "I've drank recently, and eaten too, you?"
She looked at him and blinked. A tinge of annoyance crossed her face. "I said I hadn't seen the hunter since he recaptured me, so no…" He nodded.
"Right…" Mono thought for a moment, and cursed in his mind for not bringing any of those biscuits he had eaten. The meat was better though, and he had to limit what he carried, the bear trap was heavy enough. "Right, there's buildings? Ones with wooden roofs and windows and such?" She nodded her head. "Ever seen a fireplace on any?"
She thought again and nodded. "Yeah, a small shack just before the swamp. Why?"
He thought about it, and brought out the small sachet filled with strips of meat.
Mono quickly pocketed the meat after she saw. Her eyes widened, and a small hitch in her breath. "We need cover, we need water too. Let's get there."
Her hunger threatened to stop her thinking, but she shook her head. "Won't he see the smoke, and smell it?"
"Thick tree canopy, and the fire will be small and the heavy rain with mask it's scent. Not to mention, the swamp is more noticeable."
She accepted this, and she gestured for him to follow.
The journey to the small shack was done quietly, and Mono let her guide him most of the way there.
It had taken them a while, judging from how the air slowly got colder over the course of the journey, but they hadn't been harassed during it. A good sign, even though it did leave him wondering where the monster was. Six never seemed concerned, and he had to trust her judgement on this. Even though she got damp in the rain, she refused to let it affect her much, and Mono respected that. Was it silly? Sure, but he respected it nonetheless.
The shack itself was much smaller than the hunter's lodge, and it was more a small box for short term stay. It was, conversely, much more stable looking. It lacked the mess of wood and damaged walls and such, and instead seemed either built much more sturdily or used a lot less often.
It was still evidently built by something inspired by the tower and that was only further proven by the Eye that was emblazoned on the door.
And fortunately, it seemed empty. There was no hint of light through the windows and each was covered from the inside by a thick curtain visible against the moonlight.
He knelt by the handle, and six stared at him for a moment before taking the offered boost. Six caught the handle, and just dangled there. He felt a weird feeling in his chest, a light airy one that made him smile, and he had to suppress something that threatened to break from his lips. It was just the way she hung there, legs dangling that made him want to…
Do something?
He didn't recognise the feeling, but it made him feel less awful and tired. It was a tickle in his gut.
Six looked down at him, and made a displeased noise, and he jumped up and grabbed her cardigan.
He was worried that the clothing might snap or fray from the stress of holding his weight, but it refused. Clearly whoever had made it was good at their job, and the clothing held. The handle, however, wasn't as resilient or stubborn. The weight of them both caused it to creak, and complain, before eventually snapping open. It had put up a good fight, but in the end, it was no match for the two of them.
The building wasn't musky, weirdly enough. The stiffness of the handle suggested it hadn't been used much, but it lacked that smell of abandonment. If he'd known better, then it was intentionally made stiff so that only people of a certain strength could get in. Likely to stop kids from hiding in there. But there was a coldness about it, a sapping infiltrating one that pierced your skin and touched your bones. Mono found himself clinging his jacket closer, but Six just peered in and looked around.
It was neat, that surprised Mono given how rare the monsters cared for that kind of thing. Then again, he couldn't think of a reason why a monster might not be overly peculiar about how its surroundings are kept. It actually made a peculiar amount of sense in a way, a creature overly obsessed with keeping clean.
At the far end, shrouded by shadow, he could make out the silhouette of the fireplace he was after. It was, all things considered, unusually normal for a fireplace. There was even a small stock of cooking utensils, unnecessary given he was just going to fashion one out of whatever he could find nearby. He wasn't going to complain about having to do less although the size of the cooking supplies would make it difficult.
The room itself… Well, he couldn't truly say, he would call it comfortable and cosy. But that was from someone who spent the majority of his life outside, where the rain was ceaseless and the air cold. A place to live like this, hidden from the world's malice, sounded wonderful. He recalled a book he'd seen, called "A King's Gambit", in which the king had been a man who resided in a massive home. It had hundreds of staff and people in it, and the food was described as… Oculant? Something like that.
Mono couldn't imagine a life like that, where food was brough to you by people, and in such supply that one could waste as much as they'd like. The beds too, they were so luxurious that it was like sleeping on clouds. The language had been much more flowery, and he'd struggled to understand most of it, but it sounded…
Unrealistic.
Well, He didn't read it himself. He was read to, by that girl…
How had he forgotten her name?! She was unforgettable, with her long ponytail and her blue and pink dress… She had this attitude of… Frustration? No, that wasn't it. It was more that she would seem frustrated, but it was more directed at herself than anything? She was always a mystery, but she was comfortable to be around.
He shook of the memories and watched Six properly enter the building. She was slow, and her movements spoke of apprehension. It was that weird disparity again, where she could be confident and almost uncaring one moment, and then flip to be cautious and worried barely a minute later.
He followed in properly as well, and found the darkness to be… A mixed bag. Sure, it kept them safe, but it was also unwelcome. He looked over to her, and spoke. "Fire? I can start one up."
A short look, and a nod.
He took a moment to search through the draws. Given the home had a fireplace, it was possible there were some fire sets. Small bundles of fire wood and a small stock of burnable materials. Maybe even a striker.
While he searched, she was looking for something else. She was going through random cupboards. He only kept a fleeting eye on her, but he could imagine she was looking for some food, it would take some time for the meat to cook. He'd wait on it, especially given the fact he had eaten.
He felt a tinge of something unpleasant, and he narrowed it down to guilt. He'd only just remembered he was looking for someone when he got there, and even then he hadn't Thought the creature had been starving her. But even that rationalisation didn't exactly clear the nagging sensation. He sighed to himself, and checked another drawer.
It took a few more minutes of scrambling in the dark, and he found what he was looking for. More annoying and weird packaging, but unlike the salt, this was completely unrecognisable. Even the language was wrong and more akin to mad ramble than any kind of normal speech. The symbology offended him, disgusted him.
It was massive too, about the size of his chest, so at least he wouldn't worry about the amount he had to use.
He ripped the packaging open, not wanting to look at it any further, and found himself staring at a block bunch of blocks of charcoal, black crumbly stuff that stank rich and thick. He moved over to the fireplace, and smashed a log against the stone. It was stubborn, and took a few attempts to properly break it, but he eventually found himself with a bunch of much smaller and more manageable charcoal chunks.
There was a loud thud, and Six made a grunt of surprise. He turned his head slightly, and the girl let out a sharp gasp.
"Mono…"
He turned around and looked to the girl. She had stuck her head under the bed and pulled something out, a dark patch he couldn't properly see. He got to his feet, and Six knelt down and her hand came up in front of her. She looked like she wanted to reach out and touch it, but she kept pulling her hand back before she did. She looked confused?
When he was next to her, he saw why.
It didn't stink, nor did it look rotten. A small figure was curled up, rigid and dead. Mono figured that they were once a boy, but the emaciated figure was so skinny that it made it impossible to tell. It was a skeleton with dried flesh, a sad replica of a person. No, they still are… He let his eyes go back to the door, and the handle that had taken too of them to open.
It hit him quickly.
They'd starved to death. They'd probably pulled on the handle for hours, screaming or begging for help. Evidently, no one had come. The second one? That kid from earlier had died the same way. But that had seemed intentional, this one… Accidental?
Mono's eyes looked around them room again, at the drawers that had been shut before he got here. The cabinets, the tools, everything had been unmoved? Wait…
Mono moved over to one of the ones that hadn't been opened, and dragged it open. He couldn't see much in the darkness, but he could see the shapes, the odd off-colour patches that roughly fit the size and shape of an object or container. He climbed in and pulled one out. He could feel Six's gaze on his back.
It was a can, and judging from the rather functional label on it, it was a can of string beans. He turned it to see the lid, and put it back.
What? Why would…
He stopped himself and shook his head clear. He could think about it later, food now. He turned his head again, and looked at the girl. She'd stopped looking at him, and instead focussed back on the kid. He watched her as she ran a hand on their head, and closed her eyes. He felt rude for watching, but the sight gave him both a pause and a shiver. She was stroking their hair, and taking some kind of comfort in it?
He dragged his eyes away. Focus. Food.
He went back to the small fire he was making, and went back to work, leaving the girl to her comforts. After a short search, he found the pack's striker. It was a small thing, larger in his hands than he thought it should have been. It was still easily carriable and pocketable. He then dragged the small metal frame of a meat spit above the impromptu campfire, and draped the salted meat over it.
Four strips of boar flesh, still slightly damp through the salt. It wasn't above the fire, off to the side. He always waited for a short while as the fire properly took root, it made sense to him. A distant memory or lesson, or a trick he noticed and picked up? He couldn't truly remember.
Mono pulled out the last part of the survival kit, a small fibrous pack containing a bundle of brown fabric. He placed it down, and brought the striker back out. It took a few attempts, and his muscles were sore by the end of it, but eventually he managed to get a small but existent flame.
He was careful, small movements of the air could kill these small sparks. It was slow and careful work, and it was rewarded by the slow spread of orange heat across the paper. He added some of the crushed-up paper in the pack, and sat back.
He watched the flame slowly spread, and it took a while for it to take hold of the coal.
He let himself rest for the moment and enjoyed the sight of the fire spreading across the surface of his labour. He slowly added more burnable material, wooden blocks that he owner of the house would have used to keep himself comfortable and warm.
Was he anything like the hunter?
Were they really holed up in someone's still in use home?
No… The body gave that much away, as well as the smell. It was stagnant, or still. Air that hadn't moved freely in quite some time. If anything, the owner of the house was probably one of those dolls that now decorated the hunter's home. Those fabrics fakes bound in flesh.
Even now, after sleeping and gunfire, those things stood out to him and worked their way into his thoughts. What was it about them that did that? Their close yet clear divergence from being human? Or the surreal and yet completely natural fact that these monstrous copies of their life killed each other? He'd seen the bodies; these creatures would kill each other just as much as they would him.
Honestly, Mono couldn't say why they stuck to him.
He heard a noise behind him. It was a quiet shuffle, and a small squeak of a voice. "Ah!"
While he may not have known her long, Mono knew her voice already. He'd known it was Six before his mind caught up, an instinctive thing. Was that right? Or normal? Did all kids do that?
She was caught with the child's body on her back, and looking up at the bed that the child had been found under. Words failed him. Logic failed him as well. He couldn't explain it properly, and found the sight uncomfortable and warped.
Struggling with the body, she tried to lift it up, but only managed to keep it on her back. It was a desperate thing, where she was expending a lot of energy to do that, even as emaciated as she was.
I might as well ask… Musing to himself, he got up and walked over to her, and in doing so sacrificed his comfort in the heat. When he got close, she looked at him, and only then did he see the look on her face. It made him feel uneasy, and if anything he felt almost attacked by the look. It vanished after a moment, and replaced with neutrality. "Why are you staring?"
"What are you doing?" There wasn't a hint of his confusion; he figured it would only make her defensive. Instead, he asked it genuinely.
Letting the body rest at her feet, Six pointed a small hand at the bed itself. Mono followed with his eyes, and shrugged. He didn't get what she meant. She opened her mouth, but didn't say anything and a moment later she let her mouth click shut. Her face was still passive, and he couldn't make out anything she was thinking. Eyes low, she went back to staring at the body.
Still, the finger gave him a hint, and she was lifting the dead body. There was that child from before as well, and he remembered how he wanted to bury them. Maybe there was a logical or rational idea behind it, but Mono only wanted to bury them. Maybe that was the case here, but different.
He'd have to guess.
It took a second for him to speak, but he found the idea soothing in a weird way. "You want to put them in the bed?"
The change was sudden, and her eyes snapped up and looked at him. Her eyes glinted, and he found her gaze less intense. Almost approving? Softer for certain. She nodded and went to grab the child again. Mono found himself stopping her.
"I'll lift, Eaten recently." He watched her for a moment, and she blinked slowly before tilting her head slightly. "I've got more energy."
She closed her eyes and nodded, before jumping and lifting herself onto the bed. While she did this, Mono reached down and touched the body's skin. It was dry and tight, like a leather hide stretched over the body, and the body was somewhat rigid.
It struck him as odd. He'd seen death, seen the bodies of those that were killed by weapons, like that hunter's shotgun, and typically they would bloat. They would stink as well, with this weird liquidity to them. Like bags of meat, loosely kept intact by the bones. But this one, this child, was leathery and tough. Mono had no idea about why, and he also didn't want to question as well. The information wouldn't help, either.
The body was light, and he was able to lift it up to her. Six took it, and pulled it up gently. She was extremely careful, and when she had it up, she began to lift the covers on the bed. Mono realized that she was going to tuck the child in, and any questions he had about her behaviour disappeared. She was doing what he hadn't done earlier, and more importantly, she hadn't even hesitated in giving that kid a better resting place.
Ignoring the feeling of its body, Mono looked at his hands and felt better.
While it was true that death was inevitable, a nice resting place wasn't guaranteed. Even though the child had died in torturous circumstances, they now at least could rest in comfort. A smile spread across his face, even if it was muted by the death itself.
He left Six alone to finish, and went back to his fire. It had grown, but still struggled against the air. Mono used a metal prong to push the coal aside slightly, and giving it air to grow. The action was a distraction, especially as a part of him cursed the fact that they were wasting precious material. Not to mention, Six's clothing was light and thin, and they could do with the extra layers the blanket would provide. Especially in the rain.
But…
He accepted the idea, and squashed the grumbling in his mind.
The flames became strong enough to flourish on their own, and Mono let himself relax before the flames. Six joined him before long, sitting a decent distance away from him, although not enough that he felt it. She focussed on the fire, bringing her hands up before it and warming them. He'd hope that her clothes would dry slightly under the warm burn, make it more comfortable for her.
She took one look at the meat, and her finger shot up to point at it. He shook his head, much to her visible annoyance. "The fire needs to grow more, otherwise it won't cook properly." She thought about it, and nodded.
Silence spread between them, though Mono didn't really mind. It was a comfortable one, if anything.
He spent the time thinking.
The city itself was separated from the surroundings. He'd been circling it for a short while, but no matter how far one travelled, you never found a bridge. The city must have had one at some point, given it was a city and thus people would want to leave it. He'd even seen the wreckage of the bridges, although none were in the water. For some reason he couldn't understand, the massive stone structures had been peeled back, like the skin of a banana. Like that twisted tree, the tower had warped them to defend itself.
Well, that was his theory.
He'd always worried that he was alone on his journey, that out of everyone in this this world, it was just himself attempting to get closer to it.
He thought that up until he met her. The one before Six. How long ago was that now? Mono had hoped that he would remember more clearly when he somewhere safe. But even now, the details eluded him.
Argh! Why is it so difficult to remember?! He brought a hand up under his mask, and he drilled his hand into his temple. The action helped, always did, and he felt his frustration at himself fade away and ease up on himself. Did it help unblock the memories? No. But it helped him feel less annoyed about it.
Looking back, the flames look strong and stable, so he moved the large metal frame over his fire and let it do its job. The smell of meat touched the air, and he enjoyed the aroma of it. It had been a long time since he had actual meat, and he was looking forward to it. Sure, it was salted, and it would change the taste and maybe the texture? But that didn't matter. It was boar, it was meat!
He spared a look to his companion again, and her eyes were transfixed on the hanging strips of muscle. He felt bad for her, even though he couldn't help it. He felt bad for her being trapped, stuck in a room with no way out for ages without any hope at all. A rather dark thought came to his mind, but he didn't stop it. He could have, and it felt cruel, but it was there all the same.
Was she thinking of giving up?
She'd looked so defeated when he saw her. She looked like she was just existing, getting by, but completely resigned to her fate. Even when they were escaping, she didn't really show too much excitement to the fact that she was out of the room.
In fact, she'd pushed him out of the way.
Libre was just like that, she rarely smiled or showed overmuch excitement. But even then, she fought like an animal to keep going. She always had that survivor's spirit, or what she called it. The desire to keep going even when everything was impossible. It didn't matter what she thought was going to happen, she kept going until the end.
All the way…
Wait! Libre! That's her name! He smiled to himself, and he found the memories of her easier to recall. Ah Hah! How he'd forgotten, he had no clue, but he could recall her like he'd seen her yesterday. Mono found himself happier and more joyful simply because of that.
She was like an older sister, always there. He cut his leg, and she was there. Scolding? Naturally, she always told him off if he got hurt. If he was scared, she'd talk to him until he felt better. If it wasn't for her than he'd never had learned how to stomach your fear and keep moving.
He felt good.
She was someone special, and he had really cared about her. He revelled in his accomplishment, and let his hand rest on his leg. He'd remembered!
"Hey?"
Mono snapped back to reality, and turned his head to the source of it.
Six was looking at him, with a genuine and open look of confusion on her face. She'd said something and he'd completely missed it, hadn't he?
He felt a rush of heat, and looked away. "Sorry?" She didn't say anything for a moment, and he stewed in embarrassment for the short quiet.
"You said something about a 'Libre'?" Had he said it out loud? Oops. She kept up, and pushed again. "What's a 'Libre'?" I'd spoken out loud haven't I?
Did he really want to tell Six about her? It was an important time for him, and what if she judged him for it? That he had grown up with someone there with him, to help him? What if she was envious? The questions alone made him feel awkward, and he really wasn't sure.
But… Then again, what did he have to feel awkward about? That he had someone who had treated him nicely, even if only for a while?
No, he should be open with it. She made him happy. And he seemed to bring some joy to her life as well.
Mono cleared his throat, and looked at the fire for a moment. Words were slow, but they eventually made their way to him. "Not a what." He shook his head. "Libre is… Was a friend of mine for a while. Me and her travelled together for a while. For a long while."
Six made a noise, some combination of interest and confusion. "A travelling companion? Why?"
Looking up, Mono tilted his head. "Why? What do you mean with 'Why'?"
Six shrugged at him, and he caught her eyes. They were… Dull. Not a normal, uninterested dull either. No, the look on her face was one of such sheer emptiness it made him freeze for a moment. She didn't look right. But when he blinked, the expression was normal… He felt stupid for it, and it wasn't like it had changed either.
The thought was unsettling, and didn't sit right in him.
"Why as in, 'Why did you travel together'?" She carried on before he spoke. "What else would I mean by that?" He shook his head, and he truly couldn't say himself. Paranoia, that's what it was. He hadn't seen or heard anything wrong, it was his mind playing tricks on him.
Like the outhouse, or the nightmares, all of it was his rebellious mind reminding him it was still there, and that it wouldn't stop just because he wanted it to. He side-lined the thought, and went back to talking.
"Ah. Sorry." He cleared his throat and tried again. "It was safer." He turned his long metal poker over, busying his hands. There was something uncomfortable about this, and he couldn't say why. It was something about discussing her that made him feel awkward. He didn't think that was fair though, and if it helped her trust him, then all the better. "She helped me a lot, taught me a lot too."
She nodded.
There was silence again. The air was slowly filled by the smell of the meat, it was rich and dark but tainted slightly by the salt. Stomach grumbling, he found himself looking at Six again.
She looked distracted, thinking. Her eyes were looking at the fire, but they were more looking past it than anything. What's she thinking about? He wanted to ask, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the tightened lips, or the bags under her eyes, but something was telling him to let that particular question be.
"What about you?" He asked, only to get silence back. She was too lost in thought. "Hey, Six?" He asked with a bit more force, and she looked up at him and blinked. "Did you ever travel with other people?"
She didn't answer, and he felt stupid for asking. Of course, if she had, they were gone now. Why would she want to answer that?
Mono went back to watching his flames, and the meat. Eventually it was done, the flesh going from bloody and red, to a dark and tough brown. His first thought was to split it evenly, so they would each get a decent share. Meat was a good source of energy, so fifty-fifty made sense. But he'd reminded himself that he had eaten, and six was running on nothing but her own body, and it didn't look like she had much left.
In the end, he'd settled on giving her half of one of his boar rashers. The meat was thick, and she really needed it. She looked at him oddly when he ripped it in half and handed it over. He gave her a nod, and she took it from him carefully. As soon as it was out of his grasp, she was devouring it.
And that was the only word that fit. She wasn't eating, that was slow and patient. She was ripping it apart, tearing chunks off and then chewing just enough to destroy the meat and make it easy enough to swallow. It was animalistic, with no time spent on anything other than consuming it.
He was slower, but he couldn't really be called a slow eater. He didn't finish much later than she did.
Afterwards, he just focussed on enjoying the heat. Comfort and warmth were rare, and the cover needed to enjoy it was even scarcer. So he could accept the small waste of time in enjoying this.
"Hey." Mono looked over at Six, who had was still staring at the fire. Her voice surprised him. "Tell me about 'Libre'… What was she like?"
Mono looked at his hands, and swallowed. Did he really want to say? Six was probably going to compare it to her own experiences. What would happen if he made her envious? Would she run out or get annoyed? Did he want to risk that?
But then again, wouldn't that be her fault? For asking? And the idea of talking about Libre made him feel… happy? It was a joyous feeling that bubbled in his stomach and spread itself outwards through him.
He wanted to talk about her, he realised that much. He really wanted to. She made him feel proud for knowing her, and that alone made him smile. The simply fact he knew her made him smile.
What did he have to fear? A possible unhappy person? That was normal, but if he could make her think that other people weren't awful then it was worth it. Maybe the idea would make her feel more comfortable about him. She was odd in the way where she seemed comfortable at one moment, and then not the next. It made no sense, but he couldn't question her on it.
But he could talk about his old friend.
"Libre…" He began, but then went quiet for a few seconds. How could you sum someone up? By taking everything they were and boiling it down to the most important characteristics? That seemed too… Imprecise. But it would take too long to explain everything about her… "Libre was like an older sister? Yeah. That fits." He shrugged. "She was always looking out for me, even when I annoyed her. She was tough, smart, stubborn, rude, and never really open. But that was who she was."
He smiled at the memories of her. They always had that, but now they felt fresher and clearer. More… Vibrant. "She was the kind of person that would let you make a mistake, even though she could stop you, to make you learn. Not really cruel, but more that you needed to learn."
Six looked at him. "She wanted you to get hurt?"
"Yeah… But that was so you could learn that it was dumb to do something. Like putting your hand in fire. You know not to do it, but her idea was that if you did it yourself then you'd know why you don't do it." He shrugged. "She was also the type to get cross with you if you messed up. And she'd scold you for it, but it felt less bitter and more 'you need to learn'."
"I was with her… for a long time?" Mono shook his head. "I don't know long exactly, but It was a fairly long time."
Six looked at him, and he fiddled with the iron poker again. "You lost her in the end…"
"Yeah… A while ago…" He sighed to himself, and looked up. "We were travelling through this old building, Libre called it a 'hospetile'. We got through a small section of the building which was covered in slime and snot, where we came across this locked door." His hand ached. His throat tightened. Her screams… "We thought we could go through to get to the end of the ward, and we opened it…"
He trailed off. It hurt to remember.
Even now.
Six was happy enough to divert for him though. "What did she look like? You said she was older than you."
Taking the offer, he nodded. "Yeah, she was. Not massively, but I think she was a little older." He paused. It was a weird feeling, having to describe the difference without the words to measure it by. Instead he let that bit drop, and took the other hook she offered. "She looks…" He took a moment to confirm himself, watching her face. "Actually, she looks a little bit like you."
"Me?"
A hand came up to his face, gesturing just above his eye holes. "She had the same kind of fringe, and most of her hair was messy and dark." He poked the top of his head. "Though she had brown hair, not black. Always wore this pink and blue dress. She said she hated it though."
Six's face crumbled, eyebrows creasing. His throat tightened. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head. "No… It's nothing. Just…" She thought for a bit longer. Was Libre familiar to Six? He could see the similarities, only their hair was different. "No, never mind." He watched her for a moment, and she eventually met his eyes again. "Did she rescue you?"
He shook his head at that, and shuffled. His back felt cold, so he turned himself to face her more, and catch the fire on his side and back. He relaxed a bit at that. "No… I found her actually."
"You found her?"
"Hmmhmm!" he nodded. It had surprised him too, it felt like a miracle at the time, a rather rude miracle though. "I was walking along this beach, it had this huge building off in the distance, and it started to rain. I didn't have my jacket by this point, so I picked up the pace and tried to get to a cave at the end of it. But as I was running, I stumbled into her…" He stopped a moment. "I… Tripped over her."
Six raised an eyebrow, and he flinched reflexively. "It was dark, and raining! I couldn't see!"
"And yet you could see the cave?" She sounded disbelieving.
"I could see it in the dark before the rain, and so I knew I needed to keep heading towards it." He coughed. "I thought we were talking about her? Not my lack of awareness."
She waved her hand. Good. "So yeah…" He gave himself a second. He caught a glimpse of her lips twitching. It curled up slightly at the edges. Oh, you find me funny… Great. He sighed and carried on. "I found her on the beach. I initially thought she was dead, but it turned out that she was still alive. So, I dragged her to the cave with me. In the rain… At night…" He trailed off, and recalled the pain he felt in his arms afterwards.
Another facial twitch, the same confusion from earlier. This made him pause and he looked back at the fire. She keeps doing that… "She was quite surprised when she woke up… And she asked where her coat was. I mean-"
"Coat? Like a big jacket?" He shook his head at her question.
"No… She said it was a big yellow raincoat." He gestured to himself and brought his hands out, miming how it looked. He wasn't sure why that was the thing she picked up on, but whatever it was it made her go quiet for a while. "And when she woke up, she was asking about a monster with white hair, and where'd the girl go?"
Six made a confused noise, and Mono looked over. He had no idea what she was thinking, and her face was this mess of confusion and doubt. He swallowed, but the girl hid her expressions again. Was she doing that intentionally? Did she even know she was doing that? She must have, there wasn't any way she was doing that automatically.
And it had been too late. He'd caught it.
"Have I said something wrong?"
"Did she have a pony tail?" Her voice was sharp and hard, the sound of steel being drawn from its sheave. It made his hair stand on edge, and he was again reminded of his old travelling companion. It was the voice used to get someone younger to listen and obey, to influence someone.
He nodded. "She didn't when I found her. But after she got her hands on a couple of bobbles, she restyled it to be one."
Six looked distant, and her face became tight. Mono knew he shouldn't have mentioned; he should have kept his mouth shut. He wished he could read her mind, to know what she was thinking. Was she upset, or angry, or happy? He couldn't tell. She was completely unreadable. Maybe she was all three, and other feelings too.
But he couldn't tell.
Instead, she looked away for a moment, before shaking her head and looking at him with a face he couldn't begin to understand.
"So, she survived the pretender…"
Hi again. Yeah, chapter done. YadaYadaYada.
Also RCG, or libre, yay! I just had to have Mono realise the similarities between the two
I mean, c'mon EVERYONE thought that RCG was Six until the end of the game. I mean, I caught on early that she was different, given that Six behaved different from RCG. In that Six never helped anyone before. I mean, I was wrong, and we see Six help RCG at multiple points.
But still.
Anyway, I'll see you next time.
Next update: September 1st